Page 10 of Rush

Caroline couldn’t look away. His blue eyes bore into her own, his lips so perfect. His face was flush with fever and heat, but he was stunning.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. She nodded, cleaned the wound again, and then began stitching it. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

“Don’t. Don’t do this to me, Rush. You made your feelings very clear at The Well when we were both home over a year ago. I’ve made peace with that. Don’t make me feel stupid.” She gripped the tape with her teeth, tore a piece off, and finished dressing the wound.

Rush took the tape roll from her mouth and set it in the kit. Gripping her neck, he pulled her close again.

“You’re fucking beautiful, and I have loved you for twenty years.”

Caroline stared at him, wanting to laugh at first. But seeing the seriousness in his face, she was worried he was hallucinating.

“Rush, you have a fever,” she whispered.

“Maybe. But I know what I’m saying, Caroline. I wish it were over candlelight and flowers and Mama Irene’s pot roast. But it’s here. In fucking Turkey in a chimp cave. I’ve loved you for so long, and it terrified me.”

“Why?” she whispered, shaking her head. “Why, when you knew how I felt?”

“I was worried I would hurt you,” he said, staring into her eyes.

Caroline shook her head, searching his face. Then she understood. She’d heard the other boys talk about it on occasion. She overheard the story of Eric. It stood to reason if he was a big man, he was big everywhere. It never even crossed her mind.

“Rush, you hurt me by pushing me away. The kind of hurt you’re talking about would heal. We’d get used to one another, assuming I wouldn’t be able to, uh, take, I mean, accommodate you. I’m a woman, Rush. My body is made to adjust.”

“What if I can’t stop once we start? What if you beg me to stop, and I can’t?”

“You would never, ever push yourself on me. I know you, Rush. We’ve grown up together. I know your heart,” she said, placing a hand over his chest. “Your heart is beating fast. I need to get you to a doctor.” She tried to stand, but he held her there.

“No. It’s beating fast for you, Caroline. My shoulder already feels better. I’ve wanted this,” he laughed, “being alone with you in a dark place, just the two of us, for so long.”

“Well, it’s not exactly what I pictured,” she smirked.

“What did you picture?” he asked, brushing back the hair from her face.

“I don’t know. I guess I pictured us taking a boat ride out on the bayou. Maybe we stop and watch the stars, have a picnic under the sky. Then we make love on the deck. We fall asleep and head back to our cottage.”

“Our cottage,” he whispered. Caroline nodded, feeling the heat from his forehead.

“Rush, I have to get you out of here,” she said. “I heard some men coming into the zoo after everyone left.”

“Do you have a car?” he asked.

“I do. It’s all packed, and I have water and food. Tell me what to do. Tell me where to take you, and I will,” she said.

“Caroline,” he whispered, pressing his sizzling forehead to her cool flesh. “Caroline, if I could, I’d take you to Paris and marry you tomorrow. But there’s something I have to do first. My last mission, and then I’ll be home.”

“Rush, you’re injured. You can’t finish anything right now,” she said, staring at him.

“I have to, Caroline. Please, baby. Trust me.” She nodded, then gathered everything in the cave. “How many men came through the gates?”

“Four, maybe five.”

“Alright. We’re going to head toward your car, but if they come toward you, I’m going to hide. I’ll take care of them.”

“You’re going to kill them?”

“If I don’t, they’ll kill you, or worse. And then kill me.”

She nodded and crawled to the front of the cave, opening the tarp. She didn’t hear any voices and stood, waiting for Rush. Gripping his waist for support, she walked toward the door. He smiled down at her.

---