Page 20

twenty

Rowan

T he night ends at around four in the morning by the time we have wrung the discussion dry. Cole and I step outside, seeing Maddox and Cam to the Secret Service waiting for them in my driveway.

Thick, dark clouds swallow up the full moon, as if a storm is about to hit. Cam’s hair is blown away from her face in the intensifying wind, which she fixes behind her ear, but it breaks free from the position almost immediately. Then Maddox opens the door for her to the presidential car.

We’ve already said our goodbyes, so she takes her seat saying nothing more, lost in thought.

When Maddox turns back to face us, I shove my hands in my pockets and open my mouth to speak. There’s a question I still haven’t asked him because I’ve been dreading it. But this isn’t what I do—I don’t fucking steer away from hard truths. It’s not who I am.

So I ask him now, because I need to know so I can prepare myself for what’s next. “Did you do it? Did David Foster take back his job?”

My job.

But to my surprise, he shakes his head, an amused smirk on his face. “Don’t be an idiot. Of course I didn’t give it to him.”

“Then what the hell did you do?”

He shrugs. “Threatened him.”

“ Threatened him?” I scowl. “You. The president. Threatened David Foster.”

“With what?” Cole asks, his presence still something I haven’t gotten used to.

Maddox pins us down with his stare, not wanting the Secret Service to hear what Cole and I both know to be true. They might be on our side, but Maddox keeps a lot of our plans away from them. For precautions, he says. Which is a good thing, I guess, since Maddox is practically telling us he threatened to kill a man.

“You’re insane,” I tell him. “I can’t fucking believe he took you seriously.”

He scoffs. “Why wouldn’t he? Aren’t I the president? If anyone could do that, it’s me.”

I don’t even respond to it, as we both know how crazy that is. He’s the president , and he’s the only one out of the three of us who doesn’t get to have skeletons in his closet.

Silence passes between us, only the wind and the yellowed autumn leaves scratching across the pavement making a small noise. I still have my job. I’m still commander of the army, though it won’t mean much a few days from now. After a short while, Maddox is the first one to speak again.

“You don’t think the plan is going to work,” he says, looking at me.

I simply answer, “I don’t have the luxury of being uncertain this time.”

Dove’s image comes to the front of my mind, her hair draped over the pillow as her body lowers and raises with soft breaths. I carried her into our bedroom earlier, seeing how dizzy she was. Desperation twists my gut knowing the state she’s in, and like always, I shove it down, down into a place so dark that any amount of light seeping through would instantly die.

Too much. I’ve failed too many people and disappointed them way too fucking much. I’ve fought hard and made sacrifices, but life has a funny way of showing you nothing you ever do is enough. Well, ha, ha, ha , motherfucker, I’m about to put everything on the line this time. Everything I am, and everything I could be, and everything that I hoped to be by Dove’s side… I’ll give it up with a smile on my face if that means saving her life.

Cole takes a few aimless steps in the alley, the stress of the past few days lingering in his system. He’s just come back to us. To Dove… to his family. I won’t make the same mistake as last time and lose him twice.

“Which is why I have another plan,” I say, stopping Cole in his tracks.

He drags a hand down his face. “Great. So everything we talked about in there, what the fuck was that for?”

It’s Maddox who answers for me, his voice barely audible as he says, “It was all for Dove… wasn’t it?”

I offer a nod, knowing full well this conversation is going to rock things between the three of us.

“Dove needs a clear vision to fight for right now. She needs to use all the anger and all the fear she’s gathered and empty them out into something meaningful. I know her… and without the plan we just talked about, she’d…” I wince, remembering the night I got her back and her eyes were void of life.

“She’ll make it.” I smile. “She’ll bring those motherfuckers down, and the three of you are going to help her. But this… what we discussed tonight… is not the plan that’s going to keep her alive. Because Salister doesn’t respond to blackmail.” My eyes shift to Cole, because he knows him better than any of us after what he’s been through.

“He just pulls out a bigger gun,” he answers, understanding. “If he loses the fight, he’ll bring her down with him. Just to spite us.”

Maddox clenches his jaw, his nostrils flaring as he rushes to get to the bottom of this conversation—of my new plan. “Rowan… what the fuck did you do?”

“Will you come with me?” I ask Dove over lunch the next day.

The hand she holds the fork with freezes as she gives me a bewildered but hopeful look.

“Is that okay? I don’t want to disturb you at work.”

I smile, ignoring the last part. She’s still disoriented and shaken by everything that happened. Everyone tells me to give her time to rest and recover, and of course I do. But I won’t have her locked in her room like Salister did back in Montana. She yearns for air and life as she knew it—I can tell—so I’ll give her that too. The EFW won’t strike now, not when they have the upper hand and the ball is in my court. Besides, I never want to be anywhere she’s not.

“We both need to get some fresh air. Eat up, then we’ll go. I only need to meet some officers. It won’t take long.”

She nods faintly, the light in her eyes flickering as if it still hasn’t fully decided to stay with her. To keep her going. She pushes her food around with the fork, then takes two more hesitant bites of the braised duck before looking up at me with her big hazel eyes.

The doctor warned me her appetite would be low.

“Angel…” I tilt my head, a plea in my voice.

“I can’t eat right now. I’ll try again when we get back. Please?”

My eyes narrow slightly as I take in her fragile body. She needs to eat, but forcing her won’t do. Maybe taking her outside will help. Maybe exhausting her body with my fingers will bring out her appetite. I focus my eyes behind her, on Saint, and he approaches almost instantly.

“Bring her a granola bar. And keep this food warm until we get back.”

Saint nods and disappears into the kitchen with her plate. I take Dove upstairs, picking a pleated skirt and an ivory blouse with short sleeves from her closet. Despite her insisting she can do it herself, I help her get dressed, not wasting any chances to feel her beneath my fingertips. Then we’re in the car and I wrap my arm around her, pulling her close to me in the backseat. Perez, another one of my hires, drives us around the city in silence.

Outside, the sun is mostly covered by grayish clouds. But the weather is still warm and the Potomac River is calm and quiet. So much so that Dove breaks the silence to ask for the AC to be turned on. Perez does it, and I swipe my thumb across her shoulder, forcing her to lean on my chest with her pretty head. The scent of her shampoo registers when she does it and I cling to it, burying my face in her hair as I say, “Lie down, angel. There’s traffic.”

I press a soft kiss to the top of her head. Without protesting, she brings her legs up and curls at my side, sighing softly with her eyelashes fluttering close.

I catch Perez’s eyes in the front mirror, but he’s quick to avert mine.

Good.

We drive over a speed bump, and I extend my hand down to Dove’s skirt, where I grip her soft ass cheek above the thin material. I lower it more until I’m touching the back of her thighs. Then my hand disappears under the skirt and I slide it to her pussy—plump, closed, and covered by another layer.

Feeling the strap of her thong, I curl a finger behind it and push it to the side. I stroke her naked slit with my knuckles, barely touching her when her head shifts. She looks up at me, brows furrowed with a question in her eyes.

Still petting her pussy, I tilt toward her ear and say, “Be good, Dove.”

A muted mewl answers back, and I notice when her gaze wanders to Perez, a clear sign of her concern for being watched. But Perez isn’t watching—he knows better. And I’m not exposing her to him.

I push my finger into her soft flesh, feeling her damp walls bury me at her entrance. I cover my mouth with my free hand, supporting my elbow on the window frame as I groan at the feel of her. She stills against my body, save for the subtle swaying caused by the moving car. It reminds me of the first time I tasted her, back in June when I was traveling with my convoy.

I pump my middle finger in and out of her entrance, feeling her body relax more.

That’s it. Such a good girl for me.

So much wetness pools around my hand that the sounds of her arousal break through the constant hum of the car as we ride through the streets of Washington. I remove my finger and start petting her entire pussy, giving her channel a short break. My knuckles slide across it easily now, her lips and clit nice and slick.

I look down at her, seeing her slender hands gripping the lower edges of my uniform jacket and her cheeks flushing with a shade of pink. Her lips are parted, and her breaths shallow as she lies in my arms and takes all that I’m giving her.

I want her thoughtless—a present, whimpering mess with no time to remember the horrors she went through. A mind so aware of her constantly used pussy that all she needs to use her voice for is yes, sir , and please , and if needed, her safe word. And I want her to expect it. To know that I could reach for her pussy anywhere I want, regardless of who we’re with or where we are. As long as she’s with me, she doesn’t have to worry about anything. I’ll always think for her when I know she needs it.

“Sir,” Perez says without meeting my gaze in the front mirror.

“Hmm?”

“We’re here.”

I nod, removing my hand from Dove’s pussy and wiping it on her skin beneath her skirt. I’m not done with her, but I’ll have to wait until we go inside the Command Center. Hand wrapped around the back of her neck, I guide her towards the building, the scent of her pussy on my fingers wafting around us. It makes my cock twitch, and I have to take her hand instead because I can’t be seen with a fucking erection where I know reporters like to roam around. Once we’re in the building, I settle her in my temporary office so I can go talk to the officers.

“Will you… Can you lock the door?” she asks, wrapping her arms around herself.

I don’t know why but the question sparks something in me. She wants me to lock her up, to protect her from the monsters outside these walls when I’m just another one. The only difference is that I love her.

“I will. Is your pussy still wet?”

She leans against my desk, facing me but looking to the side. “You know it is.”

“Show me.”

“What?”

“Show me your wet pussy before I leave. So I know what I’m coming back to.”

And maybe because she’s so aroused, or because she’s gotten used to me, the request doesn’t seem to take her by surprise as much as it used to. She’s learning fast.

“H-How do you want it?” she asks.

I smile, folding my hands in front of me.

“My good little angel. Always wanting to be told what to do.” I straighten up, my jaw clenched as I stare at her beautiful legs in anticipation. “Take off your panties.”

A faint nod, and then her hands dip under her skirt and I see her thong slide down, pooling on the floor at her feet. She walks out of them and fists them in her hand.

I jerk my head toward the desk. “Haul yourself up. Sit on the desk facing me.”

She plants her hands behind her and lifts herself, her legs now dangling in the air.

“Spread them.”

She gulps, the air between us thick with sexual tension. It’s not like I haven’t seen her cunt before, but we’re both acting as if it’s the first time—me, impatient, and her, nervous.

“Very good, Dove,” I mutter. “You know what to do next.”

She sucks in a breath and, without leaving my gaze, she scrunches her skirt up, inch by inch, until her shaved pussy fills my vision and melts in my eyes.

“There you are.” I exhale, feeling my throat bob as I refrain from touching her. She’s so wet, she’s practically glistening, her clit engorged from all the blood swarming there. My eyes fixate on it, unable to look anywhere else.

This is mine. All of her is mine.

Eventually, I saunter over to her, slowly, letting her wonder if I’m going to finger her again. I tower over her small frame, lifting her chin with my index finger.

“I want you to do something for me while I’m in that meeting,” I say.

She says nothing, but the question shows on her face.

“Remember when Leon and I played with you that night?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Remember how we edged you? How I didn’t let you come for hours?”

Her brows furrow. “Y-Yes.”

“I want you to do that to yourself, Dove. Not for hours, but for the ten minutes I’ll be gone. I want to go into that meeting knowing you’ll be here, touching yourself, waiting for my permission to come. Will you be a good girl and do that for me?”

“I…”

Before she has time to think about it, I pull a small bullet vibrator out of my chest pocket and touch the tip to her slit. She whimpers, looking down at it. At my hand that is holding it.

“Will you?”

“I’ll try,” she whispers, spreading her legs more. I wonder if she’s aware of it.

“That won’t be good enough. If you come, you’ll get punished. If you don’t, I’ll reward you. Don’t worry, there are no cameras in this office. But if you lie to me, I’ll know. You know I always do.”

“Yes. Yes, I know.”

I take her hand and wrap it around the vibrator, handing the task over to her.

Christ. I don’t want to fucking leave this room.

“Good girl. Make it feel good. Keep it warm and wet for me. I’ll be back to play with it some more soon.”