Free Mind Games (Games Thriller Series) by J.E. Taylor

teasing, tasting as they climaxed together, their mouths muffling each other’s cries.
    He collapsed on her, his body trembling and satiated.
    When his heart settled into a regular pattern, he lifted his head, glanc ed into her inebriated eyes and wondered if she’d remember any of this. With a sigh, he rolled and retrieved his pants, sliding them on and helping her with her jeans.
    “What am I going to do with you?”
    Her face beamed with a drunken smile and he helped her up, doing his best to brush the sand off her back while she giggled and swayed. Now what do I do? Indecision froze him in place and he glanced between his hotel and the bluff where she lived, biting his lower lip, debating.
    She slumped in his grasp and his eyes fell on her slack face.
    “You are going to be one hurting puppy in the morning,” he said and chuckled, shifting her dead weight in his arms. “How pissed would you be if you woke up in my hotel room?” He knew the answer and that clinched the decision.
    Chris hauled her over his shoulder and headed up the beach toward the bluff, carrying her home. Sneaking soundlessly around the back of the house, he navigated the steps of the deck, setting her in the lounge chair. He leaned against the railing catching his breath, his eyes drifting to the table and the empty bottle of vodka then back to her. With a great draw of air, he stepped closer, placing a kiss on her forehead before slipping away.
    He took his time walking back to the hotel by way of the beach, still feeling her body beneath him and her mouth on his lips. Metal shimmered on the sand near where they had been and he bent over, picking up the discarded iPod, sliding the speaker bud in his ear and smiling at the familiar song looping over and over.
    Slipping it in his pocket, he headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow was a big day ; he had papers to sign and then he’d think about what the future might hold.

Chapter 22
     
    Betty stood as he entered the realty office . She wore a nice white suit with an extra low cut shirt just for his benefit. She fawned over him, even commenting on his cast and how awful that must be. Chris ignored her and read the contract the seller’s lawyer handed him. He picked up the pen and signed the paperwork.
    “Maybe you’d like some company to celebrate?” Betty batted her eyes and offered him a bottle of champagne.
    “I’m all set,” he said, taking the bottle from her and watching her deflate before his eyes.
    He held out his left hand to thank her and she shook it, flustered by his indifference.
    Chris headed to his new home pulling up to the gate and rifling through the paperwork until he found the instructions. The gate opened with the old code and he reprogrammed a new password before continuing to the house, pulling the Corvette into the oversized three-car garage.
    Wandering around the yard, he grinned, stopping to scope out the lighthouse at the far bluff across the expanse of ocean. He calculated the distance, close to a five or six mile shot from where he stood to the lighthouse and Jessica’s house was less than a half mile from there.
    He turned and entered the house, tossing the keys into the air and catching them as he roamed from room to room. He dropped the pamphlets on the kitchen counter as well as the bottle of champagne, opening cabinets and smiling at all the contents. The only thing absent was food. He needed to go shopping, but that was such a small thing. He ran his hands over the back of the couch in the entertainment room and picked up the remote control to the television. The television came on with the click of a button and his smile widened as he walked over to the entertainment center, pleased at the caliber of equipment they left behind.
    Chris carried his luggage upstairs into his new master bedroom, pausing at the door. She would love this bed , he thought and shook his head clear before emptying his suitcases, putting his things away in the bureau. He pulled the