Chapter Five
Axel paced across the flagstoned floor as he waited for Hope.
She’d disrupted his thoughts all day, so much so that he’d regretted not going into his office in town.
He’d been aware of her not being in the house—while she’d been out shopping—and then he’d been aware of her when she’d returned.
Cutting a meeting short to go and see her on some flimsy pretext of filling her in on the evening’s activities.
He couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d felt under his hands last night in Paris, or the things she came out with.
She was so…blunt. Honest. Inquisitive. She was clearly intrigued by his world of cold parents, seismic deals and strategic relationships.
He couldn’t help but feel that she pitied him in some way.
A very novel experience for Axel, who was probably one of the most envied people on the planet.
And yet… She rubbed up against him, against that little kernel of dissatisfaction inside where he wondered if he’d feel sated, at peace, once he’d achieved all of his ambitions. And also where he felt an ache when he thought of Ares, his brother.
Ares was engaged to a queen. He would become a king, or something.
And his business was off-the-charts successful.
So much so that Axel knew that if Ares hadn’t been his brother, he’d already have called and requested the services of Drakos Security.
They were the best at protection on a physical level but more importantly on a cyber level where the real threats were these days.
Hacking a company could do more damage than anything else.
So, his brother was clearly doing just fine…
and yet Axel had thought about him more in the last few days than he had in a long time.
Because of Hope’s curiosity and innocent questions.
Or maybe not so innocent. Maybe her whole wide-eyed humble facade was a play.
And maybe this had all been a huge mistake.
You approached her, reminded a voice. Yes, he had. Impetuously. And he was never impetuous.
But now that they had gone public, it would look even worse if Axel was to suddenly appear with another woman before the Baros party. In any case, he couldn’t envisage any other woman now except Hope.
And as if he had conjured her up by his imaginings, he heard a sound and looked up towards the stairs.
Hope was standing at the top, and immediately the doubts faded.
She came down the stairs towards him, careful in the heels.
Axel couldn’t take his eyes off her bare legs, revealed in the electric-blue minidress.
She reached the bottom and walked towards him, taller in the heels. The colour of the dress made her eyes pop. Her hair was styled and swept back from her face. She looked cool and elegant and contemporary. Sexy. Her scent tickled his nostrils. Earthy tones. Geranium. And something sweet on top.
‘You look…stunning.’ Axel’s voice was hoarse. Why was he second-guessing himself when he never did? She was perfect.
He could see her bite her lip. She wasn’t used to compliments. Any other woman would be purring with satisfaction right now. Or eager to leave and get in front of the paparazzi. But she wasn’t.
‘I feel like I’m playing dress-up.’
‘You play at it very well,’ Axel responded, trying to bring his roaring blood under control.
‘So do you,’ Hope said, looking shy.
Axel couldn’t even remember what he’d changed into. He looked down. A white tuxedo jacket. Black trousers.
He said, ‘Ready?’
She took a breath and nodded and Axel had the strangest sensation of feeling proud of her for agreeing to enter into this media cauldron with him as he led her out to the waiting car.
* * *
Axel led Hope towards the throng in front of them on the red carpet and security moved people back. This was a far bigger deal than Paris. As soon as they were spotted shouts came quick and fast: Drakos! Who’s the mystery woman? Is it serious?
All Hope could do was cling on for dear life, pressing close to Axel. She knew she didn’t need to cling quite so tightly to him, or press that close, but she couldn’t help it.
Then she saw the massive billboard and said, ‘No way.’
‘No way, what?’ Axel looked down at her.
‘It’s the new Dunway movie.’
Axel couldn’t seem less interested. His face was set in serious lines as they battled the gauntlet of the press scrum. Hope’s eyes were bugging out of her head to see faces of people she’d watched on TV or the movies all her life right there in the flesh, mere feet away.
When they were stalled behind someone Hope suspected was one of the royal family, she said, ‘Why do you come to these things if you don’t enjoy them?’
Axel looked down at her. ‘It’s that obvious?’
She refrained from rolling her eyes. ‘Just slightly.’
He made a face. ‘It’s a means to an end. We need to be seen.’
A voice called from nearby, ‘Drakos! Who’s your date?’
He gripped her hand tighter and said to the bank of photographers, ‘This is Hope Smith.’
There was silence and then a cacophony of, ‘Hope, Hope! Over here, love! Who are you wearing? Who are you?’
She was stuck in a frozen tableau of shock until Axel squeezed her hand again and tugged her away and towards the entrance. Hope was clinging onto him like a koala bear and he looked down at her as they entered the foyer for the reception. ‘OK?’
She peeled herself away from him and nodded. ‘I was terrified I’d have to answer their questions.’
‘You’ve nothing to hide, even if you did.’
‘That we know of,’ she muttered, aware of her birth circumstances. ‘You’re so lucky, you know.’
‘How’s that?’
‘Because you know your lineage all the way back.’
But Axel just said enigmatically, ‘Sometimes less knowledge might be better.’
Hope wondered if he was thinking of his estranged brother and the burden of being born into extreme wealth and privilege. Waiters floated around with trays of champagne. Axel took a glass and handed one to Hope. She took a sip and wrinkled her nose.
‘You don’t like it?’ Axel asked, obviously amused by her reaction. She felt like telling him she was glad to be able to provide some light relief.
She shook her head. ‘The bubbles just went up my nose.’ The words were out before she could pretend to be more sophisticated. Hope gave up trying to be someone she wasn’t.
‘We can go after this.’
What was it with these guys and arriving only to leave again so soon? Dismay filled Hope. ‘We’re not staying for the movie?’
He looked at her with an expression between confusion and humour. ‘No one stays for the movie apart from—’ He stopped as if realising what he was saying.
Hope finished for him, supplying dryly, ‘Nobodies?’
He had the grace to look slightly shamefaced. ‘It’s just how these things work. People come to be seen and then leave again.’
Hope tried to quell the disappointment. She’d thought they’d watch the movie. She challenged him. ‘When was the last time you saw a movie? In an actual theatre?’
He had to think. ‘Maybe when I was a teenager?’
Hope blinked at him. ‘That is tragic. I love movies. Especially on weekdays, when I’m off, on my own. It feels like playing hooky.’
‘You like escapism.’
Now Hope felt exposed. ‘That’s not a bad thing.’ Especially when your own life had left a lot to be desired in the escapist stakes.
Axel regarded her for a moment and then took her glass and put it down along with his and took her hand. ‘OK, then, come on.’
Hope gaped at him as he led them towards the doors leading to the screen. ‘Really? Can we get popcorn too?’
Axel slid her a glance and then rolled his eyes. Hope grinned at him.
* * *
‘Go on, admit it, you hated it.’
Axel looked at Hope where she sat in the back of the car. They’d just left the cinema.
‘Actually, no, I didn’t. I enjoyed it.’ And he had.
A lot more than he’d ever expected to. The high-octane action hadn’t left room for much thinking about anything else.
Except how it had felt to have Hope’s body leaning in towards his in the dark and how his thoughts had veered to seriously X-rated places like how it would have felt to have her on his lap where his erection had been straining for release.
An exquisite torture. Sexual frustration still bit at his insides like a hungry beast.
‘I loved it.’ Hope’s face was shining, eyes wide. ‘That car chase through the centre of Rome… It was so realistic.’
Something about Hope’s infectious enjoyment of such a relatively mundane thing was only serving to make Axel’s jagged edges feel even more jagged. ‘It was good.’
‘Well, thank you for indulging me. I really enjoyed it.’
‘You’re welcome.’ Had he ever had such a cheap date? Not that it had been a date, he had to remind himself. He had planned on going home and catching up on the work he’d pushed aside earlier, because of her.
The fact that Hope didn’t seem to be similarly distracted by him was making him feel off-centre. Things in his world were usually much more cut and dried. He didn’t find himself wondering about others and how they felt about him. Did she really not want him as he wanted her?
The boundaries he’d set around them were feeling like a provocation. Axel turned his head and stared out of his window broodingly and tried to avoid the pull of the woman on the other side of the car.
* * *
Hope was trying her best not to notice the crackling intensity coming from Axel. The way he’d just looked at her was seriously disconcerting. With such focus. As if he wanted to see everything she was hiding.
She really hoped he couldn’t see the vulnerability she felt because she was connecting to him in a way that wasn’t normal for her.
Usually she kept people at arm’s length out of that fear of being rejected if she let them in too close.
And until now, no one had ever tempted her to let her guard down.
But temptation was all around her. Specifically lounging like a coiled panther just a few inches away. Looking at her moments ago as if she were a juicy morsel.