Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 55744 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55744 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
"Understand me, Courtney?" he snapped.
"Okay," she answered.
He stared into her face as if gauging the honesty of her agreement. "Okay," he agreed. "In the meantime, stay clear of men. Stay clear of boys. You don't need the distraction and I don't need the goddamn headache."
Her breath snagged at his demand.
"Do you understand me?" he questioned hotly at her silence. "You're still too young for that shit and I swear to God, I can't handle it right now. Got that?"
Too young? Christ, she was twenty-two. Her eyes dropped from his but she nodded her head. Agreeing to that demand was easy, because really, all other men were basically invisible to her.
At her non-verbal confirmation, he took a deep breath. "Okay, are we good?"
When she nodded her head again, he placed the charm, very carefully, on her pajama top. He moved slowly, and then wrapped both arms around her, and held her against his chest in the hug she'd been wanting for months now. Courtney closed her eyes and absorbed his strength. She breathed in his scent and felt herself relax against him. His arms tightened almost immediately.
His mouth came to her ear and he whispered, "I missed you, too."
Her breath snarled in her lungs and she felt lightheaded as she closed her eyes and rejoiced in his embrace.
He held her that way for some minutes, and then he pulled back and placed a single, fleeting kiss to her forehead. "I'll see you in three months, okay?"
"Okay."
"Be safe."
"Yeah, you too."
He'd watched her steadily for a moment, then he released her, turned away and walked out of the apartment.
Of course, it hadn't worked out the way he'd mapped it out. She had received the scholarship for graduate school that she'd applied for. She'd stayed in Florida another two years and it had been a test of fortitude to finish the courses she knew she'd need for her future.
And dear God, Nick had been so pissed at the delay that she knew the two extra years had almost driven him crazy.
But now those years were over.
And she was finally home, just as he'd demanded.
But now it was time for her to get what she wanted for a change.
And she wanted Nick Rule.
Chapter Three
Courtney came back to the present as she heard a noise behind her. Turning around, she clutched a pair of low-heeled pumps to her chest as her heartbeat took off at a full gallop. Nick stood well inside her bedroom suite, at the door to her closet as if he owned the place, which she supposed he did. He was silent as he stared at her and the blood pumped furiously through her veins.
As she usually only visited St. Louis on major holidays, it had been months since she'd last seen him. His dark hair was unruly and in need of a trim, and the furrow between his eyebrows looked more pronounced than usual.
As he remained silent, she cleared her throat. "Your mother left a few minutes ago. You just missed her."
He stared at her for a moment, his eyes running over her body and then moving to the contents of the closet. As he studied her things stored there, a look of satisfaction crossed his features before his eyes came back to hers. "You think I came up here to see my mother?"
She knew he hadn't. He'd cut his workday short for one reason. To see her. She knew he was still angry. He'd been angry and impatient every time she'd spoken to him during the last two years. Granted, those times had been sporadic at best but what was she supposed to have done? Thrown away a perfectly good opportunity for an expense-free master's degree? And for what? He'd never promised her anything.
Promises had never been Nick's forte. No, his specialty was the threats he liked to make.
She declined to answer his question and he continued about his mother, "I saw her downstairs. In case she didn't tell you, she won't be back for hours." He stared straight into her eyes as his voice deepened even more, "And she couldn't get back inside the penthouse even if she tried. I temporarily changed the code."
Another ill-concealed threat. One with sexual implications that had her heart racing. Even as she recognized the threat for what it was, Courtney's breath quickened and she had to concentrate to keep it steady. As he watched her with a territorial glint in his eyes, her blood heated but she managed to ignore his sexually challenging words as she responded coolly with, "How are you, Nick?" She was proud of her even tone, but at the same time, she couldn't stop herself from turning away and fiddling with her shoes; the ones she held in her arms she put away as she straightened another pair just to keep her hands busy.