Midnight’s Queen (Stroke of Midnight #3)

Chapter 45

Portia stared at their joined hands with shock. Had they just agreed to a... a relationship?

What would that even look like?

“Are we crazy?” she whispered.

Aleks released her hand and grasped her waist. “Probably,” he whispered back. “But I’ve felt this way from the moment we met.”

She sagged against him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I was so surprised that I just left Razor Jack’s with you,” she admitted. “That wasn’t like me at all. I guess it was fate.”

Her cheeks burned and she buried her nose in his neck. “Which sounds idiotic when I say it out loud.”

“I like it,” Aleks said. He swooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the couch. “Okay?”

“Very okay.”

He lowered them to the couch, keeping her cradled in his arms. She ended up in his lap, her back resting against one arm of the sofa, with her feet dangling over his knees.

She lifted her hand to his temple again, slowly. “No headache?”

“No headache,” he confirmed.

“Would you ever let one of the Tremaine scientists look at the implant?”

“Portia.” Her name was a cross between a growl and a laugh. “You really know how to kill a mood.”

“What? Ohmygod.” She slapped her hands on her cheeks and closed her eyes. “I didn’t mean to. I just thought about you hurting and I didn’t want you to and that kind of led to doctors. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. That’s how my brain frequently works.” He laughed. The deep rumble caused her to squirm.

When he slid his hand under her shirt, the warmth of his skin against hers made her shiver.

“But would you?” The words just popped out. She had all those meetings with the scientists scheduled for next week. Maybe one of them could study the implant to determine what caused the malfunction. And maybe she could get someone to study pain mitigation. She hated to see him suffer because of her family.

“Portia!” He dropped his forehead to her shoulder and laughed. He didn’t remove his hand from her back, but the soft circles he’d been rubbing stopped. She had only herself to blame.

“What?”

“You aren’t going to let this go, are you?”

She threaded her fingers through his hair and gently tilted his head back so they were face to face. “No.” She’d be honest with him. “I hate that you’re hurting and my family is the cause. I want to make it right if I can.” Too many people she loved had been hurt because of the Tremaines. That ended here.

He was already shaking his head before she finished speaking. “For months after the surgery, they studied me. Scan after scan, theory after theory. Nothing helped. Nothing magically made the problem go away. I’m tired of people poking around in my brain. It’s my problem and I’ve learned to live with it.”

“So, you’re just going to ‘live with it’ for the rest of your life?” Her heart ached for him.

“Yeah. I am. Is that a dealbreaker?” His gaze was serious. Intent.

Whatever it was between them had sprung up so quickly, it would be so easy to doubt. But it felt real. Did she want to lose that? Could she live with his decision?

She sighed. “It’s not a dealbreaker. But can we find a compromise?”

“Like what?” That wasn’t a no, but it wasn’t a yes either.

“New discoveries are always being made. What if one day they find a way to block the signals? Or to remove it safely altogether? Would you at least be willing to revisit your decision?”

He was quiet so long that she thought she’d lost him. “I’ll consider it,” he said finally.

“Yay!” She did a victory wiggle on his lap. His erection hardened beneath her, so she did it again.

“Portia?”

She loved the way he growled her name. “Yes?”

“You’re going to put Tremaine resources behind this, aren’t you?”

Why lie when he’d figured it out? “Yes.”

He tilted his head up to the ceiling. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Oh, I’ve got a few ideas.” She wiggled her brows suggestively.

He laughed and pulled her closer for a kiss.