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)
Matt knew he could, so he had to tread carefully or he’d leave Madison unprotected. But that hardly meant he was going to roll over. “I’m curious… Do you lean on your grandpa to save your ass so often because you don’t know how to fight your own battles? Or because you don’t have any balls?”
Todd ground his teeth. “Keep it up, asshole. You’ll get yours.”
“I’m so scared,” Matt deadpanned. At least if he kept Todd’s attention on himself, the douche wouldn’t be messing with Madison. As far as Matt was concerned, that would be half the battle between now and the midterms.
Silence fell. He scanned Madison, and it took everything he had not to reach out and soothe her tension. First, he didn’t want to lie to her and tell her everything would be all right. Second, in case the car was surveilled, he didn’t want to give Todd any ammunition to use against them in public, even something as innocent as squeezing her fingers. Besides, the asshole’s ring winked on her finger, mocking him. He’d rather not touch it or touch her again until she took it off.
For now, he let his eyes transmit calm for him. He and Madison were so in sync that she got the message and blew out a tense breath, her body slowly relaxing.
Todd watched them with unblinking curiosity. “I’ve seen roofied chicks who are more responsive in bed than my wife, so—”
“Seen them or fucked them?” Matt asked.
“Both. It’s fun the first time, then…” The asshole shrugged before he gestured to Madison. “I seriously don’t know how you got this frigid bumpkin to react to you, much less beg. ‘Fuck me, please, sir,’” he imitated in an exaggerated twangy falsetto.
“I only beg for a cock big enough to see,” she shot back.
Todd swiveled his glare at her. “You’re a cunt.”
“So you’ve said.” She sounded bored. “Is that the best you’ve got?”
The entitled prick grumbled under his breath but mercifully fell silent for the rest of the drive.
To Matt’s surprise, they didn’t pull up in front of the swanky apartment Todd shared with Madison in Alexandria. Instead, the limo disappeared through a pair of heavy iron gates and cruised down a long, secluded drive sheltered by stately trees, before stopping in front of a sprawling estate much farther from the capital.
Matt turned to him with a questioning glare. “Why are we at your grandparents’ place? Dinner isn’t for two hours.”
“If we’d gone home, we would have had to double back in an hour, and I’d rather not be alone with you lovebirds any longer than necessary. God, you look like a well-used whore. Your lips are bruised. You have that heavy-lidded, over-fucked look.” He wrinkled his nose. “You even smell like him—and that godawful swamp. Did you even take a shower?”
Madison pressed her lips together, muzzling her mute rage as the driver opened the door and held out a hand to assist her. Before she reached for it, Matt stayed her, then gestured at Todd. “Get the fuck out.”
He sniffed their way, then wrinkled his nose. “Gladly.”
Once he exited, Ethan appeared beside the limo driver, whose hand was still outstretched to Madison, and elbowed Todd aside. When she looked to Matt for direction, both the operative and the Dom in him was gratified.
“Go ahead.”
She did, allowing the driver to assist her. Matt followed, taking in the expansive, well-manicured lawn, surrounded by a thick copse of trees. As Todd approached the giant front door, a stone-faced butler opened it, admitting them into an estate that more closely resembled a museum.
The entryway was nothing but opulent marble inlays, a spiral staircase with a gilded Juliet balcony, and gold moldings and embellishments along each wall and every step. A shiny black antique hall table held a pair of ostentatious lamps. On the other side of the circular room stood a giant wooden pedestal with shiny affixed bric-a-brac and a fresh bouquet of flowers so big, it bloomed halfway to the heavy crystal chandelier above. At the back of the space, an archway led to other rooms, flanked by a pair of standing vases taller than Madison. Matt would bet every dime he had that they, like most everything in this room, were antique and worth a small fortune.
American tax dollars at work…
They trailed Todd through a long, barrel-ceilinged hallway and into another lavish room, this one huge and over-the-top, peppered with plush rugs, heirloom-quality furniture, a trio of chandeliers ringed by gold medallions, and seating for twenty. Heavy red drapes added to the heavy feel, ensuring it was the sort of place everyone knew to gawk at but not touch.
In one oversized chair, a waif in her forties slouched, a book laid over her chest as she softly snored. Matt spotted an empty wineglass on her right. Beside her, a slightly older man with a graying beard scowled at something on the oversized tablet in his hands. From his fact-finding, Matt knew these were Todd’s parents, Roger and Cynthia.