Page 32 of Modern Romance December 2025 1-4

Wordlessly, her eyes not leaving his, she did as he asked while he took hold of his arousal and positioned it at the entrance of her slick, swollen heat.

Her eyes widened and her breath hitched.

‘Trust me, my sweet,’ he whispered, covering her mouth with his. ‘I’ll take care of you, I promise.’

Propped on an elbow to keep himself steady and in control, he kissed her sweet mouth as slowly, slowly, he fed his way inside her. Draco knew he was bigger than most men, knew for this to work and to become an experience Athena would treasure for the rest of her life that he had to take his time, but, God, the sensation of being bare for the first time in his life intensified everything. He couldfeeleverything, every stretch of her tight muscles as they adjusted to his slow filling of her, and all the while he kissed her with the same sensuality that he was taking her, slow burn kisses that deepened with every deceptively lazy stroke of their tongues. So deeply concentrated was he on making it as comfortable and good for her as it could be that he knew the exact moment he pushed through the final barrier a semi-beat before he heard the short suck of her breath.

He stilled a moment, giving her time to adjust, only continuing his slow inch inside her when her lips parted against his and her arms wrapped around him in silent encouragement.

Other than the fleeting moment of discomfort, the pleasure consuming Athena was beyond anything she could have dreamed, and she opened herself up to him, heart, body and soul, until their groins were fused as tightly as their mouths and he was fully in her and on her, as close as two people could ever be, and her body was throbbing and it was all so breathtakingly wonderful that she could cry from the heady beauty of it.

With the same control that he’d filled her, he began to move, slow, measured thrusts that carried her higher and higher until the pleasure became almost more than she could endure and she slipped over the shimmering precipice, sobbing Draco’s name, her heart on fire and her body convulsed in rapture, and when he joined her there, shuddering as he spilt his seed deep inside her, the only words to echo in her head were that she loved him. Loved him. Loved him. Loved him.

Loved him.

Draco’s heart was thumping violently, trying to escape the confines of his ribs.

He could feel the thrash of her heart, too, right below where his beat. He could almost fool himself into believing their hearts were trying to find each other.

He blew out a quiet, ragged breath. He knew he should ask if she was okay, but couldn’t find the words, not just to ask but to speak at all. From her uncharacteristic silence, Athena was struggling to speak too.

He hadn’t just felt her climax, he’d lived it. It had pulled him over the edge when he hadn’t even known he’d reached it.

He’d never experienced anything like that before. Nothing came close.

There was no telling how long they lay there, Athena curled into him, the fingers of her hand not threaded through his making soft circles on his chest, the fingers of his hand not threaded through hers combing through her silky hair. He knew they needed to get up but his body was in no rush to move.

Maybe they would have spent the whole day like that, but the real world intruded with the sound of a ringing phone.

He felt the breath of her sigh against his skin. ‘That’s mine,’ she said with another sigh and lifted her head.

Their stares locked together.

His heart clenched.

With her hair all mussed and her beautiful face all sleepy and content, she’d never been more beautiful.

She smiled that beautiful soft smile and kissed him with the same softness.

His heart clenched again to watch her pick the towel up from the floor and wrap it around herself, a reminder that only a short while ago she’d never been with a man, that for all her risqué clothing, she was shy about her body. Shy because no one had seen it before. No one but him.

Only when the towel was secure did she pad to the dressing table where she’d left her bag and pull her phone out.

She cleared her throat and brightly said, ‘Hi, Grace.’ She listened a moment. ‘Oh, really?’ Another listening pause. ‘No, I’ve only just woken up. Do you want me to check?’ Another pause. ‘Okay, hold on a minute, I’ll see if I can find him… Yes, I know, not like him at all. Bit of a cheek if you ask me, seeing as you lot made it in on time.’ She turned to Draco, winked and put her finger to her lips before speaking again into the phone. ‘Hold on, just reaching his bedroom.’ Then she put the phone by her side, banged loudly on her own bedroom door and yelled, ‘Are you up yet? If not, get up—the board meeting starts in thirty minutes and you’re going to make us late. You, not me, so don’t blame me for your tardiness.’

Phone back to her ear, she said, ‘I can hear movement. I’ll let you know when we’re on our way.’ She listened again, nodding wisely. ‘Definitely. See you soon. ’Bye.’

The call ended, she looked again at Draco. Her cheeks coloured. ‘Was that okay?’ Hints of uncertainty and shyness crept into her voice. ‘I didn’t think you’d want me to tell her you were in my bed.’

Although they both knew this was undoubtedly true, he couldn’t bring himself to agree with her. ‘What time is it?’

‘Eight-thirty.’

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He hadn’t realised it was that late. His fault for leaving his phone, which he used as an alarm clock, in his bedroom.

He was never late. Ever.

Still standing by the dressing table, her top teeth were biting into her bottom lip.