Page 78 of Bound

In return, she first straightened her head. But just when Brick expected more kittenish stalling, she declared, “I was not just taking a stroll.”

Intuition supplied him with some possible follow-ups. Maybe a sense that went beyond that. An awareness of her that nearly supplied the explanation already. Then again, he was the guy who’d first thought she was a fantasy. Maybe she still was. If so, then she wouldn’t disappoint.

Who the hell was he kidding?

This woman would never dissatisfy him. She would never be anything short of dazzling for him. She’d always astound and amaze and fascinate him like few ever had.

No. Like no one ever had.

“If you must know, I was looking for you.”

Her admission, and its threads of accusation, weren’t a complete surprise. Still, deep inside, he was glowing like a kid who’d gotten a smile from the cute girl at the mall.

“It was your moment to celebrate with your brother,” he mumbled, already looking away. “And with Samsyn on the way with Carris, I figured you all would want to—”

He couldn’t determine how to label her sharp laugh. It wasn’t a full bark, but it was better than a ladylike chirp.

“And you truly think I want to spend any time with my brothers…why? And please do not with that confused glare, Sir.”

“Who says it’s a prete—ow!”

The tracks from the woman’s gouging nails were probably going to be permanent. She was clearly after the same result with the blue fire in her unrelenting gaze.

“The Creator is not merciful to liars, Brickham.”

“Thanks for the post of the day, Pixie.” He lowered his head, impaling their gazes tighter—and bringing their mouths an inch closer to each other. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all…or the best damn move he’d made tonight. His tone dropped to a husk as he managed to follow up. “But maybe you want to clarify some of this shit now, little girl?”

At first, her answer was a leap of brows to match his. The expression exploded into a gasp once he grabbed hold of her ass and squeezed.

Holy God. He was immediately enthralled. So much so, he repeated the brutality with twice the force.

Goddamn. Her second cry was sexier than the first. When she finished it by chomping hard on her bottom lip, he had to clench his buttocks to prevent his pre-come from erupting into the lagoon’s waters.

Shit. Shit. Oh, fucking shit.

Thank her damn Creator, the woman finally decided to comply with his command.

“What happened?” she grated, her breath brushing his mouth like airborne honey. “Between you and Evrest? What did he say, Brickham? What did he tell you?”

By the time she finished, the words were wobbly with tears.

It took closing his eyes for long moments to fend off their stabs down to his heart. “Nothing I didn’t know already, Pixie.”

He braced himself to receive some new ravines in his skull, courtesy of her fingernails. What he got was a thousand times more agonizing.

Her face washing into a total blank.

Her hands splashing limply to her sides.

Her back etched beneath her soaked shirt as she turned away from him.

“Jayd.”

Nothing answered but the waters around him, smacking against each other like a bowl of goddamned tears. But even the metaphor felt wrong. Undeserved. He didn’t get to have this moroseness. Not when he’d pretty much brought it on himself.

“Pixie!”

But something inside him didn’t listen. The same part that already bellowed like a butchered animal, miserable and incomplete, with more of its flanks sawed off every time she took another step away.