Page 41 of Playing By His Rules

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t press charges and I dealt with my son myself,” the other man went on. “His membership to The Penthouse will be immediately revoked, and If I ever hear of something like this happening again, I have no issues turning my own son in to the authorities.”

Rick believed Charles, but he didn’t trust William. “I’d like it in writing that your son isn’t going to press any charges against me, either.”

“Fair enough,” Charles agreed. “And the girl? What is she going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Rick said honestly, unwilling to make any false promises on Madison’s behalf. “I’m not pushing her into pressing charges, nor am I talking her out of it. It’s completely her decision to make.”

Charles nodded in understanding. “I’ll respect whatever she decides. I know this isn’t much considering my son’s vile actions, but I’m very sorry this happened. And just for the record, this doesn’t affect the contract with your company in any way. The board has unanimously agreed that we’d like to work with Noble and Associates, so I’ll be in touch next week about moving forward with the new security measures … assuming you still want to do business with us.”

Hearing the deal was safe, Rick relaxed more than a fraction. The last thing he’d wanted to do was hurt Mac and Dean’s business, no matter how unintentional the situation had been.

“We do and that’s great to hear,” Dean said, and when they parted ways with Charles a few minutes later, the three of them walked out of the boardroom, satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. All things considered, it was the best resolution they could have hoped for.

“Looks like the girls are back up at the suite,” Mac said, reading a text on his phone.

They headed up to Rick’s room, and as soon as the men entered, the three women who’d been sitting on the couch jumped up to find out what had happened. Dean explained everything, and while Rick noticed that Madison listened intently, he also realized she stood back, isolating herself from the group, and from him. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her expression emotionally withdrawn—as if now that everything was over she was already pulling back from him, from them, and that obvious change in her made everything in him twist with unease.

Mac suggested they all go to dinner, but Rick declined for himself and Madison, citing the long, emotionally draining day that they’d had. Everyone said their goodbyes since Mac, Dean and their wives would be heading out early in the morning for San Diego, and Stephanie and Jillian hugged Madison and told her that they hoped to see her again.

If Rick had his way, they would definitely be seeing a whole lot more of her. But he also knew convincing Madison that whatever was between them was worth pursuing might be more difficult than he’d originally anticipated. Especially judging by the way she’d already seem to shut herself off from him, which was driving him nuts because he wasn’t sure what had caused the change.

Now that they were alone, he started with the most obvious potential issue. “Everything go okay with Jillian and Stephanie?” he asked.“They weren’t too overwhelming, were they?”

A small smile touched her mouth, and although she was standing a few feet away from him, her body was annoyingly tense. “No, they were both great.”

He exhaled a breath, trying not to let his frustration get the better of him. “Then what’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, not meeting his gaze.

He braced his hands on his hips. “You’re so stiff and standoffish, that I’m afraid if I touch you, you’re going to flinch.”

“I’m really happy that things ended up working out with William’s father, and you didn’t lose the contract because . . . of what happened,” she said, ignoring the question and changing the subject.

Because of her.She didn’t have to say the words for him to see them in her eyes, and he hated that she blamed herself for something that was no fault of her own. Which made him remember the end of their conversation with Charles.

“There’s one thing that Dean didn’t address,” Rick said. “While we came to an understanding with Charles that William won’t be pressing charges against me for assault and battery, that agreement excludes you. If you want to take legal action against William, you should. It’s your right, and I would never take that option away from you, or ask you to let things go if you feel differently.”

She shook her head, a sadness lingering in her gaze. “I’m not pressing charges. You said Charles promised to handle his son so I won’t worry about the women who come after me, which is the only reason I’d have forced myself to do it. To be honest, I don’t want the attention, and because you’d be a witness, I refuse to pull you right back into the middle of a lawsuit. I’ve already done enough damage.”

“Youdidn’t do anything,” he said, unable to keep the exasperation from his voice.

A small, deprecating laugh escaped her. “Rick, this is the kind of shit that seems to follow me around. Sometimes, it feels never ending, and you’re too good of a man to drag through the chaos that always seems to find me.”

Too good of a man. That was part of the problem, he realized . . . that she’d never had a man fight for her. To love her and accept her and always stand by her side, even through the rough, rocky times.Thatwas the man he wanted to be for her.

“Donotlump me into that group of men in your past. Not the asshole who told you that your life comes with too much drama, or your father who was never there for you when you needed him.” He closed the distance between them and framed her face in his hands, careful not to touch her bruised cheek as he made her look into his eyes to see how sincere he was. “I will do whatever it takes to keep you in my life. I will come out every weekend to stay with you, or fly you to San Diego to be with me. I’m falling in love with you, Madison, and I’m not ready to let you go. Not even close.”

She shook her head and he saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes, the denial, the fears . . . and the thought of losing her caused his own desperation to rush to the surface. He did the only thing he knew would express his feelings—he kissed her, pouring all the emotion he felt into the melding of his mouth against hers.

Satisfaction coursed through him when she moaned and opened up to him—instead of pushing him away as he’d feared. When she started tugging on his shirt to pull the hem from his pants, he knew he wasn’t going to let her walk out of there without knowing, and believing, she was his. He tasted her desire and escalating need, and before she could protest, he lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.

Housekeeping had stripped and remade the bed since that morning, and he laid her down on the cool, soft duvet. In silence, they removed their clothing in between soft kisses that turned urgent and demanding once they were naked. She clung to him as if it was the last time she’d get the chance, while he took his time making love to her, his lips and hands traversing her entire body until she was begging him to thrust deep inside her.

He rose above Madison and filled her up, his cock driving to the hilt in one smooth glide while she wrapped her legs around his waist, taking him even deeper. Tangling his hands into her hair, he tipped her head back to look into her eyes as passion and desire collided and her body pulsed around his shaft, her soft cries of pleasure ramping up his own need to orgasm.

“You’remine, Madison,” he growled, owning her with each driving thrust into her body. “From that very first night, you belonged tome.”

He just prayed she believed it.

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