Page 17 of Honor Bound

Roan’s gaze never wavered. “Will you tell me one of those stories?”

Julia smiled, a flicker of warmth stirring inside her. She rose, gesturing for him to follow. “Stand here,” she said, guiding him to the garden’s edge. “Hold your arm up like this.” She lifted her own arm to demonstrate, the faintest brush of her fingers against his as he mirrored her.

She pointed to three stars in a neat line, their light steady and bright against the darkness. “See those? They look like a nebula we have back home we call Orion’s Belt, they’re not, of course, but they look similar. My father told me the story of Orion as a cautionary tale for those not careful. Of course, most Greek mythology should come with a warning label,” she mused before dropping her voice into a more thematic tone, just the way her dad had when he had told her this story a lifetime ago.

“Long ago, there was a hunter named Orion. He was the handsomest of all men and he knew it. His father was the great god of the sea, Poseidon, and his mother was a beautiful human woman named Euryale, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. Orion had a love for the ladies. In fact, he fell in love with not one… but seven sisters. They were called Pleiades… the beautiful daughters of Atlas and Pleione. When he started pursuing them, the mighty king of the Gods, Zeus, scooped them up and placed them in the heavens out of reach from Orion yet tantalizingly visible. Now, Orion was not to be dissuaded from his pursuit and can still be seen today, chasing the sisters across the sky, but never quite able to catch them.”

“And your people believed this tale? Of a hunter who fell in love with seven women and a god who turned them into stars?” Roan asked with a skeptical expression, looking up at the three stars she had pointed out.

Julia’s eyes gleamed with the memory as she wove the tale. She laughed and shrugged. They walked back to the bench and sat down.

“A lot of people probably did when it was first told, not so many now,” she confessed. She looked up at the line of stars again. “I liked that story better than the second my father told me about Orion. Neither has a happy ending.”

Roan’s focus lingered on her, his own features unreadable. “And the real explanation?” he asked after a moment.

Julia’s lips quirked. “Three stars in a line, part of the Orion constellation. Likely formed billions of years ago from the same molecular cloud of gas and dust.”

He chuckled softly, a rare sound that tugged at something deep within her. “I think I would prefer the first version… if he had caught the seven women.”

Julia playfully elbowed him in the ribs. “Not all stories need happy endings.”

“Maybe not.” His voice was quiet now, thoughtful. “But some do.”

Something about the way he said it made her heart skip.

The stars burned brightly above them, impossibly vast, impossibly close. She turned, intending to say something—maybe to tease him, maybe just to break the silence—but then she saw the look in his eyes.

“I miss him… my father. He was a wonderful man and an amazing dad.”

“What happened to him?”

She heard the hesitant curiosity in his voice, as if he were steeling himself for her answer. A wistful smile curved her lips.

“He was killed in a helicopter accident. If he hadn’t been, he might have been the one sitting here, telling you this story instead of me. I was his replacement,” she confessed, turning to look up at the stars again as the memories of that horrible day rose in her mind.

“I would have liked to have met him, but I’m glad you are here,” he said.

The quiet declaration hung between them, rich with unspoken meaning. Julia’s pulse quickened as Roan gently touched her arm, turning her to face him. His expression was no longer guarded but searching. He leaned closer, closing the distance until their breaths mingled in the cool night air.

Her curiosity warred with her confusion, but she didn’t pull away. When he drew her into his arms, she let him. And when his lips met hers, warm and firm, she returned the kiss, a flicker of fire igniting in her chest.

For a moment, the stars above seemed close enough to touch.

CHAPTERFIVE

Roan didn’t know when he had crossed the line between curiosity and vulnerability, but the moment his lips touched Julia’s, he felt it. A storm of unfamiliar emotions surged through him, threatening to unravel the tight grip he kept on his control.

Her lips were soft yet unyielding. She demanded as much as she gave. There was no pretense; no deception unlike other women when he kissed them. They had always wanted something from him… power, credits, or favors, so they had yielded.

Her warmth drew him closer even as a voice in the back of his mind screamed at him to stop. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to feel anything, let alone this—this intensity, this connection that defied logic.

Except, hedidfeel something. And it wasn’t just desire—it was something more dangerous. Something he didn’t have a name for.

Control had always been his weapon, his armor, his lifeline. And yet, the moment he kissed her, it had unraveled, slipping through his fingers like sand.

He wasn’t a man who second-guessed himself. He didn’tdoubt. And yet, as he stared into Julia’s unguarded expression, he felt completely—utterly—off balance.

That terrified him.

---