by Rhian Cahill
A tug on her arm stopped her when she hadn’t realized she’d moved. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Mrs. Abbott watching her closely, gaze imploring. Unable to decipher what the older woman tried to communicate with her eyes, Reena shook her head and frowned.
“Let him come to you,” her neighbor whispered out of the side of her mouth. “There’s nothing wrong with making him work a little for your time.”
Nodding, Reena turned back to watch Rush coming closer and closer. Her heartbeat picked up speed and her breathing stuttered with every step he took. His gaze devoured her, the deep blue sweeping over her like the feathery fingers of a lover’s caress, and she couldn’t stop the shiver that electrified her from neck to knee.
God. This was what he did to her. With one look, he had her fluttering and clenching, dampening in places that had no firsthand knowledge of what they eagerly prepared for, only that he could deliver it.
“Reena.” Smile sparking in his eyes, along with a healthy dose of lust, Rush bounded up the two stairs of Mrs. Abbott’s porch and pulled her into his arms. Burying his face in the crook of her neck, he breathed deep and murmured, “God, I missed this. Missed you,” against her skin.
Eyelids drifting shut, Reena lowered her head to rest it on his shoulder. “Rush.” His name sighed from her mouth, her body melting into his embrace with a familiarity that spoke of more than the short time they’d known each other.
The gentle clearing of a throat had them breaking apart.
Stepping back, Reena turned to her neighbor to find the woman regarding her with a knowing smile. “Mrs.—” Reena stopped at the waggle of a finger and shake of a head. “Sorry. Mary. This is my friend Rush. Rush Whelan, this is Mary Abbott, my neighbor.”
“We met earlier without an official introduction but it’s lovely to meet you again, Rush.” Mary indicated the seat next to the one Reena had been in moments ago. “Won’t you join us? We’re having tea and scones.”
Rush’s eyes met Reena’s, his gaze questioning, when she answered with a small tip of her head, he returned his gaze to Mary and smiled. “Thank you, Mary. I’d love to join you.”
With a hand on her elbow, Rush urged Reena back into her seat before taking the one Mary offered.
Too stunned by his presence to speak, she watched as another cup of tea was poured and a plate of scones passed over.
Rush undoubtedly complimented Mary on the scones, although Reena couldn’t be sure. The only thing registering in her ears was the pounding of her heart and the rasp of her breath as it flowed in and out of her nose in short little bursts.
She didn’t remember drinking her tea or eating the scone she’d been given before Rush’s arrival, but when she finally dragged her eyes off the man beside her and glanced down, Reena found both plate and cup empty.
“Well, it was lovely to have company for tea today, but I must be getting inside now. Things to do, you know.”
Mary winked at Reena as she gathered empty dishes and stacked them on a silver tray.
Rush stood and tried to take the tray from Mary’s hands. “Let me carry that for you.”
“Nonsense. Get on with both of you now.”
Without another word, and with a skill even Reena’s years of waitressing couldn’t beat, Mary maneuvered herself and the loaded tray into her house and closed the door behind her, leaving them alone on the porch.
“I…” Reena licked her lips and swallowed as she turned to face Rush.
He was watching her with that deep blue gaze, the one that sent shivers down her spine and curled her toes. She was helpless to prevent her body from reacting to him.
Her skin flushed, her muscles tightened, and a throbbing beat echoed along every nerve ending.
She wanted to wrap herself around him.
Wished she hadn’t stopped him from taking her virginity.
God, she wanted to beg him to take it now.
Instead the words that blurted out of her mouth were, “What are you doing here?”
Chapter Nine
Rush couldn’t take his eyes off the woman in front of him. He didn’t know how he’d managed to be polite to her neighbor. Reena seemed more gorgeous than he remembered and had his mind clouded with lust. The only thing clear in his hormone-addled brain was his need to touch her.
“Rush?”
Right. She’d asked him a question. “Vacation.”
“Vacation?” Her eyebrows shot up, disappearing beneath her bangs. “Here?”
He grinned. “Yep. You told me so much about Baltimore I had to come see it for myself.”
“Really?” she asked, disbelief clear in her voice.
Unable to resist the need to touch her any longer, he reached for her hand. He took it as a good sign she didn’t pull away, instead weaving her fingers through his and holding on. “I thought maybe you’d be interested in showing me around.”
“Oh. Of course. Where are you staying?”
“I haven’t booked anywhere yet. I only got to town an hour ago, so I haven’t had a chance. Was hoping you’d recommend a place.”
“You could stay with me.” Her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes darted away from his. “I mean. I have a couple of spare rooms.”
Smiling, he tugged on her hand until she moved closer, until her breasts were an inch from his chest.
All he needed to do was take an extra deep breath and they’d touch. The thought had his blood racing, his body tightening with need.
In spite of the desire urging him to move closer, he held still, waited for her gaze to connect with his again before saying, “I’d like that. I’d like that very much.”
Her lips parted on a gush of air before turning up into a shy smile. “Okay. Good.”
Fuck. He needed to kiss her. It had been days since he’d tasted her.
“Reena.” With his gaze glued to her sweet mouth, he didn’t miss the nervous flick of her tongue on the gentle curve of her plump bottom lip. He groaned as need zapped through him.
She leaned in. “Yes?”
“I’m going to kiss you hello now.”
Rush didn’t give her time to protest or think about what he’d said before he pressed his mouth to hers. If she was against the idea, she’d push him away, but he had every confidence she wanted this as much as he did.
Increasing the pressure, he moved his lips over hers, nipping and brushing. The sexy little sigh that left her throat and coated his mouth with warmth had Rush’s control slipping, his cock thickening and lengthening in his jeans.
That tiny bit of constriction, the discomfort of his hardening flesh being caught inside unforgiving denim, was enough to keep him from diving deep. Stopped him from thrusting his tongue between her teeth and fucking her mouth the way his body urged him to.
With regret, he pulled back and waited for her eyes to flutter open. A shudder wracked him when she sank her teeth into her glistening bottom lip and worried the flesh back and forth. Using his free hand, Rush stroked his thumb down that abused lip and pulled it free.
“If you keep doing that, I won’t be able to control myself. I’d hate for Mary to get the wrong idea.” Or more importantly, he’d hate for Reena’s elderly neighbor to know exactly what he planned to do to the innocent woman in front of him. “Take me home, Reena.”
“Home? Oh. Yes. Right. This way.” She spun around, kept her hand in his, and led him to the street.
He’d had time to think on the drive to Baltimore—over seven hours of time—and one thing that kept popping up in his mind was something that should have been obvious from the beginning.
Reena was a virgin.
And if by some miracle he’d gotten that conclusion completely wrong, Rush figured he was so close to the mark she could count the number of times she’d had sex on one hand.
Unlike him. He’d run out of digits—fingers and toes—before he’d turned sixteen.
He shouldn’t be here. Should leave her alone and find someone who understood the rules of no-strings s
ex.
Except that argument hadn’t stopped him from packing a bag and driving five hundred miles to Baltimore.
No matter how much of a bastard being with her made him, he wouldn’t—couldn’t—walk away.
Chapter Ten
Reena’s hand shook as she attempted to get the key in her front door.
Rush was here.
God, he was here.
In Baltimore.
At her house.
He was going to stay at her house.
The key slipped along her damp palm and elephants stampeded in her chest. It was a miracle she managed to unlock the door and step inside without dropping the keys or tripping over the threshold.
“You have a choice of two rooms. One faces the street, the other overlooks the backyard.” Her words quivered and in an effort to mask her nervousness, Reena rambled as she led the way into the house. “The street view isn’t as nice as the yard one in my opinion, but the front room is bigger and has its own bathroom. The back room has a shared bathroom, I’m afraid. Not good if you want privacy.”
“Oh. You have other guests?”
“What?” Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Rush grinning at her from the doorway, and frowned. “No, it’s just me.”
“And me.”
Reena’s skin prickled. “Y-yes. And you.”
“You and me.”
Reena nodded. “Yep. Just us. No one else.” Oh god, they were going to be alone in her house for days. Heat washed over her. Muscles clenched and her body trembled with an unmistakable shudder of lust. Her breath stuttered and her voice wobbled when she said, “Which room—”
“Why don’t we go out?”
“Out?” Reena stood in the foyer, a little confused by Rush’s question and his failure to move more than a foot inside her house. “But we just got here.”
His mouth tipped up on one side in that lopsided smirk she loved, making her tummy dip.
Was it bad that all she could think about was kissing that mouth?
“I know but I’m hungry.”
Hadn’t he just eaten at Mary’s?
“Mary’s delicious scones reminded me how empty my stomach is. I’ve spent hours on the road and other than a pack of gum, a bag of chips, and a gallon of soda, I haven’t had anything substantial in my belly since last night.”
Unable to pull her gaze away from his mouth, Reena watched his lips move with each word and shivered with the flash of memory of that sexy mouth on hers. She licked her own lips while heat zipped through her, tightened her core, and filled her face.
Great, she probably looked like a human beetroot. Not a good look when you planned to seduce a man.
Wait. His words finally penetrated her scandalous thoughts.
“Last night?” She hadn’t bothered to ask how he’d gotten here. It never occurred to her that he would drive hundreds of miles.
When she’d visited the lodge nestled deep in the Adirondack Mountains, she’d flown to Albany then rented a car to travel the final distance. That road trip had taken three hours. The lodge to Baltimore had to be half a day’s drive at least.
“You drove all night?”
“No. I am guilty of not having breakfast before starting out though.” He shrugged. “I was in a bit of a hurry.”
“Oh.” Had he been anxious to get here?
“Wanted to make the most of the six days I have off.”
Was it Baltimore or her he wanted to make the most of in that time? Reena hoped it was the latter.
“I could cook…” She tried to recall what she had on hand. Working at Sunday’s meant it was easy to grab a meal before heading home so she usually didn’t have much in her cupboards or refrigerator, and she hadn’t shopped since returning from her holiday. Plus, she wasn’t the best in the kitchen. It was safer to let someone else do the cooking.
“Take me to your favorite place to eat. Count it as our first tour of Baltimore.”
“Are you sure you want to go out after the long drive?” Wasn’t he tired?
Nodding, he said, “Yep. I can’t wait to get to know your city.”
Reena smiled. “I know the perfect place.”
They’d go to Pat’s Pub. Maybe eat at Sunday’s, depending on the number of customers already there. Saturday night was popular with the locals, and it wasn’t unheard of to have a line outside or a bar full of people waiting to be seated.
“Let’s go then.” Holding out his hand, he waited by the door.
“Don’t you want to get settled first? Freshen up or—” The rumble of Rush’s stomach echoed off the walls and Reena laughed. “Okay, I get the message, food first.”
Slipping her hand in his, she let him lead her outside. Their fingers wove together seamlessly, as though they’d been doing it for years, not weeks. It felt so natural, so right, contentment settled over her.
For the first time in seven days, the itching, twitching part of her stilled. Reena marveled at the power this man had over her emotions.
Two weeks. They’d only spent two weeks together and it seemed like an eternity. As though she’d known him her whole life.
“You’re quiet. What’s that brain thinking about now?”
Reena smiled. Rush had spent their days together pulling her out of her thoughts. He’d told her she spent too much time inside her head and needed to get out of there and appreciate the world around her. Of course, he’d also said he was the perfect man to help her enjoy it.
“I’m thinking about you.”
He glanced down at her with one eyebrow cocked. “Me?”
“Yes. You.”
“What about me?” He squeezed her hand and tugged her closer. “Having second thoughts?”
“No. I want you here.” And she did. She wanted him here so much it scared her. There hadn’t been a minute over the last seven days when she hadn’t thought about him, hadn’t wanted to be with him. Resting her head on his shoulder she said, “I missed you.”
“Good. But I missed you more.” Rush slipped his hand from hers and wrapped his arm around her. “Kinda scary how much I missed you.”
It was nice to hear he had some trepidation about what was between them. She needed him to be with her in this instant connection. “It’s a little crazy how we clicked.”
“Crazy doesn’t mean it’s bad.”
“Didn’t say it was bad. And I meant the speed with which I felt connected to you. I’ve never had that with anyone before.”
“Me either.” He gave her a squeeze and kissed the top of her head. “Okay, which way? Are we walking or driving?”
“Walking. Pat’s is only a few blocks away.”
“The place where you work?”
Reena loved that he remembered. “Yes. Well, Pat’s is the pub side. I work in Sunday’s Side, the restaurant.” She slid her arm around his waist and urged him to the right. “Five minutes, ten if we dawdle.”
“After a day spent sitting on my ass in my truck, I could do with a dawdle.”
“You really drove all the way here?” The thought boggled her mind. It also gave her a thrill. A man had driven hours to see her. Reena couldn’t remember anyone driving an hour to get to her, never mind all day.
“Probably should have thought it through a little better, maybe chosen a quicker form of transport. Spur-of-the-moment decisions don’t lend themselves to much thought.”
“When did you decide to come here?” The idea that he would upend his life to come see her made her happy. On the other hand, if he hadn’t thought of it before now…
“This morning when the boss gave me the week off.”
“Oh.” Disappointment lanced her.
“Hey.” He stopped and swung her around into his arms. Cradling her against his chest, he tipped her face up with a finger under her chin and said, “I would have been here sooner if I’d had the time off. I’ve spent the week regretting not getting your number—”
“How’d you know where I live?”
Rush rolled his lips
into his mouth, his gaze shuttering as a light flush colored his cheeks. “Hm…”
“I didn’t give you my number…well I did, but you wouldn’t have gotten it because you were already on your way here—”
“You gave me your number?”
“I called the Lodge this afternoon. Left a message for you. They said you weren’t there. The woman didn’t know where you were or when you’d be in but took the message anyway.”
He grinned. “You called me?”
“Ah, yes, I, um…” Heat filled her face. “Didn’t want to leave things the way we did.”
“The only thing wrong with the way we left things was I didn’t have your number.”
“So how did you know where to find me?” She had a feeling his answer would give her another thrill. Especially if it was the way she thought he’d gotten her address.
Rush sighed. “Could we not worry about that? Maybe pretend I got that message with your phone number…”
“As the bar manager, are you supposed to access the reservation system and the guests’ personal information?”
He closed his eyes and lowered his forehead to rest against hers. “No.”
“So you broke the rules to find me. Probably jeopardized your job doing it.”
“Yes. Maybe.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
His eyes opened, their gazes connecting. “Thank you?”
“Yes. Thank you for wanting to find me so much you would risk being fired.”
Chapter Eleven
His job hadn’t entered his mind once he’d decided to come to Baltimore. “I didn’t think about it. The only thing that concerned me was finding you.”
Her eyes lit up along with her smile. “No one’s ever broken the law for me.”
“I’m not sure I broke any laws… Unless you count the speed limits between here and home.” He grinned. “I might have bent those a little.”
Reena’s smile grew and he pulled her into a hug. He loved seeing her happy. She hadn’t looked that way the last time he’d seen her.