We've picked some of our favourite
romantic reads to keep you warm this festive season in our #12booksforChristmas
Title: Bound to Passion
Author: Kiru Taye
Genre: Contemporary Romance
❤❤❤❤❤
"The chemistry between Joshua and Christy
was off the charts and despite the problems in their marriage, I love that
Joshua was willing to fight to save it. In the end I was grinning like a fool. A
passionate and fabulous read." ~ Maya π
BLURB
When
Christy Inemi-Spiff discovers that the man she vowed to love and honor has no
such feelings for her, she’s determined to cut her losses and move on with her
life. A quick, quiet divorce is all she wishes for Christmas.
However,
Joshua has other ideas. He’s not ready to walk away yet, especially when he
doesn’t understand why Christy wants out of their marriage. So he demands she
agree to spend a quiet Christmas on a remote African Island with him, hoping
they can salvage their relationship. If she still wants a divorce after these
two weeks, he will let her go. But not before he’s had his fill of her.
But
with the sparking tension between them, and the secrets behind the
disintegration of their marriage threatening to explode, will either of them
get their wish? Or will this season of good will show them what really lies at
the bottom of their hearts?
SNIPPET
ONE
Joshua
Inemi-Spiff waited outside, ready to confront his future. The late afternoon December
sun kissed his back with heat rays. On reflex, he rolled his shoulders and
massaged his neck with his right hand.
To
pace the paved driveway was madness when he had a sleek, cool car parked meters
away. Or even better, an air-conditioned office with piles of work waiting for his
attention.
Yet,
he endured the sweat-inducing temperature, the seasonal cooling harmattan winds
from the Sahara playing elusive. The raison d’Γͺtre? An envelope and its
alarming contents. A simple correspondence, black ink on off-white,
letter-headed paper. Words typed out by an efficient legal clerk. Effective.
Destructive.
The
apartment building before him was less than a year old, one of several in a new
up-market estate in Abuja that boasted a leisure centre, tennis and basketball
courts, and a golf course. Lucky for him, the security men at the gates had
been impressed with his BMW M6 Coupe and classy appearance; they’d let him in.
Otherwise, he would’ve required an appointment to visit one of the residents.
With
an impatient flick of his wrist, he glanced at his watch. The ticking of the
second hand of the Carrera chronograph mocked his edginess. He’d only been
waiting five minutes for a response to his persistent buzzing of the door bell.
Fortitude was supposed to be one of his best qualities. Though, not at this
moment.
The
oak-timber front door to the ground-floor apartment swung inward. Christy stood
at the entrance. Clear brown eyes he didn’t think he could ever forget stared
back at him. Her auburn Afro hair hung loose in twisted curls and dangled around
her shoulders, with a rose petal pin holding back one side. Her luscious lips were
curved in an unwelcoming scowl.
“Joshua,”
she said in a breathy, soft voice that still played a lusty role in his dreams.
“What are you doing here?”
Without
haste, he trawled his gaze across her body from head to toe in admiration. She hadn’t
changed a bit in appearance since he last saw her. Dressed in a grey
halter-neck top and orange/grey Ankara print skirt, she had the same flawless,
oval-shaped face with a skin tone that reminded him of tasty caramel. The same
bountiful, graceful curves in the right places, and long legs he’d like to wrap
around his hips.
When
she contemplated the brown envelope in his hand, recognition sparked in her
eyes. She pulled her bottom lip with her teeth. A sure indication of her
nervousness. Since she’d instigated the contents of the packet and their implications,
she should be worried.
“Are
you going to let me in, Christy?”
“I’m
not sure that’s a good idea. What’s this about?”
“I
think you know.” He lifted his arm, bringing the envelope up to her eye level.
“We need to talk.”
She
took another swipe at her lip with her teeth and backed away with slow steps,
offering him a reluctant invitation.
Joshua
walked into the airy hallway and shut the door. He followed her into the living
room, his gaze riveted to the gentle sway of her rounded hips luring him closer
to her.
To
keep himself in check, he diverted his attention to the room, furnished in pure
Christy style—pastel-colored curtains and cushions, cream-upholstered sofa and
chairs, round coffee table with a light pink glass top. So similar to how she’d
furnished their home.
Memories
of the two of them smashed into his mind. Pictures he couldn’t escape or blank
out. Christy in his arms, soft and fragrant; on his bed, warm and welcoming.
Joshua coming home one day to a cold and empty house. Devoid of Christy.
The
pain of her departure had triggered other buried emotions. Feelings he hadn’t
dealt with in years. Loss. Grief. The only way he’d been able to cope had been
to board up his heart, to ignore Christy.
Now
standing only strides away from her, the floral scent of her perfume danced
around him in an evocative waltz. The ache re-emerged, frighteningly fiercer
and almost unbearable, leaving him with a hollow throbbing in his gut.
“Why
don’t you come home?” he asked gently, the roughness of his voice betraying his
vulnerability. She was his one weakness.
Sometimes,
he wondered if she knew it.
She
folded her arms across her chest. “You know why,” she said before sitting in
the corner of the sofa.
Her
inflexible response made him stiffen his stance, cold fury wrapping his
momentary fear in ice. However, it didn’t stop his body’s response to the fire
in her eyes. Desire swelled within him with the vigor of a high-voltage electric
power surge. The rise of Christy’s emotions always had the power to arouse him.
He
sat down beside her. She moved to stand. He clamped his hand on her thigh,
keeping her pinned to the sofa, letting her heat brand him.
She
turned to him. As she drew in breaths, her full chest rose and fell in a rapid rhythm.
She worried her lips again with her teeth, drawing his attention to their lush
plumpness.
The
urge to crush their silkiness against his mouth rose as he remembered all the
times they’d been intimate. Her softness. Her moans. Her passion. Everything
else faded away. It had always been them against the world. Yet, all that had
changed when she left him.
He
ignored the persistent urge of his desire and removed his hand from her thigh.
“I
don’t know why,” he replied instead. “All you said was that you needed a break.
That was three months ago.”
In
a flash, she rose and walked away from the sofa. From him. Again. The stinging
emptiness returned. It took a chunk out of his self-control not to reach out
and pull her back beside him. Not to hold on to her and never let her out of
his sight.
Her
skirt swirled around her knees as she pivoted to face him, her arms back under
her chest, lifting her breasts into prominence.
“Yes,
I needed a break,” she said. “You and I are not working out. There’s no point
prolonging the agony. I thought that was why you came here.”
Regret
washed over him, its bitterness souring his mouth. He knew then he should have kissed
her. He should have never let her leave their home. He should’ve stopped her,
spent more time with her, and done whatever he needed to persuade her to stay.
Joshua
got up and strode in a different direction from where Christy stood, stuffing
his hands into his trouser pockets. Otherwise, he would reach for her. All consequences
be damned.
“I
came here to talk to you.” He looked at her, and their unrelenting gazes
clashed. “To make you see sense and come home.”
“I
don’t think there’s anything to talk about,” she retorted.
He
took a couple of long strides toward her but stopped just out of touching
range. Any closer and the passion between them would likely combust in an
instant. Their lovemaking had always been fiery—one of the things about their
relationship that had worked so well. He hadn’t touched her in three long
months. If he did now, it wouldn’t stop there. He would have to take her. Right
here.
“You’re
my wife,” he said in a calm voice that hid the depth of his fury at her. “I
don’t know what’s come over you, but we need to discuss this.”
Christy
had always been bold and strong-willed. As a teenager, her willful
rebelliousness had been amusing to watch at times. Yet, her bravery and
compassion had attracted him to her.
Even
now after all these years since they first met, Joshua was still as attracted to
this defiant young woman as he had been to the determined teenager. He’d seen
through her rebellion as a mask for her loneliness as an only child, a feeling
he was familiar with. In Christy, he’d thought he’d found a kindred spirit. Had
he been wrong all along?
“Joshua,
when I left three months ago, you didn’t stop me. Why does it matter now?”
Christy curled her lips in a skeptical pout.
She
had him there. He should’ve never let things get this bad. Still, her decision
to move out of their home had come at the worst possible time. He’d been
distracted with urgent business issues. The consequences would’ve been
catastrophic if he hadn’t dealt with them at the time.
The
fact that he’d dismissed her impromptu action as whimsical had obviously not
helped matters. Her actions had annoyed him, but he’d hoped she’d realize their
futility and come home.
But
this? Another wave of rage passed through him. He fought the urge to scrunch
the brown envelope in his hand and tossed it on the table instead.
“Is
there someone else?”
He
couldn’t resist asking the question though he dreaded the answer. The thought
of Christy with another man would make him insane. Insanity led to crazy things
like murder. And murder was illegal. Shame.
She
reared back as if he’d hit her. “You think this is about another man? You think
I’m seeing someone else?”
“Well,
I don’t know what to think, Christy.” He waved both hands in the air. “You’ve
refused to speak to me in so long. Even your parents are worried about you.”
“I
should’ve known you’d gang up with my parents,” she snapped.
“No
one is ganging up against you. We’re just worried,” he countered in
frustration.
“There’s
no need to be. I’m grown up. I know my own mind. And what I want is outlined in
that document.” She pointed to the envelope on the table.
All
warmth and reason drained from him. He pursed his lips in a grim line as he
watched Christy’s expression. Her chin was tilted up, her eyes blazing. She
meant her words.
“A
divorce? You really want a divorce?”
His
speech left his lips in an icy tone, drawn from the chip of iceberg that seemed
to have replaced his heart.
“Yes.”
BUY LINKS
Bound to Passion is available in the Desperate Measures Box Set which is available to preorder for only 99cents for a limited time.
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