Page 25 of Modern Romance December 2025 1-4

‘I thought I was staying at the hotel,’ she said, confused. There had been a lot of talk over breakfast about the hotel, which was a five-minute walk from Manolis Technology HQ. From the general gist of things, it was the hotel Draco’s entourage always stayed at when they visited California.

Though his eyebrow was raised and his tone playful, his eyes were intent with meaning. ‘Do you really think I’m going to let you loose in a hotel? You’re staying under my watchful eye until the end of your contract, which means you’re staying at my place with me.’

The thrill that raced through her at this was beyond anything.

While it hadn’t actually been stated that she’d be staying at the hotel with the others, there had been no indication that she wouldn’t. She’d assumed. Sure, her employment was massively different to the others, namely they were employed in proper roles and performed vital tasks, whereas she was there under everyone’s sufferance for a limited time. But still, she’d assumed, and since leaving Draco’s bed had been mentally preparing herself for their separation, cheering herself up with the long days in the office she had to look forward to with him. Who’d have thought she’d look forward to long days of working?

But then, who’d have thought she’d feel despondent at the thought of being parted from anyone, let alone a man? Which provoked a whole different kind of emotion: fear. Not of Draco, but his expectations and how she could never meet them.

Athena had allowed her craving for his company override everything else. She’d wanted to experience that feeling of safety in his arms again, and she had, and though she’d slept through most of it, they had been the most magical few hours of her life.

She’d climbed into Draco’s bed knowing nothing physical would happen between them. That it couldn’t. And so she’d been able to switch off her brain and her fears and sink into the safety of her Draco cocoon.

Now it would be just her and Draco. The safety net Grace, Theodore and Stav had provided would be located in a hotel miles away, and Draco would have expectations because she’d fed them by climbing into his bed, and she kept feeding them with every look they exchanged because she was helpless not to. For the first time in her life, Athena was in lust and it was terrifying for so many reasons she couldn’t begin to count them.

Draco thought he knew her.

He was going to be left bitterly disappointed.

For now, though, all she could do was what she always did and Athena her way through the fears. Tilting her head, she sweetly said, ‘You’re very brave.’

The piercing blue eyes glimmered. ‘I know.’

‘Do you provide an all-you-can-eat buffet for breakfast and room service, and do you have a swimming pool and gym? Because that’s what the others are getting and it strikes me as a bit discriminatory if I’m not going to be provided with those same basic amenities and services.’

Amusement and desire swirled.

‘Athena?’ he said pointedly.

‘Yes, boss?’

‘Get in the car.’

‘Yes, boss.’

Considering she’d only had two hours sleep in the last twenty-four hours, Athena was as alert as she’d ever been when they travelled the sweeping drive leading them to Draco’s Californian home in the small but ultra-exclusive town of Crespi Valley. Through the thick woods surrounding and encircling them, artfully positioned solar lights revealed lushly manicured grounds, the house itself a distantly lit blob that gradually took shape as they drove closer, revealing itself to be a sprawling one-storey sandstone villa with a graceful loggia at the front and arched doors to the wings at its side.

They circled a dazzling fountain of naked cherubs at play before the car came to a stop. That was when her stomach plummeted and her heart really went into overdrive.

Throughout the short drive to Draco’s home, she’d kept up her perky front by peppering him with questions about his Californian home and the area it was located, terrified that if she stopped talking her tongue would tie itself and she’d be sick from the nerves coiling so tightly inside her. She knew what she needed to tell him, knew she needed to do it sooner rather than later, but had no idea how to say it. A giant elephant was sitting between them but only she could see it.

‘Is this where we go in and you start hosting international video calls to prove what a dedicated workaholic you are?’ she said in the same bright voice she’d asked all her questions during their time in the car. ‘I’ve got a nail file with me so I won’t be bored. I might even look at painting my nails myself—it can’t be that hard, can it? Although it might be a little tricky doing my right hand as I’m right-handed and not in the least ambidextrous, and…’

‘Athena?’

She closed her eyes, barely able to comprehend how much she was coming to adore the way he said her name in that stern, pointed tone. Except this time his gruff voice was more soft than stern, and there was a catch in her own voice when she gave her standard, ‘Yes, boss?’

‘Look at me.’

‘Yes, boss.’

Draco recognised immediately that the smile Athena wore when she turned to him was her armour smile, and inhaled slowly through his nose. His instinct throughout the short drive that she was carrying tension had been right. She was still Athena but with the slight brittleness that suggested something was going on beneath the surface, and he had a good idea what that something was.

He gazed intently at the green eyes that were shining just a littletoobrightly, as if she was forcing the shine.

‘While we’re sharing my home you will have your own room,’ he said quietly. ‘It will be for you alone. If you want to share my room and my bed, then there’s plenty of room for two even if you’re not ready for this thing between us to go anywhere. We go at your pace and if your pace doesn’t take us past the starting line then that’s how it will be.’ If his immediate future entailed frequent cold showers then so be it.

Athena’s heart had raced into her throat. She knew why Draco was saying all this. He thought her fears—and that he could see them when no one else ever had would be blowing her mind if her mind wasn’t filled with so much else—came from her being traumatised at the spiking of her drink, when the truth was she’d been too wrapped up in Draco since to give it more than a few thoughts. The men had been arrested and charged; they couldn’t hurt her. They hadn’t hurt her because Draco had saved her, and she wished she could find the words to tell him all this, and wished he could read her mind so she didn’t have to find the words to explain the truth, because she wished as hard as she’d ever wished for anything that things could be different and that she could repay him in the way they both longed for without being the crushing disappointment it was inevitable she would be to him.