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“But the damage we’ve inflicted on ourselves by not being honest isn’t.”
He was right, and maybe that was the saddest thing of all. Regret steamrolled her.
“I wish…” she muttered, then stopped. They couldn’t go back and make different choices.
“Me, too. All we can do is give us another try.”
She’d love that, but was he insane? “Matt, there’s a ruthless family out there who would kill you without blinking for even helping me, much less trying to share any kind of future. And it’s not just them. Senator Pershing knows people everywhere. He has a blackmail book. He knows everyone’s dirty little secrets—law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges. He collects favors, then waits to cash in when the time is right… He’s cutthroat. He can twist people into doing whatever he needs because he sees their brightest hopes and darkest fears, then uses them ruthlessly. He’s the one who convinced me to say yes to Todd’s proposal. He read me like a book. And he used my dad’s debts against me, telling me how much better off he would be with the Pershing power and name behind him… I can’t drag you into this mess more than you already are.”
“You can’t stop me.” When she opened her mouth to object, he held up a hand. “You’re not obligated to do a damn thing with me beyond accept my protection. Let me make that clear. But you can’t tell me how to feel, and I’m not walking away from you because you’re afraid for me. So if you still think you don’t matter to me, think again.”
Madison sat back against the sofa, blinking and stunned. “But—”
“I know your objections. I’ve sorted through them. Even if the Pershings eventually win and we only have right now, I’ll take it. You’re worth the risk.”
Those words filled her heart and crushed what was left of her resistance. “Matt…”
“I’m not letting fear, the past, or those corrupt assholes take another moment from us. If it weren’t for your in-laws and the danger, would you want to pursue something with me?”
After he’d been so painfully honest, she couldn’t lie. Besides, he had to know. “I already told you that I only want you.”
“I only want you.”
Those words melted the ice around her heart. Madison barely managed not to spring from her seat and throw herself into his arms. Something forbidding on his face stopped her. “Then what’s wrong?”
“There’s something else I need to tell you. It might change your mind.”
Madison couldn’t imagine what that would be. “If you can accept the danger in my life, I can’t think of anything else that would make me not want you?”
“I’m a Dominant.” He smiled bitterly, like he totally expected that to weird her out. “Jack just pointed it out to me. I spent most of the afternoon reading and thinking and…he’s right. That’s why I am the way I am with you. If you’re willing to deal with that, I can try to downshift—”
“Don’t.” She lifted a trembling hand to her chest. “Don’t change a thing.”
“Seriously?”
“I love everything about the way you touch me.”
“Because you’re submissive?” Matt pulled at the back of his neck. “Sorry. Jack pointed that out, too.”
Madison flushed. Embarrassing that their host had figured out her kink, especially since she’d never told anyone. “Yeah.”
“You don’t seem at all surprised. You knew?”
She nodded. “I’ve known for a long time. You didn’t know that you—”
“No. Pictures of men restraining and disciplining their women have always turned me on, but a lot of things did. I shied away from those images because it seemed like something my dad would relish, whether his partner wanted it or not.”
“Your desires…the way you are with me…they aren’t the same. He’s not being a Dominant; he’s an asshole.”
“Jack explained. The book I read filled in the gaps.” He frowned. “How did you learn so much about this stuff?”
Her blush deepened. “I read a lot of romances. The super-spicy ones.”
“With Dominant heroes?” His voice tingled its way down her spine.
She nodded breathlessly. “Yes.”
“Hmm. In your books, they take their woman in whatever sinful way they want?”
