a slow, steady step towards me. His hands at his sides, he simply stared down at me, his only movement the deep rise and fall of his chest.
‘What does that mean, Calypso?’ he queried softly.
‘It means I want there to be no room for misunderstanding later.’
Slowly, his hand rose again, his knuckles grazing my cheek. My shiver made his eyes darken.
‘I need to hear the words, so there’s no misunderstanding now.’
Heat suffused my face, as if chasing his touch. But his gaze wouldn’t release me. Not until the words trembling on my lips fell free.
‘I want to consummate this agreement. I want you to…take me.’
The full force of the words powered through me, shaking me from head to foot. Dear God, this wasn’t how I’d imagined losing my virginity. None of this was how I’d dreamed it. So why did my insides twist themselves with…excitement?
For the longest time he simply stared at me, a myriad of emotions crossing his face. Eventually that dark gleam returned in full force, his presence filling the room as he turned his hand and brushed a thumb over my lips.
‘Are you sure you don’t wish to discuss…art?’
The thickness of his voice displaced any levity his words attempted. And it drove home that this was happening. My wedding night. No, it wasn’t the one I’d dreamed about, but really, if life was fair, would my father have tossed me in as part of a hundred-million-euro deal?
That thought was buried beneath the turbulent need climbing through me as he dragged his digit back and forth over my lip.
‘I’m sure,’ I answered, in a voice that sounded nothing like mine.
He tilted my gaze to his, making a gruff sound at whatever it was he saw on my face. His head started to lower—just as the other delicate subject raced to the forefront of my mind.
Tell him. He’s going to find out soon enough.
‘There’s something you should know.’
One eyebrow rose in silent question.
‘I’m a virgin.’
His fingers froze beneath my chin, his whole body turning to marble. ‘What did you say?’
I swallowed the knot in my throat, praying the shivers would stop coursing through my body. ‘I’ve never done…never been with a—’
A curse fell from his lips, raw and stunned. ‘Why?’
Finally—finally—that burst of hysteria filtered through. ‘You’re asking why your wife is a virgin? Isn’t that an odd question?’
‘Ne—and it is precisely why I want to know why a twenty-four-year-old who looks the way you do is still untouched.’
Heat flowed through me. ‘Looks the way I do…?’
The faintest colour washed his cheekbones. ‘You must be aware of your beauty, Calypso,’ he rasped, and his deep, husky voice set fire to my belly.
I blushed at the raw intensity in his words that reached into a secret part of me and took control of it. Hot tingles raced over my skin, warming me from the inside, tightening low in my belly and hardening my nipples. A gasp tore from my throat. His gaze dropped to my parted lips, his eyes darkening with each charged second that ticked by.
Then his eyes narrowed. ‘Surely Petras didn’t keep you under lock and key simply for this possibility?’ Incredulity racked his voice.
Pain lashed through me, because the same thought had occurred to me. My father might not have visited the ultimate indignity upon me by spelling it out in black and white, but by thwarting all my previous attempts at a relationship he’d ensured his deal would be sweetened with my virginity. Another indication as to how little he cared for me.
Despite the anguish racking me, I raised my chin, pride insisting I did not confirm his suspicion. ‘Does it not occur to you that I’ve simply not met anyone interesting enough?’
Shrewd grey eyes conducted a slow scrutiny. ‘Your pulse is racing. Your face is flushed. I don’t need a crystal ball to tell me you’re excited. It is safe to say that, regardless of why you’ve remained untouched before, you’re definitely interested now, Calypso.’
I silently cursed my body for betraying me but I wasn’t ready to be cowed yet. ‘You want me to bolster your ego by admitting I find you attractive?’
His head went back, as if he was surprised by the question. Of course he did. Good looks. Power. Influence. All attributes that made him irresistible to women. The stunning parade of women he’d purportedly dated was evidence that his effect on the opposite sex was woven into his DNA.
A sexy, arrogant smile curved his lips. ‘I don’t need you to tell me, matia mou. I know you do.’
My gasp was swallowed by the simple act of his head swooping down and his mouth sealing mine in a hot, savage possession that snatched the breath from my lungs. If that kiss in the church had been spine-tingling, this complete mastery was nothing short of earth-shattering.
The bold sweep of his tongue over my sensitive lower lip fired electricity in every cell. When he followed that with the lightest graze of his teeth, in another clever tasting, a tiny hunger-filled sound left my throat.
Axios muttered something beneath his breath before the fingers capturing my chin moved to my lower back, tugging me closer, until the hard column of his body was plastered against mine and the wide stance of his powerful legs cradled me. Until the hot brand of his manhood was unmistakably imprinted against my belly, in a searing promise of what was in store.
His lips devoured mine with unapologetic hunger. And when one hand grasped mine and redirected it to his chest I gave in to the heady desire and explored him. Tensile muscle overlaid by his expensive cotton shirt was warm and inviting, and after a tentative caress, I sighed and gave in to more. The ultra-masculine line of his shoulder and neck drew my fingers, and that mysterious hunger built up into something that both terrified and thrilled me.
He made a gruff sound when my fingers brushed his warm, supple throat. It was enough to startle me. Enough to remind me that I didn’t really know what I was doing. That, while I understood the mechanics of sex, I wasn’t well-versed in its nuances.
Nerves dulled by the fire of arousal resurged, breaking free by way of a helpless whimper.
He raised his head and stared at me for the longest time before catching my hand in his. ‘Come,’ he commanded huskily.
I snatched in a much-needed breath. We both knew where we stood—that we were products of my father’s machinations—surely we were going into this with our eyes open, in the knowledge that this was a one-time thing…weren’t we?
Molten grey eyes watched me. When I slid my hand into his, he led me to some wide, imposing double doors. With casual strength he pushed them open to reveal the most magnificent bedroom I’d ever seen. While it bore unashamed signs of masculinity, the Mediterranean blue hues of the furniture blended
