Page 11 of Rush of Insanity

She backtracked, already sensing the increase in his seductive pull now she was in his domain. She’d succumbed once already. That was enough. “What about Tank? He probably has a long list of previous offenses. If I call the cops, he’d be in a whole heap of trouble.”

A snort drifted from the driver’s seat. “Nice try, sweetheart, but I’ve got a clean record and I’m more than willing to risk whatever necessary to see the two of you back together again.”

She startled. Stiffened. Froze entirely.

Judd did, too.

“Is that what this is about?” She reached out a hand, gripping whatever her fingers brushed first and hoped it looked like the sway of the moving bus was challenging her balance.

The change of gears was the only response.

“Tell me.”

“What if I said yes?” He took a step toward her. Then another.

“Then I’d say you’re delusional.” She slid backward, moving further and further down the aisle. He didn’t even know her. It didn’t matter how many months they spent together through the last tour, she’d never really let him in. She’d even warned him daily that she wouldn’t stick around. She couldn’t handle the lack of control she had on her senses when she was with him. And she hated that she didn’t fit in with the people surrounding him. They were all pomp and circumstance, and she was all curse words and cheap alcohol. Except Tank. The rough thug was one of her people, but he was the hired help, so he didn’t count. “You’re only interested in fun, and I no longer want the same thing.”

His jaw ticked and the flare of his nostrils showed a rare glimpse of spite. Through months of fictitious fighting to instigate the best sex of her life, she’d never actually landed one of her blows. All her catty remarks were deliberate air swings. Fraudulent barbs to spike excitement and lust. What she’d just said hadn’t even been an attack. It was the truth. Yet the look in his eyes said she’d hit a nerve.

“So what do you want, princess?” he growled.

You.Forever.She wanted to be herself without the fear of rejection. She needed to be his equal even though there was no hope of that happening. And more than anything, she wanted to find a home with him, a metaphorical place where she could finally feel a sense of belonging.

Everything she craved was impossible.

A contradiction.

It was one of the many reasons she’d walked away.

When they were together, the stakes were high. Everything was intense—the lovemaking, the fights. Especially the persona she had to keep up to maintain his interest. It was either high or low, barely ever in between. What she needed was slow and lazy, maybe even a little taste of boring to even things out.

“I…” She swallowed, hating how invested he was in her answer when the response she wanted to give would leave her vulnerable. “I need to use the bathroom.”

He scoffed and shook his head. “Fine. But if you think you’re gonna lock yourself in there, think again. It doesn’t take much to get the door open from the outside.”

“Did you find that out with your last victim?” She backtracked to the bathroom, her fingers gliding over the latch.

He flashed his teeth. All predator. No charm. “Maybe.”

Not surprising.

She slipped inside the tiny space and closed the door behind her. The tension in her chest loosened at her first deep breath of solitude. She hadn’t always been this pathetic. Judd Hart hadn’t been a blip on her radar until she heard he was looking for a new stylist.

The first day of her new job sealed her fate. She’d been annoyed at his late arrival to their first appointment and hadn’t bothered to hide her PMS-induced ire. One catty remark turned into a flirtatious verbal sparring match that lasted ten excruciatingly long days and culminated in tangled sheets and sex-ruffled hair. The gentleman of the billboards had been no gentleman to her, and the devilishly dominant side of him had turned addictive.

The more time she spent with him, the more they bickered, and it was always with seductive smiles and the low of her belly in a mass of tingles. They became inseparable. And so did her psychotic attitude. She went out of her way to be feisty and compulsive just to see the flash of passion in his eyes.

Her life began to revolve around his excitement.

That was, until she fell in love.

Then shit got real.

Everything inside her fractured. Including her mental stability. Each day brought clarity to their situation. Judd was famous for dating her exact opposite. Prim and proper women with impeccable manners and professional dress sense. He was a gentleman by nature. Not this ferocious, gritty man.

Their time together had an expiry date and she grew torn between pulling away and clinging tighter.

She began inserting warnings into their daily conversations.We can’t do this forever. Once the tour is over I’m leaving. You need someone who isn’t so crazy.Not once did he acknowledge her insecurities. He didn’t care then, like he didn’t care when she left.

---