Rule's Property(28)

"You're not getting a goddamn divorce," he yelled back as his hand came down in a single slap but then stayed there, grabbing her butt cheek and squeezing.

She hit his leg again, trying to get him to stop. "Let me up. Don't you dare."

His fingers continued to clench around her buttock in a threatening way. "Are you going to stop driving like a wild woman?" he bellowed. "And baby, you better answer correctly this time, you get me?" With that, his hands quickly peeled her shorts completely off and tossed them aside, not letting her up, controlling her movements the entire time.

When she remained furiously silent, he lifted her until she was forced to straddle him, their torsos banging together, and she took the opportunity to pound him on the back. "You cannot hit me!"

"I didn't hit you," he denied, baring his teeth. "I tapped you on the ass. One time."

"Well you can't tap me on the ass." When he only stared at her, she hit him again, this time on the shoulder. "Understand me, asshole?"

He ignored her swipes as if they were nothing more than a pesky fly landing on him. "You can't drive like that. You'll kill yourself or somebody else. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn't happen. And don't call me an asshole."

"Well threatening me with a spanking me isn't an option. You think I'm going to stay in a marriage where you manhandle me against my will? Fuck that! You better think of another way to get your message across."

At her words, obviously taking them as a challenge, he flipped her over until she was lying on her back and he was looming over her in a sexually threatening position, with his expression showing little to no remorse. "We can move to option two. I can subdue you this way, and trust me, there's nothing I'd love more." He stared into her eyes, his gaze running over her hair and face and down her torso to land where her naked thighs came together. His features pulled into a frown and then finally, as he began to breathe more steadily, he rasped, "I know I didn't hurt you."

"Yes, you did!" He hadn't, not really, but she was still infuriated.

Any remaining gentleness left his face. "You've been hurting me, too." Suddenly floored by the pain she saw etched on his features, she wasn't ready for it when his mouth fell to hers.

His kiss was strong, fierce, annihilating. His tongue thrust possessively and he began taking from her mouth, stroking in and out as if he couldn't get enough. His scent went to her head; it was a powerful aphrodisiac that never failed to entice her. As his kiss continued, against her will, Courtney began to melt in his arms.

He lifted up just long enough to peel his shirt and her camisole off. She was completely naked now, and he held her pinned to the bed, one hand going to her breast. His fingers were like magic against her nipple, kneading her there, and Courtney lost all thought and reason.

He lifted his head and growled, "You can't drive that recklessly. I'll die if anything happens to you, understand?"

"Nick--"

"I'll die if I don't have you. It's that fucking simple," he exhaled on a pant as he lifted away and shoved his jeans and underwear down and off.

He came back down to her and pushed between her thighs, ready to impale her. Lifting his head, he stared down at her, their breath coming quickly in tandem. "You're killing me," he growled, stopping at the brink of entering her.

"It's killing me, too," she answered back, lifting her hand and running it through his hair.

"I love you," he growled, sounding none too happy about it.

"I love you, too," she snapped back, her emotions high, right before his mouth came back to hers. He kissed her hard, long, forcefully.

And then, with no warning, he lifted his mouth from hers and he stared down into her eyes. Shifting, he forced his knee between her legs, pushing it against her naked, unprotected mound. "Are you my wife?"

She breathed deeply, trying to control the runaway fever in her blood. "Yes, but--"

"No buts. It's a yes or no question. Are you my wife?"

"Nick--"

"It's a simple goddamn question, babe. Are. You. My. Wife?"

She blew out a breath. "Yes."

"And do you want to stay that way?" He breathed enraged fire over her, his words coming hot and scorching. When she remained mute, he said, "That scene at the restaurant. That was bullshit and you know it. I don't care about children. I don't give a shit about having a family. How many more times do I have to say it? What do I have to do to get that message across to you?"

He was lying, how could he not be? Courtney licked her lips and stuttered, "Maybe not . . . maybe not stare at the children you see with such a look of longing?"

His expression tightened. "Let me ask you something, babe." His hands reached for hers as he pinned them above her head. "Toddlers are cute, right? Kind of like puppies. You telling me you don't even think they're cute? You blaming me for glancing at a couple of kids?"

Holding her breath, she shook her head.

His lips flattened. "We've never really had a serious conversation about this. About why you're so scared to have kids."

Her eyes narrowed on him, swallowing as he continued to press his knee against her. "I've told you why."

Nick scorched her with a look as his hands held hers captive to the mattress. "You promised me for better or worse. I get that you think that this is a huge problem, but I'm telling you, we don't need to have children. Would you like me to prove it? I could go get a vasectomy and then there'd be nothing left to fight about."

She pushed against him, horrified at the suggestion. "Don't you dare!"

"Oh, so now what I do with my body is your choice? That hardly seems fucking fair considering you're not giving me a choice about our marriage." The angry words spilled from his mouth and then he blew out a breath, as if to calm himself. "Okay. You don't want to talk about depriving me of children. I get that." His words stopped a moment and then gentled. "You're sweet. It's why I love you." She felt her heart melt but she remained silent and he continued, "Then let's talk about having kids."

Courtney felt her eyes flare in panic. She began pushing against him and Nick's patience seemed to snap as he held her all the more tightly, possessively, protectively. "Here's the thing that you're not getting. You don't have a choice whether or not you spend the rest of your life with me. That's the part of the fucking equation that you're missing. No choice. I'm here and I'm not leaving and you're not going anywhere. You can get the goddamn idea out of your head; you're not getting your own apartment. You're not moving out." He blew out a breath and then took another. "The choice you do have is simple. Have kids or don't have kids."

At his ultimatum, Courtney wavered, her feelings divided. His words were so strong and true that she was reassured that she'd get to have him forever. Relief rushed through her; he was taking the choice away from her and she was going to let him. But still, the fact that she was the one getting what she wanted out of life didn't seem fair and she said so. "That's not fair--"

His expression became harsher. "I don't want to hear what's fair or not fair." Holding her wrists with one hand, he trailed the other down to her cheekbone and gripped her, looking into her eyes intently before he continued in a ragged tone, "What wouldn't be fair to me is living my entire godforsaken life without you. Can you not see that I'll lose my sanity if I can't have you?"

"Nick," she remonstrated softly.

"Right. You're getting it. I can see it in your eyes. So tell me, why do we have to make this choice about children now? Let's don't have kids. We'll stay protected. If you change your mind later, the option will be there."

"It's not that simple."

"It's entirely that simple."

She relaxed her hands, giving herself over to him, but said no more.

"Baby," he began gently, "You had no family. None at all. Our kid, or kids, if we have them, will have my mom and my brothers and sister and their future families. Trust me, my siblings will eventually get married, they'll have families, and any children that we might have will be loved by not just us, but by their grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins."

Courtney sucked in a breath, his words hitting her brain in a rush. Nick did have a huge family. And they were her family as well. She felt her face flush and at her silence, he seemed to understand she was really listening and he pressed further. "What we ought to do, if you decide you want a kid, is to have a shit-ton of them. We could have four or five and then they'd never be alone. God forbid, even if something happened to us, they'd have each other, right?"

She licked her lips, totally gobsmacked. She swallowed and held his eyes. "I've never . . . I've never thought about it that way. The thought of having kids, leaving them orphaned, has always terrified me so much that I've never thought about having a bunch, instead of just one."

He swirled his hand up and into her hair, holding her closer. His forehead fell to hers and he said gently, "Well think about it. You don't have to decide right now." He lifted his head and continued, "Stay on the pill if you want. I'll even wear condoms for double protection if it'll make you feel better. We'll decide this stuff later. But baby, please, please say you'll stay married to me. Let me put my rings on your finger and please, leave them there."