Page 221 of By His Rule

I knew the moment I saw it appear on my screen that it was made for her, and now my knee is bouncing with impatience to see just how right I was.

There’s movement on the other side of the room, but that isn’t anything new. It’s been the same since I returned to our suite to change thirty minutes ago.

I sit up, my eyes shooting to the bedroom door when the noise gets closer.

It takes her a couple more seconds. She’s blatantly looking at a clock and waiting for it to tick around to six on the dot before she pulls the door open.

“Oh wow,” I breathe the moment she emerges, wearing the denim dress I chose.

It’s fitted with a zip up the front that stops in the perfect place to showcase her tits, and rests halfway between her knees and hips. It’s also every bit as good as I hoped it would be.

“You’ve got good taste,” she says as she moves farther into the room, letting me see the red pumps and purse I chose to go with it.

She’s right. I do have really good taste.

“Not bad for a man who’s never bought a woman clothes before, huh?”

Her eyes narrow. “You’ve never?—”

“Nope,” I say, cutting her off as I jump to my feet, ready to leave. “Never cared enough before to buy a woman anything more than a taxi ride home.”

“You really are a catch, you know that, right?”

“Too fucking right, I am. I got you that, too,” I say, pointing at a wrap thing that’s resting over the arm of the couch. “In case you get cold.”

She studies me for a beat before picking up the wrap and feeling the soft, luxurious fabric beneath her fingers.

“You really have thought of everything, huh?”

“I’ll ask you again at the end of the night. Shall we?”

I desperately want to reach for her hand, but I know she won’t have it. Not while we’re in Callahan territory, at least.

Side by side, we walk out of the hotel, and instead of stepping into one of the taxis that are loitering, I take a left and continue walking.

“Interesting,” Lorelei muses beside me.

“I like surprising you,” I confess.

“Trust me, you’re full of surprises.”

We walk in silence for a few minutes, both of us taking in the beauty of the city at dusk. It’s not until I’m confident that we’ve left the world of Callahan Enterprises behind that I make my move.

Spotting an alcove ahead, I finally entwine my fingers with Lorelei’s and tug her into the shadowed hideaway.

“Kian,” she gasps. “What are you?—”

Her words vanish as I press her back against the wall and duck down so our lips are almost brushing.

“You’ve no idea how badly I’ve needed to kiss you all day.”

“Kian,” she warns, pressing her hand against my chest as if that’ll be enough to push me away.

“I know you want it too,” I state, studying her closely.

“We’ve returned to real life today, Boss. This needs to stop.” She tries to look away from me, but I catch her jaw with my fingers and turn her face back to me.

“I know you don’t really mean that,” I say softly. “You want this as much as I do.”

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