Naked and Defiant by Breanna Hayse Read Free Book Online Page A

he had shown her.
    "You are doing an excellent job," he
commented, ignoring her question. "We can use that as a drag. Put
some poles on either side, and ..."
    "Talk to me. Please? I want to get to know
the bunny behind the badger." Jade forced a playful grin in his
direction.
    "There is no bunny."
    "Seriously? I saw a soft side of you when I
fell. And," she pointed at him, "if you really didn't care, you
would have left me in the ocean."
    "I was being a decent human being," Griffon
huffed. "Nothing more."
    "Griffon, I need you to talk to me. I'm
teetering on the edge right now." Her voice choked, "I need
something to hang onto, before I fall into this pit of
despair."
    "You're quite the drama queen, aren't
you?"
    "I have my moments. I know I've been cranky
lately. I'm sorry. I'm just, well, at a loss as to what to do or
how to think."
    "I'm not much of a talker, kid. Sorry."
    Jade tried a different tactic, "You were
married, right? That means there had to have been something decent
and caring about you, right?"
    The answer was harsh and bitter: "You are
very naïve if you believe that." Griffon shifted uncomfortably;
this conversation was not one he wished to have, and Jade was not
about to let it go.
    "I am just making conversation. You don't
have to be snarky about it."
    "How about you tell me why that douche bag
dumped you?" Griffon directed at her.
    Jade sighed. "You are one stubborn piece of
work, aren't you? He was my fiancé. That is, until my daddy said he
would cut me off, if I married him. Simon was pissed because I
chose money over him."
    "I would think that, given his behavior, you
made the right decision," Griffon commented as he handed her a
roasted banana.
    She peeled the skin back and bit into the
hot, gooey fruit. "This is soooo good! Yeah, hindsight, right? He
convinced me to give him a chance and promised that love would
prevail. He wanted me to tell Daddy that we broke up. I assumed it
was so he could buy some time to prove himself. I told Daddy that I
was going fly out to Tongatapu to recover from the split. We own a
condo on the island, and it is one of my favorite places to go
clubbing, so Daddy wasn't surprised. Of course, Simon and I were
secretly meeting, so that we could spend a few weeks alone to
figure things out. I told him that I would learn to live without
Daddy's money, and that I believed love would keep us happy."
    "It sounds like he didn't agree."
    "Nope. That was when he said he would take me
out on the speedboat to sight-see. Next thing I know, we were at
this atoll. That was when he informed me that I would not marry
him, but instead I was to give him money as payment for the
bullshit I put him through. I was appalled, of course, and told him
to shove his head up his ass. That was when he hit me."
    "Bastard."
    "He went a bit ballistic, saying that if he
couldn't have the money, neither could I. I told him to fuck
himself and that it would be a cold day in hell before he touched a
penny. He got angry, shoved me overboard, and took off."
    "Won't your father notice you are missing?
Witnesses ..."
    "Simon planned this well. If you read the
tabloid, you know that I have a bit of a reputation of being a
party girl. I have a habit of taking long vacations and my father
is accustomed to not hearing from me for several weeks on end, and
usually then because I need more money. Anyway, Simon and I arrived
at Tongatapu separately. He took a cab to a nightclub where I
picked him up outside. No one would have recognized me in the
car."
    "What about tracing your spending? Won't your
dad notice that you are not shopping?"
    "My dad keeps my private account nice and
fat. He would have no reason to look, unless I ran out of
dough."
    "Does that scumbag have access to your
account?"
    "Nope. He wanted it, though. That was the
only smart thing I did, huh?"
    Griffon sighed, placing the finished basket
outside the shelter. "We all make mistakes. We just need to learn
from them and be careful never to repeat