Page 12 of Rush of Insanity

So damn pathetic.

She reached behind her neck, unclasped the necklace hidden under her shirt and placed the ring dangling from the dainty chain into her palm. It was the same ring she’d worn hanging from her neck since the day she walked away.

It no longer had a place on her hand. It never really did to begin with. She shouldn’t have accepted his gift when their end was already in sight. But she’d been completely messed up. In a tangled wreckage of love and insecurities, that made her think a commitment ring could fix everything.

Two weeks later she was gone.

Maybe walking out was just another psychotic bender aimed at inspiring more profound sex, but he didn’t come after her. Apart from a missed call on her cell and a few text messages, he’d let her go, only proving her theory that they’d never been destined to have a future together.

“Come on, Harper.” Judd banged on the door. “This can go on forever, but I’d prefer if it didn’t.”

She closed her eyes and squeezed her hand around the gold. There were two choices. When the bus stopped, she could sneak back to the bathroom, check the GPS on her cell and text her brother to come save her. He’d probably start a fight with Tank and get his ass kicked in the process, but he’d get her out of here. Or she could enjoy this slip into the past and use it to say a proper goodbye—the one she hadn’t given him all those months ago.

“Harper.”

“I heard you.” Her lips twitched at the adrenaline spike that always accompanied dueling with him.

“You’ve got five seconds.”

She sighed and stuffed the jewelry into her pocket. God knew he was probably preparing the necessary tools to take the door off its hinges. “I’m coming. I’m coming.”

She splashed water on her face, patted down the stray strands of her hair and yanked the door open to his looming figure. He stepped forward, placing his hands on either side of the frame and caged her in.

“Finished?” He raised a taunting brow.

“With this?” She waved a hand between them and scooted out from underneath his arm. “Barely. You dragged me here for a reason, and I intend to speed up the process.”

The curve of his lips increased her pulse. He stalked her, making her retreat toward his private room at the rear of the vehicle. She could’ve closed the door in his face and flicked the lock. At least she should’ve. Instead, she continued backtracking. Her calves hit the bed and the momentum, along with their cruising speed down the freeway, sent her toppling onto the mattress.

“Sex wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.” He reached out a hand, all gentlemanly charm and casual grace. It was his blazing eyes and the hungered lick of his lower lip that spoke of seduction. “I’ll adapt to the change in plans, though.”

“I bet you will.” She refused his offering and gripped the quilt for strength. His gaze lowered, focusing on the fingers she had clutched tight into the material.

“You’re not wearing my ring.” His tone was flat, almost lifeless.

“No.” She fought to keep her grip in place and not wring her hands together. “I pawned it,” she lied. “The easiest grand I’ve ever made.”

He laughed, his tempting lips spreading in a way that had her chin lifting to get closer. “A grand? Really?” He retreated to lean against the wall. “The broker must’ve loved you.”

She shrugged. “We were both pleased with the transaction.”

“You didn’t get a second opinion on the price?”

“Why bother? I didn’t need to keep it when we were no longer together. So I spent the money on booze and drank you out of my life. Any more than a grand and my liver never would’ve recovered from the bender.”

At least half her statement was true. She hadn’t been able to let go of the keepsake. She needed to be reminded of him. Not only of the memories sprinkled with perfection, but the ones that forewarned a future with this man was a fairytale concept.

He raised a brow and inclined his head. “Well then, I’m glad you didn’t get the half a mil the rock was worth. You definitely wouldn’t have drunk your cheap ass through that in this lifetime.”

She frowned up at him. Was he kidding?Half a mil?Half a fucking mil! She’d been wearing a ring worth five hundred thousand dollars around her neck like a trophy for the last year? That stupid son of a bitch.

“You said it was some kind of commitment ring,” she seethed. “Who wastes that much money on a damncommitment ring?”

His jaw ticked again, and the flair of his nostrils dried her throat.

“Surprised?” His mask of indifference turned her blood to ice. “You didn’t think I’d spend that kind of money on you?”

She broke eye contact. No, she hadn’t thought he’d spend that on her. Not when he hadn’t chased after her. The more time that passed without hearing from him, the more adamant she became that their relationship was a sham. It was all a hoax. She hadn’t been herself, not entirely, and she definitely hadn’t seen a piece of the gentleman Judd was known to be. They were both playing a role in an exciting sex game. Nothing more. Nothing less.

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