Trial Run: Addicted To Love Romance Collection Read Online Free PDF

had never stretched past the odd hundred dollar bill. Rob could remember the worst bet he’d ever lost, and while it had been embarrassing and tedious at the time, it became one of his fondest memories in the end.
    They’d bet on who would be Amelie’s guardian for her eleventh birthday party. Her parents had agreed to rent a yacht big enough for her and a dozen of her girlfriends to live up the day in style. They’d hired a caterer to supply the food and provide a barman who could mix a wide array of brightly colored non-alcoholic cocktails. Apart from him, the only male on board had been Rob. Thirteen excited pre-pubescent girls had been a scary experience, but he’d held up under the strain.
    “Nah, cash is boring and too easy. I’ve got everything I want already...”
    “Same here.”
    “So then?”
    “A wish.”
    “A wish?”
    “Yeah. If you come back in need of a shrink, or if she’s managed to ensnare you, you owe me a wish.”
    “What could you want?”
    “I don’t know yet, but I have two weeks to work it out.”
    Rob thought about it for a minute. “Okay, you’re on. I’ll do it, for you, if it’s in my power. And if Amelie returns a changed girl…”
    “You can have anything you want, as long as it’s in my power.”
    Jason’s face opened up in a huge grin, and Rob’s mirrored it.
    “Deal,” they chorused, and shook on it.

Chapter 5

The Morning After
     
    Morning came far too soon, before her addled brain could clear.
    Amelie staggered to her en-suite and splashed her face. Bloodshot eyes stared back at her from the mirror. She looked terrible. Felt it, too.
    Groaning, she turned to the shower, her eyes still on the stranger in the mirror. Just as she was about to blink, she caught a straight black line under the massive tangle her hair had become. She swept her curls away to reveal a straight angle clearly inked into her skin.
    Eyes bulging out of their sockets, she pulled her hair to the top of her head and arched her shoulder forward. Another letter – S this time – was very clearly visible on her skin. She touched it tentatively. It felt rough, like newly tattooed skin.
    What had she done? The previous night’s memory was so vague in her mind... She remembered setting out to attend Lara’s surprise party, and on the way she decided she’d check out a tattoo place off the beaten track, a recommendation from Tai, the Hawaiian guy she’d spent a night with only the week before, though there was no way she was going to repeat the experience…
    Her thoughts were rambling, twisting off in all directions, and she clenched her teeth, forcing her mind to focus. Her memories seemed more slippery than a wet bar of soap. The last thing she remembered was the wall with black tulips painted on it. No, not the last thing. She recalled sifting through their portfolio, and then the tattooist introduced himself and offered her a shot of tequila.
    All of a sudden, her stomach churned and she barely made it to the toilet in time. She flushed twice, feeling more tired than she’d ever felt before, and dragged herself back to the shower, glancing in passing at the S and… possibly L?... etched on her back.
    Wrapped up in her short silk robe and feeling cleaner, though not much more energetic, Amelie made her way to the kitchen, in search of caffeine. Eyes half-shut, she felt her way along the counter to the coffee maker and stretched one hand over to press the button, while her other snagged a cup.
    “Let me help.”
    “’S all right, Jason. I can manage,” she mumbled. She was still so tired… Even Jason’s voice sounded off. She leaned on her elbows and dropped her chin in her hands, eyes closed, and mentally willing the coffee to percolate faster.
    A chuckle. She opened one eye fully, keeping the other closed, and twisted to stare up. Her gaze travelled past the strong, tanned fingers clenched around the coffee cup, a hairy, strong wrist with a string of carved wooden beads around it,