Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
“What is, then?”
He smiled faintly. “Figuring out how I’m going to keep my hands off you.”
That really wasn’t a concern…but it was. Madison could only imagine how terribly her body would ache without him. After their very first weekend together, her withdrawals had lasted forever. Now that they’d spent nearly two inseparable weeks? Her unfulfilled need for him might do her in. “I wish you didn’t have to, but—”
“I know.” Matt closed the last of the distance between them. “Anytime I do this to myself”—he thumbed her swollen lip—“just know that I want to kiss you. If I brush my temple, that means I’m thinking of you.”
“A secret language?” She smiled. “I like it. And if I lick my lips, what do you think I’m saying?”
“Whatever it is, I’m hoping it’s as dirty as it looks.”
She dropped her voice, wanting to live in this moment with him forever. “I want to wrap my mouth around you.”
He smiled in that brash, dirty way that never failed to turn her on. “Yeah? If I lick my lips, honey, consider that a promise. Next time we’re alone, I’ll get my mouth on your cunt and make you scream until you can’t anymore.”
Heat scorched her. She needed to focus…but she couldn’t resist pushing aside reality for a few stolen instants before Todd’s coercion overtook her every waking moment.
“I’d like that,” she breathed.
He bent to her ear. “We’ll have to think of some way for me to communicate how badly I want to fuck you. I’m pretty sure grabbing my hard cock and crooking my finger to make you come take care of it would be too overt.”
“You think?” she teased.
“While effective”—he nipped at her lobe—“sadly, yes.”
With a sigh of regret, Matt backed away, studying her. Silence fell. Clearly, he still had something on his mind.
“What else do we need to talk about?” she asked.
“I don’t want to upset you, but—”
“We have to be serious. After Todd’s bomb, we don’t have the luxury of joking around.”
Face grim, Matt nodded. “The first—and the most important—thing we need to work on is your trust. You’re still questioning my dedication.”
“I’m not. I just…” But she couldn’t finish that sentence without proving his point. Deep down, she was wondering how long he’d stick it out.
“See? You are.”
She flushed guiltily. “I don’t mean to. I trust you in a lot of ways.”
“With your physical safety, sure. If you didn’t, you would never have knocked on my window the night you returned to Lafayette. But you have to trust me—with everything—if you’re going to survive Todd. And I’ll have to repair the damage I did after turning you over to Nash the following morning.”
“You did what you thought was safest.”
“It was also easiest. If you weren’t mere feet away, I wouldn’t have to admit I still wanted you or think about the way you made me feel.”
Madison’s heart caught. “And now?”
“The minute you went missing from Nash’s place, I had to face the hard truth that I’d left you twice, and I couldn’t do it again.” He dragged her body closer. “But words are cheap, and you have a history of being ghosted by guys. Believing me will take time.”
“We don’t have the luxury of indulging my feelings.”
“But if they affect your trust, they matter. Todd will try to manipulate them the second you walk through his door. If our connection isn’t strong enough, he’ll erode everything between us. Then, not only will he have the means to drive us apart, you’ll be less likely to listen to me if you’re in actual danger.”
He was right. “What should we do?”
“I could repeat that I hope we leave DC together, but words don’t mean much until we establish the trust to back them up. Meet me in the dungeon in five minutes. Naked. Am I clear?”
Madison’s heart lurched. She swallowed. Todd had put them in a precarious, life-or-death situation; she shouldn’t be this eager to feel Matt’s touch. But why lie? Of course, growing their connection naturally would be better, but they couldn’t indulge in feel-good crap or waste time. They had to jump into the fire. If her need for Matt wasn’t so bone-deep, maybe she could stop herself from falling more in love with him. But she didn’t see that happening, even if he broke her heart again in the end.
Solemnly, she nodded. “Yes, Matt.”
CHAPTER TWO
Anticipation pinged through Matt as Madison disappeared down the hall, her footsteps fading toward the dungeon. Her trust in them wasn’t solid, and he needed to shore that up and cement them into an unbreakable pair for the trial to come ASAP.
But that wasn’t all. He wanted her forever.
Madison had a hold on his heart. She understood him in a way he doubted any other woman could. He didn’t foresee ever willingly letting her go. But if he confessed that he loved her, would she assume he’d dropped the L-bomb as a shortcut to trust? If she did, that would fuck up the very faith he needed to strengthen. Nor could he use pleasure to communicate his feelings. She’d think all he wanted was sex. And he couldn’t run the risk of her treating him like more than a bodyguard once they reached DC. Todd would use that to wreak havoc.