Linda Howard - Lethal Attraction: Against the RulesFatal Affair

Two worlds collide in these timeless stories of love anddeception

Against the Rules
by Linda Howard

At seventeen, Cathryn Ashe fought her attraction to RuleJackson and lost. Humiliated, she fled to the anonymity of the city. Now shesback, independent and more sure of herself than everand ready to challenge himagain.

But Rule is raising the stakes, and what Cat stands to loseis something shes known all along is his for the takingher heart.

Fatal Affair
by Marie Force

Detective Sergeant Sam Holland needs a big win to salvage hercareerand her confidenceafter a disastrous case. The perfect opportunityarises when shes assigned to the investigation of a senators murder. But shehas to team up with Nick Cappuano, the senators friend and chief of staffandthe man she had a memorable one-night stand with years earlier. Their sexualchemistry still sizzles, but sleeping with a material witness is a mistake Samcant affordespecially when the bodies keep piling up.

Praise for New York Times bestsellingauthor

You cant read just one Linda Howard!
New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter

Linda Howard writes with power, stunning sensuality and astorytelling ability unmatched in the romance genre.
Every book is atreasure for the reader to savor again and again.
New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen

This master storyteller takes our breath away.
RT Book Reviews

Praise for USA TODAY bestsellingauthor Marie Force

This book starts out strong and keeps getting better. MarieForce is one of those authors that will be on mymust-read list in the future.
The Romance Studio on Fatal Affair

The author makes the reader part of the action, effortlesslyweaving the world of politics and murder in which the characters come alive on the pages. The plot was addictive and scandalouswith so many family secrets. Drama, passion, suspense Fatal Affair hasit all!
Book Junkie

Marie Forces second novel in the Fatal series is anoutstanding romantic suspense in its own right; that it follows the fantasticfirst installment only sweetens the read.
RT Book Reviews, 4 stars, on Fatal Justice

LETHAL
ATTRACTION

Contents

Contents

CHAPTER 1

Cathryn wearily dropped her travel bag at her feet and looked around the air terminal for a familiar face, any familiar face. Houstons Intercontinental Airport was crowded with holiday travelers over the long Memorial Day weekend, and after being pushed both backward and forward by people hurrying to make connecting flights, Cathryn stepped back out of the worst of the crunch, using her foot to push the travel bag along. Her flight hadnt been early, so why wasnt someone there to meet her? This was her first visit home in almost three years, so surely Monica could have

Cat.

The irritated thought was never finished; it was interrupted by a husky growl in her ear and two hard hands curving around her slim waist, turning her around and pulling her against a lean male body. She had a startled, fleeting glimpse of unreadable dark eyes before they were covered by drooping lids and long black lashes; then he was too close, and her lips, parted in surprise, were caught by the warmth of his mouth. Two seconds, three...the kiss lingered, became deeper, his tongue moving in to take sensual possession. An instant before she recovered herself enough to protest, he released her from the kiss and stepped back.

You shouldnt do that! she snapped, her pale cheeks becoming warm with color as she noticed several people watching them and grinning.

Rule Jackson thumbed his battered black hat farther back on his head and regarded her with calm amusement, the same sort of look hed given her when she was an awkward twelve-year-old, all long arms and legs. I thought wed both enjoy it, he drawled, leaning down to pick up her bag. Is this all?

No, she said, glaring at him.

It figures.

He turned and made his way over to the luggage claim area, and Cathryn followed him, fuming inwardly at his manner but determined not to let him see it. She was twenty-five now, not a scared kid of seventeen; she would not let him intimidate her. She was his employer. He was only the ranch foreman, not the omnipotent devil her adolescent imagination had painted him. He might still have Monica and Ricky under his spell, but Monica was no longer her guardian and couldnt command her obedience. Cathryn wondered with well-hidden fury if Monica had deliberately sent Rule to meet her, with the knowledge that she hated him.

Unconsciously watching his lean body as he stretched and claimed the lone suitcase with her name tag on it, Cathryn shut off the rest of the violent thoughts that flooded her mind. Seeing Rule had always done that to her, driven her out of control and made her do things she would never have done except in the heat of temper. I hate him, she thought, the words whispering through her mind, but still her eyes moved over the width of his shoulders and down the long, powerful legs as she remembered....

He brought the suitcase to where she stood and one straight black eyebrow arched questioningly. After making her feel that she had imposed on him by having more than one piece of luggage, he grunted, Not planning on a long visit, are you?

No, she replied, keeping her voice flat, expressionless. She had never stayed long at the ranch, not since that summer when she had been seventeen.

Its about time you thought about coming home for good, he said.

Theres no reason for me to.

His dark eyes glinted at her from under the brim of his hat, but he didnt say anything, and when he turned and began threading his way through the groups of people Cathryn followed him without saying anything either. Sometimes she thought that communication between her and Rule was impossible, but at other times it seemed that no words were necessary. She didnt understand him, but she knew him, knew his pride, his toughness, his damned black temper that was no less frightening for being controlled. She had grown up knowing that Rule Jackson was a dangerous man; her formative years had been dominated by him.

He led her out of the air terminal and across the pavement to the area where private aircraft were kept, his long legs eating up the distance without effort; but Cathryn wasnt used to keeping up with his strides and she refused to trot after him like a dog on a leash. She maintained her own pace, keeping him in sight, and at last he stopped beside a blue-and-white twin-engined Cessna, opening the cargo door and storing her bags inside, then looking around impatiently for her. Hurry it up, he called, seeing that she was still some distance away.

Cathryn ignored him. He put his hands on his hips and waited for her, his booted feet braced in an arrogant stance that came naturally to him. When she reached him he didnt say a word; he merely pulled the door open and turned back to her, catching her around the waist and lifting her easily into the plane. She moved to the copilots seat and Rule swung himself into the pilots seat, then closed the door and tossed his hat onto the seat behind him, raking his lean fingers through his hair before reaching for the headset. Cathryn watched him, her expression revealing nothing, but she couldnt help remembering the vitality of that thick dark hair, the way it had curled around her fingers....