Rule's Addiction (6 page)

“Hello,” she said as nonchalantly as possible. Feeling as if she suddenly had no strength, she dropped her gym bag down to the floor and stepped all the way to the back of the car, finding the corner where she held onto the railings with both hands.

He gave her nothing more than a chin-lift in answer, turning to the control panel. When he didn’t press a button for another floor, and immediately noticing the way he was dressed, it became obvious to her that he was probably going down to the gym earlier than he usually did.
Damn it!

The doors slid closed and they began to move, and just as her mind was going crazy trying to figure a way out of having to use the gym with him in attendance, he lifted his hand and slammed a button on the control panel with a force that made her jump. The lift slid to a jarring halt between floors.

Chapter Three

Every other concern flew from Maria’s head as Garrett silently turned to face her, the muscles of his neck cording and a tic appearing in his cheek.

Her tongue slid out and she licked her dry lips. “Why’d you do that?” Panic began to infiltrate as his eyes ran up and down her form.

“It’s my elevator.” His words held both ownership and threat . . . and they seemed to be claiming more than the elevator.

Immediate tension mounted as she realized that it could be a long, long while before another employee tried to use this particular elevator. Attempting to quell her nerves, she said in a smooth voice that she would have been proud of if she hadn’t been scared shitless, “And I’d like out of it, please.”

“All right, no problem.” Even as he answered agreeably, he didn’t try to fulfill her request in any other way. All he did was lean against the wall not two feet away from her, crossing his arms over his chest and his feet at the ankles, as if they were going to be there for a while.

He made no move to do her bidding, and Maria tried to breathe evenly as she took in his jacked-up physique. He was wearing basketball shorts and a tight-fitting, sleeveless t-shirt, and tennis shoes that probably cost ten times what hers had. His biceps were massive, his calves held definition that was more than impressive, and he was no less intimidating dressed as he was now than when he wore a tailored suit and was sitting behind a desk. In fact, with his muscles on full display, she felt her heart skip a beat. Adding to her already stretched nerves was the fear she tried every day of her life to overcome.
Claustrophobia
.

She’d gotten stuck in a small tool shed at a house belonging to one of her mother’s friends when she’d been about six years old. The women had been catching up and hadn’t noticed she’d wandered off. She’d been missing for probably a good half hour when they eventually found her, dazed, dehydrated and traumatized at finding herself in a dark, locked shed that smelt musty, as if it didn’t contain enough oxygen. A frisson ran through her at the memory, still so vivid in her mind. Her life hadn’t been the same since, and even now, confined spaces were enough to make her heart skip a beat and perspiration break out all over. It was a minor miracle that she rode the elevator alone in the first place, it took everything she had, and she always made sure she carried her phone.

Now, with the conveyance at a complete standstill and Garrett Rule standing over her as if he had no intention of letting her out of the enclosed compartment any time soon, her insides were enduring a double dose of apprehension.

As she stayed in the back corner, resolutely refusing to tell him of her fear, he turned and put a shoulder to the wall, facing her completely. Her blood began pumping triple time, as he did nothing but lean against the wall and continue to stare at her.

She didn’t know what she was scared of, exactly. She was usually less afraid inside an elevator when another person was with her.

And she certainly wasn’t afraid of Garrett.

No freaking way. She wasn’t afraid of him.
She wasn’t
. And she wasn’t attracted to him.
She wasn’t.
Sure, he had awesome good looks, and an awesome voice, but the son-of-a-bitch knew all of that. So what was there to be attracted to? She
refused
to be attracted to him.

So what was she afraid of here? She didn’t know exactly, but her heart rate was telling her she was terrified.

“It’s been a month,” he finally announced.

“A month?” How she managed to respond she hadn’t a single clue.

“Since I came to Florida,” he answered as if that explained it all.

“Yeah, so?”
Okay, that’s good, Maria. Totally sounded confident. Bad-ass
.

His face turned into lines of antagonism. “I’ve waited a goddamn month, Maria.”

For what?
Jesus Christ, were her legs shaking? Where the hell had her damn confidence gone? “For what?”

He pushed away from the wall and took a step toward her. “What do you think?”

The butterflies in her stomach won out as her palms began sweating. “I don’t know—”

“Bullshit.” With the word still ringing in her ears, he kicked her gym bag away and reached out a hand, wrapping his fingers around her wrist. She was forced to let go of the rail, and in seconds her torso was flush against his as he held her caged in the corner, her wrist manacled in his hand and held to the wall.

She felt her eyes widen and her breath snag. He was leaning down, his face in hers, his body pressed to hers with a masculine force that introduced his erection to her stomach without preamble. She began to pant. “You can’t do this. It’s illegal—”

“Yeah, just like I couldn’t ask how old you are. That was illegal, wasn’t it? Just like I couldn’t ask you if you were married or had ever been married. But I finally broke down and asked you those questions, didn’t I? I asked you that and more. Didn’t I?”

A stroke of anger rose up and bled together with her panic.
So, the gloves were coming off? Oh, goody.
“Yes
, asshole.”
she got out between pants.

His brows drew down even further at her unconcealed belligerence. “So we both know I don’t have a problem crossing the line with you.”

“
You’re insane
, she bit out, throwing her head back, almost completely forgetting about the enclosed space in which she was virtually trapped. “I’m going to sue your fucking ass for everyth—” It was the last word she got out before his mouth dropped down and cut off both her voice and her oxygen. His lips were hot, hard, and possessive as they covered hers with a force that left her reeling. Unable to compute that this was really happening, her brain went into meltdown as her anger blended with the raw attraction she felt for him. Lights went off in her head as his thumb began pressing against the pulse point in her wrist at the same time that his tongue plunged into her mouth, demanding more.

A primitive thrill shot up her spine and momentarily, she forgot how much she hated him as she gave him what he wanted. She began to wrap her free hand around his neck, but within seconds, he made a grab for it, fisting it in his fingers and lifting it over her head, holding her hostage against the wall.

Securing her firmly, he kissed her repeatedly, his tongue delving inside her mouth and exploring every inch he could seem to reach. He growled low in his throat, biting her bottom lip as if punishing her for something, before pressing his tongue back inside as if he owned her and always had.

He pushed his erection against her stomach, thrusting his hips back and forth just as he thrust his tongue inside her mouth. Imprisoned by his hands, Maria began to sink under his erotic spell. She tried to kiss him back, but the force he was using gave her no room to do anything but attempt to keep breathing through the sexual, erotic assault she was experiencing. As if he needed oxygen as much as she did, he lifted his mouth and took huge dregs of air before rasping,
“I’ve wanted to fuck you since the first time I heard your voice.”

Maria’s eyes snapped open and found his demonic gaze leveled on hers. As his words sank in, she fought for breath. There was something about that particular declaration that was telling her that she needed to come to attention. There was something she wasn’t getting . . . something that was tickling her poor brain, but wasn’t computing because she wasn’t firing on all cylinders.

She felt him transfer both of her wrists to one large hand and then, with an arm free, he slid his fingers down, over her shoulder, between her breasts, to land on her naked thigh just below the hem of her gym shorts.

He grumbled again, low in his chest, almost as if he owned her,
“Want to fuck you.”

Although her faculties were barely working, something about his blunt, fevered words was setting off alarm bells, and her anger came roaring back to save her as her muscles stiffened. “Well, you
can’t
fuck me, asshole.”

Ignoring her words, his frown intensified even as he gripped her mound, rubbing it, massaging it with a firm grasp. Maria fought the pull to her senses and growled low in warning, “Let go, Garrett.”

“
No fucking way.”
With a quick motion, he slid his hand from outside her shorts to the hem and then he pushed aside the crotch of both her shorts and panties.

She sucked in a breath at the feel of his touch on her most intimate flesh. Pushing against the hands that held her, she began squirming against him, trying to get free.
“Don’t you fucking dare.”

The only answer she received was a low rumble in his chest as his finger slid through her wet folds.
Wet . . . damn it, Maria.
“Garrett.
Don’t.”

She sucked in a breath as he circled her damp opening.

“Ask me nicely,” he hissed in tones of steel.

“I’m going to sue you nicely if you don’t
let me go!”

His finger stayed exactly where it was while they stared at each other. One second, two seconds—

She was just about to lose it and push against him when he withdrew from her clothing only to slide his hand up to her chin and lift it. “I’m going to give you fair warning, baby. That shit you pulled on me today? Don’t turn it on for me if you don’t want me to react, understand?”

“I didn’t do anything,” she denied hotly, knowing she was lying.

“Oh, I think you did,” he answered, gripping her harder.

“Bullshit,” she spit out.

“Bullshit,” he retaliated.

“Fuck you,” she hissed, so angry she thought her head might explode.

It was on the tip of his tongue; she could see it was on the tip of his tongue. If he’d been mad before, his anger had just etched up another notch. His eyes became pointed and his stance widened just that much . . . preparing himself to dominate her where she stood. His hand bit into the flesh of her chin while the fingers he held her imprisoned with turned into bands of iron. She felt it coming . . . she reared back as far as she could go but it didn’t help.

His expected verbal retaliation came in the form of an erotic, physical assault on her body and senses. His mouth fell back to hers and he began kissing her like a madman. He stroked inside her mouth, taking what she was refusing to give. He punished her with his tongue, he retaliated with his lips and his teeth, his kiss animalistic. Lifting his head, his eyes almost hypnotized her with their intensity. “I don’t care for smart-ass little girls like you.”

“Fuck y—”

Her insult was silenced by his lips on hers. He kissed her as if she were his. He kissed her as if he had every right to proceed any damn way he pleased. And damn him, even his anger was addictive. His scent was masculine, musky, crisp and infinitely appealing to her. And if she allowed it, it could do things to her that she wouldn’t be able to control.

Her pulse went spinning. It was damn hard to stay coherent when her body wanted nothing more than to let go. But she couldn’t do it. She wouldn’t. There was something about Garrett Rule, something that had told her from the very beginning that he wasn’t
safe.
If she slept with him, he’d either toss her aside or . . . or he’d take her over completely, and she’d be pulled along for the ride with him in full control, whether she wanted to be or not.

And that wasn’t going to happen. She could probably deal with being tossed aside, but there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that she was going to stand still and let him run roughshod all over her. Wasn’t. Going. To. Happen.

With every ounce of physical and mental strength she possessed, she ripped her mouth from his and turned her head away from him. Her eyes flew open and she stared at the wall, listening to her heartbeat in her ears while she was vaguely aware of his own fight for oxygen. She could tell he was staring at her profile, and she closed her eyes in denial.

This couldn’t be happening. She’d fought for too hard and for too long for her place in this hotel; she wasn’t going to give it all up just because this man waltzed inside, bought the place, and then tried to not only take it over, but her as well.

****

What the hell was he doing? Garrett released Maria’s hands and her arms immediately came down and crossed over her chest, her face held rigidly averted from him, as she turned away so that he was left to study her profile.