by Lynda Chance
“Open it,” he said gently.
Anticipation rushed through her and she recognized that it was the first time she’d experienced the feeling in over a year. She pushed the lid up and the box snapped open. Inside, she found a small silver heart decorated with three different colored gemstones suspended by a delicate chain. She studied it and then looked up at him in question.
He was watching her intently and she frowned in confusion and looked back down at the charm.
Not waiting any longer, he took the box from her trembling fingers and removed the charm and chain, dropping the box to a side table. He held the piece of jewelry out so she could see it better.
“It’s pretty,” she whispered.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
She nodded her head and reached out a finger to touch the gift as if expecting that both it and the moment might disappear into thin air.
“Do you know what it is?” Nick asked in his deep voice.
Something was tickling her brain, but he was standing so close that she couldn’t get her faculties to function correctly. She shook her head.
“They’re birthstones.”
Her eyes flew up to his, a flutter going off in her heart.
“Yours, your mom’s, and your dad’s,” he elaborated. “I had it made.”
Pleasure and pain rushed together and landed in her stomach. Their birthstones! Something she could always wear that would keep her family unit intact, at least within her heart. A tiny feeling of belonging again settled in her midsection. The charm was so perfect that she couldn’t wait to wear it. But she also couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that Nick would do something so special for her. She needed to thank him. She cleared her throat and slowly, licked her lips. “Nick—” she began, but stopped abruptly when he took a sudden, harsh intake of air.
She glanced up and found his gaze frozen on her lips. His jaw clenched and his neck corded with something akin to tension. Slowly, almost as if they were forced to, his eyes left her mouth and lifted to hers. A strange feeling filled the air during the loud silence that pulsed between them.
Finally, Courtney couldn’t stand the friction any longer and she again looked at the tiny piece of jewelry that he continued to hold tightly between his fingers. “May I have it, please?”
He cleared his throat, seemed to shake himself, and put the heart in her upturned palm. Through the strange emotions roiling in her belly, she forced a smile and tried to latch the chain behind her neck. She struggled with it awkwardly, and when she sighed with frustration, he pushed her hands away and twirled her around.
He lifted her hair from her neck, laying it over one shoulder. Clipping the necklace into place, he quickly spun her back around again, his hands going to her shoulders. She glanced down and picked up the charm where it lay nestled on her chest. “I love it,” she said through a smile and lifted her eyes to his with pleasure.
With no warning of the storm to come, Nick’s head dropped. His lips landed on hers and the first thing Courtney noticed was a roaring in her ears. She’d been kissed only once before, at sixteen, and it had been quick and messy.
This was different.
Nick took full control. His lips were hot and firm, sliding over hers slowly, back and forth, in a caress that held her spellbound. Unconsciously, she dropped the charm and lifted her hands to his shoulders to find traction in a world suddenly careening out of control.
At her action, one arm came around her waist and he pulled her in closer, while he settled his hand at the back of her head, moving her forward and holding her in place. When her torso hit his, she gasped, her lips parting. He took unhesitating advantage, his tongue sliding inside and entwining with hers.
Instantaneous bottle rockets went off in her head.
His taste and scent instantly swamped her and her world immediately narrowed to this room and his embrace. As he continued to kiss her, a warm, sweet ache began to build in her bloodstream. When his tongue swirled around hers, as if asking for more, she hesitatingly gave him what he seemed to want. She pushed her tongue toward his and tentatively, joined the kiss.
His arm clenched more tightly, his frame became like steel, his kiss turned fierce. A groan erupted from his chest and he lifted his mouth from hers just long enough to nip at her bottom lip before going back for more. At his action, Courtney sucked in a breath and trembling, she pulled back, sliding her hands from his shoulders to his chest, attempting to hold him at arm’s length, so she could study him.
His eyes snapped opened and they stared at each other, both drawing in oxygen as if they’d just run a marathon.
Even through her confusion, Courtney immediately saw his expression change when he realized what he’d done. The residual pleasure on his face dissolved and a tortured expression of horror and disbelief etched across his features.
“It’s okay,” she whispered, trying to soothe away his look of anxiety.
“No, it’s not,” he fired back, but still, he didn’t release her.
“It was an accident,” she said softly.
He let out a hiss of air and shook his head in refutation. “An accident I’ve been thinking about for weeks.”
The blood drained from her face as her nerves took a jolt.
“Shit. I ought to be shot.” Abruptly, he pulled away from her, releasing her completely, and stepped back. He turned away, and just as quickly, turned back to face her. “I bet your Christian, all-girls school education didn’t prepare you for that, did it?” he asked with an anger that she somehow knew was directed at himself and not at her.
She shook her head, not even considering lying to him.
He took another step away and she immediately felt bereft, almost desolate.
He studied her, so many different emotions crossing his face that Courtney didn’t try to identify any of them. After a moment, he let out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up completely. His look softened as he watched her. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry. Please don’t let what just happened scare you. It won’t happen again. You’re safe with me, I promise.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I was so careless.”
“It’s okay,” she said again, reacting more to his tone of voice than his actual words.
“It’s not okay. I’m a stupid shit.” His jaw clenched. “I want you to forget it happened, okay?”
All Courtney was capable of doing was standing upright without falling over and watching him while her brain continued to short-circuit.
“Okay?” he asked again, obviously wanting her compliance about something.
“Okay, what?” she asked, confused, her senses overloaded.
He gritted his teeth. “I want you to forget what just happened, can you do that for me?”
Forget his kiss? No way. Uh-uh. Not going to happen. “Okay,” she lied in a whisper.
“Good.” He cleared his throat and changed the subject. “So, you like your present?”
Remembering the charm, she nodded her head, picking it up again and rubbing it between her fingers as pleasure from his gift permeated her shock and rushed through her system.
“Happy birthday,” he said in a stiff tone.
“Thank you,” she replied a bit awkwardly.
He watched her in silence for a moment too long, and then he let out a defeated sound. “I need a drink.” He walked to the sideboard and began mixing a cocktail.
A few seconds later, Courtney heard the front door open. After a moment, Erin flounced into the room with a grin. She threw her brother a smile and then made a beeline for Courtney.
“Happy eighteenth birthday, little sister,” she teased as she enveloped Courtney in a warm embrace.
Hugging Erin, Courtney peeked over the girl’s shoulder and saw Nick watching them with ill-concealed irritation. Her nerves took another hit. Surely she wasn’t reading his expression correctly; his features reflected a maddened look of resentment. His legs were braced apart and his teeth were clenched, as t
ension seemed to hold him in its grip.
As she continued to watch him over Erin’s shoulder, his frown only intensified. He stared back at her, holding her gaze captive. Watching her intently, locking her eyes with his, he lifted his glass and threw back the liquor, swallowing it down in one shot.
Chapter One
Six years later
Nick glanced up with a scowl as Damian pushed into his office and tossed a folder on his desk. Not appreciating the interruption, Nick threw his pen aside and rasped, “What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”
Ignoring Nick’s sour mood, Damian tilted his head toward the folder. “Garrett’s fishing for property on the East Coast again. I need you to look it over and make a decision when you get a chance. It looks good to me, but you’ve got the Florida real estate experience, not me.”
Silently acknowledging the real reason he’d taken so many trips to Florida, Nick flipped open the folder. With a questioning grunt, he scanned the title page and glanced down at several photos in bold color. “Another hotel? What’s so different about this one that I have to make a decision? I trust his judgment. Don’t you?”
“Yeah, but this time there’s a little more to it than buying, restructuring and selling for a quick profit.”
His attention arrested with that statement, Nick glanced back up and looked at Damian. “What’s up?”
“He wants to keep it,” Damian answered flatly.
“Keep it? What the fuck for? The Rule Corporation doesn’t keep shit. At least, only very rarely. Does Garrett not get what we do for a living? Do we need to send his ass back to school?”
“It’s a little late for that.” Damian chuckled, glancing out the window and then back to the folder. “Just take a look, will you? I actually think it’s a good idea. You know he’s wanted to branch out for a while now. Actually, expanding is probably a damn good idea. And we have to start somewhere, might as well be real estate. Goddamn, look how much fucking money we’ve made since we bought this building.”
Nick tilted his head in agreement. There was no question that buying the downtown high-rise had been a stroke of genius. And it had been their youngest brother’s idea. “I’ll take a look, but I’m telling you, I don’t have the time to run another subsidiary. Do you have any idea how much travel that would entail? We’d have to hire new people.”
“Garrett can handle it since he has such a hard-on about it. But you have to admit, the kid’s on the right track. We’ve almost doubled our profits with the corporate rents we’re pulling in from this building alone.”
“True,” Nick agreed, glancing back down at the pictures in front of him.
Damian stalled for a moment before continuing. “Speaking of the building … you’re not going to like this—”
“What?” Nick asked, lifting his head and narrowing his eyes on Damian, already pissed from just the tone of his brother’s voice.
“Your dear mother—”
“Whose mother?” Nick quickly interrupted his brother’s sarcastic opening gambit.
“Our mother.” Damian admitted, smirking. “She’s redecorating the house and asked if she could use the penthouse—”
“I live in the goddamn penthouse,” Nick interrupted with an impatience he couldn’t contain.
“I know you do. Obviously why I prefaced that statement with ‘you’re not going to like this.’” Damian replied blandly.
“Do not fucking tell me you gave her a key card,” Nick spit out.
“I didn’t.” Damian stated with a sly smirk.
Nick studied the expression on his brother’s face with building anger, instinctively bracing for what was coming. “Don’t fuck with me,” he hissed out.
“I didn’t give her one.” Damian’s mouth twisted in a shit-faced grin before lowering his boom. “I gave it to Courtney.”
Every muscle in Nick’s body froze, the oxygen in his throat seizing up. “When did Courtney get home?” he managed to force out.
“Yesterday, I think,” Damian replied off-handedly.
“When’d you see her?” Nick asked, trying not to sound as if he were interrogating his brother, barely aware that his words were becoming abrupt as his body tensed.
“Last night at the house. Girl looks good, all grown up. Finally lost that baby fat. Gave her my key card and Garrett’s as well. He won’t need it, since he’s been living at the lake house when he’s not travelling. The only card left is yours. Don’t fucking lose it.”
Nick lifted one eyebrow, expressing his irritation at the unnecessary warning. He remained silent, wondering if his body language was indicating that his emotions had just shifted into dangerous territory.
Damian went on, only semi-apologetically, “You know I didn’t want to agree, but what the hell was I supposed to do?”
Nick’s muscles stiffened as he tried to stay on subject, trying not to give any indication of his true thoughts. “Tell mother ‘no’? Offer to put her up in a hotel? Let her stay at your house?” he suggested.
“Couldn’t do that,” Damian stated. “My house is too far from the city and Courtney has job interviews lined up this week.”
“Courtney? What’s she got to do with this?” Nick asked, confused.
His brother looked at him as if he’d grown an extra head. “Are you dense? What the fuck is wrong with you today? I told you she’s home from grad school. I told you I gave her the key cards to the penthouse. Where do you think she’ll be staying, exactly? If mom can’t live in the house while it’s being updated, how do you think Courtney will be able to?”
Nick let out a slow, exaggerated breath while he tried to get his brain to keep working. Keep up with the fucking conversation, Rule. You can do it. Get your goddamn head back in the game and out of that girl’s pants. “I guess I don’t get a vote in the matter?” he forced himself to ask a question that wouldn’t sound suspicious to his brother.
“Look, Nick, I’m sorry. It’ll only be for a few weeks, okay? Maybe less. The penthouse has four suites. You’ll never know they’re living there.”
Nick frowned but said, “Fine.”
“Fine? You’re giving up that easily?” Damian asked incredulously.
Giving up? More like restraining himself to his seat. It was true that the thought of his mother living with him for a few weeks was horrifying. But Courtney living under his roof? That was an entirely different matter. “What the hell do you want me to say, Damian? You’ve left me with little choice.”
“I appreciate you not busting a fuse about this. They’re probably moving in as we speak.”
Nick’s lips tightened as he dismissed his brother. “You’re going to owe me, and you’re going to owe me fucking big.”
“Yeah, I already figured that one out,” Damian replied as he turned and left the room.
****
Courtney unpacked her suitcases in the second bedroom suite of the Rule Corporation’s penthouse. The apartment contained four suites and now, only one sat empty. Earlier in the day, Justine Rule had settled into the third suite, but she’d already left for a meeting with the contractors who were remodeling the house. This morning, when Courtney and her godmother had arrived at the penthouse together, the older woman had been just as loving and considerate as she’d always been, insisting that Courtney take the most spacious suite available.
Of course, Nick already occupied the largest set of rooms. Fortunately or unfortunately, Courtney couldn’t decide which, the suite she was now settling into happened to be the one closest to his. She let out a sigh. Nick. He was her nemesis as well as her savior. Courtney knew the terms were inconsistent, but even as she had the thought, she shrugged a shoulder. Nick was what he was, and there was no changing him.
Several years ago, whether it had been from the flip of a coin or a simple matter of logistics, she didn’t know which, Nick had commandeered the entire penthouse for his own personal use, and Courtney knew from what Justine had told her, that he wasn’t going to be happy sharing hi
s space with houseguests.
She smiled wickedly at the thought. Too damn bad.
Nick had been getting his way for far, far too long. A strong arrow of annoyance took hold of Courtney that she was unable to shake.
It was unbelievable, un-freaking-believable. She was twenty-four years old.
Twenty. Four. Years. Old.
And still a virgin.
How in the hell had that happened? She liked to think of herself as normal and she was certainly healthy. But evidently, somewhere along the way, she’d become Nick Rule’s property and he never let her forget that fact.
To the rest of the Rule family, she was just Courtney Powell. Orphan, extended family member, goddaughter and ex-ward of Justine Rule.
But to Nick, she was … something more. What exactly that was, she wasn’t sure. Nobody else in the family seemed to know what was going on in his head. Courtney reanalyzed that thought, and although she wasn’t entirely certain, she figured Damian had to have a clue about how Nick treated her, and if he didn’t, she had no idea how he’d missed it.
It had certainly taken Courtney awhile to figure Nick out—and she still didn’t have all the puzzle pieces in place just yet. But it was coming along; she’d figure him out eventually. And living in such close proximity would help that along, it had to.
As she shook out another blouse and placed it on a hanger, she figured it was probably only her imagination, but she could almost smell Nick’s scent lingering in the apartment. Just the thought of being in his home for a few weeks, even with his mother around, was causing her legs to tremble.
Damn him.
He’d always caused her legs to tremble. Even from the very beginning.
With her, it had always been about Nick. Always. But her thought process had been so clouded by grief that it had taken her years to figure out that she meant something to Nick as well.