Rush
Praise for the novels of Maya Banks
“Heated investigative romantic suspense…Intense, transfixing.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Definitely a recommended read…Filled with friendship, passion, and most of all, a love that grows beyond just being friends.”
—Fallen Angel Reviews
“Grabbed me from page one and refused to let go until I read the last word…When a book still affects me hours after reading it, I can’t help but Joyfully Recommend it!”
—Joyfully Reviewed
“I guarantee I will reread this book many times over, and will derive as much pleasure as I did in the first reading each and every subsequent time.”
—Novelspot
“An excellent read that I simply did not put down…A fantastic adventure…Covers all the emotional range.”
—The Road to Romance
“Searingly sexy and highly believable.”
—RT Book Reviews
“A must-read author…her [stories] are always full of emotional situations, lovable characters and kick-butt story lines.”
—Romance Junkies
Titles by Maya Banks
The Sweet Series
SWEET SURRENDER
SWEET PERSUASION
SWEET SEDUCTION
SWEET TEMPTATION
SWEET POSSESSION
SWEET ADDICTION
The Kelly/KGI Series
THE DARKEST HOUR
NO PLACE TO RUN
HIDDEN AWAY
WHISPERS IN THE DARK
ECHOES AT DAWN
SHADES OF GRAY
Colters’ Legacy
COLTERS’ PROMISE
The Breathless Trilogy
RUSH
FOR HER PLEASURE
BE WITH ME
Anthologies
FOUR PLAY
(with Shayla Black)
MEN OUT OF UNIFORM
(with Karin Tabke and Sylvia Day)
CHERISHED
(with Lauren Dane)
Specials
“PILLOW TALK”
from
FOUR PLAY
rush
maya banks
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
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Penguin China, B7 Jiaming Center, 27 East Third Ring Road North, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, China
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
RUSH
Copyright © 2013 by Maya Banks.
Excerpt from
Fever
by Maya Banks copyright © 2013 by Maya Banks.
Cover photo by Annkozar/Shutterstock. Cover design by Rita Frangie.
Interior text design by Kristin del Rosario.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
BERKLEY is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley trade paperback edition / February 2013
ISBN: 978-1-101-62036-6
An application to register this book for cataloging has been submitted to the Library of Congress.
| ALWAYS LEARNING | PEARSON |
For my family, who was patient with me
while we were on vacation
and Mom had a new idea that wouldn’t leave her alone.
And to Kim, for listening when I told her
there was something I had to do asap and for making it happen.
To Lillie, for hanging with me every step of the way.
And finally, to Cindy, who went to bat for me in a huge way.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-three
Chapter Forty-four
Fever
prologue
“Mia, the doorman just buzzed to say a car is here for you,” Caroline called from the other room.
Mia’s breath hiccupped, and she reached for the contract that was lying beside where she sat on the edge of the bed. It was slightly rumpled and was showing signs of wear for all the times she’d read over it.
She’d memorized every word of it, and it played over and over in her mind. Along with it, images fired by her imagination. Of her and Gabe together. Him controlling and possessing her.
Owning
her.
Shoving it into her purse, she stood and hurried to her dresser to look in the mirror one last time. She showed signs of little sleep. There were dark smudges under her eyes that makeup couldn’t disguise. Her color was off as well. Even her hair had refused to respond and had a rumpled look to it.
There was little to do now except go.
Taking a deep breath, she left her bedroom and walked through the living room toward the door.
“Mia, wait!” Caroline said as she ran to where Mia held the door open.
Caroline hugged her tightly and then stood back, her hand going to push Mia’s hair behind her ear.
“Good luck, okay? You’ve not been yourself this entire weekend. If it’s stressing you out this much, don’t do it.”
Mia smiled. “Thanks, Caro. Love you.”
Caroline made an exaggerated smacking sound with her lips as Mia turned and left.
When she left the building, the doorman opened the car door for her and ushered her inside. Mia leaned back against the comfortable leather seat and closed her eyes as the car pulled away, heading from her apartment on the Upper West Side to Midtown, where the HCM building was located.
Her brother, Jace, had called her the day before, and she felt terribly guilty about keeping this from him. He’d apologized for missing her at the grand opening and told her that if he’d known she was coming he would have made certain he was there.
The two had talked for half an hour. Jace had asked how things were with her and then told her he was going to be in California with Ash for the next several days. They’d made a date to spend an evening together when he returned and then she’d rung off, melancholy descending, because she and Jace were close. She’d never hesitated to share anything with him. He’d always been there, willing to listen and offer comfort even through her girly teenage-angst years. She couldn’t ask for a better big brother, and now she was keeping secrets—huge secrets—from him.
She barely tuned in to the drive, the typical stop and go of traffic, until the car stopped some time later.
“We’ve arrived, Miss Crestwell.”
Her eyes flew open and squinted against the wash of the bright autumn sun. They were indeed just outside the HCM building. The driver had already gotten out to go around and open her door for her. She rubbed her hands over her face in an attempt to revive her dulled senses and then she stepped out, a cool breeze ruffling her hair.
Once again she found herself walking into the building and riding the elevator up to the forty-second floor. There was some serious déjà vu going on. Same butterflies. Same sweaty palms. Same attack of nerves. Only there was more panic involved because this time she knew what he wanted. Knew exactly what she’d be getting into if she agreed to this.
When she entered the reception area, Eleanor looked up and smiled and then said, “Mr. Hamilton says you’re to go straight back.”
“Thank you, Eleanor,” Mia murmured as she headed past Eleanor’s desk.
Gabe’s door was open when she arrived. She hesitated just outside and stared in to where he stood, hands in his pockets, staring out the large window overlooking the Manhattan skyline.
He was gorgeous. Beautiful to look at. Even relaxed there was so much raw power emanating from him. She was suddenly struck by why she was so drawn to him—or at least one of the many reasons. She felt safe with him. Just being near him gave her a measure of comfort. She felt secure and…protected.
In essence, the relationship he’d proposed would provide her with all of those things. Safety. Security. Comfort. Protection. He’d guaranteed all of those things. All she had to do was agree to cede ultimate power to him.
Any reluctance evaporated, leaving her lighter and almost euphoric. There was no way she was walking into this agreement scared to death. It was no way to begin a new relationship. She would be confident and she’d embrace the things that Gabe had promised her. And in return, she’d give her all to him and be confident that he would cherish the gift of her submission.
