Midnight Legacy (Midnight Dynasty Book 3)
Page 6
“I…” My teeth bit the inside of my mouth. “The business that involved young children?”
Xavier nodded grimly. “I can see why your father didn’t want him around two young girls.”
I tucked my knees against my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs. In my memories, Uncle Dan had been the man who swung me high in the air and caught me when I jumped out of the apple trees. He’d been my hero when my parents had told me off. Deep down inside, I regretted insisting on attending the funeral and tarnishing those memories. I’d wanted to be Xavier’s wife and share his life. I was beginning to realise there were benefits in being kept in the apartment like Megan.
There was nothing to say, so to avoid everyone watching me, I wandered to the window and watched the lights of the city. I jolted when Xavier’s head rested on my shoulder, his hand splayed over my tummy. Our eyes met in the window. There was no need for words between us, he knew me better than I knew myself some days.
The intercom buzzed and Jordan lifted the phone. “Did anyone order takeaway?” he called out.
“Yeah, I ordered Thai earlier,” I replied, leaning back into Xavier.
“Fuck, yeah,” Ash retorted, getting up and heading to the door. “I’m starving.”
“Thanks, baby.” Xavier kissed the side of my neck. “I forgot about dinner.”
I slowly turned in the circle of his arms. “I want to be there for the opening tomorrow night, but after that, I’ll stay inside until the baby’s born.”
My entire adult life, I’d craved independence and control. It was hard to relinquish that control to anyone. Xavier didn’t reply, but his arms tightened, and he kissed my forehead. We stayed there watching the city until Jordan and Ash returned with our food.
The scent of spicy noodles made my mouth water, and the atmosphere changed from heavy and oppressive to jovial with boxes of food being passed around the table. The guys could eat a lot of food, so I’d ordered different dishes to cater to everyone’s preferences.
Bottles of beers were passed around the table, and everyone started to relax until it no longer felt like we’d attended a funeral today. Megan laughed as Jordan fed her noodles from his chopsticks and Ash finally smiled.
My phone pinged as Megan started to clear the plates away.
We need to talk, Uncle D x. My heart was stuck in my throat and my hand trembled. I didn’t reply, merely handed my phone to Xavier.
His expression changed from calm to a force ten gale in an instant. His thumb hit the number and he put my phone to his ear. “Where the fuck did you get my wife’s number?”
Jordan automatically lifted his phone and started typing. I swear that phone had every app known to man on it. He made a circular motion to Xavier.
“I don’t give a fuck who you are…” Xavier fell silent, his gaze fixing on me. “She already has family. Just stop!”
He pushed himself back from the table, his chair hitting the floor and making me jump.
“Listen, do you think I’m going to let you anywhere near her? She needed someone to care for her when her family died. She needed someone to care for her when she was thrown into the care system by that asshole Clive. Cassandra does not need an uncle, who didn’t even know his family was dead, in her life now.”
Xavier’s jaw tightened as he paced. “If she’d wanted to talk to you, she wouldn’t have handed her phone to me. Are you fucking serious?”
He held the phone beside him for several seconds. “He says if he doesn’t speak to you immediately, that he’s going to demand your father’s estate.”
I held out my hand and Xavier reluctantly put it in my hand. My thumb hit the speakerphone button and I set it on the table.
“Uncle Dan?”
“Cassandra, it’s so good to hear your voice. Is he treating you well?”
My eyes met Xavier’s. “What do you want, Uncle Dan?”
His laugh washed over me, evoking memories from my childhood. “I’m your only family left in the world.”
“Not anymore,” I replied. “I found a new family, one that stays by my side because they want to be here.”
“I never knew about Frank and Elise.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. If you want the house, you can have it. I’ll have Mum and Dad’s belongings removed.”
“Do you think I want a fucking house?” His voice rose and the bad variety of goosebumps rose on my flesh. “I don’t give a shit if you burn it down.”
“What do you want?” Everyone seemed to want something from me lately and it was all connected to those keys and the safety deposit boxes.
“I agreed to walk away years ago because it was your father’s wishes. He’s not here to stop me anymore.”
“No. He’s not. My father is dead along with my mother and sister. I’m tired and don’t want to discuss this right now. Their memories are all I have, and I refuse to let anyone taint them.”
“None of us are perfect,” he snapped. “Not even your precious father.”
“Enough! I have a new life, one where I’m no longer Cassandra Jenkins. She died in the crash with her parents and sister. It’s best to leave the dead to sleep.”
“If only we could, Cassandra. Unfortunately, you are the heir to our family throne and only you have the power to access certain information.”
“No thanks, I’ll pass.”
“It doesn’t work like that. In our world, power is passed down through families.”
We’d kept my pregnancy a secret, but the world would know soon enough. “This isn’t my fight, Uncle Dan. I’m pregnant, so you’ll have to deal with Xavier as I need to rest. I’d ask you to leave my parents’ memory alone.”
“That fucker! He did this deliberately to control you…”
Xavier lifted the phone and put it to his ear, cancelling the speakerphone. “I don’t give a fuck who you think you are or how big a fish you are in your small pond. If you ever speak to my wife like that again, I’ll cut your dick off and make you eat it before killing you. Do I make myself clear? Good. Then, I’ll continue this conversation at our meeting on Saturday. Have a pleasant evening.”
He terminated the call.
“Do you often make people eat their own dicks?” I asked.
Jordan laughed. “Nah, that’s a messy business. They tend to piss on you first.”
I glowered at him and Megan stared at Jordan as if he’d spontaneously started speaking a different language.
“Jay doesn’t like body fluids on his boots,” Xavier agreed.
“You two disturb me,” I muttered and received a wink from my husband. “You need counselling.”
Ash chuckled darkly. “Dear therapist, I cut a man’s dick off and made him eat it but he pissed on my shoes. What do you advise to take the stain out?”
All eyes moved to Ash, who shrugged and lifted his bottle of beer.
“Sodium bicarbonate is good for stains,” I deadpanned.
“I’ll remember that.” He saluted me with his bottle.
“On that happy note, I think it’s time we all got some sleep,” Xavier intervened. “The opening is tomorrow night and we all need to be up there early to ensure everything is running smoothly.”
“I’ve put extra security on and have all the hidden cameras activated on motion detectors.” Jordan stretched while talking.
“Please do not tell me you have cameras in the pleasure rooms,” I said.
His grin made me recoil in horror.
“They’re activated by the people in the room, as some people like to video themselves,” Xavier intervened, throwing Jordan a dark scowl. “All participants have to consent. They’re active as part of the security system when we’re closed.”
“Perverts,” I muttered.
“Only for you, baby,” Xavier replied, making me smile.
“Yuk!” Jordan stuck his tongue out. “We’re outta here before they go all lovey-dovey again.”
Megan giggled and allowed him to pull her to her feet.
/> Ash yawned and stood. “Thanks for tonight. It helped being surrounded by normal.”
Xavier clasped his shoulder before hauling him into a hug. “Stay safe.”
“You too. See you all in the morning.” Ash grabbed his suit jacket and wandered to the door, followed by Jordan and Megan.
Xavier stopped me when I started to lift glasses off the table. “Not tonight.” His arms enveloped me from behind, his head resting on mine.
“Should I be scared?”
“Not if you let me protect you.”
I sighed and sank back into his strength. “I still want to go tomorrow night.”
His lips skimmed my neck, making my head cant to the side to give him better access. “There’s enough security there to keep you safe.”
Members of The Midnight Trust were allowed to book the rooms in advance for their ultimate fantasy. What my husband didn’t know was that I’d already booked one of the rooms tomorrow night. The website had made my head spin at all the different options available. An inflatable duck costume? Too bad it had already been booked, because my husband would have made a cute quacker…
If you could fantasise about it, The Midnight Trust could make it happen.
Xavier walked me step by step backward to our bedroom. “If you’re going into hiding after tomorrow night, does that mean I win the dare?”
I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth. “We’ll call it a draw because of Bubble’s safety.”
“Hmmm.” He nuzzled my throat, flicking his tongue against my rapid pulse. “But the result means that I win.”
Some days I could throttle him and his competitive streak. We were beside the bed, so I pushed him onto it before crawling over him. My hand found his semi-stiff cock. “Do you want him to be deprived of affection for the next year?” I slowly pumped him into full erection.
He stared up at me, the blue of his eyes deepening in desire. “I like to win.”
“Is winning worth a year of abstinence?”
His lips twitched and his eyebrow cocked. “Are you willing to give up sex for a year?” He rolled me under him on the bed, his fingers finding my clit with eerie precision. “No more early morning wake-up sex that I happen to know is your favourite, no fuck me hard sex that makes you scream my name, no oral sex where you try and haul my hair out.”
My hips tilted and my head rolled back at the sensation he was creating. “You don’t play fair,” I gasped.
“I never have, or you would have run like fuck when I found you.” His lips crashed into mine, his tongue destroying my arguments. This right here was why I always lost. His lips and tongue were weapons of mass seduction and I was a helpless heap of hormones who couldn’t resist.
My fingers slid into his hair and my legs snaked around his hips. Who was I kidding when I thought I would be able to win in a game of resistance with him? He knew every area on my body that made me squirm and played me like a musician does a fine instrument.
Xavier Bartholomew was my kryptonite, my one weakness I couldn’t resist or say no to, and the bastard knew that. The arrogant smirk when he drew back told me that he felt he’d won. I no longer cared as long as I got all those orgasms he promised.
“You better make all this worth it,” I muttered, my eyes narrowing.
“Baby, from the first moment my dick found his home in you, I’ve always made you scream.” He grinned in that sexy way that made my tummy flip and my heart speed up. “Tell me what you need.”
I really wasn’t good at dirty talk, even though I’d improved in recent months.
“There isn’t anything you can say that will shock me,” he coaxed.
I pushed at his chest until I was looking down on him and he was lying on his back. “I want to take all the phenomenal experiences you had with other women and make them with me. I want to find all those women and claw their eyes out because they had those sexual encounters with you. Is that weird?”
He stared up at me as if trying to see inside my soul. “No… Looking back I was out of control and trying to replace emotions with sex.” He traced his finger along the side of my face. “I finally discovered the difference.”
I narrowed my eyes deliberately. “Are you trying to sweet talk me to get in my panties?”
His hands cupped my ass cheeks through my yoga pants. “I don’t think your panties would fit me, but I definitely want in that sexy body of yours.”
Pouting, I stared down at my expanded breasts and small tummy.
His hands slid down to hold my legs as he stood up. I gasped as he pinned me against the wall, his forehead pressed to mine. “Get rid of whatever fucking thought put that pout on your face. I don’t lie and I don’t pay compliments to people to make them feel better. If I tell you that you’re gorgeous and sexy, it’s because I mean it. When I tell you that I want to sink so deep inside you that I don’t know where I stop and you begin, it’s the truth.” His lips hovered over mine, tempting me. “And when I tell you that you belong to me, it’s because I own every single part of you and you’re mine.”
His lips crashed into mine, pushing my head against the wall. I moaned and gripped him closer to me, needing this contact to keep me grounded.
I could live or die in his kisses that drugged me with the heady essence of Xavier. Nothing else in this world created the sensation that his lips did. They had the power to elevate me to ecstasy or destroy me.
“Zee,” I muttered, my fingers lodging in his hair.
“Tell me what you need.”
My eyes fluttered open. “I need to feel like I did in The Midnight Rooms, when there was only you and me in the darkness. When we were just Cas and Zee without any cares or worries.” Life had been so simple then when it was just two strangers who’d found something special.
“I’m not driving us downtown tonight, but I can give you that experience right here.” He dropped me to my feet. “Strip.”
My eyebrow arched.
“Take off your clothes before I turn off the lights.” His hand around my neck lifted my head up. “Then get on the bed with your ass in the air.”
I tried to swallow but his hand constricted.
His face moved toward mine until his breath fanned my cheek. “You want me to be that man from The Midnight Rooms? Then you need to understand I crave control down there. The only woman who gets the man who makes love is my wife. Everyone in The Midnight Rooms gets the Dom.”
I blinked and my panties felt too tight.
“Strip and get on the bed,” he repeated, pressing his lips to mine while his eyes bored into me.
My trembling fingers went to the front of my top and Xavier stepped back to watch me with his arms crossed over his wide chest.
“I thought this was meant to be in the dark,” I snarked.
“Nah, baby. This bit is just for me.” The lecherous grin he shot me made my panties combust.
Swallowing the remnants of my pride, I slowly unbuttoned my blouse and let it fall to the floor. When I saw the heat in his eyes, I began to perform, bending over to take my shoes off with my back to him, and flicking my hair over my shoulder.
His intake of breath told me he approved.
When I was left in my bra and panties, I slowly turned to face him. “I used to wear these down into The Midnight Rooms.”
“Take them off,” he said, his voice husky.
Biting my bottom lip, I unhooked my bra and let the straps fall down my arms and onto the floor. I hooked my thumbs into the side of my panties and pushed them down to pool at my feet.
“Do I get to see you naked?” I enquired.
His T-shirt was hauled over his head and his training pants shoved down. He didn’t bother with a seductive striptease. His massive erection pointing in my direction was enough to make my thighs clamp together and my pussy to spasm in need.
A few days of abstinence and I was ready to get on my hands and knees and beg him to take me. His eyes darkened when I did sink to my knees in front of him, just as I’d seen t
hose women in the dungeons do. His hand trailed through my hair and tilted my head up.
“Are you sure you want darkness? Because right now you’re the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.”
Without him asking, I gripped the base of his cock and licked from root to tip, my tongue flicking his head. Gone were the days that I hated when a man wanted a blowjob. I’d even insisted they wear a condom if they wanted a birthday treat. His hips moved as I took him as deep as possible, using my hands to work the remainder of his length.
“You’re going to have to stop if you want me to fuck you,” Xavier grated out, his hand fisted at his side.
I trailed my teeth gently down his shaft until he popped from my mouth. I held his piercing between my teeth, tugging on it gently. He always enjoyed the sting of pain to complement his pleasure. Knowing he was watching me, I crawled to the bed on my hands and knees. When I looked over my shoulder, he was rooted to the spot, watching me.
Holding onto the last of my confidence, I stood and climbed onto the bed, settling myself on the pillows with my legs open and my hands grasping the metal posts of the elaborate headboard.
Xavier’s thumb traced over his bottom lip with his eyes glued to me. He left the room, and then returned with a small vial of essential oils. I watched him curiously as he put a few drops on the pillow beside my head.
“You can train a body to respond to a positive scent stimulus, like me finding you in The Midnight Rooms by the smell of Parma violets. Every time you’re exposed to this scent it will remind you of orgasms and pleasure.” He rolled my right nipple between his fingers. “We can train your body to reject certain scents as well.”
“How?” I gasped, my nipple hardening under his touch.
“Some people associate one scent with vaginal sex and other scents with anal sex. It means their body knows what to expect when they detect a particular aroma.” He bent down to take my nipple between his teeth, his eyes constantly on me. “A body is just a mass of muscles and nerves; it can be trained to respond to any of the senses.”
My breath caught in my throat and I forgot to breathe for several seconds.