Page 32 of Jordan

I was standing? When did that happen? I dropped onto the couch, sitting closer to Vail this time. He still hadn’t let go of my wrist. Leaning forward, I put my other hand on his thigh. “What can I do?”

“Nothing. I’m fine now, honest.”

“He isn’t safe though,” Jordan cut in. “That monster is out there still.”

Vail turned and cocked an eyebrow at Jordan. “I told you I don’t want you near him.”

“About that…”

Groaning, Vail asked, “What did you do?”

“Nothing more than a background check. For now. And a scouring of the darker parts of the internet.”

“Jordan…”

“I didn’t go near him. I protect the people I… care about.” What had he been about to say?

“The people you care about?” Vail asked.

A choked chuckle came from near the elevator.

Jordan snapped his gaze to where Raiden stood. I could tell them apart now. Raiden had a scar through his right eyebrow. “Did you have something you wanted to say?” Jordan’s tone was lacking humor or genuine curiosity. It was a thinly disguised threat.

“No, sir.”

“You have ten toes, Raiden. I can rid you of some of them.”

Raiden’s back went straighter as he looked ahead, his eyes on anything but Jordan.

“That’s what I thought.”

Removing the hand I had on Vail’s thigh, I reached for Jordan’s, where he stood behind the couch beside us. “Hey,” I said, giving his wrist a slight tug so I could get his attention.

He dropped his eyes to mine and his lips twitched, but he didn’t smile. I didn’t like the threats. I told Jordan that last night when Reghan said something Jordan didn’t like. These were men who worked for him and would die for him. I knew he valued them, but they were also disposable. They should be treated with respect.

Jordan didn’t say he would treat them better, but he offered to not threaten their lives in front of me if he could help it. There was no guarantee of a lack of violence if anything happened. This was Jordan’s world, after all. I was temporarily living in it.

With Vail.

It was mind-boggling to me I had Vail and Jordan in the same room. Two men I lusted after. Jordan now and Vail in the past. Although, Vail was still the same as he was then. More muscular now. I saw tattoos peeking out under his long-sleeved shirt. He’d been through a horrible situation with Gil. While I didn’t condone violence, just this once, I wouldn’t mind Jordan going after Gil for what he did.

Irene returned with a mug in one hand and a thermometer in the other. She set the mug on the coffee table in front of Vail, then reached forward so she could take his temperature. She tsked. “That won’t do. A hundred and two. When is Dr. Keeley getting here?”

I could practically hear Jordan’s teeth grinding. What I’d learned about him since I arrived was he didn’t deal with guilt well and he didn’t like he’d gotten me sick. The guilt ate at him, tore him apart. Not being motherly like Irene was, Jordan did things in his own way, like making sure I had what I needed before going to sleep. By telling me his door was open in case I needed anything during the night.

Jordan might not have the words to express what he felt, but if I looked deep enough, I could see them in the depths of his eyes.

15

JORDAN

Having Hartley and Vail in my space was pummeling me from all sides. Every sense was aware they were here.

Their scents were in my home. Their laughter filled the air. When one of them reached for me, even in the barest of touches during conversation, my entire body burned with need. The food Vail made, even though I told him to sit down and rest, was better than anything I’d ever had. Irene kept having to shoo him out of the kitchen, but Vail found comfort in cooking. If it helped him feel better, I wasn’t going to stop him.

And I couldn’t forget sight. Everywhere I turned, there was something to remind me of them. Whether it was Tahoe running around with Latte, or the blankets on the couches that weren’t usually there, to the rooms they slept in with their things scattered about. It was tortuous in the best way.

They both said they should leave, but I told them to stay until I knew they were better. It was a way to keep them with me, where they belonged. I didn’t voice that out loud. How could I when even thinking it caused ice to flow through my veins? Being with me meant death by my hands. That was the last thing I ever wanted to do with them. Not that they were with me. If I brought it up, they might be.

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