Rule's Property (The House of Rule 2)

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.

She tugged it back up without glancing at him. Her gaze was firmly glued to the doors in front of her as if she had no escape route.

Well shit. She didn't. He was about to make sure of that.

He looked away from her with mounting impatience and studied the digital display as the elevator climbed. Courtney Powell was about to be in his bed. About fucking time. He inhaled a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to regain control. Six years. Six years. That's all he'd had to wait. No big deal. Right.

The six years had been hell, but he could've waited any number of years if he'd had to.

He'd wait a lifetime for Courtney if that was the only choice he had.

He loved her that much.

He clenched his jaw, forcing himself not to reach out and grab her. He ran his eyes over the slim line of her back as impatience clawed down his spine. Did she know he loved her? She damn sure knew he wanted her. But did she know that he loved her with everything he had to give and that he always had?

Fuck. His brothers could have an issue with this. He should care, he really should.

He didn't. Not anymore.

The elevator doors swished open and with a firm hand on her lower back, he escorted her inside his penthouse and to the future he had mapped out for her.

****

The lights were dim as Courtney followed behind Nick to his suite of rooms, his hand clamped around hers in an unyielding vise. Her heartbeat was uncommonly subdued considering what they were about to do. Was she in a state of shock or just in a trance? Whichever it was, she was glad that her pulse was steady and that she seemed to be in control of her emotions.

It could so be going in the opposite direction right now.

She was finally getting what she wanted. What she'd wanted since she'd been eighteen years old. Seventeen, really, but who was counting?

She was getting Nick.

Or rather, she was about to sleep with him.

Her pulse began to race as the reality of that truth began to sink in.

As he locked the bedroom door and turned to her, she took a deep breath and blurted out, "I'm on the pill."

He froze for a moment, as he seemed to digest her words. "Since when?"

She swallowed. How to answer that? "Since . . . since the closet incident."

He didn't reply and she couldn't decipher his expression, but she had to get something out there; her nerves were stretched too thin to put it from her mind. "You know I've never done this before." She let out a deep breath of relief after she'd uttered the words. Even though she'd already hinted at her virginity, she wanted to fully admit the truth.

His expression changed to one that, this time, she had no problem deciphering; a hard look of satisfaction blazed across his features. "I wasn't completely sure, but I'm guilty of hoping that was the case."

Courtney cleared her throat, wanting to know the answer to a question that had been bothering her. "We've waited so long . . . but you shouldn't have made us wait such a long time. It wasn't fair. What would you do, what would you say if I wasn't still . . . " Her voice trailed off.

He shook his head, although a pained look encompassed his features. "It wouldn't matter. I can't deny that I want it; I want your innocence. But I want you more than that. Maybe you don't understand, but I had no choice. I had to let you go . . . I had to give you the time to grow up . . . and now I'll take you however I find you and thank God every day that I have you."