No Rules


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 No Rules
 Anita Rigins
 Translated from the French by Iris Clarke
 Copyright
 This novel is a work fiction. Names and characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. 
 Original title: No rulespublished by Éditions Addictives Paris, France
 Copyright © 2022 by Edisource Cover design by Angela Haddon
 Copyright © 2023 by Warm Publishing
 ISBN: 979-8-9856135-8-2
 All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading and/or electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected].
 Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. By doing so you are supporting our French authors and allowing Warm Publishing to continue publishing them. 
 Ebook edition: June 2023
 
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 Table of Contents
 Trigger Warning
 Prologue
 1. Find Your Place
 2. Watch Out for Wolves
 3. Rescue the Damsel
 4. They are Here
 5. Game
 6. Let’s Collide With Each Other
 7. Pack Leader
 8. Falling into his Trap
 9. The Hunt is On
 10. Temptation
 11. Madness
 12. Forced Partner
 13. Welcome to my Home
 14. Game Master
 15. Save Her
 16. Excitement
 17. An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth
 18. Fucking Amazing
 19. Unknown Territory
 20. Demon
 21. Surprise Guest
 22. The Call of the Wolf
 23. Third Trial
 24. Jealousy
 25. Accept the Obvious
 26. A History of Hair
 27. A Possessive Man
 28. Let’s Open Up
 29. Seduce Me
 30. Succumb to Me
 31. Bad temper
 32. Arm Wrestling with a Demon
 33. Rafael
 34. Guilty?
 35. Second Round
 36. Achieving your Goals
 37. Fighting on all Fronts
 38. Teach a Lesson
 39. Wanting More
 40. Family Conflict
 41. Confession
 42. It’s her
 43. Get the claws out
 44. The Storm
 45. Calm Him Down
 46. Trust
 47. Meeting
 48. The Darkness
 49. Saying Goodbye
 50. Drop the Masks
 51. Revenge
 52. Love
 Epilogue
 Acknowledgment
 About the author
 Trigger Warning
 WARNING: Although No Rules is a romance please note that there are several themes within this book that may trigger you. If you are easily triggered by dark content like violence, sexual assault, drug, or grief, proceed with caution and at your own discretion.
 I dedicate this book to R. who will recognize himself. You saved my life, and you make it better every day.
 Prologue
 Iris
 “Love: the impulse of the heart that carries us towards another. It can be recognized by its intensity, by the speed with which it appears and takes control of our being,” and blah-blah-blah. Who seriously believes in this definition?
 And then there’s that chubby little cupid who shoots an arrow right through your heart, stupidly forgetting that you need it to live.
 Do you want my opinion? Love, the real kind, the one that takes you to the gut, it’s bullshit.
 At least, that’s what I thought…until I met Tucker.
 1. Find Your Place
 Iris
 A shrill ringtone echoes through the walls of my apartment as I run to find my damn bag.
 I’m late.
 I trip in the hallway and catch myself on the dresser with one hand. One more inch and my toe would’ve hit the corner of the furniture, and we all know how painful that is.
 Note to self: move this furniture as soon as possible. Oh, and wake up on time the next few days.
 I hate people who are late, and I hate being late myself. I’m usually organized but, go figure, not today. Probably the stress of the move.
 The noise continues to pierce my eardrums, and I finally find my phone between two cushions of the sofa. Hallelujah.
 “Yeah?” I ask, gasping for breath.
 With my car keys in hand, I slam the door to the apartment and hear my Aunt Emma’s voice on the other end.
 “Your sister had another tantrum, Iris,” she begins in her unpleasant voice. “When I agreed to take her into my home, I expected a minimum of maturity from her.”
 The way she says “take her”—as if my little sister were a stray dog—makes my anger rise, which I am unfortunately obliged to swallow. I rest my head against the lacquered wood of the door and sigh, clutching the phone.
 You stupid bitch.
 I restrain myself from repeating it out loud and answer through clenched teeth. “She’s having a panic attack. Comfort her.”
 I hear my sister crying behind her and imagine her alone, devastated. Her young age hasn’t helped her accept the situation; unlike I thought it would.
 “Maybe leaving Portland now wasn’t such a good idea,” Emma continues in a reproachful tone.
 On the contrary, it was the only good idea I’ve had in the last few months. The only solution that allowed me to keep my head above water. A fresh start to keep me from drowning in my nightmares. If I had stayed, I would have been lost forever.
 “Pass the phone to her,” I say, running down the two floors in a hurry.
 “I’ve got a meeting in thirty minutes, so fix this,” my aunt continues in a tense voice.
 No doubt that taking in a nine-year-old girl was not part of her plans. A few months ago—eight, to be exact—her life was turned upside-down while my sister’s and mine were destroyed.
 Unfortunately, the judge’s decision was final. My sister was placed in Emma’s care. Without the financial resources, I was deemed too unstable and too precarious to care for a 9-year-old girl. The