I woke to the sound of my phone buzzing.

Who could be calling me today? It was the Fourth, for crying out loud. A national holiday.

“Sami, answer the damn phone.” Dev rolled over and covered his head with a pillow. “It’s probably Jaci trying to fuck with us for leaving her with the family last night.”

I picked up my phone. Shit, it was Tracy. That meant we had a situation. The Joneses threw one of the best Independence Day parties in Seattle. Unless it was a crisis, nothing would pull Tracy away from her family.

I slid out of bed, glanced at Dev, who was fast asleep again and looking sexy as hell, and then answered as I walked out of the room.

“What’s wrong?”

“Good morning to you too. How do you know I’m calling because of a problem?”

“Tracy, it’s—” I peeked at the clock on the wall, “—five thirty in the morning in Seattle. You’d only call this early if we were about to face a major problem.”

“You’re right. I found out Senators Sanders and Decker were spotted together in Key West this morning.”

“That can’t be a coincidence. Fuck. How the hell do they know I’m running? Who leaked this?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. You have never hidden your hatred for Decker Senior, but him helping a liberal incumbent makes no sense when his party is teetering to maintain control of the Senate.”

“For the record, I don’t hate him. I just want him to fall off a cliff or something.”

“Same difference. The man you are about to challenge was seen with the man you consider your enemy and who happens to be your best friend’s opponent. It only means they have something on you.”

Dread crept in.

I sat on the couch and rested my elbows on my knees.

“This is bad.”

“It’s safe to say your secret is out. Sanders is an ass on a good day, but you’re a viable threat. He’s going to go for the jugular. Is there anything he can use against you? We have to prepare for damage control before anything is made public.”

I had to get it out in one go, and I could handle Tracy’s reaction.

“Decker hired a reporter, Spencer Miller, to break into my house and take nude pictures of me. He ended up taking the pictures but also tried to corner me. I kicked him in the balls and broke his nose, giving me enough time to press the panic button in the bathroom and get away. The police arrested him, but I realized a little too late that he’d uploaded the images to a cloud server, giving Decker direct access to them.”

“Hold on. When did this happen and why didn’t you tell me?”

I pressed my fingers to my forehead. “It was something I wanted to keep quiet. I felt ashamed.”

“Why? You did nothing wrong.”

I blew out a deep breath. “Tracy, I’m the image of a ball-busting attorney. I’ve represented a shock jock, celebrities, and politicians. If word got out, Sanders would twist the facts so I ended up looking like a whore who asked for it. This could have ramifications for my family and Dev’s family, including their careers.”

“What you’re saying is that you care less about how it affected you as a woman violated than other people. Isn’t your platform one of fighting against the establishment and accepted practices in politics? You went toe to toe with those who tried to shred my reputation. Don’t you deserve the same kind of defense? Fight for yourself.”

I waited a moment before I responded.

Oh God, I was doing that exact thing I’d tried to keep Jacinta from doing. It was so much easier when I viewed it from the outside and pretended what happened to me wasn’t as bad.

It didn’t matter what industry, there were countless victims of those who used their power and status to ruin others as a way to get what they wanted.

A chill shook my body as did a new sense of determination and worry.

I couldn’t let Miller’s actions victimize me anymore, and without a doubt, I wasn’t going to let someone else fight my battles for me, especially not Richard. He would spin it to his benefit, not mine.

“I’m going to fight him, Tracy. I’m going to make Sanders wish he never joined forces with Decker.”

“Good, now we need to pinpoint how Decker got the information about you running for Senate.”

All of the sudden it hit me. “My God, I think Miller took pictures of the candidacy paperwork that night. The incident happened the day after you stopped by with the forms. And…” I scraped a hand down my face.

“…And that’s the only way anyone outside of our circle would know your plans,” she said, finishing my sentence. “That piece of shit bastard. That’s the reason he uploaded the pictures. He found a political gold mine when he broke into your house.”

“When do you think Sanders will release the pictures to the media?”

“I expect it within the next twenty-four hours. The moment Sanders learned you were considering a run against him, he’d view you as a credible threat, especially with your popularity at an all-time high and his at the lowest it has been in twenty years. He’s going to look for any way possible to discredit you.”

“That bastard would use my violation as a way to defame my character.”

“I told you from the beginning, politics is ruthless, but for a woman, it is twice as brutal. For political capital, my challenger accused me of sleeping my way to the top of my law firm. Those allegations not only hurt my reputation, but my family. I fought back with your help. Now it’s your turn.”

“I guess it has to happen.”

She knew what I meant without me saying it. “Yes.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow morning at the latest. I’ll file the paperwork you left with Tara and by eight a.m. it will be official.”

A lump formed in my stomach. The ball was rolling.

I wanted to take back control of my life, and now I was getting what I wished. Only it was happening leaps and bounds faster than I expected. I had hoped for a few more weeks to work on my marriage and figure out the next steps before making the announcement.

Oh God. How was Devin going to react?

“I’m scared, Tracy. What if…”

She cut me off. “Stop worrying. He’ll stand with you. He loves you. Why do you think my niece is such a bitch to you?”

“Who’s that?” I asked, and then it hit me. “Are you talking about Judge McGregor?”

“How did you not know this? She looks like a younger version of me.”

“I don’t keep up with your family tree.”

“Are you telling me you didn’t investigate the woman who your husband took to a charity gala?”

I felt a growl form in the back of my throat, and it required all my willpower to keep it in. “No. I was more concerned about the demise of my marriage and the fact I lived in our brand-new house alone.”

“You should be happy to know that Karen said she had an absolutely miserable time.”

“Why is that?” My mood lightened a little, and I moved to the kitchen, started the water kettle, and pulled out the French press, adding in a few scoops of coffee.

“Karen reported that the moment he saw you walk in with Veer George, he about lost it. He wanted to leave before the announcer introduced the first auction item.”

I remembered that night vividly. After Devin told me he couldn’t go with me to the gala since it could hurt his career, I’d called Veer. He never failed me and flew up for the event. I couldn’t deny that I had a great time with him, but it wasn’t the same as going with Devin.

When Veer dropped me at home later that evening, I encountered a very agitated Devin, who threw me over his shoulder and fucked me until I barely could speak my name.

“Dev has no right to be jealous.” The kettle beeped, and I poured the water over the coffee grounds. “For crying out loud, Veer’s like a brother to me.”

“Well, your husband thought otherwise. And that was the day Karen discovered you two had a thing going.”

Now I understood her disdain for me. She had to have felt used.

I shot a look toward the bedroom door. Oh Devin, you break hearts without knowing it.

He was so easy to love. He had a way about him that drew people in. I’d fallen for him the very day we’d met, twelve years earlier when I’d roomed with Jacinta at Stanford.

I’d come home to change before I went to a yoga class and to my surprise, the sexiest man I’d ever seen was sitting on my couch, wearing a Harvard Law T-shirt and watching TV. He didn’t notice me until I’d made some sarcastic comment about an enemy in Stanford territory. The moment our eyes locked, I was a goner.

“Damn. I just thought of something funny,” Tracy said with a laugh, snapping me from my thoughts.

“What’s that?”

“Jacinta Camden is about to get another notch in her candidate collecting belt. First, she enters the race for Senate, then she convinces Veer George to run for governor, and now you’re going to make an official announcement. I wish I were in her shoes. She’s going to get all the credit for influencing you to run.”

“I’m glad my personal and political angst is a competition between you and Jaci,” I muttered as I filled my cup to the brim and took a sip of the piping-hot brew. “Everyone is going to lose their minds when I break the news tonight and tell them why I’m making it official. Shit. It will have to wait until all the guests leave, and that will be close to midnight.”

“It’s the way it works, Samina. Your family’s approval isn’t going to change the course you’re taking. All I can say is enjoy today, and get ready for a roller-coaster ride.”

“Not helping, whatsoever.”

Tracy chuckled. “I’ll call you in the morning. Stop worrying about Devin.”

“That’s easy for you to say. I’m the one who has to inform my husband what we’re planning.”

“That’s marriage,” she said and hung up.

I placed my phone on the counter and took a deep breath.

Oh God. What was I going to do? I had to tell him.

Last night, we’d agreed to talk each step of our lives out. This was our chance to get it right, to fix the mess we’d created of our relationship. Now I’d made the official decision to run without consulting him.

Would he still support me when I was about to do to him the exact thing I was so angry with him for doing to me?

I released a deep breath and rested my face against the hard surface of the kitchen counter.

This was my life now. A game of strategy, a chess match where I had to outmaneuver the sitting king. The second the papers were filed, Senator Anthony Sanders would declare war on me, and he would use nude pictures of me to shame me. Everyone I knew would see them. My family would see them. What was Mommy going to think? Would she blame me as I expected Papa would? I could almost hear Richard telling me to get over it. But Carol didn’t deserve the media spectacle thrown on her.

Oh God, Jacinta. She’d blame herself. I’d have to make sure she understood this time I was going to fight for her and me.

I lifted my head to rest my face in my hands.

I’d better wake Dev and give him the not-so-good news.

“That view of your naked, round ass is priceless. A man always wants to see his sexy wife in her birthday suit first thing in the morning.”

I stood, turning to face a nude Devin, and quickly wiped the tear running down my face.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” The playfulness of his mood disappeared as he approached me.

“Dev, I have something to tell you.”

He stared at me and then ran a thumb along my damp cheek.

“Does it have to do with the pictures or the election?”

“Both,” I answered. “It’s going to make you into a public figure as much as I am.”

He continued to gaze into my eyes before he spoke. “I don’t care. Not right now.”

“This is important. I have to prepare you.”

“I said, I don’t care.” He cupped my face. “You can tell me later. Right now, I have to take care of you. Tell me what you need.”

My lips trembled as I gripped his forearms. In all our years together, he’d never put a critical discussion on the back burner.

He was giving me an out from talking about it. At least for the moment. I wanted to lose myself in him. To go back to last night, when it was just the two of us in a cabin in the woods by the river.

“Make love to me. Don’t let me think.”

“With pleasure.” He lips sealed over mine.

His kiss intoxicated me, taking my worry and replacing it with a desire only he could satisfy.

Soon our world would turn upside down and put our marriage to the test.

He fisted my hair, jerking my head back. “Focus on this. On me. Not on what’s inside your head.”

He slammed his mouth against mine again, sandwiching me between him and the counter. His erection was a firm rod between us.

The crisp hair on his chest rubbed against my nipples, causing them to pebble. The exquisite sensation made me cry out and made my arousal drip onto my thighs.

He used the opportunity to trail his tongue along the curve of my throat, down the valley between my breasts, and then to one tight, straining bud, which grew even harder with contact. He circled, teased, and laved until my legs couldn’t hold me up anymore.

I gripped the edge of the counter before I lost balance. Devin smirked and transferred his attention to my other aching nipple. His teeth bit into the sensitive flesh.

“Dev,” I cried out, and my pussy clenched from the pleasure-pain.

His mouth was magic. He made my flesh scream for attention and my pussy cream for anything and everything he had in store for me.

He lifted me against his body, carrying me to the breakfast table and then setting me on the edge. I tried to wrap my legs around him, but he pushed me onto my back. He journeyed lower, licking, kissing, and nibbling. Once he reached my quivering pussy, he spread my knees, settling my feet on each of his shoulders.

He tongued my sopping slit, back and forth, not going any deeper. My fingers clenched the beveled edge of the wood, and my legs shook.

I looked down to catch his gaze. He lifted a brow, telling me he knew what I desired but wasn’t going to give it to me until he was ready.

I released a low growl as he continued his teasing torture and blew on my pulsing clit. I moved my hands to my swollen breasts, cupping them and pinching the tips.

A rumble of satisfaction vibrated against my pussy lips, and I opened my eyes to find him watching me.

At that moment, he pushed between my pussy lips and straight into my core. His hands gripped my ass, bringing me closer to his exploring mouth. He circled my clit with his thumb and thrust it deep inside my clenching walls. My pussy quivered with each flick and stroke.

I soaked his face with my desire, wanting nothing more than to go over the edge.

I had to wait.

God. Why was he making me wait?

“Please, Dev. Please,” I begged. “Let me come.”

“Come for me, baby,” he murmured against my aching core.

My body responded on command. I screamed his name, clenching my pussy and my eyes tight. My body spasmed to his evil, delicious mouth.

I rode out my release, delirious with nothing but the need for pleasure.

Before I could come down, he had me rising again. I thrashed my head side to side and gripped his hair in a tight hold.

My second orgasm rose almost immediately, making my mind cloud once again.

“Oh, I don’t think so. You didn’t ask permission.” He pulled back, wiping his wet mouth against my inner thigh.

Protesting, I tried to hold him to me. “No, don’t leave me hanging.”

He slipped from my fingers and stood, ignoring my words.

His hard, angry cock dripped like a faucet and gave me a bit of satisfaction to see his tortured state. He pulled me toward him, brought my legs around his waist, and then lifted me into his arms.

Devin strode to the bedroom and laid me on the bed. He crawled over me, caging my body under his and holding my legs together with his thighs.

He gripped my jaw and peered down at me with eyes filled with lust and domination. “Who gives the commands, baby? Who holds the reins?”

“Me.” I jerked my face, but he held it firm.

“Wrong answer.” He lowered his body, grazing his beautiful, hard cock along the valley of my aching pussy and making me arch toward him. “If you want this, you have to answer truthfully.”

“Dammit, Devin. Fuck me, please.”

I gripped his shoulder and dug my nails in. He released my face and captured my wrists, pinning them above my head.

“That wasn’t very nice, brat.” He chuckled into my ear and then bit the lobe as the flared, angry head of his erection pressed and dripped on my clit. “I can keep this up as long as you want. Now tell me, who’s in charge?”

I panted, trying to focus on his face and not the rod teasing my pussy.

This was a game we’d played over and over throughout the years. We both knew Devin had a hold on me no one else ever would. No matter how it was in public, he’d always taken the reins in private. And I’d never had a problem with it.

My desires were a walking contradiction. I wanted control of my life but needed Dev to be in charge in the bedroom.

“Come on, baby. Give me the answer, and I’ll give you what you want.”

His cock rimmed the entrance of my pussy, pushing in and out in shallow thrusts and teasing my screaming clit.

I tried my best to pull my legs apart and angle him into my body, but Dev only squeezed his thighs tighter around me and prevented me from moving my lower body.

He pushed in farther and then pulled out to the tip, rubbing his flared head back and forth along the apex of my lower lips and making my clit throb to a point where I thought I’d lose my mind.

“You don’t seem to want it very badly.”

He lifted up, releasing his hold on me. I grabbed him before he could move too far.

He wouldn’t leave me like this. He couldn’t. Maybe I should have given him what he wanted, and then he’d fuck me the way I liked.

“Dev, please,” I pleaded.

He held my gaze, smiled, and pulled me onto his lap, positioning me against his erect cock but not where I wanted it. My pussy quivered as my arousal dripped onto his legs.

“All you have to do is answer a simple question.” He fisted my hair, angling my face toward his, and kissed me, but pulled back as I deepened it, and peered into my eyes. “Who’s in charge, baby?”

His voice softened, and the game was over as fast as it started. I cupped his face, running my thumb over his cheek.

“Who has memorized every gorgeous dip and curve of this body?” He ran a hand up my naked back. “Who’s the one who doesn’t deserve you but will love you until his dying breath?”

“Oh, Dev.”

“Answer me.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck. “You. It will always be you.”

He sealed our mouths in response. This time the kiss was filled with need on both our parts. He lowered me back onto the bed, one hand kneading my hip as the other cupped a breast. I spread my thighs to accommodate him, and in one swift move, he was deep inside me. Everything in me rippled to life. My pussy clenched and my nipples pebbled into harder peaks.

He stared into my eyes as he moved in and out, rubbing the sensitive spot deep inside my sopping core. My pussy quickened, and my back bowed against him.

“We’re going to make it.” Thrust. “We’re going to fix the mess we made.” Thrust. “And no matter what is thrown our way.” Thrust. “We will stand together. I love you, Sami. I’m not going to let you down ever again.”

His words released the lump I felt in the pit of my stomach. He would be my rock as we moved into the uncertain future. I loved him so much.

At that moment he changed his rhythm from soft to hard, pushing me to the place I’d begged him to take me.

This man unhinged me, consuming every part of my mind and body.

My core quivered one last time as an avalanche of emotion and release beat down on me. I squeezed and pulsed around Devin’s cock, saying words that made no sense. I continued to contract around him until he called my name and collapsed, filling me with his release and his love.