Rush of Innocence (Rush Series #1) (24 page)

 
She sucked in a staggering breath at his
words. “Please don’t say things like that,” she said raggedly.

“It’s
true,” he said simply.

“You
deserted me,” she whispered.

He
pressed his fingers against his eyes and clenched his jaw. “I’m sorry. I
thought it was what you wanted.”

Trinity
absently rubbed a hand against her protruding belly. Rush watched her with
agonized eyes. She turned her head and caught his expression. She couldn’t stop
the sharp intake of air. He looked as she felt… battered and bruised.

She
turned her eyes away from his and dropped her hands from her stomach. “When Jim
had me tied up in the garage, I thought about what you’d told me that day in
your office; about how you tried to protect me and I started to believe you.”
She lifted a hand to wipe across her trembling lips. “And then in the hospital,
like a fool, I kept waiting for you and you never showed… you wouldn’t take any
of my calls… I was devastated,” she ended on a whisper. With nervous fingers,
she tucked stray hairs behind her ears. “I didn’t know about my father
obviously, although I should have guessed.” She turned to him and looked at him
fully for the first time, noting his drawn features and the dark shadows under
his eyes. “But even though he told you that… you left me there… like it didn’t
matter… like I didn’t matter – was of such little importance to you. And now
you show up. If it’s about the baby, don’t worry, I’ll never keep him from you.
I’ll have my attorney draw up the papers.”

He
turned his eyes away from hers. With his shoulders slouching as if in defeat
and in an emotionless tone, he said, “I let you walk away that day in my
office. I let you go and you were almost killed. I should have asked about your
security detail, but I was so rattled I didn’t think about it. It made me doubt
my ability to keep you safe. And then when I saw Franklin lift that gun and
shoot you, I realized in that moment how much it would hurt to lose you. I was
a coward. I thought you gave me an easy way out… and I took it. I’m not proud
of that. But when I saw you last night, I realized I’d take what I could get.
Please give me another chance. I do want our child… but I’m greedy, I want it
all.”

She
winced as the baby moved his feet into one of her ribs.

“What’s
the matter?” he asked, concerned.

“Nothing,
the baby moved.”

His
eyes blinked rapidly for several moments. “Can I… would you mind… if I felt
him?”

Hesitantly,
she gave a quick nod. He placed a hand lightly against her belly. She placed
her hand over his to move it where the baby was kicking. He jerked upright when
he felt the movement underneath his hand. He dropped to his knees in front of
her, never minding the other people milling about or the fact he was in his
high-priced suit. He cradled her belly within his two hands and waited until he
felt the movement again. He lifted glassy eyes up to hers.

“Our
son,” he whispered.

She
nodded with a watery smile.

He
leaned forward and pressed his cheek against her stomach, smiling when he felt
the resounding thump against his face. He wrapped his muscular arms around her
thickened waist and rubbed his face against her belly.

“Please
give me another chance…. give
us
another chance,” he pleaded with her.

She
lifted a hand and tentatively threaded it through his hair. He turned his
godlike face into it and pressed a kiss against her palm. “I’m scared,” she
admitted on a shuddering breath.

He
rose and sat down beside her. He turned to her and palmed her cheek and lightly
pressed his lips against hers. “Have dinner with me,” he demanded in the same
tone he’d used the first time he’d asked her to dance. This was the man she
remembered from Vail.
The aggressive, take-no-prisoners man.

With
her heart pounding, she gave him a hesitant nod of her head.

He
smiled. “I’ll have Radcliff pick you up from work.” He rose and once again
pressed his lips against hers. He gave her one last pat on her cheek and turned
to walk away. He’d taken a couple steps before turning around to add with a
grin, “Don’t forget your toothbrush.”

She
stared after him for a long time. Could she trust him? Was it her he was after
or only the baby? She thought of the long line of women he’d been photographed
with in recent months. Even if she did believe him, how long would a wealthy,
handsome man like Rush Drayton be interested in her? He’d only been interested
in her in the beginning to get next to her father. How could she ever be sure
of his true intentions now?
So many questions, so few
answers.

***

She shivered in the back of the
towncar
as Radcliff drove towards Rush’s house on the bay.
It wasn’t the temperature in the car, which was set at a perfect seventy-two
degrees,
it was the fear of moving forward. It was the fear
of wanting something so badly but not being confident of ever being able to
obtain it.

She
inhaled deeply when the car swung into Rush’s circular drive. She accepted
Radcliff’s assistance as she alighted from the car. She stood for a moment in
the entryway of the grand house and almost turned back around to have Radcliff
take her home. Indecision and fear swamped her. She didn’t think she could do
this. She’d believed him before and he’d crushed her. It wasn’t just about her
anymore; she had a child to think about now.

She’d
taken a step back when the grand ornate entry door opened. Rush stood framed in
the doorway. He changed from his expensive suit and was now dressed casually in
worn jeans and a pearl-grey linen shirt. The shirt was
untucked
and the long sleeves were rolled up, revealing his muscular forearms. His dark
hair was swept to the side and his hazel eyes looked more green than brown
tonight. He was smiling down at her. As unsure as she felt seemed to be in
stark contrast to his confidence.

She
gave him a hesitant smile in return. He reached forward and tugged her hand,
urging her into the house. He closed the door and moved to her smoothly. He
wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close to him as her belly would
allow. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her sweetly. She closed her eyes
against the twist of her heart the touch of his lips brought. She didn’t know
if she could endure being hurt again. The last time nearly destroyed her.

He
led her into the vast living room with its high vaulted ceilings and huge
windows. He sat on the couch and she followed, sitting a little ways from him.
This reminded her of the last time she’d been here when he’d told her he didn’t
want to see her anymore. She shivered against the memory.

He
moved a little closer to her and touched her arm. “Are you cold?” he asked.

“No.”

“Can
I get you something to drink? I have juice, water… anything you’d want,
really.”

“No,
I’m fine.”

He
studied her face intently before brushing the back of his fingers against her
cheekbone. “I’ve missed you,” he said softly.

His
words tore at her. He’d said them before. “I’ve seen your picture in the paper
a lot recently,” she said as she glanced away from his intense stare.

“You
have?” he asked as he moved a little closer to her on the couch and began to
stroke his fingers over her shoulder.

She
cleared her throat against his touch. “Yes, it would seem you’ve been too busy
to miss me. What, with the stream of women you were photographed with.”

His
fingers stilled against her skin. After a second, he leaned forward and pressed
his lips softly against the rapid pulse beating in her neck. He scraped his
lips up to her ear and whispered, “They meant nothing.”

Raggedly,
she replied, “If you told them
that
,
I can see why you had to date so many.”

He
stilled his lips at her words. He drew back and ran a hand over the side of his
head. “Trinity, I don’t know what to say here. I have no defense. I wish I
could say none of it was true, that I hadn’t made some very serious mistakes
during that time, but I did. I was a pig. I used those women to help me get
over another one… you. But they weren’t you, and no matter what I did, I
couldn’t close my eyes and not see your face. It was your skin I longed to
touch… to taste. Your body I wanted to be intertwined with… but I didn’t think
it’d ever be an option. And so, I flitted along from one woman to another.”

Trinity
stared down at the beaded bracelet she wore as she listened to his words, her
arms surrounding her protruding belly. “What do you want from me?” she asked
him softly.

Without
hesitation he tugged her chin up with his fingers to meet his eyes. “I want you
in my life and in my bed, every day and every night. I want to build a life
with you and our child. I hope one day, when you’re ready, to have more
children. I want you happy and safe. I want you to love me and trust me and
believe that I’m desperately in love with you.”

She
closed her eyes at the intensity of his gaze. “What happens when you change
your mind… lose interest…?”

“I
won’t,” he said emphatically.

“How
can you be so sure?”

He
moved his face close to hers. “Because you’re what I want.” He slid his lips
over hers silkily. “
All
I want,” he
whispered before licking his way into her mouth. He weaved the fingers of both
hands into her hair and pulled her to him roughly, desperately seeming to want
to imprint his need and desire onto her… into her.

She
gasped at his intensity and slid her tongue against his as she laid her hands
against his massive chest and breathed in his familiar scent. He pushed her
back gently onto the couch and leaned over her as he trailed kisses over her
jaw and down her neck. He captured her moan when he ran his hands over her
swollen breasts. A movement against his ribs caused him to jerk up abruptly. He
lifted her shirt and ran his hands over the skin covering their child. The baby
kicked against the warmth emitted from Rush’s hands. He leaned down and placed
soft, tender kisses against her protruding belly. He whispered to the life growing
inside her, promising him love and protection.

Love
exploded in her chest as she watched him kiss and speak softly to their child.
She didn’t think she’d ever loved him or wanted him more than she did right at
this moment. With gentle hands, she pushed her shirt down and him away. He
raised confused eyes to hers. She rose and held her hand out to him. With his
eyebrows knitted together as he struggled to understand her intent, he placed
his hand in hers. She tugged against his hand until he rose. Silently, she
padded slowly down the hall, pulling an incredulous Rush behind her.

When
they entered the darkened master bedroom, with her back to him, she withdrew
her shirt over her head. She reached behind herself to unfasten her bra, but he
brushed her hands away to unfasten it then slowly slipped the straps down her
arms as he bent to press kisses against the arch of her neck and across her
shoulders. She shivered at his touch. He slipped his arms around, surrounding
both her and their son in his warm embrace. He ran his hands over her stomach
and she leaned into him. They stood just like that for a long while.

She
turned in his arms and he captured her face within his hands and kissed her
deeply. He pulled his mouth away from hers. “Are you sure about this? I don’t
want to hurt you or the baby,” he murmured against her lips.

“You
won’t,” she murmured in reply.

“I
love you, Trinity Grace,” he said as he brushed her hair behind her shoulders.

“I
love you, too,” she whispered back. He closed his eyes as the intensity of her
words flowed over him.

“Stay
with me tonight,” he said against her lips as he slid his hands against her
skin.

“Okay,”
she whispered against lips.

His
fingers found the scar from the gunshot wound and he lowered his lips to press
them lightly there. He inhaled sharply and grabbed her head fiercely within his
hands and kissed her desperately – trying to banish the nightmare of that day
from their memories.

“Stay
with me always,” he murmured.

With
a grin against his lips, she answered, “I’ll need more toothbrushes.”

The End

Dear
Readers:

I
hope you have enjoyed Part 1 of the Rush series. Rush of Redemption: Book 2,
the startling conclusion to Rush and Trinity’s tale, will be available August
2013.

Two
other books in this series will be available by the year’s end: Master of the
Game – the sensual tale of Alex and Devon; and Hunter’s Mark – the titillating
saga of Hunter and
Sundra
.

~~Other
books by LR Potter~~

The
Hourglass Killer Trilogy:

Dwindling
Sands

Shifting
Sands

Cascading
Sands