Page 13 of Rush of Insanity

But five hundred thousand dollars?Holy fuck!

“Harper?”

Her vision became flooded with him as he decimated the distance between them. He kicked her feet apart and pushed between her knees, the heat of his legs making her entire body sizzle.

“You didn’t think you were worthy of a ring worth half a million dollars?”

He was suffocating her, when all she wanted was space—to breathe, to think, to cease feeling. She pushed at his stomach and stood. “Myvalueisn’t up for discussion. I’m just surprised at how frivolous you are with your money.”

“Frivolous?” He got in her face, clawed his hand into her hair and held her tight through a kiss that lasted seconds yet rocked her from head to toe. “That ring was—” He clamped his lips together, the addictive fire in his eyes flaring bright. “That ring was a symbol of how much you meant to me.”

“A symbol?” She didn’t back away. She kept their faces mere inches apart as she stared up at him. “I think what was more symbolic was the way you didn’t fight for us.” She dusted her palms together between their chests. “You brushed that shit off like it was any given Tuesday and never looked back.” She shrugged. “So neither did I.”

“I’ve got pride, Harper,” he snarled. “I wasn’t gonna beg, when I didn’t know why you left in the first place.”

She gave a derisive laugh. “No, Judd Hart doesn’t beg. But instead he’ll kidnap and hold hostage.”

“Let’s drop the pretense that you want to leave. We both know it’s bullshit.”

“Do you know what else is bullshit?” She ground her teeth together and increased her glare, overwhelmed with her own pride. “The fact I’ve never been exposed to the so-called gentleman you’re supposed to be. Why is that, Judd? Wasn’t I good enough?”

“Insecurity doesn’t suit you, princess.” He swung around, kicked the door shut with his foot and then moved back to smother her comfort zone. “Besides, you never seemed the type to be attracted to manners and polite conversation.”

There it was, the reality that he didn’t know a thing about her. Uncertainty and self-doubt were her constant companion. Especially around him. She would’ve begged like an over-energetic pup for a mere taste of what he gave to those worthy women.

She supposed there were different rules for people who weren’t academics or didn’t have a bank balance worth more than four figures.

“Fuck you,” she whispered. There was nothing else left to say.

“You keep saying that like it’s an insult,” he growled. “You know better than anyone how much your venom turns me on.”

“Go to hell.” Her inability to stop taunting him made her want to tear her hair out. He made her mindless with a mere look. Even the reminder of their incompatibility couldn’t dampen her need. She had to be taken over by him. Devoured. Even though he’d eventually spit her back out in a thousand tiny pieces.

“See.” He smirked. “You’re merely tempting me now.”

He was so close, the delicate caress of his breath brushing her mouth. It would be a waste to push him away. Even if the aftermath would be punishing. She’d have to hold in the multitude of endearments that had grown, festered and eventually turned to bile in her belly during the time they were together. Exposing her undiluted feelings for him would only leave her more vulnerable.

“I hate you,” she sneered. She hated him and loved him in equal measure. He killed her and invigorated her at the same time. He tore her limb from limb and was still the only man to make her feel whole.

He chuckled and the curl of his lips made her belly stop, drop and roll. “I love you, too, Harper.”

All the air left her lungs with an overly dramatic whoosh. He’d never said those words before. Never even hinted at it. “You don’t love me.”

“Yeah, I do.” He frowned at her. “How could you not know that?” He gripped her face in his palms and stared deep into her eyes. “You knew I loved you, right?”

She breathed him in and let his scent solidify her lungs. “We can’t do this again.”

“Yeah, we can.”

She shook her head. “Judd—”

He cut off her reply with his mouth. Her thoughts, too. He kissed her like the world was ending. Like life would cease to exist if their lips parted. She’d never been held so tight, so lovingly, and in that moment, she wondered if her soul would die when she walked away again. And shewouldwalk away again…just not right now. Not when he felt like perfection in her arms.

She matched the hunger of his mouth, licking, nipping, sucking. He gripped her hips and ground into her, the hardness of his erection grating over her pubic bone. Her clit responded with a mass of tingles that tore a moan from her throat.

“Damn you, Judd.” This moment in heaven was purely temporary, and that was okay. After what they’d already been through, tomorrow would be filled with regret regardless.

She yanked off her shirt, threw it to the floor and began unbuckling her jeans. Skin to skin was where this was headed, and she couldn’t get there fast enough. Her panties were already wet, her aching pussy pulsing with the thought of what was to come.

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