My Forbidden Step-Uncle

THE AFFAIR III: The Devil You Know

|CIRCE|

The week slipped by in a blur of classes, coffee, and nerves I pretended not to have. Before I knew it, my mother’s engagement party arrived.

The event was held at Delson’s estate. The place is so grand it felt more like a luxury hotel than a home.

I’d expected to hate it. To feel out of place.

But surprisingly, I didn’t.

Delson was… good. Too good, almost. Warm and charming, he treated me like family without forcing it. And my mother, I hadn’t seen her glow like this in years. Watching her laugh, watching the softness in her eyes when he looked at her… it dulled my cynicism.

Maybe this new life wouldn’t be so bad after all.

I was standing by the champagne fountain, chatting with one of my mother’s friends, when Delson’s excited voice cut through the polite chatter.

“Circe, darling! There you are. There’s someone very important I want you to meet.”

I smiled and excused myself, walking toward where Delson stood with his arm around my mother. Next to them stood a man, back turned, tall and poised in a black suit that fit him too well. His stance struck me as familiar, composed and commanding attention without trying.

“Circe, this is my brother.” Delson beamed with pride. “He’s been handling our international branches for the past five years, but he’s finally back for good. I’m so happy for you two to finally meet.”

The man turned and the world stopped.

The glass slipped from my hand and shattered against the floor into a humiliating splash of champagne and crystal.

Those eyes. Those piercing blue eyes. That jaw. That face.

Dax.

The stranger from the club. The man who’d pinned me against cheap motel walls and left before sunrise. The man whose cufflink still sat in my purse, tucked beside his folded note.

Oh, hell no.

The silence that fell wasn’t from the party. The soft jazz still played. Laughter still rippled through the guests. No, the silence crushed inward, burrowing deep inside me. In the span of a single heartbeat, every piece of my careful composure lay in ruins.

For a terrifying second, I thought I’d be sick right there on Delson’s pristine floor.

“Circe, sweetie, are you alright?” My mother’s voice cut through the fog. She hurried toward me, heels clicking over spilled champagne and broken glass.

“You’ve gone pale. Did you hurt yourself?”

I forced my mouth to move, dredging up words from my paralyzed tongue.

“I—I’m fine.” The lie scraped past my lips. “Just a little clumsy. I’m sorry.”

I stepped back from the mess, my eyes flicking to Dax. His expression had settled into an unsettling, polite void as if this were the first time we’d met. While I stood here, wrecked and panicking.

Act normal. Act normal. Act—

Delson appeared at my other side, his kind face etched with worry.

“Don’t worry about the glass, Circe. No harm done, darling. We’ll have it cleaned up in a second.”

He signaled to a server, who hurried over with a cloth.

“Anyway, as I was saying.” Delson’s smile returned. “I’d like you to meet my brother, Daxius Trevino. Dax, this is Martha’s daughter, Circe. The one I’ve been telling you about.”

Dax extended his hand.

Confident and poised. And behind those predatory blue eyes, presents a silent challenge daring me to fall apart.

My throat went dry, staring at him while his hand waited. I couldn’t refuse without drawing attention.

So I placed mine in his.

The moment our skin touched, my pulse roared, betraying me. My body remembered everything, every inch of him pressed against me in that motel room, every growled word, every bruising kiss.

“A pleasure to finally meet you, Circe.”

His voice resonated under my skin. The exact same voice that had growled into my ear, “Spread your legs wider, baby,” less than a week ago.

“Delson has told me a lot about you.”

“It’s nice meeting you too, Mr. Trevino.” The title felt ridiculously foreign on my tongue.

He tilted his head slightly, his thumb brushing just once against my knuckles before releasing me.

“Please.” Amusement curled at the edges of his mouth. “Call me Dax.”

My mother smiled approvingly and turned to Delson, placing her palm against his chest.

“Sweetheart, why don’t we check with the caterers? Let them get to know each other.” She turned to me, smiling warmly, oblivious to the havoc raging inside me. “Circe, be nice to Dax. He’s a wonderful gentleman.”

And just like that, they were gone. Leaving me face-to-face with the man I’d sworn I’d never see again.

“Oh, fuck.” The whisper tore from me as soon as my mother was out of earshot. “You have got to be f*****g kidding me.”

“Tempting, but your mother is thirty feet away, and we’re in a crowded room.” His tone carried a warning edge. “But let’s save the praise for when we’re alone. Now take a deep breath, and for God’s sake keep your voice down before I’m forced to remind you where else I’ve heard you say that.”

Forced to remind me?

A hot flush of pure fury warred with a traitorous thrill that snaked down my spine. He was threatening me with the memory of our own pleasure, using it as a weapon to force my compliance.

And the worst part?

It was working. My body remembered what my mind screamed to forget.

I dragged in a shaky breath not because he told me to, but to keep myself from lashing out.

“Don’t you dare.” I locked my gaze with his. “You don’t have the audacity to use that against me.”

His expression barely shifted, just the faintest curve of amusement at his mouth.

“You’re making a scene.”

To hell with keeping my temper.

My hand shot out, fingers clamping like iron around his wrist. I yanked him toward a quieter corner, away from the crowd.

“You don’t want me to make a scene? Seriously?” My voice shook. “You’re my stepfather’s brother. You’re going to be my uncle, for God’s sake. You left me in a motel with a thank-you note and a sore conscience, and now you want me to just bottle it up?”

He leaned in, close enough that his breath grazed my cheek.

“Why? What are you going to do about it?” His eyes glinted with lazy amusement, sharp as a blade. “Draw attention? We don’t want that. Besides, it’s done. What happened already happened. You can’t rewrite it, Circe.”

A cold, disbelieving laugh escaped me. I pressed my palms to my face, fighting for control, which was already spinning wildly.

“Oh, God.” My pulse stuttered, fury and something far more dangerous tangling beneath my skin. “You’re disgusting.”

“Maybe.” He shrugged, cool as if the situation didn’t faze him at all. “But you didn’t seem to mind how disgusting I was while you were screaming my name.”

“It was a mistake.” My chest tightened. “I didn’t f*****g know who you were.”

“Was it?” His gaze sharpened knowingly. “You sounded the same then as you do now. Breathless.”

I recoiled, hating that he was right about any part of me.

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Oh, I don’t have to.” His lips curved. “Fate already did that for me.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It has a twisted sense of humor.” His gaze swept over me slowly, and I hated the way my skin burned under it. “You don’t strike me as someone who makes mistakes easily, Circe. Especially not ones that made you tremble. Yes, it was one night. But I don’t think it was a mistake.”

Heat climbed up my neck, furious and maddeningly unwanted.

We stared at each other. Neither backing down. Both too stubborn and too proud to yield.

I was just about to tell him to stay the hell away from me when Delson’s voice cut through the air, slicing the tension clean in half.

“Everything alright over here?”

“Perfect.” Dax answered before I could speak, smiling warmly like a picture of charm. “Just getting to know my niece-to-be.”