Breaking Her Rules (2 page)

because she’d planned to get a quickie divorce. Of course Wyatt wasn’t making that easy on her.

She wished she could be surprised that Wyatt was here, but after a month of arguing every time

they spoke on the phone—and him ignoring her request for a divorce or annulment—she’d known

he’d be visiting her in Miami soon. She just hadn’t expected it to be
this
soon. Their marriage had been a giant mistake. It wasn’t like they could base a relationship on hot sex. Okay, maybe there was a little more than that between them. Wyatt was one of the few people who knew where she came

from. Hell, the man knew more about her than almost anyone, but they were too different and if they tried to make their so-called marriage work, in the end they’d just resent each other when it didn’t work out. She’d seen first-hand what happened when a volatile marriage didn’t work out and she

never wanted to get to the point where she hated Wyatt. Or worse, he hated her. She’d never be what he needed and Iris would rather make a clean break. Neat and tidy.

How she liked her life.

Even if her insides were a quivering mess, she refused to let anyone see how affected she was. But

once this job was over tonight, she planned to have more than just a glass of wine. Yeah, tonight was definitely a whiskey night.

Chapter 2

Wyatt barely contained the primitive urge to chase after his
wife
, throw her over his shoulder and get the hell out of there. This was the last place he wanted to be. He avoided parties like this

whenever possible, but he was out of patience where Iris was concerned. He’d waited a fucking

month for her to come to her senses—and come back to him. He wasn’t waiting anymore. Not when

she belonged with him.

Always had.

He watched her walk away from him, her long, lean body moving with a liquid grace that got him

impossibly hot. She’d done that to him since they were teenagers. They’d both grown up in a small

Georgia town that might as well have been the middle of nowhere. He’d been the son of the town

drunk and her mother had been one of the few Native Americans living there. Because of small-

minded, ignorant assholes they’d both been looked down upon because of their families so they’d

formed a fast friendship at a young age. When they’d been just ten-years-old he’d caught some

redneck boys calling her racist slurs and bullying her on her way home from school. Well,
trying
to.

Before he had a chance to step in and defend her, she decked one of the boys right across the face, breaking his nose and nailed the other in the groin.

Fucking tough.

She’d always been like that and he loved it. Hell, that day he’d fallen a little in love with her. Even if the job she worked now scared the hell out of him, he needed her in his life. Needed her more than his next breath. Wyatt didn’t want her protecting other people, putting herself in danger on a daily basis. He got hives just thinking about it.

Watching her in that skintight black dress that hugged her curves in all the right places as she held onto another man’s arm was making him crazy. She’d secured her silky dark hair back against her

neck in a complicated looking twist. It wasn’t for fashion; Wyatt knew that much about his Iris. It was so her hair wouldn’t get in her way if she needed to move fast. But he’d seen it down, had felt it

splayed against his bare chest as she slept on him. Dark brown hair that looked midnight black in the right lighting. He craved to run his fingers through it, to cup her head and pull her body tight against his. And what a body—long, lean and perfect. When she was younger she’d been self-conscious

about being too thin, but she’d grown into her body and her breasts…he’d been fantasizing about them for a long damn time. A month ago he’d finally had one of his fantasy questions answered when he

discovered the color of her nipples; dark brown. He’d also found out her favorite sexual positions

and what she sounded and looked like when she came.

Even if he knew it was just part of her job, his possessive side didn’t want to listen to her order.

And he actually liked Gene Berr. The man was smart and honest to deal with. The latter was

something Wyatt considered very important. He dealt with a lot of sharks in his world—he could be

one himself—but he wouldn’t deal with liars. Still, he didn’t like anyone touching Iris.

One of the men he’d noticed earlier, who was definitely part of Iris’s security team, no matter how much he was trying to blend in, eyed Wyatt suspiciously as he strode toward the stairs. The man’s

pale blue eyes were a bright contrast against his dark skin. Wyatt guessed the man used that look to intimidate people when he wanted. It was a waste of time on him.

Ignoring him and the others he knew were with Iris, he headed for the stairs, following her and

Berr at a distance that wouldn’t make the team feel threatened. He wasn’t interested in the three

companies being sold off, but when he’d learned Iris would be here tonight, Wyatt had orchestrated

an invite. It was time they figured things out between them.

Once inside the expansive conference room, their host, Palmer Oakes, liked to conduct business in,

Wyatt’s gaze immediately tracked Iris. She stood by one of the wood-paneled walls, her alert

espresso colored eyes taking in everything and everyone. Assessing and calculating, she was ready to move into action at a moment’s notice. She wavered when her gaze raked over him. Just for a

moment, but he had no doubt that he unnerved her.

Good.

While he wanted her to acknowledge him a hell of a lot more than that, now wasn’t the time or the

place. He gave her a look he hoped she understood. Soon they would talk and he’d have her flat on

her back, underneath him, and crying out his name as she climaxed around his cock.

Very soon.

Her dark eyes widened as if she’d read his mind before she glanced away and he felt the loss

immediately. Sighing, he rolled his shoulders once. Now he needed to act like the civilized

businessman he was and get this shit over with. Nodding at Berr, Oakes and the fourth man joining

them for the night, he sat with them at the end of the long, rectangular conference table and let the negotiations begin.

There were only two security personnel in the room, including Iris. Everyone else had been left

outside. Wyatt had left his own men downstairs. The party was well guarded and he knew this room

was military-level secure, having been in it more than once. Oakes dealt with various government

contracts and though Wyatt preferred to deal with the private sector, he occasionally worked with the government. Hell, he had a huge deal lined up with a certain branch and negotiations were slated to start next month.

Barely two minutes into their negotiations, Berr received a phone call. From out of the corner of

his eye, Wyatt noticed Iris touch her ear, clearly in contact with one of her security team. After a few moments of one word responses, Berr abruptly stood, shoving the chair back against the hardwood

floor. “Gentlemen, I have to go. I apologize.”

Iris straightened and stepped toward him, her low heels clicking against the floor. She clearly

knew what was going on because she gave Berr a brisk nod. “Let’s go.”

Worry for Iris built inside him. Even though he had no idea what was going on, Wyatt knew when

she stepped outside that door she’d once again be putting herself in danger. Unable to stop himself, he stood and crossed the floor before they reached the door. “Iris,” he said quietly.

Her hand was gripping Berr’s upper arm as if she had to hold him up. The man’s face was pale and

worried, but Wyatt ignored him.

Iris’s dark eyebrows rose slightly, her expression wary. “Yes?”

“Will you call me tonight?” God help him, he needed to know she was safe. Even if she only called

and spoke to him for a few seconds, he just wanted to hear her voice.

She paused, the moment seeming to stretch on for an eternity. He hated making himself vulnerable

in front of anyone, especially a room full of sharks who would rip apart any perceived weakness, but at the moment he didn’t care.

Iris was and always had been his weakness.

“Of course,” she murmured, her eyes softening for just a second before her familiar mask fell back

into place.

Then she and Berr were gone.

* * * * *

Iris kept a firm grip on Berr’s upper arm as they headed down the stairs. This time the team didn’t bother trying to be invisible to the partygoers. In addition to her, they surrounded him in a tight circle as they hurried through the house.

“I’m not going to collapse,” Berr muttered as they eventually reached the waiting SUV. Vincent

was already in the driver’s seat as she helped Berr into the backseat.

“I know.” But she figured he might need the support right now and didn’t want to admit it. “She’s

fine, so you’ll be fine too.” Iris knew saying the words out loud would help him stay calm on the

drive to Loretta’s house. They’d received word from one of her team that Loretta’s house had been

broken into while Berr had been at the meeting tonight. Turns out Berr wasn’t the one being stalked, Loretta was. By one of Berr’s exes. The gunshot she’d suffered earlier in the week hadn’t been

intended for Berr. Now Iris was incredibly thankful she’d left two extra men to guard Loretta.

It had saved the woman’s life tonight.

“I should have been there with her.” He glanced out the tinted window as they zoomed away.

“She insisted you go and Loretta is forceful.” The petite woman with flawless skin had been laid

up with a gunshot wound and she’d still been a little terrifying.

“I should have—”

“There’s nothing you could have done. And she’s
alive
.” That was what mattered. According to her teammate, the woman who’d wanted to hurt Loretta was now dead, one of Red Stone’s guys

having been forced to kill her in self-defense.

Iris figured that it might take Berr a while to come to terms with the fact that a woman he’d once

been involved with had tried to kill someone important to him—and was now dead. She rubbed a

hand over her face.
What a mess.

There would be a whole lot of paperwork and a trip down to the police station tonight. She didn’t

have to go, but if one of her men was filling out a report and being interviewed by the police, she wanted to be there with him. Iris also had a feeling that her boss, Harrison Caldwell, would show up too. And he’d bring a lawyer or two.

They drove in silence, taking only fifteen minutes to arrive at the quiet, middle class neighborhood on the outskirts of the downtown area. She could see the flashing blue and red lights bouncing off the trees of the dead end street before they’d reached the one-story cottage style home.

There were four police cars, two ambulances, a fire truck and two black SUVs Iris knew were

owned by Red Stone. Oh yeah, total mess. Before Vincent had even parked, Berr had jumped from the

backseat and was sprinting across the asphalt.

“Crap,” she muttered, unsnapping her own seat belt and following suit.

A police officer with blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun held up a hand as Berr neared the

cordoned off area. The cops hadn’t taped anything off, but they’d set up small cones signaling where civilians weren’t allowed past and Berr didn’t look as if he planned to stop for anyone.

“Sir—” The woman stopped as Loretta cut her off with a shout.

“Gene!” Loretta sat on the back of one of the ambulances, a uniformed EMT in front of her. She

waved a hand, swatting at the man who tried to stop her, and slid off her seat. Wearing a knee-length purple tube top-style dress, her bandaged shoulder was visible but she looked well enough

considering everything. While her face was pale, she was definitely relieved to see Berr.

Berr didn’t pause as he crossed the distance between them. Loretta looked like she was about to

say something, but Berr kissed her hard. Even though he was Iris’s client and she was supposed to be watching him at all times, Iris turned to the side to give them a little privacy. She ruthlessly buried the unwanted emotions that built inside her as she thought of the closeness she’d shared with Wyatt only a month ago. He’d kissed her the same way Berr was kissing Loretta now. The need and hunger

emanating off both of them was almost palpable. And she so did not need to see that. Not when she

was already a conflicting mess of emotions.

She found Vincent hovering behind her. Kell and another Red Stone agent were talking to the

female officer, no doubt letting her know who they were and why they were there.

For the next few minutes Iris and Vincent kept an eye on Berr and Loretta who couldn’t keep their

hands off each other. Eventually Vincent opened his big mouth, just like she knew he would. “How is it that you’re married, Iris? And how come none of us know about it? And why weren’t we invited to

the wedding?”

“Seriously?” Her head snapped up and she glared at him. He wanted to talk about this in front of a

client? Well, Berr wasn’t exactly in hearing range, but the timing was inappropriate. Besides, she

couldn’t find the right words to tell her coworkers that she’d had a quickie marriage in Vegas a month ago but now wanted a divorce without sounding like a flake. It was too personal and she didn’t want others knowing all about her business. Her private life was just that. Private.

Kell tried to smother a laugh with a cough as he strode up to them. It was a pathetic attempt.

“What? I’m curious.” Vincent shrugged, those pale eyes of his flashing with amusement.

She half nodded in Berr’s direction, hoping Vincent would get the hint, but the client was now feet away from them and looking at her. Iris glanced over his shoulder to find Loretta talking to a police officer and an EMT.