Free The Rush by Rachel Higginson Page A

my wrist, his strong fingers closing tight against my bare skin. A lone butterfly flapped distantly in my belly, and a charge of electricity shot straight up my sternum into my heart. What the hell?
    “You know me,” he stated simply. His silver eyes bore into mine and his tight hold on my wrist kept my hand to his chest, when I thought for sure he was going to remove my touch.
    “I don’t know anything about you,” I replied, just as simply, just as sincerely.
    The red head let out a burst of rude laughter breaking into the bubble of intimacy Ryder had created around us. I snapped my head her direction, reminded that we were still in the bathroom, that Ryder still wasn’t affected by my charm judging by the cold look in his gunmetal eyes and that his girlfriend was waiting outside for us.
    “Fair enough,” Ryder admitted and then released my hand. My arm dropped to my side and I worked my hand into a fist and then relaxed it trying to find the strength that had been there a minute ago. But my hand was useless, completely zapped of motor function and usability thanks to the weird spell Ryder put on me.
    I was never affected by men . Never. That was the key to my voodoo. 
    I did the affecting.
    Not the other way around.
    Ryder needed to learn that.
    Or I needed to get the hell away from him.
    Probably both.
    I pulled the bathroom door open a little too violently and it swung at me with a rush of hot, humid air from the concert hall. I jumped out of the way and tumbled out of the bathroom. The gaggle of fan-girls erupted into laughter and I felt Ryder immediately behind me, escaping before they asked for autographs on their boobs.
    Kenna was waiting at the bar for us, holding my sweatshirt in her hands, probably to save it from the exiting masses. The concert was officially over and save for some last minute t-shirt sales the crowd en masse was pushing their way through the door and out onto 14 th street.
    “Thanks,” I offered to Kenna, reaching for my hoodie. “He’s all yours.” I threw out as a candid acknowledgment of Ryder behind me.
    There was a long moment of awkward silence before Kenna looked me straight in the eyes with a pinched expression and declared, “He’s always been all mine.”
    Yikes.
    I didn’t know how to respond to that. I hadn’t meant to issue a challenge, but Kenna was looking at me like she was deciding which hand to slap me with.
    “She is well aware, Ken,” Ryder saved me by pulling his girlfriend to him and nuzzling into her neck.
    Ugh. More PDA.
    I looked longingly at the door, determined to flee. My night of freedom had been trampled and tainted by these two love birds and now I was being accused of poaching. Kenna’s claws had come out to protect her valuables and I was caught in between a product of my heritage and the uncomfortable third wheel.
    “Seriously, Kenna,” I started, forcing the apology from my lips. This was not in my nature, but something deeper than my instinct to run whispered that I needed to protect this relationship. Or at least protect Ryder…. from myself. “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I’m not like that. I mean, what’s yours is yours. I didn’t mean to intrude tonight. You came up to me…. I’m not interested in… I mean, you have nothing to worry about.”
    Ryder looked up at me from his hold on Kenna and could barely hold back his laughter. “You’ve given her a hard enough time, Kenna. She gets it, yeah?”
    “Yeah, she gets it,” Kenna answered Ryder and her eyes narrowed on me further.
    “I get it,” I repeated and then backed up toward the bar. I needed another drink before the bus ride home. I turned my back on the happy couple and called out to the bartender. “One more for the road,” I flirted a little, flashing him a smile, since he was already cleaning up and I knew I was being a pain in the ass.
    “I’m just not sure the vodka gets it,” Kenna sniped, not even trying to soften her voice or disguise her