Rush of Redemption (Rush Series #2) Read online

  “Rush?” she asked, as self-doubt flooded her.

  With a moan, he gasped out, “Baby, you’re gonna have to give me minute to calm down or that’s about all you can expect from me right now… one minute. I’ve been thinking about having sex with you for six damned weeks and all I can think about is pounding the hell out of you. I don’t want to hurt you… just give me a minute, okay?”

  Trinity moved up behind him and slid her arms around his waist enjoying the feel of his taunt, sculptured stomach muscles. She pressed her face against his back.

  “Trinity, you’re not helping,” he growled.

  She smiled and pressed her lips against his back. “Don’t be long,” she muttered as she slipped out of the shower and grabbed a towel.

  When Rush finally emerged from the bathroom with a towel draped around his waist and one slung over his shoulders, Trinity was sitting on the edge of the bed, also wrapped in a towel, with her head bent as she slowly spun her engagement ring round and round on her finger. She glanced up when he entered. He stood, leaning against the doorjamb, contemplating her with such a tender expression on his face, she nearly cried.

  She was almost overwhelmed as she took him in – his dark hair, made even darker due to still being damp; his stunning face, with his mesmerizing hazel eyes; his unbelievable body, all sculptured and chiseled; and his tanned skin made darker against the backdrop of the white towel. He gave her the sexy little smile she loved – it was almost a smirk because he knew what he did to her… what he’d always done to her.

  Her heart began to pound as he sauntered over to her. Kneeling, he linked their fingers together and lightly pressed his lips against them. He stared into her face for several long minutes before lifting a hand to brush her hair back over her shoulders.

  “You are so beautiful,” he said huskily. In an almost matter-of-fact voice, he said, “Sometimes, I watch you sleep and it always takes my breath away at how beautiful you are, and I think I can’t possibly love you any more than I do in that moment.” He moved his fingers to lightly trace the contours of her face. “Then I watch you when you’re holding Blake or rocking him, and its then I think that I can’t possibly love you more.” He let his hands drop to the knot in her towel and tugged it open slowly. “Then tonight, when you opened the shower door and walked in… my heart stopped. I swear, it literally stopped. There are no words to describe what I felt. Love isn’t enough of a word to describe what rips through my body when I look at you. You give my life purpose and meaning. I didn’t even know I was missing those things before I met you.” Slowly, he tugged the towel from around her and tossed it on the floor. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against her brow. “You own me, Trinity.” He moved his lips along her jawline. “I would lay down my life to protect you and our son.”With his lips, he brushed away the tears which had started to fall at his words.

  “I love you, Rush, I’ve always loved you… even when I knew I should hate you, I loved you…”Her words were cut off as he grasped her head within his hands, which trembled with emotion and need.

  He crushed his lips against hers and ravished her mouth with his own. He stroked her tongue with his, the sensual slide of it making her groan. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her wherever his lips landed, smothering her with his lips, his arms, his body. He laid her back and frantically began to run his hands over her body. Still on his knees, he kissed his way down her body, licking and caressing as he went. She whimpered when he sucked the tip of her breast into his scorching hot mouth. He kissed across her chest and drew the other into his mouth, his cheeks hollowing as he sucked. He continued his journey down, licking, sucking, and stroking with his devilish lips and tongue. Her back arched from the bed when he thrust his deviously wicked tongue into her quivering and sensitive core.

  “Oh, God,” she whimpered.

  With sure, steady strokes he devoured her, sucking and licking until her entire existence seemed to begin and end where his lips met her body. Heat seemed to explode in her belly and traveled to every nerve ending. She began to beg him, plead with him… curse him.

  “Please… I need you now… I can’t take it anymore… I’m burning… damn you…” she whimpered.

  While he heard her words, he didn’t stop; the words only served to drive him to intensify his onslaught. With gentle fingers he probed her… enticing her… inciting her… causing her to burn further until she couldn’t stand it any longer and grabbed his head between her hands and rocked her hips into his mouth. With a shattering cry, she came and twisted under his lips as the sensations became almost unbearable.

  On shaky legs he rose, grabbed a condom, and slid it on with less than steady fingers. He pushed her further up on the bed and climbed over her. He caught her face once more and kissed her long and sweetly.

  “Let me know if I hurt you, okay?” he whispered.

  “Okay.”

  It took every ounce of self-control he had to slide in slowly when all he wanted to do was slam into her warm, silky body. With careful deliberation, he inched in until she had him sheathed from tip to root. He paused and looked down into her face. “I love you, Trinity Grace. I wished my whole life for you, and you’re all I ever dreamed you’d be.”

  With slow, steady motions, he slid rhythmically into her body. Over and over, he plunged into her, the soft pliancy of her body contrasted with his hard, rigid shaft. His body began to shake as it became conflicted with his need for release and his need to be gentle. His control began to break away from him and his plunges became nearly desperate.

  “Oh, God, baby! I need you so much,” he groaned as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. When the need became too great, he bit softly into her shoulders. “Please, baby, come with me, come now, I can’t hold out much longer, please, baby,” he begged frantically.

  She wrapped her legs around him to draw him even further into her. As the need grew, she dug her fingernails into the hard muscles of his hips and ground herself against him. Her head lolled from side to side as she began to clench and pulse around him. “I’m almost there, I’m almost there…” she chanted over and over. Tears began to leak from her eyes as the beauty of this with him became too much.

  “I love you,” she whimpered as her thighs began to quiver and her body began to tremble almost uncontrollably.

  Needing to watch as she was thrown over, Rush drew back and grasped her head firmly within his palms. He watched as her eyes began to glaze over and she struggled to keep them focused on his. He lifted his body up and slid smoothly into her and she seemed to go up in flames.

  “Thank God,” he groaned, as he slammed into her once more before finding his much-needed release. “Thank God!” he reiterated into the column of her neck.

  Trinity looked up from her position draped across his chest. She was lying on her stomach, with one arm bent resting on his chest with her face propped up on it. Her free hand was tracing the contoured grooves seemingly carved into his perfect chest. He had one hand resting on her shoulder, rubbing her soothingly and rhythmically.

  “I can’t believe you let me go all evening and never once mentioned that tonight was the night,” he complained.

  She gave him an indulgent smile. “I already had plans with Sundra and I didn’t know how late you were going to be.”

  “Trust me when I say, I’d have thrown Sundra out and quit my job,” he groused.

  She smiled. “You’re the CEO, a little hard to quit.”

  “But being the CEO, I could have come home early, and we could have done this like six… seven… hundred times already.”

  She giggled at him before pressing a soft kiss against his satiny skin.

  He brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek. “You okay?”

  She crawled up his chest to cup his face in her hands. “I’m better than okay. I’m fantastic. I love you, Mr. Drayton,” she whispered against his lips.

  He grinned against her lips. “Hmmm, fantastic you say?” Wrapping
his arms around her, he said softly, “I’ll show you fantastic...” Tightening his grip, he pulled her closer to him as he stroked into her mouth. Carefully, he flipped her onto her back and he leaned over her, increasing the pressure on her mouth. He’d just moved his hand and captured her breast when a tiny wail broke the silence. They both stiffened at the intrusion.

  “And so it begins,” Rush mumbled good-naturedly.

  Chapter Five

  Trinity woke the next morning to find Rush picking up where he’d been forced to stop the night before. Instead of the frenzied need of the night before, however, this time it was slow and easy. He took his time and savored her, nourished her, and cherished her. He whispered words of love against her ear and she lay quivering beneath him begging him as she always did for him to release her from the clawing need taking over her body. With practiced ease, he led her to the cliff of desire then gently pushed her off.

  This time, it was him draped across her chest, propped up on his elbow to alleviate his weight from her slight frame. He lay calmly now, slowly rolling a section of her hair between his fingers.

  “I wish we could stay like this all day,” he murmured.

  “I don’t think your son will allow that,” she replied.

  He sighed. “It doesn’t matter. I have to go into the office anyway.”

  “On a Saturday?”

  “I’m afraid so. There are issues with a couple of developments we have going up. I’m afraid I’ll be forced to go see them myself. I’m trying to resolve it from here, but it’s proving to be difficult.”

  “What about the engagement party?”

  He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away. I’ll leave work in time to dress at my place and stop here to pick you up. Okay?”

  “Fine. Good thing for you I have another handsome man to keep me company,” she teased.

  His expression turning serious, he said, “You’re a really good mom, you know.”

  She preened underneath his praise. “I want to be. He’s a remarkable little person.”

  “He’s lucky to have you… I’m lucky to have you,” he said softly.

  “Indeed you are and don’t you forget it,” she teased.

  “I won’t,” he promised solemnly.

  Five o’clock found Trinity sitting in the baby’s room nursing both the baby and a nagging headache. She’d been battling the headache since noon, but it still persisted. There was nothing more she longed to do than to put the baby down and bury her head under a pillow while she willed the migraine to go far, far away. She prayed this headache wouldn’t be like the last one, but it was brewing, begging to take root, it seemed. She pressed her lips against Blake’s tiny, dark hair and closed her eyes.

  She woke with a jerk and glanced quickly at the clock. She swore. She’d have to hurry. The nagging headache still persisted. If the headache didn’t get any worse she thought she could endure it for a little while anyway. She thought momentarily about calling Rush and canceling, but couldn’t do that to him. He was trying so very hard. She’d just have to take a double dose of Tylenol and suck it up. She put Blake in his crib and rushed to the door when it chimed. She was thankful to see Anna standing at the door. Rush really did think of everything.

  Showering quickly, she blew her hair dry and rolled it up in hot rollers. She donned the green dress that was the exact color of Rush’s eyes, her lips twisted as she recalled saying those words out loud to Sundra. She really did have it bad. She took her hair down and brushed it quickly. It fell in cascading waves around her face. She stopped a moment to press her fingertips against her eyes as the headache once again made itself known. It was going to be a long night. Keeping an eye on the time, she quickly completed putting on her makeup when she heard Rush talking to Blake. She slipped into her shoes and was taking one last look in the full-length mirror when he entered the room behind her.

  Her heart constricted in her chest at the sight of him. His custom-fitted, black tux showed off the powerfulness of his body. He flashed his sexy grin which made her catch her breath. He was just so gorgeous. Would there ever come a time when looking into his face would stop taking her breath away? He came to stand beside her and placed his hand against the small of her back. The emerald green of her dress did indeed match the green of the hazel in his eyes. The dress was made of a crinkly taffeta that left her shoulders bare. She wore her mother’s locket as her only accessory. The color of the dress offset her dark hair perfectly and made her eyes seem nearly black.

  “Keep looking at me like that and we’ll never make it out of here,” he murmured as he pressed a kiss against her head. “You are so beautiful, Ms. Grace.”

  “As are you, Mr. Drayton,” she murmured in return.

  Turning towards her, he grasped her hands within his and brushed his lips against her cheek so as not to smudge her makeup.

  Looking deep into her eyes, he said, “You have made me happier than I have any right to expect. I can’t believe you are standing beside me right now and have agreed to become my wife. I’m amazed at how strong and brave you are to be able to move past our extremely messed-up beginning. I bought you a small token to commemorate this day. I hope in the future, when you wear it, you’ll always remember how much I love you… right now… in this moment.”

  As he spoke he reached into his pocket and withdrew a necklace. He reached behind her and unfastened the locket at her neck and slipped it into his pocket before fastening the necklace to her neck. He lifted her hand and kissed it before turning her to face the mirror again. She gasped at the startling beauty of the necklace. The chain was embedded with clusters of rock-cut diamonds which led down to an enormous emerald the same color as her dress. She blinked rapidly to stay the tears which threatened to fall. On this day, right now, she did indeed feel loved.

  She turned and gave him a watery smile. “Kiss me, you fool,” she whispered. Being ever gallant, he complied.

  ~*~

  Rush seemed miles away as they drove towards his grandfather’s estate. Trinity felt a shiver run through her. His somberness reminded her of Vail. Her only consolation was that it felt more like he was lost in thought rather than pensive. She glanced repeatedly at his profile, but for reasons of his own, he kept his own counsel. As for herself, she felt a little thoughtful as well. She wasn’t sure what she was walking into.

  Wanting to break the silence, she asked, “Were you able to resolve your issues today?”

  He snapped his head in her direction. “What do you mean?” he asked quickly.

  Her brows rose at his tone. “Your properties? The ones you went into work to fix?”

  His shoulders visible relaxed. “No. I’ll be forced to go down there soon. I’m trying to put it off until after we’re married, but I don’t know.”

  She nodded her head but didn’t comment. Instead she turned her head to look out of the car window, not that she could see much in the surrounding darkness. She missed little Blake already. Other than the dinner which had been cut short, she’d not been without him. Before she was ready, Rush turned onto Draymont Lane, and after passing a stand of willow trees, he was pulling up in front of a massive grey stone house. From the illumination of the outside lights, Trinity was surprised at the number of vehicles already present. Who were all these people? She assumed they were friends and family of Rush’s.

  When Rush opened her door and offered her his hand, she could feel the tension radiating from him. His edginess only succeeded in feeding her own, which in turn kicked up her nagging headache. She rolled the muscles in her neck slightly. The door opened as they approached. A tall, silver-haired man somewhere in his mid-seventies stood in the doorway.

  “There you are! I was beginning to worry. Come, come, your family and friends await,” he exclaimed.

  “Boppa, don’t be so dramatic. We’re right on time,” Rush replied.

  Ignoring him, Andrew Drayton, Rush’s grandfather, turned his startling blue eyes on
Trinity. “Ah, finally we meet. If it weren’t for the fact I’ve seen your fine-looking son, I’d have wondered if you were real,” he gushed as he drew her hand to his lips.

  Trinity was immediately set on edge. She didn’t like this man. Even if she didn’t know first-hand how ruthless he could be, she wouldn’t have liked him. For Rush’s sake, she forced a smile onto her lips.

  “Mr. Drayton, it is a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for arranging the party,” she murmured demurely.

  “Mr. Drayton? Psssh! Such formality. Call me Drew, I insist. I was beginning to think that no woman was ever going to bring this boy to heel. After seeing you tonight, I can see why he has now been captured. You are lovely.”

  Carefully removing her hand from his, she smiled. “Thank you, Drew. It took a lot of work, but I was finally able to reel him in. He is, after all, quite the catch,” she jested.

  Trinity watched a peculiar look pass between the two men. She lifted questioning brows to Rush, but he just smiled and pressed his lips against her temple.

  Drew Drayton flashed her a grin. “Thank you. I think he’s quite the catch as well. Come, there’re so many people to see and meet.” He looked around towards the crowd of people gathered in his massive living room and beyond, spilling out into the courtyard behind the house. “Your father and Mrs. Franklin are already here, somewhere.”

  “My father is here? And Marlena Franklin?” she gasped. She felt Rush stiffen beneath her fingers. Why would he invite them here? Why would they come? Her eyebrows bunched in confusion. She’d have assumed Drew Drayton would have hated both her father and Marlena Franklin. Her father for obvious reasons, and Marlena by association.