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)
“I let you control me in the bedroom because I like it. But do I need to remind you that the ring on my finger doesn’t belong to you?” She flashed Todd’s heirloom rock on her left hand. “I’m my own woman.”
Her words felt like a slap.
Was she fucking kidding right now? “Todd’s ring is meaningless. You’re mine. You agreed. Nothing has changed. That means you tell me about things that concern your safety. You’re tangling with fucking dangerous people, and it’s damn hard to protect you when you leave me completely in the dark like you did tonight. Why? What is going on? And why the fuck did Ethan know what was happening before I did?”
“I figured out a way to use yesterday to our advantage, okay? I needed some leverage against Todd and his family, and I had to do it while he was asleep. Ethan happened to be awake, so he helped me. I was never in danger. And from now on, we’ll have more privacy because I bought us some breathing room until the midterms are over. You’re welcome.”
“You should have waited for me. I would have helped you. You’re the only fucking reason I’m here.”
“I couldn’t stand feeling pressed under Todd’s thumb anymore. It’s smothering. After yesterday, I was afraid he would be able to kill us and make it look like an accident, so I found some leverage and used it against him.”
Matt scrubbed a hand down his face, feeling stunned and stupid for not realizing how she felt sooner. Of course she was afraid. Her husband had fucking drugged her. Her heart had stopped. Todd could have killed her right under the noses of both her bodyguards. And Matt hadn’t anticipated that she’d do anything about it.
He’d underestimated her.
“I’m sorry, honey. I feel like I’ve failed you. Keeping you safe is my responsibility. But I wish you’d told me you needed more protection. Or at least what the hell you were up to. Keeping me in the dark won’t add to your security. And I’m working some angles to guarantee our safety—”
“Wait. Angles? What?” She gasped in shock, laced with sarcasm. “You never told me about those. So…it’s okay for you to keep your plans secret, but I can’t?”
“This is my job. My responsibility. This is what I do.”
“But no one knows these people better than me.”
Point taken. They should both be communicating more. “You’re right. Do you have any idea what Todd might be hiding in his bedroom?”
“No. I haven’t set foot in there in…” She shuddered. “It wasn’t long enough ago for me to have forgotten. Or gotten over it.”
Madison didn’t even have to tell him what Todd had done to her on his throne of a bed for him to want to kill the bastard. And Matt felt like shit for drowning in anger and pussy for three years instead of listening to his heart and coming after her like he’d fucking wanted to all along.
He clutched her shoulders. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Is that your angle? You think he’s hiding something we can use in there?”
“I know he is. I just need time to search.” Todd was gone…but for safekeeping Matt had stashed the ring at the dungeon. And after everything that happened the last couple of days, he didn’t want to leave Madison’s side. First, getting answers about what she’d done so he could adjust her protection was more important than chasing fuck-face Pershing. And second, when Todd returned, he would be furious. He would lash out. “But later. Now that you’ve followed through with your plan, you going to tell me everything?”
She did, and even if he was pissed she hadn’t communicated with him, he was damn proud of her ingenuity and courage.
“I wish I could have seen Winston’s and Agatha’s faces.”
She grinned. “It was priceless.”
“Your ploy was smart. It took a lot of balls to pull that off,” he praised her, cupping her face and kissing her forehead.
He’d love to touch her all over, but he didn’t dare. Anyone with a telephoto lens and an axe to grind could be capturing their every move.
“I was terrified.”
Reluctantly, he stepped away. “You did great. Just…next time, tell me what’s up.”
Her face softened as did her voice. “Yes, Matt.”
Fuck, when she answered him in that submissive tone, the urge to strip her, take her, put his stamp of ownership on her while he reaffirmed their love threatened to overtake him. He dragged in a rough breath. “I have plans for you tomorrow, honey.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah. Just wait. I’m going to shock you down to your pretty toes…”
Ethan strolled onto the balcony like he was completely welcome in their private moment. “Everything okay?”
“Way better before you interrupted,” Matt quipped.
Why couldn’t this dipshit just go away? Every time he started not hating the kid, Ethan did something to annoy Matt again.