Midnight Legacy (Midnight Dynasty Book 3)

by CR Robertson

“He’s right. My shoes don’t fit anymore. His penis has taken responsibility.”

  Jordan huffed out a laugh and smiled at the ceiling as if I couldn’t see it when he looked away.

  “Admit it.” I giggled. “I’m growing on you.”

  “Like a fungus?” he queried.

  “Like an annoying little sister or cousin you can’t get rid of because they’re related to you.”

  “I guess since you’re married to one of my oldest friends, that’s technically what you are now,” he grumbled, wrinkling his nose in disgust, but his eyes were twinkling.

  “Fucker,” I retaliated.

  “Bitch.”

  “Children!” Xavier pinched the bridge of his nose. “Seriously?”

  “He started it,” I moaned.

  Xavier’s lips twitched and Jordan’s smile could be seen in the reflection of the window.

  The rest of the drive was filled with the men chatting about another property they’d seen coming onto the market in Scotland.

  “I’ve always fancied the thought of a highland retreat with roaring open fires and free-flowing whiskey,” Jordan said. “We could use it as a hunting or nature retreat during the day.”

  Carly eyed Megan. “Is Jordan off the market as well?” she asked.

  Megan stiffened since there was no definition to their relationship. Jordan held all the power.

  “For the purposes of your enquiry, Carly, the answer is yes,” Jordan snapped. He rolled his eyes at Xavier. Their lives seemed to consist of crazy women throwing themselves at them. I was sick seeing women eying up my husband with barely concealed lust, even though he ignored them.

  “Here we are,” Ash announced a while later.

  After all these weeks hearing about it, my heart beat double time as Midnight Manor came into view.

  I spun in my seat to stare out the window. The club was an old manor house that looked like a setting for Pride and Prejudice. “Does Mr. Darcy live here?” I queried.

  “I’m sure that could be arranged,” Xavier said while typing on his phone.

  “I wouldn’t say no to Colin Firth in breeches,” I muttered.

  “I heard that,” Xavier replied, sliding me a side-eyed look.

  “Did you not see the lake scene?” I fake fanned myself with my hand.

  “Yeah, and I managed to contain myself,” he deadpanned. “But I totally lost it and cried at his first proposal.”

  I nudged him and received a grin. “It’s not what I expected.”

  He finally put his phone down and gave me his full attention. “What did you expect?”

  “I dunno…” I shrugged, feeling stupid. “People frolicking naked across the lawn to dive into the lake?”

  Xavier bit his lip to try and stop his smile and failed. “That comes later when the women are chased by naked men wielding riding crops.”

  “That sounds like fun,” Carly chirped in, thinking he was being serious.

  Xavier and my gazes locked, and he could barely contain his amusement. He crossed his eyes at me and returned to his phone, shaking his head.

  Attendants dressed in black suits with white shirts and black bowties opened the car doors. Males and females were all dressed the same, and anyone with long hair had it tied back in a bun.

  “Mr. Bartholomew.” A man in his fifties nearly ran down the steps. “We have everything ready for you and your associates to inspect before the guests arrive.”

  “Thanks, Charles. This is my wife, Cassandra. Please make sure she has everything she needs or wants tonight.” Xavier took my arm and ushered me up the steps with Jordan and Ash falling into step behind him.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Bartholomew. If you need anything, ask for me directly and I’ll organise it for you.” He gave me a slight bow.

  How did one ask for the key to a sex room, where you wanted to tie your husband up and have your wicked way with him? Maybe I should have asked him for the inflatable duck suit? My lips tipped up into a smile at that thought, and Xavier gave me a strange look like he was trying to see inside my head.

  “Thanks, Charles. I’m all good at the moment,” I replied instead.

  I stopped abruptly at the top of the stone staircase, looking over the countryside around us. “Can we look around outside before it gets too dark?” I asked, excitement thrumming through me in waves. Old houses were a passion of mine. The more elaborate the original architecture, the more I wanted to study it and touch it.

  “Sure,” Xavier said, his arm sliding along the bottom of my back. “I’ll show Cas around and meet you inside in a few minutes.”

  Xavier knew how much I loved period properties like this one and had effectively dismissed everyone to give me time to enjoy it in peace.

  The building had been beautifully restored back to its original glory. One of my clients had enquired about it a year or so ago and I remembered the file. It had been run down and needed extensive work done to it. At the time I remembered thinking that it would probably be turned into a hotel. It never occurred to me it would be an exclusive sex resort for people to live out their deepest fantasies.

  At the back, overlooking a beautiful marble-paved patio with ornate chairs placed around intricately-carved wooden tables, was a gargoyle. “Oh.” My mouth fell open.

  Xavier closed my mouth with his finger under my chin. “Have a thing for gargoyles, do you?” he chuckled.

  “There’s something about them that speaks of customs of a bygone era. They are my favourite type of architecture.” Leaning back on the rail, I studied it. “Did you know some stories say they flew out of Hell in the darkness and perched on roofs to observe the humans? When the first ray of daylight hit them, they turned to stone. They now reside on the roofs, not alive, but not dead either.”

  He propped himself up beside me. “Does that mean you want a gargoyle for our new home?”

  My eyes widened and I spun to face him, my teeth biting into my lip in excitement. “Oh, my God, can we?”

  “Technically, I own this one.” He nodded to the one overhead.

  I lowered my voice and glanced behind me. “But who would mind Midnight Manor?”

  He leaned down to whisper in my ear, playing along. “That’s why I hire security.”

  I grabbed the front of his jet-black suit. “But gargoyles protect your soul.”

  Xavier grinned, his hands lifting me under the arms, so I stood on tiptoes pressed against his chest. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

  My grin matched his. “You married me. No returns.”

  Xavier tucked my arm through his and led me down to the lake. Three boats were tied to the pier. The sky was just beginning to turn orange, casting shadows on the still water.

  “It’s beautiful.” I sighed. “Let’s forget everyone else and just stay here.” My fingers grasped his arm and I rested my head on his shoulder. A smile curved my lips when his body leaned into mine.

  I stood staring at the landscape. There were small wooden huts built within the trees. “What are in those?” I nodded toward them.

  “Some have hot tubs; others have glass roofs so you can stare at the stars. They’re private areas for people to relax.” We stood for another few minutes listening to the sounds of nature. “I need to go and sort out the last-minute details.”

  Our fingers linked together, and we wandered back to the house, hand in hand. These moments were precious because I got the real Xavier, not the businessman or the brutal enforcer who kept us all safe. Right now, he was my husband and nothing else.

  The inside was luxurious, the chandeliers making my breath catch. The outside belonged to a romance novel written a few centuries ago. The inside catered to the luxury of the twenty-first century. It was sleek and opulent but not overly so.

  The other four waited in the circular hallway with golden picture rails. The walls were pale grey with huge paintings hanging in strategic positions to catch the eye.

  An attendant scanned our membership cards and took
our coats.

  Xavier had seen the plain black dress in our apartment. He didn’t pay attention to me for a few moments, and then his gaze moved over me before stopping and returning to do a double take.

  The top was a corset in black and red silk, with lace that just about covered my breasts, enhancing them to make them a focal point. It tapered down to flare at my hips into a skirt that was nothing more that frills and tassels. When I moved you could see the top of my stockings. When I stood still, it had the appearance of a straight skirt to my knee.

  A salacious smile spread over Xavier’s mouth and he stopped talking to Jordan. He prowled forward and I suddenly felt shy. “Did you buy me a present?” he asked, deliberately backing me against the wall, his eyes on my plunging neckline.

  I shrugged. “I intended on winning our dare.”

  His deep blue gaze moved down my body. “You definitely would have been edging ahead.”

  “Would it have helped me win if I told you I booked one of the playrooms tonight?” I fluttered my eyelashes at him.

  His grin made my heart beat a little faster. “Fuck, I think that would have done it.”

  “Damn, I could have won!”

  “You booked us a room?” He grinned and suddenly all the strain was gone from his face, leaving the carefree look that I adored.

  “Hmmm. I thought if this was my last outing for a while, then at least I should enjoy it.”

  “Any requests?” The darkening of his eyes told me he wanted to pin me to the wall the way he tended to do at home.

  I stood on my tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “I want at least three orgasms.”

  His grin turned wicked and he winked at me. “Done. I’ll find you later, baby. Stay with Megan and don’t go wandering without us.” He pressed a quick kiss to my lips.

  Carly sighed as she watched the men walking away. “Zee and Jay were two of the best Doms in The Twilight Rooms.”

  Megan stared at her for several seconds. “Go anywhere near either of them, and I’ll kick you so hard between the legs that you’ll be pregnant with the next blowjob you give.”

  I blinked and my mouth fell open. Megan had obviously decided to fight for Jordan behind his back. Carly gave both of us an incredulous look before sulking off.

  “What?” Megan demanded when she saw me watching her.

  I looped my arm through hers. “What’s up?”

  She pouted. “Zee’s reaction to your dress. Jay hardly looked at me.”

  Megan’s dress was sexy and made her look amazing, fashioned in the old burlesque style. Every heterosexual male with a pulse in here tonight would be salivating over her.

  “Jay’s complicated, you’ve said so yourself. He denies himself pleasure because of his past. but, Megan, he only ever has eyes for you.”

  “I’ve tried, Cas, I swear to goodness that I’ve tried to make him see me, but he just looks through me.” Megan chewed the side of her mouth as she stared off in the direction the men went in.

  “This calls for cocktails.”

  “You can’t drink.”

  “True, but I can have the virgin cocktails and watch you enjoy the alcoholic versions,” I replied, ushering her toward the bar.

  The floor was black marble and the walls were decorated in mosaics like ancient Rome. Huge mirrors hung around the walls so you could watch the entire room from wherever you stood. Smaller mosaics were higher up and depicted different sex scenes, just as I’d seen in Pompei when I visited it a few years ago. That touch definitely came from Xavier.

  Charles scurried to us. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, we’d like some cocktails.” I smiled at him as I settled myself on the barstool and fluffed my dress around me.

  “Your husband said…” he broke off and cast a worried look at the door.

  “Mine will be virgin cocktails,” I informed him. Some days my husband was an overbearing ass. I had no doubt the staff had been told to ensure that no handsome strangers were to get anywhere near me.

  Charles smiled his relief and summoned the bartender.

  “When do we wear our masks?” I asked. Now that I was here, I wanted to enjoy the full decadence of it. Xavier had brought all our masks up and left them in his office.

  “All the guests will start to arrive at seven, so I would suggest donning them before then, as they will be wearing them to the venue.”

  Megan’s mood changed as she embraced the evening. “Where are our masks?”

  “Zee brought them up when he was checking on everything on Wednesday.”

  “I’ll ensure you have them before the guests arrive,” Charles reassured us. “Enjoy your drinks.” He gave us a brief wave before he left.

  We were on our second drink when Carly found us. Our third round included her because neither of us were complete bitches and we’d basically pissed all over our men and staked our claims.

  Warm, strong arms surrounded my waist and soft lips nuzzled my throat. “Enjoying yourself?” Xavier asked in my ear.

  I lifted my glass and twirled it between my fingers. “I’m alcohol-free.” I pouted.

  “I’ll have a whiskey,” he informed the bartender when he approached.

  “Make that two,” Jordan said from behind me.

  “And another,” Ash added as he approached.

  “Sexual inequalities,” I muttered, eying his glass.

  He clinked it to mine. “I’ll make it up to you later,” he said in my ear for only me to hear, his lips caressing the sensitive shell.

  We were married and I’d lost count a long time ago of the number of times we’d had sex, but the way he said it made me blush and my thighs tremble.

  I turned on the barstool to face Xavier. “Is everything ready for the grand opening and tour?”

  He moved between my legs and tucked some of my hair behind my ear. “Pretty much. The staff are just finishing everything off. You’ll be on the first tour with the rest of the visitors, so you can experience the ambience.”

  My eyebrow quirked. “I hope there’s not going to be porn.”

  Jordan laughed and flung his arm around Megan’s shoulders. “Why would we be showing porn when we have live performances?”

  My mouth dropped open and eyes cut to Xavier’s. The sardonic tilt to his lips confirmed Jordan was telling the truth. “We have a few volunteers up from The Twilight Rooms in London. They do love an audience.”

  “If you want them performing all night, the men’s lips must be blue from the amount of Viagra they’ve taken. You can’t just have an erection on command.”

  Xavier huffed out a laugh. “We’re men, and let’s be honest, pretty shallow at times. Believe me, we can get an erection if the enticement is right.” His fingertip traced the lace stretched over my breast.

  Everyone else in the room disappeared except Xavier. The way his eyes left trails of molten heat over my skin, goosebumps rose as if he commanded them. A throat clearing in the background made his lips turn up into a lazy grin.

  “Fuck off, Jay. Since she’s my wife, I’m legally allowed to touch her in public,” Xavier snapped, his eyes still on mine. “I put a ring on her finger to make sure everyone knows that.”

  “When you’re married, you’re supposed to be boring and have regular sex,” Jordan taunted. “You know, only on your birthday and Christmas?”

  Xavier rolled his eyes at him. “You should try being married,” he replied in a dry tone. “I’ve never had so much sex—and the quality’s definitely better, too.”

  His lips skimmed my forehead and his arm tugged me closer to his strength.

  Charles came into the bar carrying boxes. “Everyone’s masks,” he replied to the unanswered question. “The names are on the boxes.”

  Excitement churned in my stomach as Megan handed me my box. I couldn’t remember the last time I had the opportunity to dress up, but everything felt sensual and decadent when Xavier put it over my eyes and tied the ribbon at the back of my head.

  His mask had black
feathers and reminded me of a bird of prey. Considering that he was a dangerous predator, it suited him and complemented his black hair.

  My mask was created from an elaborate lace design that matched my dress. It fanned across my forehead and had an elegant swirl that incorporated a black rose design on each cheek. When I studied it in the shop, it reminded me of a dark butterfly that allowed my eyes and lips only to be seen.

  Xavier tipped my face up to peer down at me, and my breath caught at the emotion in his eyes. By taking away all his other features, all that was left was the heat and desire in his eyes. Suddenly, I could see the appeal of wearing masks. It allowed you to see the person’s wants and desires, taking away everything else.

  Everything in these clubs was designed with a purpose. The darkness in The Midnight Rooms took away your sight. The cuffs in the dungeons took away your ability to touch your lover. Now, expressions were removed until all that was left was what you could read in their eyes.

  Voices flowed from the entrance hall as the first of the guests arrived, breaking us all from our personal reveries. My excitement turned to nerves since this wasn’t my world. My comfort zone had been a quiet office surrounded by legal documents. This was the business empire Xavier had created, his friends coming on board to expand it, but the driving force behind it was definitely the man currently gripping my hand like it was a lifeline.

  I squeezed his hand silently and slipped off the stool to stand beside him.

  If his role was to protect me, then mine was to comfort him. I fixed a smile on my face and cloaked myself in my new role as hostess in a world of sexual fantasies.

  ***

  Chapter Ten

  Xavier

  It was only when her fingers squeezed mine that I felt the tension melt from my body. No one knew who was truly behind this chain of exclusive clubs that catered to every sexual fantasy known, hence the masks tonight. Many guessed that we were, but we tended to smile and neither confirm nor deny.

  I’d been excited to open this venue, but Dad’s reaction when he discovered we owned The Midnight and Twilight Rooms made me apprehensive. I may have met Cassandra in The Midnight Rooms, but she didn’t share my depraved past. Would what she saw tonight scare her?