I flattened the eyelet collar of my dress as I walked into the living room. I tugged on the puffy sleeves and stood before Rogan.

"I'm a sick, sick man."

"Why?"

"Wanna pull up your skirt and lick you through your little girl undies."

"That doesn't make you sick."

"Doesn't it make me just as bad as him?"

"Not if I want you to do it."

"Let's go."

"Where? Should I change?"

"No. That dress is perfect."

He grabbed a duffel bag and his rifle bag and directed me down the stairs to his truck. We drove to Siege and parked in the employee parking lot.

He nodded to Brock in the bar and headed up a back staircase I'd never seen before. He opened a door and inside the room was a bed and some chairs around a dining table. He took one of the chairs and placed it in the center of the room.

"They have rooms up here?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

He pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his bag.

"What's going on here?"

"If Cutlass and I are right, there's a pretty good chance your dad's gonna treat you like a hostage. He'll probably restrain you and verbally attack you. I need you to be prepared."

"What do I say?"

"You escaped from the terrorists when they were moving locations. You ran to the American Army base and the military helped you get back to the States. My team and I did not rescue you."

"Okay."

"My name is Rogan Saxton. I work security at Siege. You met me through your job. I'm your boyfriend. I'm going to sponsor you out of there."

"Oh. Okay."

"No matter what happens, do not mention Delta Force or anything I've told you regarding my work with the unit. The FBI doesn't know how we met. None of their business and immaterial to their case."

"I won't. I promise."

"He'll pressure you and know how to get to you. Your father is a diabolical narcissist. Men like him will sink their own ship if you get them talking. The feds will be recording through the cam in your necklace."

I nodded.

"Hands behind your back."

I did as he said, and my legs started to shake.

He snapped the cuffs into place. "Sit in the chair."

I sat and peered up at him. He pulled a cotton rope from his bag and approached me. His face went blank. My heart pounded like a loud gong in the silent room.

He wrapped the rope around my shoulders, crossed it over my torso, and tied it in the back. He bound my ankles to the feet of the chair so my legs were spread under my dress.

"I won't hurt you. You're safe. If you need to stop, say tourmaline. I'm gonna push you. Try to stick it out till the end."

He backed up into a corner till I couldn't see him anymore. I felt his eyes on me and counted my heavy breaths.

When he emerged from the shadows, his whole demeanor had changed. A hardened warrior stood in front of me.

"Where the hell have you been, Vanity? We were worried sick over you."

I pressed my lips together, not sure how to reply.

"How did you get out of Afghanistan? I didn't pay the ransom."

"I escaped when they were moving. I ran to the American base, and they helped me."

"Why'd you come here today?"

"I wanted to see my sisters and brothers. To say goodbye." I lowered my head. Even pretending to say these words was difficult.

"Goodbye? You cannot leave without a sponsor from the outside."

"I have one. He'll sponsor me."

"You fucking him?"

My head snapped up, and I glared at Rogan. I didn't think my dad would be so vulgar, but Rogan probably knew this kind of thing better than me. He wasn't breaking character and kept his face stern and intimidating.

"No."

Rogan spread my knees and his heat warmed me as he stood between them.

"How did you meet him?"

"Through work. He's my boyfriend."

"If you're fucking him, Vanity, I'll kill Milo."

"No. No. I'm not. I promise."

"I don't believe you." Rogan wrapped his hand around my neck and squeezed.

"Please. Stop." My voice came out breathy and unconvincing.

"You're weak. Feeble children like you are an embarrassment to God. I should've killed you to keep you from this imbecile you've chosen."

His hand tightened, and I struggled to breathe. I reached deep inside and found my joy. I wrapped it around me like a cloak of armor.

"You know what, Dad? I am fucking him—morning and night. He makes me come so hard, I can't get enough. I suck his dick. I swallow his seed. I've tasted hell and I love it."

"Vanity…"

"He loves me and my damned soul. If this is hell, I'm staying because it's fucking heaven."

Rogan's eyes darkened. The air between us became charged with the voltage I always feel when I'm near him.

"Tourmaline," he said with purpose. Was he ending the game?

His hands gripped the sides of my head and his thumbs tilted my chin up. His scent hit me as he bent to nuzzle my ear. "You did great. You're so strong. All tied up. Under pressure. You didn't lose your composure. Made it longer than I did." He peppered small kisses along my cheek.

I turned my head to capture his mouth. He pulled my bottom lip with his teeth and I whimpered. As our tongues met, my body ignited into a raging inferno. His hands clenched in my hair and tugged me deeper into the kiss. He released my head and trailed his hands down my sides to my thighs. The fabric of my skirt mashed against my skin as he massaged my legs and slowly inched it higher, driving me absolutely wild for him.

He got down on his knees and looked up at me as he lifted my skirt to the tops of my thighs. "I wanna give you some good memories to bring in with you for strength."

He bent and licked my panties. I trembled as the hot wetness from his tongue penetrated the cotton fabric.

He unbuttoned the dress in the back and worked it under the rope, down my front to below my white cotton bra. He pulled the cups down and propped my breasts on top of them. "When you're with him, you think of this." His big hands caressed my breasts and his thumbs skimmed my nipples. "You'll never be scared."

Rogan pressed something thick and hard against my panties.

"What's that?"

With a click, an intense vibration buzzed at my entrance.

"This, my love, is a vibrating dildo. You're gonna spend some quality time with it."

He moved my panties aside and worked the dildo into my opening. I moaned and arched my neck, pulling against the ropes and cuffs as he slid it in deeper.

He shoved it all the way in, and I gasped as the buzzing spread through my body. My entire existence revolved around the vibrations at my core.

"Oh my— "

"Hush."

He rotated it and something hit my clit. "Ahh!"

"Shh." With his whisper in my ear, the heat of his presence disappeared. He left me alone with this incessant pounding on my clit.

"Rogan?"

I wiggled to get it off the spot, but that only intensified the vibe.

"Oh God!"

After the shock wore off, I realized what he was doing. He wanted me to feel alone and be brave and take it. So, I let go, wiggling till the vibe hit me just right.

I pushed my breasts out and writhed on the vibrator, knowing he was watching and he'd go nuts.

"Rogan…" My breathless plea was for him to leave me be. I loved this. Not being able to stop it, knowing he thought it was hot, and he was doing this for me.

I widened my knees as far as I could in my constraints, wrapped my toes around the legs of the chair, and lifted my hips.

See me here? I'm alone and strong and I love that you gave me this.

He grunted—the first sound he'd made since he'd left me.

In my head, he'd taken out his massive cock and held it in his hand. He couldn't refrain any longer. In the corner, he eagerly waited for me to go over the edge so he could come back and take me.

Guess what, my love? You can wait.

With a sharp wrench of my hips, I shifted the vibrator off my clit. My breasts heaved as I caught my breath.

The dildo still buzzed ruthlessly inside me, but my threatening orgasm faded.

"Put it back." His gruff voice reverberated from the dark void to my left.

"Ah, so you are here."

"Put it back on your clit."

"You come put it back."

The seconds ticked by with my challenge looming between us. I was about to give in when he stepped out of the shadows, stroking his cock as he stalked to me.

With his free hand, he twisted the vibe back and stared me down. "Now, babe. Come now!"

And I did. He groaned as he watched my mouth drop open and my body convulse on the vibe. He held it in place for me while I rode it out.

"Enough!" I cried.

"Alright."

The vibe clicked off, and I sighed as the incredible feeling of fullness left me. Before I could catch my breath, he uncuffed my hands and loosened the rope at my torso and legs. He pulled my ugly dress over my head and tossed it aside. One arm behind my back lifted me from the chair, the other worked off my panties and bra. I held on around his neck and helped him through kisses as he carried me to the bed. I took of his clothes and the scorching heat flowed between us like molten lava. We fell to the bed with me on my back and him on top of me. "So fucking strong. My girl." I wrapped my legs around him as his cock found my opening and thrust inside.

He pounded into me deep and steady, mashing my clit with his abdomen and kissing me while he did it. Rogan filled me. My life was full with Rogan and our love. His breathing sped up and his forceful body controlled me. I was under him and at his mercy. But he was Rogan, I could trust him with anything. Another orgasm raced through me and I clenched around him. He moaned and pressed his open mouth to my neck, his teeth digging in. His cock stayed buried to the root as he came inside me. We pulsed together in a huge mass of humanity. We held on to each other as our breathing evened out and our bodies relaxed.

He kissed me slow and sexy. "Love you, babe."

"Love you too."

***

We cuddled in the bed in the room for a long time. I had a thought niggling in my mind and decided to bring it up. "About the future. I have one concern."

"Mmm. What's that?"

"You leave. When the going gets tough, all I see is your back through the door. That leaves me behind, alone—no family around—to deal with whatever happened. You take Takoda with you, and I don't even have her to comfort me. I can handle it now. I'm strong, I can be alone and I understand you need that time. But if you let me love you, then we have to face these times together. We hold each other through it. Let me have that. Can I have that part of you?"

He stared into my eyes. "Can't promise you I won't leave, babe." My heart sank. "I'm glad you get it's how I process when shit gets too close. But I can give you this. I'll come running home to you the second my feet hit the soil. I'll give you every part of me I can, but you gotta be patient too. I'm stretching. I'm trying. But leaving the way I've been for a long time isn't gonna come natural to me."

"Are you still going on James Bond missions to combat zones?"

"Brightman kept her end of the bargain. I'm obligated to keep mine."

"Forever?"

"Until they don't need me anymore. It's my skill set. I'm the best at what I do."

"I know and you're my hero, but if you're gonna give me Boggs, I don't want to lose him."

"Need you to accept me as I am. I do black ops. It's dangerous. I can get called out anytime and I might not come back. I know that sucks and it's unfair to ask, but this is my job. It kept us apart for too long, now I'm asking you to accept it."

"Of course. I love you and all that comes with you. I'm with you no matter what. Just... please think about some less hazardous options."

He kissed my nose. "I'll consider it."