glamorous world, when she had attended several of the after-gala performances of the ballet company. But she’d had a role on those occasions. A purpose. She had been an ambassador for the ballet company, rather than herself.
Here and now, Andy was merely an adjunct of Darius Sterne, and as such she was very aware of the curious glances that had come their way since they first entered the hotel together.
As aware as she was of the hand that Darius had placed possessively against her spine as they’d entered the hotel.
She was so aware that she was now able to feel the warmth of Darius’s splayed fingers through the thin material of her black gown.
Andy had debated long and hard about what to wear this evening, and had gone through the contents of her wardrobe several times. She’d finally decided on a simple long black Grecian-style gown she had owned before the accident, but it was so classical in style it was dateless.
The gown left her arms and one of her shoulders bare, falling smoothly all the way to her ankles, the slit on the right side only going as far as her knee, and ensuring that the scars on her thigh wouldn’t be visible even when she sat down. A requirement of all the clothes Andy had worn since the accident.
In keeping with the style of the gown, she had secured her hair loosely on her crown, leaving soft curls to cascade down onto her nape. Her make-up was light, just some dark shadow and mascara, and a deep peach lip gloss.
Andy had felt pleased with her appearance when she’d studied her reflection in the mirror before Darius arrived at her apartment. Here, amongst all these glamorous and beautiful women—several of whom were eyeing Darius as if they would like to devour him rather than the forthcoming dinner!—she felt less confident.
‘I wouldn’t have needed to be nervous at all if you hadn’t used emotional blackmail to force me into coming here with you.’ Andy made her point cuttingly.
Darius gave a humourless smile. ‘Are you going to keep throwing that in my face all evening?’
‘You can depend on it!’ Her eyes flashed.
He gave an unconcerned shrug. ‘I use whatever means I deem necessary at the time.’
‘In order to get your own way.’
‘Yes,’ he confirmed unapologetically.
‘Will your brother be here too this evening?’ Andy decided to change the subject before the two of them ended up having a heated argument in front of all the other guests! Well, it would be heated on her part. Darius gave the impression that not too much penetrated that cool shield he kept about his emotions.
A façade that was instantly shattered as Darius looked down at her between narrowed lids. ‘Why?’
‘No particular reason.’ She frowned at his sudden aggression. ‘I was just changing the conversation to something less controversial.’
And Darius was just behaving like a jealous fool, he realised belatedly. Miranda had asked a perfectly polite question about his brother, and he had reacted like a Neanderthal.
Maybe it was the fact that she looked so stunningly beautiful tonight. Her figure-hugging gown was simply cut in comparison with the evening gowns worn by the other women present this evening, and styled in such a way that Darius could see she wasn’t wearing a bra. She wore no jewellery at all, and very little make-up. The whole effect gave her the elegance of a swan in a roomful of peacocks.
Several male heads had turned Miranda’s way when they’d entered the hotel together. Several of those men had continued to watch her covetously, until Darius had given each and every one of them a challenging glare.
To Miranda’s credit she seemed totally unaware of that male interest.
As she seemed totally unaware of her own beauty.
Which was a novelty in itself.
Darius had never yet met a beautiful woman who wasn’t totally aware of her own attractiveness, and what it could get her.
‘I’m sure Xander will already be in the room somewhere,’ he confirmed abruptly. ‘Unlike me, he tries to cater to my mother’s dislike of tardiness.’
Miranda gazed up at him curiously. ‘One day you really will have to tell me what the problem is between you and your mother—’ She stopped abruptly, a blush colouring her cheeks, because she had realised as soon as she said it that her mention of ‘one day’ implied she thought the two of them would be meeting again after this evening.
Darius smiled humourlessly. ‘Oh, I really won’t, angel,’ he drawled dismissively.
‘No. Well. Perhaps not,’ Andy accepted awkwardly, the warmth having deepened in her cheeks at Darius’s endearment. Unless he called all of his women angel? It would certainly save him any embarrassment if he forgot which woman he was spending the evening or night with.
Darius eyed her curiously. ‘Did you tell your sister and brother-in-law that you were coming out with me this evening? Obviously not,’ he drawled dryly as a guilty blush deepened the colour in Andy’s cheeks.
‘I couldn’t think of an acceptable way to explain why the two of us had even met again, let alone that we were going out together,’ she answered impatiently.
If she had even told Kim that Darius had visited her at her dance studio on Thursday, then heZr sister would have launched into yet another major big-sister lecture.
If Kim knew Darius had actually blackmailed Andy into going out with him this evening, and used Colin’s continued employment for Midas Enterprises as leverage, then Andy had absolutely no doubts her sister wouldn’t have hesitated in stating that Darius could do whatever the hell he pleased in that regard, because Andy wasn’t going anywhere with him. Tonight or ever!
That was the excuse Andy gave herself for remaining silent on the subject, at least.
‘You certainly wouldn’t have come out of that explanation in a very good light,’ Andy assured Darius.
He raised dark brows. ‘And do you somehow have the mistaken idea that would actually have bothered me?’
‘Obviously not,’ she snapped her impatience. Honestly, what was wrong with this man? She had done as he’d asked, and come out to this dinner with him, so why was he now being so aggressive? ‘Do you usually bring a date to one of these dinners?’ She decided to attack rather than keep being put on the defensive. As she so often was where Darius was concerned.
But also because she knew, in her heart of hearts, that Kim would have been right to warn her off the man.
Being here with Darius was dangerous. He was dangerous to the ordered life Andy had painstakingly Zcarved out for herself these past four years.
Darius grimaced at her question. ‘Never.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Seriously?’
He gave a half-smile. ‘Seriously.’
Oh, wonderful! Not only was she here with the most impressively handsome man in the room, and about to be introduced to his parents, but now she learnt that Darius usually
