Jess gazed around her at the wood frame cabin, nestled on the river bank, and grinned happily at Theo. He raised his eyebrows and she nodded. ‘It’s perfect, Theo. Just perfect.’
Her small suitcase, a stack of books and her art materials sat in the corner of the tiny living room. Theo dug out the remote and handed it to her.
‘WIFI password’s MyJessieLove.’ His cheeks flushed a little as she grinned at him.
‘Sweet boy.’
He took her in his arms. ‘You’ll call me every day? Ollie, your nearest neighbor’s a good guy, a family friend. If you get scared or lonely, call him. His number’s on the breakfast bar. The farmer’s market is a mile down the lane and…’
‘Theo… stop. I’ll be fine. It’s just a week and then you’ll be here.’ She kissed him gently. ‘Before you go… wanna give me a tour of the bedroom?’
Theo grinned and swept her up the wooden staircase into a room with the softest bed, draped in white mosquito netting. He undid her shirt slowly, kissing the skin he reveal with each button. When his fingers reached the fastening of her jeans, she groaned to hurry him. Theo grinned up at her.
‘I’ll be without you for a week, missy, I’m taking my time.’ He slid his hand into her panties, felt her body relax as he began to stroke her. He pressed his lips to hers, taking his time to taste her, his tongue gently massaging hers. Jess reached inside his pants for his cock, let her fingertips drift up and down the stiffening shaft.
‘Damn, that feels so good,’ Theo murmured and the air shifted, became charged as he slipped a finger inside of her, their kiss becoming hungrier, their breathing ragged. Theo kicked off his pants and hitched her legs around his hips. He held her wrists in one hand, forcing them above her head. Jess arched her back so their bellies touched as he drove himself hard into her, slamming his hips against hers. Her lovely face flushed scarlet as he fucked her, a dewy sheen of sweat making her glow. So fucking beautiful, was all he could think now. How could he leave her here alone, how could he be without her for an entire week?
Jess tightened her legs around his waist, wanting him to plough her hard into the bed, her hips burning with the pain of being forced so rough apart. She clenched her pelvic muscles, grinning as Theo groaned as she gripped him, gave him the tightness, the friction he wanted, that made him shudder with pleasure. Theo’s mouth was on her throat, her neck as he thrust, not caring if he hurt her. The intense ache in her back, her legs, her hips twined around the absolute pleasure of him ravaging her body, owning it, leaving her in ruins.
Afterwards, hey lay, their limbs tangled, gazing at the other. Theo let the back of his fingers drift down her face.
‘No matter what happens,’ he said softly, ‘it’s you and me forever. Fuck anything and anyone else. Whatever comes our way, as long as we’re together, we can beat it.’
She kissed him softly. ‘I love you, Theodore Storm.’
He left after supper and she grinned at his chagrin at having to leave her. When he’d gone, she double-locked the door and tugging her hair out of its messy ponytail, went to run a bath. As the tub filled, she made herself some tea and chose a book from the stack she’d brought with her.
For a moment, she stopped and just listened. Aside from the running water upstairs, the evening was utterly silent. It was comforting. Jess slowly went upstairs and undressed, slipping into the hot water with a sigh. It felt an age since she had been alone anywhere - not that she complaining, she loved Theo more than anything but it felt good to clear her head. She had some serious decisions to make, she thought now, letting the hot water soothe her aching body. She wanted Theo to come get her in seven days with her future somewhat planned.
The only thing she was sure of was her future lay with Theo Storm and she would anything to protect that.
Even if it meant breaking free of Jules forever – whatever that took.
Max smiled at Theo as his boss and best friend wandered into his office and flopped into the chair opposite. Max chuckled at his woebegone face.
‘Seriously, dude… you’re useless without Jess. It’s only a week – not even that now – six days. You’re letting the ‘Bro’ crew down.’
Theo laughed then. ‘Just can’t settle to anything. Oh, except I want to talk to you about setting up a foundation – the Stormfront Foundation for the Arts.’
Max grinned. ‘Oh ‘for the Arts’? Nothing to do with your girlfriend being an artist, of course.’
‘Of course.’
‘Joking aside, it’s a great idea – I assume you want Jess to run it?’
Theo nodded. ‘Well, I’m going to try and persuade her that it isn’t a handout, that it’s something that we were planning to do anyway.’
Max gave him an amused look. ‘Good luck with that. Have you broached the subject at all yet?’
Theo grinned sheepishly. ‘She said it was a great idea then when I told her I wanted her to run it she said ‘Why yes, of course you want a twenty-four-year-old to run a multi-million dollar charity.’’
Max laughed. ‘God I love that girl, she has you all figured out.’ His smile faded. ‘Is she doing okay? Really? I got a call today from the M.E. They’re releasing Camilla’s body next week.’
Theo nodded. ‘Jess told me to let her handle the funeral. Apparently Camilla didn’t have any family.’
The men were silent for a long moment. ‘What a mess.’ Max sighed and leaned back in his chair. ‘It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have….’
‘No,’ said Theo roughly. ‘The killer is to blame. You sound like Jess.’
‘She’s blaming herself?’ Max put his hands on the desk, leaned forward. ‘We should tell her, then, tell her what I…’
‘No. No way. She’ll only feel worse that we were trying to protect her. No. We wait.’
Max nodded unhappily then locked his gaze on his friend. ‘You think it was Gachet?’
Theo stared back evenly. ‘There’s no doubt in my mind.’
Jess opened one eye to look at the clock. Seven a.m. And that was definitely someone knocking at the front door. She clambered out of bed and fell over, the duvet tangled around her legs. She cursed and stumbled down the stairs. Pausing at the mirror in the hallway, she took in her ragged appearance, hair sticking up, old t-shirt hanging to just below her knees. She grimaced and opened the door.
A good-looking dark haired man stood outside, smiling at her. For a second she gaped at him, trying to place him and then it clicked. Her neighbor – or rather Theo’s neighbor – Ollie.
‘Hi.’
‘I’m sorry did I wake you?
She smiled. ‘No, I’m sorry. Come in, please.’ As he passed her, she rubbed her eyes, trying to wake her brain up. She led him into the kitchen.
‘I am sorry for coming so early. You must think me very rude.’
‘Not at all, it’s really good to see you again’ She snagged two coffee cups from the cupboard then realised that the t-shirt she was wearing was riding up her thighs and giving Ollie a free show. She snuck a look at him but he was gazing discreetly out of the window.
‘You know… I could make the coffee if you want to…’ He said, still not looking at her and Jess smiled gratefully.
‘That would be good, thank you, I’ll be two seconds.’
She darted upstairs and tugged on a pair of jeans, went to the bathroom to quickly brush her teeth. When she got back downstairs, Ollie was putting two mugs of steaming coffee on the table. He grinned at her and she started laughing, then, shaking her head.
‘Sorry again,’ he said but she put a hand up to halt his apology.
‘Please. You’re very kind, my brain’s not fully engaged in the mornings. So… hello, I’m Jess.’
Chuckling he shook her hand. ‘Ollie Barnes. Theo said you might need a lift to the farmer’s market…’ He looked down and laughed, once. ‘Okay. I’ll start again.’
Jess frowned, nonplussed by his seeming confusion. He smiled at her.
‘I’m snooping, I admit
. I’ve known Theo for years – since we were kids – but I’ve never seen him bring anyone out here since Kelly.’
Jess looked up sharply. ‘Kelly?’
Ollie nodded, not noticing her tone. ‘My sister. Before she died, she and Theo used to come back here to get some space…. Jess, are you okay?’
She could feel the blood drain from her face, her skin cold. For a second she struggled to talk, to form the words then she shook herself. Theo was allowed to have secrets, wasn’t he? She had enough of her own. She touched Ollie’s arm.
‘I’m sorry, Ollie, please go on. I’m so sorry about your sister.’
Ollie was studying her. ‘He didn’t tell you, did he?’
She shook her head but smiled. ‘No, he didn’t.’
Ollie’s breath hissed out between his teeth and he seemed to be considering something before he gave her a little grin. ‘What a jerk wad.’
She laughed, grateful for his saving her – again. ‘Total dill hole.’
They both laughed. ‘Tell me about Kelly – if it’s not too painful.’
Ollie looked out of the window. The sun was streaming in and Jess could see the dust motes swirling in the beams hitting the kitchen floor. ‘Feel like a walk?’
They strolled along the riverbank, the air so fresh and with a slight bite still from the early morning.
‘Kelly and Theo were off and on for years in their teens,’ Ollie explained. ‘When Theo graduated from college, they got back together. About a year later, Theo came home from work one day and she’d slit her wrists in the bath. He couldn’t save her. Kelly had always suffered from depression and over the years, she’d become an expert at hiding it. She thought if she told him about it, he’d leave her.’ Ollie sighed. ‘He wouldn’t have, he has a white-knight complex.’
‘That I know,’ Jess muttered. ‘God, Ollie, that’s so sad, so – why didn’t he tell me?’
‘Theo blamed himself for not seeing the signs – we all did but Theo took it the hardest.’ Ollie looked at her. ‘Should I be telling you this?’
Jess shrugged. ‘I don’t know, honestly. I won’t say anything to Theo if you don’t want me to. If he and I go the distance, I’m sure he’ll tell me himself eventually.’
She wasn’t sure of that at all and later when Ollie had gone, she thought about what he’d said. It made her wonder how much they really knew about each other. Theo knew loss as much she had. It made her sad that he hadn’t shared that with her yet. Her thoughts drifted to Camilla and the heavy feeling in her chest came back. Fucking Jules… she wanted to rip him limb from limb for what he’d done. In the days after the murder, she’d considered going to the police but the cops who had visited Theo’s apartment had obviously looked back in their files and their attitude to her had been colored by Jules’ remarks all those years ago.
‘They don’t take me seriously,’ she’d said bleakly to Theo who couldn’t help agree with her. She saw the anger in his eyes and he’d begged her to let him tell them about the attacks on her. She couldn’t face it though and there was something else. She wanted to make Jules pay. She wanted him to lose everything. She wanted him to hurt.
She wanted revenge.
He was waiting in the shadow of the alleyway when Jules Gachet walked out of the restaurant. With one hand, he clamped down on the other man’s shoulder and pulled him backwards. Max slammed the smaller man against the brick wall of the building, getting in his face, and was gratified to see a flicker of fear in his eyes.
‘Get your homo arms off of me,’ Jules puffed himself up, a sneer on his face, Max smiled grimly.
‘Oh, so you’ve done your homework, Gachet? Good. Then you know who you’re dealing with.’ Max searched the other man’s face. ‘You enjoy hurting women, Gachet?’
The other man chuckled darkly. ‘Where’d you get that idea?’
Max looked at him in disgust. ‘I won’t wait forever, Gachet. Draw up the papers to transfer Jess’s inheritance to her by the end of the week.’
Jules nodded once and walked towards his car. Max watched him as he opened the door and then turned, smirking.
‘Shame about Camilla…,’ his smile widened, ‘…tell Jess to take extra care, won’t you?’
Jess opened the door to the cabin and flew into his arms. Theo, laughing, picked her up and twirled her around joyfully. He pressed his lips to hers. ‘It’s been a very long week, Miss Wood.’
Jess kissed him, her hands on his face. ‘Agreed, way too long. Come inside and say hello properly.’
She opened a bottle of wine she’d bought at the Farmer’s Market as she cooked pasta for them and Theo filled her in on his week. When he brought up the idea of the charity again, she smiled at him.
‘I’ve been thinking about that too. I have a proposal for you, something I’ve been thinking about all week.’
Theo nodded. ‘Go on.’
She sipped her wine before speaking. ‘We rushed into everything so fast, you and I. We’re living together, you want me to go into business with you and as for sex… I’ve done things with you, I never imagined I would. But I don’t know your mom’s name. I don’t know why you went into property. Hell, I don’t know your shirt size. The minutiae of a person’s life – surely these are the things we need to know about each other. You don’t know that I can play the piano or that I once went on a date with a man who swore he could ‘make me a movie star’.
She pulled a face at that and he laughed. ‘Second date?’ Theo raised his eyebrows in amusement.
‘God no. But do you see what I mean? Your generosity in giving me a home, offering me a huge promotion in terms of my career – don’t think I’m not grateful because I am. But all I want is you. If you want me to run this charity, I will, but I don’t want any special favors just because we sleep together. I’ll take them if we mean something more than that.’
Theo chewed his lip, pondering her words and frowned. ‘Jess, surely you know by now… you are the love of my life. Hands down. If what you want to is to know me, then I’ll tell you everything you want to know.’
She nodded. ‘So I propose… we start over. Now, today. We tell each other everything, we get to know the other as well as possibly could. You are the only person in the world I trust implicitly. I hope I’m right to do so.’
She waited, willing him to tell her about Kelly, about that wound in his past. When he was silent, she felt a little pull in her chest but brushed it aside. There was time.
She leaned over to kiss him and he pulled her into his arms.
‘Anything you want, you just have to ask,’ he murmured as he kissed her. She kissed him back, melting at his touch then as she pulled back, she gave him a wicked grin.
‘Maybe… we should just go to first base, you know if we’re starting over.’
Theo chuckled. ‘Yeah, good luck with that.’ He slid his hands under her t-shirt, stroking her belly, cupping her breasts and she grinned.
‘I missed your hands.’ She kissed him. Theo smiled lazily at her.
‘Oh yeah? Let me show you what they can do.’ He slipped his fingers into the back of her jeans and stroked her buttocks. She sighed.
‘Yeah, that’s the stuff.’ She kissed his neck.
Theo grinned. ‘You know what else they can do?’
He cradled her in his arms and rolled her onto the floor. She giggled. He undid her jeans and pulled them off.
‘I’m quite sure this goes against our new rule.’ But she wriggled with pleasure. Theo shook his head, a mock serious expression on his face.
‘No, no. We’re just making out, that’s all like you said. But I should tell you since we last did this,’ he kissed her, ‘Times have changed. There’s a new definition of ‘making out’.’
‘Is there…. oh lordy…’ She gasped as his mouth found her sex, his tongue curling around her clit and lashing against the deep cleft of her. Theo looked up at her.
‘Man, you taste so good…’
She sucked in a deep breath a
s her body began to quiver until Theo brought her to a pitch of excitement she could not hold back and moaned as her orgasm shuddered through her. Theo propped himself up on his elbow and let his fingers drift gently down her body as she caught her breath. He smiled at her shining eyes, so deep and warm and full of love for him.
Jess chuckled at his satisfied smile.. ‘Wow. Theo, I think I like your new definition of making out.’ She pushed him onto his back and stroked his face. ‘I think maybe it’s my turn to add a new definition.’
‘You do, huh?’
‘Oh yeah.’ And grinning, she moved down his body.
Jules watched Theo bring her to orgasm and the rage he felt was all consuming. He waited outside Theo’s apartment the entire week in the hope he would lead him to wherever Jess had gone but now he wished he hadn’t seen them together like this. Defiling her, defiling his Jessica.
He stood at the side of the window, watching them, watching her as she repaid her lover’s generosity. Theo had pulled her t-shirt off and Jules admired the smooth skin, the way her back curved. Jules felt in his pocket. The gun. He had never used a gun before, not to deal with any of his… problems. But Jess was special. And having that rich asshole around had presented a whole new set of complications. A gun was necessary.
He felt the cold steel with his fingers. He imagined putting a bullet into that beautiful curve in the small of her back. The thought excited him. Jules grunted and froze. Theo had looked towards the window. He could see him sit up, looking concerned. Jules ducked down and darted back into the trees.
The Midnight Club Page 68