Page 54 of Midnight Danger

“Jay, I created The Midnight Rooms so I could have meaningless, anonymous sex. Before Cas, I was broken and miserable from all the shit that Dad’s wives pulled over the years. There’s freedom in being tied down to one person.”

“I don’t want her to be left widowed with kids because of the life we lead,” he finally admitted.

“Then we make sure nothing happens to each other,” Ash interrupted. “We guarantee that we have each other’s backs no matter what. Zee is about to get married, and both of us have our eyes on special women. We make a vow to keep each other and our families safe.”

“And who will keep her safe from me?” Jordan asked, glancing at Ash in the rear view mirror.

“If you love her, the only person who can keep her safe is you,” I replied. It was true, because I would destroy anyone who made Cassandra cry. She was mine alone to love and protect. In a few days she would be my wife, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I would move heaven and earth to make her happy.

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Chapter Nineteen

Cassandra

There were moments in your life that silently engraved themselves on your soul. This was one of them. Megan fussed around, fixing flowers and singing to herself.

I stood in a pale ivory dress that fit me to perfection. The designer had been clever to make the top with laces down the back to accommodate my growing tummy. The silk bodice had a lace top over it with crystals and embroidered patterns, the sleeves falling down my arms to points at my wrists. The skirt had a flounce, but just enough to give it a princess vibe without making me look like I should be stuck on top of a Christmas tree.

Everything was arranged for the ceremony in the old chapel on the estate where Xavier’s mother grew up. His Uncle Lucas had arrived two days ago with his stunning cousin Lucrezia. When he discovered that Xavier had planned everything for a hotel, he rapidly changed the plans, saying his mother needed to be present. It added a personal touch to our vows, sending shivers deep into my stomach when I walked the grounds and saw the chapel yesterday.

Lucrezia had gifted me with the most beautiful tiara I’d ever seen. It matched the patterns in my dress and made me wonder if she knew the designer.

I waited in a room on his uncle’s estate, ready to marry the man who’d given me a future I never imagined. Last night there’d been a party that Xavier reluctantly let his father attend. Even when I tried to go to bed alone, Xavier wouldn’t allow it, saying I was his dreamcatcher. He refused to listen to tradition, saying we’d already ignored it since I was pregnant. In his defence, I’d tried sleeping without him in my bed and it was a misery all its own. We belonged together.

Ash watched Lucrezia like a starving man and she was the only nourishment within miles. His eyes followed her, and I noticed him chatting to her in a dark corner, his fingers delicately lifting her hair behind her shoulder and her body canted toward him. Xavier’s Uncle Lucas had glared at them in dark contemplation, his fingers drumming on the table.

In the past week, Xavier had rearranged my life, speaking to my boss and handing in my resignation. The pre-Xavier me would have been horrified, spouting women’s rights legislation. When I sat down and honestly thought about it, the only people I would miss at the firm were Sasha and Al. Sasha was family no matter what from the day she took me under her wing in the firm and mothered me. No one else really bothered with me, and Megan would always be a huge part of my life. Considering that I was becoming a mother, it was a sacrifice I was willing to make to be part of a family again.

“Ready?” Megan watched me from the doorway.

We were going to walk down the aisle together, sisters by choice not by birth. There had been no one to invite except Sasha and Al. He had a prior engagement at such short notice, but Sasha had arrived around nine last night to join us for the weekend with her sister. I’d spent most of my life isolating myself and living in the shadows. Xavier finally found me there in the dark and brought me to the light.

“At times like these, my parents should be here,” I replied.

Her sad smile said she knew what was going on in my head. “They are here, Cas. Just like they cheered for us at graduation and cried with us when we failed in the past.” She grabbed both my hands. “I believe that every time I think about Mum, she’s up there thinking about me.”

A tear escaped to trickle down my cheek. “Sometimes I forget the sound of their voices or what they look like.”

Megan nodded. “Then you see or hear something and it’s like they’re in the next room.”

My childhood home was filled with their ghosts. I thought I’d been ready to exorcise them, but obviously not. Those ghosts needed to sit there a little longer until I was strong enough to face them.

I stared at her, needing to know she’d be okay. “You and Jordan…”

Megan moved her gaze toward the window. “It’s complicated. Jordan saved my life when I hit a low spot a long time ago. He’s always been an avenging angel who appears in my life when I need someone. I’ve loved him for so long, but he can never be mine. He can never be anybody’s.” Her eyes finally met mine. “Do you know I went to him before my wedding to Mark and asked him to tell me he loved me just once and I’d call it off?”

My hands tightened around hers. I knew the end to this story. Her fiancé jilted her at the altar because his girlfriend was pregnant. Jordan must have refused to declare his feelings.

“Some men are difficult to love because they have so many barriers around them.”

She shook her head and took a step back. “Some men don’t have the capacity to love.”

Megan was wrong. I’d seen Jordan watching her when she wasn’t looking. His feelings tormented him. If that wasn’t love, it was a damned good impersonation.

“Never mind about me.” Megan’s smile was too bright. “This is your big day. Let’s go and take that delicious creature you snared off the market.”

Xavier’s father had started another row during the week, demanding a pre-nup I would have been happy to sign. It sent Xavier into a rage, which resulted in him throwing him out and slamming the door. Again. Apparently, my fiancé was an incurable romantic who wanted us to marry the old-fashioned way with nothing between us, not even a legal document.

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