‘An unusual compliment, I think, but thank you all the same,’ he said.
‘You should’ve told me the whole of Athens would be here tonight,’ I said, a little desperate to maintain a disgruntled distance from him.
He lowered his head even closer to murmur in my ear, ‘Put your claws away, pethi mou. You look much too beautiful to pick a fight.’
‘I’m sure we can find something to fight about if we look hard enough.’
Was I really that desperate to start a fight? Simply to stop this unruly attraction in its tracks?
His amusement disappeared, to be replaced with the unwavering regard that never failed to trigger mini-earthquakes inside me. My breath snagged in my throat as he stepped closer, until there was nothing but a whisper of space between us. To anyone observing us we’d look as if we were sharing an intimate moment. But I knew what was coming even before he spoke.
‘Keep tossing those little challenges at me, Calypso, and I’ll delight in picking you up on one.’
The electric promise in those words sent a bolt through me. It lingered through all the introductions to influential individuals, A-list celebrities and even more of the Xenakis clan and it slowly began to re-energise, that spark of rebellion re-ignited.
For some reason I wanted to challenge him.
So when I found a moment’s reprieve I looked up from my untouched glass of champagne into his face. ‘Do you know what I think, Axios?’
A simple but effective hitch of his brow commanded me to continue.
‘I don’t think you will pick me up on any challenge. I don’t think you’ll do anything to risk this reputation you’re bent on protecting.’
‘Are you brave enough to test your theory, I wonder?’ he asked, and something untamed pulsed beneath his civil exterior. Something that made the glass in my hand tremble wildly.
His gaze dropped to it before returning to my face. With a wicked smile he raised one imperious hand and traced his knuckles down my heated cheek.
‘Pick your battles with care, Calypso. You look stunning in this dress—every eye in the room keeps returning to you time and again, and I’m the envy of every man here. You should be celebrating that, not picking a fight with your husband.’
With that, he leaned even closer, replaced his hand with his mouth for the briefest of moments…
And then he walked off.
Leaving me shaking with a cascade of emotions.
The only reason I felt out of sorts was because that little incident in my dressing room had thrown me—shown me a different side to Axios that had intensified the illicit yearning inside me. And while standing next to Axios wreaked havoc with my equilibrium, watching him, the most prominent man in the room, walking away left me with a yawing hollow in the pit of my stomach.
Did I really want him? Or was I just terrified by the knowledge that the only eyes I wanted on me were his, not the guests’ who kept coming up to me, some blatantly questioning why the great Axios Xenakis had tied himself down to me.
I shook my head, hoping to clear it of these confusing thoughts.
‘I hope you’re not shaking your head because you wish to deny me your company?’
I attempted to control my bewildering thoughts before turning towards another one of Ax’s cousins.
At my blank look he said, ‘I’m Stavros. We met earlier.’
I nodded, attempted to smile. ‘Hello.’
His smile was reserved, but genuine. I found myself wishing for another smile. One that was edged in sizzling grey. I was really losing it.
‘Having fun?’
I shrugged. ‘I’m in a room full of some of the most powerful people on earth, sipping champagne and enjoying the status of hostess with the mostest. What’s not to love?’
As with most of the Xenakis clan, his expression grew speculative. ‘You sound…distressed. Is everything all right?’
About to answer, I looked across the room to where Ax had been talking to the trade minister moments ago. He was staring directly at me, as if he could see to the heart of my jumbled emotions.
That he could do that from across the room panicked me and irked me. Nevertheless, I had to hold on to what was important. And that was Andreos. Regardless of my personal situation, I couldn’t afford for anything to jeopardise my time with my child.
With a deep breath, I forced a smile and turned to Stavros. ‘I’m absolutely fine, Stavros. Sorry if I sounded a little off. Chalk it up to missing my baby.’
‘Ah, a little separation anxiety, ne? As the father of young children, I remember that state well, too.’
‘Yes… Speaking of which, would you mind excusing me? I’d like to call and check on him.’
This time Stavros’s smile was a little tight. ‘Of course. But I hope you’ll honour me with a dance when you return?’
For some reason his request made me glance at Ax. He was once again engrossed in conversation with a clutch of men who were no doubt hanging on his every word.
That spark of rebellion returned and I answered Stavros’s smile. ‘Maybe. We’ll see…’
Excusing myself, I wove through the crowd, my pinned-on smile beginning to fray a little more at the edges every time I was stopped by a well-meaning guest wishing to very belatedly congratulate me on my marriage and Andreos’s birth, while subtly probing for cracks in my demeanour.
True to his word, Axios had taken care of all the speculation and chosen the most direct explanation for my absence.
‘My wife wished to have a peaceful pregnancy and took the time she needed to safely deliver our son.’
Only the most daring would choose to probe my absence after that.
All evening I’d watched him hold court, effortlessly exuding power and charm over hardcore businessmen and moguls I’d only read about in the newspapers.
And while the wedding last year and the family gathering earlier had already shown me his authority and charisma, watching him speak to and mingle with some of the most influential people in the world truly rammed home to me the almost frightening power he wielded.
He was a powerful man whom my father had managed to bend to his will. A man whose reputation I’d put in jeopardy with my disappearing act.
Had I been fooling myself by striking a deal with him?
Enough! Running rings around my decisions was futile.
I stepped out onto the thankfully empty terrace of the grand hotel ballroom and called Sophia. Reassured that all was well, my thoughts flew as they often did when I thought of Andreos to the battle that awaited me. To the fear that my time with him would be cut short.
My hand dropped to linger over my stomach, to the dull ache residing deep inside…
‘Are you all right?’ Axios demanded with a gravel-rough voice.
I jumped and whirled around, hastily dropping my hand when his gaze moved to it. ‘You’re spying on me now?’
He sauntered towards me. ‘I came to check on you because I didn’t want you to feel neglected. And I haven’t forgotten that you fled your marriage after one day and didn’t return for a year,’ he returned with sizzling fire.
‘Because you were happy to leave me alone on your island without a care for what I wanted. Have you forgotten that? Did it even occur to