Jack leaned in and connected their lips with a kiss that went from tender to passionate under the breathtaking ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. They returned to the limo, and Jack instantly poured himself a double shot of whiskey. He seemed uneasy, and Victoria started to worry about her confession of love. She didn’t regret saying it. It was how she felt. She just worried that it would make Jack turn and run screaming from her. Victoria chose a bottled water and rode quietly back to the villa that Jack rented. The limo came to a stop and the door opened. The driver reached in to help Victoria from the vehicle.
Before she climbed out Jack grabbed her hand and said, “Why don’t you go in and get dressed. I’m taking you to dinner. I have something to take care of so the driver will pick you up at seven and take you to the restaurant. I’ll meet you there.”
Victoria nodded and got out of the limo. Since it was already five-thirty, Victoria needed to start getting dressed immediately. She walked into the closet and chose a red form-fitting dress that reached her knees. It had capped sleeves and a square neckline that exaggerated her cleavage. She placed the dress on the bed and jumped into the shower. She replayed her day and wondered if she’d just ruined her relationship. She finished her shower and got dressed. She decided to straighten her hair because Jack had never seen it straight before. She topped her look with a dark smoky eye and red lipstick. Victoria stepped into a pair of Prada pumps and walked across the room to inspect herself in the mirror.
She had achieved her desired look. Her dark hair was parted in the center and flowed to the middle of her back, giving her a very exotic look. She turned, walked out of the bedroom, and walked down the stairs. Victoria’s vision blurred, so she gripped the rail and sat on a stair. She was feeling light headed. She’d walked in the heat through the streets of Rome and hadn’t eaten since breakfast. She needed food and needed it fast.
The bedroom clock indicated that it was five minutes to seven, so the driver was probably already waiting outside. Victoria inhaled, grabbed the rail, and pulled herself up. She waited a few seconds before making her way down the rest of the stairs. Whatever had come over her was gone, so she walked out of the door and to the limo. The driver jogged around the car and opened the door for her. She climbed in and instantly thought of her first time in a limo with Jack. The erotic flashback brought a smile to Victoria’s face. She rode for fifteen minutes before the limo came to a halt in front of the restaurant that Victoria knew she couldn’t afford. The driver helped her from the limo and she entered a restaurant with art that could rival museum’s collections. She spoke to a beautiful hostess who informed her in broken English that Jack would be there soon. The hostess instructed Victoria to follow her, and she escorted her through the restaurant. Victoria strutted through the restaurant, turning the heads of both women and men.
She released a little giggle and thought to herself, Europeans are freaks. I like it here.
The hostess sat Victoria at a table in the corner and placed a napkin in her lap. She brushed her hand against Victoria’s breast and smiled. Victoria returned her smile and the hostess walked away.
“Did she just feel me up?” Victoria mumbled the question out loud. A server stared into her cleavage as he sat a glass of water on the table. Victoria sipped the water and returned it to the table. She looked up to see Jack entering the restaurant. He stood tall and walked with confidence. He was dressed in all black. He wore a perfectly tailored suit with a black shirt and charcoal tie.
The heads turning for Jack made Victoria’s looks of interest more like quick peeks. One woman actually had the nerve to reach up and touch his arm. Victoria’s chair made a loud noise when she slid it from under the table. Jack and the other patrons looked in her direction as she stood from her chair. She was just about to make her way over to the bold woman when Jack peeled the woman’s hand from his arm and smiled wickedly at Victoria. He continued toward the table. The woman smiled arrogantly at her and Victoria gave the woman her best, “Bitch, I will kill you!” look.
Jack navigated his way through the hungry looking women and walked to the table. He wrapped an arm around Victoria’s waist and pulled her close to his body. “How can a woman that just initiated a threesome be so jealous?”
“I... Me... I initiate,” she replied. Jack nodded, then kissed her, and destroyed every bit of anger that was boiling inside of her. She all but melted back into her chair. The man certainly had a way of calming her inner beast. The server walked over and retrieved Victoria’s napkin from the floor that had fallen when she stood. Again he stared into her cleavage as he reached to lay the napkin in her lap. Jack grabbed the server by the wrist with so much force that it looked painful.
“I got it. Go away,” Jack snarled at him before snatching the napkin from the server’s hand. Jack released him and he scurried away.
Apparently Victoria wasn’t the only jealous lover in the room.
They indulged in a wonderful dinner that was enhanced by a lot of alcohol. They enjoyed each other’s company until the restaurant closed. The couple touched each other inappropriately all night and did nasty things in the limo. When they returned to the villa, they exited the limo damn near naked. What Victoria felt when Jack touched her was love, but she tried not to read too much into their physical life. She spent the night loving her man the way he deserved. She sucked and fucked him until he completely passed out.
The next morning, Victoria boarded the aircraft wearing dark sunglasses. She’d had an eventful evening and was feeling every bit of it. She sat in one of the luxurious leather seats and laid her head back. She’d decided that sleep was what she needed. She’d had such an incredible weekend that she forgot about being stalked back home in Chicago. But now that it was time to go home, Victoria was drifting back to her real life. She sat in her seat and buckled her seatbelt. When the flight attendant appeared with a mimosa, she thought back to their very erotic sexual experience.
“Hi, Nicole,” she said to the flight attendant.
“Good morning, Ms. Price,” Nicole responded in a professional tone. “Would you like breakfast?”
“Yes,” Victoria answered. She liked Nicole because Nicole knew her role and played it well. When she told Jack that he’d never see her again, she was only joking. She wanted to see his response, even though Victoria knew that she didn’t have the power to decide who worked for Jack or not. But, Victoria was no fool because, as long as they were together, when Jack flew alone he’d have an adorable gay flight attendant named Tyrece. She’d met him on a flight to South Carolina a year ago. They’d kept in touch, and Tyrece often visited during his layovers in Chicago. The only flight that Nicole would grace would be flights that they shared as a couple. Victoria was a little less confident in them as a couple because since she confessed her love for him, Jack had been a little different. He seemed less comfortable with Victoria. Jack’s affectionate behavior hadn’t changed. He made love to her with such passion. But he was different none-the-less. They flew back to Chicago in silence, which made Victoria a bit uncomfortable. Hell, even Nicole even seemed a little uncomfortable in the tension between the pair.
Chapter 22
Victoria
The ride to Jack’s penthouse was no better.
Victoria couldn’t take the silence any longer. “What’s going on, Jack?”
He looked up from the tablet that he was holding. “What do you mean?”
Damagingly, he returned his attention to the tablet. Victoria was pissed that he’d just dismissed her.
“Jack, it seems that since I...”
Jack quickly cut her off, “Victoria, I just have a business issue.” There was a hint of irritation in his voice.
At that very moment, it became clear to Victoria that she had definitely destroyed any relationship that she and Jack had when she confessed her love for him. She sat back in her seat and decided to let it go. When they arrived at Storm Enterprises, they rode the elevator with Jack’s driver in silence. They entered th
e penthouse and the driver carried their luggage in and returned to the elevator. Victoria walked over to the window and stared at the view. She thought of leaving before Jack asked her to, but the truth was that she didn’t want to leave.
“Vic, I have to go and handle some business,” she heard Jack say from behind.
Victoria turned away from the window and faced him. He stood in front of her with a pained look on his face.
“Jack, I told you that you didn’t have to love me back.” Victoria’s whisper was more like a plea.
“Vic ...” He paused before saying, “Don’t wait up.”
Victoria blinked her disbelief at his statement. His statement was full of torture. It was only one o‘clock in the fucking afternoon.
Jack turned and walked toward the elevator. Victoria wanted to run and stop him, but her feet seemed cemented to the floor. Jack stepped on the elevator and turned without looking at Victoria. The doors closed and he was gone. A combination of pain and sadness washed over Victoria. She dropped to her knees and wailed. She had ruined everything. Of course it was too soon to tell Jack that she loved him, but she expected nothing in return. She cried until she became nauseous. Victoria stood to her feet and walked up the stairs. She’d decided to shower and get dressed. She entered the bedroom and walked over to one of the drawers that Jack assigned to her and pulled out clean underwear.
Victoria showered and dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of sweats. She packed the small bag that she came with and dropped it by the stairs next to her purse. She realized that Jack still had her keys, so she went in search of them. She ran up the stairs and entered Jack’s office. Her keys weren’t on his desk, so she walked around to check his drawers. Victoria opened his desk drawer and found her keys. She looked up at his desk and tears began to form. Jack had framed one of the pictures that he took of her on his boat. She was smiling in front of the Chicago skyline. The tears fell from her eyes and dropped on a file in Jack’s drawer.
Victoria dried her tears and pulled the file out of the drawer. She wiped it with the bottom of her t-shirt and reached to put it back in the drawer, until she saw her name and address on it. She sat her keys on the desk and opened the file to find her entire life. It contained info on her family, friends, hobbies, and even the Sickle Cell Ball. He even had her personnel file. Victoria stared at her entire life in a folder. There were surveillance photos of her during decoy prostitution missions. He even knew everything about her engagement to Dante.
Victoria was aware that a billionaire had the resources to get information on just about anyone, but what scared her was the fact that the file was dated before they’d actually met. Victoria replayed their relationship. Mine; he’d used the word repeatedly and so did her stalker. He coincidentally showed up at her apartment the night before a note was left in her car. She didn’t know where he was the day that her apartment was vandalized.
Victoria wondered if Jack was the stalker. She couldn’t think straight, but she was certain of one thing. She needed to get the hell out of there. She closed the file and snatched her keys off the desk. She ran out of his office and down the stairs. She grabbed her purse, slid the file in the side pocket of her bag, and headed to the elevator. When Victoria approached the elevator, she heard a ding. It was warning that the doors were about to open. She pulled her weapon out of her purse and tucked into the back of her pants. The doors opened, and Jack came into view. He looked down at her bag and walked off of the elevator.
“Are you leaving me, Victoria?”
Victoria ignored his question and backed into the elevator.
“Victoria!” He shouted and stepped toward the elevator.
Victoria snatched her weapon out of her pants and pointed it at Jack. He froze and raised his hands.
“Step the fuck back,” she said through gritted teeth.
Jack stepped off of the elevator. “Victoria, why are you pointing a gun at me?” Surprisingly, his voice was steady and calm.
“Are you my stalker?”
Jack’s expression was one of shock and disbelief. “What?!”
“Are you fucking stalking me?!”
“No, Victoria! What’s wrong with you?”
Victoria took one hand off of her weapon and retrieved the file from the side of her bag. Jack’s face went from confusion to regret. Victoria flung it at Jack and pushed to button for the garage.
“Vic! Baby, wait. I can explain.”
A tear fell from her eye and Victoria shook her head. “You stay the fuck away from me,” she warned as the elevator doors closed.
As she rode to the garage, the tears began to fall freely.
Victoria exited the elevator and walked through the garage to Jack’s designated parking area. She walked towards her Camaro and noticed that the entire section of the parking garage was designated for Jack. Victoria opened the back door of her car and tossed her bag inside. She walked across the parking lot to a black Bentley. She walked around to the back of the car. Victoria clutched her chest and inhaled sharply. The license plate read: STORM.
“Oh my God. I’m so fucking stupid,” she whispered through tears.
Victoria ran to her car and hopped in the driver’s seat. She was actually sleeping with someone that was capable of terrorizing someone. Between Dante and Jack, Victoria no longer trusted her judgment. All of this time, she thought that Dante was her stalker. Now, she wasn’t so sure.
She drove in the direction of her apartment wondering how she would ever be comfortable there again. Victoria had to return to work in the morning, so she had no other choice. She pulled into the parking lot of her building and parked. Victoria hopped out of her car and walked to the entry door. She stood for a few seconds before unlocking it and walking up the stairs. When she arrived at the top of the stairs, Mrs. O’Malley stood in the hall. Victoria stood defeated in front of the mean old lady and waiting for the nasty remark that was sure to come from her.
Mrs. O’Malley looked at Victoria and shook her head while handing Victoria a set of keys.
Curiously, Victoria took them as Mrs. O’Malley muttered disapprovingly, “Child,” before she turned, entered her apartment, and slammed the door.
Victoria dropped her head and attempted to use her key to her enter her home, but they wouldn’t work. She glanced at the set of keys that Mrs. O’Malley handed her. Surprisingly, they unlocked Victoria’s door.
The smell of fresh paint temporarily snatched Victoria out of her confusion and depression. She locked the door and dropped her bag by the door. She pulled her weapon from her purse and headed down the hall. Victoria approached her bedroom, reached inside, and flicked the light switch. She stood in the doorway and was shocked to see that there were no traces of vandalism. The walls were freshly painted and she had a brand new bed that was complete with bedding. Victoria had no idea who could’ve done this. No one but the super had keys to her apartment. Victoria walked back to her living room and pulled her phone out of her purse. There were seventeen missed calls from Jack. Victoria used the Mr. Number Call Blocker app to block any further calls from him and dialed the super, but didn’t get an answer. Victoria had no other choice but to be a big girl and get on with her life. She showered and went to bed, but she didn’t sleep at all.
Chapter 23
STORM
Jack stood in his office and stared down at a very busy Michigan Avenue. It had been a month since he’d last seen Victoria and he was just as devastated as he was the day that she left him. He missed her so much that he couldn’t concentrate on anything but her. His sister, Amy, basically ran his cooperation while he practically rotted away in his office. He’d called Victoria at least a hundred times, but she never answered. John was still secretly looking out for her. Even though Jack knew that she was safe, the fact that he no longer had her in his life had all but destroyed him. He loved her. He was in love with her, and he thought back to that moment in Rome when she whispered that she loved him.
Admittedly, he didn’t res
pond the way that he should have, but he’d never been in love and he didn’t know what he was feeling. At the time, Jack couldn’t possibly have known how much it would hurt to lose her. Every day he exited the elevator and looked into Mary’s worried eyes. He tried smiling to reassure her, but Mary wasn’t buying it.
Victoria thought that he was the stalker that was terrorizing her, and he couldn’t blame her. Truthfully, he did stalk her. He needed to explain himself, but she wouldn’t have anything to do with him. Jack was a wreck, and he knew that his entire family was worried about him. He’d finally sat down with Amy and filled her in on the entire story of him and Victoria. Amy understood and offered her brother a shoulder to cry on, but she couldn’t bring Victoria back to him. So, she did the only thing that she could; she kept his company afloat while he suffered through a terrible heartbreak.
“Mr. Storm, Victoria Price is here to see you.” Mary’s excited voice tore him from his thoughts.
Jack bypassed the intercom and ran out of his office. Victoria stood in front of him, clearly affected by their separation. She looked tormented. Jack walked slowly toward her. After all, the last time that he approached her, she pointed a gun in his face.
Tears fell from her eyes as she whispered, “Jack, I’m pregnant.”
Jack halted his steps. Mary ran from around her desk and hugged Victoria. Again, Jack was not reacting the way that he should’ve. He needed to do something to comfort her but he was stunned by her news. Mary reassured Victoria that everything would be okay and led her into his office. Jack stood in the same spot without movement, until Mary walked out of his office and slapped his arm. He stared at Mary in shock.
“Wake up and stop acting like an ass!” She yelled at him before walking back to her desk. Jack turned and walked toward his office. He stopped at the door and looked back at Mary. She waved her hand to shoo him into his office, so he slowly walked in and closed the door. He turned to see the sadness in Victoria’s eyes. He’d been such a fool. He loved her so much and he just wanted to make it better. Jack hurried to her and pulled her into his chest. For the first time since she left, he was complete. She cried in his arms while he held her tight.
Beautiful Prey: The Storm Series Page 14