by Debra Webb
She didn’t reply and they made the rest of the trip in silence, the ramifications of what they needed to do settling over both of them.
The driver turned off the main road, aiming for a sprawling stone villa at the edge of the valley. “When we’re unloaded, I’ll set up the drones and we’ll confirm whether or not Kathrein is keeping your family at the winery.”
She leaned forward to peer at the house as they turned into the drive. Then she shot him a grin over her shoulder. “Some rental.” She shook her head. “I’d like to meet your travel agent.”
He grinned back at her and had to tease. “If we like the place, I’ll buy it.”
“No need.” She unbuckled her seat belt as the car came to a stop. “The flights would be bad enough, but France has lost the glamorous appeal that originally charmed me.”
He pushed open his door and brought her across the seat to exit the car on his side. Pausing, he reveled in the play of early morning light shimmering over the house. “Maybe we shouldn’t let one bad apple spoil everything.”
She opened her mouth to protest and he silenced her with a kiss. “I know,” he whispered, pulling back. “I know it seems impossible, but we will rescue Gwen and Jackson.”
“I believe you.” She stared up at the house. “I believe you,” she said with more conviction.
He urged her ahead and Lucy pushed open the big front door. He’d specifically requested no staff on site as a way to manage risk and rumors. He and the driver set the luggage just inside the door, then moved the gear Rush had brought along to the garage. With that task complete, Rush tipped him well for his time and silence.
In the garage he and Lucy set up a workshop area with his computers, and the gadgets and gear for the drones and cameras. As each device was unpacked and checked out, he made some final tweaks to the program. After a quick conversation with Sam back in San Francisco, he was good for the test run.
Lucy worked efficiently and quietly. She didn’t ask questions or toss around theories. In the uncomfortable silence, faced with the sadness and worry in her typically bright eyes, he hated Kathrein with a barely leashed violence. It was a good thing Lawton’s team would keep the creaky old bastard out of Rush’s reach.
He didn’t care who Kathrein had paid off along the way. He had two days to find a solution that gave Lucy a happy reunion with her family. If the tight time frame meant he had to take a few chances, so be it. He would never give her cause to regret confiding in him or accepting his help.
* * *
UNABLE TO HELP Rush further, Lucy went inside to explore the villa. The driver had gone and it was only she and Rush until his friends on the security detail arrived. Only her, really, as Rush worked methodically on the reconnaissance technology. If this sprawling house had the character or history of the place where she and Gwen had stayed on Kathrein’s estate, those details were hidden behind luxurious upgrades now. That was fine with Lucy; she didn’t want any reminders of her foolishness.
Hauling the luggage up the wide sweeping staircase that dominated the foyer, she halted in the hallway. Did she take both suitcases into one suite or did she keep her distance and maintain the status quo with separate bedrooms? Her lips tingled as she relived the sensual promise in those kisses on the plane.
She couldn’t get a read on him to know if they were working their way back together or if Rush was merely being kind and patient until her crisis was resolved. Better to follow his example and keep her mind on the trouble that brought them here. She rolled his suitcase into one room and hers into the room across the hall before she hurried back down the stairs.
In the kitchen, the cold reality of the thumb drive and cloned phone sitting on the counter depressed her. What if they were wrong and Kathrein wasn’t holding her family hostage at the defunct winery just beyond the rolling hills to the west?
This was day five of her allotted seven. There wouldn’t be enough time to search again, even with Rush’s vast resources. She had to keep biting back the plea to let her make contact and arrange an exchange. Overcome, she dropped onto the bench of the banquette in the breakfast nook and let loose a flood of useless tears. Better to get it out of her system now. Her sister and nephew meant nothing to Kathrein. They were pawns he’d crush without a second thought if she didn’t deliver. He might kill them anyway.
The glimmer of hope she’d felt when they left San Francisco had faded the closer they came to the confrontation and she realized how little she could help. She couldn’t assist or market her way out of this. She had nothing to contribute to a rescue plan. After reading the damaging information, she realized no amount of artful dealing would change Kathrein’s mind. He would gladly sacrifice her family to save his.
She dried her cheeks with her sleeve and then went in search of a tissue for her nose. Helplessness had never been her strong suit. Weeping and wringing her hands wouldn’t make a difference. She needed a diversion.
Her stomach rumbled and she assumed Rush would be hungry, too. He often forgot to eat when he was in problem-solving mode. Several things about him felt different the last few days, yet the basics hadn’t changed. Thank heavens he hadn’t asked her outright if she still loved him.
With a self-deprecating snort, she gave herself points for being able to help with sustenance. Poking around the gourmet kitchen, she found the basics on the pantry shelves and the refrigerator stocked with everything from wine and milk to thick steaks and vegetables. A fresh pizza had been prepared and wrapped in plastic ready to pop into the oven. A tent card from the property management company topped a fruit basket and had both phone numbers and website links to order groceries. Even a link to a recipe site was listed.
Lucy wondered if anyone from the rental company or the grocery in the nearest town were still in Kathrein’s pocket. Maybe not if it had been several years since the family had been here. They would know soon enough.
Choosing convenience, she pulled out the pizza and set the oven to preheat while she searched the cabinets for a pizza stone. Crouched behind a counter, she jumped to her feet when a door opened with a bang and Rush called her name.
“Kitchen,” she answered, raising her voice.
He hurried in, breathless, his presence shrinking the massive space. Excitement rolled off him in waves. Even with the big marble island between them, he smelled of sunshine and rich soil and...the masculine scent she’d burrowed into at night when her world had been perfect. Why the hell had she left him?
“Look!” He held up a tablet and waved her over to his side of the marble island. “We’re in the right place.”
She tripped over her feet at the news and he caught her, steadied her. “You’re sure?” The answer was evident in the bright glow of victory in his gorgeous blue eyes. “Oh, thank God. Show me.”
He swiped the screen and she watched the replay of a short video.
“Gwen.” She blinked back tears of joy and relief as she watched her sister pushing a stroller along a circular patio behind a stone house, smaller than this one. She kept her head down and Lucy’s heart ached. But her sister was alive. Thank God. Thank God. A different angle showed Jackson bouncing his arms, oblivious to the danger they were in. “He let them outside?” she asked, startled Kathrein would take the risk.
“They aren’t alone.” Rush panned back and pointed out the burly men standing guard at each corner that might offer Gwen an escape. “Unless she bolted into the overgrown vineyard, there’s no room to run.”
Lucy had to swallow the lump of emotion clogging her throat. “When was this?”
“About an hour ago,” Rush replied, beaming. “There’s another guard with the car in the front drive. Kathrein must be inside.”
“When can we get them out?”
“I’ve spoken with Lawton and it will require at least one more flyover, but the team will be here in plenty of time. We just have to keep stringing him along.”
The relief was a palpable force coursing through her bloodstream. Gwen
and Jackson would survive. “Thank you.” She gave in and threw her arms around him. “Thank you!” Her lips found his and she gave him a kiss packed with the rising tide of gratitude.
Distantly, she heard the tablet clatter to the marble countertop as Rush’s hands clutched her hips. His palms swept up her back, bringing her body flush to his. Her nipples peaked against the hard planes of his chest. Too fast and yet not nearly fast enough. She threaded her fingers through his hair as her tongue swept into his mouth.
His taste electrified her, simultaneously familiar and new. She’d missed this, missed him. “Rush...” Lucy let her head fall back as his lips and tongue and teeth nibbled the sensitive skin up and down her throat. Her hands fisted in the fabric of his shirt, tugging it free of his jeans. Smoothing her palms along the firm, warm skin underneath, she moaned.
He squeezed her backside, flexing his hips to hers. His arousal was obvious and she wanted him inside her now. Sooner, if possible.
She fumbled with his belt and the button of his fly. He boosted her to the countertop and spread her legs to stand between them, his kisses drifting across her cleavage. She drew his face to hers, needing his lips, the subtle comfort he offered hidden deep in the desire surging between them. “I need you.”
The dark spark of desire flared in his blue gaze, igniting an answering fire in her belly. His kiss, a blatant mating of mouths, sent her pulse into overdrive. She reached for his shirt, flicking open each button until she could push the panels wide, back and over his shoulders. For a moment, his arms were trapped in the fabric.
She reveled in the view of his magnificent chest and her breath caught as she remembered the fun they’d had with far more effective restraints. Gripping his waistband, she dragged him closer and curled her legs around his hips. “Looks like you’re mine now,” she teased.
“Always have been,” he murmured, his kisses tracing her collarbone.
She didn’t have time to dwell on any deeper meanings in the words. The sleeve of his shirt tore a bit as he twisted out of it and tossed it aside. His big hands were heavy, sliding up and down her thighs, making her wish she’d worn a skirt instead of jeans.
“Where’s the nearest bed?” he asked, his stubble tickling her sensitive skin.
She tightened her grip with her legs. “Please don’t make me wait that long.”
“Your wish, my command, sweetheart.” His thumbs came close to her center, not quite reaching the place where she needed him most. All these layers between them and she was already slick and aching for him. Only him. There was some wild, needy element inside her that only Rush seemed to unlock.
She fused her mouth to his and slid her hands over his chest, sifting through the dark hair, stroking the hard lines of sculpted muscle and following the trail of hair that arrowed under his waistband. He groaned, flexing his erection into her hand as she stroked him. Silk boxers, she realized, smiling inwardly at the wonderful details about him that remained the same.
He dropped his forehead to her shoulder as she teased him, his breath hot and ragged. Suddenly, he bowed her back over one arm and feasted on her breasts. The shift pulled her hand away from her prize, left her clinging to his broad shoulders for balance as he nipped at the puckered tips of her breasts, soothing each sharp sensation with a slow lap of his velvet tongue.
His free hand cupped her through her jeans, promising more sinful pleasure. She gasped his name, ready to beg for a fast release, so close to a climax just from his deft touches through the fabric.
“Now who’s trapped?” He traced the curve of her breast. “I could take you right here.”
It sounded like a good start. “Please.” No point in playing coy when they both clearly wanted each other. She arched closer to the heat radiating from his spectacular body. She could see the strain of holding back simmering through him. “You can take me anywhere you please.”
“Lucy.” His nostrils flared when she rocked herself against the hand between her legs. “It’s been so long.”
“Then stop talking.” She kissed him, her tongue dueling with his, seeking all the hot pleasure his kisses promised.
He tugged her off the counter, and with her legs wrapped around his lean hips, he carried her into the sitting room, easing her down to the couch. He dropped his jeans and boxers and, nude, reached for her. Though she tried to help and pleaded with him to hurry, he took his time stripping away her clothes and feasting on every exposed inch of her skin as he revealed it.
He brought her to a shattering climax with his fingers, then his mouth, and still she longed for more. She opened for him, body and soul, and he settled over her. Raising her hips, he entered her in one smooth, hard motion.
Yes, this. The beautiful perfection of being reunited soared through her. Her eyes stung with happy tears and she blinked them away. No one knew her the way Rush knew her.
When he started to move, his hips met hers with hard, greedy thrusts. The pleasure rolled through her, building in exquisite waves of passion from the point where their bodies joined and out across every last nerve ending.
Her muscles squeezing his length, she matched his pace and demanded more from both of them. He reached out and captured the tip of her breast between his fingers and she flew apart, clinging to him as another climax swamped her. He reached his peak a moment later, calling her name as his body shuddered over hers. She drifted like a leaf on a gentle river current as her heart rate slowed and Rush’s ragged breathing returned to normal.
Shifting so he didn’t crush her, he brought her back snug against the warmth and solid security of his chest, his arm a comfortable weight at her waist. As her mind wandered through brambles of true love, contentment and closure, his soft snores became a familiar lullaby behind her.
When she woke a bit later with a start, confused and disoriented, Rush’s arm tightened around her reflexively in his sleep and she reached back to smooth a hand over his hip. In the shelter of his body the trouble that had forced her back into his world seemed like a nightmare from someone else’s life.
But this wasn’t one of those whirlwind getaways Rush had frequently arranged for them. They’d come to France to save her sister and nephew from the crazy old man holding them hostage. Although the sex was unarguably a marvelous distraction, the afterglow had faded, letting her anxiety back in.
Slipping out of his embrace, she found a throw and covered Rush’s body, primarily to block the superb temptation. He’d been pushing hard since catching her in his office and she knew he needed some rest, too. Pulling on her jeans and shirt, she gathered up the rest of her clothes. Padding to the kitchen, she put the pizza in the oven and then tiptoed upstairs for a quick shower while it baked.
Her body loose and satiated, she waited for the emotions and regrets to jam things up. Nothing had really changed. She still loved him and though he hadn’t pushed her away over the news, he didn’t claim to be okay with it. That one-way street hadn’t been enough for her before. Could it be enough now, if he could accept her as she accepted him?
She gave herself a blast of cold water before she turned off the taps. Toweling off, she promised herself she wouldn’t run away again. She’d talk to him and sort it all out once they rescued her family.
Chapter Eleven
Though he didn’t stir, Rush felt Lucy wake up. It wasn’t hard to guess what filled her thoughts as she slipped away from him. While her reasons for jumping him hadn’t been ideal, he chose to believe that gratitude sex beat fear-of-death sex. He was more concerned about whether or not gratitude sex could be a foundation for winning her back.
He stayed on the couch, weighing the ramifications until the savory scents of the pizza made his stomach growl. Rolling to his back, he scrubbed at his face. With Lucy, he’d experienced that bone-deep affirmation of his best self. She brought out the best in him. In the boardroom, in his brainstorms, and barring this rather frenzied exception to the rule, she usually brought out his best in the bedroom.
He wonder
ed if it was obvious to her that he’d gone a year without sex. He wouldn’t mention it, not while she was rightly focused on her family’s safe return. It hadn’t been intentional and he wasn’t looking for praise. By the time he’d recognized the deeper reasons he wasn’t clicking with other women, the freeze had gone on too long. His relationship with Lucy had changed something fundamental inside him. Having allowed her to get so close, nothing superficial held as much appeal.
He was desperate to reclaim that connection, yet he wasn’t in the habit of showing any vulnerability. This wasn’t a business deal and still he couldn’t shake the feeling that telling her would backfire and make him sound as if he’d say anything to keep her around. He’d figure it out and turn this unexpected second chance into something that worked for both of them.
No time like the present, he thought. Sitting up, he grabbed his jeans and dragged them on again, not bothering with the rest of his clothes yet.
Although he had people en route for the rescue, he hadn’t made any definitive moves to report Kathrein. He didn’t want to cause an international incident while her family was trapped, but he didn’t want to let the former Nazi off the hook for the current kidnapping or war crimes. Rush wasn’t sure he could count on anyone nearby standing up to Kathrein’s bribes. Maybe Lucy had an idea. It was high time the two of them got on the same page about that.
Wearing only jeans he strolled into the kitchen, smiling a little to see she’d picked up his shirt from the floor and left it neatly folded on a counter stool. A bit chilled, he put it on but didn’t tuck it in.
“Hungry?” she asked, watching with a shy smile as he covered up.
“For you? Always.” He walked up and nuzzled his lips to her neck, wrapping his arms around her waist. He wanted to make it clear that once on the couch wasn’t enough.
