Rule's Property (The House of Rule 2)

Her legs trembled the entire way back to his car.

She swallowed hard, knowing that she'd have this memory forever. Nick reached over and buckled her in and then caressed her cheekbone with his fingers. "Want to drive into Belleville for lunch?"

Totally undone by the unexpected romance of the day, Courtney nodded her head. "Okay."

Nick smiled as if she'd pleased him and then tapped her on the nose before turning away and pulling away from the parking lot.

The drive to Belleville, Illinois took less than half an hour, and soon, they were sitting in a quiet restaurant with two glasses of wine between them. "Alcohol during the day, Nick?" she asked with a quirk, still a bit embarrassed because the waiter had carded her.

"It's a special occasion."

"Is it?" she asked, swirling the liquid in her glass.

Their food arrived and after the waiter left them, Nick touched his glass to hers. "It's always special when I'm with you."

Courtney's heart went into overdrive. Never in a million years had she thought Nick could be so charming and romantic.

After they'd eaten a leisurely meal and were in the car again, after a glass of wine and a nice meal, Courtney wasn't paying attention to where they were headed.

She glanced around when Nick pulled into another parking lot only minutes later. A large, imposing building stood in front of them. She sucked in a breath, a rush going through her brain, suddenly realizing that the entire outing had finally come to the place that Nick had been pushing toward. "Where are we?" she asked softly, trying to get her vocal chords to work as she looked at the huge government-looking building with suspicion.

"Courthouse," he announced just before he got out of the vehicle and walked around to her side.

He opened her door, and as if a fog had taken over, she unclipped her seat belt as he took her hand. She stood to her feet as if in a trance and lifted the strap of her bag around her torso as she stared at the huge building. He pushed on the car door and it slid shut with a gentle snap. He began ushering her forward but her feet stalled as she held her ground. "What are we doing here?" she asked more firmly, finally finding her voice.

He stopped and turned toward her, backing her up until her butt hit the car's gleaming fender. He crowded her back and stared down into her uplifted face. "What do you think we're doing here?"

She shook her head back and forth, refusing to answer, refusing to guess. If what was happening was what she thought was happening, she was going to be upset.

He reached out and took her chin in his fingers in a grasp that made her want to submit but at the same time, made her want to jerk away from him in equal measure. As a compromise, she stood completely still and did neither. His thumb ran across her bottom lip producing a lick of fire. Those damn butterflies went off in her stomach even when she didn't want them to as she became light-headed. He opened his mouth and the words she'd been afraid he'd utter came spilling out. "We're getting a marriage license."

Chapter Seven

Courtney felt herself blink up at Nick as her emotions went into a tailspin. Where in the hell was her marriage proposal? Was he announcing they were getting married without any input from her? Yeah, it had been a nice, romantic afternoon . . . but it wasn't enough. Where was her ring? Where were the words? She continued to look at him blankly while she tried not to be hurt.

She glanced at the building and then back to Nick while a knot formed in her stomach. Very softly, she shook her head and at her action, a frown built on his features. "No?" he asked incredulously.

She shook her head again.

He took her hand in his, and for a moment Courtney thought she was going to get at least some of what she wanted, maybe a belated proposal. But abruptly, he turned her hand until it was captured to his side. He caged her in with his other arm until she was well and truly under his physical control. "What's the problem here, babe?"

Courtney really, really didn't want to tell him that her feelings were hurt, so she went down another path. "I'm sure we don't have the correct documents. Surely we need something more than a driver's license." It took everything she had to keep her words neutral.

"I've got your passport and birth certificate."

Bells started clanging in her ears. "What?" she asked, as anger began to blend with the hurt she was feeling.

His mouth flattened as he undoubtedly realized that his plan wasn't going the way he'd mapped it out. "Again, what's the problem?"