Rule's Addiction (The House of Rule 3)

His voice came to a halt and shock at his words hit her full force. As he began to thrust within her, the impact of his strokes jarred her and at the same time, sent a wave of liquid heat to the point where they were connected. Her senses spun in a conflagration of twisted emotions. God, she loved this. Loved the way he felt inside of her, loved the scent of his skin, loved the forceful control of his dominant personality. But an arrow of very real concern was beating through her bloodstream, making her wonder if she was doing the right thing by being with him. His words and actions were only proving what she already knew; he was a maniac.

But then the memory of his gentleness the previous night washed over her, spreading like a balmy mist over her, easing her distress. He had been so gentle. She knew he had that capacity inside of him. Could she bring that aspect of his personality out if she tried? With that thought, but without her conscious volition, her hands reached up and found his shoulders, her eyes holding his. “I don’t want you to come unhinged,” she soothed. “What do you want me to say?”

The lines of his face only hardened and his words came out just as aggressively as before, “I want you to agree that you belong to me, and understand what that means.”

Maria took a sharp, uncontrolled breath. “Okay,” she complied, keeping her voice soft with effort.

“And that you’ll do what I say when it comes to all things sexual,” he hissed in a tone that wasn’t anywhere near gentle, the grip of his hands only growing tighter.

Maria forced herself to ignore the alarm bells and focus only on the amazing way he made her feel, determined to see if her idea would work. “Okay,” she agreed again, hoping against hope that she hadn’t just lost her mind.

“I want you to find a person who can run this goddamn hotel for you so you can be with me when I need you,” he demanded, biting the words out as if there would be hell to pay if she didn’t comply.

“Okay, I will,” she said simply.

“Promise me,” he said, but it sounded as if he hadn’t finished his thought.

“Promise you . . . what?” she asked gently.

There was a pause while Maria thought he wouldn’t say anything more, but then he rattled out in a pained, almost vulnerable sounding tone, “Promise that you’re mine and only mine.”

She heard what sounded like a need for reassurance in his voice and was shaken by it. “I promise,” she whispered.

When she said the words, it was as if a switch flipped inside of him. His eyes closed as if in relief and then his head dropped to her shoulder. His arms wrapped all the way around her, and still buried inside her, he clutched her to his chest almost as if she was as precious as gold.

A ribbon of emotion bled through her veins and encompassed her entire body as she lifted her arms around his neck and held him back. “Garrett,” she whispered.

After a moment, he lifted his head and wrapped his hands around her cheekbones. “What?” he asked simply.

She took a deep breath. “Make love to me.”

His eyes closed, almost as if he were feeling an emotion he didn’t want her to see. His eyes opened, ran all over her face, and then with a rasp of oxygen, his mouth fell to hers. He began kissing her as if he couldn’t get enough, as if he wouldn’t ever get enough, and Maria felt fireworks explode in her head.

As they kissed, his hips began moving again and soon, Maria was swamped with a desire, a heightened emotion unlike any she’d ever felt before.

His kiss was so sweet it felt almost like adoration, and she fell hard and fast under his spell. It was exactly as it had been the night before, his caresses though firm and controlled, were as gentle as if she was deserving of everything he had to give.

Right before she fell over the edge into orgasm, she felt him coming with her, felt the scalding heat of his release warming her, and she knew that she was in deeper waters than she’d ever been before.

Her eyes remaining closed, euphoria engulfing her, her last thought was she hoped he’d save her from drowning.

****

When Maria left his office, Garrett sat behind his desk, feeling almost as if he was in a daze. Christ, had he just trusted her to be on birth control? What the hell had come over him? And why, even now, did he know in his heart that he was going to continue to trust her word?

He’d never trusted a woman’s word about birth control in his life; he’d been particularly careful after the incident in grad school with the condom splitting and that bitch claiming she was pregnant.