Read Online Rush (Phoenix Rising) by Joan Swan - Free Book Online Page B

caressing her when he lifted his head and pressed his lips to hers. Jessica pulled back, an instinctive move made out of confusion. But his hand slid up her spine and cupped her head. And his lips moved over hers, firm and warm and oh, just . . . so . . . right.
    His lids fell closed, and those long lashes lay just millimeters from her own. Her brain clouded. Her body softened. A fresh undercurrent of power flowed between them, sending adrenaline to her heart and energy to every cell in her body.
    His kisses lengthened, deepened, until his lips caressed and suckled hers as if he were exploring them for the first time. And like waking from a deep, refreshing sleep, everything inside Jessica lifted, stretched and filled. Each press, pull or slide of his mouth erased a shadow from her past.
    A sound floated from her throat, one of pain and loss, disbelief and hope. She tried to remember if Quaid had ever kissed her so perfectly when the slow sweep of his tongue along her lips stole her breath. Then he tilted his head, opened his mouth on a groan and fully tasted her.
    And she knew.
    This was her husband. This was Quaid.
    Jessica whimpered, tightened her arms around his neck and kissed him hard and deep while a tidal wave of emotion flooded her chest. She couldn’t stop, couldn’t let go, couldn’t open her eyes for fear he’d evaporate into the mist of a fading dream. Nor was she able to conceive what she’d done to him by believing he’d been dead all these years. Guilt and pain and fear prowled like starved beasts waiting to attack, but she had to do whatever it took to remain strong long enough to get Quaid out of here. Then she could feel all she had to feel. Deal with all she had to deal with. Then she could spend the rest of her life making it up to him.
    When she broke for air, Quaid’s dark eyes burned with lust beneath heavy lids. His lips were wet, his mouth open and ready for more. He breathed hard, his muscles straining as he pulled against the restraint to bring her closer. “I knew you’d taste amazing.”
    “Don’t talk.” She pressed her fingers against his lips. His words were messing with her head, and she needed to stay focused. “You’re not making sense right now. It’s the drugs. I just want to get you out of here and then we can talk, straighten everything out. Oh, my God .” All those emotions crashed in another heavy wave. She took his face in both hands and pressed her forehead to his. “Then we can be together forever. I won’t ever leave you again.”
    He grinned—all straight, white teeth and uneven crescents curving deep on either side of his mouth. Her Quaid. She’d never forget his grin as long as she lived. Her heart blossomed, so big, so beautiful, she was sure her ribs would crack.
    “I knew it would be like this with us,” he whispered before taking her mouth again with vital, life-affirming passion.
    She was completely lost in Quaid when he turned his head sharply, breaking the kiss.
    “What the fuck are you doing awake?” Another man’s voice came from the direction of the door.
    The man lifted his foot and kicked out. A tingling rush zipped through Jessica’s whole body as his boot passed through her. She gripped Quaid tighter, trying to protect him, but the boot hit his chest, dead center, as if she weren’t even there. He jerked hard and flew back against the wall.
    “Quaid!” She reached for him. The coin flew from her hand, hit the wall and rolled across the floor.
    The man stood over Quaid, where he’d slumped onto the mattress, coughing and wheezing.
    “No!” She froze, torn between going after the man and saving the coin. Deciding she couldn’t harm the man, she scrambled for the coin. On hands and knees she crawled and lunged just as the thin metal dropped into a gap between warped floorboards. She pulled at it with her fingers, but it had wedged itself into the tiny space.
    “Shit.” She pried at the metal, dug at the wood, grasped the coin’s