Rule's Addiction (The House of Rule 3)

She remained silent.

His eyes narrowed. “All I want is the truth . . . you were trying to make me jealous.”

She shook her head with a jerk. “No,” she lied, staring up at him, hoping he couldn’t read the truth in her eyes, yet knowing he probably could. She took a breath and went as far as she was willing to go. “I—I was trying to get your attention,” she finally said, holding his gaze.

A look of pleasure lit his eyes, although he held his expression in firm lines. “You haven’t figured out yet that you have my full attention?”

Her heartbeat slammed against her chest, her breath snagged as she studied him, but she remained silent.

After the pulse of a second while they stared at each other, he swung her up in his arms and began leading her down a hallway. “I’ll prove it to you,” he said in a lust-filled voice.

Maria closed her eyes and let every other thought except for Garrett Rule escape her mind.

****

“You want to see our place?” Garrett asked over coffee the next morning.

“Place?” Maria asked, her mind still fried from the night that had passed . . . and the morning in the shower together.

“Rule Corporation headquarters,” he qualified.

A thrill shot through her that he would take her there. “That sounds good. When?”

“How about now?”

“Okay,” she said with a smile.

Forty-five minutes later, Garrett pulled up in the underground parking level beneath the Rule Tower. Maria had felt a tiny bout of queasiness rise up in her throat when they’d driven up and she’d seen the huge building. At her questions, he’d explained that they owned the entire building, and Maria’s head almost began swimming. She hadn’t known that their conglomerate was quite that extensive, quite that lucrative. It made her wonder why he’d zeroed in on her hotel when there were so many other more impressive and better-located opportunities in Miami.

As he bypassed the stairs and kept walking, he asked, “You going to be able to handle the elevator?”

As his fingers enclosed hers, his thumb slid gently over her skin, offering comfort, and she nodded her head.

They boarded the elevator, and Maria distracted herself from the enclosed space by wondering what reason Garrett would give to his brothers for having her tag along. What if they questioned his motives for bringing her to St. Louis with him? And did he have a motive, other than the most obvious one?

As the elevator doors opened, unfortunately, the first person Maria saw was Courtney Powell, and a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach made her admit that she’d been dreading a meeting with the other woman. There was no question that Maria hadn’t been welcoming to Courtney after Garrett had bought the hotel and sent the other woman to oversee the renovations. She’d felt both envious and jealous of the competent blonde, and she felt bad about that, she truly did, but what the hell, she was only human—she wasn’t perfect.

Courtney was standing with a cup of coffee and a file folder, speaking to a receptionist in the large open area directly across from the bank of elevators. As the other woman glanced up and recognized Garrett, Maria saw a grin break across her face. But it was gone just as quickly when she spotted Maria standing next to him.

Having no choice but to follow in Garrett’s wake, Maria trailed beside him as he hugged Courtney. “How’s everything going?” he asked her.

“Good. Everything’s all set with the Houston acquisition.” Maria watched as Courtney gave that assurance to Garrett, and then the other woman looked to her. “Hello,” she said with obvious reservation in her voice.

“Hello,” Maria answered neutrally, trying not to sound awkward. Why had she been such a witch to the woman? Jealousy was a bitch, and hers was coming back to bite her in the butt with a vengeance.

Garrett must have felt the tension in the air because he winced and then held out his hand to hustle them out of the reception area. “Let’s go have a chat, shall we? Your office is fine,” he directed.

“All right,” The other woman agreed amicably enough as she spun on her heel and headed for a large office three doors down.

A middle-aged woman manned the entrance, and Maria noticed that Courtney stalled beside the secretary’s desk while she held her hand out to them, indicating they should move forward into her office. At that moment, Garrett’s cell began ringing and as he answered it, Maria heard Courtney lean down and ask her secretary in a low voice, “Have you heard from Nick yet?”

“Yes, ma’am. He was delayed last night at the last minute but left a message—”

Maria heard no more of the secretary’s low comment as Garrett cupped her elbow and indicated she should move forward into the office, he himself still distracted by the phone conversation he was having.