Against the Rules by Linda Howard Page A

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.
    â€œThen 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?”
    â€œIt will have to be,” she assured him. “At least until I decide if...if...”
    â€œIf?” he prodded.
    â€œIf 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.”
    â€œWe 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.”
    â€œBut if I decide to leave—”
    â€œYou don’t need a job. This ranch can support you.”
    â€œI don’t want to bleed the ranch.”
    â€œDamn it, Cat, I said I’ll support you!” he snarled. “Just leave it alone for now. Will you quit the job or not?”
    â€œBe reasonable—” she began to plead, knowing that it was a hopeless request. He cut her short with a slashing movement of his hand.
    â€œQuit...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