Page 59 of Modern Romance January 2025 5-8
She radiated power she either didn’t know she possessed or was cleverly wielding, combined with wary attitude. It was intoxicating to watch the many facets of her character and he was caught in its spell.
‘I’m tempted to take you to task for what you said before you left me alone in bed, but I’m unwilling to ruin that perfect sunrise with a fight.’
Jario was unprepared for another punch of sensation, this one skirting the rim of disquiet. ‘You think me a monster?’
Wary eyes flitted to the stunning horizon before returning to his. ‘I think you’re a determined man who can’t be easily swayed from the path he’s set himself, even if that path leads to an abyss.’
Jario resented her for the verdict that struck a cold chill in his veins. Because hadn’t he caught chilling glimpses of that very abyss as the years passed? He gritted his teeth as the inneryesgrew louder.
Dios mio, what the hell was she doing to him? That she would so easily bat away the power that only moments ago sent a wave of unease through him further riled him. ‘Unlike you to admit defeat so easily, no?’
Jario refused to admit he welcomed, no craved, the glare she sent him. Was he so far gone that he would pick a fight simply to step away from emotions he didn’t want to confront? The repeatedyesmade his gut clench as her eyes sparked indignation at him.
‘You want me to tell you what I truly think?’
‘Can I stop you?’ he replied, all the while thrilling to her fire. Letting it warm him in places that had long known only grief and cold desolation.
She dropped her foot and glided across the floor towards him, and he was at once enthralled and mildly terrified of her allure.
Because it was now beyond just allure?
‘You’ve delayed seeking retribution because deep down, you’re searching for another way.’
Forced laughter seared his throat with acid...and unwanted truth? He swatted the thought away. ‘I’m beginning to think you’re the sort who believe they can will a thought into being.’
‘I think we’re called optimists. And we’re not as rare or as ridiculous a species as you’d like to think,’ she replied.
‘Maybe not, but against those who have their feet firmly planted in reality, you’ll lose every time,’ he said softly, almost pityingly.
She stopped in front of him, contemplating him with a far too probing stare ‘Will I? I’m almost tempted to bet against that.’
One eyebrow arched. ‘Almost?’
‘Almost,’ she echoed firmly. ‘And I probably would if this were a game. But it isn’t, and you...’ She paused, took a breath. ‘I can’t help but wonder what your father would think—’
‘Don’t you dare.’
She shivered at the chilled warning. ‘Why not? Because it’s sacred? I know it is. But I also suspect that hasn’t stopped you from wondering. Has it?’ She dared to say it anyway.
He pushed away from the window and stalked back to his desk before he did something unthinkable and exposing, like pull her into his arms and bury his frustrations and unease within her welcoming flesh. Even as much as he wanted her, he knew that would be admitting his weakness to them both. ‘I don’t know whether to be stunned at your recklessness or commend you for the spine your father lacks.’
‘Thank you, I think. And hate me if you want, but we both know all this is coming to a head. You’re standing at your own crossroads, Jario. You need to decide which path you—’
‘Enough.’
The word seethed between them with jagged warning and determination.
And one look at him confirmed this wasn’t the right time. Between their unresolved situation from last night and waking up to the tortured sounds he made in his nightmares, his formidable defences were up.
She, too, needed several moments to work out why her heart continued to twist, bend and take flight with the ebb and flow of his emotions. She’d lain awake after he’d left the bedroom, anguished for him and terrified for herself at the depth of her feelings. At the suspicion that it was too late to step off the slippery slope of giving more than her body and empathy to the man who’d suffered so much.
That everything since that morning she’d stepped into his office had always been destined to end here, with her heart far more invested than she’d intended.
So she backed away from his desk, ignoring the deep clamour to do the opposite and step closer.
His head snapped her way as she took another step, and, right there, lurking within the sardonic gleam in his eyes, was a sliver of uncertainty. Perhaps even apprehension.
His lips parted. She expected another verbal tussle. Perhaps an order for her to stay put. It was breakfast time after all, and she doubted he’d lost the urge to feed her. But those control-wrecking lips that had explored her body so thoroughly last night thinned.