Explicit Memory

by Scarlett Finn

  ‘Where are we going?’ she asked, using the towel that had been tossed on her lap when they entered to wipe the blood from her hands. All she succeeded in doing was smearing and spreading the crimson stains.

  ‘Someplace safe,’ Rushe said. ‘We’ll get cleaned up, and then we’ll get on the road.’

  ‘I didn’t... it wasn’t my intention to...’

  ‘He was bleeding pretty badly, but you didn’t sever anything, not that I saw. Mercier will live, but he’ll be pissed. His injuries will need attention and care, but that buys us time.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Rushe... I couldn’t let him... I couldn’t—‘

  ‘Don’t apologise to me,’ he said, clenching and unclenching his fists around the wheel because he was still wound tight. ‘I got the guy worked up, and if those fuckers hadn’t kept hold of me I’d have gutted him before he got near you. I will finish the job for you, Kitten. I swear it.’

  ‘I’ve made this worse,’ she said. ‘I was supposed to keep my head, to keep my cool. They’re going to hurt Serendipity, and—‘

  ‘She’s the only chip they’ve got now,’ Rushe said.

  ‘My family—‘

  ‘Antoine is worried about himself tonight. Those guys who were on us were hired muscle, and they’ll have scattered to the wind already. You’re gonna call your parents and tell them the truth of who that bastard is.’

  ‘They’ll never believe me,’ she said.

  ‘Injuries like that mean Antoine won’t be going near there; he might not be able to go back at all. They don’t have to believe you, you just have to scare your folks enough to make them beef up security.’

  ‘We have nothing that the Merciers want, Rushe. If they try to put you in jail because I... Oh, Rushe, we have nothing to barter with.’

  ‘Don’t be so sure about that,’ Rushe said. ‘We didn’t just sit on our asses while you weren’t here.’

  ‘You have something?’

  ‘I told you it wasn’t over; did you think I would let another man take off with my woman?’

  ‘I didn’t know we were coming today,’ she said. ‘If I’d known you had a plan—‘

  ‘Jansen took off from the hospital last night, but we don’t know where he is or what he’s doing. He sure wasn’t part of any plan. If anyone fucked this job it was him, and when I get my hands on him—‘

  ‘Hey,’ Flick said, lunging over to touch his thigh. The blood on her consoling hand caught her eye, and then she saw the angle of the diamonds protruding from her ring finger.

  Recalling the memories of the night Antoine put this fetter on her made her falter. Flick had fantasised then of doing something to him like she’d done tonight. Rushe’s hand must have left the wheel because it landed on top of hers and he wrenched the offending piece of jewellery away from her digit. Parting her lips, a blub choked out as their eyes met. Her chest constricted, and she blinked the water from her gaze.

  ‘I don’t ever want to see that again,’ he grumbled, digging it into his watch pocket.

  He had to take his gaze back to the road, but his fingers curled around hers and she exhaled, letting herself sink back into the passenger seat.

  ‘I couldn’t have let him do it,’ she muttered, letting her head loll to the side. ‘At least I didn’t use my shoe this time... I’d have sunk my teeth in before I let him enjoy me for one second.’

  ‘It was brutal,’ he said, on an exhale of admiration. ‘I’ll never worry about your fidelity if that’s your reaction to the sight of another guy’s dick.’

  ‘It’s not just you that they have to be afraid of,’ she said. ‘You just remember today if you ever think about screwing around on me. Imagine what I’d do to your floozy.’

  ‘You armed yourself, you didn’t even know you were going to be in danger and you armed yourself.’

  ‘I don’t go anywhere without your knife, you told me not to.’

  ‘You followed my instruction?’ he asked, apparently not sure that he’d heard her right.

  ‘You know what you’re talking about,’ Flick said. ‘As long as it doesn’t compromise your safety, I’ll follow your advice.’

  ‘I won’t forget you said that,’ he said. ‘We’ve come a long way, you and I.’

  ‘You’ve been practising with the romance,’ Flick said, and the chill in her muscles began to subside.

  ‘You’ve been practising the danger.’

  ‘Lover,’ she breathed, and his eyes flicked to her. ‘We’re together again. I get to fall asleep in your arms tonight, don’t I?’

  ‘Every night,’ he said. ‘We won’t be separated again.’

  ‘I want to know what’s going on. What have you all been doing without me here? Where’s Tawny?’

  Rushe thought ahead as many moves as he could. When Jansen disappeared, he’d foreseen that there would be developments, and so he’d got Tawny out for her own safety.

  ‘The only thing I’m worried about tonight is you... I want to hear about what you’ve been through too. But I want you out of those clothes and in a shower first. Safe, warm, and clean, then we’ll catch up.’

  ‘Will you tell me where we’re going?’

  ‘Somewhere you’ve been before, Kit. You’re safe now, you’re with me again, and I don’t plan to let you go this time.’

  Five weeks apart was too much. Right now the idea of five minutes apart was too much. But sitting here in this humid car with the stench of blood infusing the air, Flick felt love and security for the first time since she’d last been at his side. In finding him again she had re-discovered herself.

  ‘What the fuck, man!’

  Flick recognised Silver’s voice, but from the convoluted route they’d taken through the woods she’d already known that this was where they were headed. The kitchen was empty when Rushe carried her through the back door, but Silver was there in their path as soon as they were in the living room with the pool table.

  ‘Who’s here?’ Rushe demanded.

  Flick tried to take her feet to the floor, but Rushe was having none of it so he held her tighter, one arm under her thighs and the other around her back. There was absolutely no need for him to carry her, but as soon as her feet had touched the dirt of the yard he had been at her side swooping her feet out from under her.

  ‘No one, man,’ Silver said. ‘I cleared everyone out when Lilah called. What the fuck happened?’

  ‘I don’t have time to explain,’ Rushe said, going toward the door to the stairs. ‘I’m going to get her clean, and then we’re heading out. Call Eric.’

  ‘Already done, man, he’s on his way, Hutten too, with Tawny. They’re all on their way.’

  ‘Good,’ Rushe said, kicking the door out of their path and taking her up the stairs, where Silver did not follow.

  ‘How does Silver know Liam?’

  ‘When I wasn’t watching the girls, I had Eric and Liam in there. It was the only way I could be sure that there were people on the premises who knew what was going on. I wasn’t going to put that on Lilah or the girls.’

  ‘So Silver and Liam have met?’

  ‘Yes,’ Rushe said, only returning her to her feet when they got to the bathroom.

  He turned on the shower and took the hem of her top to draw it up. But Flick stalled his hands before he could lift it over her chest. His head tilted when he frowned at her, and she realised now that it appeared she didn’t want him to see her naked. Or maybe that his entitlement to her body had expired. But, of course, neither was the case.

  ‘I’ve missed a lot.’

  ‘You won’t miss anything else,’ he said, releasing her top and taking a step backward. ‘I’ll leave you alone to get clean. Scrub your hair to the root and under your fingernails too. I’ll—‘

  ‘No,’ she said, taking his hand when he tried to shrink closer toward the door. ‘You need to get clean as well. I’ve made a mess of you.’

  Rushe had blood on his clothes, on his hands and arms, as well as on his chin. He might not be as so
aked as she was, but the stains wouldn’t be missed.

  ‘The stall is tiny, and we—‘

  ‘I don’t mind getting close,’ she said, sliding her shoes off her feet. Letting him go, she whisked off her top, and unhooked her bra, allowing both to fall to the floor.

  His eyes locked onto her chest, and she saw them glaze. He’d kept it together through everything tonight. Even when Antoine was in that room taunting him, Rushe had remained on guard. But now, as he fixated on her breasts, she knew a bomb explosion wouldn’t distract him.

  Taking no time at all, because she didn’t want to torment him, Flick got rid of her jeans and stood there in full naked glory in front of him.

  ‘Join me in the shower, Rushe.’

  ‘We shouldn’t right now, we’re on a clock and we have to—‘

  ‘You said that there was time. Everyone believes that you and Silver are enemies, so no one is looking for us here. We don’t have to have sex. If you don’t want to—‘

  Snatching her arms, he strode forward, forcing her back against the wall by the stall. Then bending his knees, he smacked his mouth to hers, which caught her so completely off guard that no breath had the chance to seep through her lips.

  Inhaling through her nose, Flick linked her arms around his neck and pushed her tongue to his, testing the resistance as she tried to force it out of her mouth and into his. But he fought back, he wanted to be in her, a part of her, and as deep as he could be. Releasing her arms, he dug his fingers into her ass and hauled her up.

  The ridge of his erection clashed against her and Flick moaned out, desperate to know that she could still experience this, that she could still experience him. His forearm came under her and he hoisted her higher, freeing his belt and unbuttoning his jeans.

  ‘Don’t you even think about asking for my consent,’ she snarled.

  Lugging her up, he stole her hips and speared her down onto him. There in the middle of this tiny bathroom, with the shower pounding out water a few feet from them, he was in her, filling her void. His dick was buried deep in the space that had craved him so desperately.

  ‘Yes,’ she screamed out, throwing her head back and caring not an ounce for discretion.

  Sex wasn’t a priority, and people in this place might be worried, Silver might be worried. Liam could be here with Eric, and possibly Tawny too, but Flick threw her arms around Rushe’s neck and planted her mouth on his again.

  He was here with her, they were together, and nothing would keep them apart now, not here in this moment. Rushe kept hold of her hips, and for every time he surged forward he pulled her hips to meet his, working both sides of the union as her heels dug in at his lower back where her ankles were locked.

  She wasn’t conscious of their locomotion until the spray of the water hit her back, causing her to gasp out. He’d carried them into the water and into this confined space of the shower stall. With his elbows in closer to his body, he kept working her, lifting her up and down on his cock, coming out of her only to propel back in.

  The stab of ecstasy on her clit made her suck harder on his tongue, trying to restrain the impending orgasm, because she didn’t want this to be over. She’d been so afraid that they would never have this again, and now that they did she didn’t want to lose it.

  But when his head smacked into her cervix the battle was lost, and again her head went back, this time it was his name pulsing from her lips at a dozen decibels. And when she seized the rod within her in an iron grip, Rushe opened his mouth and clamped it onto her throat, sucking on her flesh until the bruising pain sent a bolt of agony shooting right between her eyes.

  The water pounded over them, and the tempo wasn’t far off the out of sync inhales and exhales they imparted.

  ‘Sorry,’ he grumbled, and it was the first time Flick had heard him apologise.

  ‘You should be,’ she said, bringing her hand up to push his drooping hair away from his forehead. ‘I’ve been waiting five weeks for that... what took you so long?’

  Any thought of embarrassment, or expected scolding, went out of Flick’s head when they got to the bottom of the stairs and entered the living room. Silver was there, in his usual reclining chair. But it was Eric she saw first. Liam was also in the room, in the corner, with Tawny on his lap. Flick stopped at this sight and took a moment to register what it could mean.

  Rushe had left her in the shower after they’d gotten clean and come down in a towel to get their clothes, or rather have someone retrieve the duffel from the trunk. It might have been five weeks since they’d seen each other, but he still had her things packed there with his as though the whole separation was just an inconvenient interlude, which she supposed now it had been.

  So they dressed, Rushe packed up the rest of their things, and then he brought her down with their duffel ready to go.

  ‘Flick!’ Eric and Liam exclaimed simultaneously.

  Liam cast Tawny out of his lap and both men came toward her until they were upon her. Liam pulled her into a hug and Eric pushed her shoulder in an awkward attempt at being familiar, but she could tell he was very aware of Rushe.

  ‘Where have you been?’ Eric asked. ‘What did you do? Silver told us about the blood, what happened?’

  ‘My fiancé tried to force himself on me in front of my lover,’ Flick said, leaning back against Rushe’s torso. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt him. I mean it wasn’t my intention, but...’

  ‘It’s done now,’ Rushe said. ‘We’re not talking about it again.’

  ‘What comes next?’ Liam asked, turning serious eyes over her head to look at Rushe, where Eric was also intent.

  Flick could no longer see Silver in his seat, or Tawny in hers, because these men crowded so close.

  ‘We keep going as planned,’ Rushe said. ‘Have you got Jansen yet?’

  Liam shook his head. ‘I’m working on it.’

  ‘Keep working,’ Rushe said. ‘But keep moving too, you take Tawny, and—‘

  ‘Yeah, yeah, we got it,’ Eric said. ‘We’ll take care of her. What about Flick?’ He only glanced at her, then his focus went back to Rushe as he awaited instructions.

  ‘I’ll take care of her,’ Rushe said. ‘Did the guys leave the brothel?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Silver said. Liam and Eric parted enough to let Flick catch sight of him. ‘They got rid of them, dragged them out, dumped them. The guys who came in with them didn’t hang around long.’

  Just as Rushe had told her that they wouldn’t. He knew this setup, and had probably known more than a few guys who hired out their muscles. Technically, he had been one of those guys at one time.

  ‘They’ll need medical attention,’ Flick said.

  ‘Guys like Mercier have connections,’ Silver said.

  ‘Half expected him to call you,’ Eric said over his shoulder to Silver, and Flick knew now that these men had shared many secrets with each other.

  ‘Wish he had,’ Silver said, getting up from his seat. ‘I’d have told him where to get off.’

  ‘Don’t worry about them,’ Rushe said. ‘They can worry about themselves. We have to worry about keeping our trains on the track.’

  ‘What trains?’ Flick asked, but Rushe only placed a hand on the top of her head.

  ‘We’re getting out of here. We’ve got to secure the Hughes.’

  Flick was surprised that her family was her love’s first concern, especially now, and with all that they had done to him. Or rather how they had treated him. But her family could be in danger, and she knew that as well as he did. Despite their snub of him, and their disapproval of the relationship, Rushe was willing to take the risk and go back to that place just because he knew it meant something to her.

  ‘I want to hear as soon as you get something on Jansen,’ Rushe said to Eric, who nodded. ‘You get us a car?’

  Eric held up a key, and Rushe snatched it from him and gave it to Flick. ‘You go out, I’ll be there in a minute.’

  She noticed him glance toward Tawny, who had be
en surprisingly quiet throughout this ordeal. But when Flick bent to lift the duffel Rushe’s attention switched to her, and he grabbed the bag out of her hand to then thrust it at Eric, who took it because he had no other choice.

  ‘I’ll show you to the car then,’ Eric said, gesturing for Flick to exit.

  After Liam gave her another hug, Flick left the room and the house, leaving Rushe alone with Tawny, Silver and Liam. When she got into the yard she watched Eric put the luggage in the trunk, but she didn’t enter the vehicle.

  ‘How has he been?’ she asked.

  ‘Horrendous,’ Eric said, slamming down the lid. ‘But we all get it. We all get why he’s been such a jerk.’

  ‘You looked after him,’ Flick said. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I didn’t do nothing, Darlin’. I kept my head down. Rushe is a good guy, he just doesn’t get that.’

  ‘You don’t have to convince me.’

  ‘He loves you too. When he found out that you were engaged to that—‘

  ‘It wasn’t a choice,’ Flick bristled. ‘I didn’t decide to do it out of love.’

  ‘We know that,’ Eric said. ‘But it’s not easy for any guy to think that his woman is with another man.’

  ‘Tawny and Liam are close.’

  ‘I’ll say,’ Eric said, exhaling a laugh and propping himself on the side of the car as she folded her arms. ‘They spent a lot of time together when Liam and I were guarding the girls for Rushe. Rushe doesn’t like Tawny working, so we keep her distracted, keep her busy and away from the johns. We never paid attention to her and Liam getting together, and then they were screwing, legit like.’

  ‘They’re sleeping together?’

  Eric nodded. ‘Have been for a couple of weeks, best I can tell. She’s a crazy chick, but she sees something she wants and she gets it. He seems happy enough about it.’

  Flick’s eyes drifted downward as her lips curved. She couldn’t have imagined a more unlikely couple but somehow, if it made them happy, then it worked. ‘That’s... wow.’

  ‘It’s not a problem for you is it?’

  Flick’s focus darted up to see Eric scowling down. ‘Why would it be a problem? I guess there’s an age difference, but it’s not inconsiderable, she must be in her early twenties.’