End Game (Games Thriller Series) (6 page)

Chapter 12

Jessica
wrapped up her workout and showered while the boys played in their room and then she corralled them for a trip to the mall. Usually, they were a handful at the stores, but today they were on their best behavior and that thrilled her.

At the jewelers, they pointed out all sorts of gaudy bling for
Daddy, but she ended up deciding on a simple eighteen-inch gold chain and a gold and platinum Rolex watch with diamond chips as wedding gifts. She let the boys choose one of the less conservative pieces—a sterling silver Celtic cross on a thick braided chain that would be at home around Rick Ross’s neck. The jeweler wrapped them at her request and handed them over with a smile.

“How long would it take to have a ring engraved?” Jessica inquired.

“That wouldn’t take long, just a couple of hours.”

Jessica produced the wedding band that Chris bought and wrote down what she wanted engraved, handing both to the jeweler.

“No problem. I’ll have it for you by noon.”

“Thank you.” She smiled and walked out of the store. “Ok
ay boys, we have a couple of hours to kill here, what do you want to do?” she asked, knowing full well they were going to insist on going to the Discovery Zone.

“Discovery Zone!” t
hey both yelled out at the same time.

“Let’s go.” She led them to the giant playscape within the mall with huge oversized tunnels, ladders, slides, ball pits and trampolines galore. The children were in their glory, jumping, sliding, crawling and running through three stories of the plastic wonderland while Jessica watched from the sidelines.

After close to an hour and a half, she called the boys and they headed to the food court for a bite to eat before heading back to the jewelers.

Jessica took the ring and read the inscription that covered most of the real estate inside.

Ty, a million years isn’t long enough. Yours forever, Jessica.

Chris would love it. She smiled and handed over the money to the jeweler, replacing the ring in the box. It would have been in poor taste for him to put that phrase in her ring, but she thought it was absolutely appropriate for her to put it on his. “Thank you.” She grinned and left the store.

Jessica put the packages in her shoulder bag, took the hand of each boy in hers, and headed out of the mall. Walking through the Norstrom Department Store, she ran smack into Chris.

“Daddy!”
both boys exclaimed and tore their hands out of their mother’s grip.

“What are you doing here?” He smiled and raked the boys to him in a big bear hug.

“Picking up some things,” she replied.

Chris tilted his head a little. “You got the ring inscribed?”

“Among other things. Will I ever be able to surprise you?”

Chris let out a laugh. “Afraid not
, babe.”

Jessica’s mind drifted to the phone call and her smile faltered.

Chris set the boys down on the ground and straightened his back, the amusement disappearing from his eyes. Trepidation seeped into his gaze. “He called again?”

“Yes,” she said, taking out the box that contained the ring, handing it to him. “But you have nothing to worry about. Read the inscription.”

He took the ring out and read what she had etched in the metal. Reading the words slowly, he took a deep breath and glanced over the shining metal, into her calico eyes. The hesitation evaporated, replaced by that raw energy that made her tingle all over. He slid the ring back in the box and stepped closer, grazing her cheek with his lips and placing the box in her hand. “Did I tell you ‘I love you’ today?”

The sheer proximity of his mouth to hers caused her to salivate, her heart pinging a mating call despite their surroundings.

“That’s not all Mommy got!” Tommy grinned and CJ hit him in the arm.

“Be quiet!” CJ said
, staring at Tommy.

Chris smiled down at his two boys and then back at Jessica. “Really?”

“Don’t you dare snoop,” Jessica warned but she could tell it was too late from the smirk on his face.

“I promise I’ll act surprised,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ve got to find a dress for Emily,” he said and stepped back. “Want to help?”

Jessica looked down at the boys and then back up at Chris. “I think these guys need to get home and take a nap before we have to go to the studio tonight.”
They’ve been so good, but I can’t see that lasting in women’s apparel shops.

“Point well taken. I shouldn’t be much longer. Her dress is the last thing I need to get. Everyone else is taken care of.” He smiled and ruffled the boys hair. “Be good for your mom.”

“We will!” in sync as always.

He glanced back at Jessica. “We can talk about that call when I get home.” He leaned over, planting a gentle kiss on her lips before heading off in the direction of the formal dresses.

* * * *

Chris pulled into the house and brought the bags inside and hung them in the front closet. He settled into the couch waiting for her to come downstairs. He smiled at her when she stepped into view.

“Get everything you needed to?”

“Yep. And I arranged for a car to pick us up next Thursday at three. We’ll swing by and get Emily and then head down to Connecticut for Eric.”

“About that. Danny wants you to come into the house when we pick Eric up,” Jessica said. “I’m sure he’ll mention it at the game Saturday.”

Chris laughed. He had never set foot in Jessica’s old house for many reasons. The biggest being he really didn’t want to see what her life was like before he snatched her out of it.

“There is no reason to continue avoiding seeing where I used to live before you met me.”

“Before I kidnapped you,” he clarified. His eyes bore into her.

“Chris,” she sighed. “I forgave you a long time ago for what you did to me. I’m marrying you for God’s sake.”

“Still doesn’t wipe out the fact I disrupted your life.”

Jessica walked over to him. “Yes, I will admit, you turned my life upside down. But Jesus, Chris, the gifts you have given me, nothing could replace them.” She pointed to the ceiling, referring to the boys.

“I’ve brought you more pain than a person has a right to bear.”

Jessica put her hands on his chest. “That’s the thing, you haven’t. Your stepbrother was the one who hurt me.”

“I left you with him.”

“But you didn’t know, babe.”

The smile that spread on his lips chilled her. “I should have known better.”

She raised her eyebrows. “How?”

“I knew he was a sadist. I watched him kill dozens of people
—hell I filmed it. And you were the only one there at the time. Even if he hadn’t heard me tell you about Jacob, he still would have hurt you.”

“When are you going to forgive yourself?”

He shrugged, tracing her cheek with his fingers. That was a question he didn’t have an answer to, not when his nightmares reminded him of all the death and destruction he had a hand in. “What about Tom? I screwed up your life with him too.”

She nodded slowly and looked down at her hands. “He’s the only one
who was even in the same vicinity as you as far as feelings are concerned.” She took a deep breath and met his gaze. “But I chose you.”

“He left you.”

“He was angry with me but he hadn’t slammed the door on our marriage. I was the one who did that.”

Chris raised his eyebrows. “I thought...”

“You thought wrong.
I
chose you.” She poked him in the chest. “And it had nothing to do with the fact that my marriage was on the rocks. It had everything to do with the fact I can’t live without you.” She spread her hand out on his chest feeling the strong steady beat of his heart under her palm. “I chose you,” she repeated. “So all this insecurity needs to stop right now. I will
always
choose you.”

He looked down at her in disbelief and then the smile spread slowly across his lips as what she said sunk in. “Always?”

“Yes, Ty, always.”

He closed his eyes for a moment and pulled her close. “The kids are asleep?”

“Yes.” The spark between them igniting her, the silent rain check from the mall being redeemed.

“In here or upstairs?”

“Here, now,” she replied and pushed his shirt over his head. She kissed his chest and unbuckled his pants trailing kisses down his abdomen as she pulled his clothing off. Pushing him back on the couch, she stripped and straddled him, the urgency to have him fill her slick pussy took over. Rocking her hips, grinding into him with each slow circle, she grinned and he peeled her shirt off, tossing it aside.

He took her breast in his mouth and she purred his name.

“Ty.” The word came out in a sigh of content and his striking blue eyes rose to hers.

“Jessie, Jessie, Jessie. You have got to stop calling me that.” He kissed her hard, his hands sliding to her waist and his thrusts deep and strong.

The tongue dance stripped them of breath until he pulled away from her lips. “You’re bringing out the animal in me.”

She arched into him with the same bravado. “Maybe I like the animal in you.”

He laughed and took her breast in his mouth again, his tongue flicking her hard nipples creating lightning bolts of heat landing directly between her legs and she moaned, closing her eyes and grinding her hips in time with his languid motion. The sudden chill on her damp breasts flapped her eyelids open and she stared down at his smoldering gaze. “That’s the look that drives me insane,” Jessica gasped.

“What look is that?” He smiled and pulled her closer, running his tongue up her neck to her ear.

“When you’re horny. Your eyes smolder.” Her eyes rolled back in her head, her body seizing and wetness rushed creating sweet friction with each stroke of his cock. Tremors gripped her and she laughed, meeting his intense gaze again. “You look at me like you want to eat me alive.” She kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“That’s because I do,” he mumbled from under her lips and felt her smile as they quickened their pace with both the kiss and their hips.

He arched into her, lifting her off the couch for a moment, the power of his explosion triggering another staggering orgasm in her and a high pitched squeal of delight slipped from her lips, drowning the groan that flowed from his mouth, their tongues still tangled, exploring the caverns of their mouths. Trembling, he settled back on the couch and began to laugh under her kiss.

She pulled away from his sweet mouth and stared at his satiated eyes.

“Smolder, huh?”

“Yes.” She blushed and uncoupled, standing and stretching before she gathered their clothing. She tossed his pants to him and slipped hers back on. “That look got me even when I didn’t want it to.”

He raised his eyebrow. “Does that mean I can have you any time I want, just with a look?”

“Pretty much.” She paused with her shirt in her hands just staring at his chiseled form.

“What?” he asked self-consciously.

“You are just so damn hot to look at. I can’t believe you turn forty this year.”

“I feel like I’m seventeen when I’m with you.” He smiled and pulled the shirt back on, waltzing across to where she stood topless and moved her into his arms. “I just can’t seem to get enough.” He kissed her and fondled her bare breast.

“You’re going to have to because the boys have just woken up
,” she said pushing him away and quickly slipping her bra and shirt on.

Dimples appeared in his cheeks and his eyes grazed her.

“Stop smoldering,” she said and the heat in the room cranked up a few notches.

He inhaled and looked at the ceiling, and the shuffling of little feet. “We never talked about that phone call.”

Jessica turned toward him. “We need to. I was worried enough about the way he sounded on the phone to project myself out there.”

His eyes snapped to hers, the confession rocking him to the core. She hadn’t done that since she showed up in his shower in
New York City five years ago. “Why?”

“Because he said Sharon would kill Tommy.”

The bizarre statement made him step backward. No one, but no one could threaten his kids. Both irritation and disbelief cradled his head. “What?”

“I told Tom he had a son and he freaked. He apparently had a vasectomy when Sharon demanded they get pregnant.”

Chris blinked; he still didn’t grasp how that equated to a death threat against his kid. Things were firing off in his brain, her thoughts, memories of what was said and not said forming a cloud of anger. “What?”

“Sharon has been blackmailing him for the last five years.”

“How?” He wanted the words; he wanted her to confirm what he saw in her mind.

“Me. She has an open-ended contract on my life. All she has to do is activate it.”

The world swam in front of his eyes, that fear about his bubble bursting crashed down on him and he sat on the couch.