Page 96 of Modern Romance September 2025 5-8

CHAPTER FIVE

The whole drive back to Jane’s hotel, neither of them spoke.

They sat on opposite sides of the backseat of his car, both very careful to keep a full seat of space between them.

But the silence only made Jane more aware.

Of his breathing. Of the rustle of his clothes as he shifted in his seat.

Of the size of his legs, spread wide, strong and muscular. Athletic.

Athens passed in a blur, the Acropolis a golden beacon visible through the front windscreen, but Jane barely noticed the beauty of the backdrop. Every single atom of her was focused on Zeus. When they’d left the restaurant, he’d offered his driver to take her back to the hotel. Solo. Without him.

Because he’d promised to respect her boundaries, and he was showing her that he meant it.

But Jane had demurred, saying that it was silly for the driver to drop her while he caught a cab.

‘Can’t you just drop me off first?’ Their eyes had met and something had fizzed between them, a spark had ignited, and it was still burning.

But Jane knew that it was her decision how long she let it go for.

If she wanted, at the hotel, she could turn to Zeus and say good-night and send him on his way.

He wouldn’t question it—that was their deal.

And that was what she should do, she knew.

If only to test him, to make sure he was being honest, when he promised that she was in charge.

It was an assurance, though, she found she didn’t need, because for some reason she couldn’t explain, Jane trusted him.

At least, she trusted him as much as it was possible for her to trust someone.

Naturally, there was still a wariness because of what Steven had done to her, and after how much she’d loved and cared for him, but this was different. Zeus was different.

You don’t know that , a voice chided.

Was she being just as naive as she’d been back then?

The car pulled to a stop in front of her hotel, and she turned to face him, to find an expression on his face that made her stomach somersault.

‘I enjoyed spending time with you, Jane.’

He made no effort to move. True to his word, she thought, heart lifting.

Say good-night and go upstairs.

She glanced at the seat between them, where his tanned hand rested, and bit into her lower lip.

‘I did, too,’ she half whispered.

‘I’d like to see you again.’

She swallowed, her throat dry. ‘I—’ Say good-night. Leave. Get out of the car. ‘Would you like to come up for coffee?’

Good Lord. The words tumbled out of her mouth without a skerrick of forethought, almost as if her body had ideas that her brain definitely didn’t condone.

‘We had coffee at the restaurant,’ he pointed out with a wry smile. ‘But I’d like to come up, regardless.’

Their eyes met and the spark that had been burning tilted dangerously close to a full-blown explosion.

Uncertainty thickened in her gut, but so did desire, and it was not a fair fight.

After so long of subduing her sensual needs, the temptation of Zeus was impossible to ignore.

He’d stirred something to life inside her just by his presence, and she felt as though it was impossible to fight it.

‘Okay,’ she said, and nodded slowly, because it was an agreement to so much more than heading upstairs. ‘Let’s go.’

She’d never noticed how small elevators were before.

And it wasn’t like the elevators in this fancy five-star hotel were even that small, but with Zeus right beside her, she felt his proximity and heat like a magnet.

She glanced up at him as the doors swished closed and he turned, slowly, to regard her with eyes that were shiny dark and mesmerisingly intense.

‘Remember, Jane, you’re in charge,’ he said, voice a low rumble.

‘Why do I think you’re not used to handing over control?’ she asked, her voice strangely airy.

He arched a brow in a way that made her stomach loop in on itself. ‘Which floor?’

‘Oh, right, the key,’ she muttered, reaching into her clutch purse and fumbling a little, because her fingers wouldn’t cooperate.

He waited patiently, but the longer he waited, the harder it got, because he was so close, and all she could think about was the way they’d kissed the night before, and wondering if they’d kiss again, and wanting, more than anything, for that to be the case.

But what if he did hurt her?

What if she couldn’t trust him?

Steven had seemed trustworthy. Steven had always said all the right things, and then he’d treated her like a piece of meat. He’d grown tired of waiting for her to be ready to sleep with him, so he’d made sure it had happened.

What if—?

‘Would you like me to do it?’ he asked, and she realised she’d stopped fumbling and was staring at the breadth of his chest.

She nodded slowly, holding her clutch out to him.

He didn’t take the bag but rather reached inside and easily fished out the key card from the side pocket, then took her hand in his and upended it, so he could place the key card there.

Rather than letting go, though, he came to stand beside her, his body pressed to hers, and he held her hand still as he guided it towards the pad on the elevator panel and swiped it.

Her floor lit up immediately. She expelled a breath of relief—a sense of relief that only seemed to grow when he stayed right there, behind her, one hand wrapped around her wrist, his thumb brushing over her flesh gently.

She wasn’t just aware of the sound of his husky breathing now, but of the feel of it, as his chest moved with each exhalation, and the air in the elevator seemed to grow thick and warm.

Her whole body was throbbing, like her pulse had become overlarge and was taking over every organ.

She wanted to turn around, to be standing this close to him, but toe to toe, to feel him, to see him.

But she stayed as she was, because she had a feeling they were both out of their depths a little—even Zeus—and she knew that one wrong move would explode the whole situation.

And if it got really out of hand? Would she have any choice but to run a mile from this?

She swallowed past a lump in her throat, and when the doors opened to reveal the plushly carpeted corridor of her hotel level, she released a breath. Of relief, and gratitude.

‘This is me,’ she said, reluctant to move.

‘So I gathered.’

He moved then, extending a hand to keep the doors open, his eyes on her with an emotion she couldn’t fathom. ‘After you.’

She nodded once, tried to make her legs move, but there was a lack of synergy between her brain and body. Or maybe it was that she was right where she wanted to be—close to Zeus—and so she found herself stuck there.

He held out his other hand to her then, broad and tanned, inviting her to put her own in his. More than a gesture, it was a sign of trust. Of him asking her to trust him, and when she placed her hand in his palm, and he closed his fingers over hers, it was as though she’d agreed.

She hoped she wasn’t wrong, that this wasn’t all an awful mistake.

They stepped off the elevator together. ‘Which way?’

She gestured to the left and they began to walk, hand in hand, towards her door. She paused outside the front of it, then swiped her key, which she was still holding in her other hand.

The door clicked to show that it had unlocked, and Zeus pushed it open, standing where he was but holding it back against the wall, so Jane could enter first. She took a step, then realised he wasn’t following.

‘I can leave, Jane,’ he said, misreading her hesitation.

Because she wanted him to come in. She wanted everything to happen between them that the flame and flares seemed to promise would happen.

But she just didn’t know how to give in to that.

She’d spent so long fighting this part of herself, forcing it down.

Or maybe it just hadn’t even been an issue, because she’d never met anyone since Steven who’d made her want to try this again.

With Zeus, it didn’t even feel like a choice.

‘No,’ she demurred, the word thick with urgency. ‘I really do want you to come in. It’s just—’

He waited, looking at her in that inquisitive way he had.

‘I don’t know what happens next,’ she said, honestly, shrugging her shoulders. ‘It’s been a long time, and I’m—’

He reached forward and pressed a finger to her lips. ‘We’re not sleeping together tonight.’

Her heart sank to her toes and her brows drew inwards as she tried to process that. ‘Oh.’

‘Not because I don’t want to,’ he assured her quickly, as though he understood the doubt and uncertainties that had instantly plagued her. ‘But because I think you need time to get used to the idea. To make sure it’s what you really want.’

Her pulse ratcheted up. ‘What if I already know it’s what I want?’

His eyes widened and then swept shut, and she somehow just knew that he was fighting a battle of his own—between what he wanted and what he knew he should be doing.

‘Then you’ll still want it tomorrow night. Or the night after that. We don’t have to rush this.’

Which was exactly what she should have been saying. Because this was about distracting him from getting engaged—except it wasn’t. When she was alone with Zeus, it was about this and only this. Desire, need, want, pleasure. Lottie’s plans were the furthest thing from her mind.

She nodded slowly, and only then did he step inside the hotel room. The door clicked shut between them and there they stood, toe to toe, just as she’d wanted to be in the elevator.

Her own breathing was rushed, her chest moving rapidly, so she was aware of the way her dress tightened across her breasts.

‘This dress,’ he muttered, reaching behind her and pressing a finger to her exposed back, ‘should be illegal.’

She laughed softly, pleasure trilling in her veins. ‘You like it?’

He grimaced. ‘A little too much.’

‘That’s a shame. I was thinking of getting changed out of it.’