Against the Rules by Linda Howard Page B

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 his dark hair. “Lorna’s holding dinner,” he muttered, taking his clothes from her. “I’ll take a fast shower and be right down.”
    As he opened the door Cathryn leaped across the room and slammed it shut, jerking it out of his hand. He gave her a startled look, and she hissed at him, “You’re naked!”
    He gave her a tired half smile. “I know. I usually shower this way.”
    â€œBut someone will see you!”
    â€œHoney, Monica isn’t here, Lorna is downstairs, and Ricky hasn’t come in from the stables yet. You’re the only one who can see me, and I don’t have anything to hide from you, do I?” The smile changed from tired to mocking as he opened the door again and sauntered down the hall. Cathryn followed him, so exasperated that she wanted to punch him, but she wasn’t that foolish.
    After dinner Rule promptly went to bed and Cathryn found herself alone with Ricky, a far from comfortable companion. First she turned on the television and flipped from one channel to the next; then she turned the set off and flopped down on the couch. Cathryn did her best to continue reading the article she had started, but she was completely unbalanced when Ricky said nastily, “Shouldn’t you go tuck him in?”
    Cathryn jumped, then looked away as she felt her face heat up. “Who?” she managed to say, but her voice wasn’t quite steady.
    Ricky smiled and stretched her legs, crossing them at the ankle. “Who?” she mimicked sweetly. “It’s hard to believe you’re really that dumb. Do you think I don’t know where he slept last night? But you’ve got to give Rule credit. When he wants something, he goes after it. He wants this ranch and he’s using you to get it, but he’s so great in bed that you can’t see beyond that, can you?”
    â€œI see a lot of things, including your jealousy,” Cathryn snapped. Anger had leaped to life in her, and she wasn’t about to deny that Rule had made love to her, if that was what Ricky was trying to provoke her into saying.
    Ricky laughed. “That’s right, keep your head in the clouds. You haven’t been able to think straight since he gave you your first taste of sex when you were seventeen. Did you think I didn’t know? I rode up in time to see him help you put your clothes back on. You’ve been running scared since then; but now you’re old enough that you’re not scared, and you’ve been remembering, haven’t you? Lord, Cathryn, he’s got a reputation that puts those stud horses of his to shame. Doesn’t it bother you to be just one on a long list?”
    Eyeing her narrowly, Cathryn said, “I can’t decide if you hate him or if you’re jealous because he doesn’t pay any attention to you.”
    To Cathryn’s surprise, color flooded hotly into Ricky’s cheeks, and this time it was the other woman who looked away. After a moment Ricky said thickly, “Don’t believe me, I don’t care. Let him use you the way he’s used Mother all these years. Just remember, nothing and no one is as important to him as this ranch, and he’ll do whatever he has to do to keep it. Ask him,” she dared, jeering. “See if you can get him to talk about it. Ask him what Vietnam did to him and why he holds on to the ranch with a death grip. Ask him about the nightmares,