Against the Rules Read online

  He didn’t answer, merely opened the door to her bedroom and tossed the bags inside with fine disregard for their safety. Then he wrapped his long fingers around her delicate wrist and pulled her after him down the hallway to his room. Even when he was tired she was no match for his strength, so she didn’t waste any energy in trying to jerk away. He opened the door and ushered her into his bedroom, which was in almost total darkness because the last of the feeble daylight had gone. Without turning on the light he closed the door and reached for her, folding her against him and kissing her with an angry hunger that belied his obvious weariness.

  Cathryn put her arms around his waist and kissed him in return, almost weeping with the knowledge that she didn’t dare stay with him. Her senses were swamped by him, by the taste of his mouth, the feel of his hard body against her, the damp smell of his skin and hair and clothing. He released her and snapped on the overhead light, moving away as he spoke.

  “I’m not taking you to Houston,” he said grimly.

  “Of course not. You’re too tired,” she said with outward calm. “But Lewis can—”

  “No, Lewis can’t. No one will take you to Houston if they want to keep working on the Bar D,” he snapped. “I made that clear to all of them. Damn it, Cat, that very first day, when I picked you up, you told me you’d stay!” He began to unbutton his shirt, shrugging it away from his powerful shoulders and tossing it aside.

  Cathryn sat down on the bed and clasped her fingers tightly together as she fought for control. At last she said, “I only said maybe I’d stay. And don’t bother with threatening me or any of the hands, because you know I can leave tomorrow, if not tonight.”

  He nodded his head. “Maybe, if Monica comes back tonight. But she’s afraid to drive at night, and since she’s not here by now I don’t expect her back until tomorrow. Then you’ll have to get to the station wagon before I put it out of commission.”

  Control was forgotten and she leaped to her feet, her eyes narrowing with temper. “I won’t be kept here like a prisoner!” she shouted.

  “I don’t want it that way either!” he yelled back, rounding on her. “But I told you that I won’t let you run away from me again, and I meant it. Hell, woman, didn’t last night tell you anything?”

  “It told me it’s been a while since you had a woman!” she flared.

  “Don’t kid yourself!”

  Silence fell and Cathryn admitted uneasily that he could have a woman whenever he wanted one—a particularly unpalatable thought. When she said nothing else he unfastened his belt and jeans and pushed them down, stripping off his socks in the same movement and stepping away from the pile of clothing, as unconcerned about his nudity as if she hadn’t been in the room. But then, weren’t they as familiar with each other as a man and woman could be? Cathryn eyed the tall, vital body with secret hunger, then turned her gaze away before he could read the expression in her eyes.

  He gathered up clean clothing and tossed it into her arms. She caught it automatically, holding his clothes to her. After a few moments he muttered, “Give it a chance, Cat. Stay here. Call your boss tomorrow and tell him that you quit.”

  “I can’t do that,” she said quietly.

  He erupted again. “Damn it, why not? What’s stopping you?”

  “You are.”

  He closed his eyes and she could have sworn that he was snarling under his breath. An unwanted smile tried to break over her lips, but she subdued it. How had Wanda described him? Still dangerous but controlled? It was a safe bet that no one knew as well as she did just how volcanic Rule really was. Finally he opened his eyes and glared at her, the dark irises gleaming with angry frustration. “Ricky got to you. You believe her.”

  “No!” she burst out, unable to control her reaction. He didn’t understand and she couldn’t tell him, couldn’t say that she was afraid to trust him on such an intimate level. He was asking for more than just sex...and she didn’t feel capable of dealing with either scenario. She was afraid of him, afraid of how he could hurt her if she let her guard down. Rule could destroy her, because he could get closer to her than anyone else ever had or would.

  “Then what?” he roared. “Tell me! Tell me what I have to do to get you to stay here! You’ve put it all on my shoulders, so tell me exactly what you want me to do.”

  Cathryn considered him, standing there furious and naked and so magnetically masculine that she wanted to drop the clothing that she held to her breast and run to him, wrap her arms around him and bury her face in the curly dark hair that decorated his muscular chest. How much she wanted to stay! This was her home, and she wanted to be here. Yet she couldn’t handle Rule...unless she had his cooperation. An idea glimmered, and she didn’t stop to consider it. She simply blurted out, “No sex.”

  He looked staggered, as if she had suggested that he had to give up breathing. Then he swore aloud, scowling at her. “Do you really think that’s possible?”

  “It will have to be,” she assured him. “At least until I decide if...if...”

  “If?” he prodded.

  “If I can stay permanently,” she finished, thinking swiftly that there had to be some way she could maneuver him into promising to behave himself. “I’m not looking for an affair. I’m not a casual woman and I never have been.”

  “We can’t be ‘just friends,’” he said savagely. “I want you, and I’ve never been good at self-denial. It was bad enough when you were married, but now it’ll be damned near impossible. When are you going to face up to what the real situation is?”

  Cathryn ignored him, determined to press her point. She sensed that he was off-balance, and it was such an unusual circumstance that she was loath to let the opportunity pass. “I’m not asking for a vow of celibacy from you,” she retorted. “Only that you leave me alone until I’ve decided.” Even as she said the words she felt furious at the mere thought that he would go to another woman. Just let him dare!

  His jaw was like a chunk of granite. “And if you decide to stay?”

  Her dark eyes went wide as she realized what such a decision would mean. If she stayed she would be Rule Jackson’s woman. She wouldn’t be able to hold him off forever with the shield that she was “trying to decide.” He would want a definite answer before long, and now she fully understood that what she had conceived as a delaying tactic had become a trap. She could stay, or she could go, but if she stayed she would be his. She looked at him, standing there as naked and powerful as some ancient god, and pain twisted her insides. Could she really leave him?

  She lifted her chin and answered him evenly, using all her woman’s courage in the effort. “If I stay, then I accept your terms.”

  He didn’t relax. “I want you to call tomorrow and quit your job.”

  “But if I decide to leave—”

  “You don’t need a job. This ranch can support you.”

  “I don’t want to bleed the ranch.”

  “Damn it, Cat, I said I’ll support you!” he snarled. “Just leave it alone for now. Will you quit the job or not?”

  “Be reasonable—” she began to plead, knowing that it was a hopeless request. He cut her short with a slashing movement of his hand.

  “Quit...the...job,” he ordered from between clenched teeth. “That’s the deal. You’ll stay if I keep my hands to myself. All right, I’ll go along with that if you’ll quit your job. We both have to give in.”

  She saw his muscles quiver and knew that if she said no, his control would be gone. Rule had compromised his position and he would go no further. Either she quit her job or he would keep her on the ranch by any means at his disposal. It seemed to her that she could be either a willing prisoner or an unwilling one, but she gave in on the job in order to keep her advantage in other areas. “All right. I’ll quit the job.” Even as she promised, she felt lost, as if she had severed her last tie to Chicago and her life with David, as if she had turned her back on his memory.

  He sighed and ran his hand roughly through hi