Jess smiled at him from behind the counter. She was already fixing his coffee the way she knew he liked it – Americano with an extra shot.
‘Hello to you, beautiful. Thank you.’ He leaned over the counter to kiss her as she slid the cup over to him. He took a sip, the hot liquid burning his tongue. He enjoyed the quick wash of pain. He put the cup down. ‘As always, perfect.’ He smiled. ‘How are you today?’
‘Much the same as yesterday,’ she grinned. ‘Can I persuade you to try a muffin today?’ She always asked and he always politely refused. He liked the fact she was trying to make a joke between them, it felt strangely intimate, even if it was just about baked goods. It was their ‘thing’. Theo chuckled at the thought and told her.
‘Funny,’ she murmured and leaned over to whisper in his ear,’ I thought our thing was fucking each other senseless.’
Theo laughed, caught her mouth with his. ‘You shouldn’t say stuff like that when we’re not alone.’
Jess glanced up at the clock on the wall. Ten of seven. The coffee house would close at seven and then they could go back to his place or her place and get very, very naked…
Theo was watching her, a knowing look in his eyes. For a long moment, their eyes locked, a silent communication.
‘You have no idea what I’m going to do to you tonight, Jessica.’ Theo’s voice was low, steady and he watched as her cheeks grew pink, her eyes wide and excited.
Ten minutes later, she locked the door and pulled down the shades. Theo stood in the middle of the room, watching her. She lowered the shades on all of the windows, turned off all the lamps so that only the glow from the coffee machines lit the room.
‘Stay where you are,’ Theo ordered as she started to move toward him. She did as she was told, smiling, her eyes soft with desire as he stalked around slowly. He circled her once then nodded toward her.
‘Take your shirt off – slowly. Then your bra.’
She pulled the shirt over her head, unhook her bra, dropping them both to the floor, and stood waiting, her hair tumbling over her shoulders. Theo moved to face her, tracing the shape of her lips with the pad of his thumb then running it gently down her body, between her breasts, over her stomach until it rested in her navel. Jess was trembling now and Theo grinned as he saw the arousal in her eyes. His hand drifted down under her denim skirt, brushing her inner thigh. He was gratified at her sharp intake of breath but took his hand away, moving to unbuckle his belt and removed it. He pulled her hands behind her back and bound them with the leather, his lips against her soft throat.
‘Jessie,’ he murmured, ‘If you want me to stop…’
‘No,’ she interrupted him and he chuckled, straightening so he could into her eyes.
‘Let me finish, beautiful,’ he said gently, his clear green eyes locked onto hers. ‘we are going to do some things you might find….challenging. I’ll promise you two things – I will not hurt you unless you want me to…and if you say stop, we stop. No questions, no guilt. I want you to enjoy what I’m going to do to you.’
She nodded, breathless and he stood back for a moment, admiring her in the soft light, then pulled his own shirt off and dropped to his knees in front of her. Sliding her skirt down, he buried his face in her belly as his fingers wound around the sides of her panties and pulled them down. Jess gave a small moan as Theo’s tongue traced down the midline of her belly and dipped into the hollow of her sex. His tongue lashed around her clit, priming it, the bud hardening and becoming so sensitive Jess thought she might explode. Theo gently parted her legs and then his tongue was deep inside her, exploring, tasting. Jess gasped, wanting desperately to touch him but unable to, her bound hands straining against the leather. She heard him chuckle and he stood, kissing her deeply, sliding his hands around her waist to link his fingers into hers. His eyes burned with an intensity that thrilled and scared her in equal measure.
‘Jessica,’ he murmured, rubbing his nose gently against hers, ‘I’m going to fuck you now.’
She barely had time to respond before he swept her onto one of the tables and pressed her body down with his own, her tied hands digging into the small of her back as Theo’s fingers parted the soft lips of her sex and his cock, so thick, so long, thrust into her. Theo hitched her legs around his hips as he fucked her, his strokes rough and deep, almost violent with his desire for her.
Jess lost herself into the delirium of being so expertly screwed by this gorgeous, virile man, not wanting it to ever end. She gasped his name and was rewarded by his triumphant smile.
‘Are you mine?’ He asked and his green eyes seemed darker, more otherworldly than ever as she nodded, breathlessly. ‘Good, because I am yours, my beautiful Jessie…’
The simple declaration made her heart swell and she bucked against him, straining to take him deeper, deeper, deeper. Theo was merciless, smiling at her gasps of pleasure and pain. She came so hard she thought she might die, lights exploding in her vision, her body liquefying and when, a moment later, Theo pulled out from her and came on her belly, she realised she could die in this moment and not care.
Theo wasn’t done with her and lifting her to her feet, he pressed her against the wall and took her from behind, his still diamond-hard cock thrusting deep into the slick wetness of her cunt. The wall was cold against her breasts and belly, providing some relief from the inferno raging on her skin. Theo’s lips were at her ear.
‘Do you like to be fucked hard, Jessie?’
‘Yes…’
Say it.’
‘I want to be fucked hard, Theo.’
‘Call me Mr Storm.’
‘Mr Storm, fuck me hard, please…’ she shuddered as an orgasm ripped through her, the pressure of his cock inside her overwhelming. Theo chuckled and pulled out, parting her buttocks and pushing into her ass. Jess groaned, letting her head drop back against his shoulder. His fingers were on her belly, stroking a pattern around her navel that was driving her crazy. She really was his, she realised, all his, forever…
Later, when they’d reluctantly dressed and calmed down, he drove her back to her apartment and they shared a beer on the little balcony overlooking the Seattle streets. Theo sat against the wall, with Jess settled between his legs, his arm wrapped around her, pulling her back against his chest. He was such a huge man, tall and wide, that Jess always felt tiny but safe with him. He nuzzled into her hair, pressing his lips against her temple.
‘You’re quiet,’ he said and although his tone was without reproach, she could sense he was probing her. She waited, a small smile playing around her mouth.
‘Are you okay with what we did?’ He asked finally and she grinned, turning her head so she could kiss him.
‘Very. Very, very okay.’ She studied the relief in his eyes. ‘In fact…if you want to do…more, I would be open to it.’
His surprise was mixed with desire. ‘I’m glad. I want to experience every pleasure with you, Jessie.’
She loved the way he said her name, so tenderly, so intimately. ‘Is there anything you really don’t want to try?’ he continued, stroking a finger down her cheek.
Jess looked away from him and took a long swig of beer before answering. ‘Nothing with knives.’ She hated the way her voice broke when she said it and she felt Theo’s arm tighten around her. When he spoke, there was a note of anger in his voice.
‘I would never…Jessie?’
Dammit. Hot tears started to pour down her cheeks. Oh dammit. She didn’t want to think about what Jules had done to her and she really didn’t want to talk about, not with Theo. She didn’t want any second of her time with him spoiled by her past.
‘Jessica?’
No. No. She couldn’t do this. She pushed away from him and scrambled to her feet, stepping back into the apartment. Theo followed her, his handsome face creased with concern.
‘Was it something I said?’
She shook her head not trusting herself to speak. Theo came to her and pulled her into his arms and held her tightl
y. She buried her head in his chest, breathing in his clean smell, fresh laundry and man. Theo’s hand stroked her hair gently.
‘Do you want to talk about it?’
She looked up at him. ‘No. I’m sorry…please, let’s change the subject.’
His eyes were still troubled but he nodded. They stood there for a long minute in silence then Theo kissed the top of her head.
‘I’ll never let anyone hurt you, Jessie.’
And in that moment, she desperately wanted to believe him.
Freshman year. Jess had saved every last penny from her job at the coffee house to get a small studio apartment in St Anne’s, not wanting to take anything more from Jules than she had to. Her tuition was covered by the provision in her step-father’s will – but Jules still held the purse strings. She hated it but worse was the thought of hundreds of dollars of student debt hanging over her forever. Now, though, she thought she’d found a way out. A scholarship. Well, she reminded herself, a possible scholarship. The company offering it had strict guidelines on who could apply for it – only those students with the most pressing need. Trouble was, her family name was well known in Seattle and her step-brother Jules was known to be one of the richest men in the city. Just because she got nothing from him other than her tuition wouldn’t be enough to convince the board she needed that funding – mostly to escape him. Jules had done interviews lately in his position as a handsome eligible millionaire, raving about his ‘close relationship’ with his step-sister. The interviews had made Jess sick to her stomach. If they only knew…
All which meant she couldn’t plead poverty to the board – unless Jules publicly and notably cut her off.
He was coming over later to discuss it with her – had even been genial about the idea over the phone. She would frame it as a bonus for him – he would save the few hundred thousand dollars that her degree and her masters would cost. She told herself that would be enough.
It wasn’t. Of course, it wasn’t.
Jules listened to her reasoning politely, a supercilious smile on his face and she knew immediately it was no good.
‘Well,’ he said, standing and pacing around the room – between her and the door, she noted uneasily as he turned to smile at her. ‘Obviously, I have no intention of…’disowning’ you, Jessica. Why would I?’
He stood in front of her then, hands deep in his pockets and she could see him stroking himself through the thin material, putting on an exhibition for her. Nausea swept over her and she stood, wanting to push past him.
But then his hand was on her throat, squeezing hard. He grabbed her and slammed her back down on the couch. Jess struggled against him but knew of old, she had no chance against his strength. They’d been in this situation so many times…except this time, Jules’ eyes glowed with malice. He ground his mouth down on hers, his hand burrowing under her skirt.
‘No…no…please…’
His hand clamped over her mouth as he tore her panties from her. Jess bucked frantically trying to push him away but then, grinning, Jules had shown her what he had in his hand. She froze.
A knife. Oh god, no…
‘Stop fighting me, Jessica, or I’ll put this into you. I’ll gut you, Princess, without a second thought. You belong to me, Jessica. I say what you do, where you go. Whether you live or die. Do you understand?’
Terrified, she could do nothing but nod, tears streaming down her face, as Jules, triumphant, took her with his knife to her throat.
Jess woke up, panting, trying not to scream. Beside her, Theo slept soundly, his big frame making her bed seem tiny. Jess edged out of the bed and padded silently to the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it with water. She drained the glass and refilled it. Her body was trembling from the nightmare – the memory – of Jules that night. It hadn’t been the first time he’d raped her, just the first time he’d threatened to kill her and Jess had no doubt he was capable.
She sat down at the kitchen table and laid her head against the cool wood. She hated that he held this power over her. She’d told him she was going to the police, defiant at last, but he’d gotten to them first with his expensive lawyers and limitless influence. She was unstable, he’d told them, her mother had been committed several times in her life before her suicide. Using her mother’s mental illness against her was both evil and genius. However much she protested after that, she could see it in their eyes: Nut job. Attention seeker. Hysteric. As if this was the eighteen hundreds and not the twenty-first century. Jesus.
Jules had punished her of course. Breaking into her apartment and beating her – only where it couldn’t be seen in public, of course. She’d stayed away from college for a week, unable to stand because of her bruised abdomen where he’d kicked her so viciously she couldn’t stand up straight for two days.
After that, she’d almost given up. Buried herself in studying, letting Jules continue to pay for everything, control everything she couldn’t. she moved apartments frequently, whenever her lease was up – and never took apartments with longer than a six-month tenure. Jules always, always found her.
The assaults came less and less as long as she obeyed him and she clung to that. She rarely went out, she never, ever dated. And each year she squirrelled away money so that one day she could just run. Another country, change identity, get away from Jules. That had been her plan.
Until she met Theo. Until she remembered what affection felt like. What love felt like.
She walked silently back to the bedroom and lay down beside him. In sleep, the harsh angles of his beautiful face softened, his full mouth curved up slightly in a smile. She pressed her lips gently to kiss and then stroked his face. She studied him for a long minute before closing her own eyes.
Before she fell back to sleep, she kissed him once more and whispered ‘I love you’.
A moment later, Theo opened his eyes and smiled. ‘I love you too, beautiful one.’ But she was already asleep.
Neither of them heard the door to the apartment door creak open. Jules Gachet sneaked through the room until he stood at her bedroom door, staring down at them. The way Jessica was curved around the big man’s body, the protective arm he had wrapped around her. Jules’ gut churned with jealousy, with anger. Fucking whore. He fantasised about having this bastard wake up to find her dead beside him, covered in her blood. Jules grinned nastily to himself. If he could have gotten away with it…but no. Not yet, at least. He moved silently to her side and brushed a fingertip down her soft cheek, pushing a lock of dark brown hair away from her lovely face. If he ended up killing her, he wanted it to be an intimate, unrushed time. He wanted her to die slowly, painfully, looking into his eyes, begging him to spare her life.
He turned his attention to the man sleepily beside her. He was vaguely familiar but Jules couldn’t place him. Never mind, he didn’t matter. Just the thought of this man inside his Jessica made him want to roar, rage, implode with malevolence.
An idea came to him then and he smiled to himself. If Jessica thought she could be happy with this man…Jules almost laughed aloud. Yes, he was going to enjoy destroying her piece of mind, her security, her new love.
He’d consider it an appetiser to her murder.
Theo Storm glanced up as Max came into his office, grinning. ‘Where have you been and what is her name?’ His best friend had raised eyebrows and amused look on his chubby face.
Theo smiled. ‘Max, buddy…you’ve already lost your dumb bet and you don’t even know it.’
Max started to scoff then, as he saw how serious Theo was.
‘Really?’ He looked sceptical. ‘No. No way, I know you too well. You’re yanking me.’
Theo barked out a laugh. ‘Projecting as usual. No, I’m serious, Max. Here…’
He pulled out his cell phone which already had a ton of photos of Jess. He flicked to them and handed it to Max.
‘Her name is Jessica – Jess. She’s a Ph.D. graduate at UW. Art restoration.’
Max whistled. ‘She’s a be
auty, alright. Where’d you meet her?’
Theo told him about the commencement speech then gave him a cleaned up version of the last few days. ‘I really want you to meet her. She’s going to be around a long time.’
Max blinked. ‘Wow. Never seen you like this before. ‘
Theo grinned a little smugly. ‘Now about that bet…’
Max scoffed. ‘Bet schmet. When am I going to meet her?’
Jess choked on her drink – which was a shame because the cocktail was utterly delicious and very expensive – but Theo’s best friend Max was just too funny. He was in the middle of regaling her with stories of his and Theo’s childhood, growing up together, going to an exclusive private school for boys – and not behaving as ‘young gentlemen should’ in any way or form.
Max grinned as she wiped her mouth and tried to stop laughing. Theo was shaking his head good-naturedly, pretending to be disgusted with Max’s loose tongue.
‘Seriously, dude, stop trying to kill my girlfriend. Breathe, Jess.’
Jess sucked in a few deep breaths, trying not to be over-excited about the fact Theo had just called her his girlfriend. She felt like a freakin’ teenager but there was no denying the warmth flooding her every nerve and cell when he called her that. Theo chuckled at her and leaned over to kiss her briefly.
‘That’s my cue to get more drinks,’ Max disappeared off to the bar. Theo kissed her again, slower, deeper, his hands cradling her face, his tongue caressing hers. Jess melted into the embrace, sliding her hands around his waist, feeling his muscular body under her fingers. God, she had never wanted anyone this much in her life, wanting to be naked with him all day and all night. Well, she thought a little smugly, she had been for the past few days but tomorrow, she had to get back to work, back to reality. Theo had gone into the office today for an hour or so but had returned just after lunch. She’d been naked and ready for him when he walked into the door – they hadn’t made it to the bedroom before they were tangled in each other and sweating.
Quartet Complete Series: Billionaire Romance Box Set (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) Page 153
