Modern Romance November 2019 Books 5-8. Dani Collins

son hit me with tornado-strength force.

      ‘What is it?’ Axios asked, the eyes that hadn’t left my face since his brother’s disappearance narrowing.

      The fleeting thought to shrug off his question came and went, and I couldn’t help the small shaft of pain that came with it. ‘My parents haven’t met him yet.’

      His face tightened, the mention of Yiannis Petras drawing a reaction I would have preferred to leave out of the already fraught atmosphere. I held my breath, ready to fight my corner.

      ‘We can arrange a visit for your mother later…if you wish?’

      Surprised by that response, I blinked. ‘I do. Thank you.’

      After another minute of assessing scrutiny he nodded. ‘Whatever your reasons for fleeing Agistros, I accept that I could’ve handled our last meeting a little better,’ he said, his voice a deep rasp.

      My lips were parted in shock when another wave of Xenakises wandered over. Axios’s droll look and almost-smile told me he’d seen my shock at his apology.

      I managed to get my emotions under control beneath his family’s probing glances, watching their silent musing as to what had transpired with Axios’s stray wife. I was grateful for their circumspection because, as baptisms of fire went, it could have been worse.

      It was with far more trepidation that I contemplated my extensive closet three hours after everyone had disappeared into their various guest rooms and private homes to get ready for the main event. The knock on the door barely snagged my attention. Absent-mindedly I responded, my fingers toying with the tie of my bathrobe as I contemplated the stunning array of clothes.

      ‘As much as you seem to enjoy simply staring at them, you do actually have to pick an outfit to wear for the party, you know?’ Ax drawled, his deep tone more amused than I’d ever heard him.

      I jumped and turned around, barely able to hold back a gasp at the sight of him, standing a few feet away, wearing half of a bespoke tuxedo. His pristine snow-white shirt was half buttoned, but neatly tucked into his tailored trousers, and his bowtie was strung around his neck.

      The intimate knowledge of what resided beneath his clothes dried my mouth as I stared, slack-jawed, several superlatives crowding my brain.

      Debonair. Breathtaking. Insanely gorgeous.

      Slowly the silence thickened and he raised one sleek eyebrow. ‘Can I help with anything?’

      The hand I waved over my shoulder at the closet was irritatingly fluttery. ‘I can’t decide what to wear. Meeting your family was one thing… This is a different ballgame.’

      His gaze travelled from the top of my hair, which still held its earlier style, thanks to the expertise of the stylist, then lingered at the belt holding my robe closed, before moving to my bare feet. Each spot his eyes touched triggered fiery awareness.

      ‘You handled my family admirably and won them over with Andreos. Even Neo—and he’s a handful at the best of times,’ he added dryly. ‘You’ll excel just as well tonight.’

      The deeply spoken reassurance made my heart lurch. To hide its effect I scrambled for something else to concentrate on, and spotted his dangling sleeves and the cufflinks in his hand.

      ‘Do you need help with those?’ I asked, even though assisting him would involve stepping closer, breathing in the intoxicating scent that clung to him and never failed to send my senses haywire.

      He held out his arms. ‘If you wouldn’t mind?’

      Breath held, in the hope that it would mitigate the erotic chaos stirring to life inside me, I reached for the two halves of his shirtsleeve in one hand and held out the other for the cufflinks. The tips of his fingers brushed my palm as he handed them over, and every inch of my skin responded as if set alight.

      Intensely aware that my nipples were hardening, and that a pulse had started throbbing between my thighs, I hurried to finish my task, my own fingers brushing the inside of his wrist in the process.

      Axios inhaled sharply, an incoherent sound rumbling from his chest.

      Could we not even exchange a common courtesy without feeling as if the world was about to burst into flames?

       Evidently not.

      Which was probably all the warning I needed to keep my distance. Never to repeat what had happened on his sofa.

      ‘Efkharisto,’ he murmured, his voice deep and thick.

      His eyes were molten, as heated as that needy place between my legs. Unable to withstand his gaze, for fear I’d give myself away, I turned to face the rack of clothes. Of course my senses leaped high when he stepped next to me, then took another step closer to the open closet.

      To my shaky memory this was perhaps the first time I’d been this close without having his laser eyes on me. The opportunity to give in to the urge to stare was too hard to resist.

      The breadth and packed strength of his shoulders.

      The vibrancy of his lustrous hair.

      The sharp, mouthwatering angle of his freshly shaved jaw.

      Too busy fighting the way every inch of Axios triggered this unwanted but unstoppable reaction, I didn’t notice he’d made a selection until he pivoted, the momentary gaping of his shirt delivering one final punch of his sheer magnetism before he drawled, ‘You’ll look beautiful in any one of these gowns. But this one will do, I think.’

      Heat engulfed my face as I reached out and snatched the gown from his hand, hastily stepping back. ‘I…thanks.’

      ‘You need help with the zip?’ he asked, in a voice thicker than before.

      Aware of the dangerous waters I was treading, I shook my head. ‘I think I’ll manage. Thanks.’

      He hesitated for a stomach-churning moment, then nodded. ‘I’ll return in fifteen minutes. We will go downstairs together, if you wish.’

      I nodded my thanks.

      Contrary to his stealthy arrival, I was conscious of Ax’s departure for the simple reason that he seemed to take the very air out of the room with him, leaving me breathless as I shrugged off the robe and slipped the gown over my head.

      Barely paying attention to the design, I zipped it up and stepped into the heels that had been helpfully paired with the dress, spritzed perfume on my neck and wrists, and was adding the finishing touches to my make-up when his knock came.

      Very much aware of the silk clinging to my hips and breasts, I prayed my body wouldn’t give me away as I opened the door.

      For the longest time he simply stared at me. ‘Beautiful,’ he finally stated, and the sizzling gleam in his eyes only lent him a more dangerous air, rendering all my efforts for composure useless as I accepted there was no level this man couldn’t reach in the drop-dead gorgeous stakes.

      ‘Thank you,’ I replied, my voice a husky mess.

      He held out his arm. I took it, and was still in a semi-daze when we exited the limo at the entrance to the six-star luxury hotel in the middle of Athens where the party was being held.

      The moment Ax and I stepped into the ballroom silence fell over the guests, every eye fixed on me.

      ‘I don’t know whether to smile or scowl. What’s de rigueur these days?’ I murmured.

      ‘Just ignore them. That’s what I do when I feel out of place.’

      I laughed, mostly to hide his unabated effect on me. Besides, I couldn’t help it, because picturing Axios as a fish out of water was like attempting to imagine what the landscape inside a black hole looked like.

      ‘Something funny?’

      ‘You wouldn’t look out of place amongst a clutch of nuns in a prayer circle.’

      He