Catching their breath, they kissed tenderly but didn’t speak. There was no need. Tidying themselves up, smoothing down their clothes, Jess giggling while she shoved a handful of tissue between her legs, they kissed again and nodded. ‘Time to get back to the party, beautiful.’
He held the door open and as she passed, he ran a fingertip gently down her bare back. She shivered with pleasure and turned to smile at him. Something had changed in that room. A deeper connection had been forged.
Theo couldn’t help but feel good about that.
The party had gone on until the early hours and the sun was coming up when Theo and Jess finally made their way home. It was another hour until they made it to the bedroom and then they fell onto the bed, exhausted, exhilarated and slept, locked in each other’s arms.
Jess moved through the house, ethereal and weightless in her wedding gown, her long hair tumbling to the center of her back. Every room was bathed in a soft, gold glow and she drifted through the house, calling for Theo. She wanted to see him, touch him, see his face when he saw her in the dress, and know she was his for all time…
Then he was there, at the end of the hallway, smiling at her. She moved toward him only to realize he wasn’t smiling… it was a rictus, there were too many teeth and his face wasn’t Theo’s handsome face but a contorted parody of it.
‘Come here, Jessica.’ Jules. It was Jules. She tried to turn away but the Theo/Jules monster was pulling her to him, closer, closer, his hands were metal, his fingers knives and he slashed at her, spattering hot blood across the dress, cutting her open and the pain, the pain…
Jess woke up, shaking. Theo slept beside her, his own face creased with stress. She moved closer to him and he stirred and locked his arms around her. She lay there, unable to sleep. A plan was forming in her mind. Something she in her life would never have dreamed she would have considered.
Killing another human being.
‘Hey, Mrs. Storm.’
Amelia turned and smiled. She really was a stunning woman, graceful, patrician. Her hair hung in a smooth bob around her face, a face untouched by a plastic surgeon.
‘Clem! How many times have I asked you to call me Amelia? Good to see you.’
She kissed him on the cheek and Jules felt his junk tighten. Really, dude? They were standing at the edge of the harbor, watching the ferries slink in and out of the terminus. It was a clear Washington day and Mt. Rainier rose over the Evergreen state. The weather was warm as Jules and Amelia walked slowly back into town.
‘I’ve got a lead on those champagnes you wanted for your son’s wedding,’ Jules mentioned casually and Amelia grasped his arm.
‘Oh, you are kind. Clem, can I treat you to lunch? I’m so grateful for all your help, really, I can’t believe how quickly the wedding day is coming.’
They walked down to a small family restaurant where Amelia had parked her car and they ordered a crab salad each. As they ate, Jules studied her with a smile on his face.
‘So the wedding of the year is almost upon us, hey?’
Amelia rolled her eyes. ‘For a wedding that the bride and groom wanted to be small and private. It’s entirely my own fault. I love Jessie like a daughter and after everything they’ve been through, I just want it to be perfect.’
‘I’m sure they’ll love it, whatever you’ve planned. Tell me more about Jessica.’ Go on, tell me how much better you know her than I do. I dare you.
Amelia smiled, a doting look on her voice, and she leaned forward conspiratorially. ‘I can’t tell you how right she is for Theo. I was beginning to despair that he’d ever find the right woman for him but as soon as I saw them together. She’s had a very traumatic past, did you know? Her step-brother is a monster, there’s no other word for it.’ Her face had hardened.
Jules was suddenly aware he was clutching the table in anger. He released his hand and put it over hers. ‘Tell me, Amelia. You know you can always confide in me.’
Amelia smiled and Jules could see something shut down in her. ‘I don’t want to talk about it all of a sudden. When I think of her tiny body in that hospital bed… would you excuse me, Clem? I need to go use the bathroom.’
After lunch, he walked her to her car. ‘Thank you for lunch. Next time, my treat.’
She smiled at him. ‘You’re on. Look, I have to get to Theo’s but I’ll catch up with you soon.
‘Look forward to it.’ He weighted the words with meaning, and was gratified by her deep flush.’
She got into the car and tried the ignition. Nothing. He rearranged his face to register confusion. ‘Pop the hood for me, Amelia.’
A minute later. ‘Sorry, I can’t see why it won’t start. Why don’t I give you a ride?’
Ten minutes later, he pulled the car into Theo’s driveway.
‘Thank you, Clem, you’re a lifesaver. If I missed this delivery guy one more time, they’ll give up and Jessie will have to get married naked.’
The familiar tug of his groin when he thought of Jessica’s smooth skin, her curves. He tried to smile. ‘No problem.’
The security guy gave him the once over but Jules could see that he didn’t recognize him. Good. Amelia led the way into the house and Jules couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face. Last time he had been here, Jess had been helpless under his knife as he stabbed her over and over. In the hallway, the wooden floorboards were still stained with her blood. Amelia must have seen him staring at the large stain.
‘Jess won’t let Theo replace the floorboards. She says it’s a reminder of the night she survived. I don’t get that, but it’s not my house.’
From the set of her mouth, he could see that she disapproved. He touched her arm, stroked it gently. ‘Don’t think about it. She’s fine now, right?’
Amelia sighed and went into the kitchen. He followed her and sat at the kitchen table while she made them coffee. He breathed in the scents of the room: wood, fresh air, newly laundered linen and faintly of Jess’ gardenia perfume. He was almost giddy with glee at the thought that later, she’d be here, in this room, completely unaware he’d been here.
‘Something funny?’
He shook his head. ‘No, just, you know… it’s a beautiful place.’
Amelia smiled, handing him a cup of coffee. ‘Isn’t it? Look, Clem, I’d like to invite you to the wedding, as my guest.’
He put his hands up. ‘Oh, no, thank you, that’s kind but I don’t know anyone here, really I’d feel awkward.’ And besides, there will be no wedding – not when the bride-to-be is found dead.
She argued with him for a moment but seeing his mind was set, gave up. He smiled. ‘I’m sorry but how about, to make it up to you, I take you out sometime?’
Amelia’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Are you asking me out, Clem? Because I’m old enough to be your mother.’
He smiled his best, most perfect charming smile. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. And yes, I am asking you out.’ The idea had come to him just then and he congratulated himself.
What could it hurt? Or rather whom?
Jess was in the middle of a humongous yawn when she suddenly noticed Theo, leaning against her office door, grinning that smile that made his eyes crinkle. Hurriedly she covered her mouth.
‘Too late, I saw it.’ He squatted down on the floor where she was sitting surrounded by papers. He looked through a couple. ‘You know when we talked about taking it easy your first few days back?’
Jess smiled ruefully. ‘I got immersed. They really did a great job whilst I was away. I’m not even sure they needed me to come back in, telling them what to do.’ She looked a little tired. ‘Maybe I should take a step back.’
Theo leaned over to kiss her, cup her cheek in his hand. ‘You just need to get your confidence back. They were always going to run the day-to-day stuff smoothly, you put together a great team. It’s the stuff that goes above and beyond that you’re here for, the creative side, they what-else-can-we-do, the difference between this and other art foundations. That�
�s your calling, Jessie.’
She shook her head, laughing. ‘See? You always know exactly how to make everything alright. I love you.’ She kissed him, wriggling across the floor so she could slide her arms into his jacket and pull it off. Theo gently pulled a spaghetti strap from her shoulder, kissing the silky skin there, trailing his lips across her collarbone to her throat, pressing his lips to the hollow. Jess sighed happily and Theo pushed her onto the floor, covering her body with his.
‘Everyone’s gone home, Jessie. It’s past eight…’ He used his finger to pull the strap down further, exposing her breast. His mouth covered her nipple, sucking and pulling at it as his tongue flicked and teased the small bud. She moaned softly, closing her eyes at his touch.
‘That’s it, Jessie,’ he murmured, ‘I’m in charge now, just relax.’
She felt him pull her dress down to her waist, his mouth warm and soft on her breasts, her stomach. She stroked his hair as his tongue traced a pattern, his lips against her belly, kissing her scars as his fingers pulled down her panties. God, she would never get tired of this man’s mouth on her, his tongue tracing a pattern up and down her sex, flicking and lashing around her clit. He bit down gently on the swollen bud as she shivered through an orgasm, then another as he slid two fingers inside her, then a third until he was filling her, watching her face flush and change as he caressed her, his thumb stroking a maddening pattern across her clit. He kissed her deeply, feeling her breathless and excited, her mouth soft and warm, as pink as a berry, hungry for him. She tensed and sigh, coming again and again under his touch. Only after she’d come for the fifth time did he release her, allowing her to unzip his pants and reach for his cock. She wiggled down his body and he sucked in a breath as her mouth closed over the wide head, circling the sensitive tip until he was half-crazed then sucking and teasing it until it was engorged and so hard that all he could think about was getting inside of her.
Jess straddled him and he slid his hands between her legs and spread the soft peachy folds of her sex. She gripped his cock, sliding the tip up and down her wet sex before guiding him inside and lowering herself onto him, moaning as he filled her, the muscles of her cunt gripping and squeezing him as they moved. Jess thrust her hips against his and they both watched his cock slide in and out of her. She smiled down at him, her eyes sleepy with desire.
‘Remember that time we fucked in that alley?’
Theo stroked her thighs. ‘Of course, I do. How about the ferry?’
‘The nightclub?’
They both laughed. ‘God, I love you, Miss Wood,’ Theo laced his fingers through hers.
‘I can’t wait to be your wife, Mr. Storm.’
In one movement he moved so she was beneath him, gazing up at him with adoring eyes as he trust his cock deep inside of her, feeling his climax build. Jess arched her back, pressing her belly onto his as she came, a beautiful pink blush sweeping up her golden body. There really was nothing to compare to Jessica Wood’s beauty when she reached orgasm, Theo grinned to himself, as he came, his cock pumping hard spurts of come inside her. He loved that his seed would be inside her for a few days, that she would carry him with her. The fantasy he’d had months ago, about Jess pregnant with his child, came back to him. They’d never discussed kids – hell, he’d never wanted them until he’d met her. Now he couldn’t think of anything better than a bunch of mini-Jess’s running around.
After Jules is dead.
That thought came unbidden now but it obsessed him. What was he turning into? But he knew, he knew, Jess was thinking the same thing. There was a new fierceness to her, a resilience that he loved. She kept surprising him.
‘What are you thinking, big guy? Your face has gone all… wookie.’
Theo bust out laughing. ‘Wookie?’
She giggled. ‘Sorry, I couldn’t think of the right word.’
He was still laughing. ‘So you went with Wookie?’
She snuggled deeper into his arms. ‘Tell me.’
‘I was thinking that I would anything to keep you safe. Forever safe, not just right now safe. Safe.’
‘Wookie Safe.’
He chuckled. ‘Wookie Safe.’
She kissed his jaw. ‘I trust you completely, Theo. I trust in you, in us. Just know I’m in this too. I would do anything to keep you safe. Wookie safe.’
He looked down at her lovely face, so earnest, so strong. ‘Always.’
‘Always.’
Amelia had told the security guard that ‘Clem’ would be going in out of the property to deliver the wine and champagne for the wedding and to expect him. She couldn’t have made it easier for him. The mini-cameras and microphones had been in their bedroom for good forty-eight hours now. Trouble was… Theo and Jessica hadn’t been. He’d taken Amelia to lunch earlier and he discovered that they were away at a conference until tomorrow night.
Patience. Patience. This is the long game. But he was getting antsy. He needed blood on his hands.
The girl had given the tiniest squeak before his hand went over her mouth. He dragged her into the trees, away from the tourist trails of the Gazzam Lake Preserve on Bainbridge Island. There were signs everywhere telling people not come here at night. Clearly these kids took no notice. He’d watched her separate from her friends, lag behind them as she checked her phone. Her black hair swung to her shoulders, her face sweet and plump. She was young, this one. She reminded him of the girl at the private school he’d been sent away to. Hannah. His first. He smiled at the memory. She’d complained about him to the faculty, asked them to make him stay away. He had stayed away, respected her wishes. Right up to the moment that he’d plunged his knife into her.
‘Please don’t….. don’t…’
The girl he’d taken had now fainted. He pushed up her shirt and waited. She stirred and opened her eyes. She looked at the knife in terror, disbelief. His hand was still clamped on her face and she shook her head wildly to free her mouth, to scream, to beg him.
Jessica hadn’t begged. He wanted her to plead with him to spare her. He needed her to do that.
Hannah had begged him just as he had shown her the blade and smiled tenderly at her.
And then she, like this girl, had bled for him.
Max was waiting for them in Jess’s office as they arrived back, hand-in-hand, in the Seattle office. He hugged them both and shut the door behind them, chatting easily about their conference. He grinned at Jess.
‘You, lady, are a star.’
She looked at Theo, who was equally confused. Max handed her a magazine, one of the top glossies. She saw her name on the cover and looked up in amazement. Max nodded.
‘They’ve done a feature. A good one, Jess, before you make that face.’
‘But I didn’t give an interview or even have pictures taken…’
He took the magazine back and flipped to the centrefold. He held it up. The full page photo of Jess was of her laughing with Theo at some event they’d attended; the smaller photo was taken from her previous life at the college, working with Gerry. The headline read ‘Fighting Back: The woman who tamed Theo Storm and survived a psychopath’
Jess took the magazine from Max and read the article, Theo leaning over her shoulder to read it. It was a puff-piece but a well-written one and very positive about Jess and the Stormfront Foundation. Still, Jess looked uncomfortable and Max leaned forward.
‘I know you don’t like this sort of thing, Jess, but in this case, I think it’s a good thing. Your name is out there anyway, it has been since you and Theo met and with the attempted murder…it’s time you controlled the narrative. You’re the head of one of the largest arts foundations in the world. Yeah, okay, some are going to say it’s because of Theo but no-one can argue you haven’t made it a success. If it hadn’t been for the… well, your leave of absence, then we would be even bigger. This time next year, under your direction, we will be.’
Max’s words brought tears to her eyes and, embarrassed, she looked at Theo who nodded. He move
d to sit next to her, picked up her hand. ‘Max’s right. And from a security point of view, your visibility will make it even hard for anyone who wishes you harm to get near you.’
Jess nodded slowly. ‘Okay. Okay then, well, what…?’
‘We’ve been getting requests, interviews – print media and t.v., photoshoots.’
‘Oh god.’
Both Theo and Max chuckled at her expression. ‘Listen, my idea is this. A press junket. One big t.v. interview. One photo shoot and interview with one top magazine. That’s it.’
Jess sighed. ‘All they want to know will be how it felt to be stabbed by my rapey step-brother.’
Theo nodded. ‘Because that’s all they know. You give them a glimpse of you, Jess Wood, I promise it’ll change the story.’
‘I feel like you’re both biased. I’m not that interesting.’
She couldn’t help but giggle at the synchronized eye-rolling of the two men. ‘Fine, fine, but you have to help me prepare.’
Max grinned and Theo kissed her cheek. ‘I think a charity event would be appropriate to make the most of the publicity.’
‘Now you’re talking.’ Jess leaned into Theo’s big body. ‘You sure the exposure will be okay? Security wise?’
Theo slid his arms around her waist and kissed her temple. ‘Wookie safe, I promise.’
Max looked askance at them and Jess grinned. ‘Long story.’
Max was collecting up his papers. ‘Okay, I’ll go start the ball rolling. See you two later.’ He headed for the door then stopped, and turned back. ‘And by the way, stop screwing in your office. You’re corrupting the security staff.’
Under Her Skin Page 69