Bound to Passion (Bound Series #3)

by Kiru Taye

  “If I do what you want, you’ll consent to the divorce?”

  “Yes. If you do everything I say.”

  “Within reason,” she retorted.

  “Of course.” He shrugged. “I’m a reasonable man.”

  She nodded. Then she put her hands on his shoulders and lifted herself on her toes. The speed of her assent baffled him. Christy didn’t usually give in so quickly if she didn’t want something.

  Perhaps she’d yearned to kiss him all along.

  From the moment she brushed her soft lips against his, the world around them combusted. The stockpile of desire from the past few months overwhelmed his body, setting his blood on fire. He couldn’t remember a time when things were different between them. When they didn’t have this raw heat of burning passion that consumed both of them with need for each other. No other woman ever made him feel this way.

  Even after the separation, their ardor hadn’t waned. He didn’t think it’d ever change.

  When she blew a breath against his lips, he tangled one hand in her kinky hair and splayed the other across her round behind. Tilting her head back, he took over the kiss. He swept his tongue across her lips before delving into their partition, a man starved of her delightfully succulent bounty. With his tongue, he razed and subjugated her mouth. With his lips, he drank, fueling his already raging cravings.

  She swayed into him, her grip on his shoulders tightening. Her scent intoxicated him and threatened to drive him over the edge. Urging him to take her, to spread her on the sofa and show her what she’d been missing. What she’d miss, if she got what she was asking for. To remind her of the pleasure she’d been denying him—them—these long months.

  Instead, he released her and stepped back, his movement brusque. He didn’t care. If he didn’t stop now, they’d be on the sofa with him inside her within a matter of moments. They’d both have pleasure and satisfaction. But only temporarily.

  What he had in mind fitted more into the long term.

  “I’m going to Brass Island for the festivities and you’re coming with me,” he said as he tried to control his fast, shallow breathing.

  She appeared dazed and a blush colored her cheeks.

  “I have other plans for Christmas,” she replied, sounding out of breath. Same as him.

  “Cancel them. I’ll call you to confirm travel arrangements.”

  “Fine. I’ll cancel.” She twisted her lips in displeasure.

  He ignored her sulk. “If you say this relationship is over, then I want two weeks with you to get you out of my system. No friends or family. Just the sun, sea, and sand to distract us. After that, I’ll sign your divorce papers. Agreed?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I’ll see myself out.”

  He strode away from her, into the hot sunshine before he did something he’d truly regret. Like grabbing Christy and shaking her until she recanted her words and confessed that this had all been a mistake. Otherwise, knowing she’d agreed to his demand so easily only meant she wanted him gone—out of her life.

  Information so corrosive to his well-being, like salt on an open wound. He almost doubled over as his gut wrenched.

  Within the confines of his car, he unleashed an angry growl, turning his pain into determination. If Christy wanted to get rid of him, he’d give her two weeks she’d never forget.

  Chapter Two

  As soon as she shut the door behind Joshua, Christy flopped on the sofa, mental exhaustion getting the better of her. She clutched her quivering palm on her chest, feeling the thumping of her heart as it raced. Time distorted—seconds seeming like minutes, minutes like hours. Eventually, her sprinting heart calmed and her body’s trembling stopped.

  She had tapped into every ounce of strength she possessed not to crumble in Joshua’s presence.

  How could she have looked at the only man she’d ever loved—her husband—and asked him for a divorce? The only man who’d ever held her heart, whose graze of a touch could melt her insides into a puddle of need, whose kiss could set her on fire.

  Wanting to evade the confrontation, she’d instructed her lawyer to write the letter, hoping to avoid having to deal with Joshua directly. After his nonchalant attitude when she’d moved out of their home, she’d assumed he would be content for her to instigate divorce proceedings.

  How wrong she’d been.

  The Joshua who turned up at her apartment was anything but content. The harsh slash of his firm lips, the sharp slant of his black eyes, and the rigidity of his masculine poise all magnified his barely concealed displeasure.

  Yet, his discontentment hadn’t hidden the man she knew—wildly masculine, fiercely dominant, and sexy as hell.

  From the moment she’d opened the door to him, she’d been in trouble and had tried to hide her body’s response to his presence. In the privacy of her mind, she could admit honestly—she’d wanted him to hold her. Love her again.

  She’d missed him.

  Still, she couldn’t forget what she knew. She’d only managed to cope by focusing on her anger.

  Finding out the truth had been the most heart-breaking thing she’d ever had to endure; her devastation made worse because Joshua wasn’t just her husband. He’d been her best friend, her confidant. The one person she thought she could rely on when everyone else let her down.

  Theirs hadn’t been a whirlwind affair. They’d been friends long before they became lovers. Tragic family events had brought them together. Yet, their mutual admiration and respect for each other had sustained their relationship, even through periods of separation when she’d been at university abroad.

  His constant devotion had made her think he loved her and wanted a permanent future with her.

  Once she’d discovered the truth about Joshua and their marriage, her world had collapsed. She was alone. He had never been in her corner, never been the champion she’d made him out to be.

  Marriage had stripped their relationship of its thin, rose-tinted coating, and bared their monochromatic existence for what it was. A sham.

  To cope with her distress, she’d walked away from their marital home and the man she loved. She couldn’t live a lie, couldn’t pretend that everything was all right when she was dying slowly inside.

  Christy closed her eyes, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill out. A wistful feeling made her heart as heavy as lead. As she inhaled deeply to soothe herself, the remnant, lingering hint of Joshua’s cologne filled her lungs and transported her back to the eventful summer when everything changed between them. A time when she’d had little worries except planning a party.

  That sunny afternoon, Christy and her best friend had sat outside in the gazebo in Christy’s family home garden in Ikoyi, a suburb of Lagos, discussing her upcoming eighteenth birthday.

  “Your party is going to be so fabulous,” Gloria Rawlins said, before picking up the glass of mojito, sans rum.

  Though she had her moments, she wasn’t crazy enough to offer her friends alcohol from her parents’ cabinet.

  “It’s not every day that I get to turn eighteen.” Christy took a sip from her glass. “Plus, it’s also a send-off party before I travel to London.”

  “You know, I so wish I was going to London, too, but my father doesn’t want to hear it. Sometimes, that man really drives me crazy.”

  “Girl, you know what I’ve had to do to get my father to agree.” Christy put her glass back on the round wooden table. “It hasn’t been easy at all. I had to shelf all my partying this year so I could get the top marks my parents specified. Otherwise, I would’ve sat my ass down right here.”

  “You tried, sha.” Gloria emphasized her surprise at Christy’s achievement with the use of the slang, something they did in their parents’ absences.

  Christy’s father was autocratic when it came to her speaking perfect English.

  I don’t pay a fortune for your education for you to speak like a bus tout was a popular refrain of his. She suppressed a smile at the thought
.

  “But how did you manage those grades?” Gloria asked. “Or did you pay someone for your results?”

  “I had a secret weapon. Joshua. Without him, I don’t think I would’ve done so well.”

  “Ha. You kept that one hidden. Who is Joshua?”

  “He’s just a family friend. He helped coach me on some subjects for my exams.”

  “Oya, gist me. What is he like, this Joshua? Is he young, handsome, and single?”

  Both girls giggled, Christy nearly spilling the sip of mojito in her mouth that she’d just taken as she laughed. “He’s young and handsome. But I don’t know if he has a girlfriend.”

  “You mean the two of you are not together.” Gloria raised her eyebrows and peered at her suspiciously.

  “It’s not like that between us. He’s not a kid, you know. He’s already done his Youth Service. We’re just friends.” Christy shrugged.

  Hearing the clangs of metal as the gateman opened the pedestrian gate, she looked in that direction. Joshua strode in and headed toward the front door.

  Without much thought, Christy pushed back her chair and stood. “Talk of the devil.”

  “Is that him? Is that Joshua?” Gloria’s jaw dropped.

  “Yes.” She nodded.

  “He’s hot.”

  Christy smiled after hearing Gloria gasp in awe.

  Joshua had the presence of a prime red-blooded hot male specimen. With skin the color of roasted coffee beans and a body jam-packed with hard muscles, he was a girl’s sweet dream. Today, he had dressed in a button down sky-blue shirt and navy trousers. The sun glinted off the silver cufflinks on his wrists, catching her eyes. One thing about Joshua, he was always smartly attired, even on a day like today, Saturday. And his black shoes shone from the polish.

  His presence always left her out of breath.

  “Joshua is the definition of hotness. That’s for sure.”

  “You can say that again. Phew.” Gloria fanned her face with her hands.

  Compelled, she walked off in Joshua’s direction, intercepting him before he reached the front entrance. Anytime he was around, she loved being close to him.

  He seemed lost in thought, not noticing her until she stood almost before him.

  “Hi, Joshua,” she said, beaming him a smile as her pulse raced.

  “Oh. Hi, Christy. How are you?” His face lit up.

  Her heart skipped a beat. He had the most glorious laughter lines in any man she’d seen. His cheeks dipped in just by his lips, giving him a boyish dimple. His commanding grin had the power to subdue her. She would do anything for him. Shame he never asked her.

  “I’m doing well, thanks,” Christy replied and twisted a loose strand of her hair as her nerves got the better of her. She was usually a bold girl. But with Joshua she became timid. She could stand there just watching him all day, lost in the depth of his mesmerizing onyx eyes.

  A tug on her arm from her friend reminded her where she was, and she shifted her weight to her other leg. “Oh, this is my friend. Gloria, this is Joshua.”

  “Nice to meet you.” They shook hands. “Christy, your dad wanted to see me, so I better head in. Perhaps I’ll see you girls later.”

  “Ok. I’ll see you later,” Christy said, disappointment washing over her because he hadn’t come to visit her. Then again, now that he’d succeeded in helping her pass her examinations, there was no need for them to hang out anymore. Unbidden, her sadness increased at the thought. She wanted to spend more time with him.

  He flashed then a set of dazzling white teeth before going through the doorway. The girls strolled back to the gazebo, Christy’s footsteps less certain.

  “Did you say the two of you are not together? You like him, don’t you?” Gloria asked with a frown.

  “I do, but what would be the point, anyway?” Christy lifted her shoulders in a resigned shrug. “I’m heading off to London soon.”

  “If I were you, I wouldn’t leave without at least finding out if he’s interested.”

  “You may be right. But he recently lost his parents in an accident. I’m not sure he’ll want to get involved.”

  “Talk to him, anyway. You never know.”

  The ring of Gloria’s phone chimed in before Christy could reply. A timely occurrence as Christy didn’t feel particularly confident about sharing her feelings with Gloria.

  Though they’d gotten closer since he started tutoring her, he’d never indicated she mattered to him in any non-platonic way. Not knowing Joshua’s thoughts about her made her doubly worried. But Gloria was right. She needed to know before she went away.

  “I’ve got to go. My stepmother wants me to pop into the mall for her,” Gloria said before lowering her voice to a conspiratorial level. “And I’m going to stop by and see Ike. Do you want to come along?”

  “No,” Christy replied. “I think I should stay and talk to Joshua. I feel I should.”

  “Good idea and good luck. You’ll have to gist me what happens later.”

  Gloria winked at her before getting into the Toyota RAV4. Christy waved her off as the gateman opened the gates. As she waited for Joshua to come out, a nervous shiver slid down her back. Funny, no one else had elicited such a response from her before now. Usually comfortable in the company of boys, she was never short of requests for dates. The boys would ask her out and she’d say no. She’d never met one to whom she could relate to in that way.

  Until Joshua.

  Perhaps the age gap between her and Joshua made her feel inadequate. She would turn eighteen in a few days and he was twenty-four, older than the boys who usually asked her out. He was a man, not a boy.

  Was he out of her league? She would have to find out.

  Waiting for Joshua wore on her already jittery nerves. Her mind could only accommodate one thought—Joshua.

  When she thought she couldn’t wait any longer after about half an hour, Joshua came outside. She offered him some of the cocktail. He sat down opposite her, sipping his drink. She was too tongue-tied to even make polite conversation, as her pulse started racing again.

  “I hear you’re off to London soon,” Joshua said. “Congratulations for scoring a place at the College of Fashion. I know how much you wanted it.”

  “Thank you.” She paused as she smiled shyly. “I don’t think I would have made it without your help. So thank you, again.”

  “You’re welcome. I loved helping you. I wanted you to achieve your dreams of becoming a renowned fashion designer.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. You talked about it so much. How your heart has always been in fashion instead of manufacturing like your father wants. Did you think I didn’t listen to all your complaints about your parents pushing you in a different direction from what you wanted?”

  “Oh,” was all she could manage, truly stunned by his words.

  “Let me tell you a secret.” He lowered his voice but kept smiling at her. “Months ago, I had a chat with your dad and we struck a bargain. If I helped you make your exam grades, he would allow you to go to the university of your choice and study the course you want.”

  “What? You did that?” Her heart caught in her throat, choking her with surprise. She stared at him mouth agape.

  “Yes.”

  “What if I had failed?”

  “I knew you wouldn’t. I believed in your abilities.”

  She stood and paced as a thousand thoughts crossed her mind. “I really can’t believe you did that. You helped me a lot more than I thought.”

  A lot more than any of her friends had ever done for her. Before she could think better of it, she stooped and wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered, a lump clogging her throat.

  “It’s okay,” he said.

  His shoulders lifted in a shrug as she held him, and she leaned back. She looked into his eyes but couldn’t decipher the emotion in their dark depths. Did he see her as a younger sibling? It would account for his behavior. What she wan
ted from Joshua was a lot more than brotherly love.

  “Why would you do such a thing for me?” she had to ask, her fingers crossed in her mind as she hoped he cared for her as much as she did for him.

  Joshua stood. Close. In the shaded cool of the gazebo, his warmth radiated toward her, enclosing her with the scent of his aftershave. She remained still, and concentrated on regulating her breathing.

  “Christy, I care about you,” he said. “I didn’t like seeing you upset, so I did something about it.”

  She lifted her lips in a warm smile. He wasn’t confessing undying love, but he’d said more than she expected already.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, folding her suddenly clammy palms together. “It’s more than any of my friends have ever done for me.”

  “I have news of my own,” he said. “Your dad has offered me a job at his company. That’s why he asked to see me.”

  “Wow. That’s great. Congratulations.”

  She gave him another hug. This time, because he was standing, their bodies were fully aligned. She took advantage and moved closer, pressing against the hard planes and ridges of his chest and thighs.

  To her surprise, he didn’t push her away. She stayed in his embrace a little longer than was necessary, savoring the feel of him.

  He coughed. She retreated. As she moved to step away, he pulled her back into his embrace and kissed her. Their first kiss, a brief brush of sensuous lips, chaste and over before she could even respond properly. Yet, the effect lingered, melting her bones and making her yearn for more. Good thing he held on to her arms, his strong fingers keeping her upright when her knees would have given way.

  “I’ll miss you when you go away. I hope you’ll keep in touch.”

  His voice sounded a little deeper than usual, and its vibrations rumbled in her stomach. Euphoria lifted her spirits so she floated on air, virtually.

  “Sure. I’ll call, email, and we can chat online. You won’t be able to get rid of me,” she rattled on, her body filled with so much joy she could’ve danced on the spot. “But you’ll come to my party, right?”

  “If I’m invited.” He gave her a lopsided grin.