Rule's Property (The House of Rule Book 2) (11 page)

From where he stood, Nick could see the slender lines of her body as she stood infinitely still within the circle of men. He could see the required smile that was plastered on her face, saw the feminine curve of her waist and his penis twitched and engorged in his pants. He tried fighting his arousal, but it was no use. His cock throbbed with primitive need.

When he happened to glance across the ring of guests and saw a pair of masculine eyes glued to the front of Courtney's dress, all bets were off. Scalding fury lit his insides but at the exact moment when Nick was about to come out of hiding and make a scene, Damian asked the fucker a pointed question and the asshole's gaze was forced to leave Courtney as he was pulled into the conversation by Damian.

Nick relaxed just a bit, but feeling the need to be within touching distance of his target, he used the opportunity to slip back to the hallway and then come in through a side door that opened directly behind Courtney. He prowled up behind her on silent feet. Not wanting to be seen by anyone, he slid behind a large potted palm and a Chinese screen, using them for cover as he came within inches of her delicate spine. Surreptitiously, he leaned in and scented her hair and neck and as the essence of her being sank into his bloodstream, he felt the subtle tension that invaded her body and he knew that she realized someone stood behind her.

Not about to join the party and wanting Courtney all to himself, he wasted no time, and wrapping his fingers around her wrist, he leaned down to her ear and said under his breath for her ears and hers alone,
"Not one sound."

She stiffened, but remained frozen in place. He glanced up and saw that all eyes were on his brother as Damian commanded the conversation. Nick saw his opportunity and took it. Grasping Courtney's wrist in a firm hold, he manipulated her backwards a couple of steps and then turned and pulled her from the room entirely.

****

As Courtney stood in the circle of men, she tried to stay focused on the conversation, but derivatives absolutely bored her to tears. She'd detested that particular business class, and to this day, it was hard to even pretend she was interested.

She listened with half an ear as Damian controlled the conversation, while she stood next to him and wondered how in the hell she'd ended up beside him.

Justine again
. The woman was tenacious when she wanted something for one of her children and suspicion formed a knot in Courtney's belly. What exactly did the other woman want and who was she plotting against now? Unable to contain her suspicion, her gaze travelled across the room and saw Justine smiling at Damian's date, a woman who'd been introduced as Angie Ross. If Justine had truly wanted Courtney and Damian to get together tonight, then the older woman certainly didn't show any remorse that it wasn't happening. Mrs. Rule was speaking animatedly to Damian's date, as if sincerely pleased that her oldest son had brought the woman.

Angie Ross looked to be only a couple of years older than Courtney, if that, and she was truly exquisite, if one looked beyond the radical cosmetics she wore. She was different from Damian's usual choice of woman, having pale skin accentuated by black hair and dramatic make-up. The way the woman was dressed and made-up seemed to be camouflage, as if she was hiding from the world, or maybe she was just hiding her true personality from Damian. Who knew? But as Courtney continued to surreptitiously watch her, the other woman seemed to be out of her element, lost within a group of people she wasn't comfortable with. Courtney couldn't fail to notice the slight trembling of the other girl's body as if she wanted nothing more than to bolt from the scene and she felt a bit sorry for her because of the situation the poor girl had been thrown into. With a mind to escape from where she now stood and go speak to the girl and make her feel more comfortable, Courtney was about to make the move to excuse herself when inexplicably, a tantalizing sensation ran down her spine.

Abruptly, with no explanation at all, a provocative shiver prickled along Courtney's skin as she felt someone come up directly behind her. She sucked in oxygen as she felt heat on her neck and steel muscles at her back. A heady scent washed over her and invaded her senses.
Only one man carried that amazing scent.

But he was supposed to be out of town.

As soon as she'd had the thought, rough, masculine fingers enclosed her wrist in a grip that she absolutely knew couldn't be broken.
Not that she had any intention of trying to break it
. Heat, immediate and all encompassing, ran down her spine and she had to cut off a whimper as sensation rippled through her.

Nick.

God.
Nick.

His fingers around her wrist were meant to communicate his possession, holding her tightly, just short of pain. She was hit with inconsistent emotions; she felt both defenseless and powerful as she exhaled a shallow pant and stayed perfectly still and waited for his next move. Moisture bloomed and dampened her panties as she was flooded with sexual heat. Her stomach clenched in need as he held her imprisoned by a single large hand encircling the smaller bones of her wrist. His thumb rasped across her pulse point as she felt his sinewy muscles surrounding her from behind.

His mouth left her neck and roamed to her ear and she felt the dangerous sizzle of his dominant force as he hissed,
"Not one sound."

Her stomach clenched with need as he pulled her backwards, and within seconds he'd plucked her away from the crowd and escorted her from the room entirely. He stalled their footsteps in the darkened hallway that led to the kitchen and maneuvered her against the wall. The fingers of one hand sank into her hair and the other landed on her chin and lifted until she was forced to look into his eyes. Red tinged his cheekbones and his jaw clenched tightly as he thoroughly checked her out. His eyes ran over her face, studying her lips, her eyes, and her hair for a few seconds before saying abruptly, "Let's go."

She swallowed hard and tried to gain some control over her emotions. "Go . . . where?"

His mouth flattened at her question. "I haven't seen you in almost a month. Where do you think?
Out of here.
Back to the penthouse. Where's your purse?"

"I can't leave right now," she whispered frantically.

His eyes narrowed and his lips grew taut with implacability.
"Oh, I think you can,"
he stated with a precision that had her tummy clenching.

As his measured gaze stayed hot on hers with unbending demand, her heartbeat raced and she felt a fine trembling invade her legs. "Dinner . . . dinner hasn't been served yet. Everyone will notice I'm missing."

A harsh, brooding look came over his features, but instead of a verbal rebuke, he began shaking his head back and forth with slow, inflexible authority, not about to be denied.

She opened her mouth to dispute. "Nick--"

With a lightning-quick move, his hand whipped up from around her chin and landed on her mouth, cutting off any words she'd meant to utter. She sucked in a breath through her nose as her pulse began beating wildly behind her breastbone. She felt her eyes flare as he came closer, intent on invading the little space that was left between them. "You have two choices, sweetheart," he announced definitively. "We can leave and go to the penthouse, or I'm going to pick you up right now and carry you upstairs to your bed." His eyes stared down with a feral gleam and he added, "The same bed that was mine before it became yours. You know how many times I fantasized about you sleeping in my old bedroom?"

Behind the uncompromising grip held over her mouth, she swallowed and managed a tiny shake of her head.

His eyes left hers and fell to her breasts before lifting again with a new, sensuous light. "More times than I can remember. I knew every inch of that room. I could picture you there, sad and all alone. I wanted to comfort you then, but I guess it's no secret why I couldn't take the risk." Courtney felt his stance become even more rigid as he admitted, "You do shit to my insides that nobody else has ever come close to doing, you know?"

She stared unblinkingly into his compelling brown eyes as she listened to his words.

"It's been a long time, Courtney. It seems as if I've waited for you for a lifetime." His chin dipped as his eyes pierced her. "But now the waiting is over, understand?" His tone became clipped as he went on, "I let you go to school all those goddamn miles away when it nearly killed me. I waited for you to finish grad school and God knows, that almost buried me. I even held my damn tongue while you went back to Florida for Garrett's bullshit when you could have been in California with me. But understand me when I tell you that I'm done waiting. Got me?"

What could she say? He still held his hand over her mouth. She couldn't have answered him even if she'd known what to say. She tried to convey her feelings with her eyes but she had no way to know if it was working.

His fingers in her scalp became unyielding. He leaned in and removed his hand from her mouth but before she could say anything, his lips landed there with forceful intent. He thrust his tongue in her mouth and began kissing her as if doing so were the most important thing in the world to him. Stars began exploding in her head.
God, she'd waited for him, too
. Her entire life. She'd never cared for anyone the way she cared for Nick. She loved him so much she couldn't see straight.

She began kissing him back. His lips slanted over hers and it was as if he was slaking a thirst long denied. She was just as thirsty. She moaned softly from her throat and at the noise, he lifted his head and studied her. "I know you want to be with me, too," he stated adamantly.

"Yes," she said quickly, butterflies flurrying in her stomach.

"So what's it going to be? I have to admit, I kind of like the idea of cementing our relationship upstairs in that particular bedroom."

Unease filled her. "Not with the party going on. Please, Nick--"

His features softened. "That's fine, baby. You want to go back to the penthouse?"

"I want to stay until the party's over so your mother doesn't ask a million questions."

He shook his head. "We're leaving. But go make your excuses. Tell her you have a headache--"

"You
are
a headache," she said with a glimmer of a smile.

He narrowed his eyes, acknowledging her teasing tone. "Tell her you're going to the penthouse for some quiet. She doesn't know I'm back in town; she'll never question you for wanting to get away from the noise. Besides, since Damian brought a date, if you leave it'll make her numbers right again."

"She won't care about that. She'll worry-"

His thumb stroked her chin. "Baby, she always worries about one of us."

Even as those words left his mouth, Courtney watched as his face darkened with a scowl. She realized he'd just grouped her in with Justine's children, with him and his siblings, and it was obvious that he didn't like the fact that he'd done it. He'd always had a problem with that, but what could she do about it? His mother had raised her during the last of her teenage years; Justine was Courtney's godmother and had been her guardian as well. There wasn't a damn thing Courtney could do about those facts and she couldn't help it if it made Nick feel guilty.

But there was one thing that she did know. Nick was right. The time had come. She was as tired of waiting as he was.

"I'm going to get my bag and I'll tell her I'm leaving. I'll follow you to the penthouse, okay?"

Chapter Five

Nick didn't really want Courtney to follow him. He wanted her strapped inside his vehicle, sitting next to him. He wanted her without transportation to leave his penthouse if he inadvertently did something that would upset her or piss her off.

He just wanted her.
What the hell was wrong with that? "I'd rather you ride with me, but your car needs to be gone from here so no questions are asked." He studied her intently, trying to gauge what was going on in that brain of hers. He was sick of the subterfuge. He wanted everything out in the open but he didn't want Courtney upset. "You don't want any questions asked, right?"

She shook her head. "Not yet."

He'd let her get away with keeping their relationship secret for a few days while she came to grips with it, but that situation wasn't going to last indefinitely. She was his and he wanted his entire family to know. "Okay, fine. But grab some more clothes if you need them, because you're staying the night at the very least, and maybe a couple of days."

Even as he said the words, he knew they were pure bullshit. She wasn't going back to his mother's house ever again.
Wasn't going to happen.

And with the unmitigated possessiveness that was bleeding through his bloodstream, there was no question that she'd realize that truth sooner rather than later.

****

When they arrived at the underground parking beneath the Rule Corporation building, Nick guided Courtney up to the penthouse in the private elevator. He leaned against the back wall and tried to get control of the testosterone raging through his veins. It didn't help that her face was flushed and the strap of her sundress had fallen off one smooth, white shoulder.