She waited, one eyebrow elevated.

Theos mou, did she know how alluring she was, with her blue eyes daring me even as her agitated breathing announced that she wasn’t unaffected by this insane chemistry?

‘I want you, Calypso. And unless I’m wildly off-base you want me too.’

‘That’s it? Surely you have better negotiating skills than that, Axios?’ she taunted.

The breathless sound of my name on her lips escalated the heat pounding through my bloodstream. I wanted to kiss her. To prove with deeds instead of words how combustible this thing between us was.

‘You’re not the same woman I left on Agistros last year. I see that now.’

More than that, she had the power to walk away again if she chose.

The strange sensation of being on slippery ground forced me into further speech, even as I questioned the wisdom of the route I was taking.

‘Come to my bed—not because of our agreement or because of your ultimatum. Do it because you want to. Because we can make each other feel things we’ve never experienced before.’

Her lips parted in a soft gasp. ‘You... I do that to you?’

I couldn’t help the hoarse laughter that was ejected from my throat. I dropped her wrist and removed myself several mind-clearing paces away.

‘Barely two hours ago, I was close to saying to hell with propriety and taking you on that balcony. What do you think?’

Despite the heat flaming up her face her shoulders went back, accepting her power over me. It was all I could do to remain standing where I was and not stride across the room to demonstrate just how much the hunger inside me lashed through her too.

But this was too important.

I wasn’t an animal, and she needed to grant me clear acknowledgement of her desire before it would work. But it was going to work. There were no viable alternatives to allay this...this insane craving inside me save for the highly unsatisfactory avenue of self-pleasure, which I wasn’t willing to consider any more.

‘I’m a man with healthy appetites, Calypso. And I haven’t had sex since our wedding night. Do you know that?’

She gave another gasp, this time a heated one that went straight to my groin. She backed against the door, as if putting distance between herself and the live wire of desire lashing us would work.

Eyes wide, she lifted her chin in further challenge. ‘How do I know that’s true?’

Frustration threatened to erupt. I tamped it down. ‘I don’t make a habit of lying, yineka mou. Regardless of how we came together, I took a vow I intend to honour until I’m no longer bound by it. But if you don’t believe me I can give you the number of a top investigator and you can discover the truth for yourself.’

‘Even if I believe you, maybe you didn’t seek another woman’s bed because you didn’t want to jeopardise your precious deal.’

She was really good at pushing my buttons. And the curious thing was that I preferred this version of Calypso to the one who’d glided down the aisle a little over a year ago.