Rule's Seduction (The House of Rule 4)

Sure, maybe he had—literally—charmed her out of her pants. He’d been at his seductive, playful best, if he had to say so himself. After a full day of sex, food, and alcohol, talking her into the wedding chapel had been ridiculously easy. He’d acted surprised by their location, as if they’d merely stumbled upon the place in the dark of the evening—and then he’d maneuvered her into a secluded doorway and kissed the breath from her. He’d moved his lips to her ear and whispered that he wanted to keep her naked in his bed forever. From there it had been simple; she’d married him without a quibble.

She’d stumbled only twice climbing up the steps onto his private jet, and he’d refused to feel guilty. Yes, she’d been inebriated—but son-of-a-bitch—he wasn’t the one who’d poured the alcohol down her throat, even if he had been the one to order the drinks.

Sadly, it had been necessary.

He’d had one unpleasant moment when he’d worried if she had her passport. He didn’t want her to know they were flying out of the US, and he didn’t particularly want to commit a felony by whisking her onto his jet without one. But as he’d surreptitiously questioned her about her plans, she’d told him she’d brought her passport just in case—her reasoning being that Tijuana was only a short, five-hour drive from Las Vegas and that she’d never before visited that particular border town. And that information had sealed her fate. After that, it had been a piece of cake to get the girl on his plane and totally, one hundred percent, under his control.

Was he proud that he’d used subterfuge? That he’d kissed the breath from her and seduced her into a marriage ceremony with the promise of nothing more than amazing sex? Not particularly proud, no, but that part of his plan was over now. He didn’t have to pretend any longer. His mission was accomplished and now he could again be the man he was—with no pretense between him and his brand new wife.

Erin was his now. And for whatever reason, at this point, his long-sought venganza and the Rule brothers’ reaction to their sister’s hasty marriage merely felt like an added bonus.

****

Erin woke to what sounded, to her admittedly foggy mind, like the vibrations of a jet engine humming. She opened her eyes and groggily put her hand to her aching head as she sat up. The sheet slipped to her waist and glancing down, with a moment of panic, she realized she was naked—at least she was naked on top. Taking a deep breath, she lifted the cover and discovered she was completely nude.

She closed her eyes as a haze of confusion set in. Clutching the sheet under her arms, she put her head in her hands and groaned aloud. What the hell had she done? Or perhaps more to the point, where the hell was she?

Opening her eyes again, she glanced around at what was obviously a bedroom in a private jet; the noise around her and the pressure changing in her ears told her definitively that she was on an aircraft. A wave of panic settled in her stomach. She swallowed and began to put a shaky hand to her brow, and that’s when she saw the huge diamond solitaire on the ring finger of her left hand. And accompanying it? Nothing else but a band of gold.

And then the memory hit her—and a moment of wild elation shot through her system. Max. The man who’d enticed her to act so irrationally. As a vision of his face and body swept over her, she couldn’t contain the pleasurable, satisfied shiver that swept along her nerve endings.

She was married.

And just as quickly the elation simmered down as worry slammed her system. Married? To a man she knew virtually nothing about? Maybe . . . maybe not so good after all.

Seriously—what the hell had she done?

Bits and pieces of the previous day, or what she assumed by now must have been the previous day, started to come back to her, slowly at first and then more quickly like a camera roll clicking in her brain. The drinking. Ugh—now she knew exactly why her head hurt. The picture changed—slow dancing. Her stomach flipped as the image shifted again. Her hotel room this time—more sex.

He’d definitely been out to seduce her—no question about that. Another trickle of elation tried to break free but she forced herself to think logically.

She took a stabilizing breath as the pictures slammed her brain one after the next, all coming back to her in vivid and damning color. There had been gambling, restaurants and bars. She gulped and forced herself to remember. There had definitely been a wedding chapel—and a jewelry store.

As she fingered the ring on her left hand, the memory of the airport came back to her.