Rush of Innocence (Rush Series #1) (6 page)

Chapter 3

Sundra
pounced on her the second she entered
the condo.
“Oh, my God!
You are so lucky. Rush Drayton
is an absolute babe! Did you sleep with him?” she asked with a grin.

“No,
of course not,” Trinity scoffed. “I just met him. Actually, it’s weird, really.
I met him for the first time a couple days ago when he brought a painting to
the gallery, and then I saw him at the museum right before I left Savannah for
here.”

“Maybe
he’s following you,”
Sundra
said with a grin.

“Right,”
Trinity scoffed again. “Rush Drayton could literally have any woman he wanted,
and he’s going to follow me around town and then all the way to Vail? I don’t
think so.”

Sundra
clasped her hands to her chest. “How romantic would that be? Are you seeing him
again?”

“We’re
spending the day together tomorrow, if that’s okay with you?”

Sundra
gave
her a ‘
Don’t be stupid’
look. “Of
course it’s okay. Do yourself a favor and sleep with the man. I don’t know how
or why you’ve held on to your virginity this long. He’d definitely be worth
giving it to. I bet he’d make it memorable.”

After
her shower, Trinity lay on her side and thought about Rush Drayton. He was a
marvelous contradiction of hot and cold; he made her feel off-kilter. He seemed
both close and distant all at the same time. It was very confusing. Maybe she
just wasn’t good at reading sexual signals… it wasn’t as if she had much
experience… or any, really.

***

The condo filled with five young women
was strangely silent as Trinity crept around getting ready for the day with
Rush Drayton. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Not knowing what the day
would bring, she dressed in layers, borrowing, once again, clothes belonging to
Sundra
. She grimaced a little at the clothes; they
weren’t things she’d normally wear – or anything of which her father would have
approved. She smiled at her defiance and tugged on the white snug-fitting ski
pants. She topped it with a rainbow striped sweater and grabbed a jacket.

Rush
was waiting for her when she stepped out of the elevator. She’d half wondered
if maybe he wouldn’t show. He seemed kind of a
in the moment
kind of a guy. Her smile faltered when she looked up
into his hard eyes. He blinked at her expression and the hardness was gone
instantly when he smiled at her.

He
wrapped his arms lightly around her waist and brought her closer to him.

“You
look lovely,” he murmured, as he brushed his lips lightly against hers.

The
soft touch of his lips made the butterflies beat their tiny wings frantically
against the walls of her stomach. Almost involuntarily, she slid her hands up
his chest to further the contact. He pulled his lips away from hers and wrapped
her tighter against his chest. It was then she became aware of the people
swarming around them. Color infused her cheeks.

“Sorry,”
she mumbled against his chest.

“Don’t
be,” he whispered in her hair. “Come, let’s go get breakfast. I know a place
close to the ski lodge.
Then how about a little skiing?
You okay with that?”

“Of
course,” she smiled up into his beautiful face.

“Excellent.”

“So
how did you becoming interested in art restoration?” he asked once their food
was placed in front of them.

“Umm.
That’s a tough question. I’ve always been interested in art; I’ve always found
the beauty in it.” She hesitated as she thought about her answer. “But really,
I guess, because it was a profession my father found suitable for me.”

“Your
father
found suitable for you?”

“He’s
a little… controlling,” she answered slowly.

“What
does your father do?” Rush asked.

“He’s
a Judge in the District Court.”

Rush’s
lips thinned at her answer.

“Do
you know him?” she asked.

He
lifted his eyes to hers and flashed a quick smile, which she found suddenly
insincere.

“No.
I mean, I’ve heard of him, of course. But I’ve never had the pleasure of
meeting him.”

Again,
while what he said was appropriate, Trinity couldn’t shake the feeling he
wasn’t being truthful in some way.

Nerves
fluttered in her stomach. “Rush, is everything okay?” she asked softly.

He
lifted quizzical eyebrows at her.
“Of course.
Why do
you ask?”

She
studied him for a moment and smiled hesitantly. “No reason, I guess.”

“What
could possibly be wrong? It’s a beautiful day and I’m having breakfast with a
beautiful woman.” He paused from buttering his toast to grin over at her. “In
fact, the only thing that would have made this day better was if I’d woken up
with said beautiful woman in my bed this morning. But we can’t have
everything,” he jested.

She
blushed at his words. “Thank you, I think,” she said with a small laugh.

As he
continued tucking into his breakfast, he asked, “Do you paint?”

Trinity
thought about the stacks of painted canvases stacked in the closet of her
bedroom. “Some, just not very well. My philosophy is: those that can’t paint –
restore the works of those who can.”

“I’m
sure you don’t give yourself enough credit.” He paused as he looked down to
pour cream into his coffee. “What does your father think of your paintings?”

She
gave a mirthful laugh. “He’d be the first to tell me not to quit my day job.”

His
lips hardened at her response. “That’s not very supportive.”

“He
only wants what’s best for me,” she said, feeling the need to defend him for
some reason.

Changing
the flow of conversation, he said, “I’d like to see them sometime.”

“Of
course,” she murmured, happy to think that he’d maybe want to see her once they
were home. As she cut into her pancakes, she said, “So, it seems you know an
awful lot about me, but I actually know nothing about you.”

“What
would you like to know?” he asked.

“Gavin
told me you were in business, what is it that you do?”

He
leaned back in his seat and sipped his coffee before responding, “I’m the CEO
of
DrayCo
. I took over when my grandfather retired
about five years ago.”

Immediately,
a picture of the
DrayCo’s
impressive multistory
building flashed in her mind. It was housed in the industrial park of Savannah.
The building’s exterior was completely comprised of bronze glass. “I’ve seen
your building in the business district. It’s very beautiful.”

“Thanks.
We have to keep up with the times. I never could talk my grandfather into
moving from the old building, but once he left, I thought it was indeed time
for a change.”

“What
about your parents?” she asked.

The
same hardness she spied at the elevator returned to his eyes. When he felt her
stare, he lowered them to his cup. “My parents… died long ago,” he responded
softly. He lifted his eyes back to hers, seemingly to gauge her response.

She
reached a hand over to lay it on top of his. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured,
before removing her hand and looking away, embarrassed at bringing up such
painful memories.

“It
was a long time ago.”

“My
mom was killed a long time ago as well, so I know the pain continues to linger.
I’m sorry for bringing up something so private,” she replied softly.

He
stared into her eyes for a long time – looking for something – she wasn’t sure
what.

“May
I ask what happened to your mother?”

Trinity
cleared her throat before glancing back down at the breakfast she no longer
found appealing. “When I was young girl, my mom and I were abducted and she was
killed,” she answered quietly.

“Wow!
That’s awful,” he exclaimed softly.

Staring
down into her cup, she asked, “Do you remember your mother?”

After
a beat, he answered. “Yes.”

In a
whisper, she said, “Sometimes I can’t remember my mother’s face. I think if I
didn’t have her picture, I’d eventually forget what she looked like.” With a
wry twist of her lips, she raised her eyes back to his. He was staring at her
with such an odd expression, almost as if he didn’t understand her words. “How
does someone forget their own mother’s face?” she scoffed quietly.

This
time it was he who leaned over and placed a hand on hers. “You were a child,
and unfortunately, memories fade.”

She
glanced down once more into her coffee.
“But not the pain.
It hurts just as much now as it did the day she died.”

“I
know,” he murmured.

She
lifted her eyes again and gave him a sad smile. “Yes, I guess you do. What
happened to your parents?”

A
mask of passivity fell across his features. Leaning back in his seat, he eyed
her speculatively before responding. “It was a long time ago. Let’s talk about
more pleasant things, shall we?” he asked with soft smile that didn’t entirely
reach his eyes.

***

Once they’d finished eating, he took
her hand and led her over to the ski-lift which would take them up the white
powdered mountain.

“Are
you ready for this?” he asked with a grin.

She
was glad his earlier good mood had been restored. “It’s been a while. I might
be a little rusty.”

He
tugged her close to his side and murmured next to her ear, “Don’t worry, we’ll
take it nice and slow.”

From
his tone, she wasn’t sure if they were still talking about skiing.

It
took only a few practice runs before Trinity got her ski legs back. It was
exhilarating to feel the wind whip around her face and feel the swish of snow
beneath her skis. While she wasn’t as skilled as Rush, she felt she held her
own quite nicely. The morning passed all too quickly.

They
were standing once more at the top of the mountain.
“How
about one more run then we’ll break for lunch?
Sound good?” Rush asked.

She
smiled exuberantly up at him, enjoying herself.
“Sounds
great.
I’ll race you down,” she shouted as she pushed off. “Loser buys
lunch!”

He
grinned and pushed off. Trinity grinned in response as she swished side to
side. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rush just off to the side of
her. She was determined he would not beat her! Angling her body down for speed,
she leaned over her skis and narrowed her swishing motions to instigate
momentum. She turned her head to see where he was behind her. She laughed at
his surprised expression. As she turned her head back around, it was then she
saw the jutting rocks, but it was too late; she didn’t have time to correct her
path. Her right ski caught one of the rocks, causing her to spiral out of
control. She tried to right herself, but was unable. She began to tumble over
and over until she landed in a heap at the bottom.

She
lay dazed as the wind was knocked out of her. She tentatively moved her limbs
to see if she’d broken anything, but she thought she was okay. In mere seconds
of landing, she felt the spray of snow as Rush came to an abrupt halt next to
her. Snapping off his skis, he moved quickly to her.

“Trinity,
are you okay?”

She
grinned sheepishly up at him. “You’re
so
buying lunch.”

He
hesitated before throwing his head back and laughed. “Okay, deal. Let me help
you up.”

Her
muscles groaned underneath her skin as he leveraged her up against his body.
“Oh, that’s really going to hurt tomorrow, I think,” she said.

He
grinned. “You can count on it. I certainly wouldn’t be opposed in giving you a
little massage later.”

She
blushed as she thought about his hands rubbing oils into her flesh. He stared
down at her for a long moment with an odd expression before lowering his lips
to hers. With soft, easy licks of his tongue, he eased into her mouth. He
rubbed his hands over her shoulders and down her back. As he investigated every
inch of her mouth, he lowered his hands to slide them over the tight
skipants
covering her bottom. He lifted her up into him as
he groaned. As she had in the hotel, she slid her hands up his rock-hard chest
and up around his neck. He kissed her slowly and leisurely. She was panting
when he pulled back. She was afraid to open her eyes – wanting the feeling to
continue.

“We…
need to get back,” he said softly against her ear.

“I
know,” she whispered.

Rush
tucked her hair behind her ears and studied her face intently. “You are quite
unexpected,” he murmured. With a shake of his head, he reached down and
retrieved their skis.