The Rules Read online

  “You’re still working on that?” Gavin asked, placing a white napkin across his thighs.

  “Unfortunately.” Constance shook her head sadly. “I fired the last decorator because he simply didn’t understand the look I wanted, and I was getting tired. I found someone new, recommended by Blake’s mother. By the way, how was your date?”

  “Fine,” Gavin said shortly, noting Xavier’s smile across the table. He was going to kill Trenton.

  “Well, Celeste is back from vacation, so I’m going into the spa to get a facial. This winter weather makes my skin so dry. I think it gets worse every year.” She touched a hand to her cheek.

  “You look fine, Mother.”

  Xavier nodded in agreement. “He’s right. You don’t look a day over thirty-five.”

  Constance laughed. “That I know is an untruth, but I appreciate it.” She turned to Gavin. “When will you be leaving? Of course I don’t want you to go, but I expected you would be gone by now. You mentioned you would leave after the specialist said you no longer needed therapy.”

  “I did, but I think I’ll stick around a little bit longer.”

  Xavier held out his cup, signaling Alicia for a refill of coffee. “Really? What prompted that change?”

  Gavin shrugged as another servant came in and set a plate of the same breakfast in front of him. “Nothing, really. It’s no big deal.” An image of Terri entered his mind. Her pouty lips, her flirty smile.

  “So you’re enjoying your stay?” His mother smiled.

  A boulder of guilt settled in Gavin’s chest. She probably thought he intended to stay indefinitely, but in all honesty, he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d stick around. He had barely made it through the Christmas holidays, the time of year when other people were celebrating and festive, but not him.

  His mother, as she always did, flew back to Texas to spend the holidays with her parents. Unable to tolerate remaining in town because he remembered the accident that took his father’s life during the same time of year, Gavin went to the family’s property in Hawaii with his entourage and a few young women who wanted to party as much as they did. Under the warmth of the Maui sun, he shut out the bad memories between the legs of a set of nubile twins and drank to the bottom of a thousand dollar bottle of limited edition Absolut vodka.

  “I’m enjoying my stay,” Gavin confirmed to his mother.

  “What are you going to do to stay busy?” Constance asked. “You can’t play all day now that you’re back to one hundred percent.”

  “I’ll find something to get into.” There was plenty to keep him busy—his friends, keeping track of his investments…Terri. A little smile touched his lips when he thought of her voluptuous body and sexy little smile.

  “Why don’t you come into the office?” Xavier suggested.

  “Oh, that’s a wonderful idea.” Constance clasped her hands together and looked from Xavier to Gavin.

  “I don’t know if—”

  “It’ll be good for you,” Xavier said, a twinkle in his eye.

  His brother knew that he didn’t want to work at Johnson Enterprises. According to the terms of their father’s will, Gavin received a handsome monthly allowance, which allowed him to travel and fund his escapades around the world. Coupled with his own investments, a traditional job was completely unnecessary.

  His siblings worked at the company to continue the family legacy and collected multi-million dollar salaries and bonuses for their efforts. At the helm, Cyrus Junior efficiently ran the entire conglomerate as the CEO. Xavier worked directly under him as the COO, a new position he was still learning. Ivy controlled the restaurant group operations as the COO, and Trenton oversaw a large department in his role as senior vice president of sales and marketing.

  After avoiding the same fate for years, Gavin was now being railroaded right in front of their mother. All because Xavier knew that if Constance wanted him to spend time at the company, it was going to happen.

  “I’ll consider it,” Gavin said, hoping his smile appeared more genuine than it felt.

  “You’ve been sitting around doing nothing for the past few months. Might as well come in and learn something.”

  “This is your inheritance,” Constance added.

  “There’s nothing for me to learn,” Gavin said. “I don’t have the brains for the work they do.”

  Xavier set his napkin on the table and immediately Alicia came by and swept it up along with his empty plate. “You have a brain and a degree in chemistry.”

  At one time, Gavin considered becoming a brewmaster and heading up quality control for the company’s beer products.

  “I think you should do it. You need to learn more about the business, even if you’re not going to work at the company.” His mother’s gaze rested on him as she waited for a response.

  Gavin swallowed the tightness in his throat. He didn’t want to have anything to do with the company his father had turned into a multi-billion dollar conglomerate. It was simply too painful.

  “You’ll love it,” Xavier said.

  Gavin couldn’t tell if his enthusiasm was genuine or manufactured, but it was definitely annoying. Xavier himself had been working at the company for only a short time, after abandoning his work in Africa to fall prey to the corporate grind.

  “What would I do there? I have no skills.”

  “You don’t have to do anything, dear. You simply have to go in and learn.” Constance patted his hand.

  “I can learn about the company from home,” Gavin said.

  Constance dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “I would like you to try.”

  The words came out quietly but firmly, which meant he didn’t have a choice. Accepting directives from her had been instilled in them from the time they were young. He still remembered the first time he understood the severity of disobeying his mother—or disrespecting his mother, as his father called it.

  He was eleven, and his father had been furious. While Cyrus Senior didn’t often smile, a non-smiling father was a thousand times better than a furious one. Nothing made him more furious than his wife getting upset. He often thought of his father as a raging sea and his mother as a placid lake. Cyrus Senior called her his angel, his sweetheart, his better half.

  “I’m the king of this castle and your mother’s the queen. If I ever hear you back talk her again, you’ll need a whole new set of front teeth. Have I made myself clear?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I can’t hear you.”

  “Yes, sir!” Gavin’s insides quivered. He’d never seen his father so furious.

  “She tells you to do something, you do it. Not later. Not soon. Right then. Now go upstairs and apologize to your mother and then you get that homework done or you can forget about spending time with your friends this weekend—or any other weekend for the rest of the school year. Understand?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “All right, I’ll try,” Gavin said. Not that he had a choice.

  He stood, food untouched, appetite gone. “I know I need to look presentable when I go into headquarters, so I’ll go home and change. Excuse me.”

  He didn’t wait for a response from either his mother or Xavier, in too much of a hurry to escape.

  Chapter Seven

  Gavin pulled the gold sports car into a parking space in front of Terri’s building. All week he had looked forward to this evening, but when he called, he didn’t tell her where they were going. She tried to pry it out of him, but he only told her to wear a nice dress and heels. His attire for the evening consisted of a black suit jacket and white shirt, no tie, and a black pair of shoes from Italian luxury brand Bruno Magli.

  Upon arrival, he planned to go up to her apartment, but she made him wait downstairs for ten minutes—perhaps to make an entrance. If that was the case, she did a fantastic job, exiting the building with her head held high and neck-length hair swept back from her face in a sleek style. Black pumps were on her feet, and she wore a gray, long-sleeved cotton
dress that molded to her hourglass figure. The top fit snug over her bosom, the v-neckline dipping low to reveal ample cleavage. As she approached, his eyes had no choice but to idle at the round tops of her breasts.

  Terri stopped in front of him, hands on her hips, and cleared her throat. “Ready?” she asked, cocking a brow.

  By the confident smile on her face, he suspected that she was not only accustomed to being stared at by men, she enjoyed it. He definitely liked this woman. Maybe a little too much.

  “Ready.”

  She sashayed toward the passenger side of the car. “Are you looking at my ass?” she asked.

  “What do you think?” What a nice ass it was.

  His answer made her switch even harder.

  This time she stood beside the car and waited for him to open the door. She smelled good. So good he wanted to press his face into her cleavage and lick her skin. It took a monumental effort to resist the urge.

  “You doing all right tonight?” Gavin asked as he settled into the driver’s seat.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  Terri wrinkled her nose. “Ew. That was terrible.”

  “Yeah, it was. And not even original.”

  “You’re better than that.”

  Gavin started the car but rested an arm on the steering wheel instead of driving off. “You know, the women I usually meet would have giggled and blushed at that comment.”

  “No way. That was whack.”

  “You say whatever you’re thinking, don’t you?”

  “Pretty much.”

  He tossed his head back and laughed. “Terri Slade, you’re all right by me.” He backed out of the parking space. “Where have you been hiding?”

  Crossing her legs in his direction, Terri tilted her body toward him. “I’ve been right here. You’re the one who’s been flying around the world, risking life and limb.”

  “It’s not that bad, and hey, you only live once.” He swung a right out of the complex and shifted gears so the engine revved on the almost empty roadway.

  “What kind of car is this?” She trailed her fingers over the flat screen surface of the lit dashboard.

  “A Belleza, a concept car created by a new manufacturer out of Italy.”

  “Must have cost a fortune.”

  “Didn’t cost me a dime, actually. They shipped it to me this week to try.” The computerized vehicle had been programmed to only recognize his fingerprints and voice commands. He requested the gold paint job and black interior be installed before shipping.

  “Why would they give you a car? You can afford to buy it.”

  “You’d be surprised how much free stuff people like me get. Companies give away products for the publicity, and in this case, I got a new toy that no one else has.” He glanced at her frowning face. “It’s not fair, is it?”

  “No, it’s not.” The white tip of her forefinger lightly scraped the length of the beige scar on the back of his right hand. She only touched that one spot, but every particle of his body vibrated from the sensation, and he tightened his hand on the wheel to contain his reaction.

  “What happened there?” she asked.

  Gavin slowed to a halt at a traffic light and ran a finger over the same spot. “Stupid accident free soloing up El Sendero Luminoso.”

  Terri stared at him blankly. “I don’t remember you tweeting about that. You’re going to have to tell me what free soloing is, because I have no clue.”

  “That trip happened a while back. El Sendero Luminoso is a rock climb in Mexico. Basically, I climbed it without ropes or safety gear.”

  “Um, that sounds ridiculously dangerous. Why would anyone do that?”

  “The rush.” Just the thought sent a tiny blast of adrenaline speeding through his veins. He turned in time to see her forehead bunch into a knot.

  “And extremely dangerous,” she said. “I don’t understand why you do that to yourself.”

  “Don’t get me wrong. Most of the time, I use equipment, but every now and again…” He shrugged, and when the traffic light changed, they started moving.

  “Every now and again, you want to tempt fate? Clearly you’re not afraid of dying.”

  “No point in living your life in fear. We could die in this car on the way to dinner.”

  “Seems like you’re more likely to get hurt your way, though. If you slip or a bird flies in your face or something, that’s it.” She snapped her fingers.

  “Death is always unpredictable.”

  “What’s the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?” Terri asked.

  “That’s like asking a parent to name their favorite child.”

  She laughed, a throaty, delicious sound that pulled his eyes from the road to examine her features. Bright eyes. Upturned, sensual mouth. Before the night ended, he intended to kiss her.

  “Okay, Mr. Difficult, what’s one of the most dangerous things you’ve ever done?”

  “Let’s see...” Gavin rubbed a hand across his chin. “Aside from solo climbing, maybe free diving.” She frowned and he went on to explain. “Basically, you take a deep breath, dive hundreds of feet underwater, and hold your breath until you get back to the surface. You lower your heart rate and push your body to the limit. Scientists used to think the deepest we could dive and survive was about a hundred feet or so, otherwise our lungs would collapse. Today, people dive three hundred, four hundred, five hundred feet, without oxygen. It’s really incredible.”

  She stared at him. “You weren’t kidding when you said dangerous activities excite you. It’s obvious in your face, and I can hear the excitement in your voice.”

  “Free diving is like no other feeling. The biggest danger is blacking out.”

  “Oh, is that all? Maybe you’re a little brain dead from doing something so dangerous.”

  Gavin laughed at the no-holds-barred commentary. Terri spoke with no filter—genuine and refreshingly candid.

  “It’s hard to explain. I’m not saying you should try free diving, but there’s something to be said for having that type of control over your body. And below the surface of the ocean, the silence, the beauty…” He shook his head. “It’s amazing.”

  Even talking about free-diving relaxed him. Few activities brought him that kind of peace, allowing him to escape the stress and expectations of being Gavin Johnson.

  They continued the conversation until he pulled the car to a halt in the parking lot of the Seattle Space Needle. Terri turned sharply in his direction. “You didn’t tell me we were coming here. I’ve lived in Seattle for three years and never visited.”

  “We’re going to rectify that tonight.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You knew, didn’t you? How?”

  “Alannah,” Gavin answered.

  They exited the vehicle into the frosty air and walked toward a back entrance to avoid the general public. The door opened as they approached, and Gavin took Terri’s hand. He didn’t usually hold hands, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Her skin was soft and warm, and he liked the texture of her smaller hand. She didn’t appear to mind, looking up at him sideways and giving one of her saucy smiles.

  “Are we going up to the observation deck?” she asked, breathless with excitement.

  Gavin nodded. “After dinner.”

  The elevator took them five hundred feet in the air to the SkyCity Restaurant, where a slow tune tapped out on piano keys welcomed them. The hostess, a young woman with brunette hair and sparkling brown eyes, met them at the entrance.

  “Hello, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Slade. Welcome to SkyCity Restaurant. Your table is ready. This way, please.”

  Terri’s mouth fell open when she saw all the empty tables. “Don’t tell me you rented out the entire place?”

  “I wanted complete privacy.” The shock in her face was the exact expression he’d hoped to see.

  “Are you trying to impress me?” she whispered, pressing closer to his side.

  He looked down into her soft br
own eyes, his heart thudding a little faster at the warmth evident there. Again, he ached to kiss her—the smooth full lips, the pert nose—but not yet.

  “Is it working?” he asked.

  There was that flirty smile again. “Yes, it’s working.”

  Chapter Eight

  Terri deferred to Gavin for dinner and he chose their meals. For appetizers, he ordered crab cakes with avocado cream and mango relish, as well as a stonefruit gazpacho with jalapeño honey. He insisted she try the seafood and asked for the wild King Salmon for her with a mushroom cream sauce and ahi tuna for himself. They took their time eating and lingering over each bite, and the hours slipped by unnoticed. The meal came to a close with two cups of coffee, crème brûlée for him, chocolate pots de crème for her, and vibrant conversation.

  “Bullshit,” Gavin said, in the midst of a debate about men and women. He pointed his spoon at her. “Deny it all you want, but women use sex as a weapon, and the silent treatment is the precursor to no sex.”

  “I won’t deny that some—”

  “All.”

  “—some women use sex as a weapon. But did it ever occur to you that we don’t want to have sex if we’re mad?”

  “At least tell us why you’re mad,” Gavin shot back.

  Terri sighed, the smile on her face a clear indication she was amused at his vehemence. “Why do we have to spoon-feed you everything when we give you so many hints?”

  “That’s the problem right there. Men don’t like hints. Tell us directly what we’ve done wrong.”

  “You know when you’ve done something wrong. You’re just being dickheads.”

  “I’m telling you, we really don’t know. And that figure-it-out-guessing-game is bullshit.”

  Terri rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”

  “You know what I do when a woman gives me the silent treatment?”

  “What?”

  Terri spooned chocolate into her mouth, and Gavin lost his train of thought, stomach muscles tense as he watched her slowly drag the spoon between her full lips. All night he watched her eat with the innate sensuality she exhibited in everything she did—her laugh, her walk, the way she slid her gaze to him across the table and looked at him from beneath long lashes.