Rush

by Gina Gordon

  Rush is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A Loveswept eBook Original

  Copyright © 2015 by Andrea Foy

  Excerpt from Crushed by Lauren Layne copyright © 2015 by Lauren LeDonne

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Loveswept, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

  LOVESWEPT is a registered trademark and the LOVESWEPT colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House.

  eBook ISBN 9781101882801

  Cover design: Georgia Morrissey

  Cover photograph: CURAphotography/Shutterstock

  www.readloveswept.com

  v4.0

  ep

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1: Max

  Chapter 2: Everly

  Chapter 3: Max

  Chapter 4: Everly

  Chapter 5: Max

  Chapter 6: Everly

  Chapter 7: Max

  Chapter 8: Everly

  Chapter 9: Max

  Chapter 10: Everly

  Chapter 11: Max

  Chapter 12: Everly

  Chapter 13: Max

  Chapter 14: Everly

  Chapter 15: Max

  Chapter 16: Everly

  Chapter 17: Max

  Chapter 18: Everly

  Chapter 19: Max

  Chapter 20: Everly

  Chapter 21: Max

  Chapter 22: Everly

  Chapter 23: Max

  Chapter 24: Everly

  Chapter 25: Max

  Chapter 26: Everly

  Chapter 27: Max

  Chapter 28: Everly

  Chapter 29: Max

  Chapter 30: Everly

  Chapter 31: Max

  Chapter 32: Everly

  Epilogue: Max

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  By Gina Gordon

  About the Author

  The Editor’s Corner

  Excerpt from Crushed

  Chapter 1

  Max

  Another day, another woman screws on camera for money.

  Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It pays my bills, and it’s how my father spent the last thirty years building his empire.

  As the heir to White Lace Productions, it’s my responsibility to find the hottest and most willing women in the city. It’s what I do, and I’m damn good at it.

  I wrapped my hand around the front door handle to the 24-hour café and stepped into the bright light of the establishment. My director, and best friend, Ben Lockwood, by my side, as he has been since we were four years old.

  “This is definitely your most creative attempt at finding new talent.” Ben cleared his throat beside me.

  I clapped him on the shoulder, his shaggy blond hair catching under my fingers. “Madam assured me these are her best girls. This is going to work.”

  I’d never been more sure about anything in my life and if I could have given myself an award for innovation, I would have. Not to mention, this was an untapped resource. A way to prove to my father that I had what it took to take over White Lace.

  When you grow up with sex toys in the family room, half-naked women at your breakfast table, and lose your virginity to a porn star at sixteen, there’s no question you’ll follow in your father’s footsteps. Besides, what red-blooded male wouldn’t want to work in porn? Not many, and I owed it to every single one of them to make the most if it.

  “Can I help you?” A blond-haired hostess greeted us with a pretty smile from her perch behind the desk.

  “We’re meeting some…friends.” I quirked my eyebrow. “I believe the reservation is under Jade.”

  A working girl’s name, no question. But when selling sex for money, pseudonyms were an occupational must.

  The hostess motioned to two women sitting on opposite sides of a booth. I nodded and thanked her for her help.

  I strode across the café checking out my surroundings. It was your typical establishment. The far wall was lined with booths, the benches covered in easy-wipe brown plastic. Wood tables and matching chairs sat in the middle. The seating area was sectioned off with a metal railing from the order counter, where a large refrigerated showcase housed many delicious-looking desserts. My eye caught on a chocolate cheesecake. Thanks to my mother, I had a weakness for all things sweet. It’s a good thing I spent a lot of time running on the track.

  Ben’s voice carried over my shoulder. “It still surprises me that our business meetings consist of meeting as many girls as we can and asking them to take off their clothes.”

  Although tonight was only a meet-and-greet, before I offered a contract, I had to inspect the merchandise. It used to be my favorite part of the job. Don’t get me wrong; at first, I was as giddy as a thirteen-year-old boy finding his first Penthouse magazine, but then it got old. Boring. Mundane. There was no excitement in it anymore. A naked woman was just as enticing as a root canal.

  And wasn’t that just completely fucked-up.

  I turned to my friend. “Just think, if you had been best friends with Chuck Bannon instead of me, you’d be an investment banker right now.”

  Ben laughed at the mention of the former third wheel in our childhood trio. Chuck’s father had landed a great job with a top-notch investment firm in New York and they’d moved away, never to be heard from again.

  Being the son of the late porn star Lana Lane, and Hirsh Levin, the owner of White Lace Productions, the biggest producer of adult films in the country, my future had been predetermined, and what kind of guy would I be if I hadn’t brought along my best friend. But I knew even if we hadn’t been friends, Ben still would have been a director. Our childhood consisted of him videotaping everything. I had been the star alien in many a Lockwood production.

  We approached the table and an attractive woman with fiery red hair shot us a flirty smile.

  “You must be Mr. Levin.” She held out her hand. Long, red nails stabbed me in the palm—they were just as fake as her breasts—and it was about the only thing memorable about her handshake. Her fingers and hand went limp inside my grip.

  “And you would be…” I was here to see two girls tonight. Two of Madam G’s top bookings.

  “Stella. Please, join us.” She motioned to the bench. She was about thirty, or had lived a hard twenty-five years, if not.

  “I’m Jade.” The second girl held out her hand, green eyes sparkling up at me—the color of…jade. “Wonderful to meet you, Mr. Levin.”

  She was much younger than Stella. Her auburn hair hung over her shoulders. Her lips were plump and a subtle shade of pink. Her tits, a perfect handful. She was the girl-next-door that had been plucked from the shopping mall and turned into every man’s fantasy. She was exactly the type of girl I was looking for. Something about the stereotypical-looking porn star just didn’t do it for me. Unfortunately, it was women who looked like Stella that my father preferred.

  Although I had the final say in the girls who signed contracts, there was a distinct look my father wanted in his stars. A look that hadn’t changed since his entrance into the industry in the 1980s, but I was making room for both our visions.

  “This is our director, Ben Lockwood.” Ben had complete creative control and was in charge of every piece of film and photo White Lace put out for sale. He hired his own staff, other directors and photographers, who held the same vision.

  He extended his hand to Stella, but I noticed his eyes were on Jade. “I’m going to grab us some drinks. Ladies…?”

  “Vanilla latte,” Jade replied.

&
nbsp; “Regular coffee, just cream,” Stella answered.

  Ben nodded and left us.

  “Thank you for meeting with me tonight.” I liked to meet potential talent in person. It gave me a chance to weed out the crazies. As much as I hated myself for it, I needed girls who were responsible and serious about building a career. I operated on a strict no drugs or drama queens policy.

  “What is it exactly that you’re offering, Mr. Levin? Madam was vague, but we’re interested.” Stella spoke for the both of them.

  The fact that these girls already had sex for a living diminished my worry about hiring newbies. They were experienced and knew exactly what they were getting into.

  “I’m the vice president of White Lace Productions, responsible for casting and location scouting. I contract every one of our actors.” There were a lot of shady casting agencies and Internet modeling sites out there and we didn’t follow the same rules at all. “When you sign with White Lace, you have the control. I’m here to help you build a career. I’m here to help all of us make money.”

  My father, on the other hand, saw the porn business as a stepping-stone and went out of his way to help our actors achieve their dreams, and then ship them out the door. A direct counter-philosophy to mine—making money. Needless to say, we had a high turnover of actors.

  Ben returned to the table, ladies’ coffees in hand. With a wink he lowered their drinks to the table then returned to the counter.

  “Our production is high quality, but low maintenance. We film in hotel rooms and private homes. We film fantasies. Plain and simple.”

  Our catalog of film spanned from romantic porn for women to rough, fetish sex. We filmed two feature films a year, but the majority of our products were single scenes that could be purchased online. In one respect that was the beauty of porn. There were so many possibilities and there was a demographic for everything.

  “What exactly are you looking for?” Jade asked as Ben squeezed into the booth beside her with a regular coffee for both of us. She seemed much more interested in asking the right questions, unlike Stella, who was more interested in making eyes at me.

  “I’m looking for new talent that will be open to all sexual scenarios, positions, and genders. The more versatile you are, the more money you make.”

  I knew a little about the escort business, and I knew these girls made a hefty sum per hour. I also knew from reading their bios there weren’t many sex acts on their list of deal breakers.

  “We’d be more than willing to give you a sneak peek.” Stella leaned in to me and ran her red fingernail down my arm.

  “That won’t—”

  A loud bang sounded to my right and I turned my attention to the aisle, where a sweet-looking girl blew a heavy breath out the side of her mouth. It caused her unkempt black hair to flutter around her face. She bent, reaching to pick up the stack of books that had fallen to the ground, giving a spectacular view of a tight, round bottom covered in black fabric.

  Who knew yoga pants were so damn sexy? Hers were sloppily tucked into a pair of beige UGGs.

  I scrambled from my seat and crouched beside her, picking up one of her books and holding it out. “You dropped something,” I said, my senses kicking up at the sweet scent surrounding me.

  She snorted, a cute little laugh, and grabbed the book from my hand. “Sounds like something I would do.”

  She finally looked up and her vibrant blue eyes locked on mine. Her lips were plump and naked. She didn’t need lipstick. They were the perfect shade of raspberry. Her pale skin was luminous and it took all of my willpower not to lean in and smell her, running my nose up her dainty neck. My cock twitched in my pants. An unexpected twitch. One I hadn’t felt upon first sight of a woman in a long damn time.

  Getting rid of that book so soon might have been a bad idea. I needed it to cover the semi that had just popped up in my pants.

  I did a quick survey of her body, which didn’t stand out, in yoga pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt. She was the exact opposite of the women I saw on a daily basis. She was as plain as vanilla ice cream, but something grabbed me—grabbed my cock, was more like it.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, Gra…Jade.” Her face knitted with guilt as her eyes settled on something behind me.

  “We’re on an interview,” Stella said from the table.

  Grajade? This woman knew the escorts. Did that mean she, too, was…A grinned curved up at the side of my mouth. Oh, yeah, I could definitely see her making a lot of money playing the uptight librarian fantasy.

  “At my favorite café?”

  “Public space, and all,” Jade said with a shrug.

  Smart girl. Just the kind of girl White Lace wanted.

  When the last book had been picked up, the woman straightened, and I followed suit. She flipped her hair and when her sea-blue eyes locked on mine, I suddenly felt like I’d just run the New York Marathon. Winded, achy, but high on something I just couldn’t put my finger on.

  “Thank goodness.” She struggled to gather the books against her chest. “I thought I interrupted your dates.”

  I struggled to lift my arm to help her, but it was caught on something invisible. Sort of like my tongue, which didn’t want to cooperate.

  She shuffled away and placed her books on a table three down from where we sat.

  When she returned, she eyed me with…disinterest.

  “I’m Max Levin.” This time my arm cooperated. “Are you an associate of these lovely ladies?”

  She brought her hand up to cover her chest. “You think…Oh, no.” She laughed, a sweet little giggle that forced a smile to my face. “I’m not a…” A blush fell across her cheeks.

  Innocent. Unassuming. With a little lip gloss, maybe…I shook off the thought. This girl wasn’t porn material. But for the first time in years, I actually wanted to test the merchandise to find out.

  “This is our roommate, Everly Parker.” Stella made the introduction.

  “Everly’s going to be a lawyer,” Jade added. I heard the definite pride in her voice.

  “That’s…” A waitress brushed past Everly, pushing her closer to me. Her scent kicked up around me again, and I stepped away, unable to control what was happening inside my pants. “…the plan.” Her eyes cast downward to the floor. “It’s always been the plan.”

  Somehow I didn’t feel her desire. People who wanted something bad enough were desperate, and the desperation emanating off this woman had nothing to do with graduating from law school. Her eyes had screamed at me the moment she looked up from her mess on the floor. Eyes that desperately wanted to see things. Experience things. That’s a desperation I recognized. The desire to let go. The same desire I saw the moment a woman left her inhibitions at the door and took off her clothes.

  “A lawyer?” I eyed her from head to toe.

  “Mr. Levin is the vice president of White Lace Productions,” Jade said.

  “The porn company?” Everly crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her breasts up. Her tiny, perky breasts that I wanted nothing more than to cradle in my hands.

  “So you’ve heard of us?” I smiled wide. Name recognition meant your product spoke for itself.

  She lived with two escorts, which meant she was liberal in her thinking about sex and money. Maybe, unlike eighty percent of the population, she’d also accept what I did for a living.

  Right. Because nice girls like her totally go for someone like you.

  “I didn’t know you wanted to change…jobs.” She looked over at her friends, genuinely sad that she was the last to find out about the meeting.

  “We’re just getting some information,” Jade said. “It’s not a done deal.”

  Everly tipped her chin and looked up at me. She had to if she wanted to meet my stare. I was a good head taller than her.

  “I’m in the business of bringing fantasy to life, Ms. Parker.” I was mesmerized by the soft swell of her breasts that poked above the neckline of her shirt. So subtle and delicate. “I bet y
ou’ve got a few stored away for a rainy day.”

  A sharp snap brought my attention back to her face. “Don’t you know it’s rude not to look someone in the face when talking to them?” I finally brought my eyes away from her breasts, and she was glaring at me. Her shoulders had migrated to her ears in annoyance.

  I was usually a lot subtler when checking out the opposite sex. Not that I had to be. It was my job to analyze every curve and swell of a woman’s body, but getting called on it served me right for giving in to my baser desires.

  “Hmm…I guess I don’t.” I stepped forward and walked around her, just as the hard crunching noise of the coffee grinder went off in the distance.

  I liked this girl. She may like to cover up almost every inch of her skin, but she had gumption. Confidence. Yet not the confidence I was used to. I made my living working with women who found their sense of self with their bodies. But not this woman. I had an inkling that her confidence originated from being first in her class.

  Her head swiveled with my movements and I heard her tiny gasps for breath as I hovered, each time getting closer. Finally, I leaned in and whispered, “Want to teach me a lesson?” I grinned then stepped away, but not before I saw the shiver race up her spine.

  So you do have an effect on her.

  But when I turned to face her, she had already forgotten my effect on her body. “Somehow I have the feeling you’ve already got a long line of scorned women ready to teach you a lesson in manners.”

  I heard Ben chuckle behind me, then clear his throat.

  “Touché, Ms. Parker.”

  “I have studying to do, so…” She lifted her chin, eyes blazing at me. “I’ll leave you to your meeting.”

  “It’s too bad.” I squeezed myself back into the booth and kicked out one leg, resting my arm along the top of the seat back. “Guess I won’t be getting the lashing I so deserve.”