Rush of Innocence (Rush Series #1)

by LR Potter

  “I won’t be under your thumb any longer. Someone sending a photograph isn’t going to change that,” she proclaimed.

  ***

  It was Friday morning before she heard from Rush. She’d just gotten into work and was in the process of stretching a canvas when he called.

  “Rush Drayton on line one,” Elena said.

  “Hi,” Trinity said happily.

  “Hi yourself. Sorry it’s taken me so long to call. It’s just been so busy,” he replied.

  “No problem. I know you must have a mountain of paperwork to get through.”

  “I certainly do. I know its last minute, but how about dinner tonight?”

  “I’d like that,” she said quickly.

  “I’ll pick you up at seven. Is that good?”

  She hesitated. “Uh, maybe it’d be better if I just met you somewhere,” she hedged.

  Silence met her words. “Why can’t I pick you up at your home?” he asked quietly.

  She exhaled deeply. “My father can be… difficult.”

  “I think I can handle your father. Don’t worry about it,” he promised.

  She chewed the inside of her lip before saying, “Okay, seven.”

  “Good, see you tonight,” he said and hung up.

  Oh, he could say good, but it probably wasn’t going to be good.

  ***

  She dressed with care for her date with Rush. She waited until the last minute to tell her father. He was sitting at his desk reading over briefs when she entered.

  He looked up and smiled. “Before I forget, Jim and Marlena are coming for Sunday brunch. It’s been a while since they’ve been here.”

  “Good, that’ll be nice,” she replied as she struggled with how to tell him of her plans.

  As he took in her appearance, he saved her the preamble by saying, “I didn’t know you were going out.”

  “I… uh… have a date,” she murmured.

  “A date?”

  “Yes.”

  “With whom?” he asked casually.

  “Rush Drayton.”

  He sat back in his chair and studied her for a long time. “How well do you know him?”

  “Well enough,” she replied.

  He rose from his chair and stood with his back to her, staring out the window.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  He slowly shook his head. “Nothing.”

  Sighing deeply, she said, “Just say it, Father.”

  “Rush Drayton is a dangerous man.”

  “Why do you say that?” she asked, not being able to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

  “He can be… quite ruthless. I just want you to be careful. He’ll hurt you, you know.”

  “As ruthless as the guy I went to junior prom with?” she asked, sarcastically.

  This time, it was her father who sighed deeply. He sat back down in his chair heavily. “Just promise me you’ll be careful. I don’t want to see you hurt… but that is what will happen.”

  A knock at the door saved her from answering. She turned and opened the door to find Rush standing at ease. He smiled and grabbed her hands and pulled her to him. Briefly, he brushed his lips against hers. “You look beautiful,” he complimented.

  “Thank you,” she beamed. “Would you like to come in?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Of course,” he responded with a strange tightening of his lips.

  She took his hand and led him into her father’s study. Arthur Grace rose as they entered. Rush walked to the desk and extended a hand. “Judge Grace.”

  Her father hesitated only briefly before placing his hand in Rush’s. “Mr. Drayton.”

  “I believe you knew my father,” Rush said.

  “Yes, I did. Very well. He was a good man. It was a shame what happened to him.”

  “Yes, it was a shame. My family has struggled for many years to overcome his loss,” Rush said quietly.

  Trinity felt the heavy undercurrents between the two men.

  “How did you know his father?” she asked.

  Arthur Grace eventually shifted his gaze from Rush to her. Clearing his throat, he said, “We worked together in the District Attorney’s office. Blake Drayton was an Assistant DA. I was his boss.”

  She glanced at Rush, surprised he’d never mentioned that his father had worked for hers. Rush continued to stare at her father.

  “You would have known my mother as well,” Rush said to him.

  “Yes, what a tragedy. It had to have been so hard for you. You were what… eighteen, nineteen?”

  “I was a freshman in college when they died. It was harder on my grandparents. They’ve barely endured the loss,” Rush stated passionately.

  Her father sighed heavily. “I can only imagine.”

  Rush seemed to eye her father speculatively before saying, “I ran into a mutual friend of ours recently… Tiko Mars. Do you remember him? He said to tell you hello if I saw you. He’s living down in Mexico now.”

  Her father’s jaw clenched as Rush spoke. “Tiko Mars?”

  “I believe he worked for you also, isn’t that right?” Rush asked innocently.

  “No, I don’t think so,” her father said.

  Not liking the strange tension between the two men, Trinity cleared her throat. “Rush, I’m ready to go when you are.”

  He stared at her father for an odd minute before shifting his gaze back to hers. “Yes, of course. Let’s go. It was good seeing you… Judge. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

  “I’m sure we will,” her father murmured.

  The restaurant Rush had chosen sat along the river’s edge. It was quiet and elegant, its tables lit with tiny lanterns. The pensive Rush was back. Idly, she chewed the inside of her lip as she thought about the strange conversation between her father and Rush.

  “How did your parents die?” she asked suddenly.

  He snatched his eyes up to hers. He took a long drink before answering. “My father was killed while in lockup. My mother apparently couldn’t live without him and she killed herself.” He said the words so simply… almost as if it were a mere movie script instead of his life. She swallowed against his loss and for his pain. The image of the photograph that had been sent to her office entered her mind and she shuddered.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  He seemed to see her… really see her for the first time since she’d opened the front door to him. He lifted gentle fingers and ran them over her cheek. “Me, too,” he replied in a dismissive tone as he seemed to push that conversation away from his mind. “I’ve missed you this week. More than I thought I would,” he said somewhat absently.

  “Who’s Tiko Mars?” she asked.

  He blinked at her for a minute. “Nobody,” he again said dismissively. He ran his thumb across her lower lip and studied it intently. “Come dance with me,” he said huskily.

  He stood and led her to the dance floor. He interlaced their fingers, folded her arms behind her back, and fitted her snuggly up against his body. He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.

  Inhaling deeply, he murmured, “I’ve wanted to do this all week. To be with you… touching you… being filled with your scent.”

  She stood a little stiffly in his embrace. She was getting whiplash from his mood swings. He opened his eyes when he felt her resistance.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”

  He released her hands to slide his down to her waist. “I’m sorry, but the memories of my parents’ deaths are hard ones. Seeing your father just stirred them all back up. I didn’t mean to ruin our night out.”

  “Is that all it is?” she asked.

  “Of course. What else could it be?”

  He pressed his lips against hers softly, briefly… too briefly, and he exhaled deeply. “Let’s get out of here,” he murmured against her lips.

  He threw some money on the table and they left. He drove them to his house and led her straigh
t through the house to his bedroom. He stripped them both quickly and tugged her up beneath him on the king-sized bed. There was a tinge of desperation in the way he made love to her… almost as if he was chasing away shadows. She clung to him as he cloaked himself within the depths of her body… searching for solace, she supposed.

  She lay for a long time, her body still wrapped around his, desperate to understand his hidden demons. She brushed his shoulders with comforting strokes of her hands until he fell asleep. This time it was she who stood staring out at the night sky, wondering if she’d ever truly understand the man she was falling in love with. He scared her. He was all-consuming and intense… and as dangerous as her father had said. She had no doubt Rush Drayton had the power to hurt her terribly. She wished she had the strength to just walk away.

  ***

  The jangle of the new cellphone she’d gotten earlier in the week woke her. She jumped up immediately and saw the early morning light filtering through the window. Oh no, she’d fallen asleep. Her father was going to freak! Snatching her cellphone out of her purse, she looked at the number – sure enough it was her father. She glanced briefly at Rush still lying with his face buried in his pillow. Quickly, she snatched on his shirt and slipped it over her shoulders. Moving into the living room, she called her father back.

  “Where the hell are you?” he shouted into the phone.

  She cringed. With more bravado than she felt she said, “You know where I am.”

  “This is no way to behave, young lady. Do you sleep with every man you meet on the first date?” he asked crudely.

  “As you were having me followed, I think you already know the answer to that question,” she retorted.

  “I think it’s time for you to come home,” he demanded.

  “I’ll be home when I’m ready. Please don’t call unless it’s an emergency,” she said as she clicked the phone off.

  “Well done,” a naked Rush said from the doorway. “As sexy as you look wearing my shirt, I happen to know how hot you look wearing nothing at all. Why don’t you come back to bed?” he offered salaciously.

  She looked at him with his massive shoulders, chiseled stomach muscles and tapered waist, and knew who the hot one was in their relationship. She threw her cellphone down on the couch, and with a grin she launched herself into his arms before wrapping her legs around his waist. He laughed and swung her back around and headed to the bedroom.

  She grinned at him from across the breakfast table.

  “What?” he asked, grinning back, as he licked juice from his fingers.

  “I like you like this,” she replied.

  “Like what?”

  “Happy, relaxed…”

  He gave her an odd look. “Aren’t I always?”

  “No… usually you’re… I don’t know… intense, I guess.”

  He thought about her words as he chewed on a piece of papaya. “I guess I can be somewhat intense.”

  She smirked at his words. They ate in silence for a bit. “Tell me about your week,” he invited. “Any more surprises?”

  She lifted her glass to her lips and sipped her juice. She contemplated him over the rim of the glass, wondering if she should mention the picture. Her pause caused him to lift his intense eyes to hers once more.

  “What happened,” he asked quietly.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing, really.”

  He sighed deeply and his jaw clenched. “Just tell me.”

  “The day after the break-in, I received a bouquet of flowers at work. I… I thought they were from you,” she said with a small smile, embarrassed.

  “Who were they from?” he asked icily.

  “I don’t know. There was an envelope buried in the flowers which contained a photograph,” she paused and pleated the napkin by her plate.

  “What was it a picture of?”

  “A naked woman with a rope tied around her neck, dangling from something. Her head had been cropped out of the picture, so I don’t know who the woman was. Across the picture were the words: This could be you.”

  Rush sat, staring at her for a long moment before rising to stand with his back to her facing the window. It reminded her of her father in the same stance the night before.

  “Does your father know about the photo?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “What did he say?” Rush asked.

  “That I needed his protection.”

  “To which you probably said no,” he said quietly.

  “I don’t want to be under his thumb,” she said, her shoulders tight in defensiveness.

  He turned quickly. “At the expense of your life?” he shouted.

  She jumped at his voice.

  He turned back to the window and ran a hand over his head. “Whoever sent the flowers knows who you are… where you work… when you’re at work. I think you should be taking this seriously. You want to act like it’s no big deal. You might do well to consider we know what’s best for you in this regard.”

  The tension in the room was so great she jumped when his cellphone rang. He turned from the window and picked up the phone, raking his eyes over her face as he did. He glanced at the screen and sighed at whoever was calling.

  “I need to take this,” he said as he walked towards the study. “Boppa! Good morning. Yes, I know. I need….” His voice faded as the door closed behind him.

  She swallowed at his words. I think you should be taking this seriously. You want to act like it’s no big deal. You might do well to consider we know what’s best for you… The same feelings of claustrophobia she’d felt with her father threatened to suffocate her now. Control. Domination. Regulation. Dictatorship. She felt the noose from the photo tightening around her own neck. This could be you! She felt it already was.

  She rose and padded back to the bedroom to change from his shirt into her own clothes. She heard him call her name, but she ignored him. While she hadn’t heard him enter the bedroom, she felt the tingle up her spine which told her he was in the same room. She turned her head and saw him, leaning negligently against the jamb, dressed only in thin cotton pants which hung deliciously low on his hips. The fact that his body still had the power to stir her even while she simmered only infuriated her more.

  “Why are you leaving?” he asked.

  “I… I just need to go.”

  “Trinity… I only want you to be safe,” he said in exasperation.

  “I know,” she replied, her back stiffening as she slipped his shirt off her shoulders. Those were the same words her father used to gain control over her. She was drowning in those words.

  He stepped up behind her and placed his hands on her bared shoulders. “Don’t go,” he murmured.

  She tensed underneath his hands. “I won’t be controlled, Rush.”

  He leaned in and brushed his lips against her ear. “I’m not controlling you. Haven’t you ever had something so precious that you wanted to protect it at whatever cost?”

  She shivered at the touch of his lips against her skin and at his words. “That’s basically what my father says,” she whispered.

  He slipped his arms around her middle and interlocked his fingers against her bared stomach. He pressed his lips against the curve of her neck. Fire zipped through her at his touch.

  “In this one thing, we are in agreement then,” he whispered against her neck.

  “You make me crazy,” she said with a shudder. “You’re this way, then you’re that way…”

  “I know, I know,” he murmured, as he ran the tip of his tongue across the sensitive skin of neck.

  “I can’t take it anymore,” she said wearily.

  He turned her quickly in his arms and grabbed her face in his hands. “Don’t say that,” he said against her lips. With his innate skill, he coaxed her lips open to allow him access, she whimpered in frustration, because even now she couldn’t force herself to deny him… or herself. Without breaking the kiss, he lowered them onto the bed and removed their only remaining
clothing.

  Without any more preamble than slipping on protection, he plunged his body into hers. She groaned at his reckless abandonment. He buried his face in the crook of her neck.

  Raggedly, he said, “I know you don’t understand, but just trust me… I need you to trust me.”

  “I don’t know what to trust,” she whimpered as she arched her back to meet his pounding thrusts.

  He lifted his head to stare into her eyes. “Me. Trust me,” he begged. “I’ll make this work… somehow.”

  Chapter 7

  His hard, slick body was pressed tightly against her from behind, and his big, powerful arms were wrapped firmly around her. He nuzzled the back of her neck as he buried his face in her hair. “Stay with me,” he panted as he struggled to catch his breath.

  Trinity kissed the hand that was closest to her mouth, needing to touch and be touched. Her body still sizzled from the expert tutelage of Rush Drayton.

  “I don’t even have a toothbrush,” she muttered.

  “I’ll buy you a thousand toothbrushes. Just stay,” he begged with a grin.

  “I don’t have any clean panties, either,” she quipped.

  He growled against her ear causing her to shudder. “Not a problem. You won’t need any.”

  She giggled and felt his corresponding smile against her neck.

  “Stay,” he begged again. “Just until tomorrow. I have to go meet with my Boppa tomorrow afternoon. Stay with me until then.”

  “Boppa?” she asked.

  Lightly he ran his wicked tongue against the outer shell of her ear and she shivered. He smiled at his obvious power over her body. “My grandfather. I’d get out of it if I could, but it’s a necessity.”

  “If I stay,” she gasped as he sunk his teeth lightly into her earlobe, “I have to go home in the morning. I also have a command performance. My godparents are coming for brunch and I’m required to be there.”

  “Godparents?” His question was nearly lost in her ear as she inhaled sharply when his fingertips brushed lightly against the already sensitized tips of her breasts.