Page 16 of Modern Romance January 2025 5-8

‘Stop talking and breathe,’ he grated, his hand on her cheek, eyes boring into her, his own breathing long and deep, as if directing her to follow.

She managed to squeeze one long, slow inhale, her lungs protesting at the time it took to replenish it. Willow knew from past, thankfully rare, episodes that as long as she didn’t panic, she’d be okay.

And weirdly, watching the rise and fall of his chest focused her.

When footsteps pounded into the room, Jario let out a quick exhale. ‘She’s having an allergic reaction. Hurry the hell up!’ he barked without taking his eyes off her.

Mere seconds passed before a sharp jab stung her thigh, efficient fingers testing her pulse.

‘It should start working soon, sir.’

Jario didn’t acknowledge the doctor. He seemed unable to take his eyes off her, his piercing gaze darting all over her face. The ferocity of it sent new needles stinging all over her body that had nothing to do with oxygen deprivation. The moment her breathing eased, she struggled up and tried to speak again.

‘Mmm...fine.’

He ignored her, rising to his full height before scooping her up into his arms. Another minute and they were in his stateroom. He laid her down, stopped long enough to tug off her flats before drawing back the covers.

Something wild lurched inside her. ‘Wha-ath are y-you doing?’

He pinned her with a vicious look. ‘I’m not in the mood right now, Miss Chatterton. For both our sakes, don’t test me.’

Dragging the covers over her body, he stared down at her for a taut second, then to her stunned surprise, he turned and walked out.

The doctor entered a minute later, asked a few probing questions.

There was no point telling him she was usually meticulous but she’d been severely distracted by her boss and hadn’t thought to do more than a visual inspection of her food before she consumed it.

That boss strode in a minute later after she’d thanked the doctor and he’d left. Jario still seemed on the very edge of his patience. Arms folded, he stared down at her again, a tinge of bafflement in his eyes.

‘You didn’t think to tell me you had food allergies?’

She shrugged. ‘I’m normally diligent...but I guess nothing about tonight has been...’ She stopped, realising she was about to admit that he’d upset her equilibrium. She was unwilling to hand him that power. He had far too much of it already.

He shoved his fingers in his hair, Spanish epithets erupting from him as he jerked into agitated pacing. ‘Are you blaming me?’

‘No. Yes. Maybe.’ Willow sighed. ‘Look, it happened, but it’s over now. I’m fine,’ she repeated for the umpteenth time, wondering if she was attempting to appease him because, examining him closer, she spotted grooves bracketing his mouth. Something kicked inside her at the thought that the almighty Jario may have had a moment or two of worry.

Over her.

It’d been a while since anyone had shown her that kind of concern. Her relationship with her parents had saddled her with emotional baggage she knew had altered her. She’d compounded that by making the mistake of looking for emotional support and connection from David.

But...was it wrong to want a selfish minute of connection with someone?

Even if it felt entirely inappropriate that that care should come from this man, who so effortlessly dripped warm feeling into her veins?

Yes!

She tried to push the feelings away before they found further vulnerable spots inside her.

‘The attacks are most often mild,’ she said, trying to play it down. ‘I can usually get to my pen before it gets serious—’

‘The crew cabin is almost five minutes away. A lot can happen in that time. What the hell were you thinking?’

As he paced closer, she saw his jaw was set, his skin a couple of shades paler. And his eyes...they held a haunted look that made her stomach and heart lurch.

This wasn’t the run-of-the-mill reaction she usually received. Hell, one time, her ex had implied she’d willed on an attack just for the attention!

Every instinct screamed that this was more. That her reaction had triggered something in Jario. Something unwelcome and unsettling.