Page 45 of Midnight Torment

A rare emotion blazed in Megan’s eyes as I placed the jewels on her one at a time. Hope was a rare emotion, and there was a reason that it was the last item in Pandora’s box. It echoed inside me and urged me to make decisions that could condemn us all.

Life and death existed side by side in the eternal dance of unrequited love. Life sent countless gifts to death and he kept them safe until they met again. Megan was life and I was death, and only together could we find balance to save each other.

***

Chapter Fifteen

Megan

Jordan was different away from all the stresses of his life in London. We were searching for information here, but removed from the expectations the world put on his shoulders, he smiled more and we had real conversations that didn’t revolve around my training or a perceived threat. We talked about nonsense, and I loved it because that was what a real relationship involved—ordinary, mundane, boring, and useless discussions about everything and nothing.

Every so often, he would disappear into a broody silence after his phone pinged, and I knew he had received an update from back home. That shiver of fear rippled down my spine every time his phone gave off a particular alert. Our enemies hadn’t gone away, they just didn’t know where we were at the moment.

“Where are we going next?” I asked, handing Jordan a glass of iced lemonade. We had been here over a week and he’d met a few men while I pretended to be a tourist.

I’d had a few beach holidays in Spain, but this was my first real foreign trip and I was loving everything I encountered. The jewellery Jordan bought me was in a compartment in my case along with little knickknacks I’d bought for our home. There was even little wooden figures for Simon’s area in the garden. The jewellery was probably worth more than all the furniture in my apartment. Only I lived in London, they would be worth more than my apartment if it was located anywhere else.

“I have a meeting with a contact in Zimbabwe. Ash asked Seth and he recommended this guy. Apparently, he has his finger on the pulse of illegal diamond exportation. If anyone is shipping diamonds on our Council, then this guy should know about it.”

“Is this dangerous?” I sat down and sipped my own drink.

The fact that he refused to meet my eyes gave me my answer. “Life is full of uncertainties,” he muttered.

“Yes, but you don’t have an arsenal in the back of your car here or two friends who turn up with guns.” I stared at him until he met my gaze. “I like being married to you, I don’t want anything to happen to you on our honeymoon.”

“You worry too much,” he replied. “This is why I usually go on these missions alone and live off the radar.”

“Jordan.” I refused to say another word until he looked at me again. I continued when his grey gaze met mine. “We only get one chance at this life. There is no reset button when the character dies, no pause button to allow you to figure out your next move. This is all we have and we’re already on our final chance.”

He set his glass down. “I’m doing the best I can here, Megan. The deeds to those diamond mines were left for Cassandra and paint a massive target on her back.”

“Then Xavier should be here.” It was true and needed to be said.

“His wife is pregnant,” Jordan objected.

“All the more reason for him being here. He was able to go to Cuba to sort out a problem, then he could have come here and given you backup.”

“That would upset our pretence of being honeymooners.” He winked at me. “Two’s company and three’s a crowd.”

“Your grampa thought you were having a relationship with Zee and Ash. You could still have pretended to be honeymooners.”

Jordan threw his head back and laughed. “Fuck off!”

I grinned and bounced my eyebrows suggestively. “I’d watch the porn videos.”

“Pervert.”

“Let’s be honest, the three of you were the focus of lust in the Twilight Rooms.” I fanned myself. “It wasn’t the first time I heard tales of the three of you pleasuring one lucky woman at the same time.”

His eyes narrowed at me.

“I was your sub for two years, and I never got a foursome with your besties.”

Jordan released a guttural growl and my panties tightened. I shrugged and pretended to watch out into the darkness outside. We were staying in another reserve and I was beginning to realise that this was Jordan’s way of keeping us safe—bad guys tended not to strike when you were in a crowd with lots of witnesses.

He stood and prowled toward me, his movements lithe and fluid, reminding me of the leopards we saw on our safari. His hands grasped mine to pull me out of the seat, dragging me against his hard frame.

“You do realise that no other men are allowed in our relationship, and that includes the fantasy variety?” He looped our hands behind my back to imprison me.