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From One Night to Wife
Rachael Thomas


A souvenir from her Greek affair!Three months ago, journalist Serena James had her heart broken by a man she'll never forget, especially not the fury in his eyes the night they parted. Now she's back in Santorini to tell him that their summer fling had unexpected repercussions…Mogul Nikos Petrakis is on the verge of a deal that will make him even more powerful. He doesn't need any distraction–especially not a sexy redhead whose curves beg to be touched! But now that she's carrying his heir, Nikos is forced to make a decision.It's time to make Serena his wife!When one night…leads to pregnancy!









‘If there are consequences of what has just happened, you will tell me.’


He’d put stern emphasis on those last words, and he could still see Serena’s face paling beneath his hard gaze. Nikos had spoken in an uncompromising tone, but with his past snapping at his heels he’d been unable to think rationally, furious that passion had got the better of him, making him break his cardinal rule of always being in control. He couldn’t blame her for running from him that night. He’d been furious at her—but mostly at himself.

Since the day she’d left he’d yearned for her, wanted her in his arms at night, but he’d kept firm to the resolute silence which existed between them. As weeks had turned to months he’d hoped his fears of consequences of their night on the beach were unfounded.

Now, three months after that heated night, she was back. His heart slammed harder in his chest at the implications of her visit. She might have left it too long to tell him, and she almost certainly had ulterior motives, but there was only one reason she was back and he had to face the fact.

She was carrying his child.




One Night With Consequences (#ulink_6d96c14e-47ab-525a-8c64-8ee673e415b1)


When one night…leads to pregnancy!

When succumbing to a night of unbridled desire it’s impossible to think past the morning after!

But, with the sheets barely settled, that little blue line appears on the pregnancy test and it doesn’t take long to realise that one night of white-hot passion has turned into a lifetime of consequences!

Only one question remains:

How do you tell a man you’ve just met that you’re about to share more than just his bed?

Find out in:

Nine Months to Redeem Him by Jennie Lucas January 2015

Prince Nadir’s Secret Heir by Michelle Conder March 2015

Carrying the Greek’s Heir by Sharon Kendrick April 2015

Married for Amari’s Heir by Maisey Yates July 2015

Her Nine Month Confession by Kim Lawrence September 2015

More stories in the One Night With Consequences series can be found at www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


From One Night

to Wife

Rachael Thomas






www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


RACHAEL THOMAS has always loved reading romance and is thrilled to be a Modern™ Romance author. She lives and works on a farm in Wales—a far cry from the glamour of a Modern story—but that makes slipping into her characters’ world all the more appealing. When she’s not writing or working on the farm she enjoys photography and visiting historic castles and grand houses.

Visit her at rachaelthomas.co.uk (http://rachaelthomas.co.uk).


For my brilliantly supportive writing friend, Melissa Morgan, who was with me to share those first amazing and exciting moments when my dream of publication came true.


Contents

Cover (#u2ea43577-60b1-50bb-a60d-74a0c9044d52)

Introduction (#ua1d69df9-ffd3-56a2-a209-8813e493a704)

One Night With Consequences (#ucb0f4e59-8c58-53e5-8d38-27106241f698)

Title Page (#ub69a1102-66ca-56f4-b122-8ff2028b6cff)

About the Author (#u1279d547-fdd8-5fa6-b704-0c64f6b7eb61)

Dedication (#u09d88135-8b93-51f2-8b59-e2d327610560)

CHAPTER ONE (#u44fd5a6b-7077-56af-abb9-235a34ddd70a)

CHAPTER TWO (#u7aff6b63-b2de-5c23-9a1b-1e3a5ab6bfa9)

CHAPTER THREE (#u770fd85c-0f0f-5853-9a1e-34cc5e9b78b9)

CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)


CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_c56acfef-6685-5ea9-be62-8ee34d2e9a59)

NIKOS LAZARO PETRAKIS stood and glared out at the sparkling sea beyond the offices of Xanthippe Shipping, his self-built empire, but he didn’t see any of it. The words he’d just read in a text burned into his mind. And memories of the only woman who had stirred longings for things he could never allow himself to want set his body alight.

We need to talk. Meet me on the beach tonight. Serena.

Serena James had almost got through his defensive wall, affecting him far more than he cared to admit. He’d been glad when the excuse to banish her from his life had presented itself. He hadn’t heard from her since that night three months ago. She’d walked away from him without looking back, rousing memories he’d rather have forgotten, but her silence since had been a welcome relief.

He pressed his eyes shut against the image of Serena. She had been hard to forget and, judging by the way his mind raced now, he still hadn’t achieved that aim. For weeks his body had longed for hers. He’d been able to see her, smell her and feel her warmth if he closed his eyes, letting his thoughts slip back. But he’d held firm to his resolution of no commitments. He’d pushed her away emotionally and physically, but hadn’t been able to sever the thread of attraction completely. It remained like a web spun in the early dawn, keeping them inextricably linked.

On his return to Athens he’d thrown himself fiercely into his work and had gone after the cruise company Adonia with a ruthlessness that had made even his PA look at him in question.

He clenched his jaw against the heated memories of his time with Serena, knowing there could only be one reason for her return to Santorini, the island he’d grown up on. His eyes snapped open and he inhaled deeply. There could be no other explanation.

During the summer she had arrived on the island to research her next article, and the passionate romance they’d shared had culminated in reckless and unprotected sex on the beach. Were there now life-changing repercussions? Consequences he hadn’t planned on and most definitely didn’t want?

Alarm bells began to ring. Why had she had waited so long? Had she done as he’d feared and used her journalistic background and connections to find out more about him? Anger fizzed through him as he stared broodily at the view. Did Serena know he wasn’t the fisherman he’d led her to believe he was simply because it had been easier that way?

Her job as a travel writer wasn’t in the league of working for the national tabloids, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t use a story if it presented itself. He’d been extra-careful that she didn’t find out who he really was, having had enough of press speculation over his business dealings, as well as over his constant succession of female companions.

If he’d known Serena’s profession before their first amazing night together he might have been able to walk away, instead of being snared by her innocence and drawn in too deep towards something he’d always resisted.

To his sceptical mind there was only one reason she was here on the island, demanding to see him instead of simply calling. After believing she was different from all the other women he’d dated, she’d proved him wrong. She was here to use his wealth in order to secure her future and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. His deal for Adonia Cruise Liners could be lost if her story got out.

He swore aggressively, but the words did not ease the suspicion that filled him. Irritated, he marched from the windows to his desk, stabbing at the buttons on the phone. The calm enquiry of his PA cut through the rage of his emotions and he forced them back under control. How could Serena ruffle his equanimity so spectacularly even when she wasn’t in his company?

‘Organise my plane. I need to go to Santorini this afternoon.’

The Greek words were fluid and assertive as control flooded through him once more, but his anger towards Serena and the situation didn’t abate. Suspicion surfaced again. Why had she chosen now to come back? What did she want?

Did she know he was in the final and delicate negotiation stages of acquiring a cruise company? Expanding his shipping beyond freight and into the world of luxury cruises? It would make him CEO of the biggest shipping company in Greece. He didn’t need the added complications she might bring with her. Not now—not ever.

Despite the looming deal, his mind was drawn to back to Serena: vivacious, happy and utterly gorgeous. She’d made him want things he couldn’t have. The fact that no other man had ever made love to her—that she’d given him her virginity—had complicated the issue, and he’d forced himself to say goodbye, turning his back on what they’d briefly shared. Because of his past it was impossible to make an emotional commitment—even if he wanted to. Never again would he be that vulnerable.

Nikos took a deep breath and strode to the window, watching as a large cruise liner docked with an ease belying its size. Beyond that several container ships waited on the horizon, but the familiar sense of fulfilment from seeing the reality of his hard work and dreams out at sea didn’t come. Nothing before had ever taken the edge off standing at his window and looking at all he’d achieved, but right now his mind was elsewhere, unable to focus on anything other than the memory of the slender redhead who for two weeks had driven him wild with desire.

He could still see her pale face, and the green eyes that had always sparkled with life like the sea beneath the dazzling sun. Her silky hair, as red as autumn leaves, had begged his fingers to slide through it. Each smile had invited his kisses so tantalisingly.

The last words he’d said to her forged forward in his memory—as did the image of her standing on the beach, dusting sand from her clothes, her face flushed from the passion that had engulfed them so spectacularly that evening. He should have had more control, more restraint, but she’d made that impossible. Just holding her in his arms, feeling her curves against his body and her soft lips beneath his, had been too much temptation.

Had that been what she’d intended? He balled his hands into tight fists of frustration, hearing again his words that night, harsh and unyielding, breathing life into the worst scenario as he’d made his position clear.

‘If there are consequences of what has just happened you will tell me.’

He’d put stern emphasis on those last words and could still see her face paling beneath his hard gaze. As she’d looked up at him the desire burning in her eyes had slipped away faster than the setting sun. He’d spoken in a stern and uncompromising tone, but with his past snapping at his heels he’d been unable to think rationally, furious that passion had got the better of him, making him break his cardinal rule of always being in control.

He couldn’t blame her for running from him that night. He’d been furious at her—but mostly at himself.

Since the day she’d left he’d yearned for her, wanted her in his arms at night, but he had held firm to the resolute silence that had existed between them. As weeks had turned to months he’d hoped his fear of consequences of their night on the beach was unfounded.

Now, three months after that heated night under the stars, she was back. His heart slammed harder in his chest at the implications of her visit. She might have left it too long to tell him, and almost certainly had ulterior motives, but there was only one reason she was back and he had to face the fact.

She was carrying his child.

* * *

Serena’s heart thumped hard as she waited on the beach, with the day ebbing faster than the tide. Where was Nikos? Would he come?

The rhythmic rush of the waves over the sand did little to calm her.

During her flight from London thoughts of the amazing two weeks they’d spent together had been overshadowed by her accidental discovery of Nikos’s true identity only minutes before she’d boarded the plane. The man she’d fallen in love with was far from the humble fisherman he’d described himself as being all those months ago. She’d been sitting in the departure lounge and Nikos’s image had flashed across the news app on her phone, with a story speculating on the Greek shipping billionaire’s involvement in an aggressive takeover bid.

Nikos was a shipping billionaire?

She’d chosen to fly out to Santorini believing that he had very little money, but that he at least deserved to be given her news in person. Her shocking discovery, moments before she’d boarded her flight, had changed everything. Angry and betrayed, all she wanted now was to upset Nikos’s profitable little world and turn it upside down—just as he’d done hers.

As she stood on the beach the bravado she’d built up during the flight threatened to desert her. He would know exactly why she was here, but it didn’t make what she had to tell him any easier—whoever he was. He didn’t want ‘consequences’, as he had so nicely put it, and of that she was certain.

The tiny stirrings of hope she’d allowed to grow...that they might have a future together...had been crushed completely. A man like Nikos—a billionaire—would most certainly wash his hands of her.

Instinctively she placed her palm protectively over her stomach and the new life within. What if Nikos didn’t come? She’d wanted him to acknowledge that their passionate holiday affair had resulted in pregnancy. Now she wasn’t so sure. Did she want a man like that in her life? In her child’s life?

How could he have deceived her? She despised liars, having lived in the shadow of lies all her life.

She scoured her memory for that last night on the island. The gentle, loving fisherman she’d fallen in love with had changed drastically, showing a new and unfamiliar side, when he’d realised what might come of their spontaneous lovemaking.

It should have been just a goodbye kiss—one she could keep in her memory when she’d returned to her life in England. She’d known he didn’t want more, and had accepted it, wanting to experience love for the first time in the arms of a man who demanded nothing—the man she loved. But they’d both lost control as passion had claimed them, neither caring about anything other than the desire that had raged between them like wildfire, engulfing everything in its path.

A flurry of panic rose up again. She hadn’t told anyone yet—not even her family. She couldn’t bear to see their reactions, knowing she’d let them down. Her sister knew of her brief romance with Nikos, but she hadn’t found the courage to tell her about the baby—not now, with all of Sally’s IVF problems.

‘Serena.’

She closed her eyes as she heard his voice behind her, deep and heavily accented. She couldn’t turn yet. The wretchedness she felt would surely be in her eyes. Either that or her love for him might still shine through, and that was something she just couldn’t let him see. Not after the way he’d cut her out of his life because of a mistake in the making, made by both of them.

A mistake. She hated that word. She’d lived with it hanging over her all her life. She was one of those—a mistake that had taken her parents by surprise. Forcing them to reconcile their differences and remain married.

‘Serena,’ he said again, and touched her arm.

She couldn’t avoid the moment any longer. Her breath caught in her throat and somersaulting butterflies took flight in her stomach.

She was more nervous than she’d ever been in her life as she turned to face him, desperate to keep her voice calm. ‘I had almost given up on you.’

Was that wobbly whisper really her voice? She must stay strong. Her unbalanced emotions couldn’t get the better of her—not now. But as she moved back from his touch she questioned if she could go through with this. Was she doing the right thing? Should she even have come here?

Nikos moved closer to her, forcing her to look up at him, and when she did she could hardly suppress a gasp of surprise. His blue eyes, so uncharacteristic for a Greek man, weren’t the colour of a summer sky, as she remembered them, but icy cold. He’d changed. This was a very different man from the one she’d fallen in love with. And it wasn’t only the smart clothes he now wore instead of the tatty work jeans she’d always seen him in.

He was still tall, dark haired, with angled features, but each angle looked harsher, and his lips were set in a don’t-mess-with-me line of rigidness.

‘Sorry I had business to attend to.’

‘You look...’ She paused as she struggled to find the right word, completely taken aback by his unyielding aura. His deceit, and the enormity of what she was about to announce made small talk almost impossible. The next few minutes would affect the rest of her life and she almost faltered, but bravely pushed on. ‘You look very smart—very much the businessman.’

His brows lifted in surprise and she thought she saw a hint of anger in the blue depths of his eyes. There was hardly a trace of the man she’d laughed and loved with for the duration of her holiday three months ago—the man she had given much more than just her heart to. This was the real Nikos.

‘I may have been brought up a simple fisherman, but that doesn’t mean I have to stay that way.’

The sharpness of his words made her blink, and again she took a step backwards, the sand shifting beneath her feet. She glanced around the now deserted beach in a desperate attempt to avoid that stern glare.

He wasn’t making it easy for her. It was obvious from his irritation that he knew why she was here—why she’d sought him out after he’d so cruelly ended their two weeks of romance. He was toying with her, forcing her to tell him.

‘Do you know why I’m here?’

She hated the way her words trembled, and resisted the urge to hug her arms about herself in an attempt to protect herself from his anger. Whatever else she did, she had to remain strong.

He didn’t take his gaze from her face. She stood firm, refusing to be intimidated as his cold words rose above the rush of the waves.

‘You should have done this about two months ago.’

Each matter-of-fact word lacerated her heart, almost annihilating the love for him she’d carried in her heart since she’d left the island. Each carefully spoken word proved she had been nothing more than a convenient amusement.

Whatever her dreams of Nikos had been, to him she’d only been a passing fancy—a brief encounter that didn’t require commitment, just soft words and passionate kisses. One he thought he could brush aside when it suited him. But things had changed and now he had to acknowledge the situation.

Enraged by his attitude, and all she’d learnt, she faced up to him, the fire of determination scorching through her. ‘For the past two and a half months I have been somewhat preoccupied with nausea.’

Each sharp word flew at him like a dagger. The injustice of his accusation was stinging, giving her the strength to stand her ground. After desperately keeping her pregnancy from her family, the strain was too much. He was pushing her almost to breaking point.

‘You could have called. I did, after all, ask to be told.’

His blue eyes had become so dark and forbidding they were like the hidden depths of the ocean. Unknown and uninviting.

‘Ask?’ The word rushed from her, wrapped tightly in disbelief. ‘You didn’t ask anything. You demanded.’

His eyes hardened, glinting like icicles as the full moon shone on them and fixed her to the spot. ‘I was doing the right thing. I asked that you tell me if you became pregnant. I did not demand anything of you. It would only have taken one call, Serena. Why wait so long? Why now?’

‘I needed time to think—to decide what I was going to do.’ She’d thought herself into circles. Total panic had made any kind of sensible thought impossible, but even then the answer had been the same.

Nikos had no intention of being a father. She would have to bring up her child alone. Such thoughts had driven her mad with fear and panic, as had the conviction that her mother would be devastated. Her daughter falling pregnant after little more than a one-night stand would be too much of a nightmare for her to deal with. And she wasn’t a naive teenager, which would only make her mother’s reaction worse. She always worried about what other people thought of her—that was why she’d hidden the sham of her marriage behind a facade of happiness.

At twenty-three Serena should have known better. But, having purposely kept any advances at arm’s length, she hadn’t.

The experience of making love with a man was something she’d planned to share with someone she loved. So when Nikos had sauntered into her life, sweeping her off her feet, she’d known almost from the moment they’d met where it would end. She’d given Nikos, the man she’d fallen instantly in love with, her most precious gift.

In doing so she’d let everyone down. But worse to bear was the pain she would cause her sister.

‘To decide what you were going to do?’

She saw his brows quirk together savagely as his gruff voice startled her out of her thoughts.

‘Yes—do.’ He was beginning to exasperate her. He was making her do all the work in this conversation, forcing every word from her when he didn’t even have the decency to admit his deceit. Was it a form of punishment?

‘And have you thought?’

The powerful aura radiating from him was something she hadn’t noticed before, even though they’d spent almost every evening of her time on the island together. Not only did he look different, he acted differently. This Nikos was totally in command, completely intimidating—and, worse than anything else, he was without care or kindness.

She met it head-on with a cold indifference that hid the panic and nerves she really felt.

‘Yes, I’ve thought, Nikos. I’ve thought of your lies, and of those callous words you threw at me the last time I saw you. I’ve thought of nothing other than your insistence that I inform you of any consequences.’

His mouth was set in a grim line of irritation, but she pushed on. Behind him the sky displayed beautiful oranges and deep purples, and she wondered how such a stunning sunset could play host to this terrible moment.

‘It seems I’m now to be punished for not telling you as soon as I knew, but—more fool me—I wanted to tell you personally. Face-to-face. Not in a phone call. And that meant waiting until now—until I felt well enough to travel.’

‘Yet you can’t.’ He moved closer, his words coming out in a provoking growl. ‘You can’t say it, can you?’

‘Oh, I can, Nikos—I can.’ Fury charged through her like a tornado. Her heart raced and each breath she took became deeper. He was killing her love, shattering any hope she had harboured. Despite the turmoil her mind was in, the irrational sway of emotions, she flung the words he wanted to hear forcefully at him. ‘I’m pregnant, Nikos. I’m pregnant with your child.’

‘Why have you come all this way, Serena? What exactly do you want from me?’

He stepped closer, towering over her, intimidating. She hated the way her breath caught in her throat, hated the way her body longed for his even as his icy words splintered around her.

‘I don’t want anything from you. At least not from Nikos the fisherman—but that isn’t you, is it?’ She lifted her chin, aiming for defiance—which was far from the uncertainty she was fighting so hard to conceal.

His eyes narrowed and he pierced her with a fierce stare. ‘How much?’

Serena’s mind swam with confusion. What was he talking about? ‘How much what?’

She backed away, unable to deal with the close proximity of his body. How had she ever thought coming to the island was a good idea? She’d wanted to tell him face-to-face to convince herself that any hope of more was futile, knowing it would be the only way to prevent that what if feeling.

‘Money.’

He spat the word at her so venomously she stepped back even further, until the backs of her legs met the large rock she’d been sitting on whilst waiting for him. She’d never thought telling him would be easy, but this was totally unexpected. Did he think she was here just for financial gain?

‘I don’t want your money.’ Her head began to swim and giddiness threatened, but she couldn’t stop now. Not until she’d told him everything. ‘All I wanted to do was tell you in person and leave.’

She looked up at him, wishing things were different—that he hadn’t lied, that he hadn’t said the words that still replayed over and over in her mind. ‘You will tell me.’ The insistent way he’d delivered them had left her in no doubt that fathering a child was the last thing he wanted.

She took in a deep and silent breath and thought of her sister, and the heartbreak she and her husband had been through each time IVF had failed. It seemed so unfair to find out that she’d become pregnant so easily when her sister was breaking her heart, wanting a child. It was just too cruel, and it had left her unable to say anything to her family, let alone confide in her sister. The only person she’d told was Nikos. And right now he was making her feel alone and isolated.

Her time with Nikos had been nothing more than a holiday romance—one of many for him, she was sure. But for her it had changed everything—for ever—and he’d just confirmed her worst fear. He was going to turn his back on her and his child.

She briefly closed her eyes against the torrent of emotions that coursed through her. Pain induced by Nikos, infused with the ever-present hurt of knowing she’d been an unexpected addition to her family, forcing her parents to stay together. If only Nikos felt something for her everything might be different, but that was evidently a hopeless dream. She should walk away now—for her baby’s sake, if not hers.

‘You think you can tell me I am about to be a father and then just leave?’

He moved away from her, towards the ebbing tide, and turned to look out at the sea. His broad shoulders were tense, but she was glad she wasn’t under his scrutiny any longer.

I don’t know what to do. The words screamed inside her head as intense pain stabbed at her heart. She pressed the pads of her fingers to her closed eyes. Going down that line of thought now wouldn’t accomplish anything.

Guilt boiled inside her—as if she’d stolen something from her sister. Especially as she knew there wouldn’t be any more IVF for her after the last treatment. Her sister and her husband didn’t have any savings left.

‘How can we raise a child, Nikos?’

Her words were a tremulous whisper as she moved to stand beside him. The rush of the waves suddenly sounded loud on the beach as she looked at his profile. Not for the first time, she wondered who this man was.

Images of the handsome man she’d had an affair with filled her mind as she looked away and out across the sea. The setting sun was almost gone from the sky. But she didn’t see its beauty. All she saw was Nikos, the man she’d given her heart to, believing she loved him and that he might love her. During those long, hot days his dark hair had gleamed beneath the sun and his blue eyes had filled with desire each time they’d met.

He had been everything she’d ever dreamed of and more, sweeping her away so fast she’d given up her teenage dreams of waiting to find her true love before discovering the pleasure of intimacy with a man. She didn’t regret one moment of that decision. She’d loved Nikos—until he’d looked at her with his condemning eyes on that last night.

He didn’t respond and instinctively she reached out to him, touching his arm. As he turned and looked at her she saw his face wore an expression of pain, and she had the unexpected urge to throw herself into his arms, to be held tight and told everything was going to be okay. Because deep down it was what she wanted—what she needed. To be loved by only this man. But the man she loved didn’t exist.

Instead she stood as tall and proud as possible, finding strength she hadn’t realised she had left. ‘We can’t, Nikos. Not together.’

* * *

‘What are you saying, Serena?’ Nikos all but stumbled over his words as the implications of what she’d said almost silenced him. The reality of the situation had hit him hard, taking away the ability to speak.

Memories of the day his mother had left and questions from his past rushed forward. He tried hard to prevent them from colliding with the present, but he couldn’t shake them off. His father had cursed her, saying he should never have married an English girl, and Nikos had stood alone, ignored and forgotten by each of them. Then his mother had left, her cruel parting words ringing in his ears.

If his father had still been alive he could have found out more about the mother he barely remembered. As a teenager he’d been angry when he’d learnt that her career had been more important than her marriage and her young son. So when she’d made contact on his sixteenth birthday, saying she’d never meant to hurt him, he’d blocked her from his life. He didn’t want to open that door again.

He clenched his hands into tight fists. Fury carried through the years raged inside him, but he pushed it back. He had to keep calm.

That letter from his mother had made him vow never to marry. He had no intention of making the same mistake as his parents. But that vow also denied him the possibility of being a father.

Something shifted inside him. Serena was carrying his child. He took in a deep, steadying breath. He was going to be a father. Fate had altered his life decision and no matter what Serena did or said he would be a father to his child in every way. His past would not write his child’s future. His child would not experience the heartache he’d known and he’d do everything in his power to achieve that.

‘Neither of us can give this child what it needs.’

Her voice was soft, with a definite and unyielding firmness. He looked down at her, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. He couldn’t comprehend the cool and composed words that had slipped easily from her mouth. She was writing off her child as easily as his mother had done.

An icy-cold chill slipped down his spine and the image of the woman before him combined with that of the fair-haired woman in the tatty photograph he’d kept hidden away since he’d been given it by his grandmother. It was his mother—but as far as he was concerned it was just the woman who’d given birth to him. He’d locked it away, out of sight and out of mind, hating her too much to acknowledge her as his mother.

Serena blinked rapidly and he thought he saw a glimmer of moisture, the smallest hint of tears. He narrowed his eyes, assessing the situation. His breath, deep and hard, almost burned his chest as his heart was pumped full of anger, his mouth filled with the bitter taste of betrayal as he remembered what had sounded like a throwaway comment at the time.

Had she planned this from the very start? She’d seduced him so wickedly with her kisses that last night on the beach that he’d lost all control. Had that been her intention all along?

He furrowed his brow, resisting the need to put distance between them. She’d been a virgin the first time they’d made love, which had shocked him so much that he’d fallen under her spell, wanting to spend more and more time with her, yet unable to allow himself to want her emotionally. Had he been naive to be seduced by her?

‘I never planned to be a father, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be there for my child.’

He clenched his fists against the fear of what those words meant. Could he really be a good father when his own had ignored him so much that his grandparents had been compelled to taken him in?

‘I will.’

A spark of something akin to fear mingled with hope showed in her eyes as she moved closer. ‘You want to raise the baby with me?’

He shut his heart to the image of a happy family, slamming the door firmly. ‘That won’t be possible, will it? Not if you have already decided to give it away like a parcel.’

‘I haven’t decided any such thing.’ She glared at him like a wounded animal, wary and untrusting.

‘You constantly spoke of your sister—about her longing for a baby. Do you recall what you told me?’ The harsh words growled from him, and before she could reply he pressed on. ‘“If I could have a baby for her, I would.” Those were your exact words.’

‘How can you twist things like that? It’s what I wished I could do—not what I planned.’

Disappointment rushed over him like a waterfall. When she’d asked if he wanted to raise the baby with her he’d almost allowed himself to believe it was what she wanted, that it could be possible. How foolish.

‘Did you really think you could come here and use the baby—my baby—as a bargaining tool to get money for your sister? Or, worse, give my baby to her?’

She pushed slim fingers through the thickness of her red hair, distracting him momentarily.

‘No. That’s not how it is. This is my baby.’

‘It’s my baby too, Serena.’ Fury thundered in his veins, pulsing around him so fast he couldn’t think straight. It was obvious she’d done her homework. She knew who he was. But was she really capable of seducing him, hoping to become pregnant with a baby for her sister? If he was thinking rationally he’d say no, but with such a revelation knocking him sideways he’d believe anything right now.

As she stood there, glaring angrily at him, challenging him on every level, he knew he had to be there for his baby as it grew up. He wanted to give it all he’d never had. But it didn’t matter how much money he had, he didn’t know if he could do the one thing a father should. Love his child—or anyone.

How could he when he’d never known the love of his parents? And he’d always kept his distance from his grandparents, shunned their love, preferring to stay safe behind his defences even as a young boy. But he had a bond with them. Could he at least bond with his child?

Was he heartless? Was that why his mother had turned her back on him? Why his father had barely looked at him? Was it his fault?

‘I will be there for my child.’ He watched her for a hint of guilt, any trace of her deceit.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

The fury in her voice overflowed, confirming his suspicions.

‘Drop the innocent act. You know who I am. For a woman with your journalist’s training it must have been all too easy to discover more about the father or your child.’ Venom spiked every word as he looked at her, suddenly becoming aware of the waves creeping closer to them. How long had they been discussing this? Hours? Seconds? He didn’t know. Only that it would change things and change him for ever.

‘I have only just looked you up on the internet—in the departure lounge at the airport, to be exact. Because, stupidly, I believed you were an island fisherman, living a simple life. There shouldn’t have been anything more to know.’ Her furious words were flung at him and her eyes sparked like fireworks. ‘You lied to me, used me.’

So the flame-haired temptress had a temper!

‘Just as you lied to me—using me, the “simple fisherman”, as a means to an end.’

‘I didn’t use you at all.’

‘So you deny you seduced me in the hope of getting pregnant with a child you planned to give to your sister?’

She gasped in shock, her acting skills well and truly on display. ‘Of course I do.’

‘In that case I won’t be upsetting your plans.’

‘And what does that mean?’

Her temper flared again. Begrudgingly he admired her spirit. She was even more beautiful when the fire of determination rose up within her.

‘Only that I have every possible means at my disposal and I will be a father to my child, no matter what obstacles you put in my way. I will remove each and every one to get what I want. My child. My heir.’


CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_75c10993-d983-5b65-b655-d0dea2e0f31e)

SERENA WAS SPEECHLESS. She blinked rapidly as if seeing Nikos for the first time. What did he mean? Her head began to swim as she tried to process what he was saying and she cursed her pregnancy-induced emotions, biting back hard against the urge to dissolve into frustrated tears.

This wasn’t going at all to plan. She hadn’t expected him to welcome her with open arms—not after his parting words—but the discovery of his deceit and his determination to overrule her was totally unexpected.

‘You let me think you were an island fisherman. One who shouldn’t have anything more to tell.’

She’d known coming back to Santorini wouldn’t give her all she really wanted, but never in all her wildest dreams had she imagined this scenario.

She looked at Nikos again, searching for the man she’d fallen in love with. The man who’d set light to the undiscovered woman inside her, capturing her heart and body.

‘Why?’ she asked simply.

‘It was for the best at the time.’ Each word was firm and decisive, his face a mask of composure.

‘I will remove each and every one to get what I want. My child. My heir.’

His words of warning echoed in her head like a haunting melody. It seemed that no matter how much she’d tried to be different from her parents, wanting only to have a happy family, she was heading down the same path.

Her parents had been forced to stay together by an unplanned pregnancy, a mistake. She had grown up carrying the guilt of being that mistake, knowing she had forced her parents to stay together. She was the reason they’d fought, the reason they hated each other now. She didn’t want her child to suffer the same guilt because of the mistake she and Nikos had made.

‘I am an island fisherman.’

He stepped towards her, his voice softer now, but instinct told her not to let her guard drop, that trouble was brewing.

‘But I am also a businessman. My office is in Piraeus and I live in Athens.’

‘So what were you doing on the island? Using the guise of a fisherman to lure women and bolster your ego?’ She couldn’t stop the words from rushing at him.

He glared at her. ‘Fishing was my grandfather’s trade, his business. I help out with the fleet that he started. And knowing your background I wasn’t going to disclose anything personal to you.’

‘My background?’ She was completely at a loss as to what he meant.

‘You are a journalist, are you not?’

She tried hard to process what he was telling her, but couldn’t understand why he’d kept the truth from her. Was it really because she had studied journalism? Did he really fear that? Or was it simply that he hadn’t wanted her to know who he was?

‘Why did you feel the need to hide it from me, Nikos?’ She couldn’t imagine the life Nikos really led. It was too far removed from the man she’d met, the man she’d fallen in love with. He was shattering every dream she’d had of him. ‘Why were you even here, masquerading as a fisherman?’

‘My life changed when I left the island, and my fortunes with it.’ He looked at her, his eyes glacial and hard, his expression unyielding. ‘Every year since, I’ve spent two weeks helping the small fleet of fisherman here on the island. It’s a way of staying connected to my grandparents. And you didn’t ask questions—which made a change.’

‘A change from what?’ He wasn’t making sense—or was it her jumbled emotions? She was tired. Thinking coherently wasn’t easy, but she forced her mind to concentrate.

‘From women wanting all they can get from me—financially and emotionally. It appears you are not different after all.’

‘You lied—you hid the truth—because you were afraid I’d want more?’ The words rushed from her before she could hold them back and his eyes narrowed in response, his mouth setting into an irritated line of hardness.

The stark question he’d fired at her earlier came back, its full meaning now painfully clear.

‘How much?’

That was what he’d said when she’d told him she only wanted one thing from him. It hadn’t made any sense. Now it hit her. He thought she wanted money from him—or worse still, that she’d deliberately got pregnant to give the baby to Sally.

Sickness rose up and her head spun. What kind of man was he?

‘Why didn’t you tell me when we were together?’ She hurled the question at him, her knees becoming ever weaker with shock as nausea threatened to take over.

‘What we shared...’ He took her hands in his and she hated the way her pulse leapt at his touch, counteracting all the pain and turmoil of moments before. ‘It was something special. But it was never destined to be more than a holiday romance, a passing affair.’

He was right about that, at least. She had wished and hoped for more, but deep down had known it would finish once she’d left the island and returned to her life. What she hadn’t known was that he too would leave the island and go back to his life. A life he’d kept from her because he’d believed she was after his money or the scoop of a big story.

She pulled her hands from his slowly and shook her head in despair. ‘It doesn’t mean we can raise a child together, Nikos. Money isn’t everything.’

* * *

Fury seeped through Nikos’s veins like poison, mixing with memories of the day his mother had walked away and left him. Serena’s words, although calmly said, screamed inside his head. What was she saying? What plans had she been making for their child whilst he’d been living in ignorance of its existence?

‘It still sounds very much as if you are considering giving my baby away.’ Incredulity made his tone sharper than a blade.

‘That is absurd.’

She met his accusation head-on, looking determined to do battle and defend herself. And he knew for certain that there could only be one reason. He’d exposed her plans before she’d had a chance to knock him sideways with the idea, but all it had done was make him ever more certain that he would be there for his child—not just now and again, but all the time.

‘You have more than implied it.’

He clenched his hands into tight fists, resisting the need to reach for her, to hold her arms and force her to look him in the eye and tell him the truth.

‘We can’t sort this out now—not when you are jumping to such outrageous conclusions.’

She looked at him tempestuously and her green eyes met his, but his usual accuracy in reading a person had deserted him. He couldn’t see lies or truth, but he did see something else in them. The same fiery passion he’d seen three months ago—which had been his undoing.

He stepped closer to her...so close he could smell the sweetness of her perfume. He battled with his memories of their time together as the scent of summer flowers invaded his senses, light and floral, evoking more memories he’d do better to bury. But he couldn’t. This woman, the only one who’d made him want more than a brief affair, was in reality no better than his mother. Worse, in fact. She wanted to abandon her child, and she expected him to do the same.

‘Nikos, we have to be practical. The baby will grow up in England—with me.’

Never. The word resounded in his head. Never.

He ignored the pleading edge to her voice, wondering if she thought he’d meekly accept that. Would she really be a mother to his child? Or had she planned all along to give her baby away?

His thoughts returned to his mother with unnerving clarity. Had she been being practical when she’d walked away? Had she given her six-year-old son a thought as she’d left, preferring to escape with her lover, to the bright city lights and her modelling career, instead of remaining on the island with the man she’d married?

Nikos tried to push back the demons that had haunted him since that day. The woman who’d given birth to him didn’t know him—just as he didn’t know her. He might have passed her on the streets of Athens, or any other city he’d visited for business, and not known. All he knew was that despite her attempts to contact him since he’d turned sixteen he’d written her out of his life.

He looked at Serena, the woman he might have loved if things had been different—if his past hadn’t convinced him he was incapable of love or being loved.

‘No.’

The word was fired harshly from him like a bullet and, precisely aimed, it found its mark. Serena’s eyes widened in surprise and those long lashes blinked rapidly in confusion. Did she have to be so beautiful? So compelling even in the heat of this war she’d waged?

‘You can’t just say no. We haven’t sorted anything.’

She looked beseechingly up at him, searching his face, and he took a deep breath as memories of kissing those soft lips avalanched over him. Did she know the effect she was having on him? Did she realise that right at this moment he couldn’t think past what they’d had, those passionate moments they’d shared in the summer?

The waves rushed to the shore with a normality that stunned him. Apparently they were not aware of the horrendous situation unfolding on the sand. The lights of the small town glowed like stars around them and he found his past colliding with the present, becoming inseparable.

‘How can I trust you not to abandon my child to your sister after what you said?’

His voice was an angry growl, and he fought hard against the rage of emotions that forged through him. All his life he’d carried the hurt of total rejection by the one woman who should have loved him unconditionally.

‘I’m not abandoning my child to anyone—not even to you.’

For a moment he thought he saw pain flash in her eyes, thought he saw the agony of it on her face, but it was gone in an instant. Hard lines of determination replaced it.

‘Telling me we can’t raise this child together after saying your sister is desperate for a baby sounds very much like you are planning just that.’

He moved back from her, not trusting the rage that had become like the rush of a river in flood. All the childhood doubts he’d successfully locked away were now out and running riot.

‘How can you even think of doing such a thing?’

‘How can you even think that?’ She gasped out the pained words. ‘I want this child. I want to give it everything I possibly can.’

The conviction in her voice struck a raw nerve. ‘As do I.’

‘Can you really give our child all it needs when you admit you don’t want to be a father?’

She moved towards him, her hand momentarily reaching out to him, but he flinched from her touch, his raw emotions making coherent thought difficult.

How could she doubt he would give his child all it needed? The idea of being a father was one that he had always savagely dismissed because it would entail marriage—something he’d proved he’d be unable to commit to—but now he was presented with the reality he knew exactly what he wanted.

‘A child needs love.’

Vehemently the words rushed from him, and he was annoyed at her ability to take away his composure, his control. He knew more than most that a child needed love. It was all he’d craved as a young boy. But could he be a father? Could he love his child? His father hadn’t been able to and his mother never had. She’d admitted that as she’d left. How could he be any different from them?

Serena laughed—a soft, nervous laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. He bit down hard, clenching his teeth, trying to stop harsh words rushing out.

‘Can you really do that, Nikos?’

His silence seemed to answer her question and she ploughed on with her own arguments for being a single parent.

‘Can you love a child you don’t want?’

‘Do not question my ability to be a father,’ he growled, hardly able to contain his anger.

‘A child needs stability, a loving home. It doesn’t matter if it’s with one parent or two, so long as it has all it needs.’

Strength sounded in her voice and her face was full of determination as she looked into his eyes, challenging him with everything she had.

‘I’ve already made it clear that is not a problem.’ He knew his voice had turned to a low growl, full of anger, but her constant referral to his inability to provide for his child was more than he could take.

‘It’s your deceit, Nikos, that has made me think you can’t.’ Her face was stern as she looked at him. ‘Your lies haven’t changed anything just as your real identity hasn’t. I will not allow my baby to become a possession to be bargained over. Least of all by you.’

‘After your scheme to get pregnant you are not in a position to make demands on me.’

He felt the reins of control slipping, felt her gaining the moral high ground—especially now haunting images from his childhood were being rapidly unleashed.

‘That is so far from the truth,’ she retaliated hotly, then moved towards him, her voice softening. ‘This wasn’t planned, at all, and I cannot even consider giving away my baby.’

Suddenly he was a young boy again, standing on this very beach, looking out to sea, hoping the next boat that came in would have his mother on board, that she would change her mind and come home. He’d watched and waited for many years, before finally dismissing her from his mind, his thoughts and his heart. She was a cold and heartless woman and he’d accepted the fact that he’d never see her again.

‘But you want money?’

‘Nikos, this isn’t about money. I believed you couldn’t afford to raise a child—just as I can’t. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to try, though. I hadn’t planned on having a child, but I am certainly going to be there for him or her—all the time.’

Him or her. Suddenly the child she carried had gained an identity, an image in his mind. It would either be a little girl, with flame-red hair like her mother’s, or a little boy with a cheeky smile and plenty of attitude.

Then her words sank into his mind. Had she really thought he couldn’t afford to raise his child? The niggling suspicion that she’d known who he really was resurfaced. It wouldn’t have been hard for her to source information about him on the internet. His business acumen made him a much talked of man—as did his single status. He didn’t believe she’d only just found out.

She reached out for him again and he resisted the urge to draw back, strangely wanting to feel the heat of her touch.

‘I am having this baby, Nikos. With or without you.’

He snapped back his arm, suddenly not wanting to be touched by her after all, not wanting the hot sizzle that sparked through him to take over.

That was one thing he had to control: he couldn’t desire her.

* * *

Serena’s heart sank as he pulled away from her. He hated her touch, and the anger in his eyes worried her. Whatever else had gone before, and whatever was to come, they had created a new life together. They had to find a way to give their baby the best. Which meant agreeing on how that was to be done.

Images unwittingly filled her mind. Nikos at her side as she held a baby, its hair as dark as his and with the same deep blue eyes looking up at her.

The image of happiness ripped her heart in two. That kind of happy-ever-after was what she’d wished for herself as a child. She’d wanted nothing more than for her parents to be happy together, and most of all she wished they’d wanted her, their youngest child. Instead she’d had to face the reality that she’d been a sudden and unexpected addition to the family—one that had put pressure on the cracks that had already been showing between her parents.

‘Where do you propose the baby grows up?’ Nikos moved closer, his barely concealed annoyance clearly evident.

‘With me.’ Desperation echoed in every word and she saw him inhale deeply, holding on to the anger her words had provoked.

‘In England?’

The syllables of his words were broken, the sound staccato and harsh. She swallowed as she looked at him— anything else would show a weakness, one he’d exploit fully.

‘Yes.’

Serena thought of all the heartache her sister had endured, the number of times she’d hoped for a baby and the number of times her dreams had come crashing down. She had indeed discussed it with Nikos, and couldn’t believe he was now using it against her.

It was a really cruel twist of fate that it was her who’d fallen pregnant—and from just one night of unprotected sex. But it had been more than that—for her at least. That last evening on the secluded beach they’d walked hand in hand as the sun had set and shared a gentle kiss. It had rekindled the fire of passion they’d experienced in her small hotel room.

She reminded herself that from the outset Nikos had made it clear he didn’t consider theirs a lasting romance, but one that would end when she went home. She’d gone along with the idea, feeling secure in the knowledge that she could walk away, that it didn’t have to be more. But she’d fallen hopelessly in love with Nikos.

That night, as they’d reached the seclusion of the edge of the beach, surrounded by rocks and caves, he’d kissed her so passionately they hadn’t been able to stop. The urgency of their desire had forced them down onto the cool sand, but nothing had prepared her for his reaction afterwards—those cold words of dismissal, the demand that he should know if ‘consequences’ resulted. Well, they had.

‘So you would see our child grow up, hear its first words, watch its first steps, while I would be relegated to the background, lucky to catch a glimpse of it before it becomes a teenager?’

His voice brought her rapidly back to the present, and she swallowed down the lump in her throat as tears once again threatened.

The accusation in his tone speared her conscience and she wondered, not for the first time, if she really could do this alone. She’d thought his harsh words on the beach, after they’d made love in such an explosive and spontaneous way, had left her with little choice. He’d as good as told her he had no wish to be a father—that the very idea was abhorrent to him.

‘Don’t try and make it sound like you want this baby, Nikos.’ She almost hissed the words at him. ‘Not when you told me so coldly that you wanted to know of any “consequences.”’

‘Being a father is not something I had planned.’

He moved away from her, raking his long tanned fingers through his hair, and she sensed his frustration with every nerve in her body.

‘Which is why I will return to England and bring up our baby alone.’

She seized on his declaration before he could say anything else, but thoughts of telling her sister almost choked her. How could she tell a woman who wanted a child so desperately that she had made a mistake? That she now had that most desired thing? How could she destroy her sister like that?

Anger sparked from his eyes, making her step back away from him, her footsteps faltering in the sand as she stumbled. Before she knew what had happened she was in his arms. The breath seemed to be sucked from her body as the all too familiar scent of Nikos invaded every part of her, setting free yet more memories.

She bit down on her lower lip, anxiety making her brow furrow and her breathing quicken as she looked up at him. His unusual blue eyes sparked with a fiery mix of anger and desire, making her stomach flutter.

‘I might not have planned to be a father, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to turn my back on my child.’

His words made her heart beat faster, and again the idea of living happily ever after with him flashed before her. Then it was gone, drowned by the reality of their situation. How could they possibly raise a child together? How could they ever be happy after his cold disregard and his lies to conceal his true identity?

She shook her head. ‘It will never work, Nikos. Never.’

His hold on her arm tightened, his fingers pressing into her as he pulled her close. She could feel his breath on her face and fought hard against the overwhelming need to close her eyes and press her lips to his. It was as if she’d stepped back in time, back to the first moment they had met, to the spark of attraction that had leapt to life between them instantly.

She became aware of her phone ringing inside her small handbag and the magic around them evaporated, disappearing to leave stark reality. He let go of her, stepped back, his eyes hard and narrowed, full of suspicion. As the phone ceased its insistent ring an ominous silence settled around them, one so heavy that even the waves seemed to have quietened, stilling in anticipation of what was to come next.

‘I am not allowing my child to be brought up in another country. My child will be raised to know its Greek heritage, its Greek family and most importantly its father.’

Each calmly spoken word caressed her face, and even if he’d spoken in Greek she’d have been sure they were words of passion. But she wasn’t fooled—they were words of control.

‘So where do I fit into that?’ She pulled back from him, needing the space to think.

‘That is what you must decide.’ Again it was said in an almost seductive whisper.

‘And if I want to go back to England?’ The question came out as an unexpected hoarse whisper, the pain of it hurting so much.

‘Then you must do so—once the child has been born, here in Greece, where it will remain.’

She gasped in disbelief. ‘You can’t force me to stay. Or expect me to leave without my baby.’

Who was this man? Where had the man she’d fallen in love with gone? This cold, hard and angry man was a total stranger.

‘I’m not forcing you to do anything. The choice is yours.’

‘No, Nikos.’ She stood tall, strength rising up through her. Although she really didn’t want her child to grow up with just one parent. She wanted her baby to have all that onlookers thought she’d had: two loving and happy parents.

‘We will, of course, have to be married.’

He glared at her, hostility emanating from the blue depths of his eyes, and she was thankful they weren’t having this conversation in daylight. She didn’t want to see the full force of that hostility. At least now it was masked by the quickly descending darkness.

Her phone began to ring again, and her heart hammered loudly as he glanced down at her bag.

‘Perhaps you should answer that.’

‘No. I can’t.’

It was all she could manage as the full implications of what he’d just said hit home. Was she referring to the phone or to marriage? She had no idea, and the words he’d said raced inside her head, confusing her further.

They would have to be married.

* * *

Exasperation mixed with fury and fizzed inside Nikos, threatening to explode as he looked down at Serena. Her gorgeous red hair, blown by the warm wind across her face, had created a veil—one she could partially hide behind as she glared back up at him.

‘What do you mean, no?’

Nikos thought of the deal he was about to close for the cruise liner company and the effort he’d put into it. Now, trying to reason with Serena, he realised that the deal was a picnic in the sun compared to the negotiation of this deal and what was at stake. His child—something he’d never thought he’d have because he’d never allowed himself to want the impossible. He couldn’t turn and walk away now. If he did he’d be worse, far worse, than his mother and father.

‘I don’t know...’ she said, shaking her head.

Damn the woman—she was forcing him to strike a deal for his child.

‘Well, you’d better think fast.’

He watched her face, saw the ever-changing expressions, holding her captive with his glare.

‘Did you ever consider marriage when we had our romantic fling in the summer? Our holiday affair?’

Her voice was sharp and strong, but it was her pale face that told him she was having as much difficulty with this as he was. So she should. What woman would consider giving away her child? One just like his mother.

‘You don’t even love me.’

‘Love has nothing to do with it.’ He moderated his tone, aware of his anger rising once more.

‘So why do we have to get married?’ The disbelief in her voice was more than clear.

‘Marriage has never been on my agenda.’

That much was true. After living in the shadow of his parents’ marital breakdown he’d written that idea off as a young man, preferring to enjoy the company of woman without complication and commitment. He only sought the pleasure of a woman’s company for fun. Purely carnal. Nothing more. Which was exactly what he’d been doing with Serena during her stay on the island.

‘And being a father?’

She dropped the question so lightly between them he almost didn’t hear it.

‘I will be a father to my child.’ He evaded her question and the truth that lay buried within him. He wanted to be a father—to have his child grow up in a world of love and happiness—but he was sceptical that such happiness actually existed.

‘Make no mistake, Serena. My child will not be shuffled between countries like an unwanted Christmas present.’


CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_f26f1d98-73a0-54aa-b419-a9f8bf1c6c0e)

SERENA STEPPED AWAY from Nikos—away from the anger of his words. ‘I can’t talk about this any more.’ She needed to put distance between them. ‘Maybe we should have this discussion tomorrow?’

He looked at her, unexpected concern in his eyes. ‘Perhaps that is best. When you are more rested you will be able to think rationally. Then you will accept that we should marry—for our baby.’

She bristled with indignation at his comment, sure his ability to use English hadn’t compromised his choice of words. She was perfectly rational, and she had no intention of marrying someone who didn’t love her.

‘Nothing will change.’

‘Where are you staying?’

Nikos asked the question lightly—a little too lightly—arousing her suspicions as to why he appeared to be giving in so easily.

He couldn’t be trusted. He’d proved that with his non-revelation about who he really was. She might not have looked him up on the internet before, but she certainly had now. The uneasy feeling that she was dealing with something much bigger than she’d anticipated filled her with dread. He’d concealed his identity, lied to her. Why? What would he have to gain by doing that?

‘In the same hotel.’

She spoke softly, trying not to think about the nights they’d spent in her room when she’d stayed there before. Why she’d insisted on the same room she didn’t know—romantic notions and memories of being there with the man she’d fallen in love with? Or was it because of the night she’d experienced love with Nikos for the first time?

He’d been gentle and kind then, accepting she was innocent but not knowing just how much. She had been sure he was the man she’d waited for. She’d loved him. She’d wanted him to make love to her because then he hadn’t been at all like the Nikos who now openly admitted deceiving her and was virtually forcing her into marriage.

‘Then we shall go there now and collect your bags.’

He moved towards her, taking her hand in his. She didn’t want to follow, to obey his command, but just the touch of his hand against hers sent a sizzle of heat scorching through her and she knew that, whatever the outcome of her visit to the island, there was still unfinished business between them. Her body still craved his, still imagined his caress, his kisses. Stupid as it was, she still loved him.

The hum of music from the bars and restaurants drifted on the warm night air as the sea became an inky blackness, melting into the star-filled sky. Despite the idyllic setting, the idea of walking hand in hand with Nikos felt anything but romantic. Intimidating, maybe—threatening, definitely—but she was powerless to stop it, unable to resist him.

‘Nikos!’ she gasped, pulling back against him, suddenly regaining her strength, knowing she had to fight. ‘What are you doing?’

He stopped and looked down at her. His handsome face was partially in shadow, but his eyes sparked like a warrior’s, locking with hers, sending a shiver of excitement and apprehension skittering down her spine.

‘Taking control.’

The firmness of his voice, still sexy and accented, hinted at the level of discipline he was currently putting on himself.

‘Of what? Me?’

She stood tall, facing him in the darkness, hoping that he wouldn’t see how unsure she really was, that her voice sounded strong and defiant.

‘Of my child.’

She blinked in shock. Did he think that his playing the role of protector would make her fall in line with his plans? That she would marry him and live happily ever after? How could that ever happen when he didn’t want her, let alone love her? If she married him her child would grow up knowing it was the mistake that had forced them together—something she never wanted a child of hers to feel.

‘You don’t need to come back to the hotel to do that.’

She really didn’t want to be with him at the moment. She needed to think, to re-evaluate things. Nothing had gone as she’d planned. And it was all down to the revelation of his true identity.

His hand in hers felt unnervingly right, but the whole situation was wrong. Confusion at this newly assertive man was mixed with the ever-present heat of desire, fizzing like a newly popped bottle of champagne, and she didn’t want to partake of it right now.

‘We’ll talk again tomorrow.’

‘We will talk again tomorrow—in Athens.’

He started to walk again, his hand still tightly holding hers, and although she knew she shouldn’t want her hand in his she did. A small sliver of hope entered her heart as the sound of the waves was left behind. She walked with him out onto the street and towards the small family-run hotel she adored so much—just as she’d done when she was there before, when things had been different, much more simple.

Then his words registered.

‘Athens?’ Serena hadn’t realised she’d spoken aloud until he turned to look at her, his vivid blue eyes ever watchful.

‘My home is there—and my business. We will be leaving in an hour.’

His expression was harsh, his tone firm, and she was so stunned she couldn’t say a word. What had made him think she’d leave with him?

‘Give me one good reason why I should go anywhere with you when you’ve lied to me from the very start?’

She couldn’t just go—but if he walked away now would she ever be able to forgive herself in years to come when her child wanted to know where its father was?

‘There is only one reason, Serena, and it’s a very good one. You are carrying my child.’

The lights from the hotel shone on his face, highlighting the sharp angles of his cheekbones, making him look so formidable she could imagine him in a boardroom, dominating and controlling everything.

‘A child you don’t want.’

She flung the accusation at him, feeling hysteria rise inside her. She was too emotionally drained for this—too tired. After almost a day of travelling she just wanted to rest. No, she had to rest. But she also had to resist the urge to give in to him, to allow him to take control. He’d lied to her once and she knew from experience that it would happen again. Hadn’t her father lied, time and time again?

‘There is nothing to discuss. Get your bags. My plane is waiting.’

Inside she seethed with resentment, but she didn’t have the energy to retaliate. He looked down at her and she desperately tried to put up some resistance. It was hard—and not just because she was so tired. Deep down she wanted to be with Nikos, wished she could find a happy-ever-after with him.

She followed him into the hotel, inwardly doing battle with her desire to go with him. Maybe they could recapture what they’d shared such a short time ago? The bright lights of the small reception area made her blink briefly against the glare and she knew that would never happen.

Nikos spoke in hushed Greek to the owner of the hotel and the reality of what was happening rocketed back at her.

She had to go with him—just to sort things out. He was the father of her child and she owed it to the baby to sort things out amicably. But she also owed it to herself not to let him hurt her again, and to do that she had to remain strong.

He turned to face her, his arm outstretched as he drew her close in a show of affection she hadn’t been expecting. It was one she was sure was for the hotel owner’s benefit.

‘We’ll be on the plane soon. You can rest there.’

‘Rest...?’

Oh, but he was good. She could see the hotel owner smiling at them, as if he was witnessing love’s dream couple reunited. Did he know Nikos—the real Nikos?

‘You must be exhausted.’

His arm about her shoulder pulled her in closer to him and his lips pressed affectionately and familiarly on her forehead, confusing her already muddled emotions further.

‘Let’s get your things.’

Unable to do anything but play out the charade he’d started, she allowed herself to be led towards the stairs. The lean length of his body was pressed close to her side, sending a spark of awareness all through her. It was so strong she was glad when they reached her room. She belatedly rummaged in her handbag for the key, remembering the phone calls she’d not answered. She’d have to deal with those soon—but first she had an overbearing Greek to deal with.

‘Did you purposely choose the same room?’ A hint of seductive mockery played at the corners of his mouth and sparkled in his eyes as he looked at her.

As she entered the room she looked about her. It was much the same as it had been that first night.

‘I didn’t ask for this room. They must have remembered me.’ She smiled at him, briefly forgetting her intentions, and for a moment it was like going back to those nights they’d spent together, teasing and laughing with each other.

She’d been so in love with him, so sure he was the man. She had encouraged his kisses, yearned for his touch and craved his body, hers seemingly knowing exactly what to do despite her innocence.

‘Is this it? This small case?’

The atmosphere changed as he spoke.

‘As I told you, I came to do the decent thing and tell you to your face. I didn’t intend to stay long. It was never as if we could start again where we’d left off. Not when you’d made it so clear what your thoughts on being a father were.’

‘I did not make any such thing clear.’

He narrowed his eyes and she knew she’d hit a nerve.

‘The possibility that those moments on the beach might have made you a father horrified you, Nikos. Don’t try to deny it.’ She fired the words at him, feeling herself emotionally stronger again. She wasn’t going to allow him to manipulate her just because he had power and wealth. He might have hidden that from her when they first met, but no way would she let him use it against her now.

‘That is untrue and you know it.’

He moved closer to her and her heart rate rushed away like a herd of wild horses.

‘Do I?’ She snapped the question out, desperate to hide the effect he was having on her.

His deep, silky voice, heavily accented, did untold things to the heady desire she was trying to suppress. She couldn’t let it show. Whatever else he thought, he had to think she was completely indifferent to him.

He moved closer to her, his eyes darkening, his accent becoming more pronounced and far too sexy.

‘It’s still there, isn’t it? That sizzle of attraction that kept us here, in this very room, in this very bed, night after night.’

Serena looked at him, her mind racing back to the time they’d spent here, to their first night together. That night he’d kissed her softly, his lips teasing and gentle. She’d known then for certain that this was the man she wanted to give herself to completely. She’d wanted him with such abandon she’d have done anything to show him how much she loved him.

She’d instinctively known that what they’d had was special, that the attraction was one she might never find again. Now, as she stood looking at him, her heart was heavy—because it hadn’t been like that for him. It had been nothing more than a passing affair. One he’d hoped he could turn his back on.

She stepped away and looked out of the open window to the sea moving restlessly in the darkness, its salty tang lingering on the warm breeze. This would be her child’s heritage—one it might never see if she walked away now. But how could she stay when he didn’t want her? Let alone the child she carried?

‘Serena...’

His voice was husky and he stood right behind her, the heat of his body almost too much. She shut her heart against thoughts of what might have been as he placed his hands on her shoulders. Mesmerised by his spell, she turned, looking up into his face. His blue eyes were heavy with desire as they looked into hers, urging her towards him.

She closed her eyes, but that didn’t help, and when his lips brushed hers she jumped back and glared at him. ‘Don’t you dare think you can seduce me with kisses this time.’

‘I don’t need kisses to get what I want.’

He moved closer to her, forcing her against the wall, but she held her ground and maintained eye contact, even though inside she was quaking.

Those hard words had suffocated any lingering illusions of love she’d had. He didn’t care about her. He didn’t care about the baby. This was all about getting what he wanted.

‘So what is it you want?’ she asked haughtily, testing him. Would he openly admit to being that callous, that cold?

‘I want you to come to Athens with me, Serena.’

Each word was full of determination, softened only by the accent that she found so sexy.

She shook her head. ‘That’s not going to happen, Nikos.’

‘Then why are you here?’

She stepped up to him, lifting her chin and glaring angrily at him. ‘I came here to tell a fisherman he was to be a father—to tell him that no matter what I’d never stop him from seeing his child. But that fisherman is not you.’

Memories came unbidden to her mind of that night on the beach—the night they’d made love without any thought of contraception. The night they’d created the new life she now held within her. The life whose future she could determine by her choices now.

‘It’s just as well that I am not that fisherman, because now I can give you what you want—but only if you become my wife. No child of mine will be born illegitimate.’

‘You think you have all the power, don’t you, Nikos? But you can’t drag me up the aisle.’

Unnerved by his certainty that he could get what he wanted, she moved away from him and to the door of her room, opening it wide in the hope that he’d leave.

That hope faded instantly.

* * *

Nikos remained resolutely still, biting down hard against the anger that coursed through him. How dared she think she could calmly dismiss him from his child’s life? He hadn’t wanted to be a father, but there was no way he would turn his back on his child—allow it to grow up wondering where he was.

As the challenge of her actions settled around them he knew exactly how he was going to handle this. Serena would be his wife—his willing wife—no matter what. His child was going to be born without the stigma of illegitimacy.

He ignored the waves of anxiety rushing through him at the thought of commitment. And he didn’t even know if Serena would stay and go along with his plans or if she’d be just like his mother—too selfish to care—and walk away.

‘You will be my wife. The child you carry is my heir and I will not allow you to keep me from it.’

Hostility poured off her as she stood, rigid and tall, by the open door of the hotel room. With each passing second she was challenging him further, pushing him to limits he’d never thought it possible to go to.

‘What are you going to do? Force me to marry you?’

The curtness of her tone irritated him further, and he crossed his arms and glared coldly at her.

‘I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse.’ Dominance in the boardroom was something he was used to, but overpowering a woman—one he still wanted and desired—was a totally new concept.

‘You don’t have anything I want, Nikos.’

The hint of confusion in her voice made him raise a brow in speculation. Surely she was curious to hear the terms of his deal?

‘If the baby is mine—’ he began, but halted as she gasped loudly, her delicate brows furrowed, her soft lips open and her hand against her stomach.

‘How dare you suggest it isn’t?’

‘I have no evidence that it is.’ He snapped the words at her, feeling her anger as she glared at him, her green eyes sparking.




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