Bound to Passion (Bound Series #3)

by Kiru Taye

  Still, the urge to be inside her thrummed in his veins. If he was to do this, he had to move away from her. Gain some space to think clearly.

  Christy sat up on the table when Joshua turned away. Her skin prickled, and not from a warm and fuzzy sensation. She’d just come down from a thrilling orgasm only Joshua could give her. But his reaction was less than comforting.

  “Joshua, what is it?”

  Feeling awkward, she picked up her dress and covered her nakedness. Had she done something to displease him?

  He turned to face her, his expression guarded. There had to be something wrong for him to be suddenly withdrawn.

  “There was someone after you left me,” he said.

  Christy’s heart fell into her stomach. A sickening sensation swept over her. She gripped the edge of the table, her nails digging into the wood. Even after leaving Joshua, she’d refused to picture him with another woman. She might have wanted him out of her life, but she’d still cared about what he did.

  “What?” She wasn’t sure if she was angry or just plain disappointed.

  “Do you know how angry I was when you left me?” he said, his voice cold and hard, his eyes like black glaciers. “From the first day I met you, I’ve done all I can to please you. You went to London and told me to wait. I did.”

  She’d never seen such cold fury from Joshua.

  “The first time we made love, I wanted to wait. You said you were ready, so we did. It’s been like that throughout our relationship. Anything you wanted, I was ready to oblige you.”

  Joshua stepped toward the window, his shoulders straight and rigid.

  “Then I come home one day to find you gone. No explanations. Nothing. When I finally get a hold of you, all you said was that you needed a break.”

  Swiveling, he faced her again, tension oozing off him, his stance imposing.

  “Do you know how foolish it made me feel? To know that the woman I’d devoted so many years to could wake up one day and walk away from our relationship, just on a whim?”

  He shook his head and closed his eyes, his chest lifting as he took a deep breath.

  “I wanted to say to hell with you. Then I bumped into Lisa Ajah one day. She invited me to dinner at her place—”

  “No.” Christy shook her head as her stomach roiled. “I can’t believe you slept with Lisa.”

  Lisa Ajah was an ex-school friend of Joshua and a regular customer at Christy’s House of Fashion. She knew the woman well even if they were not best of friends.

  “Are you going to listen, or just jump to conclusions like you always do?”

  The hardness of his voice hadn’t abated, his icy gaze unrelenting.

  Christy glared at Joshua. But he was right. She had to hear him out. As much as the thought of him with anyone else made her sick, she had asked for honesty. And he was being honest. So she nodded.

  Joshua’s shoulders rose as he sighed. “I turned up at her apartment ready to go wherever the evening led. When Lisa confessed she was attracted to me, I suddenly recognized a blatant truth. I didn’t want to be there. I didn’t want anyone else. I wanted you.”

  Her heart clutched. “You didn’t sleep with her?”

  “No,” he replied. “Pathetic, isn’t it? You could walk away from our marriage and even ask for a divorce. Yet, I couldn’t look at another woman without thinking about you.”

  He faced the window again, his back to her.

  “Oh, Joshua. I’ve been such a fool.” A lump lodged in her throat. Though he didn’t say it, surely her husband loved her. Why else would he walk away from another willing, beautiful woman? To think that her own actions could have pushed him into the arms of another woman.

  Dropping her dress, she walked to him and wrapped her arms around his torso from behind. His muscles were tense, his back rigid.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, ignoring the tears that clogged her eyes.

  Joshua let out a heavy sigh and turned around. “Hey, don’t cry, sweetheart. I’m sorry, too.”

  Then he lifted her into his arms and kissed her, passionately, knocking the breath out of her. He carried her back to her table. Together, they scrambled for the buttons on his clothes until he was as bare as she was.

  He kissed her with a relentless firmness, his hands roaming everywhere. She moved her fingers on his torso, tracing the planes and ridges of his firm muscles from the contours of his rippling back to the tightness of his buttocks.

  She loved this closeness, this intimacy—this raging heat and passion that only Joshua could give.

  “I missed you,” she confessed as he kissed his way to her breasts, increasing her delight.

  His response was to latch on and suck hard on her nipple, alternating from one to the other. Sensation speared through her body and she let out a loud whimper. She couldn’t help being verbally expressive when Joshua drove her to the heights of pleasure.

  She widened her legs as he moved closer, his hard length teasing her damp entrance. She reached for him, held his pulsing rigidity in her hands. Joshua groaned and closed his eyes.

  Then he positioned himself and pushed in, filling her slowly. She moaned as he stretched her insides, and she welcomed him. When he couldn’t go any deeper, he stopped and looked at her. In his gaze, she saw his desire and devotion. All the love in her heart for him reflected back at her.

  He pulled out and rocked into her in slow motion. Pleasure rocketed, teasing her, making her feel good. But she wanted more. She wanted all that he could give her. She’d been too long without him.

  “Joshua, harder.”

  “Harder?”

  “Yes, give me all you’ve got.” She curved her lips in a sexy smile, knowing it would push him over the edge.

  “You’ve got it,” he said, before thrusting hard into her.

  The forceful impact slid her up the table. Seeking anchor for the enjoyable barrage she knew Joshua was going to give her, she secured her hands at the end of the table. She lifted her hips, prepared for him this time. His thrusts came hard and fast, his hands gripping her hips firmly. His thumb pressed against the nub at her centre.

  “Oh, yes!”

  This was what she wanted. Joshua with no holds barred. All of him. No reservations. She rocked her hips in time with his rhythm, her feet crossed against his hard buttocks, her moans getting louder. When he was this good, she couldn’t keep silent.

  “Sweetheart, you’re so hot, so sweet. I’m not going to last long.”

  Joshua leaned over and kissed her hard, nipped her lips, then trailed his caressing mouth down to her shoulder. All the while, he kept his thumb on her swollen mound, stroking it in circular motion. Her skin came alive with fever sweeping from her toes to her head.

  Joshua resumed his plunges, dragging out the exit and slamming into her on entry. Each stroke shifted her pleasure another level toward ecstasy. Soon, she was there hanging on the precipice, ready to float off. He sensed her anticipation and pressed against her nub as he rammed into her. She exploded into a kaleidoscope of colors.

  “Ah!” she screamed and held on tight to Joshua, wanting to share this most intimate moment with him at all levels.

  She didn’t have to wait long before he emptied himself inside her with one last grunt and pulled her into his arms, holding her like he’d never let her go.

  Chapter Ten

  Christy woke hours later in Joshua’s bedroom. Stretching languorously, she recalled how he’d carried her up the stairs after their first round of lovemaking in the dining room. He’d brought her to his room and had proceeded to reacquaint himself with every inch of her body. Remembering the explosive sensual experience now made her skin tingle all over.

  He’d made love to her almost like the first time they’d been together. Tenderly. Carefully. Except, this time, there was the passion of lovers who knew how to please each other, as well as the fierceness of a man staking his claim on a woman’s heart and body.

  Joshua had declared his love for her perhaps not
verbally but in so many other ways. She no longer thought it important for her to hear him say those three words. Actions spoke louder than words. And Joshua’s actions were as clear as day. He loved her. She truly believed it.

  She’d made a vow to cancel the divorce if he came home safely. She had to keep to her promise. But knowing her husband loved her made her decision easier to live with. The shredded divorce papers would be her Christmas present to him.

  Smiling, she turned to reach for Joshua and found the space beside her empty. Wondering where he was, she glanced around the room. She lifted the corners of her lips in a wider smile. She hadn’t paid much attention to his room when she’d first gotten here but looking at it now, every piece of furniture screamed “Joshua.” Cool and masculine—with midnight-blue curtains that matched the crisp cotton bed linen on the massive bed she was sure could sleep four adults. A large knitted rug with a montage of an African savannah at dusk, with leopards, giraffes, and zebras drinking from a watering hole, lay on the limestone-tiled floor next to the bed.

  The only piece of furniture that surprised her was the Victorian-style settee by the window. Definitely not a Joshua piece. More her kind of style. In fact, she could swear she’d designed the item. It had a frame of dark iroko timber, covered in dark blue upholstery with diamanté buttons that sparkled like stars in the midnight sky. Her clothes were in a neat pile on top of it.

  She gasped, inhaling a sharp breath, and her eyes widened. Scrambling off the bed, she pulled the sheet around her body and walked round the settee, tracing the hand-carved, curved edges with her fingers. Underneath the cushion, the manufacturer’s tag confirmed her suspicion; Christy’s House of Fashion—definitely one of hers.

  “You’re up.”

  The deep, husky voice coming from behind her made her jump. She looked up. Joshua leaned against the door frame to his bathroom in nothing but his trousers. The sight of his bare dark skin, sculpted chest, and flexing muscles had her licking her lips. He curved his lips in a sexy smile, dimpling his cheeks. Her heart raced.

  How did she ever think she could get on without him making her feel this way? Nobody else did. Nobody else ever would.

  “I just woke up,” she said when she found her voice. It sounded a tad squeaky and she swallowed hard. She pointed to the settee. “You bought this.”

  The first day she’d launched the furniture arm of her business, about six weeks ago, some unknown client had bought the piece in her debut collection.

  Joshua nodded. “I asked the interior designer to buy it because I wanted it to be a surprise.”

  “How?” She squeezed her brows together in a frown. Then something clicked in her mind. “You always planned to bring me here this Christmas, even though we were separated?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of this.” He strode to the bedside cabinet, opened it, and withdrew a silver-colored envelope. He turned to her, both arms stretched out, palms open, offering it to her. “Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”

  Baffled, with hands shaking, she accepted the matte-finish parcel and looked at it. Scrawled across the front, her name was written in Joshua’s concise, masculine handwriting. The hard content flexed like a card instead of paper. She lifted her face to look at him, tears blurring her vision. She hadn’t thought to buy him a card, let alone a gift.

  He smiled at her, his eyes sparkling with warmth and compassion. “Open it.”

  Hands still shaking, she ripped it open and withdrew the Christmas card. It read,

  To my sweetheart, Christy

  This year, I gift you Godson Villa. No one loves this house the way you do, and no one will take care of it the way I know you will.

  Merry Christmas,

  Joshua.

  Christy stood frozen to the spot, unable to understand. All the while she’d thought Joshua had conned her parents into selling the property, he’d bought it for her?

  “You bought Godson Villa from my dad to give it to me?” It just didn’t make sense. She would have inherited it, anyway.

  “I bought the house because your father was going to sell it,” he said, standing stock still. “And I knew it would break your heart if you found out the house was no longer in the family.”

  “But why would Dad want to sell it?”

  Joshua let out a long sigh, lifting his shoulders. “Your father got into some financial difficulties, and he needed to raise some cash. He had to sell some of his assets. Some people were interested in buying Godson Villa, and he would’ve sold it to them if I hadn’t intervened.”

  Christy sat on the settee, hard. It suddenly all made sense. She’d known her father had sold a couple of their properties in Lagos about a year ago. Her mother had told her not to worry; they’d been mixing up their investment portfolio. She hadn’t realized her father’s business was in trouble because she’d never paid any attention to it.

  Something else occurred to her. “Hang on. Is that why he named you as a member of the board of directors?”

  She’d found out the day she’d overheard her father speaking to Joshua.

  Joshua crouched in front of her and put his hands on her knees. His warmth comforted her and took the edge off her worry about her father and his business.

  “With loads of cheap, low quality goods coming in from China, Godson’s products have struggled to keep their place in the marketplace,” he said, his voice soft and soothing. “Your father was happy with the way I’d built up my business after I’d moved on from working for him and needed my contribution in turning around Godson Industries and making it more viable in today’s economy.”

  “All this while, you’ve been saving my father’s business and I thought you were ripping it off. I’m so sorry.” She covered her face with her hands as shame washed over her body.

  “Hey, it’s okay. I’m the one who is sorry for keeping it all from you.” He squeezed her thighs. “Your father didn’t want to worry you, and I promised I wouldn’t say anything until everything was back to an even keel. I just wasn’t expecting you’d issue divorce papers.”

  She heard the smile in his voice and pulled down her hands. The tears pooling in her eyes blurred her vision a little. She could still make out that Joshua was smiling at her.

  “I’m such an inconsiderate bitch. Why do you put up with me?”

  “I love you,” he said simply.

  Inhaling a sharp breath, she blinked several times. “Pardon, I don’t think I heard you properly.”

  Joshua placed his strong hands on her cheeks, and stroked her lips with his thumbs. “I said I love you, sweetheart. Always have. Always will.”

  He was so close the air from his words tickled her sensitive cheek. Her tears flowed freely now. Why did she ever doubt him? How did she ever doubt his love?

  Gently, he kissed her cheeks where the tears fell, his lips a soft caress on her skin.

  “I love you, too,” she replied, her throat clogged with emotion as she sought his lips to confirm her words.

  He lifted her as he stood and carried her back to bed. They made love sweetly, passionately, sealing their love for each other. They stayed in each other’s arms for moments afterward, savoring their time together.

  Later, after she wasn’t sure how much time had passed, she traced her finger on his chest and placed her head on the crook of his arm.

  “Joshua, I didn’t come here expecting to spend a loving Christmas, but you’ve given me that. I didn’t expect to give you any gifts, either.”

  “I wasn’t expecting any.” He brushed his lips on her forehead.

  “But I’ve got one for you. I’d like to give you our freshly revived marriage. I want to cancel the divorce, if you’ll still have me.”

  He placed his finger on her chin and tilted her head up so she was staring into his dark eyes.

  “I’ll have you any day, any place, anyhow,” he replied with a wink before stroking her lips with his in a brief kiss. “Thank you. I couldn’t have hope
d for a more wonderful gift.”

  He sat up and looked at his wristwatch on the bedside table.

  “Before we get too comfortable again, I have another surprise for you, and they are arriving in about an hour.”

  “They?”

  “Your parents.” He grinned at her. “Christmas at Godson Villa won’t be the same without them.”

  “Seriously?”

  He nodded. She squealed and jumped on top of him.

  “I love you, love you, love you,” she said as she kissed his face exuberantly.

  He laughed.

  “I know,” he said.

  He lifted her and carried her into the bathroom. From now on, they would confront their future together.

  Keep reading for Chapter One of Bound to Fate, Bound Series: Book 1.

  Blurb

  Lara Johnson is coping with the emotional scars of losing both parents in a tragic incident and facing the challenges of starting a new school. Getting involved in a relationship isn't on her priority list. Certainly not this illicit desire for a man, who demands the best from her, yet leaves her breathless in his presence.

  All Ike Thomas wants to do is to keep out of trouble and get through the one year internship required for his degree program. But trouble finds him, in the form of an intelligent and brave girl who turns his world upside down. Falling in love is forbidden. So why does it feel so right?

  A love like theirs cannot be denied. But catastrophe lies in wait and one night changes their lives forever.

  Bound to Fate is a story about surviving tragedy, forgiveness, and the overwhelming love that pulls through against the odds.

  Content warning: This book contains scenes that might be triggering for some readers.