The House of Rule Series by Lynda Chance

From the author of USA Today's 'Sarah's Surrender', Lynda Chance brings you: Rule's Obsession. With a style reminiscent of 'Pursuit' and 'Marco's Redemption', 'Rule's Obsession' is a steamy, stand-alone book with no cliffhangers. An alpha-male like no other: Damian Rule is an ultra-staid businessman who likes his life just so... moreFrom the author of USA Today's 'Sarah's Surrender', Lynda Chance brings you: Rule's Obsession. With a style reminiscent of 'Pursuit' and 'Marco's Redemption', 'Rule's Obsession' is a steamy, stand-alone book with no cliffhangers. An alpha-male like no other: Damian Rule is an ultra-staid businessman who likes his life just so. He wears his hair cut short; he demands his business affairs be organized, and he insists that his women be impeccably groomed and conservative in both speech and appearance. When he meets Angie Ross for the first time, he sees a hot, beautiful, gothic mess. With her fishnet stockings and spiked leather cuffs, she's wildly inappropriate for his long term needs. But for the short term? She'll do just fine. less

When Courtney Powell is orphaned at seventeen, she loses everything: her parents, her friends, the basic security she's always known. Drowning under debilitating sorrow, she moves to St. Louis to live with her newly widowed godmother. From the beginning, the woman's grown children accept her into their family . . . but there's something about the middle brother that causes an inexplicable wariness within her. Time goes by as Courtney struggles to overcome her grief... moreWhen Courtney Powell is orphaned at seventeen, she loses everything: her parents, her friends, the basic security she's always known. Drowning under debilitating sorrow, she moves to St. Louis to live with her newly widowed godmother. From the beginning, the woman's grown children accept her into their family . . . but there's something about the middle brother that causes an inexplicable wariness within her. Time goes by as Courtney struggles to overcome her grief. When she finally emerges some years later, it becomes apparent that somewhere along the way, without her input and much to her anxiety, she's become Nick Rule's exclusive property. less

Maria Alvarez is her own woman and always has been. She’s more than capable of taking care of herself, so when Garrett Rule storms into her life with inflexible demands and an agenda of his own, she has no choice but to fight back. Garrett Rule has no room in his life for conniving women... moreMaria Alvarez is her own woman and always has been. She’s more than capable of taking care of herself, so when Garrett Rule storms into her life with inflexible demands and an agenda of his own, she has no choice but to fight back. Garrett Rule has no room in his life for conniving women. When he finds himself inconveniently obsessed with Maria Alvarez, the most conspiring woman of them all, he doesn’t know which is stronger, his need to punish her or the need he feels to have her under his complete sexual control. Luckily for him, he doesn’t plan on choosing; he’ll take both. EXCERPT: Maria’s nerves jolted when she heard the sound of the door above her opening and then closing with the loud, echoing slam of steel against steel.She came to an abrupt halt and listened, knowing for a fact that someone was in the stairwell above her, just out of her sight. Silence. The only sound she heard was her heart beating loudly in her ears, but she knew she wasn’t alone. If she took two steps forward she’d be able to look up and see whoever was there. Two steps back might give her time to escape. Unable to slow the raging pulse that was telling her that Garrett had found her, she took two steps backwards toward the wall, preparing to turn and run down, her stiletto heels clicking loudly against the bare concrete. She never had a chance. He sprinted down the half flight of stairs before she could even grab the railing that would balance her on the way down. Damn stilettos. Damn her vanity for wearing them. His hands reached out and he caught her, dragging her backwards, and she found her spine against the wall in the corner of the landing before she could even blink. Breathing unsteadily, she looked up into the eyes of a madman as she fought for oxygen. “What do you think you’re doing?” he raged, indomitable fury in every line of his body. Breathe, Maria. Just take one breath and then let it out. “Avoiding you.” The look on his face seemed to say that he wanted nothing more than to shake her, but he didn’t. His fingers bit into the flesh of her upper arms, and his brows came down in a thunderous scowl of rage that was not scaring her. If she could just remember to breathe, then maybe she could convince herself of that truth. He looked down at her, his height and breadth dominating her where she stood, as a small buzzing in the back of her brain told her that it probably wasn’t wise to take on a guy who was at least a foot taller and probably outweighed her by a hundred pounds of pure muscle. And that was without considering the aggressive river of testosterone that seemed to be flowing through his bloodstream at the moment. Her eyes stayed glued to his, and as he moved several inches closer, her chin lifted and her neck arched at an uncomfortable angle so she could keep him in her sights as he loomed closer. All the while her heart was beating so rapidly that her head was spinning, and she was sucking in oxygen so quickly that she was beginning to hyperventilate. “The stairwell, Maria?” he questioned in a yell, biting the words out. “What . . . what?” she asked, confusion setting in. Lines of ice-cold fury bracketed his mouth. “Do you not have a clue? Do you not have a single working brain cell in that head of yours?” She jerked her head back, not caring for that question one freaking bit. She felt her blood pressure rise as her eyes narrowed, a returning anger filling her bloodstream. “Watch it, Mr. Rule. You’re beginning to make me angry.” He ignored her as if she hadn't spoken. “It's not safe. You’re going to get assaulted if you're not careful. less

Rule's Seduction: When Max Villarreal finds out about the existence of Erin Rule, he realizes she could be the means for the perfect retaliation against the Rule Corporation. When he meets her for the first time, he immediately wants her for himself. Revenge and relief... moreRule's Seduction: When Max Villarreal finds out about the existence of Erin Rule, he realizes she could be the means for the perfect retaliation against the Rule Corporation. When he meets her for the first time, he immediately wants her for himself. Revenge and relief. Who knew it would be as easy as taking candy from a baby? Excerpt: Preparing to fix what she’d screwed up, Erin opened the bathroom door of the private jet and took a few steps forward with the sheet still wrapped around her like a sarong. She gasped and stopped in her tracks when she came face to face with . . . her husband? She sucked in a breath as her feet came to a stumbling halt. As she felt color flush her cheeks, she noticed that he didn’t smile but only raised a single, mocking eyebrow. His gaze pierced hers, sending her stomach to her feet in a mess of stupid feminine weakness. Then his eyes trailed down her body, stopping at her breasts and thighs, before sweeping down to her bare ankles and feet before slowly moving back up again. Erin’s heart rate kicked up to a vicious degree, and as Max took one step forward, for the life of her she couldn’t stop herself from taking one step back. He obviously noticed and thankfully, he immediately stopped. His lips twisted diabolically as he drawled slowly, “You look beautiful, sweetness.” Her pulse accelerated alarmingly with both the compliment and the endearment. Oh, yeah. It was damn well obvious why she’d waltzed into that freaking wedding chapel with him. Even now, with her composure under attack, hating herself for what she’d done the night before, he still made her knees weak. Could her emotions be any more screwed-up? She wanted to scream at him; she wanted to throw herself in his arms and hope he kissed her senseless once again. But she did neither of those things—she was too confused to do anything but stand on her own two feet while she kept her mouth clamped tightly closed. He prowled another step closer and then another, and with each step he took she scooted backwards until her spine was flush against the built-in bureau. The magic of his touch was blaring in her memory—it wouldn’t help her case in the slightest if she were to feel it now, when she desperately needed to retain what little brainpower she had left. He was dressed for the new day in a crisp suit that screamed Savile Row, and he came so close that she was forced to lift her face to maintain eye contact. When she did, he put a single finger under her chin and lifted it further, jarring her nerves alarmingly. “You are fucking gorgeous—and undoubtedly the best coup I’ve pulled off in my lifetime.” less