Page 24 of Bound

Z joined him in a contemplative grunt. “Beats tumbling over a cliff, yeah?”

“Speak for yourself.”

Because right now, tumbling off a cliff seemed a whole lot safer than the ledge he was nearing, step by precarious step. A scarp where the wind was strong yet sweet, the vista dizzying but stunning—leading to an abyss that made his heart thunder up his throat and his skin crawl with panic-driven fire ants.

As an aqua-eyed princess led him closer and closer to the edge.

Chapter Five

Strange times called for strange measures. And since this was, hands down, the strangest week of her life, Jayd refused to feel guilty about giving into her matching measures.

All right, perhaps strange was only the start of it. There were other descriptors too—expressions she had always heard back at Stanford but never quite understood. Expressions like “thrown down the shit pipe,” “picking up the pieces,” and “my favorite mistake.”

Except that Maximillian Brickham had not been a mistake. Yes, even during those last awful moments a couple of days ago, in his room still so cruelly close to her suite—it still felt nothing close to a mistake. Every stressed muscle in her body confirmed it. Every brutally exposed nerve ending was on the exact same page.

They had an expression about that at Stanford too, right? More specifically, about the best way to fix it?

A hair of the dog that bit you.

Yes! That was it.

Except…that it was not.

Because unless the Creator had fashioned a dog that could make her ache like this without seeing him for three days, Maximillian Brickham had nothing in common with any dog she knew. Except for the possessive growls that vibrated his whole chest. And the way he gripped her body, his hands like brutal paws, when his desire manifested as full arousal. And the bestial look on his face as he plunged his body into hers, before taking her to another plane of existence…

And there she went again. Right back down that hideous hole of memories. A pit she had to stay out of, no matter how ruthless the gouge in her belly or the ache in her heart.

She had to forget the Force of Nature.

And had come up with a brilliant plan for doing so.

Not even Requiemme’s twisted expression, wielded via the big bathroom mirror in Jayd’s suite, could sway her from the determination. If anything, her friend’s wary frown was perfect for solidifying her resolve. Perhaps, at last, she had found a diversion that would work longer than an hour, without exacting a hangover in return.

She waited, calmly and patiently, for her maid to totter over, her steps ginger because of her knee-to-ankle cast. If Emme noticed Jayd’s obscenely bright grin, the woman ignored it. Jayd simply waited for the woman to fully stop before the long marble vanity counter.

Once she was there, Emme frowned. Deeply.

Jayd harbored no delusions as to why. Her maid was scowling at the items already lined up on the marble counter. There were some pretty hair combs, a small paint brush, squares of foil, and a plastic bowl filled with bright blue liquid.

After a hesitant second, Emme picked up the brush. But instead of dipping it into the bowl, she caught Jayd’s stare again. “Tupulai. Are you absolutely sure about th—”

“Emme. I love you to the end of each sunset and back, but if you ask me that one more time, I shall be forced to sing nothing but ‘What’s New Pussycat’ for the next few hours.”

Emme scandalized gasp was only half a jibe. “Merciless wench!”

“But you love that about me.”

“I love many things about you,” came the affectionate retort. “But not the mind behind a threat like that. And this?” She scooped up the bowl and grimaced again. “Probably a close second place.”

“Bah.” Jayd hissed from between her teeth. “I predict you will actually like it better than me.”

“I would really like it if you went to the palais salon to do this. They are only one level below us—”

“And they are all nearly as antwacky as my mother.” She huffed. “Their version of ‘daring’ is parting my hair in the middle instead of the side.”

A small smile wisped Emme’s lips. Jayd returned a similar smile while thanking the Creator for keeping her friend safe during their time in Paris. All odds considered, they both should have come out of the adventure in worse shape. Fortunately, her maid had only left behind some mental peace and a lot of skin off her left leg.

And Jayd had left behind her virginity.