Page 27 of Wild Rush Of Love
Six days. It didn’t seem enough.
He’d had two weeks with her before, and then hadn’t lasted one week without her.
Rush had the sinking feeling that driving away next Saturday would be the hardest thing he’d ever done. It would be far more difficult than leaving home at seventeen without a penny to his name—and that had been rough.
No. He already knew where things between them were going. Walking away from Reena wasn’t an option. Whatever happened this week, when he hit the road Saturday morning, it wouldn’t be the end of them.
He had the next six days to make sure Reena felt the same.
Rush wanted to delay returning to Reena’s house for as long as possible because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep his hands off her.
It was easier while they were at Pat’s Pub; with all those eyes on them, he was able to behave in spite of the temptation she presented, but now they were heading home. Where it would be just the two of them.
The biggest thing in his favor to keeping his personal vow of taking things slow might be how exhausted she appeared. He saw it in the way her feet dragged. Felt it in the way she leaned against him as they left the pub and strolled down the street.
Maybe she’d be so tired he could get her into bed without taking their clothes off. He’d be satisfied with having her sleep in his arms.
Holding her close while she was vulnerable would give him something he’d never had with a woman before Reena.
Their last night at the Lodge had taught him something valuable.
True intimacy had nothing to do with getting naked together.
He wanted that with Reena. Wanted to hold her close while she slept. Wanted to sleep beside her. In his mind, it would be the ultimate show of trust.
Tightening his grip around her waist, Rush picked up their pace. He had to think about Reena—what was best for her—not his overzealous libido. “The next street, right?”
“Yes. Fourth house from the corner,” she murmured, fatigue pulling on every word.
As they turned onto her street, he asked, “Are you working tomorrow?”
“No.”
“Good. We can sleep in before we hit the city.”
“Okay.”
They reached her front walk. “Keys?”
She fumbled in her bag and pulled out a small key ring, two keys attached, and handed it to him. “It’s the red one.”
Her keys were color-coded. “What’s the blue one for?”
“Blue one?”
Rush held up the key in question.
“Oh. Back door.”
He smiled as he switched keys and unlocked the front door. “No car?” he asked, ushering her inside.
Reena shook her head. “Don’t need one. I can walk to work and downtown is easily accessed by cab or bus or on foot, if I’m not in a hurry.”
And she had nowhere farther she wanted to go. He’d discovered her trip to the mountains was the farthest she’d been since moving to Baltimore. She’d told him a lot of her history, and it didn’t take a shrink to figure out she stuck close to home for fear of having it snatched away like it had been when she was a child.
In the two weeks she’d spent at the Lodge, Rush had watched her change. It was slight, but it was there. She’d grown more confident in her adventures. The timid woman who had pushed herself to try new experiences when she’d first arrived hadn’t been there when she’d left.
But how bold had she become?
