The Rule Book (Rule Breakers #1)(68)

His brown eyes darkened, and his tongue ran across his lips as he edged his hands along the hem of my shirt. He cocked his head, asking silent permission.

Yes. So. Much. Yes.

I lifted my hands up in response, and he tore my shirt off, throwing it on top of his own.

He let out a low groan as his eyes made an appreciative perusal. “You know what I’m thinking about in all those meetings and phone conferences? What I think about in the shower and my bed—every goddamn second of the day?” he growled. His voice vibrated through my chest, stirring up everything inside me, all the pieces aflutter like the flecks of a shaken snow globe.

“What?” My voice was barely a whisper.

“You, Lainey. All I can think about is you.” He pushed me harder against the wall. “I can’t get you off my mind.” His hands cupped the backs of my thighs, and he pulled me up, my legs wrapping around his waist. God, at this moment I’d give this man anything he wanted. Anything. He asked, it was his. I wanted to lose myself in him, for him to show me exactly what he meant by his words.

“Looks like we have the same problem.” My hands scraped along the tight muscles of his back.

He pulled away and looked at me. I mean really looked at me, hitting a point so deep, I’d never come out of this unscathed. “You are not a problem to be solved, Lainey.” His eyes held so much intensity they robbed the breath out of my chest. “You are the answer to my f*cking prayers.”

His mouth crashed against mine, unrelenting, as he carried me to his bedroom.

…

A slash of sunlight cut through the curtains at approximately a quarter till way too early. I groaned and turned to my other side, and came face to face with Brogan. His eyes opened lazily, flecks of gold glistening in his brown irises. He smiled and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me closer. “Morning, beautiful.”

Being cocooned in his arms, in the warmth of his body, the scent of his intoxicating mint body wash…everything made me melt into him and never want to come up for air. What we shared last night, felt like we traded a piece of our souls, a connection I’d never experienced with any other guy before. “Morning,” I said softly, still letting the moment wrap around me like a warm blanket.

“What do you want to do today?” I asked.

He took a deep breath, and his heated gaze raked over me while his hand disappeared under the covers. “You.”

Well, then. A round four? Praise all that was holy, because Brogan was a god in and out of the boardroom. His fingers found their way to the space between my thighs, and I knocked my head back against the pillow, savoring his touch. I could definitely get behind spending an entire day in bed with Brogan.

Unfortunately, Bruce had other plans. He let out a loud fart and began to whine from the end of the bed.

I buried myself under the covers as the smell began to waft my way.

“Bruce, you really know how to ruin a moment, buddy,” Brogan said. He joined me underneath the covers, and his smile softened. He ran his hand along the curve of my hip and said, “Now where was I?”

I pressed my forehead to his, and my fingers traced the stubble on his chin. “I believe you were about to kiss me again.”

“Ah. I think you’re right.”

His lips brushed mine, and I melted into him. His hands gripped my hips and he rolled me over so that I was straddling him. It was apparent through the thin material of his boxer briefs that he was up for round four. I ground against him, and he let out a low growl, roughly cupping my ass.

“I wish I could wake up every morning like this,” he murmured into my ear.

I deepened our kiss, my tongue sweeping past his lips, putting every bit of myself into this. The sensation of falling without knowing if there was anything below to catch me crashed over me like a wave. It stole my breath, every sensible thought, until the only words coursing through my mind were need, want, must have. Brogan wasn’t something that I could consider a luxury anymore, he was a necessity.

Part of me understood that should scare the hell out of me, but I was too busy losing myself in him.

Brogan reached over to his nightstand and pulled out another condom. Just as he pulled the foil apart, Bruce whined again and pawed at the door.

I sighed and rested my forehead against his. “Do you want me to take him for a walk?”

He pulled the covers off and sat up, bringing me with him. His bare chest against mine was enough to make me want to ignore the dog altogether and continue where we’d left off. “No. He’s my dog. I’ll walk him. But I’d like for you to come with me. And…we’ll continue this later.” The determination in his eyes sent a wave of goose bumps cascading over my arms. It was a promise. One I’d make sure he kept.



Tufts of gray clouds rolled across the hazy Seattle horizon. A thin dusting of snow covered the cars parked along the streets as we made our way down the block an hour past what Bruce deemed as an acceptable time to be walked.

There was one question that was still bugging me from last night. Brogan’s friend Jace had mentioned that his father was the * Wall Street type. It made me wonder why Brogan decided to build his own company. This business was hard enough as is. I steeled myself and gripped Bruce’s leash a little harder. “Does your dad live in New York?”

In my other hand, Brogan’s tensed a fraction, but relaxed a moment later. “Part-time. He also owns a home in Bellevue. That’s where he conducts business when he gets tired of the city. He’s been doing that for years.”