Rule's Property (The House of Rule Book 2) (18 page)

She must have seen him walk by, because after that, her door had been firmly closed. At five on the dot, he went by again. Her office door was open but she wasn't there. Grimacing, he took the elevator up.

Thank God, he heard her moving around her suite.

Not wanting to rush her, trying his damn best to be
considerate
, he ordered in food and went to have a shower before it was delivered.

An hour later, he knocked on her door. "Hey. You want to come eat with me?"

A few seconds passed and then her door opened. She was dressed in faded jeans and a university t-shirt, and without meeting his eyes, she went into the kitchen.

He leaned against the counter as she opened the boxes, and the sight of her bare ring finger almost did him in.

In silence, she prepared a plate for him and then a smaller version for herself. They ate together, sitting casually on the barstools, and just as quickly as she'd consumed the tiny helping, she left the room, mumbling, "I have a headache. I'm going to soak in the tub. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he gritted out, frustration and utter helplessness eating him alive.

****

For two solid weeks, their days and evenings followed the same routine. They went to work, went upstairs to the penthouse, ate in silence, and then Courtney would shut herself inside her room.

Ever since Courtney had begun working in the Rule Tower, she'd spent very few nights at the house with his mother, and only when he'd been out of town. Nick assumed the family thought they were just roommates, sharing the penthouse. He'd had no conversations with anyone in his family about it, and Courtney's belongings were still scattered between both locations.

She still wouldn't open up to Nick and day by long-suffering day, he continued to give her time to come to grips, leaving her almost completely to herself. But every time she left the building, which was rare, he experienced a flare of panic, and had to force himself not to demand she stay; he had to force himself not to follow her, to give her some space.

Finally admitting the truth; he knew he'd been scared to push her, afraid she'd make a move to end the marriage. He didn't like the admission; the knowledge pissed him off. It went against every instinct he had within himself not to take action.

But as the days and nights went by with zero to little interaction between them, he felt his anger and frustration begin to boil to the surface. He knew he couldn't go on like this much longer; he was fast getting tired of this shit. The time he'd been giving her to realize that they belonged together was about up.

His mood shifting even lower, he remembered their last real conversation where she'd so prettily told him that she loved the man he'd become, would love him
forever
while at the same time explaining
why they couldn't be together
. Resentment built like a time bomb in his gut.

So, she liked the man he'd become? That was damn good, because she was about to find out that he
always
got what he wanted. And in this case, what he wanted was marriage to her
forever.

Yeah, damn, fucking good she liked the man he'd become.

She was about to get to know that man a little more fully.

Chapter Eight

Nick reached his breaking point a day later and there was no way he could allow Courtney to slip away from him again. He opened a bottle of wine, and when he called her from her room to eat supper, he had everything already laid out in the living room, ready for a casual meal at the coffee table.

He'd chosen a new release movie, an instant download, and as she sat, he asked if she'd seen it. Shaking her head, she glanced around with a look of mild panic before reluctantly sinking onto the sofa where he'd strategically placed her meal next to his.

He knew the change of location and the bottle of wine were causing that look of fear on her face, but son-of-a-bitch, he was fighting for his
life
here, for
their
happiness. Pushing her anxiety from his mind, he refused to change the course he'd set out for the evening.

As they picked up their plates, he pressed the remote to start the light comedy. He had everything planned out.
Nothing could go wrong
. Earlier, he'd taken a break from work and slipped upstairs to her suite of rooms and had easily found the box that contained her wedding rings.

He was past ready to put their problems behind them and begin their life together. He wanted Courtney and he wanted this bullshit to be over. He wanted his family to know they were married, he wanted her to accept him and their marriage, and he wanted exclusive rights to her forever. He wanted her submission and he wanted it
tonight.
Sex was part of that and he was more than prepared to seduce her to accomplish it.

Nick knew he wasn't much of a romantic guy. But he was trying his best here and he prayed like hell that she would like it.
She had to or his happiness was doomed.

After the movie was about half over and their meals were eaten, he picked up the bottle of wine and topped up her glass. Her eyes were on the television, his were on her, and setting his own glass down, he moved toward her until there was no space between them. He wrapped his arm around the back of the sofa, and began twirling a strand of her blonde hair through his fingers.

She sucked in a quiet breath, the pulse in her neck quivered, and the wine in her glass sloshed just a bit.

He hissed out a breath in reaction, all the blood rushed to his cock, and he took the glass from her trembling fingers and set it down beside his.

Her gaze remained glued to the television, but her lids drooped just enough to tell him she wasn't seeing anything on the screen.

He pressed a button on the remote to mute the sound, and without waiting, he turned her face toward his with a single finger so he could study her.

She allowed the movement, but closed her eyes in retaliation.

He decided to let the small rebellion slide.

He leaned in and kissed her on the lips, more softly than he'd ever imagined he'd be capable of. A whisper of sound escaped her lips and he pressed more firmly. He took his time, forcing himself to go slowly while every instinct in his body screamed at him to rip her pants down her legs and spread her thighs. He clenched his jaw and went slowly.

He kissed along her jaw line, along the small shell of her ear, and back to her lips.

When he felt a small, trembling hand in his hair, he knew he was close to winning.

Opening her mouth with his tongue, he worshipped her with everything he had inside of him.
It was easy to do.
When her fingers clenched more tightly and she gasped for air, he dropped his head to her breast and began stroking her nipple with his mouth and tongue.

She moaned out a hot little sound, and soon her t-shirt became saturated in that one spot. Needing something more, he ran his hand down to the soft vee between her legs. The shorts she wore were terrycloth, and although he steeled his guts to go slow, he couldn't stand not touching her intimately for one second longer. His fingers snaked inside the hem of her shorts and skated along her skin, pushing her underwear aside.

When he felt her damp heat, he damn near lost it. She was ready for him, and he slid his finger inside, while manipulating her nipple with his teeth through the thin cotton material of her shirt.

She began mewling in the back of her throat, and Nick lifted his mouth from her long enough to sink his fingers around the material of her shorts and panties as he pulled them from her body and let them fall to the floor.

He glanced up and her face looked stricken, even as she breathed heavily in tandem with him.

Wanting nothing more than to soothe her, he slid his hand under the seat cushion and pulled out the rings he'd hidden there. He quickly slipped his wedding band on his own finger, and watching her eyes go wide, he lifted her left hand and pushed the set down onto her own finger. He closed her fingers and kissed the small fist, looking up at her while he did so.

She bit her lip and began shaking her head, and not wanting her to have time to gain any traction against him, he put his mouth back to hers as his hand moved back between her thighs.

She was hot again in seconds, even though it nearly killed him to know he was seducing her against her will.

He couldn't help that; he needed this act between them. He needed her in his arms and in his bed again. He'd lose all sanity if he couldn't attain that, and he needed it quickly. Continuing to seduce her with his mouth and hands, he shed his shirt, jeans and
underwear while she was incapable of noticing.

As he came to his knees on the floor in front of her and dragged her butt to the edge of the couch, his hand went unerringly back to her mound. Her eyes widened and she sucked in a breath, and he realized in that moment that she'd regained her faculties.
It almost killed him
.

"Nick, no."

"No?"
Christ, he was going to die.

Her face crumpled as she ran her hand down to his and tried to stop him from caressing her clit. "I can't do this. We can't make love."

"Why not, baby?" he asked, forcing his voice to maintain a degree of normalcy. At the same time, while they stared into each other's eyes, he grabbed her fingers where they had a death grip on his hand. Enclosing them with his, with a gentle manipulation, he brought them to her clit until she was touching herself, with his own hand holding her fingers captive there.

She gasped and tried to back off from this new intimacy, but with a strong grip, he held her hand over her mound, while they massaged her together.

Nick glanced down and the eroticism of the moment was almost more than he could stand.

She began thrusting her hips up to his hand, tiny, soft little thrusts, but her brain was still fighting her body because she said, "We can't make love or we won't be able to get an annulment."

The absurdity of the notion hit him and he barked out a harsh rasp of caustic laughter.
That's what had been in that crazy-assed female brain of hers?
"There's no way in fucking hell we're getting an annulment," he bit out.

"Please, Nick," she begged in entreaty. "I'm so confused right now."

Whatever was going on inside her mind wasn't something Nick completely understood, but he remembered her speech the day he'd manipulated her into going to the courthouse. And right now, even though it might damn well kill him, he knew he had to be the man she needed him to be. He wanted nothing more than to be that person, he wanted her to understand that
she
couldn't live without
him
.

"Okay, sweetheart," he soothed, promising her something that went against the need gripping him by the throat. "But I need to at least touch you," he cajoled. "But just touching, no penetration, I promise, okay?"

Her eyes flared as she immediately grasped his meaning.
No intercourse, but they would play.
A few tense seconds ticked by as they stared into each other's eyes while Nick continued to caress her mound, attempting to seduce her into agreement. "Okay," she finally whispered.

"I love to touch you, I want it so much," he said slowly as he continued to tease her clit with his fingers on top of hers. "You want that too, baby, right?"

She nodded her head and at the movement, he slid his hand down and found her wet opening, slipping his finger inside. He heard her breath catch, and soon she was moving against him in a way that told him she was completely ready.
But goddamn, so was he
. He was wild for her;
he had to come.

He glanced up and as gently as possible, removed his touch from her and laid her out on the sofa. She was pliant in his arms and he took the opportunity to slide her shirt over her head.

He stood and leaned a knee on the couch where she lay on her back and put a single finger on a peaked, luscious nipple. Her body jerked in reaction. She looked completely helpless, and it was turning him on, making him even harder than he already was. "You trust me?" he asked shortly, knowing exactly what he wanted if he couldn't penetrate her with his cock.

"Yes," she breathed out.

Watching her for one second longer, tugging on her firm little nipple once more, he let go, and turned her body until she was lying on her side, facing out toward the room, facing him. With his knee on the sofa beside her, he put his hand back to her breast for a moment, wanting to keep her as hot as possible, and then he slid his fingers to cup her wet heat.

She began undulating again within seconds, and dropping down beside her, he lay beside her, only he lay opposite of her, his head between her thighs and his groin so close to her sweet little mouth that he had to bite the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood, just so he could have a modicum of control.