Obsession (10 page)

“I could feel his erection pressing into me. That’s when I knew he wanted to rape me,” she said another day.

The coffee Alex had been drinking churned in his stomach. “Tess,” he said, the word strangled. But she didn’t seem to hear.

“I grabbed his balls.”

“Good for you.”

And she smiled. The first real smile he’d seen since that day.

They hadn’t made love. She didn’t push him away, in fact, wanted him to hold her, but they hadn’t made love and it angered him that someone had taken that connection away.

Slowly, as the pies, cakes and cookies began to fill every available space on the counter and as the days lengthened, Alex began to see a change in Tess. An acceptance. A moving forward. He still wanted her to see a professional and she still refused, but he could see a difference. More smiles. A little laughter. Less holding at night and more sleeping. The nightmares diminished.

But they still hadn’t made love.

Chapter Fifteen

Othello bounded through the snow, alternately barking and sniffing at whatever caught his attention. Alex buried his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and blew a vapor of breath into the cold morning air. He sniffed and stamped his feet. He was damn cold, yet not ready to go inside. He’d come to hate it when Tess baked. He could feel himself tense up, waiting for the next bombshell she would drop. Today, he stayed outside with Othello. Valentine’s Day had passed weeks ago and with it the flurry of baking that Tess had to do for her clients. Yet they had more food than they knew what to do with. She’d even given stuff to Tony, but he was overloaded so he took it to the homeless shelters.

Othello lifted a leg to water the dead rose bush next to the house, turned to inspect his handiwork, then trotted off.

The soft crunch of snow and slight movement to his right caught Alex’s attention. Just as he turned, something cold and hard smacked him in the face, obliterating the world into white.

Tess’s laughter rang through the still air. Alex spit the snow out of his mouth and pulled his hands from his pockets to wipe off his face. Othello barked and ran circles around Tess. The cold had turned her cheeks rosy and her nose red. Her fiery hair spilled out from beneath a pink knit hat. Bright green mittens covered her hands. She was a study in color and it thrilled him to see her out of the kitchen and laughing for once.

With a growl, he scooped up a handful of snow and patted it into a perfect projectile. “You should know by now not to mess with the best snowball fighter around.” He advanced, tossing the snowball from hand to hand.

Tess shrieked and bolted for the tree.

Alex loped after her. Othello streaked after her, barking. He wasn’t worried. They were in a fenced yard. She had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

Tess stopped and turned, her hands held out. “Now, Alex…”

“It’s a little late for peace negotiations, Tess.”

She backed up a step and giggled again, the sound so wonderful it made him weak in the knees. “Your knee.”

“Never felt better.” Except for the weak-in-the-knees part but that had nothing to do with his surgery. He tossed the snowball in the air again and smirked. He barely limped anymore and used the cane only when Tess got bitchy about it. At his next visit to Dr. Ford he would ask about returning to work. It was almost March and he was more than ready. But first, he had a war to wage with his wife.

Alex launched his weapon and Tess ducked, but he’d anticipated the feint and aimed correctly. The snowball hit her square in the back. Tess dropped to one knee and grabbed a handful of snow. He did the same.

“One to one, Tessie. Give up.”

“No way, Juran.” She squished the snow together and made an oval-shaped ball. She threw it and it came apart before it ever reached him, snow blowing everywhere.

He snorted. “You’re such a girl.”

“I seem to recall there’re times you like that about me.”

Oh, yeah. Snowball-throwing aside, he definitely liked her as a girl. But it’d been a long time since he’d seen that side of her and her words, thrown at him in fun, stirred him. His jeans suddenly became tight.

He advanced. Tess retreated. Othello stood between them looking back and forth. Alex took another step forward and Tess smiled, her expression mischievous.

“Come on, big boy,” she taunted, wiggling her fingers at him. “Bring it on.”

“Tessie, baby, your mouth just wrote a check you can’t cash.”

Her eyes got wide, mocking. “Oooh, big words, from a big man.”

He ran. She laughed and turned. Othello jumped in front of her and Tess went down. Alex fell on top of her, pinning her to the cold, snow-covered ground.

“Uncle,” she gasped, pushing hair out of her face with those bright green mittens.

“Ha! There’s no
uncle
in war. You’re my prisoner now.” Alex flipped her onto her back and pressed his weight into her.

Tess laughed and, too late, he realized he’d made a grave tactical error in not disarming her. She stuffed her snowball down the front of his shirt.

“Oh, Tess, that was a mistake.”

“Yeah? Watcha gonna do about it?”

He pretended to think about it for a moment. “Shoving snowballs down your enemy’s shirt calls for strict disciplinary procedures. I’m sorry, honey, but I must follow orders.”

The warmth of her body, even through all the layers of clothes, and the melting snow dripping down his chest branded him. The silky strands of her red hair contrasted sharply with the white snow. He nestled himself between her thighs and nearly groaned with a built-up need he’d been keeping in check.

“Orders?” The question came out on a tiny gasp of air. Her gaze traveled over his face and fixated on his mouth. He rocked his hips and her breath got a funny catch to it. Crap, if he didn’t watch it, he’d come right here with snow melting inside his shirt.

“What kind of orders?” she asked a little breathlessly.

“Orders from the top.” His gaze drank in her cherry red lips and he dipped his head to taste. Lightly he passed his own lips across hers, barely touching.

“Torture.” He licked her lips in a silent request for an invitation inside. Tess moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her tongue met his and he swore the snow melted underneath them.

“Please, Alex.”

His breath puffed out, condensed and blew away with the slight breeze. “Please what, Tess?”

She looked at him, her gaze serious, searching his face. “I love you.”

“God, baby, I love you too.”

His erection pushed against his fly, making it damn uncomfortable, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t break contact with her. Othello nudged his cold nose between them and licked Tess’s cheek. She laughed and Alex flopped over onto the wet snow, his arms spread out. He blinked at the bright sun. If he didn’t get some action soon, he was going to die.

Tess rolled to her side and caressed his cheek. “Make love to me, Alex.”

He looked at her, at the love shining in her eyes and the snow covering her hair and shoulders. “Are you sure?” Damn, he hated to ask, because he was so
flippin’
close, but he wouldn’t do it if she wasn’t ready.

“Inside,” she said.

With little effort Alex stood and brushed off the snow. He pulled Tess up and brushed the snow off her as well. They ran to the house, laughing, Othello trudging after them.

***

He clenched his hands at his sides and tried to control his erratic breathing. Fuck.

He wanted to race over there and finish what he’d started all those months ago.

Watching them roll around in the snow, doing indecent things in
public
, just about killed him. He needed to end this soon. It’d been two months since he’d touched her, felt her soft skin, smelled that fruity scent of her hair. Two hellish months of watching her and seeing Juran plastered to her side.

He’d made an error in grabbing her at the apartment. Now Juran knew he was near. His gaze went to the window of their house. They were inside now. Fucking. His heart skipped a beat and his dick stood at the thought. He didn’t want Juran shoving it in her.
He
wanted to shove it in her and hear her scream.

He swore and ran a shaky hand through his hair. This was all fucked up. It’d started out as a perfect opportunity to get to Juran, exact some revenge for super-prick ruining a very nice thing he had going. Now all he could think about, all he could concentrate on, was super-prick’s wife.

Eliminate Juran. That was his first priority. The little wife would be the spoils of war.

The plan was simple, but right now Juran and Tess were still fucking and he couldn’t stand that thought. He pulled his phone out of his front pants pocket, grimacing when the strain on his zipper rubbed against his hard cock.

He dialed and watched the house.

***

Alex pushed Tess against the wall, pinned her with his hips and kissed her throat while unzipping her jacket. She arched her neck and closed her eyes, her breath ragged gasps. He yanked his coat off, then stripped his shirt. Tess fumbled with her own coat and kicked her boots off at the same time. Her cold hands ran up and down his bare chest. Cold against hot. Very erotic.

He ground his hips into her and she pushed back, wanting more than the feeling of her jeans rubbing against her.

“Ignore it,” Alex said, pulling away, then coming back for another ground-tilting kiss.

“Ignore what?” She grabbed his head between her hands, much like he’d done outside.

“The phone.”

“Oh.” She reached for his fly and unzipped and unbuttoned. Cold hands met tight, hot skin. Alex hissed and dropped his forehead to hers. His hand covered hers as she rubbed him. He looked to be in pain, but she knew ecstasy on her husband’s face when she saw it. His eyes tightly closed, he moaned. Somewhere in the distance the phone stopped ringing.

Alex grabbed her wrist. “Stop. Pl—please.”

Tess smiled, trailing her fingers up his stomach and across his chest. The muscles underneath jumped and flexed.

Heat pooled low in her stomach. Her underwear got wet and her knees shook. He looked delectable, edible with his tousled hair, bare chest and wet jeans just barely hanging on his slim hips.

“How do you want it, Tessie? Against the wall or in bed?”

Her knees nearly buckled at the huskiness in his voice. “I need to feel you on top of me, skin to skin.” She placed an open-mouthed kiss on first one tiny nipple, then the other.

“Then we need to hurry to the bed.”

Hand in hand they walked through the kitchen. The phone began ringing again. Alex picked up the receiver, opened the desk drawer, threw it in and slammed the drawer shut.

She laughed. “What if that was important?”

“
Nothing’s
as important as this.”

They made it to the bedroom in record time, pulling and pushing their clothes off, ripping when it became too difficult to work the fastenings. Tess lay on her back and Alex covered her from chest to toes, his erection brushing her thigh.

“Tell me again.”

She didn’t need to ask what he meant. “I love you.”

He entered her. “Again.”

She found his hands and entwined their fingers. “I love you.”

He thrust, touching her very soul and then some. “Again.”

“I…love…you.”

Her world spiraled out of control, bright lights flashing behind her eyelids, the room tilting and swaying with each thrust of his hips until there was nothing but intense feeling centered at her very core. Alex groaned as he came.

“I love you, Tessie.”

***

He snapped his phone shut and cursed.
Damn, fuck, shit
. Super-prick asshole picked up the phone, then threw it. He heard it clatter, then nothing but Tess’s laugh. They mocked him, laughed at him while they fucked each other blind.

***

“What time are you leaving?” Tess put her head on Alex’s shoulder, too worn out to move any other body parts. His arm came up and over and pulled her closer so she could snuggle against him.

“I don’t want to go.”

“I want you to.”

“I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“It’s just one beer at a bar with Tony and the guys. I’ll be fine.” She
would
be fine. She couldn’t allow what happened in Alex’s apartment rule her life forever. He was concerned and she was scared, but at the same time, she knew this was something she had to do.

“I don’t like it,” he said.

“Please, Alex. For me. Let me do this.”

His arm tightened around her shoulder and the muscle in his jaw ticked. “Just until he’s caught, Tess. Then you can be alone all you want. Within reason.”

“He may never be caught.” It was something she’d been thinking about in all the weeks since and something she knew she had to overcome. “I promise I won’t leave the house.” She would bake because baking was the one thing that calmed her, centered her, made her think her life was normal.

“You won’t leave?”

She crossed her heart with her finger. “Nope. And I’ll keep Othello by my side at all times.”

He groaned and rubbed his eyes. “Okay, fine.”

She smiled and kissed his shoulder. “I love you.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “Oh, sure, butter me up.” He leaned down and kissed her nose. “I love you too. I’m sorry I’m so overprotective, I just… I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.”

Tess shut the mixer off and reached for a pan. Alex had been gone a half hour and so far nothing bad had happened. With each tick of the clock, her confidence grew and her sense of independence doubled, even if she jumped at every noise and looked over her shoulder at every creak and groan of the house. Even if she wouldn’t allow Othello to so much as wander into the other room.

Othello watched her from his post in the corner with a resigned expression and the radio played softly in the background. Alex had checked all the locks on the doors and windows before leaving. He’d put the phone back on the hook and given her a twenty-minute lecture. She withstood it because she understood his fear and when he’d left, she’d double-checked the doors and windows herself.

She searched the cabinets for her restaurant-sized tub of chocolate chips only to find the container empty.

“Damn it, Alex.” She needed to make three chocolate-chip cheesecakes for tomorrow, and Alex had eaten all of her chips. She eyed the phone. Debated calling Alex. He could probably stop on the way home, but that would mean she’d be up late making cheesecake and she had other plans for later tonight that involved her husband and a certain wall they hadn’t gotten to earlier.

The store was just a few blocks away. All she needed were a few bags of chips. Plus, didn’t she need to do this? Hadn’t she been telling herself she needed to push past this fear? To get over her attack?

She grabbed her purse and caught Othello’s accusing glare from the corner of the room. “I know, I know. I promised. But I need chocolate chips.”

Othello licked his lips and settled back down, obviously not believing a word she said.