Sleep With Me Part Three
Jess opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. How many times in her life had she woken up in this bed, sick to her stomach with nausea and fear? Crippled by guilt. Waiting to face her tormentor over the breakfast table as their parents ate and chatted obliviously.
And yet, last night, she’d come here after Max had dropped her off, wanting to be somewhere familiar. Camilla, the housekeeper, told her Jules was away for the night and the relief she felt was overwhelming. She’d sat with Camilla, shared a supper with her old friend, not wanting to talk or think about Theo Storm.
She was a winning bet. A winning bet, for Christ's sake. She wondered how long Theo would have to pretend that he loved her before Max would concede defeat. She should have known better than to trust a rich man – after all, didn’t she know that they always got what they wanted? Damn you, Theodore Storm. But the pain in her stomach ripped through her when she thought of him. She’d turned her cell phone off so he couldn’t reach her couldn’t talk or kiss his way out of it.
Jess sighed. She needed to get her life back on track which meant getting up, getting showered and getting to work. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and hoisted herself into a standing position. Grabbing her robe, she opened the door and froze. She could hear Jules’ low accented drawl from the end of the hallway.
Shit.
Jess closed her door quietly and scooted back to bed. She rolled onto her side, curling herself up into the foetal position. She tugged the sheet over her shoulders and, closing her eyes, made her breathing steady, regular. She tensed as she heard the door open.
For a few minutes, she stayed still. He must have gone by now, she thought and she let her body relax.
‘I know you’re awake.’
Shock drilled through her at the sound of his voice. She felt her body jerk and silently cursed herself again. She kept up the pretence of being asleep. She heard him laugh softly and she gritted her teeth. Bastard. She felt his body heat then as he leaned over her, she heard him breathing, an inch from her skin. She trembled and he laughed again, soft, intimate. She abandoned the pretence of sleep and looked at him, her eyes hard.
‘Leave me alone.’
Jules smiled and leaned into kiss her. ‘Never.’ His voice was a whisper but it sent blank terror through her body.
He reached down and cupped her breast.
‘So pretty, pretty.’
She hit his hand away and he grabbed her wrist. For a moment, she could see nothing but murder in his eyes. Then he smiled, turned her hand over and kissed it. He dropped her hand and walked out.
Trembling, Jess got up and threw her clothes on, grabbing her purse, skittering down the grand staircase and out to her ancient Gremlin. What the hell had she been thinking? She had to get out of here.
Now.
Theo had slept in his car outside her apartment when it became clear she wasn’t in. He’d left a thousand messages on her voicemail. Her silence was the loudest thing in his life. He woke now, stiff and aching. He opened the door and almost rolled his huge frame out of the car. He stretched and rubbed his hands through his short dark curls. His chest hurt with the fear that he’d lost Jess and for what? A stupid misunderstanding. He didn’t blame Max, it had been a ‘funny story’ to tell, he would have had no way of knowing she would react the way she did. Theo could not get it straight in his head. Why the hell would she think that he had been lying to her all this time? He gave a short bark of laughter. All of this time. What was it, a month?
He sighed and turned, leaning against the car, was about to call her again when a movement caught his eye. He turned his head and saw her, at the end of the street getting out of her car. She looked exhausted. She saw him and froze, her eyes wide and wary. He hesitated for a brief second then walked towards her, afraid she was would skitter away from him.
‘Please. Please, Jess, wait...’
Jess wavered but stayed still and as he reached her, he was shocked by the distress in her eyes, the thick violet circles under her eyes. He reached out to touch her face. She ducked away at first but when he caught her face in his hands, she stiffened and relaxed, seeming to slump into his touch. He tipped her chin up so he could look into those beautiful eyes.
‘Jess… what Max told you, it was a joke. A coincidence. A drunken bet which has nothing, nothing to do with us. Nothing. I love you. I could lose every penny I have, every home or ridiculous extravagance I surround myself with and I’ll still be the richest man on the planet because I had you.’
He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. ‘You are my world, Jessica Wood. I would die for you.’
That got her. She exhaled shakily and leaned against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her tightly for a second then she pulled away. He bent his head to kiss her but she shook her head.
Stung, he drew back but she smiled then. ‘I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.’
He laughed, relieved, and she took his hand and led him into her apartment.
Jess brushed her teeth the minute she got the apartment, with Theo stripping her even as she brushed. She rinsed, reaching in to crank the shower on as Theo shed his own clothes then pulled him under the spray with her. He kissed her finally, his mouth fierce against hers, his fingers tangled in her hair. She pressed her body against his, feeling the hard chest against her nipples, his already stiffening cock against her thigh. God, this is all she wanted, his skin on hers, his mouth against her lips. Theo swept his hands under her buttock and lifted her so he could plunge his cock deep into her and she cried out as the force of his thrust slammed her back against the wall.
‘I’m sorry…’
His Sweet Torment: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance Page 57
