AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He caught me staring and the smallest smile graced his full lips. He was every temptation I avidly avoided.
“I guess we’re going to my place,” I said evenly.
Merrick beamed and adjusted in his seat. “Sounds good. I can’t wait to see where you live.” And the man actually sounded excited.
“But Merrick...If I take you home with me, there are some rules we have to discuss first.”
3
Merrick
"Ilike rules," I offered immediately, then rolled my eyes at myself. "Clearly, I like rules. I liked being in my program. Why? Rules. I know you didn't ask, but what I'm trying to say is that I like structure, and rules provide structure."
"So, you're amenable to rules," she said without even a hint of irony. If anything, amusement filled her voice. Or maybe I just hoped it was. Seriously, she was gorgeous and thoughtful and she'd just offered to take me home with her, which meant I could keep looking after her.
Hashtag win in my book.
"Very," I promised. "Whatever they are, I'll follow them. Within reason." I tacked that last bit on because what I wanted to do was follow her. Make sure she was safe. If the rules meant I couldn't do that, I might have a problem with it.
Hopefully, that was a non-issue for us, but it was always better to lay things out in the beginning. Boundaries, they called them during our sessions. Boundaries and expectations.
"I'm intrigued," she murmured, her gaze on the road, while I had the perfect view of her profile and the play of light over her features. She was both ethereal and earthly, the best of both worlds. "How do you define ‘within reason’?"
Scratching the side of my neck, I grimaced. Damn, I hadn't thought she'd go right to the jugular on that one. "Probably more subjective than anything else. It's kind of like porn."
That earned me a side-eye.
"You know, maybe you can't define porn, but you know it when you see it? I'm really not a hopeless pervert, I promise." I ran my hand over my mouth, maybe if I just locked it there, I'd shut up.
Her laughter, however, spilled out of her like a glorious reward. The husky sound of it raced over my skin and left my ass clenching and dick so hard. I'd forgotten just how much the blood rush added to the heightened sense of arousal. "If I had any worries about you being a pervert, Merrick, I'd never have invited you back to my place."
Still, the laughter lifted each syllable as she spoke, and left me a starving man when she finished. All I wanted to hear was that magical sound again and see the soft look of genuine surprise on her face.
"How about this," I offered. "You tell me the rules and if I have any issues, we discuss it."
She slanted a look toward me. I swore her lashes seemed to dip to keep her eyes mysterious, before she looked at the road. "My rules are nonnegotiable."
My heart sank.
"If you can't agree with them, you can't come home with me."
I frowned. If I didn't go with her, it would be impossible to protect her. "How non-negotiable is non-negotiable?"
"Very," she murmured. "These rules are etched in stone and written in blood."
Well, that was extreme. "In that case, I'm going to say they are very important to you."
"Yes."
"Then they're important to me." Granted, it was a split-second decision, but she was important to me. I took a deep breath. If necessary, I would find a way around the rules if it meant keeping her safe. I apologized, mentally, in advance. "What are the rules?"
Twisting her hands over the steering wheel, she drew in a breath that slowly expanded the delicate cage of her ribs. She was so tiny. Again, relief washed over me that I had stumbled across her at the right moment.
“The first rule, don’t talk to strangers. Ever. About me or you, even if it doesn’t seem important. The most insignificant details can shed more light into a person than they realize.”
“Don’t talk to strangers?” An ironic smile fought its way onto my face.
Her lips twitched, as if she knew how ridiculous that sounded as she said it. I mean, she already broke one of her own rules.
