Page 34 of Unveiled

Chapter Eighteen

Rush was feeling good about Tatum’s situation for the first time since he’d met her. If she got her life back and still chose him, he would never let her go. A part of him, that insecure part that everyone has but most people hide, needed that reassurance. Every time he was left alone with his thoughts, those doubts crept in. The doubt that they wouldn’t be where they were if she had a choice.

Most of those doubts were the ones that sent him reverting to his previous behaviors, but he fought them this time. That didn’t stop his mind from wandering down that path of, if her life was everything it had been before Cyrus and Dale tried to take it and they’d met in a bar, would she have given him a second thought?

The way she touched him, looked at him, smiled at him, just everything about her said she would. It screamed that she’d choose Rush over everyone else, and that was the thought that had him asking her to stay forever. She hadn’t replied, but he heard her deep breathing indicating sleep had won that round.

Earlier had been an explosive need filled encounter that satisfied that claiming desire he had, but now another need was knocking. A need to show her how much she meant to him without words. Not just a physical fire that he thought would never be quenched, but something much deeper.

His phone pinged softly from the bedside table. A quick check revealed a text from Mark. Not unexpectedly, Mark had given Cyrus a surprise two AM call. It was intended to put him on his toes and monitor who he contacted when he entered cover-up mode. As they suspected, Cyrus flipped on his son in an attempt to save his own ass fast as fuck. Of course, they all knew he was in way deeper than Mark let on, but that was a worry for another day. They told Cyrus they’d talk to Dale in the afternoon, but their plans were on a different schedule.

Morning would come early, and Rush would slip into tactical mode, but for the rest of the night, he wanted to make love to Tatum.

Rush lazily glided his fingertips up her torso and returned with his knuckles, watching goosebumps appear on her flesh in his wake. Her rosy nipples peaked into irresistible points. Dipping his head, he took one in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it, warming and teasing it. Then he released it and gently blew out, cooling it.

A whimpering sound of need escaped her lips. Even in her sleep, she responded to him as if their bodies were made for each other. Rush questioned if he was being overly sentimental, but he decided it didn’t matter. He would not let Tatum go the way every other relationship had. They all left him because he was too emotionally inaccessible. With Tatum, it was the complete opposite. He was thoroughly invested in her. . .in them.

“I’m not a good man, but I’m a good man with you. You make me better and I want to stay, I want you to want me to stay. I. . .love you.” He’d finally said it to her. Granted she was asleep, and he was more than willing to repeat himself in the morning, but he needed to get it out there. He leaned over and kissed each hip and up her body until he was hovering above her, watching sleep relinquish its grip.

When her hazel eyes opened, she gifted him with a heart-stopping, sleepy smile, and brought her ankles around his back. Rush took the hint and slowly, inch by inch, entered her body, never breaking eye contact. When he was fully seated inside her, he stilled. Enjoying the connection they had was sublime, but he had an overwhelming need to move. “Don’t leave me.”

With that, he slowly backed out of her welcoming heat and slid back in, repeating the action in measured and methodical strokes. When she reached for him, Rush caught her right wrist under his hand and held it down by her head. He couldn’t let her touch him or he would explode, and he wanted this to last. With his left hand, he gripped her neck and chin, holding her head in place and not allowing her to look away. When her eyes drifted closed, he gently squeezed, a silent command to not look away. To keep her focus on him and only him.

“You’re mine, Tatum.” He growled. “Mine.” He needed her to understand he was all in. “No matter what happens with. . .tomorrow, you’re mine. Say it.”

Rush wouldn’t last much longer. He felt her body gripping at his in that rhythmic way and his spine started to tingle. “Say it!” The command was rougher than he intended, but her eyes flashed with excitement.

“I’m. . .ahhhhhhh. . .yours.” Her body clamped down, and he pounded into her relentlessly, riding out her orgasm and his. Rush could barely hold his weight off her long enough to shift to the side. His arm turned to jelly and his whole body shuddered. It was hands down the best orgasm of his life to date. Something about her saying she was his just settled in his heart, and it was all he needed to silence that voice of insecurity.

What passed between them felt huge, and he prayed she’d experienced it, too. But there was something else, an undercurrent that had him on edge. It felt like a beginning, but also an ending, and that didn’t sit well with him. Tatum turned into his body and brushed his non-existent hair back, almost like she was petting him. He fell asleep staring into her eyes while she touched him lovingly. He’d never felt so wanted until he heard her whisper those three little words. “I love you.”

The answering words were right there, perched on his tongue, but he failed to spit them out before sleep claimed him. He held her tight and promised himself he’d tell her when he woke. As soon as he saw her face in the morning light that peeked in through the blinds, he’d finally say I love you.

That last thought fueled his dreams. He saw their future together, a few kids, a chocolate lab, and Tatum looking like perfection after giving him the family he always wanted. The dream receded, and warmth flooded his whole being. “Wake up, Babes, and tell me you love me again so I can tell you not as much as—” His voice died as his hand encountered nothing but cold linen.

Rush assumed she’d risen early to make breakfast. So instead of a first light confession of love, he’d have to settle for one over OJ and bacon. He jumped in the shower, humming Hooked on a Feeling because seriously, it was perfect. Rush got partially dressed. He couldn’t wait to wrap his arms around Tatum.

He ooga chuckaed back and forth down the hall and slid into the kitchen, singing at top volume about not stopping the feeling. He turned and continued, “deep inside o. . .” But she wasn’t there.

“Tatum?” He was getting a sinking feeling in his gut when she didn’t answer. “TATUM?” A quick check of the guest room and guest bath produced nothing. Rush sprinted out to the pool, but no Tatum. Where could she be?

It was a long shot, but he checked the garage. All the vehicles, including the Grand National, were right where he’d left them. So where in the hell is she? He turned the house upside down and, right before he exploded and destroyed his own home, noticed a corner of paper tucked under a pillow. He must’ve tossed it during his frantic search.

That sinking feeling bottomed out as he reached for it with a trembling hand. She was gone, and the note was all she’d left. If he didn’t read it, he could make up his own reasons, but if he did, it could be worse. Either way, he was about to be destroyed by a folded piece of notebook paper.

His heart was toast no matter how it played out. She’d said she was his last night, and he’d begged her not to leave him. He snatched the paper from under the pillow and sat on the bed, taking a deep breath before reading it.

Dear Rush,

You’ve become my everything practically overnight. I want nothing more than to stay with you and have a future. I hope you can forgive me and that can still be possible after today.

Before you were my everything, my parents were. I can’t move on with my life with you without knowing why. I hope you understand and if you don’t, well, I’ll understand that.

The time I’ve spent with you has been the happiest of my life and please know that you did not push me away.

I love you with all my heart.

I am yours.

Tatum

Rush read the words over and over and over.

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