Max, however, couldn’t get the plan out of his mind but it wasn’t for a couple of days before he got Jess on her own. Thinking back, he pondered he probably have opened the conversation with something better than ‘I think you’re right about Clem.’
Jess’s face had paled, turned green and she’d shot a look at Theo. They were in the garden and Theo was playing with the dogs. Seb and Tom were home from school and ganging up on their older brother as they teased and revved the dogs up into a frenzy. As fit as Theo was, the twenty-year age difference between him and the twins was beginning to show. Jess and Max were giggling at his exhausted demeanor and Max decided to broach the subject then and there.
Jess looked at him and he could see tears shining in her eyes. ‘Max, don’t.’
He immediately felt sorry, especially seeing how her hand fluttered protectively over the tiniest bump on her belly. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have blurted it out like that. What I mean is, there’s something off about the guy. I’m not saying it’s…. him… I’m just saying there’s something about him we should maybe check out. You and me. I have his address on the island. You up for a little B&E?’
Jess studied him for a beat then a small smile crept over her face.
‘Like Scooby Doo?’
Max laughed. ‘Just like Scooby Doo. You can be Daphne. I’ll be Freddy.’
Jess scoffed. ‘If anything, you’re Scooby.’
‘That makes you Shaggy.’
‘I can live with that.’
They chuckled then Jess nodded, her face suddenly serious. ‘I would love to put my mind at rest once and for all. If he’s Jules, I’ll know immediately. I know him too well – even if it’s him, there’ll be some things he can’t do without. He’s too spoilt.’
‘Good. Then we’ll have to plan it for when… well, I don’t think we should tell Theo.’
‘Agreed. Well, he’s got a meeting Monday evening. Come over and pick me up as if we’re having dinner. I’ll clear it with Mike.’
Max sat back in his chair, studying his friend. Even for her damage, maybe even because of it, Jess was a badass. She wanted this over. For a second, Max wondered if he’d done the right thing. Putting Jess in danger again? Theo would kill him if he knew.
This time, though, he would be prepared. Max thought of the little .22 he’d kept in his car ever since Josh was killed.
He was ready to use it if he needed to.
On Friday, Jess and Theo shut the world out and set up camp in the living room, switching on the big flat screen. Theo grinned when Jess cringed at the first sight of them on the screen.
‘Camera loves you, beautiful,’ he pulled her to him and kissed her temple.
‘Who’s looking at me when a god is sitting next to me?’ She laughed as he rolled his eyes at her. The program went into an introductory package. Theo was studying Jess’ face.
‘Yeah, you’re joking around but you, nervous?’
She nodded. ‘Sure, I’m worried about the edit. Too many times people have twisted my words or make me seem frivolous, hysterical or worse, a liar.’
His arms tightened around her. ‘Not this time.’
‘You sure?’
‘Yep. You know why? Because you are none of those things, Jessie. Not even close.’
She pressed her lips to his firmly. ‘I love you.’
To her great relief, the interview was pretty much verbatim to what they had told Diane in the studio. There were more photos, video of Jess at work at the foundation and to her surprise and delight, interviews with both Gerry, her old boss at the college and the Dean, who spoke seriously about the painting Jules had destroyed and that he was sad that Jess had taken the blame for it.
‘My regret is I made Jess a scapegoat when clearly, I should have supported her against the man who has hurt, terrorized and damaged Jess her whole life. I regret that decision greatly and would welcome Jess back as an associate anytime she would like.’
Jess flushed pleasantly at that but the glow faded quickly as the interview went into her relationship with Jules, and her stabbing. There was a brief clip of her being loaded into an ambulance, bloodied and broken, barely alive and worse, Theo, his beautiful face contorted with bottomless grief. She gasped, a brief intake of breath, a horrified sound and closed her eyes. Never again.
‘Are you okay?’ Theo’s voice broke in the middle of his sentence and she hugged him as hard as she could.
‘I’m so sorry, Theo…’
‘It’s not your fault.’
But she felt like it was. She could have been stronger with Jules at the start, told her Mom, her step-dad. Would they have believed her? Then, she would have never thought they would, but now, looking back, maybe she had misjudged them. Her step-father had sent Jules away to school for a reason. Jesus, what a fucking mess of a family.
Jules watched the interview in a quiet bar in town. He stared at Jess’s beautiful face, her smile, the way she looked at Storm, her voice – soft but with a new undercurrent of something else – strength. And then she’d said the words. The three of us… Theo and I and our child.
She was pregnant. Pregnant. With Storm’s child.
Jules’ fury knew no bounds. His jealousy rose up in him, a tide of vicious hate. He watched Jess as she smiled her happiness and he had never known such rage. Another betrayal. For this, he would make her suffer horribly before she herself died. Nodding to the barman, he brushed past the other customers and strode out purposefully into the street. Night was settling over the island, the rain unrelenting. He went home, found what he wanted and went to his car and drove out towards their house. Theo Storm’s child.
He would make him watch while he slaughtered Jess and their baby.
As the interview ended, Jess uncurled from the couch and went to the window. It was raining hard outside, thundering down, the lawn was already soaked. She felt Theo’s arms slide around her waist, his mouth on the back of her neck.
‘Theo…’
‘Shhh…. it’s just you and me now, Jessie…. all the pain is behind us…’
Even if he didn’t mean it, his saying the words made her feel better. This was her family now. She turned in his arms and stared up into those intense green eyes she loved so much. Eighteen months and she’d lived and died a lifetime in those months.
She reached behind her and opened the French windows, pulling Theo out with her onto the porch. Her face serious, she stepped out into the garden, the rain soaking her immediately and slowly stripped for him. Theo gave a hiss of feral excitement but she held up a hand, keeping him at bay. She was in charge now.
Naked, she walked towards him, pushing him back down onto the porch steps. She ran her hand between her legs and stroked herself.
‘Theo?’ Her voice was soft, sensual. ‘What do you like?’
Theo seemed entranced by the rhythmic movement of her hand, the way the rain clung to her skin, golden-hued in the dim light. His hand moved to free his cock, thickening and straining against his pants and he fisted the root as he watched her masturbate, stroking and pulling at the quivering length.
‘You…’ he said, his voice a low growl, ‘only you. I want to taste you.’
She stepped closer and he clamped his hands on her buttocks and buried his face in her sex. Jess bit down on her lip as his tongue delved deep inside her, tasting and biting down on her clitoris until it ached with desire. He brought her to the edge of orgasm before looking up at her, his smile lazy and languid. With a swift movement, he rolled her onto her back, pushing her legs as far apart as they could go and grinding his hips against hers, teasing her entrance with the wide crown, nudging in an inch and withdrawing until she was almost screaming with frustration and anticipation. He kissed her roughly.
‘You want me?’
She nodded. ‘God, yes, Theo… please…. now.’
‘Tell me.’
‘Fuck me, Theo, fuck me hard…’
‘More.’
‘Nail me to the ground, Theo
, fucking fill me until I feel you everywhere.’
He grinned, still teasing her, feeling the hot, wet arousal of her cunt against his straining cock. He pressed a finger just above her clit. ‘Will you feel me here?’
She nodded, enjoying the game, prolonging her arousal. He trailed his finger up to the bottom of her belly. ‘Here?’
‘God, yes…more…’
His finger circled her navel. ‘Here?’
‘Hell yes, god, Theo, please…. yes…..’ She screamed as he drove his diamond-hard cock into her, pressing her legs open hard, his hand on her belly, he could feel his cock slamming into the very end of her. This was feral, animal sex and they were growling, biting and clawing at each other, not caring if they hurt each other, just need more, more, more…
Theo thrust with a fierce need to be inside her as deep as he could possibly be, his free hand plumping her breasts, taking each nipple into his mouth in turn, pulling and sucking until Jess was crying helplessly from desire. He pulled out before he came and ejaculated onto her soft belly, again and again, his semen mixing with the rain on her body. As he caught his breath, she slid down his body. Looking up, she smiled at him, sleepily sexy eyes shining. ‘My turn to taste you, Theo… I’m going to milk you dry, handsome.’ Then her lips parted over the crest of his cock and Theo closed his eyes as she took him into the warm hollow of her mouth, her tongue tracing a pattern over the tip, licking the salty taste of him, her hands at the root of him, pumping and stroking. She sucked at him hard, not relenting in her attack as he groaned and called her name into the gloom of the evening. He came again, almost violently, his semen gushing in a hot rush onto her tongue and she swallowed his seed down hungrily, the sight of her enjoying his taste made his cock tighten with desire, already semi-hard again after two orgasms.
‘I need to fuck you again,’ he growled and took her again, pressing her belly-first into the grass as he entered her from behind, her cunt slippery with her arousal. His fingers needed the tight round cheeks of her butt as he plowed into her, pulling them apart so he could see his cock driving into her. ‘Christ, you make me so hard, beautiful…’
Jess’s answering moan was long and shuddering and he felt his cock unbelievably thicken more until it almost hurt, sliding in and out of her silken dampness. He came quickly filling her and immediately plunged into her ass, wanting to possess her in every way this glorious night. Jess, helpless, her limbs liquefying under the assault on her senses, on her body, coming again and again. Theo reached under her body to stroke her hardened clit, feeling it jerk and pulse under his touch and Jess gave a shuddering cry a she came again.
Finally, slippery with rain, sweat and cum, they collapsed together onto the grass, gasping for air and laughing. Theo turned his head to smile at her.
‘You think we’ll ever get tired of doing that?’
Jess grinned, rolling onto her side and propping her head up on her hand. ‘I hope not. I want to still be fucking in the rain when we’re eighty.’
Theo stuck his hand out and she took it. ‘Deal,’ he said and pulled her on top of him again. She smoothed her palms over his face. ‘Have you any idea how much I love you, Theodore Storm?’
He lifted his lips to hers. ‘If it’s the same as how much I love you, then hell, yes.’
Jess smiled at him and then shifted so she was straddling him, her hands wrapped around his stiffening cock. ‘Ready to go again, soldier?’
He watched them roll naked on the grass and to his horror, his cock twitched up. He ignored it, instead fingering the cold metal of the pistol in his hand. God, he wanted to put a bullet into her as she fucked Theo Storm, see it smash into her soft abdomen, see the splash of her blood cover her lover as she bled out in his arms.
A fantasy, though – from this distance, he’d never hit her, he wasn’t a good enough shot and it would blow his cover on the island. Besides, he wanted to be up close and personal when he killed her, wanted her blood on his hands again. Instead, he watched them fucking each other’s brains out and jerked off, watching Jess’s lovely body as she rocked her hips, riding Storm’s cock until they were both coming.
After they dressed slowly, talking and laughing. Jules saw the security guard walk around the corner to speak to Theo. For a second, Jules tensed, wondering if they’d sensed his intrusion but when he saw the men smiling and laughing, he relaxed. Theo and Jess, hand-in-hand, followed him around to the front of the house. Jules watched them leave then turned his attention to the open French windows and smiled. Quickly, he shifted from his hiding place and darted across the lawn and into the house. The television set was still on, covering his movements as he snuck into the kitchen and down to the basement. He was in. He still didn’t know what he intended to do but just knowing she was sleeping two floors above him, oblivious, made his cock harden.
So close, my Jessica, so close.
Theo woke up on Monday morning with a new sense of optimism. Somehow the interview had felt like a statement of intent – nothing can break us – and what followed, the amazing, sensual fucking in the rain…he had no words for that. He smiled as he shaved. A whole weekend of just being together, talking, having fun. It had been utterly perfect. Friday night’s rain had disappeared and now it was glorious outside. He wondered idly if they could rent a boat, go out on the water, go whale-watching if the weather held to the next weekend.
‘Theo?’
‘Up here, baby.’
Jess came back up the stairs, pale, shaking, and immediately the tension in his chest returned.
‘What is it?’
‘I was just putting some laundry in the machine and could you come with me please and tell me I’m not crazy?’ She whispered. The tone of her voice alarmed him.
He followed her back down into the basement. She stood in front of the basement’s broken window and wordlessly, pointed at the floor. The bare lightbulb shone down onto the scrubbed floorboards. Glints, sparkles of light. Glass. Broken glass lay on the floor and as he studied it, he realized with a shock that it had been arranged carefully, precisely. They looked at each other in confusion.
The glass was arranged into a single word.
Jess.
‘Look, it’s hardly threatening, is it? Maybe it was one of the twins fooling around.’ Jess was getting annoyed. After her earlier unease, she’d talked herself down and thought Theo would see it more calmly but Theo’s immediate reaction was to call the police, get Mike to increase security. Jess felt all the happiness, the security they’d built back up slip away.
‘I still think we should call the police….’
‘And tell them what?’ She interrupted. ‘Help, come quick, someone’s leaving words in our house?’
‘Don’t be facetious,’ Theo muttered crossly. She put her hand on his arm.
‘I’m sorry but…it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have reacted to it. I honestly think it’s just a prank one of the boys played. That window has been broken for ages.’
‘Mike would have spotted it.’
‘From outside? Not likely, it’s tiny and tucked away. Besides, you need to be a Lilliputian to fit through it so it’s not a big security risk.’ She tugged on his hand. ‘Come on, let’s forget about it. Work’s calling.’
She went back upstairs but Theo stayed, staring at the glass. Maybe she was right; her name was hardly a threat, was it? He reminded himself to text Seb and Tom when he got to work. Theo bent down with the brush to sweep up the glass then stopped himself. Changing his mind, he went to get his camera and quickly snapped off a few shots of the glass. With the dustpan, he carefully scooped up the shards and dropped them into a bag. Instead of throwing them away, he stashed them in a cupboard. Fingerprints.
Paranoia. No way, he told himself crossly, after everything that’s happened, nothing’s too small. Satisfied, he went upstairs to finishing dressing.
Max picked Jess up from work that night. Theo’s meeting was going to run late into the evening and so it was easy for Max and Jess t
o find an excuse to go home together. As Max pulled his car from the ferry, Jess was getting a little excited about their less-than-legal excursion.
‘What shall we do, wait till he goes out?’
Max shot her a look. ‘Obviously, doofus.’
Jess grinned good-naturedly. ‘Sorry, that was dumb, but all of this is new to me.’
They drove to two blocks away from Clem’s house and parked. It was almost dark so they could slip along the street without being seen.
Clem’s house was in darkness.
‘Ready?’ Max looked at Jess crouched next to him in the alleyway. His gaze drifted downwards to her black top and leggings. She raised her eyebrows at him, amused. Max smirked.
‘Is that your special breaking and entering outfit?’
She looked down. ‘It’s the only black t-shirt I’ve got.’
‘You look like Cat-woman without the mask.’
‘Geek.’
‘Doofus.’
The banter was making her less nervous and she was grateful to Max for making her feel better.
‘I don’t think he’s in…let’s give it a try, huh?’
They moved quickly, keeping to the shadows. At the door to the apartment, Jess reached up over the lintel. She shook her head. Max shrugged and reached into his pocket. Kneeling, he picked the lock.
‘They teach you that at Pony?’ Jess grinned at him.
‘Nope. In high school. Came in handy when we used to break into my dad’s liquor cabinet.’
Jess snorted. Max grinned and, flicking on his flashlight, led her in. They stood in the darkened living room. Jess looked around.
‘I don’t even know where to start.‘
Max swept the flashlight over the room.
‘Drawers, any drawers, boxes, stuff like that.’
Under Her Skin Page 72