Rules Of Our Own (Rule Breaker Series Book 3)
Rules Of Our Own: Chapter 55

ICE CLINKS against my glass as I take another sip of my whiskey and look around the venue. The grand ballroom of the hotel is decorated with golden drapes and oversized chandeliers. It’s filled to the brim with rich old white guys in tailored tuxedos, their arms around stunningly beautiful women who were clearly several decades younger than them. My nose burns with the overly sweet smell of flowers and expensive perfume.

We’d picked out Mia’s dress two days ago, and I’ve been dying to see her in it tonight.

Piper showed up early and ran us out of Mia’s apartment so she could help her get ready.

I haven’t seen her since, and it’s killing me.

A server approaches me, but I hold up my near full glass in dismissal. I’ve purposely propped myself in a position where I can see the entire room but out of the way enough not to be bothered.

Alex is front and center, chatting up one group of potential sponsors, and they all laugh at whatever he’s saying. No matter where he is, he’s always been able to command a crowd. He’s dressed in a perfectly tailored black tux that’s just tight enough to show off the muscles shifting in his back. He chose to wear the tie we’d blindfolded Mia with the other night, and all I want is to wrap it around my fist and pull him to me.

He’s sexy as fuck. If I wasn’t so anxious for Mia to get here, I’d be trying to replace a hidden spot to drag Alex into.

We’d decided to take separate cars, to keep the illusion we aren’t anything more to each other than acquaintances.

I ignore the dull ache beneath my ribs, and I take another sip of my drink, the smooth liquid burning down my throat. I hate being her secret. Not when I want to scream we’re together at the top of my lungs. Tell every single person I meet that I’m obsessed with the Dr. Mia Brooks.

She doesn’t need that right now. She needs me and Alex to support her, and I’ll be anything she needs me to be.

Gold flickers in the corner of my vision, and I turn to watch her walk in. My breath hitches in my throat, and I grip my cool glass harder to stop myself from going to her. She’s a fucking vision in the dress. It drapes over her curves, revealing all my favorite spots. I want to trail my hands down her satin-clad sides and devour her mouth in front of everyone.

Instead, I down my drink and wave at the server, grabbing another. It’s going to be a long fucking night.

As expected, she’s immediately enveloped by the crowd, smiling strangers wanting to meet the creator of the Center-Ice challenge. It’s been so successful she’s become a local star. I’m unbelievably proud of her.

I follow Mia with my eyes through the crowd and rely on the glimpses of gold to keep track of her as she moves between the attendees like she’s made for this.

I can hear Alex’s booming laugh from here. He’s with a new group of investors, and he already has them charmed, shaking each of their hands. I can tell the second he spots Mia because he turns and walks away without a word. He prowls through the crowd, moving closer to her, following the same intense pull that I feel.

Alex stops ten feet away, jaw tensing as he watches her flitting from person to person. His eyes shoot to mine, and his frustration meets my own. It’s easy to keep us a secret when we’re mostly tucked away at home; it’s physically painful not to be able to go to her now.

To know that it would hurt her if we said fuck it and gave in to what we want.

Her.

Us.

I move along the back wall, making my way closer to them, when a prickle crawls up my spine. I turn just in time to see Jason walk in. The girl on his arm looks like a cheap Mia copy. Pale blonde hair, flush complexion, and I’d bet my bonus she’s got green eyes. Even with all the similarities, she doesn’t come close.

Mia had warned us he may be here. His dad’s a large investor in the North American medical field, but that didn’t stop the anger from licking up my spine. I stalk through the crowd, staying out of his line of sight and waiting for the perfect opportunity to corner him. He’s not fucking this night up for her.

It takes another twenty minutes before he heads to the bar alone, and I cut him off. “We need to talk.”

“Pass.” He raises his brow with a look of disdain like Alex didn’t have him choking against a wall the last time we met.

“It’s not a request.” I hold up my hand, gesturing toward a dark area sheltered from the rest of the room by a black partition.

He laughs but looks unsure. “You wouldn’t do anything here.”

“Fucking watch me.”

He swallows and moves toward where I herded him.

“I know you’ve been texting her. I thought we said to stay away from our girl.” My voice is cut low and menacing.

Fear flashes in his features, but he covers it. “I knew that slut was fucking you both.”

My fist connects with his sternum, and he collapses forward, fighting for breath.

“Call her that again. I fucking dare you.”

“Sorry.” He rasps out the word, still gasping.

I grab his collar, dragging him up so he can look in my eyes when I say, “You will back the fuck off, or I’m going to fuck your shit up. I don’t like people fucking with what’s mine.”

He laughs. “She’s going to ditch you, then come running back to me. You’ll see.”

Clenching my fist in his collar, I give him a hard shake so I know he’s giving me his full attention. “She. Will. Never. Take. You. Back.”

“Everyone is going to think you’re a fucking fool,” he sneers.

“It’s funny how you think people’s opinions mean anything to me when it comes to her.”