Rule Breaker Read online

  Rule Breaker

  Sienna Snow

  New York Boston

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  EPILOGUE

  A Preview of Book Two

  About the Author

  You Might Also Like…

  Newsletters

  Copyright

  To Hitesh, the love of my life. Without you, I’d never have started this journey. You are everything a girl dreams of in a husband. I love you.

  To Amanda Carey, for being my first-ever beta reader. Your help was invaluable. You are a true gem.

  To Melissa Patel Cole, for being the best sister on the face of the planet and keeping me off the ledge when doubts crept in.

  To Mom and Dad, who are never allowed to read the book—your delicate sensibilities couldn’t take it. Thank you for cheering me on, even when you had no clue what I was doing.

  Last but not least, to my tribe: Mia Hopkins, Ruth Vincent, Susan O’Connell, and Sharon Merrett. You have been on this crazy train with me from the beginning. Thank you so much for not jumping off.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Look at me, baby. I want to watch you as you come.”

  Opening my eyes, I stared into unending depths of green. The love gazing back at me brought tears to my eyes.

  He used his thumbs to wipe away the drops and leaned down to kiss me. “You are mine, Arya, never forget that.”

  My body clenched around him as he slid into me. He moved with agonizing slowness, denying me the orgasm he’d been building up for hours. I lifted my hips, trying to urge him to move a little bit faster. Frustrated, I jerked on my arm restraints and struggled to free myself.

  “Please,” I begged, “I need to touch you. Release my wrists.” The force of his thrusts increased and my body responded with tiny spasms.

  Oh yes, right there.

  “Not yet, not until your core ripples around me, squeezing every drop from me.”

  His hand moved between our bodies, toward my swollen, aching nub. He rubbed back and forth as his pace quickened.

  That’s it, oh God, almost there.

  The burning need inside my body increased to an unbearable level. My hips rose up and down to match every thrust. The convulsions started.

  Yes, at last.

  “Arya, can you hear me?”

  What?

  “Arya, wake up.”

  Where am I?

  Sweat ran down my body as my heart pounded out of control, and my body ached for an orgasm that seemed unattainable. I jerked my arms, expecting restraints, but found nothing. I relaxed back onto the bed.

  Only a dream.

  “Are you listening? Wake up! They’re talking about us on the news.” Milla’s excited voice blared into my bedroom.

  I rolled over, taking a quick peek at the clock. Four thirty a.m. Wasn’t it against the girl code to wake someone up too early? Why couldn’t Milla let me sleep a little bit longer?

  “Did you hear me? We’re big news.”

  “Go away, I don’t care,” I moaned. “I have ninety more minutes until the alarm goes off. Why are you in my penthouse anyway? Don’t you live across the hall?” Maybe if Milla left, I could fall back asleep and finish my orgasm.

  “Scoot over and listen to the report. There should be more info right after the commercials.”

  Nix the extra sleep idea.

  “Fine,” I grumbled and shifted over, making room for my oh-so-bossy and chipper best friend.

  She grabbed the remote from the bedside table and turned on the broadcast. I squinted as the blaring light from the giant TV lit up the room. Why did I put a sixty-inch plasma in my bedroom? The damn thing was too bright. As my eyes adjusted, I took in Milla’s appearance. She still wore the plum Valentino suit from last night, but her hair was wet and slicked back into a bun.

  “Did you even sleep? When I left, you and Carmen were busy downing shots with the rest of the team. Don’t tell me you just got home.”

  Please have a hangover.

  “Okay, I won’t. After the party, I went back to Carmen’s and spent the night working out last-minute details of the merger. I came home as soon as the statement went out.”

  Totally unfair. Even during graduate school at MIT, she drank like a sailor and still woke up at the crack of dawn for classes.

  “I’m so happy that the three of us are back together. I missed her.”

  “You and me both. Having our resident dominant around will keep us in line.”

  “Isn’t that the truth?”

  We had been known as the three musketeers while at MIT, but I’d pushed her away when my life had fallen apart.

  She was living in New York now, and returned to Boston only for the merger. I sighed. I should have reestablished the friendship we’d lost five years ago. She deserved better than my distancing myself from her because of her brother.

  Wait. Did Milla say something about a statement?

  “What statement?” I pinned Milla with a confused glare.

  “Shush, the commercial’s over. Listen.”

  “Breaking business news.

  “It’s official. MDC won the bidding war for the security technology think tank ArMil Innovations. An undisclosed sum was negotiated, with all parties remaining tight-lipped about exact figures, but analysts estimate it to be in the area of $150 billion. Our sources say negotiations were settled late last night with a celebration following.

  “Many of you may recall the buzz surrounding Arya Rey when she hacked MI6’s security database after a direct challenge from the chief of the Secret Intelligence Service at the Def Con Conference in Las Vegas. The brainchild she created as a result of the competition, ArMil Innovations, became the highest-valued security technology development company in the world.

  “Thirty minutes ago, a joint statement was released by Milla Castra, cofounder of ArMil Innovations, and Carmen Dane, technology CEO of MDC International, through MDC representative Grant Mills.

  “‘We are proud to announce the joining of ArMil Innovations with MDC International. Together, our companies will harness our unique talents to develop new, innovative, and affordable technologies for all your security needs.’”

  I turned my attention back to Milla. “You have been a busy girl this morning. What happened to taking a few days off to unwind and bask in our success? I think this decision requires a poll. I vote for relax. I’m going back to bed.” I laid back down and pulled the covers over my head. “Make sure you switch off the television, and close the door when you leave.”

  Milla ignored my less than subtle hint. “Before we take our well-earned vacation, we need to meet with the new team Carmen assembled.” She paused. “Ari, are you sure you’re going to be okay with this? It isn’t too late t
o delay the merger, at least until you’ve had a little more time to adjust. I’m worried about you.”

  Milla’s now somber voice caught me by surprise. I tugged the covers off my head and peered at her. We might not share any blood, but she loved me, and without question, she would fight any of my demons for me.

  “I’ll be fine, Mil. It’s been five years. I survived the darkest days of my life and came out on top. I’m not twenty-three anymore. I can handle it. Besides, he’s in charge of the whole organization. He won’t bother with us.” If only I believed the BS flowing from my mouth.

  Ever since Lex Duncan, my other best friend and adviser, suggested selling the business aspect of our company to allow me more time to focus on research, I worried about running into Maxwell Aaron Dane. With our high valuation, Milla, as CFO, only gave the top investment firms the opportunity to bid. But I never expected the highest offer to come from MDC, the conglomerate owned by Carmen and Max’s family.

  Rejecting any consideration of the proposition due to personal issues with MDC’s CEO was not only selfish but also insane. In the end, Milla and I chose the most advantageous course for the future of the company, including the retention of all developmental controls for upcoming and current projects. Now, even if I wished to back out, it was too late. Moreover, I’d spent too much time rebuilding myself to fall again. One day, if Max and I happened to run into each other, I would wish him well and move on.

  Great. Now I was lying to myself, too.

  “Maybe you’re right,” Milla agreed. “Carmen is the head of all technology development for MDC. She’s not going to let her big brother take over any aspect of the companies she oversees without a fight. Besides, she’s aware of your history with Max. She’s the one who hid you from him when you left South Africa. She won’t let him interfere.”

  Why did Milla’s words seem like a bad omen to me?

  I stretched and glanced at the clock. Well, now that going back to bed was off the menu, better hit the treadmill. “Want to join me in the gym? It’s too cold for a run outside.” I pushed off the mattress and headed for my bathroom.

  “No.” Milla yawned. “I think I’ll catch an hour or so of sleep before we have to meet at corporate. Lex wants us to arrive thirty minutes early in case there are a few surprises. He’s always trying to protect his adopted baby sister.”

  I leaned my head out of the bathroom. “He loves me, but you, on the other hand…” I hummed aloud. “You could put us all out of our misery and jump him already. That way all the sexual tension between you two will end.”

  Lex and Milla had had an ongoing thing for each other since Milla was in high school, but neither possessed the balls to act upon their feelings. I loved teasing them about it.

  “On that note, I’m out of here. Sleep is calling my name.”

  Milla jumped off the bed and left me to my morning routine before I headed to the gym.

  I started my run around five a.m., giving me a few hours before my nine o’clock meeting at corporate. I gazed out toward the beautiful view of Boston’s midtown, while Pink blared her “girl power” songs in the background.

  I am one lucky lady.

  My success seemed surreal at times. Not many twenty-eight-year-olds get to say they went for a run in the home gym of their penthouse on the fifty-fifth floor of Boston’s Millennium Tower. I had gone from a physically and emotionally exhausted and financially strained PhD graduate to one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the world in less than five years.

  “See world, women are tech wizards, too.” I fist-pumped into the empty room and caught myself before I fell off the treadmill.

  I gave all the credit to Lex and Milla. They supported me when I needed them the most and encouraged me to make my vision a reality. I guessed I owed Max, too. If he hadn’t broken me, I wouldn’t have achieved any of the things I had accomplished to date.

  A few years ago, I would have given up my whole life to please him, putting aside my dreams to fit into his world. I handed him complete control only for him throw it back in my face.

  Never again.

  I had buried that side of myself. No man would gain that level of trust again.

  I tapped the button to run faster. I wanted to sort through my thoughts before the meeting. If only exercise made life easier.

  Milla insisted I needed to get laid. Maybe she was right, but I wasn’t sure if my equipment worked without BOB, my battery-operated boyfriend. My dreams highlighted my nonexistent sex life, and almost orgasming didn’t count.

  Oh hell, there I went again, back to thinking about Max. Well, I couldn’t help it, since he was the sole experience I’d ever had.

  Over the years, I went out with a few guys, but none of them gave me what I wanted or needed.

  Dominance.

  My lack of interest wasn’t their fault; I picked men I could dominate, not the other way around. They were the polar opposite of Max. Once or twice, I contemplated starting a sexual relationship, but I’d ended things before we reached first base. One kiss and I lost interest.

  “Arya, get off the treadmill. I’ve been calling you for the past fifteen minutes,” Milla shouted from the doorway of the gym.

  How long had I been running? I glimpsed at the wall clock. Seven fifteen a.m. Shit. I jumped off the machine and lowered the stereo. “My bad. I left my phone on the bench and with the music so loud I couldn’t hear it.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Get moving. There isn’t much time.”

  Man, she was already dressed. Did she even go to sleep?

  “What’s going on? We aren’t due in the office until later in the morning.”

  “Lex called. He had to reschedule the meeting to eight o’clock. The MDC teams know we’re all leaving town tonight, and they want to meet earlier in case extra time is needed to discuss the final logistics.”

  “There is no way I’ll reach the office by eight o’clock. I haven’t even showered yet. With the weather and traffic, I won’t make it until at least eight thirty. You head over there and let Lex know I’m running late.”

  “I don’t think so. Remember, he likes to shoot the messenger. I’m not in the mood to deal with his Irish temper.”

  This thing with those two was now getting on my nerves.

  “Fine. Tell him that I’m stuck on a call or something. I’ll get there as soon as possible. If he gives you shit, remind him that not everyone has a corporate copter on standby to pick them up for work.”

  “So speaks the girl with a brand new Maybach and a private jet.”

  I shot Milla the bird, snagged a water from the cooler, and chugged.

  “Mmm,” I hummed, as the chilled water slid down my throat and cooled my overheated body from the inside.

  “So sad, after making a billion-dollar deal, girl gets lazy and starts running late,” Milla remarked with a smirk. “Wait, you’re always running late.”

  I rolled my eyes, rushed past her, and charged straight for my shower. I hoped I’d be only a few minutes late.

  CHAPTER TWO

  An hour and a half later, James, my driver, pulled onto the driveway leading to ArMil’s headquarters. I took my last sip of coffee and collected my papers, stuffing them into my briefcase. The forty-five minutes it took to arrive at the office were occupied fielding numerous calls from reporters, former college friends trying to cash in on ArMil’s success, and Kerry, my amazing, but seriously grumpy assistant.

  “Ms. Rey, we’re almost there. Which entrance should I use?” asked James.

  I rolled my eyes at his “Ms. Rey.” Even after spending the last four-plus years as my driver/bodyguard/therapist, he refused to call me Arya. He was more than an employee. He was family, my surrogate father in all aspects of the term. That is, if dads came in the form of scary, former Russian assassin types. He would protect me from past demons and any new ones creeping up to spook me.

  Nope, not going there right now.

  I shook the thought from my mind. “Take me to the ma
in garage. It wouldn’t seem very professional for the cofounder of the company to sneak through the private elevators, just to avoid Carmen’s MDC employees.” Butterflies floated into my stomach. I seized some antacid from my bag and popped it into my mouth.

  Why am I anxious all of a sudden?

  Perhaps it was the bad omen I sensed when Milla had been talking about Max.

  “Everything will be fine, Ms. Rey. Remember you’re one meeting away from a week’s vacation in Monterey.”

  I relaxed a bit at the image of unwinding at home with my aunt Elana and eating all her incredible food.

  The car stopped by the main lobby entrance in the garage, and an immediate wave of nausea attacked me. I closed my eyes and placed a hand on my stomach.

  Breathe, Arya.

  “I’ll give you a few minutes before I open the door to gather yourself.” The man was perceptive beyond measure.

  “Thanks.” I lifted my gaze and caught him watching me through the rearview mirror. “I better straighten myself up and put on my game face.”

  “There is nothing to straighten. You look sharp today. Take a moment, and let me know when you are ready.” He opened the door and stepped out of the car.

  I opened my compact to check my makeup. Large hazel eyes accented perfectly with the correct shades of shadows stared back at me. My brown hair remained tucked into a loose bun, and my olive skin appeared flawless.

  Wow, the hair and makeup lessons Milla drilled into me worked. No one would guess a minimalistic half-Indian computer nerd who loved ponytails, soft linen pants, and cozy sweaters hid under there. With the right hair, makeup, and attitude, Milla had converted me into a tough-as-nails entrepreneur prepped to take over a male-dominated world.

  I finished my final check and knocked on the window, telling James I was ready. The second he opened the door, a waiting Kerry handed me a phone.

  “Milla has called three times. She says it’s urgent, and you need to get upstairs, ASAP.”

  What could she be freaking out about? I was only about thirty minutes late. I peeked at my wristwatch. Oops, make that forty-five.