Mind Games (Games Thriller Series) (9 page)

Chapter 27

Jessica stretched the sleep from her body and leaned over, planting a kiss on Tom’s cheek. He didn’t stir. She hopped out of bed, threw on her jogging clothes and walked down the hall to check on the kids.

When she pushed Emily’s door open, her eyes went wide. She wasn’t in her room and there was blood on the bed. Jessica bolted to Eric’s room with her heart in her throat. A sigh of relief escaped her at the sight of both Emily and Eric back to back, light snores alternating in unison.

She went back to Emily’s room and stripped the bed. Her period sometimes surprised her as well. She nervously looked at the mirror as she passed by, depositing the dirty sheets in the laundry room before heading out for her run.

The sun was low on the horizon as she stepped onto the beach. It wasn’t long before she got lost in the music and the rhythm of her feet on the sand. Her eyes half open under the sunglasses, she didn’t notice at first when he moved next to her and kept pace. A shadow crossed hers and Jessica glanced over in surprise.

“You snuck out on me.” Tom smiled and his blue eyes sparkled. He had a baseball hat on backwards and morning stubble still graced his face.

Jessica smiled. He always looked so sexy in the morning and today was no different. “I didn’t want to wake you at the crack of dawn,” she said and pulled the speaker out of the ear farthest away from Tom and handed it to him.

Tom put the speaker in his ear. “I didn’t get my snack last night.” He smiled over at her.

Jessica blushed slightly. “Play your cards right and you just might get one tonight.”

“You’re killing me Jess.” Tom grinned and grabbed her around the waist, interrupting her morning jog by pulling her to him and planting a kiss on her lips. “Morning babe.”

“Morning, now get your ass moving.”

They trotted to the house after running the length of the beach twice. Both kids sat curled up on the couch watching television when they walked in.

“Mind if I go down to the beach?” Eric stood and stretched.

“Sure, go ahead,” Jessica answered with a smile, but the smile faded when she glanced at Emily’s pale face. “Em, you all right?”

Emily looked up at her and nodded. “I was on the phone really late with Sara and then had a nightmare.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, Mom,” she sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Just making sure,” Jessica replied and ducked around the corner into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

The shower was already running and she peeled off her clothing, and crossed into the bathroom, quietly stepping in the shower behind Tom. Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed his back, closing her eyes against the fine mist.

Tom rotated in her grasp and ran his hand into her hair and leaned down to kiss her. “Snack time,” he purred and lifted her in his arms.

Jessica wrapped her legs around her husband and he kissed her, sliding inside. She closed her eyes and moved with him as the hot water beat down. He turned and pressed her back against the wall, kissing her neck and then her lips again, quickening his pace. She moaned softly under his lips and arched into him as her first orgasm ripped through her. “Yes,” she whispered and quickened her pace, feeling the release building again. Tom arched into her and came, causing her next orgasm and she arched back, trembling and whispering
, “Ty.”

She opened her eyes to Tom’s wide-eyed, mouth agape stare.

“You just said his name.” Tom blinked and set her down, stepping away.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Jessica reached for him.

“Jess, you said his name.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“Bullshit.” He stepped out of the shower, slamming the door behind him.

“Tom,” She turned the water off and opened the door.

He glared at her. “You said his name,” he growled. “While I was making love to you, you said HIS name.” He wrapped the towel around his waist and shook his head. “I can’t do this Jess. Not with him.”

Jessica grabbed a towel off the rack and wrapped it around her. “I’m sorry.”

“Look Jess, I’ve heard you call out his name in your sleep for years.” He ignored the surprise on her face. “It was hard enough to deal with knowing you still had feelings for that monster when I thought he was dead.” He shook his head and turned his back to her. “Finding out he’s alive, and now this? I can’t do it Jess.” He leaned on the sink, his head down.

“Tom, I’m with you.”

“Are you?” He looked over his shoulder. “Are you really with me?”

Jessica walked to him, putting her hand on his back. “Yes. I’m really with you. I am your wife and I love you.”

“But you still have feelings for him.” Tom continued to look at her over his shoulder.

“He saved Emily.” Her eyes pleaded for him not to push.

“But you still have feelings for him.” He turned toward her.

Jessica went to say something and closed her mouth. She looked into his angry blue eyes and nodded a little.

Tom closed his eyes and blew his breath out. He inhaled and opened them, the anger now mixing with heartache. “If he touches you, I’ll kill him.” He clenched his teeth. “So help me God, Jess, I will kill him.”

Jessica nodded again and stepped toward him putting her hand on his cheek. “Tom, you have my heart.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

Reluctantly, he put his arms around her.

Neither one of them saw the flicker in the mirror.

Chapter 28

Chris stepped away from the mirror and slowly walked out of his bathroom lost in thought. She said his name.
His name.

With a steaming cup of coffee, he drove to the beach and climbed down the stairs onto the sand. A fair amount of people gathered on the beach, walking, jogging, playing Frisbee with their dogs. There w
ere even a few yoga freaks stretching and contorting for their morning exercise.

Sighing, he focused on a group of teenagers playing soccer. The ball bounced beyond the goal and one of the kids ran after it.

Chris concentrated on the boy. “Trip,” he whispered.

Nothing happened.

Disgusted, he shook his head and picked up a couple of stones, walking to the water. He skimmed the first stone and willed it to continue to skip. The inanimate object obeyed his silent command, bouncing off the waves over and over until he could no longer see it.

He skimmed a second stone and put his hands in his pocket, watching the surfers on the waves. The overwhelming sensation of being watched tickled his skin and he glanced to his left, toward the bluff, his eyes falling on a familiar face a few feet away.

“Ty.”

Chris tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at the awe in the boy’s tone. “Please call me Chris.” He extended his hand.

Eric’s eyes dropped to his hand and he reached out, shaking it. “I didn’t know if you were real or not.”

Chris laughed and looked back at the ocean. “I’m just flesh and blood, Eric, so stop looking at me like I’m the second coming of Christ.”

“Sorry,” Eric mumbled. His hands slid into his pockets and he stood silently at Chris’s side.

“How’d you know I’d be here?”

“I know a lot of things.”

Chris inhaled and turned his gaze back to the boy. “Like what?”

“Like you’ve got to be the one to save my mom this time and you know how.”

Chris broke out in goose bumps. “Eric, I don’t know how...”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Yeah you do.”

Chris shook his head.

“Yes, Ty, you know.” Eric stood square in front of him. His eyes bore into Chris’s.

“No,” Chris said. The thought of using Jessica as bait raked a new wave of fear over his skin.

“I don’t like it any more than you do,” Eric said. “And you’re gonna have to help her open the door in her mind so she doesn’t die.” He pulled an old skeleton key out of his pocket and extended it to Chris.

“No. I’ll find another way.” He didn’t want to accept that key. The last time Eric gave it to him, he nearly died. They all nearly died.

Eric sighed, taking Chris’s hand and dropping the key in his palm. “There isn’t any other way. If you don’t, he’ll kill all of us.” He let that settle for a moment. “That includes me and Emily.” The colors in his eyes swirled, just like Jessica’s.

Chris slid the key into his pocket and stared at the ocean for a while in silence. Eric’s words, along with the fortuneteller’s directive, created a storm in his mind. A storm clouded by the memories of Frank carving her tender skin while he watched. A crippling dread made his knees weak and he had to take a step back to steady himself. “I don’t know if I can do this Eric, besides Tom will never let me use her like that.”

“Tom doesn’t control my mom.”

“But she loves him. He has her heart,” he said, repeating the words she said to Tom this morning.

“He may have her heart, but you, you own her soul.”

Chris shivered and closed his eyes. If he owned her soul, she was just as damned as he was.

“You love her?”

“Yes, more than life itself,” Chris whispered, looking back at him.

“I’m betting on that.” Eric’s eyes slowly cleared. “I gotta go.” He started to walk away.

“Eric?”

“What?”

“You know how to call me if there’s trouble, right?”

“Yes. The same way I reached you before,” he answered.

“That’s right. If you think he’s in your house, call. Understand?”

Eric nodded. “Thanks.” He paused. “For everything.”

“No, Eric. I’m the one who should be thanking you. You gave me my life back.” He put his hand out and Eric shook it.

Chris watched Eric until he was out of sight and then looked back at the ocean.

“Sweet Jesus.” The thought of using Jessica, putting her in harm’s way, was not one he wanted to entertain ever again. He slowly walked back to his car and headed home.

He slumped on the couch and leaned his head back.

“I can’t do this,” he whispered and looked around. His eyes landed on the bar in the corner and he got up, crossing the room. It was fully stocked and he reached for an unopened bottle of Grey Goose
.

Jessica’s poison
. Well if it’s good enough for her, it’s good enough for me.

He slipped a DVD into the player and poured himself a drink before pressing play.

The screen filled with the first time he made Jessica regret the phrase ‘Never in a million years.’ The seduction unfolded and he watched, aroused and bitter. He poured another glass and sat back with the bottle in one hand and the glass in the other, watching the only flick he put together that never made it to the street.

The scene change
d and he drained his drink. Onscreen, she swayed to the music in the concrete cell and he poured another glass, downing the fiery liquid and trying to drown the need thrumming in his veins. The need to be with her, to hold her, to make love to her again and again for the rest of his life.

Chapter 29

Jessica stood with a glass of orange juice in her hand, staring out the slider when Eric walked in the front door. “Where’ve you been?”

“I took a walk on the beach,” he answered.

She turned and gave him a smile. “See any girls?”

Eric blushed and shrugged, his gaze moving from hers to Tom’s and back. Worry lines creased his forehead and Jessica gave a slight shake of her head, silently relaying not to ask. With a nod, he disappeared in the kitchen.

Tom sat in the lounge chair, his eyes pasted to the script in his hand attempting to work, but Jessica knew better. The tense set of his jaw along with the stress ball he squeezed in his right hand told her he was still angry.

Jessica made up her mind; she had to tell Chris good-bye.

“I need to run to the store. Anyone want to come?” Jessica asked and relief washed through her when no one volunteered.

Jessica pulled up to the gate, staring at the control pad. She hesitated with her finger a millimeter from the bell. Instead she punched the first four letters of her name and pressed send. She inhaled when the gate opened.

Figures he’d use my name as his password.

She closed her eyes for a moment and drove in.

At the front door, she reached for the doorbell and stopped. Instinctively she knew it was unlocked and she opened the door and stepped inside. She heard the television and walked into the family room.

An empty bottle of vodka sat on the coffee table and Chris continued to intently stare at the screen. She followed his gaze and gasped when she saw what was playing. It was her and Ty a lifetime ago.

Chris turned and shot to his feet. “Jess.” He pushed the stop button on the video and the screen went dark. He scanned her from head to her beige flip flops and back with glossy eyes and took a couple
of unsteady steps in her direction.

“You’re drunk.”

“Yessiree.” He grinned and continued his zig-zag path across the room approaching her.

His eyes hungered for her, turning the deep blue like a clear late afternoon sky and she instantly regretted not ringing the doorbell.

“You look hot today,” he added.

She found herself pinned to the wall by an invisible force and her heart thundered in her chest with his every step.

“Ty, please.”

He smiled. “Please what?” he purred and leaned in to kiss her.

The moment his hands landed on the curve of her waist and his lips pressed against hers, her purpose for coming was lost and only the need consumed her.

He broke the kiss and stepped back, scanning her again and with a slight cock of his head, her shirt tore open, the buttons pinging on the floor as they rolled away. He closed the distance, his lips drinking in her neck, his tongue tickling her skin and she remained pinned to the wall.

“Please. Let me go.”

A sound so unlike him welled up from his chest and he giggled, his hands sliding under the hem of her skirt, flowing up her legs like hot oil until his fingers found her underwear. In a grand flourish, he tore them off and tossed them over his shoulder.

Her shirt peeled off and flew to another corner of the room along with her bra and she stood, half naked and trembling against the invisible hold, his hands traveling over her skin, his lips finding the curves of her breasts feeding the frenzy gripping her. “Let me go.”

He smiled and released her from his mental hold, but his exploration of her body continued. The seduction of his lips, his tongue sliding down her stomach kept her in place. His silken hands left trails of heat behind their caress, almost burning her skin with desire.

He dropped to his knees and yanked the skirt around her ankles, and when she stepped out of it, he tossed it over his shoulder, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

One lick of her pussy was enough to drive her over the edge and she tilted her head back into the wall, letting a soft moan escape. Her hands laced into his thick hair, pulling him closer, spreading her legs wider for him.

He rolled his tongue around her clit, toying with her, bringing her to the brink and slowing down enough to sustain the plateau. His fingers teased with their slow penetration and her pussy wrapped around them, each stroke producing a delicious tingle and her body burned for him, each touch, each flick of his tongue, each press of his lips fanned her passion.

He broke his mesmerizing hold, working his way up her abdomen, his lips trailing over her breasts and up her neck until they covered her mouth in an exquisite tongue dance that left her breathless.

“Tell me you want me,” Chris whispered in that smooth sexy voice she couldn’t deny.

He set her body on fire, rendering her helpless and the words tumbled out. “I want you.”

Chris pulled away and looked at her for a moment, smiling. His clothing came off in a flurry of fabric and he was against her, skin on skin, throbbing hearts in sync, his mouth on hers and the kiss, the kiss insistent and flaming.

Jessica wrapped her leg around him and he hiked her up against the wall, his hard cock sliding into her wet pussy, deliciously stroking with each twirl of his hips. The kiss broke and he met her gaze with a smile that seared her soul.

“God help me, I do want you.”

The kiss began again and time stopped. Slow and seductive, he moved his tongue in lazy circles, mingling with hers, mimicking the motion of his hips and she moaned under the exquisite ecstasy he created.

He swiveled with her in his arms and crossed to the couch, sitting down with her on top, giving her the control to set the pace.

She straddled him, continuing his slow lazy rhythm.

“Tell me you love me,” she whispered in his ear, moving her pussy up and down the length of his shaft.

He groaned, the sound rumbling in his chest and his half mast gaze met hers. “I love you Jessie,” he whispered. “I’ve always loved you.”

With the words came the release and her body trembled with the power of it, his name flowing over her lips in a rush that matched the cum lining her pussy.

He found her mouth again and wrapped his arms around her, maneuvering so she was underneath him on the couch. He ran his hand up her cheek and into her hair and kissed her, his hips moving slowly. “Jessie,” he purred in her ear.

“Ty!” she called out as the next orgasm ripped through her.

* * * *

Chris couldn’t hold on any longer, he quickened his pace, his breath matching the frantic pounding of his heart and he looked into her swirling irises losing himself in the desire there. “Tell me.” He needed the words as much as he needed her.

“Oh God!”

She arched into him, her eyes rolling back in their sockets, pure pleasure drenched her features and he lost it, pressing his full length inside her, calling her name as the explosive orgasm rocked him. He collapsed on her, aftershocks racking his body and the giggles welled up again. He propped himself on his elbows grinning down at her, the alcohol still lacing his thoughts and his chest rising and falling in short bursts from the exertion.

A single tear slipped from her eye and the flurry of her thoughts accosted him, seizing his muscles in place. “Don’t go,” he whispered and traced her lips with his fingertips. “Don’t go to California.”

“Ty. I came to say goodbye.”

Chris’s breath hitched in his chest, the words sharper than a knife cutting his flesh. Tears sprang, blurring his vision and he buried his head into her neck. She couldn’t leave, not now, not after today.

“No.” He shook his head like a five-year-old refusing punishment. “No.”

“Yes,” Jessica said and another tear slipped out. “You have to let me go.”

“Eric told me I had to save you,” Chris said. “So you can’t say goodbye just yet.”

Jessica put her hands on his face. “I’m not coming back from L.A.”

“Just twist the knife in my chest a little more, why don’t you.” Chris got up and walked across the living room; snatching his clothes off the floor and sliding them back on in silence.

He swiped her clothes off the dark wood and carried them back to her, turning away as she dressed. The quiet sob brought his attention back to her and she held the edges of the button down shirt in her hands, tears cascading down her cheeks. “The buttons are gone.”

Chris inhaled and hung his head, the anger decreasing a notch, replaced by a bleak despair that blanketed him, leaving his skin cold and his heart guarded. He raised his gaze back to hers. The panic he saw grilled his nerves. “How can you leave after today?”

“Because I’m married,” she sighed.

“I can take care of that.”

“Don’t you dare,” she growled and shot to her feet.

Chris willed her to sit down and she did.

Jessica dropped her gaze to her shirt. “How the hell am I going to explain this?” She lifted the empty edge, showing only little tendrils of thread where the buttons had once been. Slow tracks of tears ran down her cheeks again.

Goddamnit!
He hated when she cried; it always tugged at his heartstrings and this time was no different. Stepping forward, he knelt in front of her taking her hands in his. He bent over, closing his eyes and resting his forehead on her knees, concentrating, willing the buttons back to their original origin. The exertion and the reason behind it dragged hot tears from his eyes, burning his throat and dampening a spot on her skirt. The power inside increased a notch and he trembled trying to contain it.

Her not so silent sob yanked his head up and he stared at the perfectly buttoned shirt before bringing his bleary gaze to hers.

“You have to let me go.”

“I did that once. I can’t do it a second time,” he replied, wiping his face with his sleeve.

“You have to.” Jessica put her hand on his cheek.

“Why? Why am I always the one that has to give up what I want?”

“Stop that.” She tried to get up, but he wasn’t letting her.

Chris stood and took a step away from her. “So this really was goodbye?” He waved at the room, the anger ebbing back, sobering him up. “What if I don’t want to say goodbye?”

She closed her eyes. “I don’t want to be angry with you.”

“You’re angry?”

“I don’t want to be, but if you keep acting like a child...”

He raised his eyebrows and then turned away, biting down his own furious retaliation. He crossed to the slider and stood with his arms crossed, debating, reflecting on what they had done today, on how many time
s she asked him to let her go and he closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered after a few minutes of silence settled between them.

“For what?”

“For not stopping.”

“I never asked you to stop. I asked you to let me go.”

Chris slowly turned, not understanding the difference.

“Chris, you didn’t do anything here today that I didn’t want but I need you to let go.”

“I can’t let go. Not until I know you’re safe.” He paused. “Not until you, Eric and Emily are safe.” He clarified thinking of his conversation on the beach.

“I think we’ll be fine in California.” Jessica stood.

“He found you in Connecticut, why do you think he won’t find you in California?”

She shrugged and smiled a little. “One can hope?”

“Eric said that if I didn’t take care of this, Frank would kill all four of us.” He saw the crease appear between her eyebrows. “You, me, Emily and Eric.”

Her eyes narrowed. “When did you talk to Eric?”

“This morning on the beach. That’s what prompted this.” He picked up the empty bottle and set it back on the table. “He said I knew how to get rid of Frank, but Jess, it scares the shit out of me.”

“You know how?”

“I think I do, but I’m not sure I can do it.” He took a deep breath. “Maybe California isn’t such a bad thing. Maybe he won’t find you there.”

She crossed, giving him a hug.

He smelled her hair, clean with a hint of coconut. Closing his eyes, he catalogued the scent so it would always bring back the feel of her in his arms.

“Thank you,” she said against his neck.

“For what?”

“For letting me go.” Jessica pulled away and walked out of his house.