Page 225 of Under Her Skin
‘Jess? It’s me,sweetheart.’
She flew to the door, yanking it open and falling, sobbing into Theo’s arms. He gathered up into his arms and kicked the door shut behind then. Carrying her, he sat down on the bed and rocked her until her sobs turned into sniffs and shivers. He pressed his lips to hertemple.
‘I’m so sorry, baby,’ he murmured. ‘For all of it. I’d ask why Jules would do this but I already know. We’ll get through this and I’ll make that fucker pay, I promise you Iwill.’
Jess said nothing but nuzzled closer to him, her lips pressed against his neck. He tilted her chin up and kissed her, his arms tightening around herprotectively.
‘I miss you,’ she whispered and Theo groaned and pulled onto the bed, his hands slipping under her t-shirt and pulling it over her head. Feverishly, Jess kicked her jeans off and unbuttoned Theo’s shirt. He’d obviously just come from the office and he was wearing the blue shirt that she loved on him, the one that brought out his green eyes and complimented his dark hairperfectly.
‘It’s beenhell without you, Jess, actualhell…’
She was straddling him and he gazed up at her, his eyes soft with the relief of being with her. It made her heart jolt to see the hurt on his face. I did this. I hurt him. I’m so sorry, I’m sosorry….
Jess ran her hands over his hard chest and leaned down to press her lips against his. ‘For me too. I’m so sorry,Theo.’
With one quick move, he flipped her onto her back and gazed down at her. ‘Stop apologizing. You and me, that’s all thatmatters.’
She coiled her legs around his waist and she could feel the hot length of his cock nudging against her damp sex. ‘I want you inside me, Theo, now,forever.’
He smiled, though his eyes were still tired and anxious. He trailed his lips along her jaw, pressed them to the hollow of her throat. ‘Jess, you are mylife…’
His cock slid into her welcoming cunt, filling her, and as he began to slide in and out, she tensed her muscles to grip him, keep him locked inside of her, her body taking control and cleaving to him, skin to skin. She rocked her hips against him as his thrusts became ever harder and faster, gasping out her pleasure, calling hisname.
What beganas tender lovemaking suddenly became something else, abandoned, uncontrolled, brutal. Their desperate need to erase everything that had happened lately, just to get back to the feral desire that had driven their entire relationship. Jess begged Theo to please, fuck her harder, harder and Theo responded, his kisses rough and greedy, biting down on her shoulders hard enough to leave teeth marks, his immense strength and size having complete command over her body. They both lost themselves in the storm of sensations that raged through them and when, finally, they both came, crying out and shouting their love over and over, it seemed as if the rest of the world had simply meltedaway.
Jess lay, locked in Theo’s protective arms, stroking his damp face, drinking him in. Neither of them spoke for a long time, not wanting to break thespell.
Finally,Theo traced the shape of her lips with his forefinger. ‘Jess… my Jessie… I know this is all unbelievably horrific, what Jules has been doing. But I want you to know, there’s nothing I won’t do to keep you safe, nothing I won’t do to make this better for you. I only ask this – please don’t shut me out again. Whatever happens from now on, we do together. Promiseme.’
She gazed up into his impossibly handsome face and smiled, her body relaxing as she let herself believe that everything would be okay as long as they weretogether.
‘I promise you, TheodoreStorm.’
The smiled and took her left hand in his. ‘There’s just one otherthing.’
She smiled and brushed her lips against his. ‘What’sthat?’
‘Jessica Wood, would you do me the great honor of marryingme?’
Jules satin front of the pile of newspapers running the story and could have laughed. Two birds with one stone – destroy Jess and Storm’s reputations. Well, he thought, destroy may be an overstatement. Sullied. That was better, he liked that. I sullied their reputations as sure as I sullied Jessica a long time ago. He could still remember that first time, the complete trust of the naïve, the unlocked bedroom door of the twelve-year-old Jess. Her long dark hair spread across herpillow.
‘Boss?’
Jules looked up. A smug-looking Malcolm stood in the doorway. Jules smiled at him. His partner-in-crime.
‘What’s up, Malccy? Have a seat,buddy.’
Malcolm grinned at the nickname and sat down opposite Jules, pulling out a sheaf of papers and handing them to him. Jules ran his eyes down the documents and smiled. ‘Perfect.’
‘Are you sure you want to dothis?’
Jules nodded. ‘Oh yes. Keep them wrong-footed, confused. Jess won’t be alive long enough to enjoy itanyways.’
‘I wanted to talk to you about that,’ Malcolm took a deep breath in. ‘I’m prepared to do Jessica for you, boss, I’m prepared to take the rap. Just say the word and I’ll stick my knife in her. It would be mypleasure.’
Jules grinned at Malcolm, gratified that he would do that for him, excited by the other man’s bloodlust. He enjoyed killing as much as Jules did – it was what bound them together, what made Malcolm so loyal. He’d killed that homo’s husband without being asked twice, came home and they both enjoyed the retelling ofit.
‘Thank you, Malcolm, but she’s mine. I’ll be the one to kill Jessica.’ He considered for a moment. ‘You can kill Storm if you like – but not until he’s had time to grieve Jess. I want him to feel that pain,Malccy.’
