Rule's Property (The House of Rule Book 2) (22 page)

She breathed deeply, trying to control the runaway fever in her blood. "Yes, but--"

"No buts. It's a yes or no question. Are you my wife?"

"Nick--"

"It's a simple goddamn question, babe. Are. You. My. Wife?"

She blew out a breath. "Yes."

"And do you want to stay that way?" He breathed enraged fire over her, his words coming hot and scorching. When she remained mute, he said, "That scene at the restaurant. That was bullshit and you know it.
I don't care about children
. I don't give a shit about having a family. How many more times do I have to say it? What do I have to do to get that message across to you?"

He was lying, how could he not be? Courtney licked her lips and stuttered, "Maybe not . . . maybe not stare at the children you see with such a look of longing?"

His expression tightened. "Let me ask you something, babe." His hands reached for hers as he pinned them above her head. "Toddlers are cute, right? Kind of like puppies. You telling me you don't even think they're cute? You blaming me for glancing at a couple of kids?"

Holding her breath, she shook her head.

His lips flattened. "We've never really had a serious conversation about this. About why you're so scared to have kids."

Her eyes narrowed on him, swallowing as he continued to press his knee against her. "I've told you why."

Nick scorched her with a look as his hands held hers captive to the mattress. "You promised me for better or worse. I get that you think that this is a huge problem, but I'm telling you, we don't need to have children. Would you like me to prove it? I could go get a vasectomy and then there'd be nothing left to fight about."

She pushed against him, horrified at the suggestion. "Don't you dare!"

"Oh, so now what I do with my body is your choice? That hardly seems fucking fair considering you're not giving me a choice about our marriage." The angry words spilled from his mouth and then he blew out a breath, as if to calm himself. "Okay. You don't want to talk about depriving me of children. I get that." His words stopped a moment and then gentled. "You're sweet. It's why I love you." She felt her heart melt but she remained silent and he continued, "Then let's talk about having kids."

Courtney felt her eyes flare in panic. She began pushing against him and Nick's patience seemed to snap as he held her all the more tightly, possessively,
protectively
. "Here's the thing that you're not getting. You don't have a choice whether or not you spend the rest of your life with me. That's the part of the fucking equation that you're missing.
No choice
. I'm here and I'm not leaving and you're not going anywhere. You can get the goddamn idea out of your head; you're not getting your own apartment. You're not moving out." He blew out a breath and then took another. "The choice you do have is simple. Have kids or don't have kids."

At his ultimatum, Courtney wavered, her feelings divided. His words were so strong and true that she was reassured that she'd get to have him forever. Relief rushed through her; he was taking the choice away from her and she was going to let him. But still, the fact that she was the one getting what she wanted out of life didn't seem fair and she said so. "That's not fair--"

His expression became harsher. "I don't want to hear what's fair or not fair." Holding her wrists with one hand, he trailed the other down to her cheekbone and gripped her, looking into her eyes intently before he continued in a ragged tone, "What wouldn't be fair to me is living my entire godforsaken life without you. Can you not see that I'll lose my sanity if I can't have you?"

"Nick," she remonstrated softly.

"Right. You're getting it. I can see it in your eyes. So tell me, why do we have to make this choice about children now? Let's don't have kids. We'll stay protected. If you change your mind later, the option will be there."

"It's not that simple."

"It's
entirely
that simple."

She relaxed her hands, giving herself over to him, but said no more.

"Baby," he began gently, "You had no family. None at all. Our kid, or kids,
if
we have them, will have my mom and my brothers and sister and their future families. Trust me, my siblings will eventually get married, they'll have families, and any children that we might have will be loved by not just us, but by their grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins."

Courtney sucked in a breath, his words hitting her brain in a rush. Nick did have a huge family. And they were her family as well. She felt her face flush and at her silence, he seemed to understand she was really listening and he pressed further. "What we ought to do, if you decide you want a kid, is to have a shit-ton of them. We could have four or five and then they'd never be alone. God forbid, even if something happened to us, they'd have each other, right?"

She licked her lips, totally gobsmacked. She swallowed and held his eyes. "I've never . . . I've never thought about it that way. The thought of having kids, leaving them orphaned, has always terrified me so much that I've never thought about having a bunch, instead of just one."

He swirled his hand up and into her hair, holding her closer. His forehead fell to hers and he said gently, "Well think about it. You don't have to decide right now." He lifted his head and continued, "Stay on the pill if you want. I'll even wear condoms for double protection if it'll make you feel better. We'll decide this stuff later. But baby, please, please say you'll stay married to me. Let me put my rings on your finger and please,
leave them there."

"Are you sure, Nick? I might never change my mind."

"It's a chance I'm willing to take. I need one thing and one thing only in my life to make me happy. And that's you." They stared at each other as the tension between them began to build. His eyes dropped to her lips and Courtney felt a flare of butterflies at the same moment as a rush of wet heat came between her thighs.

"I love you," Nick groaned as his mouth dropped to hers. His kiss was all things: gentle, loving, possessive, forceful,
a promise
.

Courtney kissed him back, pushing against the hand that held hers captured. He let go, and immediately, she sank her fingers into his hair.

His scent was all around her, his hard muscles surrounding her and she tried to stop herself, but she couldn't contain her need. She had to lift her hips, just so.

His hand trailed up and lifted her chin. "Ask me nicely."

"Nick, please," she whispered, not wanting to say it.

"No. I want to hear you say the words. You've been putting me through hell and back." He reached down and kissed her so aggressively her brain almost splintered in two. Without her volition, her hips lifted against him again, begging for him. He tore his lips from hers. "I've already held you down against your will and abused your sweet little butt, no way am I going to be accused of a worse crime."

His words were half-teasing, half-serious, and Courtney speared her fingers through his hair and smiled up at him. "You're forgiven. Love me, Nick. Make love to me, please."

A sizzle hit the air as a feral look transformed his expression. He shifted his legs, surged back and with a power and dominance she'd never felt from him before, thrust inside her with one powerful stroke.

Courtney was inundated by the exquisite fullness she'd quickly come to crave. As he pushed in and held himself there, she knew in that second that the situation between them really was killing her too. She couldn't live without him and she never wanted to have to try. This was killing them both and she couldn't keep it up another moment.

Swallowing hard, deciding to trust him to know what was right, trusting him with her entire heart, she whispered, "Nick."

Continuing to hold himself deep inside, he took her chin with one hand and nipped at her bottom lip, before opening his eyes. "What, sweetheart?"

She stared at him for several long seconds as the heat began to build between them. "What, baby?" he asked more gently.

"Did you mean what you said?" she asked, her voice full of entreaty.

"I usually mean what I say," he answered carefully, kissing her on the lips before stilling again and catching her eyes with his.

"About . . . about the children," she elaborated.

His shoulders stiffened almost infinitesimally as he took a sharp breath. "What about them?" he asked gently.

"Can we have a bunch?" she asked quickly. "You really meant it, right?" As she watched him, she couldn't stop her lips from trembling. "I couldn't have just one. We'd need four or five, at least. You're right, they'll need to always have somebody else, you know? In case something happens to us."

Nick closed his eyes for an instant, an immediate, all-encompassing look of peace descending on his features. When he opened his eyes and looked back at her in total concentration, she read complete relief mingled with joy. "I meant it."

Her breath hitched at his words of assurance. "And what if . . . what if something happens after the first one and we need to adopt the rest? Would you be okay with that?"

"Absolutely, baby. They'll be ours. I'll be able to love them all, just the same."

She took a deep breath, a strong feeling of contentment bleeding through her entire being. "Thank you."

He pushed his fingers through her hair, gripping her scalp, a look of utter relief and happiness on his features. Without missing a beat he asked, "Does that mean you'll wear my rings?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"And the entire family can know? Tomorrow?"

She smiled as she felt him push farther into her, insisting on an answer. "Yes."

He looked heavenward and then back down to her. "Thank you." As he spoke the words, Courtney didn't know if he was thanking her or a higher being.

But it really didn't matter.

All that mattered was the love they felt for each other and the chance of the future they'd been given.

****

Epilogue

Many, many lovely years later

Courtney rushed ahead of Nick while he strolled more leisurely behind her, watching the smooth, luscious backside that still held him enthralled after all these years.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rule are in the backyard with the children," the housekeeper said as she led them through Damian and Angie's house until they'd reached the rear doors that opened up to the huge, landscaped backyard.

By the time Nick walked through the double doors, Courtney had already raced ahead of him, kicked off her shoes and was standing on the second step of the swimming pool, completely ignoring the hem of her sundress that was now in the water. Her arms were open wide, waiting while their youngest, Emily, who was only four, paddled up to her with a big grin. After hugging her mother tightly, she asked, "Where's Daddy?"

Courtney kissed Emily's forehead and pointed behind her as Nick came up and took their youngest child from his wife's arms.

The backyard scene was chaotic. Children were everywhere, their laughter contagious. Damian was grilling burgers in the outdoor kitchen while Angie watched over the children from her chair next to the pool. "Melissa! Stop splashing your cousins," she remonstrated one of her fourteen-year old twins as she put a bandage on her seven-year old son, who wriggled around, ready to get back in the pool, despite the recent scrape to his knee.

Nick studied the swimming pool, counting heads until he'd pinpointed their other three children amidst the mayhem. Leaving Courtney to catch up with Angie and their older children, Nick began strolling over to his brother with Emily hanging around his neck, dripping wet, babbling to him the entire time. "Madison got in trouble last night," she whispered conspiratorially as they neared her Uncle Damian.

Only halfway across the yard, Nick stopped in his tracks as he looked at his daughter in surprise. Angie and Damian's twin girls were always angels, as far as he'd been aware. "What'd she do?"

"Nobody would tell me 'cause I'm too little," his youngest complained, a pout on her lips.

"Your brothers and sister wouldn't even tell you?" he asked, knowing that his and Courtney's four kids always stuck together.

"The boys wouldn't; they were being stupid. They prolly don't really know. Jenny didn't know either but she told me Aunt Angie took Madison's cell phone away."

Nick kissed her on the cheek and scolded softly, "Don't call your brothers stupid, baby."

"Even when they're being stupid?" Emily asked, staring up at him with big eyes that couldn't fail to remind him of his wife.

Nick chuckled. "Even then." He kissed her again and then set her on her feet. "You've got twenty minutes left to play with your cousins before we head home. You want to do that or come with me to talk to Uncle Damian?"

"Play!" she screamed as she ran back across the lawn toward the pool.

Nick walked up beside his brother and pounded him on the back in greeting. "Hey, man." he greeted as Damian flipped burgers.