by J. E. Taylor
He sat down and took her hands in his. “Jess?”
His touch set her on fire. She pulled her hands away and stood up, heading out onto the balcony.
He followed her out. “We have to talk about what we need to do to get rid of Frank.”
“I know,” she said but didn’t turn. “How’s this going to work?” she asked dreading the answer.
“I need to use you as bait,” he said and she spun around. “And apparently I will need to do things very fast or we both die.” He walked up to her and touched her face. “This is not something I want to do. I will have to let him hurt you, Jess.” His voice shook. “I need to make him think he won.” His eyes filled with tears. “Then I’ll have to use everything you gave me to kill the bastard and help you fix both of us.” He kissed her. “I just hope like hell that I’m strong enough,” he whispered against her lips.
Jessica stepped back into the balcony wall. “Ty, you promised.”
“I know, but I’m in love with you and you’re here.” He leaned his arms against the balcony on either side of her. “If you can look me in the eye and tell me that you don’t want me the way I want you, I’ll let you walk out of here with no questions asked.”
“I’m married,” she said, her breath hitching in her chest as he stared into her eyes. Tom’s words screamed in her head as loud as her body screamed to be with Chris.
“That’s not what I asked you to tell me,” he replied, watching her, waiting. “You can’t, can you?”
She shook her head and he leaned in to kiss her. She gave in to the heat between them as his strong arms wrapped around her.
He picked her up and carried her to his bedroom setting her down on the floor next to the bed, unclasping her dress and watching it drift to the floor. Lowering to one knee, he slid her heels off one at a time and then stripped her panties and slid his hands up her body, removing her bra in the process. He took a step back, taking her in, memorizing every curve, his heart pounding and his breath coming in quick bursts. His eyes met hers and he saw the same need.
Jessica stepped closer unbuttoning his shirt and stared into his eyes. She peeled it off and ran her hands down his smooth, chiseled chest. Her fingers found the button to his pants, undoing the fine Armani trousers and letting them slip down his legs.
Chris slid his shoes off and kicked both shoes and pants away.
They studied each other for a moment and within a blink they were in each other’s arms, kissing, hands wandering, not able to get enough. He picked her up and moved her onto the bed, sliding into her instantaneously.
“Oh God, Ty!” Jessica arched into him.
He kissed her neck, slowly moving his hips, trying to control himself. He wanted this to last and he closed his eyes, willing her body to do as he wished. Her moan had his name on it and he smiled. He felt the power shift and he kissed her, she arched, climaxing, her body responding to his every touch, his every movement and he pulled away from her lips, taking a shaky breath.
“Tell me,” he said looking into her eyes, his voice like velvet to her ears.
“I want you.” She arched into him, meeting the sinuous motion of his hips.
He smiled down at her and continued his slow methodical movement watching as she built up to another orgasm.
“You’re driving me crazy.”
His smile broadened.
“Faster,” she gasped and pulled him down to her mouth. Kissing him hard as he moved his hips faster, she kept pace, gently moaning under his lips.
He deepened the kiss and felt her orgasm and he released, sending his seed deep within her, willing a miracle to occur. He lay on top of her in bliss for a while until her breath slowed to normal. He propped himself up on his elbows again and looked into her eyes.
Jessica met his gaze and he smiled and kissed her and rolled onto his back.
“Jesus, Jessie.” He sighed, the connection still a living, breathing force between them.
Jessica rolled away and sat up on the side of the bed.
He reached for her, feeling the shift of her thoughts. “Don’t go.”
“I have to.” She stood up and gathered her clothes. “Tom will be back soon.”
Pain sharper than any knife pierced his abdomen and she turned toward him.
“I never said I’d leave him.”
Chris closed his eyes and nodded. “I know, but Jess,” he started to say and then stopped.
Tears brimmed, sliding down her cheeks. “I can’t do this,” she said and threw her clothing on. “I can’t love you like this,” she whispered, trying to talk herself out of the feelings raging inside.
“But you do.” He reached for the pair of jeans that were hanging over the end of the bed and slid them on.
Jessica hung her head and nodded, giving him a small seed of hope.
He went to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I’ll walk you back to your hotel,” he said. “But Jess, this is the last time.” He pulled away. “I know I started it and I probably will try again if given the chance, so unless you intend to leave him, you have to be the one to say no.” He ran his thumb over her lips. “If we do this again, I won’t let you go.” He stared into her eyes silently conveying what he meant. If she slept with him again, he’d move heaven and earth to keep her by his side, no matter what the consequences.
Chapter 71
Once in the hotel room, Jessica stripped, jumping into a hot shower to wash the smell of him off her body and try to keep the guilt at bay. Tom called ‘hello’ and she returned the salutation, shutting off the shower. She wrapped herself in one of the hotel’s plush towels and squeezed the water out of her hair, running a comb through the wet tangles and touched up her make-up before stepping into the hotel room.
Tom sat in the chair, his eyes wide and a cloth stuffed in his mouth.
A knife hovered in front of him and her clean body broke out in a cold sweat. Her heart hammered in her chest, terror gripping it and squeezing. Tom’s tie slowly pulled from around his neck.
Jessica stepped closer. “Leave him alone!”
“Pretty boy and I have been having a little chat, haven’t we?” Frank said and materialized in the room.
Jessica took a threatening step towards them and Frank put the point of the knife to Tom’s neck, piercing the skin. Blood trickled down the line of his neck and Jessica froze. “Please don’t hurt him,” she whispered. “I’ll do anything you want, please.” Tears blurred her vision and she blinked, forcing them out of her eyes.
Frank laughed and pulled the knife away. “You’re going to show your husband exactly what you did to my little brother on the beach.”
Jessica’s mouth fell open and her gaze shot to Tom. His jaw tightened and a crease appeared between his eyes, the depth of his pain visible in the blue irises. Jessica lunged at Frank and he backhanded her, sending her sprawling onto the floor. Pain plumed in her cheek and she pressed her palm to the spot his hand connected, her other hand grabbing the slipping towel.
The fabric yanked from her fingers and was tossed into the corner. “I prefer my sluts to be naked.”
She looked up through her wet hair. “You son of a bitch.”
Frank walked behind Tom and put the blade to his neck. “Come on, he deserves the same thing Ty got on the beach.” He looked down at Tom. “Has she ever given you a blow job?”
Tom shook his head. That was one thing Jessica never attempted and he never pushed the issue.
“She’s got a mouth that just won’t quit. You’re in for a real treat.” Frank walked to Jessica and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her to him. “Let’s just say I’m granting you a final wish before you die.” He looked at Jessica. “Do it, or he dies right now.”
Jessica reached up with trembling hands and unzipped Tom’s pants, pulling his limp dick from the fabric. Hot tears choked her, sliding down her face as she coaxed him with her hands.
“You didn’t have a problem sucking the juice out of Ty.”
Jessi
ca glared up at Frank and moved her gaze to Tom. His eyes hardened and his jaw tightened, fury and fear mixing in his blood and all of it tainted by the want she saw in his irises. His cock hardened in her grasp and she turned her attention to him, sliding the tip of his penis in her mouth and closing her tear filled eyes.
A low rumble escaped through the gag in his mouth and she stole a glance, his eyes clamped tight and his head tilted back. His chest rose and fell in quick bursts, groaning each time she rolled her tongue around the sensitive flesh before continuing to run her lips up and down his throbbing shaft.
“That’s it, suck him dry,” Frank whispered in her ear.
Jessica sent a silent cry out to Chris with her room number and prayed he would be here in time.
Tom’s hands gripped the chair rails, his body stiffening, a muffled groan accompanied the explosion of semen in her mouth and Jessica swallowed, gasping and sucking until Frank yanked her away, launching his own brutal assault.
* * * *
Tom’s tear-stained lashes parted and he struggled against the bonds holding him in the chair. The image before him, drawing fury to the forefront of his emotional baggage. Frank raping his wife with the same violent bravado he had five years ago in the complex. Fucking bastard! The thought barreled from his gagged mouth, muffled by the fabric but pronounced enough to make Frank laugh.
He pulled out of Jessica and tossed her on the bed, the knife appearing in his hands again. “Interesting choice of words.” He pointed the knife in Tom’s direction before turning his gaze to her. “That wasn’t all that happened on the beach, was it?”
He turned back to Tom. “She fucked him too,” he whispered in his ear.
The words seared through him and he shot a glance in her direction.
“You bastard,” Jessica sobbed.
Frank chuckled. “Oh yes, she fucked him all right. Not only at the beach, but the day you followed her, she screwed him on the couch and that time she wasn’t drunk.”
Tears burned his throat and he inhaled through his nose, meeting her pained gaze, seeing the truth in her eyes. How could you?
A sob escaped her lips.
“But my favorite was this afternoon.”
Tom screamed under the gag, biting down on the fabric and glaring at Jessica. She didn’t deny it, she didn’t call Frank a liar, she just sobbed on the bed, her eyes filled with tears, tears that tracked down her cheeks and told him everything this bastard said was the truth.
“So what do I do with you today?” Jessica’s arms and legs stretched wide on the bed. “Reenact what you did with Ty?” He ran the knife over her stomach. “Or maybe I’ll just go around the world with you like I did with your daughter.” He stuffed the tie in Jessica’s mouth before her lungs filled with the scream, muffling any shrill cry that she might have built up.
Frank advanced on Tom as Jessica struggled against invisible bonds holding her to the bed.
He smiled at Tom and tilted his head. “How about a little murder-suicide today?”
Tom’s fear was muted by his anguish. Jessica slept with Ty of her own accord after he had given her that ultimatum. He could forgive her for anything that occurred before that, but today, she slept with him today of all days. Pain tore him from his silent rant, and he gazed down at his arm, the knife tearing flesh, tendons and veins from the elbow to wrist and he screamed into the muffled rag. Frank sliced his other arm and another hot flare of pain accosted him, burning his arms and making his stomach roil. The smell of blood filled the room.
Jessica spit the tie out of her mouth. “No, please no, not him,” she sobbed.
Frank dropped the knife on the floor and climbed up on the bed. He wrapped Tom’s tie around her neck and pulled both ends, restricting her airway. “I’ve always dreamed of fucking the life out of you.”
The hotel door banged open and Chris entered, slamming the door behind him. Out of breath from sprinting the length of the park and vaulting up six flights of stairs, words hissed out of his chest, “Get away from her!”
He pulled a gun out of the waistline of his pants and pointed it at Frank.
Instantly, Frank dissolved and the mirrors burst, turning to dust, at the same time Chris pulled the trigger. The bullet slid through the fading image of Frank and slammed into Tom’s shoulder beyond the image.
“Shit,” Chris cursed and put the gun on the bed, reaching for the tie around her neck.
The moment the invisible bonds holding her disappeared, Jessica jumped off the bed and fell to her knees in front of Tom. Sobs ripped from her chest and she pressed her lips to his arms, sending her magic into his flesh, healing the knife wounds. He let out a muffled cry, clenching his teeth on the rag.
She traced the bullet hole in his shoulder and turned to Chris. “Can you get the bullet out?”
Chris closed his eyes and tilted his chin to his chest, a line appearing between his eyebrows in concentration.
Tom screamed as the bullet backed its way out from being wedged in his shoulder. Jessica caught it and then leaned over, kissing the wound, mending it with her healing power.
Tom squeezed his eyes shut and when he opened them, they fell on Jessica.
She saw a mixture of feelings that transitioned when Chris handed her one of the hotel bathrobes. His gaze rose and he pulled the gag from his mouth.
“You son of a bitch!” He launched at Chris, slamming him into the wall and wrapping both his hands around his neck, hell bent on squeezing the life out of him.
“Tom don’t!”
“I told you I’d kill him if he ever touched you,” he growled and glared back at her.
An invisible force tore him from Chris and flung him across the room.
Jessica shot her gaze in Chris’s direction, catching the flash of anger in his eyes.
“Don’t,” Jessica said, walking into his line of sight.
The hammer click caught their attention and Jessica spun. Tom leveled the gun at Chris, his glare screaming murder.
* * * *
“You do not want to do that, Tom,” Chris said.
“How many times?” Tom growled low. “How many times did you fuck my wife since you’ve been back?”
Jessica hung her head and a sob escaped.
Chris met his angry glare and held up three fingers. “She was drunk the first time.” He shrugged trying to soften the blow.
“And you let him?” Tom yelled, his teeth clenched in rage. The gun shook in his hands. “After what I said the other day, you still let him?”
Jessica nodded.
“She chose you, Tom,” Chris said, but the rage in Tom’s gaze gave him pause and he exercised the power she gave him. “Put the gun down,” he commanded and Tom slowly released the hammer and put the gun on the bed. “Step away,” he said and Tom obediently stepped back even with the wide eyes and slack jaw.
Chris leaned across the bed and picked up the gun, flipped the safety on and put it back in his belt at the small of his back, pulling the shirt back over it. He released the mental hold on Tom and stepped back. “Just calm down,” he said and immediately realized just how ridiculous that was to say.
Tom’s eyebrows shot up. “Calm down?” He looked at himself. “I’m covered in my own blood and my wife was nearly strangled to death by a ghost! As if that’s not bad enough, I find out from that son of a bitch that she’s been sleeping with you. I think it’s a little late to calm down,” he raved. “I don’t want to see you near her ever again. Ever!”
“Tom, I need him.” Jessica turned toward him.
Tom moved his steady glare to her. “What did you just say?”
“I need him. He is the only one who can get rid of Frank,” she said, the tears still running down her bruised cheek.
His mouth dropped open. “I don’t give a damn. I don’t want you near him.”
“Frank raped my little girl,” she screamed. “I told you I would do anything so that doesn’t happen again.”
“Then you do it without me
,” he snarled.
“If I have to, I will,” she whispered and put her face in her hands, sobs tore through her and she slowly crumpled to her knees.
Chris took a step toward her.
“Get out!” Tom demanded.
“I’m not leaving her with you,” Chris laughed. “Not like this.”
“She’s my wife; now get the hell out of my hotel room.” Tom took a step toward him.
“Chris, just go,” Jessica said from behind her hands.
Chris looked from Jessica back to Tom. “I swear to God, if you hurt her.”
“I’m not like you, Ty. I would never intentionally hurt her,” Tom snarled back.
Chris inhaled deeply at the dig.
“Please, just go,” Jessica said.
He nodded as their eyes met.
Thank you for saving our lives. “Go,” she said softly.
* * * *
As soon as the door shut, Tom stormed past her and into the bathroom. She heard the door lock and the shower turn on and she glanced at the god-awful mess before her. Grabbing the towel from the corner, she knelt on the floor and wiped up the blood surrounding the chair.
Tom’s blood.
A sob escaped, then another and another until it turned into one continuous moan shaking her entire frame, tears mixing with the blood that the towel couldn’t absorb.
He finally came out of the bathroom, clean with eyes red from crying. “Jessie, how could you?” He sat on the edge of the bed.
“It was inevitable,” she whispered, staring at her crimson hands.
He got up and walked over to her, kneeling behind her and resting his forehead between her shoulders. “I can’t believe you slept with him, Jess,” he whispered and a raspy sob escaped.
“I didn’t intend to.”
“I can’t do this.”
“If he hadn’t come, you would have died. Tom, I can’t do this without you.”
“You have to,” he whispered into her back. “I can’t get past this.”
“I need to wash this off,” she sobbed and felt him move away.
She stumbled into the shower, blinded by the torrent of tears, her chest heaving sobs in harsh pulls. I never should have married him, no matter how much I loved him. She scrubbed the blood from her skin until the water ran clear then wrapped a towel around her and stepped into the bedroom.
