House Rules

by Rebecca Brooke

  But since that wasn’t reality, I kept it buried and played games instead.

  I laughed, an obvious deflection. “What can I get you?”

  “Oh, a subject change. I’m going to keep working on you.” He winked.

  The guys surrounding him placed their orders. Eventually Mr. Flirt told me what he wanted, but not before staring for a bit longer.

  “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

  I turned toward the bar and saw Miller coming down the hall with Charlie.

  I hadn’t seen him walk in. Then again, it didn’t matter. He made his choice, I made mine.

  Ignoring the asshole I went straight to the bar to collect the order. In no time, I was heading back to the table with the guys’ drinks. Seemed like I would get two for the price of one: a big tip, and piss Miller off. It was a win-win.

  “Here ya go, boys,” I said, passing the glasses and bottles out.

  “Boys?” Mr. Flirt feigned offense. “I don’t see any boys around here. We can prove it to you, if you want?”

  I leaned far over the table to hand out the last few drinks, the movement much more exaggerated than necessary, but enough that the guys had a clear view down my shirt. I let them have a look before I responded to Mr. Flirt.

  “And how would you do that?”

  Eyes burned a hole in the back of my head. In a perverse way, it gave me great pleasure to know how much the scene was likely pissing Miller off. Letting them look down my top, combined with outright flirting—he’d probably lose his shit. That was his own fault. Karma’s a bitch.

  At least that was the mantra I tried to hold onto. Anger was easier emotion to fight with than the hurt.

  “I’ll show you all of my nine inches,” he purred.

  “Nine inches, really?”

  The guy was just pushing the boundaries; boundaries that a few months ago would have earned him a new asshole. It was amazing how much one situation could change a person. In a few moments I’d walk away and forget about them for a bit and with any luck, by the time I got back to their table they’d be too drunk to pay any attention to me.

  Then he crossed those boundaries. I felt his hand graze the back of my knee and slide up my thigh, right to the edge of the shorts that barely covered my ass. Guys had placed their hands on my arms to keep me from leaving, some even stuck their leg out to make like they were stretching, when really they wanted to rub against me. This, however, was the first time one had been brazen enough to almost grab my ass since that first week. It wouldn’t happen again, but for just this once, it would give Miller a taste of his own medicine.

  “Let’s go out to my car and I’ll show you.”

  I was just bending down to say something more when Mr. Flirt shouted and his hand moved away from my butt. I turned to see Miller, the guy’s arm locked in his hand like a vice grip. Miller yanked him up from his chair.

  “Hands off,” Miller snarled.

  “Fuck, what the hell is your problem?”

  “She’s mine.” Miller tightened his grip, making the guy call out in pain once again.

  “Yours?” I stepped back and crossed my arms over my chest, feeling completely overexposed. “I don’t think so.”

  Mr. Flirt must have seen something on Miller’s face. Quickly he began amending his story. “Man, she was flirting with me. I thought she was single.”

  “Charlie, get him outta here.” He pushed Mr. Flirt forward. “I’ll take care of Tess.” Charlie nodded and proceeded to escort Mr. Flirt from the premises, his friends following quickly behind him with no encouragement needed. It seemed they’d had no idea whose bar they’d walked into.

  Miller grabbed my arm, practically dragging me down the hall toward his office, his pace too fast for me to get my arm free.

  Once I heard the door slam behind us, I rounded on him and jerked from his grasp.

  “What in the hell do you think you are doing?”

  “Me? What am I doing? Jesus fucking Christ, Tess, you’re acting like a goddamn whore out there. Plan to give everyone at the bar a go at your pussy?”

  “You’re an asshole.” I spun on my heel, determined to get as far away from Miller Hawes as possible. Nothing was worth staying here.

  Once again, I was pulled to a stop when his hand clasped my arm, spinning me around. My back was pushed up against the wall and his hand ran across my breast, teasing the nipple through the fabric. Electric sparks shot down my chest and straight between my legs, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of the moan that almost slipped past my lips.

  “I am an asshole, and you are mine.”

  His words snapped me out of the haze that was slowly descending over my body as if a cold bucket of ice water had been dumped on my head. I put my hands on his chest and shoved. He stumbled back, likely because he didn’t expect me to stop him.

  “I belong to no one. I’m no one’s toy. No one’s fuck buddy. No one’s one-night stand.”

  Even as I said the words I noticed his dick, hard beneath his pants. My body responded in kind: a tingle in my clit, my nipples rock hard.

  “You are. You just don’t know it yet.”

  He stalked me step for step—his forward, mine back. I ran into the door but had nowhere left to go. Feeling around the wall, I tried to find the handle to get myself out of that room because there was a glint to Miller’s eye that told me he didn’t plan on letting me leave this room until I admitted I was his. He’d be able to do it.

  I may have been pissed at him, but at night I dreamed of Miller; of his fingers caressing my skin. Of the way he’d brought me to the brink of pleasure, sending me over the edge effortlessly. If the man touched me, my body would betray me. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hold onto the anger. Maybe that made me weak, but every girl had needs. Explosive orgasms topped that list. Except, I was selfish. I wanted the relationship, too. Something Miller wasn’t willing to offer.

  My hand came into contact with the metal but it was too late. Miller caught up and stood toe to toe with me. His hand covered mine and pulled, pinning it up against his chest.

  “Get the hell off me.” I was proud that my voice sounded hard, since my body was melting inside under Miller’s heat.

  “Not until you admit it.”

  He kept hold of my wrists and brought me into the middle of the room, only letting go of me to unbutton his shirt. I looked to the door, wondering if I could make it past him and out of it before he caught me. I was still running through my exit plan when the broad expanse of his tanned chest came into view. He was sexier than I remembered him being that first night. Not that the wine had helped much with that situation. I thought the alcohol had given me rose-tinted glasses. Not the case.

  “You’re not going to touch me.”

  The final button came undone and he pulled his shirt off and dropped it to the floor. “I’m going to do way more than touch you. First I’m going to taste you, then I’m going to fuck you over my desk.”

  My heart beat so hard I was surprised he didn’t see it on the outside of my body. It wasn’t out of fear, but a desire for him to do exactly as he said.

  I shook my head. “You lost that opportunity when you suggested scheduled screwing, like I was some call girl.”

  He stopped and looked from his dick, straining against his pants, back to me. A smirk rose at the corner of his mouth and he stalked forward again, the back of my legs slamming into his desk. What was with my luck of being caged in by office furniture? He reached me, his eyes searching. I waited for him for him to kiss me, but it never came.

  One second I was trapped by fire in his eyes, the next Miller grabbed my shoulders and spun me to face the desk. He pushed me over until I was bent at the waist, my ass cheeks no doubt hanging out. I struggled to get away but the attempt was feeble; superficial at best. A part of me wanted him, and that same part thought I’d be strong enough to walk away afterward.

  His fingers landed along the bottom of my shorts as he bent over my body. “Now tel
l me you don’t want me.”

  “I don’t—”

  The words died on my lips when that same finger slipped between my folds. I bit my lip to hold back the moan when his finger circled my clit in slow, agonizing movements.

  “Nothing to say?”

  The shorts were yanked down, the rip of fabric filling the room as they fell away from my body, the air in the office feeling cold against my heated skin. Fingers were replaced with his tongue. Damn. Electric sensations trickled along my nerves. I knew if I told Miller no and meant it, he’d let me walk away, in the same way I knew I’d have sex with Miller. But I refused to let him believe that this would be a regular hook up. “This changes nothing. I still won’t be your fuck buddy.”

  “Okay.”

  His tongue twirled around my clit, moving back to dip inside me. The pattern continued over and over again until I was gripping the smooth desk, struggling for purchase. “Please,” I begged, needing to come.

  His mouth lifted from me. “What do you want, Tess?”

  “I want . . . I want—”

  “Say it, Tess. It’s the only way you’re going to come.” The sound of his zipper lowering made my insides clench. I needed him, more then I thought I would when he’d dragged me back here. More than I’d ever wanted anyone, ever.

  “Take me, Miller.”

  He slid inside of me.

  So full.

  Slowly, he moved, forcing the breath from my lungs. This was what I needed. What my body craved from Miller. His thrusts came harder and harder, and it was so good that, for a brief moment, my mind was willing to give up the idea of a relationship if it meant I could feel like this.

  But I quickly pushed it aside. I would take this, then I would be the one to walk away.

  His body bent over me, threading his fingers with mine, and using the connection to pump faster, hitting the exact spot I needed. The friction between our bodies, the heat, the way he filled me, all pushed and pushed until I thought I’d black out. The orgasm washed over me like a tidal rush, taking all rational thought with it. I felt him reach his own peak. Delirium set in. Chest heaving. Breaths panting. Pulses racing.

  In that one moment, the whispered words in my ear didn’t seem true. I couldn’t have heard him right.

  “You will not be my fuck buddy. You will only be mine.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Miller

  Her body shuddered below mine. I knew she’d heard the words that left my lips, words I never thought I would say. What I didn’t know was whether she’d understood them.

  I’d fucked up. Tess was not the type of woman to agree to sleeping with a man, no strings attached. The night of the poker game had been a situation where there was no right choice. An asshole boyfriend, dinner with a stranger, and too much to drink. Things were bound to lead to sex.

  When she told me to fuck off and stormed out of my office, I’d been determined to forget about her. I’d gone back to working from the dealership and taking a break from women. After the scene with the blonde bitch, calling the brunette “Tess,” and Tess, herself, blowing me off, I figured it was time to spend a little time with my right hand. It didn’t argue back, and always made me come.

  I’d become an even bigger asshole than normal and had nearly succeeded in burning a few important bridges. Dad hadn’t seen the worst of it, thankfully, but Ashton had. He’d invited me for dinner at the house; Elena wanted to do something after that disastrous night at my parents. The minute he opened the door and saw my face, he brought me down to his office.

  The door shut behind him and he turned to face me, arms crossed over his chest. “You’re not going in there with Elena until you tell me what the fuck is wrong with you.”

  I ran a hand through my hair, walking over to the decanter that sat on a sideboard behind his desk, helping myself. “Who says there’s anything wrong?”

  “Don’t pull that shit with me. I can see it all over your face. The last time you were this pissed, you said some pretty fucked up things to my fiancée and I’m not having a repeat. I’d rather not have to beat the shit out of you tonight.”

  Ashton didn’t often threaten violence—it was one of the reasons why people preferred borrowing money from him. “I won’t say anything. Wait, did you say fiancée?”

  A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “I did. It’s part of the reason Elena wanted to have dinner here, she wanted to tell you herself. You better not ruin that.”

  I shook my head, unable to believe my ears. I walked over and pulled my brother into a hug. “Congratulations, man. And I promise, I won’t ruin the surprise.” I stepped back and picked my glass up off of the side table. “I thought you were worried Elena wouldn’t want to get married again?”

  He took a seat on one of the couches against the wall. “I was. Didn’t stop me from getting a ring, though. A few nights ago she started talking about kids and families. When she said she wanted to have what her parents have, I knew she was ready and asked that night.”

  “I’m really happy for you two.”

  I sat there, rolling the glass between my hands, wondering about the one woman to set my blood on fire. I couldn’t keep my thoughts far from her. At night I dreamed about fucking her over and over again until neither of us could move, and every morning I woke, my dick hard as a rock, no relief in sight. Tess had thrown my suggestion back at me like I was some heartless bastard.

  “Enough about our engagement. We can talk about that at dinner with Elena. You’re in a shit mood and I want to know why.”

  “I haven’t gotten laid in a while.”

  “What’s a while? Two days?”

  “Try weeks.”

  “Bullshit. You flash a smile at the bimbos in the club and they drop at your feet.” He leaned back in his seat, resting his arm on the back of the sofa.

  If I hadn’t been so pissed off, I’d have seen the cunning spark in his eyes.

  “I tried to take Tess home the other night, but she told me to go fuck myself.”

  He shrugged. “It’s one woman. Find another. It’s not like you keep them around long, anyway.”

  My head snapped up. “I don’t want another woman. I want Tess.”

  The smirk rose up and I wanted to punch it off his face. Bastard had backed me into a corner until I admitted exactly what he said I would.

  “Then tell her that.”

  “I did. She told me to fuck off,” I growled.

  Ashton narrowed his eyes at me. “She didn’t seem the type. Exactly what did you say?”

  “I told her we were good together and we could meet up a couple times a week after work at my house for the night.”

  “Jesus Christ.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You’re a dumb fucking asshole. You honestly believe she wants to run to your house a few nights a week for a quick fuck? You might as well have tossed the cash right at her. She’s not going to be your fuck buddy, or your whore.”

  I stood from my seat and started pacing. “She made that very clear the other night. But I don’t have anything else to offer. I don’t do relationships.”

  The deep bellowing laughter stopped me in my tracks. I whipped around to stare at the asshole sitting on the couch, laughing at my predicament. With an obvious effort, he pulled himself together. “You do now.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean? I’ve never wanted a relationship in my life.”

  “If you want Tess, then that’s the only way you’re getting her.” He watched me for a moment. “But I think you already know that, and that’s why you’re pissed off. You’re not mad you haven’t gotten laid, you just don’t want to give up your lifestyle.”

  There was a lot of truth in his words, yet my mind revolted against the idea of only one woman. It came down to two choices: I could have Tess and only Tess, or I could give her up and continue to sleep with different women.

  My issue lay in actually bedding other women, though, because every time I compared them to her and ended up going home alon
e. Even if I didn’t want to recognize it, the decision had been made for me. I sunk back down onto the couch.

  “I don’t even know how to be with only one woman.”

  Ashton leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. “You learn. You tell her upfront that you’re going to fuck up, and apologize when you do.”

  She pushed up from the desk trying to move me off her. Lost in my thoughts, I moved back, letting her out from under me and watched as she reached for her clothes, trying to cover herself. Her shorts and underwear were destroyed. I bent and picked up my shirt, handing it over. She quickly took it from my fingers, hastily pulling it on, not bothering to button it, simply holding it closed.

  “What did you say?” For all of the bravado she’d shown earlier, she looked lost, like she couldn’t trust her own senses.

  I pulled her into my arms. If she was going to understand how I felt, she needed to see it first hand. At first she stood there stiffly, not moving an inch. I’d made her doubt me. God, Ashton was right. I was an absolute idiot. Being an asshole served me well in every business encounter I’d had, but it no way helped when trying to build a relationship with the woman in my arms. Instead it only pushed her away from me.

  I placed my finger under her chin and lifted her face so her eyes met mine.

  “I want to be so much more to you than an easy fuck at the end of a long day. I want to take you places and give you things. Don’t get me wrong, I want to fuck you in ways you’ve only dreamed of, but only after I’ve wined and dined you.”

  Her eyes filled with tears and for the first time in my life, besides my mother and Elena, I felt bad for making a woman cry. I wiped the moisture from her face and continued. “I’m an asshole and I’m going to fuck up. To be honest, I don’t know how not to be an asshole. But I’m hoping you can stick around and put me in my place when I need it. You’re the first woman to stand up to me, and I want you to be the last.”