Rush

by Joan Swan

Amazon | B&N | Books-a-Million| Book Depository | eCampus | Overstock

 Genre: Romantic Suspense (with paranormal elements)

Heat Level: 3.5/5

Elements/Tags: romance, suspense, paranormal abilities, conspiracy, remote viewing, rescue, firefighters, escape, amnesia, reunion, lobbyist, Washington DC

Publisher: Kensington

Publishing Date: 8/27/13

Series: Phoenix Rising, 3

Format: Print and Ebook

Words: 110k

Jessica Fury, Washington lobbyist, has money, connections, and her own firm. But five years ago she had something better: happiness. Her firefighter husband, Quaid, was handsome, courageous, and crazy about her. Then one day he walked into a chemical inferno—and never walked out. Jessica has been through hell to get back on her feet. And then a rumor surfaces that could bring a miracle or shatter her world – again.

Q has been a prisoner forever. He’s honed his mind and body into weapons. He’s developed abilities no one else understands. But he’s still at the mercy of a cabal of ruthless men, who blank his memory, test him like a lab rat, and tell him lies. Although his past has been erased and his future looks grim, instinct tells him he has a woman to live for. What his mind can’t remember, his body can’t forget…

The heat is on.

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16057050-rush

The room fell silent again. Q felt Jessica’s stare on his face. Fought to open his eyes, but only got a flutter of lashes.

He pushed his mouth and tongue around. “Jess . . .” Came out in a rasp. He cracked his lids as she pushed up on her knees.

“Right here.” She reached for something beside him. Slid one hand behind his head and lifted, bringing a straw to his lips. “Take a sip. It’s orange juice, your favorite. We need to get some sugar into your blood.”

Q sucked at the straw. The tangy, sugary liquid hit his tongue and lit off an immediate unquenchable thirst. As if he’d been fueled with instant energy, Q opened his eyes.

“Hey, there.” Her voice was so soft, so sweet, it made his chest ache. “Are you really awake? Or is this just another temporary visit?”

The straw dried up and a slurping sound came from the glass. She set the empty drink on the ground, laid his head back carefully on a pillow and remained leaning over him, her hands caressing his face.

“Feel like heaven,” he managed, finding it easier to talk with a moist throat, though his voice didn’t sound any smoother. “So beautiful.”

A slow smile turned her lips. Her eyes grew wet.

He managed to get one of his hands up and over hers. The orange juice seemed to be hitting his bloodstream. “Missed you so much. Don’t leave.”

“Never.” Her whisper sounded rough as she shook her head. Tears dropped from her eyes and hit his cheeks. “I’ll never leave you again.”

Relief and excitement surged like a tidal wave and rocked him. No words could ever bring him this much joy. She lowered her head and kissed him. Just a touch of her lips, but Q needed more. He strained toward her, waiting for her lips to come back, but they didn’t.

Need gave him the strength to slide the hand covering hers around the back of her head. Gravity did the rest. When her mouth met his, he took as much as he could, unsure of how long he’d have her. She gave with generous lips that caressed and sucked his in ways that made his mind twist and his body want. The sounds she made, emotional, heart-wrenching sounds, shivered through his mouth and ignited need throughout his body.

She tasted sweet, so sweet. Or maybe that was just the orange juice he’d been drinking. But she was fresh, warm, succulent. She was a drug. But nothing like the drugs those bastards used on him. She didn’t suppress him, she lifted him. She was ecstasy. He was completely high. His entire body buzzed with excitement. Bright white light pulsed in his chest.

He felt alive.

Finally felt alive.

He rolled toward her and tried to wrap his free arm at her waist, but it was his bad arm and he didn’t have the strength. He managed to fist the fabric and drag her with him as he rolled back. She moved easily, sliding on top of him and aligning their bodies. And, oh, she was so much more than he’d dreamed. Soft and strong. Lush and lean. Alive and pliant and warm. She was heaven. Absolute heaven.

His hunger intensified to starvation and he tasted her with a stroke of his tongue. She immediately responded, and the sensation of tongue against tongue diverted blood from Q’s brain straight to his cock. The pressure was so intense he lifted his hips and rubbed against Jessica for relief.

She groaned, long and deep, before lifting her head and breaking their kiss. Tears shimmered in her eyes. They were so big. Such a soft, warm brown. Her rich, tawny hair spilled around her face, silky against his bare shoulders.

She gazed down at him, her lips turning in a tentative smile. “Am I hurting you?”

“Only if you stop.” His voice sounded so hideously rough compared to hers. “I can’t tell you . . . how long I’ve dreamt of this.”

He raked his hand through her hair gently, absorbing the feel of it between his fingers. She closed her eyes, those long lashes, which were the same gorgeous color as her hair, curved gently against her cheeks. A soft spray of freckles lay beneath, barely visible.

His chest had grown so incredibly tight, ribs squeezing his lungs until every intake of breath burned. Emotion welled inside until it overwhelmed him. Thoughts swirled in his mind without consent. Words pushed at his lips.

I love you.

The realization floated close as he held her face in one cupped hand.  Fear encircled the warmth and excitement. How could he love her? How could he feel so overwhelmingly attached to her? And if Gorin found out how he felt . . .

Gorin.

Years of self-preservation and logic battled with the new and powerful emotions. His mind drifted to the man in the desert with the weapons and the hostages. Q still didn’t know what that had been. A test? And this, was this a test?

Or now that he’d escaped, was this a trap?

The word vibrated in his head. Internally, a thin, cold veneer slipped into place, pushing his emotions into the background, bringing instinct and intellect to the foreground. The orange juice? Had it been drugged? Was this some new experiment? Something they’d been prepping him for? Something they’d implanted in his subconscious for years in case they ever needed to pull it out and use it as a weapon against him?

“What’s wrong?” Her voice brought his eyes up to hers. They were worried. No . . . frightened. They were definitely frightened. “Quaid, honey? Are you o—”

Muscle memory took over. Q had no idea where he found the strength or the coordination, but he flipped her and closed his hand over her throat.

“Stop,” she rasped, clawing at his fingers. “Quaid, please. Stop. You’re hurting—”

“Why are you calling me Quaid?”  And why did holding her down like this make him want to put a gun to his own head?  “Who are you?  Who do you work for?”

“Quaid!” She turned her head and dragged in air, squirming beneath him. “I can’t breathe!”

“What the fuck is going on?”

The deep voice sounded in the doorway. Q’s body reacted again, thought only a hum in the background. He jerked Jessica off the floor and pulled her in front of him with an arm around her neck. The man at the door was big. With an authoritative presence. But he wasn’t holding any weapons.

“Teague, take it easy.” A woman appeared beside him. Mixed race, part Asian with long black hair, light eyes, very pregnant. Unless that was fake, too.

More people rushed through the door. He didn’t know anyone. Didn’t know where he was. Didn’t know what the hell was going on. His body hardened. His mind sharpened. Fear pumped in his veins, preparing him for action.

A little about Joan Swan writes sexy romantic suspense for Kensington (Phoenix Rising Series) and independently (Covert Affairs Series).  She also works as a sonographer at a top medical facility in San Francisco and lives in magnificent wine country on the central coast of California with her husband and two daughters.

Website: http://joanswan.com/

Facebook profile:  https://www.facebook.com/JoanSwanAuthor

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joan-Swan/120027341414640

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JoanSwan

Twitter giveaways: http://www.twitter.com/JoanSwan

Giveaway Details:

Tour Wide Giveaway found on Joan Swan’s FB Page:

(3) Designer purses filled with lots of goodies.

Per Stop Giveaway:

• (1) print copy of either FEVER (#1) or BLAZE (#2) per the number of tour stops (15 Total) – US/Ca Only.
• (1) digital copy of FIRST TEMPTATION by Joan Swan per the number of tour stops (15 Total)
• (1) digital copy of RECKLESS by Skye Jordan per the number of tour stops (15 Total)

Please follow the Rafflecopter widget to enter to win at each stop. Then visit Joan Swan’s FB page to enter to win one of three designer purses filled with a variety of goodies! (Full Terms & Conditions located on the widgets.)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more tour stops:

http://events.litconnect.com/rush-by-joan-swan/ OR, at http://joanswan.com/