Survival Games

by J. E. Taylor

  His hand reached down between her legs, stroking, teasing, heating her to the core, and her kiss deepened, her arms slipping around his neck. He broke the kiss, grazing her cheek, moving his lips to her graceful neck. His tongue ran down the line from her ear to her collarbone and her skin transformed into a landscape of goose bumps.

  He swept her off her feet, bringing her to the mattress on the floor. “Tell me you want me,” he said holding her in his arms.

  “You know I can’t do that,” she whispered and slid her hand up his chest.

  “Tell me…” He started to speak and she put her finger on his lips, stopping him.

  “Shut up and kiss me.”

  Ty leaned in, pausing a breath away from her lips, allowing a brief smile, meeting her hungry gaze with his own. “You want me to kiss you?”

  Without saying the words, she closed the distance and took his lower lip between her teeth, sucking it gently before kissing him full on the mouth, playfully flicking her tongue and drawing his into her mouth. A low rumble of contentment formed in his throat and he laid her out on the mattress without breaking the kiss.

  Passion, hot and urgent, pulsed through his skin, her body molding to his, her arms wrapping around his neck, and the kiss, God, her kiss stopped time. He ran his hands into her hair, increasing the intensity of the tongue dance, eliciting a soft moan in response.

  Shifting, he shimmied out of his pants with her help, tossing them aside and settling back down between her willing legs. He slid inside her already damp canal, her legs entwined with his and heaven’s door opened, blinding him with unusual emotions.

  Emotions long forgotten. Joy. Bliss. Ecstasy.

  He stopped the slow grinding of his hips and broke the kiss, pulling away far enough to stare in her soulful brown eyes. Words alone could not express the tirade of feelings sweeping through him and he sighed, slowly curling his lips in a smile, letting passion take precedence once again.

  “Roll,” she said.

  He tilted his head, the smile morphing into a grin. “You want me to roll?”

  “For the love of…” She rolled her eyes. “Just roll over.”

  His light laugh filled the air sending tingles up her spine and he wrapped his arms around her, rolling over on the mattress. Jessica tossed her hair aside and stared into his smoldering blue eyes. His gaze sparked a heat in her soul, a heat so consuming she forgot she was a captive in his prison.

  She grabbed the front of the silk dress shirt he still wore and yanked him into a sitting position, stripping the garment off his glorious form, slipping it on herself. His distinct scent clung to the fabric, male musk accented with a long faded hint of Ralph Lauren. Smiling, she rolled up the sleeves and swung her hips in slow circles.

  He leaned back on his elbows, his gaze locked with hers and a playful smile flirting on his lips. When he reached for her, she caught his wrists, pinning them on the mattress by his head and smiled at his sudden inhale.

  He pressed his lips together closing his eyes and blew a slow stream of air before he opened his eyes to her again. This time his eyes were no longer smoldering, they flashed into an inferno.

  “I kind of like you being in control,” he teased, his low raspy voice adding to the roaring fire consuming her.

  Her lips trailed down the line of his neck, tasting, nipping at the salty sweet taste of him. Smiling at the nuance of change in his breathing and the muscles flexing in his arms, she moved to the other side of his throat, licking her way up the line of his neck. She chuckled at his low moan when she gently bit down on his earlobe.

  “Jessie,” he whispered with eyelids at half-mast. He surrendered completely, allowing her to set the pace, matching her rhythm, their bodies in sync like lifetime lovers.

  She found his mouth, nipping at his lower lip, tasting remnants of the wine from dinner before swirling her tongue with his. Her hips quickened, a tsunami of pleasure cresting until the wave broke and she arched, pulling away from his lips, moaning his name.

  The wave abated, still churning, waiting to reform and overtake her and she slid her grip, lacing her fingers in his. A light sheen of sweat stood out on his forehead, evidence of his desperate need to keep control and make this last. His eyes searched hers, and he broke her clasp, sliding his hands down the length of her sides, his hot palms a sharp contrast to the cool fabric settling in the wake of his touch. She shivered, flipping her hair out of the way again, studying the intensity of his gaze. Her entire life forgotten, the images of her dreams prevailing, converging to the moment with him kneeling in the snow before her, the diamond sparkling in his shaking hands, the cold ocean breeze filtering through her hair and overwhelming joy encompassed her.

  “Tell me you love me,” she said.

  He wrapped his arms around her and rolled, pinning her under him. He held her face kissing her passionately, slamming his full length into her over and over and she arched into him with the same force each time. He pulled away from her lips and whispered in her ear the words she wanted to hear.

  “Oh God,” she cried and arched, the tidal wave overtaking both of them until they lay spent and trembling in each other’s arms.

  He rolled again; content to let her snuggle on his chest while he smoothed the hair away from her face. The suspension of reality that over took them came crumbling down, their situation as dire as the concrete walls surrounding them and they both exhaled.

  “Ty,” she sighed, closing her eyes and listening to the strong beat of his heart.

  He ran his hand over her back, lazily back and forth through the fabric of his shirt she still wore. She lifted her head. His glossy eyes took her in, his lips pressed together in contemplation.

  “You really are an angel sent to save me, aren’t you?”

  “I’m not an angel, Ty.”

  “I never knew,” he started and stopped, struggling with forming words. “I never thought,” he tried to continue. He closed his eyes in frustration, because he couldn’t find the words. He drew in a shaky breath.

  She waited with the steady thrum of his heart resonating in her fingertips.

  His eyelids rose and he tried again. “When my mom died, there was just the three of us.” He took a deep breath “God I felt helpless. My stepfather beat the shit out of me regularly and occasionally hit Chris, but the things he did to Anna were worse. I used to hear her cry at night after he left her room.” He closed his eyes and squeezed her tighter before he continued. “She was sixteen when he killed her.” A tear slipped out of the corner of his eye. He absently wiped it away.

  “When I came home from school, he was sitting on the side of the bed next to her body. I had never seen so much blood. It covered the bed, the walls, even spots on the ceiling.” He shook his head and bit his lower lip, meeting her gaze. “I killed him, Jess. The knife he used was on the ground near the foot of the bed and I picked it up and planted that sucker into his back all the way to the hilt.”

  Ty trembled as the memory came flooding back. “I kind of freaked out, I was only twelve but I was smart enough to wipe the knife. I made sure I didn’t have any blood on me and left the house. I went and waited at the bus stop for Chris like I did every day.”

  Ty paused looking at the ceiling, tears sliding down, pooling in his ears. “The police pinned both murders on Anna’s boyfriend and that’s the day I became just like the son of a bitch.” The tears continued to fall and he looked at her. “Everything that was good in me died that day,” he said. “I didn’t believe I was capable of feeling anything but anger until…” he trailed off and inhaled. “Until you.” He pulled her lips to his and kissed her. “Until you,” he whispered again.

  * * * *

  Jessica touched the scar on his face and looked into his eyes breaking away from the kiss. Tears blurred her vision and she pulled away, getting to her feet. “I’ll be right back,” she whispered and headed to the bathroom.

  She put her fist to her mouth, silencing the sob that threatened and turned on the w
ater, splashing her face, washing the tear tracks. When she took the towel away from her face and glanced at her reflection, her son stared back.

  Eric’s eyes widened. “You need to fix him before the bad man comes.” Eric pointed behind him towards the concrete bedroom. “He will protect you. Tell him not to go, Mom, make him stay.”

  “Ty?”

  Eric nodded. “Fix him. He’ll protect you but you have to make sure he stays.” He held his arms out for a hug and she leaned in, feeling his butterfly kiss on her cheek.

  “Please,” Eric whispered and he disappeared.

  * * * *

  Ty put his jeans on and sat on the edge of the mattress with his head in his hands. His mind going over every option again and again. How the fuck am I going to get her out of this building away from Frank?

  His head snapped up. Frank. Fuck. I need to get to the tape before he does. He was halfway to the door when she stepped back in the room. His heart skipped another beat at her pale cheeks and he stopped, turning toward her. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded but her eyes, her eyes had changed to that dark violet from the night she danced and when she looked down at his arm, he followed her gaze to the bloody bandage. His eyebrows rose when in one fluid movement, she ripped the dressing from his skin and leaned forward, pressing her lips to the oozing wound.

  Pain, searing and furious snaked up his arm and he sucked his breath in, yanking his arm away from her grip.

  “Jesus Christ!”

  He shook his arm, droplets of blood springing off, splattering on the floor and he tore his gaze away from her bloody lips and haunting eyes to the fading burning sensation in his skin. He froze, his eyes popping in their sockets at the vision before him. The cut closed like a zipper, mending, healing until nothing was left, not even a faint scar under the bloody sheen.

  “Jesus, Mary, mother of God,” he whispered and looked up at Jessica.

  She took a step toward him and fell in a dead faint. Ty caught her, staring at the stark contrast between his blood smeared on her lips and her pale, corpse-like face. Fear, feral and savage, ravaged him, turning his legs to liquid and he sank to the ground with her in his tight grasp.

  “Jess?” He shook her. “Wake up, please God, wake up.” He leaned down and sighed with relief when her light breath grazed his cheek.

  Her eyes fluttered open, still that unearthly violet and they locked with his. “What happened?” she asked and her tongue ran over her lip followed by a grimace. She wiped the tacky blood away with the sleeve of his shirt.

  Dear God, whatever she did changed her eyes. He shook the thought out of his head and glanced down at his arm. “I have no idea,” he said and raised his eyes in disbelief. He helped her to her feet, speechless and in awe.

  He blinked and glanced at the ceiling, the cameras recording their every move, their every word. The tape! “Jessie, I have to go take care of something. I’ll be right back.”

  “Stay with me,” Jessica whispered.

  “I promise I’ll be right back,” he said. He had to get to that tape before anyone else did. He didn’t even glance back when he left the room and was in a full sprint by the time he rounded the corner.

  Chapter 34

  Daniel walked into Eric’s room to see his son opening his arms and hugging the space in front of him. He kissed an invisible being and the air filled with sparkles before whispering a desperate plea.

  Eric looked at his father and tears welled, cutting wet paths down his cheeks. “He needs to protect Mommy and I don’t know if he can!”

  He put his arms around his son. This was the first time since they started to see LeAnn that Eric had talked about his mother. “It’s okay Eric, your mom’s all right. She’s in heaven now.”

  “No she’s not! And the bad man is going to hurt her really bad if he leaves her.” He was breathing heavily. “I need to help her open the door!”

  “What door?”

  “The door in her mind.”

  Daniel hesitated, a shiver sliding down his spine. “What’s behind the door, Eric?”

  Eric swallowed hard. “It’s the only way.”

  “What’s behind the door?”

  “The power of heaven,” he paused. “And hell,” he added in a voice too low to hear.

  Daniel looked at his son. LeAnn had said Eric was playing out a fantasy to deal with his mother’s death and it was a healthy reaction, but this, this didn’t sound healthy at all.

  Chapter 35

  Ty bolted to the control room, stopped the disk and found the place that he wanted, backed it up a few seconds and pressed record again, forever overwriting his confession as well as the miracle she performed. He closed his eyes, relief flooding through him in a dizzying whirl and he sat down in the chair.

  If Frank ever found out about either the confession or her ability to heal the wounded, Ty wasn’t sure if either of them would get out of the building alive.

  “How in God’s name did you do this?” He pulled the butterfly Band-Aids off his perfectly unmarked arm.

  He glanced over at Mike’s image. Pieces of the shattered monitor embedded in his ruined hand and he paced, back and forth, muttering under his breath, looking every bit as insane as Ty set out to make him.

  A cold hand wrapped around his heart and he moved his gaze back to the monitor overlooking Jessica’s room. He swallowed hard, his palms suddenly slick with sweat. What would she think of me if she knew?

  He looked from monitor to monitor, frozen with indecision.

  The phone rang, snapping him out of it.

  “The call came. The package is ready to collect,” Frank said.

  Ty didn’t answer right away. “I’m not sure that’s necessary.”

  “Look Ty, you said yourself, this will bring in a healthy profit and everything’s already in place. We’ve been contracted to deliver to the set and I’ve got a truck waiting at the airport. The jet’s gassed up and waiting to take you and Chris and you’ll need to bring your passport because you’re driving back.”

  “Frank, the risk.”

  “You said yourself, the payoff would be sweet and from the inquiries I made, you are absolutely right. But if you want to pass this up, I’d be glad to start filming with your girl there.”

  He could almost see the grin forming on Frank’s lips and a shiver cascaded down his spine. Not on your life. He took a deep breath. “You have everything I asked for?”

  “It’s in a bag up here just waiting for you.”

  He closed his eyes and hung his head. With a heavy sigh, he nodded. “I’ll be up in twenty.” He was met with a click followed by a dial tone.

  He approached her room, apprehensive and kicking himself for the damage he would do in the next few days all for a distraction to get her the hell out of there. And he had to make sure Frank would keep his distance while he was out of town.

  Ty stepped into her room and before he closed the door, she spoke.

  “Don’t leave.” She stood, her fingers nimbly unbuttoning the shirt and she crossed, sinuous and seductive, pushing him against the door and running her tongue across his chest. She tugged at the button on his pants, turning her violet eyes up to him. “Don’t leave.”

  He grabbed her upper arms and pushed her away. How did she know?

  “I just know.”

  He hadn’t spoken.

  “Sometimes I just know things, especially…” She looked down and circled her toe on the floor. “Especially when it’s accompanied by a powerful emotion,” she explained. “So don’t leave,” she said and caught his gaze out of the corner of her eye.

  He listened to the song playing and closed his eyes. Ironically, it was “Angel”, by Sara McLaughlin. He reached out and pulled her to him.

  Frank could wait.

  “Angel,” he said, carrying her back to the bed, he took the shirt off and made love to her again, relishing the feel of her as if it was the last time.

  Slamming things into a duffel bag, his mood wors
ened. What the hell am I doing? He glanced at the monitor in the control room yet again.

  His black shirt still wrapped tightly around her as she sat in the middle of the mattress, staring at the mirror. Staring at him. He could almost feel her exercising her will, demanding he stay. Almost. His gaze flicked to the monitor next to hers and he sighed, the momentary spell broken.

  Stalking to the elevator, he shook his head, clearing his thoughts and stood in front of the eye scan, waiting. As soon as the doors opened, he slid inside and set his access key in the slot, turning it and heading upstairs, his eyes closed and the feel of her was still with him.

  Chris sat across from Frank, swiveling the chair back and forth in the oversized office. “What took you so long?” he asked, getting to his feet.

  Ty shrugged and dropped his bag. He turned to Frank half hidden behind the large mahogany desk. “Don’t touch her while I’m gone or you’ll ruin everything I’ve put in place.”

  “No problem. I’m actually going down to the city for a conference for a couple days. I’ll have the cell with me, so let me know if anything goes haywire.” He kept eye contact with Ty. “I’ll be back before you get here with the package.”

  Ty inhaled. “You’ve got Marian all set up?”

  “Yep,” Frank said. “Everything you asked for is in there.” He pointed to a bag by the back door. “The town car’s waiting outside.”

  Ty nodded and headed off with Chris.

  Chapter 36

  Jessica sighed, the connection she had with Ty severed, leaving her cold and alone in the concrete prison.

  Please God, please don’t let that bastard come down.

  She shivered, pulling the sheet tighter around her, laying her forehead on her bent knees. Closing her eyes, she drifted, counting her breaths and going deeper into herself until she stood alone in an unfamiliar hallway, the key turning precariously in her fingers. A noise caught her attention and she glanced over her shoulder. Eric walked up to her and took her hand, leading her through the halls of her mind, turning this way and that until they reached their destination.