All her rules are about to change…
The Rule Maker
The Rule Breakers #2
Jennifer Blackwood
Releasing January 16th, 2017
Entangled Embrace
Ten
Steps to Surviving a New Job:
1. Don’t sleep with the client. It’ll get you fired. (Sounds easy enough.)
2. Don’t blink when new client turns out to be former one-night stand.
3. Don’t call same client a jerk for never texting you back.
4. Don’t believe client when he says he really, really wanted to call.
5. Remember, the client is always right—so you can’t junk punch him when he
demands new design after new design.
6. Ignore accelerated heartbeat every time sexy client walks into room.
7. Definitely ignore client’s large hands. They just mean he wears big gloves.
8. Don’t let client’s charm wear you down. Be strong.
9. Whatever you do, don’t fall for the client. You’ll lose more than your
job—maybe even your heart.
10. If all else fails, see rule number one again.
You have read THE RULE BOOK, right?
He scrubbed his palms over
his face and rested his elbows on his knees. “This was not how I saw this night
going.”
“Big Valentine’s Day plans?”
He lowered his hands and
looked at me like I’d just claimed I single-handedly caused the storm raging
outside. “I didn’t even know that was today. Does this mean we’re each other’s
valentines by default?”
I scoffed. “Not a chance.”
He chuckled. “Always so
blunt. I like that about you.” He quickly cleared his throat as if he hadn’t
meant to say that. “Well, non-valentine, looks like we’re going to be stuck
here a while. Have anything in mind?” he said.
I decided against packing on
another insult. He was being nice, and this sure as heck beat staring at the
wall the rest of the night. “My form of entertainment is at 6 percent battery,
so I’m open to suggestions.”
“Mine is fully charged. Want
to watch something?”
“Sure.” What else did I have
to do? Before I knew it, I was sitting on the bed next to him, leaning against
the ornately carved headboard. Snow gusting against the window was the only
sound in the room as he searched for a show for us to watch.
So quiet.
Way too quiet.
I fidgeted with my necklace,
moving the small diamond back and forth on the chain. The last time I was in
bed with Ryder… I didn’t even want to finish that thought, because it’d do
nothing but make this situation worse. I chanced a peek in his direction.
He chewed the inside of his
cheek, swiping through our options. “This is awkward, huh?” he said.
“We’ve achieved Urkel
status.”
He chuckled and scrolled
through the show queue. “Would you rather watch Law and
Order: SVU or Criminal Minds?”
“That is quite possibly the
worst Would You Rather question ever asked.”
His eyes cut to mine. “I
didn’t know I was playing a game.”
“You’ve never played it?”
He shook his head.
Lainey and I played this game
all the time in college, and when we’d take road trips together. She always
came up with the grossest ones. “It’s simple. All you have to do is ask the
person which horrible thing they’d rather do. The harder the question, the
better. Like would you rather lay in a pit of snakes, or eat questionably dead
roadkill?” I pointed to his phone. “Oh, John Tucker Must Die. I like
that one.”
“Negative, ghost rider.” He
scrolled past my suggestion. “And what the hell does questionably
dead
mean? Is it still twitching, or are we talking suspicious cause of death?”
I shrugged. “The
interpretation’s up to you.”
“You’re absolutely no help.”
He swiped his thumb across his beard and contemplated. “I guess I’d go with the
snakes.”
“Okay, now it’s your turn,” I
said.
“Do I really have to play? I
thought we were picking a show.”
I shot him a look.
“Fine. Would you rather have
me or Chewbacca as your valentine?”
“Too easy. The spider.”
He put his hand to his heart.
“You wound me.”
“Stop being such a baby.” I
swatted at his chest and immediately pulled my hand back. Nope. Would not go there.
“Okay, would you rather not be able to see or talk for a month?”
He answered instantly. “See.”
“Right. You’d probably go
nuts if you couldn’t open that big mouth of yours.”
His lips twitched. “You’re
one to talk.”
“Excuse me?” Okay, I did have
a tough time keeping my thoughts on lockdown outside the office, but that was
my own cross to bear.
“Don’t even try to play it
off like you’re innocent.”
I’d dated a lot of losers in
the past, most who hadn’t even bothered to get to know me, but even after only
hanging out a few times, Ryder had me pegged. He was perceptive. I saw the look
in his eyes whenever I dealt with Jason. His attention focused solely on me was
unnerving. “Jerk,” I sputtered.
“Now I know you’re holding
back. You can do way better than that.” He scrolled through his phone again. “How
about Die
Hard?”
“Are all your show selections
about death? I’m starting to worry I made a mistake coming over here.” My lips
pulled into a smile and I quickly extinguished it. God, I wanted to hate him.
“Fine.” He continued looking
at the Netflix queue. “Would you rather eat sushi from a taco stand, or lick an
airplane armrest?”
“Good one. Sushi.” I pointed
to his screen. “How about 10 Things I Hate About You?”
He shook his head and
chuckled. “Are all of your suggestions going to not-so-subtly
tell me you hate me?”
I smiled sweetly. “Maybe.”
“Just think, most people
would find this to be a romantic escape. Two people, stuck in the mountains on
Valentine’s Day,” he said.
“We’re Hallmark movie
material, all right,” I deadpanned.
“Okay, fine. How about The
Walking Dead?”
“Your show picking powers
have been officially revoked.” I grabbed the phone from his hand.
“Hey!” He grabbed for the
phone, and I held it out of reach. “You’re going to regret that.” Within
seconds he was on top of me, playfully pinning me to the bed, his strong hands
circling my wrists. Air evaporated from my lungs as our gazes connected.
I was immediately transported
back to that night.
Tell me
what you want, Zoey. Tell me what you need from me.
I swallowed hard. That was
months ago, and those words still haunted me from time to time. Because he did
exactly that, gave me what I wanted and needed. Repeatedly.
No comments:
Post a Comment