Page 64 of Midnight Torment

I never thought he would ever allow himself to love, so everything after that was a bonus. My legs wrapped around his lean waist, my nails digging into his flesh as I claimed my ownership. I was slowly drowning in a sea of sensation and all I had to cling to was Jordan. The pressure that had been steadily building in my stomach exploded in a starburst of energy that made my toes curl and a primitive scream to emerge from my lips.

I didn’t care who was watching.

Jordan and the emotions he evoked in me were what made my life worth living.

Without him, I would fade once more into darkness.

***

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jordan

There were times in my life when a doomsday clock existed deep inside me, silently ticking away and clawing at my guts. Today was one of those days. A base instinct screamed at me to lock the door, barricade it, and keep Megan and me safely inside.

Megan hummed an Abba song as she packed the last of our clothes, placing fragile items that she had bought for people back home in between them. She put the jewellery I’d bought her in her travel bag along with the diamond Johannes had removed from the mine and handed to her. It was a gift for Cassandra since the mine technically belonged to her family.

Her blonde hair formed a halo around her, and I wished we could stay far from the troubles waiting for us in England and just be us without all the danger and the assassins waiting at every corner.

That ring on her finger had been in my thoughts more and more over the past two weeks. Grampa would cut off his left testicle and present it as a wedding gift if he thought he would get grandbabies out of the deal. From when I turned eighteen, he’d been searching for suitable breeding heiresses for me to marry and impregnate. Lately, he’d cast the net wider and had been searching for anyone he thought I would settle down with and produce heirs to the Berkeley kingdom with.

Megan needed protection since I couldn’t always be there at her side, and Grampa still held influence over the Council. He would happily castrate anyone who interfered with his chances of seeing the next generation for him to influence. It was the reason we were making a stop at Grampa’s home on our way to Xavier’s. If the ring on her finger was permanent, then she would fall under his protection.

“All packed,” Megan shouted from the bedroom, dragging a bag into the living room. She stopped and stared at the door, her forehead wrinkling into a cute frown. “But I think they might be over the weight limit.”

I laughed at her worry. “I’ll pay the extra when we get to the airport.”

Her huge blue eyes stared at me solemnly. “But those restrictions are in place for a reason.”

“Yeah,” I snarked. “So they can charge you when you hit a certain weight.”

Her lips pouted and she scrunched her face up. “It’s to help save the planet and the backs of the poor workers at the airport.”

Some days she was far too innocent to be in my world. “I hate to break this to you, baby, but all companies are interested in is profit. They’ll make a big noise about planting a few trees to help save the planet while tearing the rainforest down under a subsidiary company. In reality, no one cares about the workers breaking their backs, or an extra kilogram of luggage. They care about control and exerting it over people.”

Megan’s expression fell and she slumped into the nearest chair. “Why does everyone have to be so mean?”

I wandered over and crouched in front of her, lifting her hands in mine. “You see the ugly side of the world ever day in work and try to fix part of it. The truth is, that even though you get what your clients want, at the end of it they’re still left broken and scarred.”

“Then what’s the point?” She sighed and I felt like a dick for making her sad.

“The point is that we forge forward and try to make a difference because even the small gestures of kindness count.” I pressed a kiss to the inside of her right wrist.

“I don’t make a difference,” she whispered. “Not really. I didn’t even have the courage to tell my best friend that my parents didn’t want me. She thinks they died in a car crash the same as hers.”

“You bring colour everywhere you go, Meg. You walked into my life, and I found hope again. Without you, I’d still be a ruthless killer with no remorse.”

She gave me that look which all men feared—the one that told you she could see inside your worthless soul and find what was really there. “You’re still a ruthless killer with no remorse,” she chastised me. “You just sleep now because we snuggle.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Men like me do not snuggle.”

Her grin widened and I swore she looked like that squirrel when he stole all the nuts and camped out in my window box. Smug. “There’s no shame in admitting you’re a snuggler.” She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to mine, our noses touching. “Your secret is safe with me.”

This woman was going to drive me in-fucking-sane.

I lunged forward, knocking her off balance in a sneak attack designed to demand her surrender. Her eyes widened as my fingers went to her sides, her head shaking rapidly. Megan was beyond ticklish. She spent hours laughing in Twilight as I’d tried to train her with touch.

“Oh, please, Jordan, no.” She gasped, her giggles reminding me of the time she lost control when I was using a feather to stimulate her. She ended up creeping off to the toilet with her legs clamped together in fear that she’d pee herself.

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