Page 241 of Under Her Skin
‘Whichare?’
‘You never put yourself in harm’s way. I never let you out of my sight. I’m the boss when it comes to anything less than legal. You agree to be naked at least seventy-five percent of the time. That last one depends on thesituation.’
She laughed, grateful for his effort to lighten the atmosphere. ‘Done, done, as much as possible. You’re the boss and I will if youwill.’
He coughed out a throaty laugh and she joinedin.
‘What was the otherpromise?’
Her smile faded. ‘That you promise, promise, you won’t put yourself in any danger. Promise me. Because if anything happened to you then he might as well get his way. I don’t want to live in a world without you in it. I mean it,Theo’
Theo moaned at her words and she tightened her arms aroundhim.
‘Okay. You gotit.’
She rested her face against his, feeling his stubble graze her skin. ‘You and me now.’ He buried his face in her hair and locked his arms aroundher.
‘I’ll never let him hurt you again. I’ll never let anyone hurtyou.’
Jess wanted to believe him, she knew he meant it with all his heart. But something in her that said that Jules would stop at nothing. Jess knew that at the end of all of this, someone would be dead. One thing was certain, she would never let that person beTheo.
Even if it cost her ownlife.
Max arrivedwith the dogs the next day and both Theo and Jess hugged him tightly. Jess was cooking, periodically disappearing into the kitchen from where they sat on the porch. When she had gone to check on the food, Theo looked over at Max. It seemed to him that they had both aged a million years in a few months. The loss, the grief, the horror they had been through had made Theo even more aware of how much Max was a brother to him – even if the guilt of Josh’s murder would never leave him. As much as he tried to reassure Jess, Theo’s own guilt kept him up at night:Because I fell in love, Max lost his own love.Max, knowing Theo’s mind, had constantly reassured him but it didn’t make Theo feel anybetter.
‘So, Gachet has disappeared.’Max was the one who was in constant contact with the police whilst Jess recovered and he kept Theo updated with everydetail.
Theo nodded. ‘Doesn’t surprise me. Well, we know now why he release Jess’s inheritance. To fund his own escape.’ They’d discovered Jess’s account drained the day after she’d been released from the hospital, although no-one knew exactly how he’d done it. ‘Jesus, how long has he planned to killher?’
Max shrugged. ‘I really don’t want to think about that. The main thing is she’s safe now.’ He raised an eyebrow at the shadowy figures moving around the perimeter of the property. ‘What’s it like living in FortKnox?’
Theo gave him a wry smile. ‘Better than not sleeping.’ He sighed and leaned back in his chair. ‘So, we got anyleads?’
‘Not on Jules. His driver – or ex-driver is still in the city – why I’m not sure. The son-of-a-bitch may be here to spy for Jules. Pretty sure he knows more than he’s telling the policeanyways.’
Theo’s face hardened. ‘Maybe I should speak directly to him.’ His words were heavy with meaning and when Max turned to look at him, he could see his own anger reflected in his friend’seyes.
‘That might an idea,’ Max said slowly. ‘Then if he won’t talk, then what? Thepolice?’
There was a long silence. ‘Oh, I think it’s gone way past the police, don’t you?’ Theo felt a calm settle over him as he spoke the words and he watched Max nod once, firmly. ‘Yeah, this is all us from now on. He’s not going to know what hithim.’
Jules Gachet sat backin his chair, admired the slim, brown legs of the woman that strolled past him. Paris was as beautiful as it had ever been but, even with the beautiful woman and delicious spring sunshine, he found it hard toconcentrate.
She’s alive. It haunted him, the fact that he’d failed. When he’d left her that night, broken and bleeding out, he’d felt sure she couldn’t have possibly had a chance.None.
Jules signaledto the waiter for another pastis. The fake passports Malcolm had procured for him long before his attempt to kill Jessica had more than proven their worth but yes, he was taking a risk coming here, back to the place of his birth. Soon he would go deep into the French countryside, change his name, appearance and lay low until the American police – and Jessica – thought he was gone forever. Malcolm was arranging things back in Seattle and when it was safe, he, Jules, would return and finish what he promised Jess he would. Kill her. Make Storm watch as he took her life, once and forall.
Spring drifted lazilyinto summer and Jess found herself swept along with the plans for the wedding. Despite her and Theo’s wishes for a quick, small wedding, Theo’s mother had other ideas and Jess couldn’t bear to disappoint her. Amelia’s kindness had no limit, it seemed, and neither did hercreativity.
The wedding was setfor early September at Amelia’s sprawling estate on the island. Jess and Theo dutifully followed Amelia’s arrangements for their wedding attire, telling each other that if it made Amelia happy, then it was worthit.
But they lived for the times when they were alone. As Jess got healthier, their sex life got back on track and even became a deeper thing, a closeness between them that seemed anchored in completetrust.
Jess, waiting for Theo to return home one Friday night, soaked in a long bath, feeling horny as hell and sexy for the first time in an age. Her scars were fading into pink lines and she traced the path of them. It still didn’t feel real, but she remembered the agony all too well. She pushed that thought aside and got out of the bath, slowly drying herself and massaging lotion into her skin. She padded, nude, to the dressing room and was about to slip into her usual shorts and tee, when she saw it, peeking out of a box on the floor. The leather bondage harness they had only used once, the night before she wasstabbed.
Jess startedto grin and pulled the harness out. The leather was so buttery soft, the fastenings cool steel. She slipped her robe off her shoulders and stepped into the harness, enjoying the feel of the leather as she strapped it onto her body. The inch-wide straps crisscrossed her breasts, framing them and swept between her legs and around her thighs, leaving her cunt, her buttocks exposed. Even putting it on made her so aroused she could feel herself getting wet, and grabbing her robe, she darted downstairs to prepare Theo’s very specialhomecoming.
Theo leftthe office just after eight, and, as had become his habit, flew the chopper back to the island. He hated the commute via car and ferry boat now – when he was done with work, he wanted to get to her now. Hell, all day at work, he thought about nothing but Jess, working from home, the safest place she could be. He called her a dozen times a day and she was always glad to hear his voice. Mygirl.
