‘Hey…’ Gerry had stuck his head out of the office. ‘You wanna grab some lunch? We’ve got a whole afternoon of restoration; the museum is sending over ‘Luna Soleil’.’
Jess smiled. ‘Wow. Yes, let’s go grab something, I’m starving.’
Jules stared at the paper’s front page, fury roiling inside him. Fucking, fucking whore. And that rich bastard with her. Now he knew who had threatened him. Theo Storm. A fucking billionaire. So much for Jessica’s holier-than-thou attitude. She’d been screwing a freaking billionaire.
Jules Gachet had never known such anger. After all her crap about money meaning nothing, she’d betrayed him for a fucking meal ticket. He couldn’t – he wouldn’t – let her get away with that, by god, he would make her pay.
He slammed the door on his way out.
At a quarter of six, Jess stood upright and stretched. Working on the painting had been all-consuming, inspiring and now she had an evening of food and sex and love and Theo to look forward to. Yes.
Gerry had disappeared somewhere so she was alone in the studio. The main lights were off; only her work lamp, concentrated on the painting was on and she flicked it off and blinked, her eyes adjusting to the dark. She flexed the muscles in her back, her shoulders, let out a long breath, glancing at the lock. Her stomach gave a little flutter as she realised that Theo would be here very soon.
She grabbed her bag and headed to the ladies bathroom to freshen up. There was a shower cubicle and she quickly stripped and let the hot spray of water relax her tired body. After, she dressed, not bothering to slip her panties back on. Theo was in the habit, when they were in his car, of running his hand up her thigh. Today, she almost purred at the idea, his fingers would find her ready for him. Damn, you are turning into a wanton woman, she grinned to herself. The thought of him touching her made a pulse between her legs and she squeezed her thighs together hard to control herself.
She went back to her office and was gathering her things when she felt two hands slide around her waist.
‘How did you manage to slink in so quietly, sir?’ She said, grinning but as she turned she gasped with shock, shoving herself backwards, away. Jules smiled, and it was not a pleasant smile.
‘Waiting for your billionaire, Jessica?’
Her heart beating furiously, Jess’s eyes narrowed. ‘Get out or I’ll call security.’
Jules, in a quick movement, cuffed her so viciously around the face, she tumbled over her desk. He pushed the phone from the table then grabbed Jess, forcing her onto the table. She cast around for anything to help her fight him off, but Jules was stronger, had her at a disadvantage, pressing his forearm against her throat, choking her.
‘Fucking hypocritical little bitch. Why don’t you share the good fortune, huh? Maybe I should take you with me, see how much your rich fuck will pay to get you back alive? Because now Jessica, right now, all I wanna do is break you.’
Jess, barely able to breathe, was losing consciousness, Jules’s arm was cutting off her oxygen supply. Jules smiled and with his free hand, he pried her legs apart. As his hand moved towards her naked sex, Jess summoned all the strength she had left and jerked her knee upwards, hard, into his groin. Jules howled with agonised rage and jerked away from her. She scrambled up and darted towards the door, but he grabbed her hair and threw her to the floor. His face was a mask of uncontrollable rage, and he grabbed something from the desk as he dropped to his knees, straddling her. Jess’s blood froze when she saw it was her paper-knife.
Oh god, no…
Jules put his face next to hers, so angry was he, he spoke and fleck of spittle flew out. ‘Don’t ever forget who you belong to, little girl. Next time he’s fucking you, remember, my cock was in your sweet little cunt first, my hands were on your tits before you even knew him.’ He was pressing the blunt tip of the paperknife hard into the soft flesh of her belly but then he released his grip, pulling her to her feet by bunching his fist in the hair at the nape of her neck. He pulled her against him, put his lips to her ear.
‘I’ll kill you. I’ll fucking kill you, Jessica. Break it off with him or next time…’ He pressed the knife to her belly again.
Jess felt herself shrinking back into the terrified young girl she had been the first time Jules had assaulted her. Destroying her peace of mind. Humiliating Her. Hurting her.
Jules smirked nastily and let her go. ‘I mean it, Jessica. End it with him. You belong to me.’
He flung her paperknife back on her desk and stalked out.
Jess’s legs gave way then and she sank to the floor, hyperventilating, trying to stop the jagged sobs which were forcing themselves out of her. Her mind screamed with pain, terror, heartbreak, fear… shame. Who was she kidding? She must have known that Jules would spoil it, ruin her happiness. Jess curled up into a ball and sat there for she didn’t know how long until she heard footsteps.
Oh god, Theo… She wanted to get up, straighten out her clothes, dry her cheeks but she found she was paralysed, unable to move. Broken.
Theo peered into the dusky light of the room. The security guard, with a knowing smile, had directed him up to the art department, to where he knew Jess worked but now he wasn’t sure he’d found the right place. He had turned to leave, retrace his steps when he heard it. A sob. He darted back into the room and saw her, curled up in a ball on the floor, her hands over her face. His heart began to beat a frenetic, panicked beat.
‘Sweetheart! What is it, what happened?’ He dropped to his knees beside her and gathered her to him. For a moment, she resisted then let him pull her tightly against his chest. His mind whirled with fear and worry. Instinctively – desperately – he knew it had something to do with them – and something to do with the controlling step-brother. Asshole.
He let her cry herself out then just held her as she caught her breath. Eventually, she moved away from him, brushing her tears away with the back of her hand. She gave him a watery smile.
‘I’m so sorry, Theo. You didn’t need to see that.’ She scrambled to her feet and held out her hand to him. He stood, his brows knitted together, the angles of his face sharpened with tension. He watched as she sucked in a couple of deep breaths and let them out.
‘What happened?’
‘Just a row with Jules – that’s my step-brother. He’s not too wild about the idea of you and me.’
Theo made a disgusted noise. ‘What the hell business is it of his?’ Her face was in shadow and he could not read her expression. He reached over her desk and flicked the lamp on. He looked back at her – and his stomach disappeared. Across her throat were dark red welts and bruises.
‘Jesus Christ…’
She looked away and he realised that, unbelievably, she was ashamed. His heart thudded with pain and love for her. Gently, he took her face in his hands, tipping it up so he could kiss her gently. He swept his thumbs over the plains of her cheeks, wiping the moisture from her eyes. Her lovely dark eyes were red and full of pain, and she wouldn’t look at him. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
‘What did he do to you?’ His voice was soft but she winced and pulled away from him.
‘Like I said, an argument. Please, Theo, for me, don’t push this. I’m not ready for you to be dragged into my ridiculous family drama.’
That stung but he nodded, acquiescing. He held his arm out to her. ‘Want to go home?’
She hesitated then nodded, taking his arm. They hadn’t got a few steps, though, before he stopped her.
‘I just want to say: whatever it is, whatever he’s doing to you, it isn’t right. You only have to say the word, Jessie, and I’ll make it all go away.’
Jess closed her eyes and he saw the conflict raging inside her. Finally, she spoke and her voice was a broken thing, low and gruff.
‘Please Theo… I just want to forget.’
He nodded, once, stiffly, and led her down to the car.
‘Easy now, careful.’
Theo guided her carefully into the house
. She suppressed a smile, ignoring the small tug of irritation.
‘I’m not made of glass, Theo,’ she chided gently. His face was tense and she reached up to smooth the small crease between his eyes. He leaned his face into her hand. ‘You look so tired.’
He sighed. ‘I’m not the one who got assaulted.’
‘I’m fine.’ She pulled away from him and went into the kitchen. Stan trotted up to her and, despite his size, she scooped the dog into her arms, kissing his furry head and burying her face in his fur. ‘He’s growing by the second, I swear.’
‘I hope not, he’s already Godzilla.’ Theo’s tone was fond as he scratched the dog’s ears.
‘He’s still my baby.’
Theo smiled and reached for the kettle. They stood in silence while he prepared the tea, Jess hugging the dog to her for comfort.
The atmosphere was heavy, leaden. The light coming in from the window was a pale blue, ghostly, cold. It leeched the colours from the room.
Jess swallowed and found her throat closed, sore. The adrenaline that raced through her earlier has dissipated and now all she wanted to do was sleep. Fucking Jules. He was a monster but Jess was more disgusted with herself. She didn’t believe Jules would go through with his threat to kill her – he was too much of a coward – but he could make her life very, very difficult. And if he hurt Theo…
She felt tears pricking her eyes. She was lost. Jules’s threats had brought her to the edge – and Theo’s kindness despite his confusion– had pushed her over the edge. She simply could not take it anymore. She was broken.
She dropped the dog gently on the floor and rushed upstairs. In the bathroom, she threw up, great rasping sobs wrenching from her uncontrollably.
Downstairs, Theo listened to her heartbreak with his head in his hands. His chest thumped with despair, with the desperation of a man who didn’t know what to do, how to help, how to reach her. The bruises on her throat would fade soon, horrific as they were but they were simply physical wounds, not these deep chasms of hurt.
There was a knock and he dragged himself up to open the door. Max. He’d called him as soon as they’d gotten back to his place, when Jess had been in the bathroom. He wanted to know everything about Jules Gachet and he knew Max would be a tenacious private detective and besides Jess, Max was the only person he trusted implicitly.
Theo knew despair was etched on his face when he saw Max’s expression.
‘Jesus, you look…’ He stopped when he heard the sobs from upstairs. ‘Row?’
Theo gave short, humourless laugh. ‘I wish, buddy, I really do.’ He stood aside to let Max in and told Max what had happened Max frowned.
‘You got there in time to stop him?’
Theo shook his head. ‘No. I was too late. She was just sitting there, in a ball on the floor. God, you should have seen her, Max, she was terrified. I’ve never seen anyone that… traumatised.’ His shoulders slumped.
Max was silently for a long moment. ‘Theo…I’m going to say this and remember, I adore Jess but you’ve known her what? A week?’
Theo’s face was hard. ‘I love her, Max, I’m in this.’
Max held up his hands in conciliation. ‘Okay, fine by me. So, what’s next?’
‘I need to know everything about this asshole. Stuff Jess won’t or can’t tell me.’ He looked up at Max and his eyes were filled with grief. ‘I never want her to have to feel like she does right now, Max. ever.’
He sighed. ‘She’s pretty beat up emotionally. I hope she can come back from this.’ He winced at the words.
Max shook his head. ‘She just needs time. It’s the violence she’ll have the most problem with coming to terms with. She’ll go through the stages, denial, grief, anger. But she will come out the other side. You both will.’
Theo smiled sadly at him. ‘They teach you that little speech at Harvard?’
Max grinned self-consciously. ‘Something like that.’ They both listened to the sound of the bath being run upstairs. He patted his friend’s shoulder. ‘Anyway, I’m on it now, man.’
‘Yeah.’
Later, when Max had left, Theo took some tea up to Jess. She was wrapped in a towel drying her hair. Theo sucked in a breath at the sight of her bruised neck. She saw him looking at her and wouldn’t meet his eyes. He put the tea down in front of her.
‘Thank you.’ Her voice was soft. He braved trailing a finger along her cheekbone and was gratified when she didn’t pull away.
‘You’re welcome.’ They stayed like that for a few minutes. Theo noticed how wan she looked, her skin, usually so glowing, was yellow and grey. There were deep, navy blue lines under her eyes.
‘I think you should sleep, now, rest a little.’ He cupped her face with his hand, she leaned into his touch.
‘I don’t want to be alone.’
‘Never.’ Theo was surprised though when she pulled him down on the bed next to her, nuzzled his neck. Her arms wound around his neck and her mouth came up to cover his. Theo kissed her deeply, tenderly, pulling at the towel around her. She pulled his t-shirt up over his head and he laid her back on the bed. He stroked her body gently, feeling the soft curves swell under his touch.
He was hesitant at first but when she took his hand and placed it between her legs, he covered her body with his. She fumbled with his belt and zipper before he kicked his pants off and for the first time that night, she gave him a genuine smile. He looked down at her, the long dark lashes sweeping over the pink cheeks, her dark eyes liquid and soft.
‘God, you’re so, so beautiful,’ he murmured and grinned as she reached down to stroke his cock, feeling himself becoming hard as she caressed him. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he guided himself into her, hearing her gasp as he thrust all the way in.
‘Can we just stay like this forever?’ She whispered as they moved together and Theo kissed her, pouring all his love for her into the kiss.
‘For all time, my Jessie…’
Later when Theo was asleep, Jessie slid from the bed and wrapped Theo’s robe around her. She went to the window and looked out over the garden, drenched in darkness and silent. They’d made love long into the night and although she was exhausted, she couldn’t sleep, just knowing Jules was out there. She looked back at Theo’s sleeping form. Could she really end things with him? The thought crippled her but if it meant keeping him safe from Jules’ psychotic nature.
She thought back to the moment he had held that knife to her. That was nothing new but today there had been a frenzy in him, a bloodlust. He wanted to hurt her, maybe even kill her. Searching her feeling, she realised she had always known this, that her obvious love for Theo – or for anyone that had come along – would set him off. Could she go to the police now? Would the fact she was with Theo – and boy, would the feminist in her loathe that she need a man, even Theo, to give her credibility – would Theo’s position help convince the police she was telling the truth?
Jess slumped against the wall. She had no proof and Jules would use the best lawyers, use his money to paint her once again as no more than an attention seeker.
She looked back at Theo. There was no doubt in her mind that she loved this man, loved him completely and unconditionally. But did that mean she’d risk her life – and worse, his life – to keep what she wanted?
She imagined losing Theo forever. She knew which one she’d rather take Jules’s violence over and over than risk it. She couldn’t end things with Theo.
She drew in a long shaky breath and closed her eyes. A moment later she felt Theo slid his arms around her waist and felt his kiss on the back of her neck.
‘Can’t sleep?’
She shook her head and turned around to face him. She ran her fingertips over his cheekbones, feeling the tension in his muscles. ‘I love you, Theo Storm, so, so much.’
‘As I love you, Jessie.’
He kissed her then and led her back to bed. ‘I can relax you if you’d like?’ He had a small but teasing smile on his face and
she sighed and nodded.
‘Please…’
They made love slowly, their gaze locked on the other’s until both of them were moaning and vibrating with pleasure.
Jules Gachet, sitting in his exclusive private men’s club, was at the point of being too drunk. He didn’t often lose control, didn’t allow himself to but tonight he was celebrating. She was his again, his Jessica. Yeah, she might, even now, be fucking that bastard Storm, but Jules knew, she’d be thinking of him, of that knife pressed against her vulnerable skin.
Yes, he knew he’d gotten to her, unleashed that same terror that bound her to him when she was younger. She’d got revoltingly independent, less afraid of him as she grew up, and that had enraged him.
Jules Gachet had reached his late thirties without ever forming a serious romantic attachment. Why would he? With his French good looks, dark eyes, dark hair, olive skin, he was considered one of the world’s most eligible bachelors. He’d fucked around, taking his pick of supermodels, actresses, socialites, each one thinking they’d won the lottery when they’d met him. He let them think that, for a time, before cutting them dead with an almost gleeful finality. He enjoyed the mind games, the confusion and the humiliation.
Because no-one, no-one, compared to Jessica. That tumbling dark hair, those wide brown eyes, that honey-coloured skin. He got hard now thinking about it. And today, he’d reduced her back to the terrified teenager that she’d been the first time he’d taken her, in the room next to their parents, late at night.
Yes, today she became his Jess and again and not only that, he’d had a revelation, an epiphany. What he really wanted, what he most desired, what his endgame had always been whether he knew it or not.
The Midnight Club Page 61
