Page 38 of Modern Romance January 2025 5-8
Another flash, this one of approval, lit up her insides. He relished that. Was perhaps even weighing how to test that control.
‘Our time together will be interesting, if nothing else.’ His gaze dropped to her mouth again, setting it tingling wildly all over again. He stepped back, gesturing towards the steps leading below deck. ‘Come.’ The command was thick and terse.
‘Where are we going?’
‘To show you your new sleeping quarters.’
‘I can find it on my own, I’m sure.’
One eyebrow arched. ‘Is that an objection or are you regretting that you may have bitten off more than you can chew?’
‘It’s neither.’ Rather a stalling tactic because the need rampaging through her was frankly overwhelming. ‘Just a fact,’ she blurted out when he simply waited her out in silence.
A hint of amusement flashed again. ‘Consider it a vested interest in ensuring you don’t fall off a balcony or pass out somewhere until tomorrow at the very least.’
The urge to laugh with him, even at her own expense, struck again. And again, he seemed to remember himself, to kill his amusement a second later. Even look a touch bewildered by the display of humour.
That small defusing of tension drew her away from the railing. She joined him as he strode across the deck to the lift. He gestured her in, then followed. The space built for small groups immediately felt even smaller, Jario’s masculine scent overwhelming her.
He in turn took another long breath, and recalling what he’d said about her scent, Willow angled her head to meet his blazing gaze.
Neither of them said a word as the lift reached the designated floor—his.
He caught her elbow to steer her right, towards his private suite. The roar in her ears almost drowned out the swarming butterflies in her belly.
She believed she’d settled her decision in her own mind but now the reality was rushing at her, she desperately needed a minute. To remind herself that Jario wasn’t David. That—
She froze when Jario stopped halfway down the long hallway and nudged open a guest suite door.
Confusion battered her as she looked into the exquisitely decorated room. Unlike Jario’s, it was softer, blending pastels with modern luxurious wood furniture, paintings and exquisite mouldings that wouldn’t have been amiss in any bricks-and-mortar mega-mansion.
Through an open doorway across the room, she saw her meagre belongings, neatly folded on backlit shelves. She glanced back at him. His heated gaze swung from her face to the bed behind her.
His nostrils flared as he took a breath. ‘Is it satisfactory?’
‘More than,’ she muttered, still battling confused disappointment. ‘Thanks.’
He didn’t respond.
Feeling supremely self-conscious, wanting more than anything to fling herself at him, Willow forced herself back one step. Then another.
Jario slowly raised his hands to the top of the door and braced his hands right there, sculpted biceps tensing as he gripped the solid wood. Fascinated, she stared at the riveting image he made, the stunning realisation that he was fighting the urge to step inside her room.
Because he wanted an explicit invitation?
Because unlike her father, his integrity and principles were unshakeable? It would’ve been easy for a man like him to take the seduction route, to use her clear attraction to him to his advantage, like David had, and especially considering who and what she represented.
The fact that he wasn’t sent waves of respect and, yes,gratitude, sweeping through her. Making her attraction surge several notches higher. Making her stop, stare at him, words crowding her tongue.
Jario’s fierce stare almost dared her to.
Only by sheer willpower and the last residues of common sense did she resist. ‘Good night, then.’
She caught a flash of respect, jarring with his quickly curbed disappointment. After an age, his hands released the jamb, his exhale long and slow. He nodded curtly, turned on his heel and left.
Deflating, she shut the door and leaned back against it.
Faintly resenting him for mastering his control, she looked around.