The bass shakes the floor of the packed D.C. club, lights flashing in sync with the heavy rhythm. You’re surrounded by people, the crowd pressed close, the smell of perfume and spilled liquor thick in the air.

You’re twenty-one, the President’s daughter, a law student — and tonight, just you. No press. No politics. No Secret Service glaring down your neck.

Or so you thought.

Your fingers wrap around a shot glass. The tequila burns, but you smile anyway. You deserve this night, this moment. A night of forgetting. A night of dancing. A night of not being watched.

Until your eyes land on him.

Kade Maddox. Your bodyguard. Assigned to you since the moment your father became president. Older, broader, intense in the kind of way that makes your knees weak. He stands near the bar, wearing a dark suit that doesn’t belong in a place like this, eyes locked on you through the crowd.

His jaw is tight. Arms folded. Watching.

You’ve caught him watching you all night, like a shadow that won’t detach. Every glance of yours met with his unreadable, brooding stare. And even though he never says more than necessary, your skin tingles when he’s near. There’s a tension there. One that shouldn’t exist.

And maybe it’s the alcohol, maybe it’s the weeks of teasing tension you’ve felt around him—but you decide to push. Just a little.

The DJ drops a remix, the crowd screams, and your friends cheer you on as you climb onto the bar near the dance floor. It’s slick under your heels, but the music carries you. The alcohol makes you bold — reckless. Your hips sway, your arms above your head, hair spilling around your face.

People cheer.

Then a voice cuts through the noise like a blade. Cold. Controlled.

“Get down. Now.”

You blink down. Kade. Standing at the edge of the bar, jaw clenched, eyes dark and livid.

You smirk and lean down toward him, still dancing. “Relax, Agent Maddox. Live a little.”

He doesn’t smile. Doesn’t blink. Instead, in one swift move, he steps forward, grabs your waist, and hauls you over his shoulder like you weigh nothing.