The Redemption of Darius Sterne (7 page)

Andy knew it was a statement rather than a request. A fait accompli, as far as Darius was concerned.

And maybe it was?

That less than subtle threat to Colin's job aside, didn't Andy
want
to accept Darius's invitation? Hadn't the curiosity she felt, for and about him, only increased after the passionate kiss they had just shared? So much so that Andy now
wanted
to see him again on Saturday evening?

The ache of her breasts and the dampness between her thighs said that she did. Even so...

‘Don't think, just because I'm agreeing to go with you to this dinner on Saturday, that I'll allow you to blackmail me into doing anything else,' she warned challengingly. ‘I love my brother-in-law dearly, but this is most definitely a one-off thing!'

Darius raised teasing brows. ‘Maybe I won't need to use blackmail in order to get you to do anything else?'

Andy's lips thinned at his mockery.

‘I'm afraid you'll never know—because I have no intention of seeing you again after Saturday night,' she countered with insincere sweetness.

Only to then catch her breath in her throat as Darius laughed. It was a slightly gruff sound, as if he really were out of practice. At the same time as he looked just as good as Andy had suspected he might...

His eyes glowed a deep, molten gold, laughter lines fanning out from beside them, those attractive grooves in the hardness of his cheeks making another appearance, his teeth very white and straight against those chiselled lips.

Darius was
breathtaking
when he laughed.

It was a laughter that faded, all too quickly for Andy's liking, to a derisive smile that became mocking. ‘Maybe after Saturday night I won't need to blackmail you into seeing me again.'

‘And maybe after Saturday night you won't
want
to see me again!' Andy ignored the innuendo as she answered him challengingly.

Darius became very still as he saw as well as heard that challenge, in the deep green of Miranda's eyes and her defiant stance. ‘I would advise that you don't deliberately do or say anything to embarrass me on Saturday evening.'

She raised innocent brows. ‘I don't know you well enough to know what would embarrass you!'

‘I can't think of anything offhand,' Darius drawled dismissively.

‘That's what I thought,' she came back pertly. ‘I live in the apartment above here. But then you already know that, don't you?' she stated impatiently as he raised a knowing eyebrow. ‘Okay. Fine. Seven-thirty on Saturday evening.'

Darius might not have experienced it for a long, long time—if at all!—but he nevertheless knew when he was being dismissed.

Still, it was a dismissal he was prepared to allow for the moment, when he knew that staying here any longer would put him in serious jeopardy of forgetting his earlier decision to wait until Saturday before making love to Miranda.

‘Saturday.' He lightly cupped her cheek as he bent and brushed a light kiss across her slightly parted lips. ‘I'm looking forward to it already,' he murmured as he gazed down at her intently.

‘I'm not!' Green eyes returned that gaze defiantly.

Darius found himself laughing again as he straightened before turning to leave. ‘Don't forget to lock up after me,' he instructed as he reached the doorway, closing the door quietly behind him as he left.

He couldn't remember the last time a woman had made him laugh, let alone at the same time as his body was hard and throbbing with the desire to make love to her.

He couldn't remember the last time a woman had made him laugh at all.

In truth, he couldn't remember the last time he had genuinely laughed at anything...

CHAPTER FOUR

‘J
UST
SMILE
AND
leave the talking to me,' Darius advised Andy softly on Saturday evening as the two of them moved steadily down the greeting line with the other glamorously clothed and bejewelled guests arriving at the London Midas Hotel for the charity dinner.

‘Is that all your women are usually required to do?' Andy responded with brittle sweetness.

He raised dark brows. ‘I'm going to ignore that remark, and put it down to nervousness on your part.'

Andy
was
nervous. And that nervousness was increasing the closer they came to where Darius's mother and stepfather, and presumably other members of the charity's committee, were personally greeting all the guests as they arrived.

She had spent most of the last forty-eight hours having second, third and
fourth
thoughts about the wisdom of seeing Darius again, when she so obviously had such a visceral response to him.

It was an uncharacteristic physical response, to any man, let alone one as dangerous as she considered Darius to be.

And considering her lack of experience in regard to men, she should probably have just dipped her toes gently in the water first, rather than jumping straight into the shark tank.

Especially when Darius was looking so tall, dark, and elegantly intimidating this evening, in his perfectly tailored black dinner jacket.

So much so that he had taken Andy's breath away when she'd opened the door of her apartment to him earlier.

Once again she had forgotten, or tried to forget in the last couple of days, just how
immediate
he was; so tall that he towered over her, his shoulders so broad they almost filled the doorway, his hair shorter than when she had last seen him, but still as tousled, as if he had been running his hands through it earlier.

Perhaps an indication that he was as nervous about seeing her again this evening as she was about seeing him?

Although Andy somehow doubted that!

Darius was always supremely confident, of himself, and other people's reaction to him.

Andy had hoped she hadn't given any indication of her nervousness earlier at her apartment as she'd calmly collected her jacket and clutch bag before following him outside, her fingers shaking slightly as she locked the door behind her.

The luxury car parked outside was a bit of a shock, but Andy felt she had behaved with poise when Darius had opened the door for her to get in before closing the door and moving round the car to sit behind the wheel.

She had also been quite proud of the fact that she had managed to keep up a light, impersonal conversation on the drive to the hotel. Despite the fact that she was so totally aware of the man seated beside her; of the lean strength of Darius's body, and the heady smell of healthy male and a lemon-based cologne.

But now that she was actually at the hotel where the charity dinner was being held, surrounded by the laughing and chattering rich and the famous, Andy knew she should have given more thought to how she was going to feel when she got here, rather than just focusing on seeing and being with Darius again,

Once upon a time she had occasionally stepped onto the edge of this glamorous world, when she had attended several of the after-gala performances of the ballet company. But she'd had a role on those occasions. A purpose. She had been an ambassador for the ballet company, rather than herself.

Here and now, Andy was merely an adjunct of Darius Sterne, and as such she was very aware of the curious glances that had come their way since they first entered the hotel together.

As aware as she was of the hand that Darius had placed possessively against her spine as they'd entered the hotel.

She was so aware that she was now able to feel the warmth of Darius's splayed fingers through the thin material of her black gown.

Andy had debated long and hard about what to wear this evening, and had gone through the contents of her wardrobe several times. She'd finally decided on a simple long black Grecian-style gown she had owned before the accident, but it was so classical in style it was dateless.

The gown left her arms and one of her shoulders bare, falling smoothly all the way to her ankles, the slit on the right side only going as far as her knee, and ensuring that the scars on her thigh wouldn't be visible even when she sat down. A requirement of all the clothes Andy had worn since the accident.

In keeping with the style of the gown, she had secured her hair loosely on her crown, leaving soft curls to cascade down onto her nape. Her make-up was light, just some dark shadow and mascara, and a deep peach lip gloss.

Andy had felt pleased with her appearance when she'd studied her reflection in the mirror before Darius arrived at her apartment. Here, amongst all these glamorous and beautiful women—several of whom were eyeing Darius as if they would like to devour him rather than the forthcoming dinner!—she felt less confident.

‘I wouldn't have needed to
be
nervous at all if you hadn't used emotional blackmail to force me into coming here with you.' Andy made her point cuttingly.

Darius gave a humourless smile. ‘Are you going to keep throwing that in my face all evening?'

‘You can depend on it!' Her eyes flashed.

He gave an unconcerned shrug. ‘I use whatever means I deem necessary at the time.'

‘In order to get your own way.'

‘Yes,' he confirmed unapologetically.

‘Will your brother be here too this evening?' Andy decided to change the subject before the two of them ended up having a heated argument in front of all the other guests! Well, it would be heated on her part. Darius gave the impression that not too much penetrated that cool shield he kept about his emotions.

A façade that was instantly shattered as Darius looked down at her between narrowed lids. ‘Why?'

‘No particular reason.' She frowned at his sudden aggression. ‘I was just changing the conversation to something less controversial.'

And Darius was
just
behaving like a jealous fool, he realised belatedly. Miranda had asked a perfectly polite question about his brother, and he had reacted like a Neanderthal.

Maybe it was the fact that she looked so stunningly beautiful tonight. Her figure-hugging gown was simply cut in comparison with the evening gowns worn by the other women present this evening, and styled in such a way that Darius could see she wasn't wearing a bra. She wore no jewellery at all, and very little make-up. The whole effect gave her the elegance of a swan in a roomful of peacocks.

Several male heads had turned Miranda's way when they'd entered the hotel together. Several of those men had continued to watch her covetously, until Darius had given each and every one of them a challenging glare.

To Miranda's credit she seemed totally unaware of that male interest.

As she seemed totally unaware of her own beauty.

Which was a novelty in itself.

Darius had never yet met a beautiful woman who wasn't totally aware of her own attractiveness, and what it could get her.

‘I'm sure Xander will already be in the room somewhere,' he confirmed abruptly. ‘Unlike me, he tries to cater to my mother's dislike of tardiness.'

Miranda gazed up at him curiously. ‘One day you really will have to tell me what the problem is between you and your mother—' She stopped abruptly, a blush colouring her cheeks, because she had realised as soon as she said it that her mention of ‘one day' implied she thought the two of them would be meeting again after this evening.

Darius smiled humourlessly. ‘Oh, I really won't, angel,' he drawled dismissively.

‘No. Well. Perhaps not,' Andy accepted awkwardly, the warmth having deepened in her cheeks at Darius's endearment. Unless he called all of his women
angel
? It would certainly save him any embarrassment if he forgot which woman he was spending the evening or night with.

Darius eyed her curiously. ‘Did you tell your sister and brother-in-law that you were coming out with me this evening? Obviously not,' he drawled dryly as a guilty blush deepened the colour in Andy's cheeks.

‘I couldn't think of an acceptable way to explain
why
the two of us had even met again, let alone that we were going out together,' she answered impatiently.

If she had even told Kim that Darius had visited her at her dance studio on Thursday, then heZr sister would have launched into yet another major big-sister lecture.

If Kim knew Darius had actually blackmailed Andy into going out with him this evening, and used Colin's continued employment for Midas Enterprises as leverage, then Andy had absolutely no doubts her sister wouldn't have hesitated in stating that Darius could do whatever the hell he pleased in that regard, because Andy wasn't going anywhere with him. Tonight or ever!

That was the excuse Andy gave herself for remaining silent on the subject, at least.

‘You certainly wouldn't have come out of that explanation in a very good light,' Andy assured Darius.

He raised dark brows. ‘And do you somehow have the mistaken idea that would actually have bothered me?'

‘Obviously not,' she snapped her impatience. Honestly, what was wrong with this man? She had done as he'd asked, and come out to this dinner with him, so why was he now being so aggressive? ‘Do you usually bring a date to one of these dinners?' She decided to attack rather than keep being put on the defensive. As she so often was where Darius was concerned.

But also because she knew, in her heart of hearts, that Kim would have been right to warn her off the man.

Being here with Darius
was
dangerous.
He
was dangerous to the ordered life Andy had painstakingly Zcarved out for herself these past four years.

Darius grimaced at her question. ‘Never.'

Her eyes widened. ‘Seriously?'

He gave a half-smile. ‘Seriously.'

Oh, wonderful! Not only was she here with the most impressively handsome man in the room, and about to be introduced to his parents, but now she learnt that Darius usually attended these functions alone.

No wonder so many of the other guests, most especially the women, had stared at the two of them when they arrived. And were still staring at them.

Andy eyed him impatiently. ‘Why now?'

‘Wrong question, Miranda,' Darius bent to murmur huskily against her ear as they approached the front of the line. ‘The question should have been, Why
you
? Not, “Why now?”' he supplied huskily as Andy gave him a questioning glance.

Indeed, why her? Andy wondered dazedly—a question she was prevented from asking out loud as they finally stepped forward to be greeted by his parents.

‘Miranda, Catherine and Charles Latimer,' Darius introduced with terse economy. ‘Mother, Charles, this is Miranda Jacobs.' The last was accompanied by a challenging look at the older couple.

Catherine seemed momentarily disconcerted as her frowning gaze moved quickly to Miranda and then back at Darius. ‘I wasn't aware you had purchased a second ticket for this evening.'

He raised dark, challenging brows. ‘And I wasn't aware I needed your permission to do so.'

‘Lovely to meet you, my dear.' Charles Latimer stepped into the awkward breach between mother and son, as if it was a habit of long standing. He was a white-haired and still handsome man. ‘And so good of you to come along and support such a worthwhile charity.'

‘Oh. Yes. Very kind of you.' Catherine belatedly remembered her manners, her smile tense as she offered her hand.

It was impossible for Andy not to be aware of the tension between mother and son. A tension that now seemed to include her.

‘Mrs Latimer,' she returned lightly as the two women briefly shook hands. ‘I hope it's a successful evening for you.'

‘I hope so too.' Up close, it was impossible to miss the fine lines beside Catherine Latimer's eyes and mouth, as indication of her age, but she was nevertheless still a very beautiful woman, very slender and chic in her black designer-label evening gown; she certainly didn't look old enough to be the mother of thirty-something twins.

‘Is Xander here?' Darius enquired abruptly.

‘Not yet.' Catherine Latimer frowned. ‘It's most unlike him to be late, I do hope nothing has happened to him,' she added with concern.

Darius's mouth twisted derisively. ‘He's a big boy now, Mother. I'm sure he'll find his way here eventually.' He didn't wait for a response from either of the older couple, his expression grim as he placed a hand beneath Andy's elbow before turning her and walking away and into the crowd.

‘That was incredibly rude of you,' Andy muttered once they were out of earshot of the older couple.

Darius gave another unconcerned shrug. ‘I thought you would have realised by now; I'm an incredibly rude man.'

No, actually, he wasn't.

Arrogant? Yes. Overbearing? Certainly. Blunt? Disconcertingly so. Ruthless, even—Darius's threats regarding Colin's job in order to force Andy into coming here with him this evening certainly came under the latter category! But Andy had never thought of Darius as being particularly rude.

Until he spoke of or to his mother.

There was definitely a story there. One which Darius had made it clear he had no intention of confiding in Andy. Because he wasn't a man who confided in anyone except perhaps his twin brother? Andy recalled that the brothers had arrived at the restaurant together last week, and they had been in business together for twelve years, so it was probably safe to assume they at least liked each other and got along.

‘Is there some reason why your mother should be worried about Xander's lateness?' she prompted slowly.

Darius looked down at her coolly. ‘None at all—apart from the fact that she's overprotective of him to the point of obsession.'