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[English] The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Rrincess

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    hurt my pride, I accepted, knowing that if I gained a degree I could get a good job and support

    my mother as she had supported me.’

    He rolled onto his back, his jaw rigid as the memories he had pushed away for so long returned

    to haunt him. ‘My mother died of cancer before I graduated. Theos , she was only in her early thirties,’ he grated, his voice cracking, ‘but the hardships she had suffered during her life had

    taken their toll, and when she became ill she had no strength to fight the disease. For a while I

    was crazy with grief but Larissa persuaded me to make something of my life. She offered me a

    position within her company and I quickly demonstrated a flair for business—although there was

    some gossip that my rise to top management was because I was Larissa’s lover.

    ‘The rumours were unfounded,’ he told Kitty. ‘I looked upon Larissa as a surrogate mother, and

    she treated me like the son she had never had— although it amused her to allow the media to

    think there was something between us. Larissa was what you might call a character,’ he added

    dryly.

    ‘When she died suddenly I was as shocked as anyone when I learned that she had made me her

    sole beneficiary. I took charge of the company, and I’ve worked hard to make it successful.’

    He broke off, his eyes dark and tortured, and Kitty’s heart turned over. ‘I’m sure Larissa would

    have been proud of you,’ she said softly. She had heard the affection in his voice when he spoke

    of the woman who had befriended him—yet Larissa had died only a few short years after his

    mother and once again he had been left alone. No wonder he seemed so hard and ruthless. His

    father had abandoned him before he had been born, and he had lost the only two people he had

    loved. She wanted to weep for the lonely boy he had once been, and the man who had built an

    impenetrable wall around his heart. Acting on instinct, and uncaring that she might reveal too

    much of herself to him, she cupped his face in her hands and brought her mouth to his in a kiss

    that offered comfort and understanding and a tenderness that shook Nikos to his core.

    Passion built swiftly between them and he moved over her and entered her, taking them both to

    the heights of pleasure. It was just good ***; he repeated the mantra in his head as he drove into

    her and felt his pleasure build and build until it was intolerable and he could hold back no longer.

    ***ual alchemy was a potent force that held them both in its thrall, but that was all it was, he assured himself as her soft cries shattered the last remnants of his control.

    But afterwards, as he lay with his head on her breasts, he felt more relaxed than he could ever

    remember. And later, when he lay beside her and she curled up against him, he slept peacefully

    for the first time in years.

    CHAPTER ELEVEN

    SUNLIGHTslanting through the blinds roused Kitty from a deep sleep. She stretched, and rolled

    over, smiling at the sight of the cup of camomile tea that Nikos had placed on her bedside table.

    She was now into the second month of her pregnancy and often woke feeling nauseous. The

    herbal tea was the only thing that seemed to settle her stomach, and Nikos made it for her every

    morning, and would not allow her out of bed until she had drunk it.

    She had seen a new side to him these past couple of weeks, she mused. He still seemed remote

    sometimes, and he worked long hours, driven, she guessed, by the demons of his impoverished

    childhood. But most nights he came home in time for them to eat dinner together, even though he

    often carried on working in his study for a few hours afterwards. She looked forward to their

    shared meals. Face it, Nikos coming home was the highlight of her day, she admitted wryly. She

    enjoyed their conversations about her work and his, or their lively discussions about events in the

    news. She was as passionate about politics as she was about history, and in Nikos she had found

    someone who was happy to challenge her views and state his own. He made her feel alive in a

    way no other man ever had—and when he swept her off to bed every night and made love to her

    with skilled passion, he gave her body more pleasure than she had believed was possible.

    Since the night of the charity gala that had ended with them consummating their marriage they

    had attended numerous parties and social events, and she was slowly beginning to find it less

    nerve-racking when she walked into a room full of strangers. Unlike on Aristo where she had

    managed to avoid the limelight, people in Athens seemed fascinated by her royal status and

    wherever she went she was the focus of avid interest from Nikos’s wide circle of friends and

    business associates.

    But it was difficult not to attract attention when Nikos insisted on her wearing the glamorous

    gowns that now filled her wardrobe. The clothes she had brought from Aristo had mysteriously

    disappeared, and been replaced by elegant day wear, and exotic, overtly ***y ****tail dresses

    and ball-gowns that she would never have chosen for herself. Sometimes she wondered if he was

    trying to turn her into a woman more like the sophisticated models he had dated before he had

    married her, but her insecurities about her body were gradually fading and her self-confidence

    growing as she blossomed beneath his attention and his undisguised desire for her.

    She could hear the sounds of the shower and knew that he would emerge from the en suite

    dressed in one of his designer suits that he wore for work. He would look as gorgeous as ever,

    but a glance in the mirror revealed that her hair looked like a bush and her face was a peculiar

    shade of green. The nausea was bad again this morning. Yesterday she had actually been sick,

    but fortunately not until after Nikos had gone.

    She sat up slowly, praying the feeling would pass. She couldn’t bear the idea of throwing up

    while he was around. It would be so undignified, she thought miserably, but her body cared

    nothing for dignity, and with a gasp she shot off the bed and raced through the connecting door

    to her dressing room and bathroom.

    Nikos found her there five minutes later, and, ignoring her terse plea to go away and leave her

    alone, he remained with her while she lost the contents of her stomach, and then wiped her face

    with a damp cloth as if she were a helpless child.

    ‘Are you feeling any better?’ he asked quietly when she sat on the edge of the bath, ashen-faced

    and utterly spent. For some reason the concern in his voice angered her. He wasn’t asking

    because he cared about her; he was only worried about the baby. She caught sight of her

    reflection in the mirror, and tears stung her eyes when she saw her sallow skin and her hair

    hanging limp and lustre-less on her shoulders. She looked disgusting, and she felt embarrassed

    about him seeing her at her most vulnerable and unattractive.

    ‘I hate feeling like this,’ she admitted miserably.

    Nikos stiffened at her words. ‘It is a natural side effect of pregnancy. The doctor said the

    sickness should lessen in a few more weeks.’

    He made her sound as though she was making a huge fuss over something trivial, and Kitty

    glared at him. ‘Well, he would say that, he’s a man, and he’s never had to go through this.’ Any

    more than Nikos had. The unspoken words hung in the air. ‘You have no idea how revolting I

    feel right now,’ she told him tightly. ‘It’s okay for you. Your body isn’t going to change out of

    all recognition and blow up like a balloon, and you don’t have to worry that whatever you eat for

    dinner is likely to bounce back up before breakfast.’

    ‘True,’ he said in a clipped tone, his dark eyes focused intently on her as if he was determined to

    read her mind. ‘But it will be worth it in the end—when the baby is here.’

    ‘I suppose,’ Kitty muttered. Now she was ashamed of her silly outburst, and for some reason she

    wanted to cry, but not in front of him. Hormones had a lot to answer for, she thought heavily.

    ‘I’m fine now,’ she assured him. ‘Go to work, Nikos.’

    He hesitated. ‘If it was any other day I would cancel my engagements and stay home. But I have

    a series of important meetings scheduled.’

    She was desperate for him to go so that she could shower and wash her hair, try and make
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    herself look vaguely human. ‘I don’t need you here,’ she told him edgily. ‘The nausea is passing,

    and in a while I’ll eat something.’ When he still did not move she cast around her mind for

    something to convince him she was perfectly all right. ‘I thought I might look into some charities

    that I could support. You said you have a friend who organises fund-raising events,’ she

    prompted him.

    ‘Yes, Melina Demakis. I’ll find you her number. But I don’t want you to take on too much.

    Your main priority should be caring for your health, and that of the baby.’

    ‘I realise that, and I will take care of myself.’ Kitty thought of the lonely hours she had spent in the apartment since he had returned to work. ‘You’re at your office all day, and I can’t just sit

    around for the next seven months until the baby comes.’

    He stared at her for a moment more and then nodded. ‘All right—come with me now and I’ll

    give you Melina’s contact details.’

    Nikos’s office was decorated in the same minimalist style as the rest of the apartment, pale walls

    and black furniture, a couple of modern prints in silver frames on the walls. The only personal

    item in the room was a small framed photograph on his desk.

    ‘My mother,’ he said when Kitty glanced curiously at the picture of a woman with dark hair and

    a gentle smile. ‘That was taken when I was a child. I found it among her things after she died.

    It’s the only photo I have of her,’ he added, taking the picture from Kitty and staring down at it.

    ‘She was very pretty,’ she murmured, ‘and she looks kind.’

    ‘She was.’

    Kitty was startled by the flare of pain in his eyes, but it was quickly hidden behind the sweep of

    his thick lashes. He set the photo down without further comment and flipped open the address

    book on his desk. ‘Melina’s details are here. I’m afraid I must go, I’m running late, and I may

    not be back for dinner. But Sotiri will cook for you, so make sure you eat—for the baby’s sake.’

    His concern for his child was indisputable, Kitty thought when he had gone. Naturally she

    wanted to do what was best for the baby, but sometimes Nikos made her feel more like an

    incubator than an expectant mother.

    By late morning she was feeling more like her usual self, and when she had showered and

    dressed, and eaten a huge breakfast, the day stretched before her. She had phoned Melina

    Demakis and spoken at length about possible charities she might like *****pport, and had

    arranged to meet the older woman and several of her committee members the following week. It

    seemed that she was destined to spend her life attending fund-raising events, and because of her

    royal status she was likely to bring attention to the organisations she supported, but it seemed an

    empty existence, and she wished she could do something more worthwhile.

    She flicked idly through the daily newspaper, pausing when a familiar name caught her

    attention. She had met Father Thomaso a few years ago when she had opened a hospice on

    Aristo that he had raised funds for. Now in his late sixties, the priest was at an age when he could have retired, but instead he was living in Athens and had set up a charity to help underprivileged

    young people.

    In the article Father Thomaso spoke movingly of the problems facing the very poor, especially

    children and teenagers—many of whom were immigrants who had come to Athens for a better

    life and had ended up living in slums or rough on the streets. He had opened a youth centre to

    provide a place of safety for children and adolescents, and was asking for financial and practical

    support.

    Deeply touched by the case stories she had read, Kitty picked up the phone, and when she set it

    down again twenty minutes later she had arranged to visit the Father and his youth centre to see

    what she could do to help.

    Later that day Kitty stared worriedly out of the taxi window at the volume of traffic on the road.

    She had stayed at the youth centre for much longer than she had planned, and a glance at her

    watch told her that she was going to be seriously late to meet Stavros at the National

    Archaeological Museum.

    Up until now her plan had worked well— although she didn’t feel comfortable about tricking

    Stavros, or deceiving Nikos. She wasn’t really deceiving him, she told herself. She had actually

    phoned his office to tell him she was going to visit the youth centre run by Father Thomaso, but

    his secretary had said he was in a meeting and had given instructions not to be disturbed unless

    there was an emergency.

    She could have left a message, Kitty acknowledged. But it had seemed easier to keep her plans

    to herself. Nikos had forbidden her from working as a volunteer at the local hospital, and she was

    sure he would not allow her to visit a notoriously rough area of the city to work with

    disadvantaged youths.

    It was that word ‘allow’ that infuriated her, she brooded as the taxi crept along at snail’s pace.

    She understood his concerns for the baby, but she was an adult who could make her own

    decisions. After her phone call to Father Thomaso she had been determined to visit the youth

    centre and meet some of the young people he was trying *****pport. But she knew that Stavros

    would immediately report back to Nikos, and so she had asked him to take her to the museum,

    knowing that he could be persuaded to wait in the car for her rather than be dragged around the

    exhibit rooms.

    Once Stavros had left her, she had slipped out of a side door and hailed a taxi to take her across

    town. The hours she had spent with Father Thomaso had convinced her that she had finally

    found something worthwhile to do with her empty days while Nikos was at work. But she knew

    she could not continue to deceive Nikos. On the journey back across town she wondered how she

    could convince him that she would come to no harm working at the youth centre—but when the

    taxi finally drew up outside the museum her heart sank at the sight of him standing, grim-faced,

    with Stavros.

    Okay, she shouldn’t have gone behind his back, she owned when she stepped out of the taxi.

    She owed him an apology and an explanation, but she hadn’t broken any laws, and there was no

    reason why he should be looking at her with such icy fury that her blood ran cold.

    ‘Stavros is in no way to blame,’ she said quietly when she reached him. ‘I sent him away, but I

    can explain.’

    ‘Can you?’ Nikos ground out, struggling to control the anger that had surged through him when

    he had seen her in the taxi and realised she had deliberately tricked her bodyguard. When Stavros

    had phoned him and explained that Kitty had disappeared from the museum, he had broken off

    his board meeting and raced across town, breaking every speed limit. Thoughts of kidnap had

    filled him with dread, but now a new fear churned in his gut. Where had she been? And why had

    she needed to go off in secret? He glanced round at Stavros and the security staff from the

    museum who had searched for her, and caught hold of Kitty’s arm in a bruising grip that made

    her wince. ‘We can’t talk here,’ he bit out tersely as he marched her over to his car and yanked

    open the door. ‘Get in.’

    Kitty knew better than to argue. His fury was palpable, and she quickly slid into her seat and

    stared straight ahead when he walked round the car and got in next to her. His silence during the

    journey back to the apartment shredded her nerves, and when she preceded him down the hall

    she was tempted to make a run for it and lock herself in her bathroom. She walked into the living

    room with him close behind her, and he immediately crossed to the bar, poured whisky into a

    glass and gulped it down. His tension was so fierce that even from a few feet away Kitty could

    feel it, and she felt a frisson of real fear when he strode towards her.

    ‘Where have you been all day, Kitty?’ His hand shot out and gripped her chin, holding her so

    tight that she was sure he would crush her jaw.

    ‘Nikos…you’re hurting me.’ Tears filled her eyes, and she swayed, feeling sick. She suddenly

    remembered that she had missed lunch. She had been busy talking to one of the boys at the youth
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    club who had run away from home after his abusive stepfather had beaten him. Time had passed

    as she had sat with Yanni and tried to comfort him, but now her blood sugars were low and she

    was afraid she was going to faint. ‘Let go of me and I’ll tell you,’ she pleaded. ‘For pity’s sake,

    Nikos! You’re scaring me, and this level of tension can’t be good for the baby.’

    ‘You mean there is still a baby?’ he growled savagely. He flung her from him, and she

    stumbled, but he stood staring at her, his eyes so dark and bitter that she shook her head in

    bewilderment.

    ‘Of course there’s still a baby. Why wouldn’t there be?’ she faltered.

    ‘You tell me, Kitty. This morning you told me how much you hate being pregnant, and then

    later you gave Stavros the slip and went off without telling anyone where you were going. But

    maybe you didn’t want anyone to know,’ he snarled. ‘Maybe you went to a private clinic and

    dealt with the problem of your pregnancy.’

    Either she was crazy, or he was. ‘What clinic?’ she demanded desperately. ‘There isn’t a

    problem with my pregnancy. I don’t understand what you mean, Nikos.’ She kept replaying his

    words in her head, and slowly, slowly, they made an appalling kind of sense. Dealt with the

    problem of yourpregnancy! Her knees sagged and she dropped down onto the sofa. ‘You can’t

    mean…you can’t think…’ She felt as though an iron band were tightening around her chest,

    squeezing the oxygen from her lungs. ‘You can’t think that I would—’ she could hardly bring

    herself to utter the words ‘—get rid of the baby?’

    ‘Why not?’ His eyes were black and dead. ‘It’s what my first wife did.’

    ‘ No.’ What he was telling her was too terrible to comprehend, and she closed her eyes, feeling utterly incapable of dealing with the pain that ravaged his face. ‘You must be wrong,’ she said

    jerkily. ‘Surely your wife wouldn’t have done that… I wouldn’t do that,’ she said in a stronger voice as she got unsteadily to her feet and crossed the room towards him. He stood immovable

    and grim-faced, and she saw him tense in rejection when she came close. But she did not care.

    Nothing mattered except that he should understand their child was safe.

    She took his hand and held it over her stomach, and stared up at him, her eyes locked with his.

    ‘Our baby is here inside me, and only fate will decide if it will be born safe and well in seven

    months’ time. But I will do my best to nurture and protect it, and I would never, ever do anything

    to harm it. Please, Nikos, you must believe me,’ she said shakily when he remained still and cold

    as a marble statue. ‘I didn’t say I hated being pregnant this morning.’ Colour stained her pale

    face as she remembered how she had been ill in front of him. ‘I meant that I hated being sick

    while you were there. I was… embarrassed for you to see me like that. Morning sickness isn’t

    very glamorous,’ she muttered.

    At last he moved, as if blood once more ran in his veins rather than ice. ‘You could not help

    being sick,’ he said harshly. He stared at his handon her stomach, and curved his fingers slightly

    as if he could somehow cradle the child within her. Slowly he lifted his eyes to her face and felt a jolt of shock when he saw her tears falling in a silent stream down her cheeks. ‘I thought—’ He

    broke off. ‘You were so miserable this morning, and you seemed to resent being pregnant. When

    I learned from Stavros that you had disappeared, and then realised the lengths you had taken to

    get away from him, I believed there could only be one reason why you would make such an

    elaborate deceit. My past experience coloured my judgement, and I jumped to the wrong

    conclusion,’ he said stiffly. He took his hand from her stomach and swung away to stare bleakly

    out over the city. ‘Forgive me.’

    His tone told her that he did not care whether she did or not.

    Kitty stared at his rigid shoulders, and bit her lip, wondering if she dared voice the questions

    circling in her head. ‘Did your first wife really…?’

    ‘Abort my child?’ He finished the question for her, his voice now flat and utterly devoid of

    emotion. ‘Yes.’ He had never spoken of it before, but he suddenly found the words spilling from

    him. ‘I had told Greta of my family history and she knew I would never abandon my child as my

    father had done. I don’t know if Greta’s pregnancy was a genuine mistake, or if she missed her

    contraceptive Pill deliberately, but when I learned she was expecting my baby I immediately

    offered to marry her.

    ‘I was devastated when she told me soon after our marriage that she had suffered a miscarriage,’

    he continued grimly. ‘She knew I wanted the child, but I discovered later that she had set her

    sights on marrying a millionaire, and once she had achieved her goal the child was no longer

    necessary. When our marriage crumbled because of her drug addiction, and she knew I intended

    to divorce her, she wanted to hurt me, and she told me that she had had an abortion.’

    No wonder his heart was buried beneath impenetrable layers of granite, Kitty thought, aching

    with sadness for him. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and simply hold him, but she

    knew he would reject her, and now she understood why. His trust and faith in humanity had not

    just been shattered, but utterly and cruelly destroyed beyond repair.

    ‘Where is Greta now?’ she asked huskily.

    ‘She died two years ago as a result of her drug habit.’

    There was not a shred of pity in his voice. He had stated that he had married his first wife after

    she conceived his baby, but Kitty knew instinctively that it had been more than that. Had he

    loved her? She was startled by how much the idea hurt, and she pushed her ridiculous jealousy

    away. If he had cared for Greta, then her betrayal must have been doubly agonising.

    She understood now why he wanted his child so desperately. He had lost his only blood relative

    when he was a vulnerable teenager, and later suffered the most terrible betrayal by his first wife.

    The baby inside her meant everything to him, and she knew then that whatever happened

    between them in the future—even if they ended up rowing constantly— she could never separate

    him from his child.

    But she could not contemplate a time when she might want to end their marriage. She loved

    him, Kitty admitted silently. From the very beginning she had been drawn to him by more than

    just the ***ual chemistry that burned between them. She had thought he was cold and heartless,

    but how could he be anything else after the pain he had suffered in his life? She wished she could

    go to him and tell him that she would always be there for him. But he did not want her love, and

    she did not want to burden him with it or make him feel guilty that he could never love her in

    return.

    She was at a loss to know what to say to him, and even though he was standing only a few feet

    away the distance between them seemed unbridgeable. Tiredness rolled over her in a wave, and

    with it a feeling of defeat. After all he had suffered he would never lower his guard and feel

    normal emotions like trust and caring. When they had married he’d told her bluntly that he

    would never love her, and she had accepted it. But it hadn’t stopped her secretly hoping that over

    time their physical relationship would develop into something more. Now she knew there was no

    hope of that ever happening. His emotional scars ran too deep and she could not blame him for

    refusing to risk being hurt again.

    Nikos was staring unseeingly out of the window, lost in his bitter memories, but he suddenly

    swung round and pierced her with a sharp stare. ‘So, where did you go today?’

    Kitty took a deep breath, ashamed of her stupid deceit now that she knew how badly he had

    been deceived in the past. ‘I went to visit a youth centre for underprivileged children and

    teenagers. I read about it in the newspaper, and remembered the priest who runs it, Father

    Thomaso, from Aristo.

    ‘I know I should have told you, Nikos, but I was afraid you would stop me. You have no idea
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    what terrible lives some of those children have had,’ she said urgently. ‘I’ve spent my whole life

    as a pampered princess, and I want to do something useful and meaningful. I know I can give

    money, but what the children really need is someone to listen to them, someone to care—’

    She broke off, not encouraged by his frown, and fully expecting him to accuse her of putting the

    baby at risk, but his reaction surprised her.

    ‘Actually I know only too well from my own childhood experiences what their lives are like,’ he

    said quietly, staring at her intently as he tried to understand her. She was a princess from one of

    the wealthiest families in Europe, yet despite her privileged upbringing she wanted to help the

    poor and desperate who lived on the streets. None of the women he had ever dated in his past had

    had a social conscience, and he didn’t know quite what to make of her.

    ‘I told you that I inherited Petridis Shipping from Larissa.’ He broke the silence that had fallen

    between them. ‘But I did not want Larissa’s personal fortune, I was determined to make my own,

    and so I put her money into a charitable fund which provides financial support to a number of

    causes, including, as it happens, the youth centre you visited today. I have never met Father

    Thomaso, but I know of his work and I have already organised for Larissa’s charitable fund to

    make a significant donation to his centre.’

    Something flared in his eyes, a new respect for her that lifted her heart. ‘I don’t think you should take on too many commitments while you are pregnant, and after the baby is born you will be

    busy. But I am looking for someone to become president of the charitable fund I’ve set up. The

    position is yours, if you want it.’

    He walked over to her when she eagerly nodded her head, and slid his hand beneath her chin,

    tilting her face to him. ‘We married for the sake of our child, and if I’m honest I believed you

    were as shallow as the women I dated before I met you,’ he said bluntly. ‘But you constantly

    surprise me, Kitty,’ he finished, his frustration that he did not understand her tangible. He was

    shocked that he had revealed so much of himself to her, but to his surprise he realised that he did

    not regret telling her about his past. After Greta, he had believed he would never trust anyone,

    but when he looked into Kitty’s soft, brown eyes he felt… healed.

    He looked down at her pale face and frowned when she swayed unsteadily on her feet. ‘What’s

    wrong?’ he demanded sharply. ‘Are you ill?’

    ‘I forgot lunch,’ she admitted sheepishly. ‘And now I feel sick again and I don’t think I can

    manage dinner.’

    ‘Kitty! Do you think you could worry about other people a bit less, and yourself a bit more?’ he

    growled, ignoring her startled gasp as he swung her into his arms and strode down the hall.

    ‘I’m sorry,’ she mumbled, trying to resist the urge to press her face into his neck and breathe in

    his tantalising male scent. ‘I know you’re concerned for the baby.’

    ‘Actually, agape , I am concerned about you.’ She looked drained and infinitely fragile, and something indefinable tugged at his heart, but he forced it away and reminded himself that she

    was the mother of his child and so of course he cared about her welfare.

    He stopped off at the kitchen and stood over her until she had forced down a banana and a glass

    of milk. Then he carried her to the bedroom—as if she were as light as a feather rather than a

    well-built, pregnant woman, Kitty mused sleepily as he removed her clothes and slipped a

    nightdress over her head before he helped her into bed. She was asleep within seconds of her

    head touching the pillow, but Nikos lay awake long into the night, his thoughts preoccupied—not

    by his past, but his future with the woman lying beside him.

    CHAPTER TWELVE

    KITTYsmoothed a crease from the skirt of her elegant cream linen suit, and skimmed through

    her notes one last time. Around her, the hotel banqueting room was filled with guests who were

    attending the lunch in support of the youth centre Father Thomaso had set up—and in her role as

    patron of the charity, she was about to give a speech outlining the aims of the centre and asking

    for donations.

    Beside her, Nikos smiled and rested his hand lightly on her thigh. ‘Are you nervous, agape?

    There must be several hundred people here today.’

    Kitty took a deep breath, and squared her shoulders. ‘I’m fine,’ she said confidently, ignoring

    the few butterflies in her stomach. She knew that once she walked onto the stage, and began to

    talk about the centre and the lives of the children it aimed *****pport, her nerves would

    disappear.

    It seemed hard to believe that only a short while ago she had been so crippled by shyness that

    any type of socialising had been an ordeal. Since she had married Nikos and moved to Athens

    she felt as though she had emerged from a shell. She was no longer drab, dumpy Kitty Karedes.

    She knew she looked good in the clothes he bought her, and the admiration in his eyes made her

    feel more confident about her curvy figure.

    ‘Are you sure? You look a little flushed,’ Nikos murmured, his eyes glinting wickedly as his

    hand inched higher up her skirt.

    ‘Will you behave—at least until later, when we’re alone?’ Kitty choked, amusement and desire

    mingling as she prised his hand from her leg. ‘You have an insatiable appetite, Nikos.’

    ‘Only for you, Kitty mou ,’ he drawled lazily. The sensual promise in his eyes caused the

    familiar weakness in Kitty’s limbs, and she wished they were back home at the apartment and he

    would spend the rest of the afternoon making love to her. But first she had a speech to give, and

    then they were going to the hospital for her first antenatal scan. Up on stage the event organiser

    announced her name, and she gathered up her notes.

    ‘Wish me luck,’ she murmured, and gave a startled gasp when he leaned towards her and

    claimed her mouth in a slow, sweet kiss.

    ‘You don’t need luck—you’re a brilliant speaker.’ He paused and then said quietly, ‘I am very

    proud of you, agape .’

    She blushed and gave one of her soft smiles that tugged at Nikos’s insides before she walked up

    the room, and when she stepped onto the stage he joined the other guests and applauded her,

    feeling a mixture of pride and frustration that just lately she seemed to dominate his thoughts to

    the exclusion of anything else.

    Ever since the day she had visited Father Thomaso’s youth centre, and the explosive

    confrontation that had followed, which had led him to telling her about his past, a fragile bond

    had developed between them. The last few weeks had been… good, he admitted, refusing to

    dwell on the fact that he had cut back significantly on his working hours so that he could spend

    time with her. It was important that they established a friendly relationship before the baby was

    born, but he was surprised and faintly dismayed by how much he enjoyed her company.

    Kitty was no longer the wary and reserved person she had been when he had first brought her to

    Athens, and since he had appointed her as head of the Larissa Petridis Foundation her confidence

    had soared. She took her charity work seriously and the media had dubbed her the Caring

    Princess. She had become something of a celebrity in Athens, and even he was privately amazed

    by her transformation from a shy, reluctant royal to a graceful and breathtakingly beautiful

    princess.

    Without him being aware of her doing it, she had encouraged him to talk about the issues that

    still haunted him, in particular his feeling that he had failed to protect his first child. Thanks to Kitty he was slowly coming to terms with his past, and he was looking forward to the future

    when he would be a father. But although he trusted her in a way he had never believed he would

    trust any human being, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was holding back from him,

    particularly when he made love to her, and that in turn made him reluctant to lower his guard.

    The press were waiting for them when they emerged from the hotel. Kitty did not enjoy their
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    constant attention, but she dealt with it with quiet dignity, smiling and standing with Nikos’s arm

    around her waist while the photographers jostled to take pictures.

    ‘At least it will bring the youth centre to everyone’s notice,’ she murmured when they finally

    made it to the car and Stavros sped off. But she was glad they had lost the paparazzi by the time

    they reached the hospital. The scan was a private matter for her and Nikos and she didn’t want to

    share the experience with the rest of the world.

    Inside the private hospital they walked along plush carpeted corridors to the obstetrician’s

    office. ‘Dr Antoniadis is the best in Greece,’ Nikos had told her when he had made the

    appointment. ‘He will oversee your care and personally deliver the baby.’ Nothing, it seemed,

    was too good for Nikos’s child.

    Dr Antoniadis carried out some basic checks on Kitty and then chatted to them both about the

    type of birth she hoped to have.

    ‘Painless, hopefully,’ she quipped, feeling a sudden rush of nerves when she thought about the

    technicalities of giving birth. To her surprise, Nikos reached across and clasped her hand.

    ‘I will be with you every minute of your labour,’ he promised. And for some reason the strength

    in his voice and the firmness of his fingers gripping hers made Kitty want to cry. Fortunately a

    nurse appeared and led her off to change into a hospital gown, ready for the scan, and then, when

    she lay on the bed in the scanning room and someone smeared cold jelly over her, she was more

    concerned with the size of her stomach, which was already discernibly rounded, to give much

    thought to anything else.

    ‘You won’t see much at this early stage,’ the technician explained as a fuzzy grey blur appeared

    on the screen. ‘We really just want to check the heartbeat—and there it is. Can you see it? That

    little pulse there is your baby.’

    Kitty stared at the screen, at the indistinct blob of cells and the tiny but plainly visible speck that was beating rhythmically, and emotion flooded through her. In that moment her pregnancy

    became real. It was no longer something vague: a line on a pregnancy kit and nausea in the

    mornings. A human life was developing inside her: her child—hers and Nikos’s. She blinked to

    dispel the moisture that had welled in her eyes, and turned to him. And more tears gathered when

    she saw his face. He was leaning forward slightly in his chair, staring intently at the grainy

    image, and she could see the tension in his shoulders, the absolute stillness, as if he were afraid

    that if he moved the picture on the screen would disappear.

    ‘Nikos.’ Her voice was choked, and he stirred then and gripped her hand, lifted it to his mouth

    and pressed his lips to her fingers.

    ‘We will give our child everything,’ he said rawly.

    She knew he was thinking about his own childhood when he had had so little. ‘Of course we

    will,’ she assured him softly. ‘But a child needs more than material things. A child needs love,

    perhaps more than anything—and we will love it—he or she,’ she added with a smile as she

    pictured a little boy with dark hair and flashing eyes, or a girl with pink cheeks—probably

    chubby cheeks if the baby took after her, she thought ruefully.

    Afterwards they strolled around the park next to the hospital, where the late afternoon sunshine

    filtered through the leaves of the cypress trees and made patterns of gold on the paths.

    ‘What do you hope it is—a boy or a girl?’ she asked curiously.

    ‘I don’t know.’ Nikos looked startled for a moment, as if it was the first time he had considered

    that the baby would be one or the other. ‘I don’t mind,’ he said seriously, echoing her own

    thoughts, and she glanced at him and shared the unspoken message that what really mattered was

    that their child would be healthy and born safely.

    ‘It’s exciting, isn’t it—to think that in a few months from now the baby will actually be here?’

    Kitty felt her heart flip as she imagined cradling her child in her arms. Since the scan she

    couldn’t stop smiling. Her pregnancy had been unplanned and a huge shock, but she did not

    regret it, and she couldn’t wait to be a mother.

    ‘Yes, it’s exciting.’ Nikos returned her smile and slipped his hand into hers as they walked.

    Their child would form a bond between them that would last a lifetime, Kitty realised, loving the

    new closeness she sensed was developing between them.

    ‘Tell me about your childhood,’ he said suddenly. ‘I’ve told you about mine, but yours must

    have been very different, growing up in a palace with the other members of the royal family.’

    ‘Well, I certainly never wanted for anything,’ she murmured. ‘The palace was an amazing place

    to grow up, although of course when I was a child I didn’t realise how privileged I was. But it

    wasn’t just material things. There were five of us children, so I was never lonely. And although

    my parents were busy much of the time with state affairs, they always had time for us.

    ‘I was especially close to my father,’ she revealed with a soft smile as she remembered the late

    king. ‘I adored him. When I was a little girl he used to come to the nursery every night and read

    stories from my favourite book— Russian FairyTales and Fables.’ Kitty’s smile faded and she

    felt the familiar pang of sadness that she would never see her father again, or hear his deep,

    rumbling tones. ‘He used to tell me that I would grow up to be a beautiful princess like in the

    fairy tales, and that one day I would marry a handsome prince.’

    But in fairy tales the prince always fell in love with the princess—which just went to show the

    difference between fantasy fiction and real life, she thought bleakly as she stared at Nikos’s

    sculpted features and saw the inherent toughness in the hard line of his jaw.

    ‘I wish I still had the book,’ she said wistfully. ‘Unfortunately it was lost in a fire that destroyed part of the palace nursery a few years ago. It’s out of print now, and the few copies that exist are owned by private collectors, so I don’t suppose I’ll ever be able to read it to our child.’

    ‘We’ll buy new books, and toys—everything the baby needs,’ Nikos murmured, thinking of his

    own childhood that had lacked even basic necessities such as food, let alone toys and books.

    Kitty had said that a child needed love more than material possessions, and maybe she was right.

    He knew without doubt that he would love his child, but what kind of father would he be when

    he had never had a role model? He felt singularly inadequate for the job, especially when Kitty

    would surely compare his efforts at fatherhood with her own father, whom she had obviously

    idolised.

    Her life had turned out vastly different from the life she must have imagined as a child, he

    brooded. Instead of meeting a prince with an aristocratic lineage she had been forced to marry a

    commoner who had no idea who had fathered him. And she missed Aristo and the royal palace—

    she never said so, but he knew she didn’t enjoy living in the apartment in the centre of a busy

    city, and that when he was at work she often visited Athens’ famous National Gardens.

    ‘Maybe we should start looking at houses,’ he startled Kitty by saying. ‘Somewhere in the

    suburbs, with a garden for the baby to play in when it’s older. Would you like that?’

    ‘It would be nice,’ she replied slowly. ‘But you like the apartment. It’s your bachelor pad.’

    ‘Mmm, but I am not a bachelor any more, and I want what is best for our child—I’ll contact

    some estate agents,’ Nikos said decisively. ‘But moving takes time, and for now I was thinking

    that we could turn your dressing room into a nursery so that we are close to the baby if it wakes

    during the night—unless you’re planning on sleeping in there again yourself?’

    Kitty blushed at the teasing glint in his eyes, knowing that he was remembering her first few

    nights at the apartment when she had refused to share his bed. ‘You might prefer us to sleep
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    apart when I’m nine months pregnant and the size of a whale,’ she murmured, voicing the fear

    that had been niggling away at her that he would no longer find her attractive when she was

    heavily pregnant. ‘Really, Nikos, I’m sure I’m going to be huge . I’ve already gained weight.’

    ‘I know,’ he growled as he leaned against a tree and drew her into his arms. ‘Your breasts are

    bigger—and I am definitely a breast man,’ he muttered, deftly unbuttoning her jacket so that he

    could caress her full curves that were straining beneath her silk blouse. He ran his finger lightly

    down her cheek and saw the betraying quiver that ran through her. ‘You look tired, agape .’

    ‘Oh!’ Kitty’s face fell. She did not want to be told she looked tired; she wanted Nikos to tell her

    she looked gorgeous and ***y and that he was impatient to take her to bed. ‘Well, I’m not. I feel

    fine.’

    ‘What a pity.’ His mouth curved into an amused smile when she stared at him in confusion. ‘I

    was thinking that you should spend the rest of the afternoon lying down—and to prevent you

    from feeling bored, I would lie with you and…entertain you.’

    Kitty couldn’t restrain the little shiver of excitement that ran through her, and she felt a delicious tingle of anticipation at the sultry gleam in Nikos’s eyes. ‘In that case, we’d better go home,’ she whispered against his mouth, and gave a low murmur of approval when he claimed her lips in a

    hungry kiss that demanded her eager response.

    Fortunately it was not far back to the apartment, although Nikos was so impatient that he had

    already removed her jacket and unfastened her blouse by the time the lift reached the top floor.

    ‘You mustn’t keep carrying me,’ she protested when he swept her into his arms and raced down

    the hall. ‘I’m no lightweight, Nikos.’

    He laughed, and the sound rumbled in his big chest as he lowered her to her feet in the bedroom.

    ‘I like carrying you. You fit into my arms,’ he murmured, tugging her blouse over her shoulders

    and reaching round to unsnap her bra.

    Her breasts were getting huge, and her nipples were bigger and darker, Kitty noted dismally

    when she glanced down. She looked so different from the skinny, flat-chested blonde models

    Nikos had dated in the past, and some of her old insecurity about her shape returned. Sunshine

    was pouring through the windows, and she was unnerved at the thought of taking off her clothes

    and standing stark naked in the brilliant light, when before they had only ever made love in the

    soft glow from the bedside lamps.

    ‘I’ll shut the blinds,’ she murmured, inching away from him and crossing her arms over her

    breasts.

    His brows rose quizzically and he paused in the act of removing his shirt. ‘Why? We’re on the

    top floor and not overlooked by anyone,’ he said, the amusement in his voice fading when he

    tried to prise her arms open and she stubbornly resisted. ‘What’s the matter, Kitty? Why don’t

    you like me seeing your body? Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you hide beneath the sheets

    whenever you can.’

    His strength easily outmatched hers, and Kitty hung her head when he drew her arms down to

    her sides. ‘I’m fat,’ she burst out miserably. ‘And it’s not all due to being pregnant. I’ve always

    had curves, and I’ve never liked my body—not since—’ She broke off and stared determinedly

    at the carpet.

    Frowning, Nikos put a finger under her chin and tilted her face up. ‘Not since what, agape ?’

    She shrugged awkwardly, sure that Nikos must be growing impatient with her. But when she

    looked at him she saw nothing but concern in his dark eyes, and she felt a sudden urge to confide

    in him.

    ‘It’s stupid, really,’ she muttered. ‘I went on a date years ago. My first date as it happens. My

    father had always been very protective, and I was ridiculously naïve. Anyway, my father

    persuaded me to go on a date with the son of one of his friends—I think Papa probably arranged

    it because he’d realised I was never going to find a boyfriend when I spent all my time in the

    library,’ she told Nikos wryly.

    ‘The evening was a disaster, culminating in my “date” assaulting me in the back of his car.’

    ‘What do you mean by assaulted ? Were you raped?’ Nikos was shocked by the savage anger

    that coursed through him, and the surge of protectiveness that made him want to pull Kitty into

    his arms and simply hold her.

    ‘No, no,’ she assured him quickly. ‘To be honest, I think he was too drunk. But he ripped my

    dress and…and touched me, and when I tried to stop him, he accused me of leading him on. He

    made me feel ashamed of my body, and I suppose I let the incident grow huge in my mind.

    ‘When I met you, and we made love in the ****, I was pretending to be somebody else, and I

    forgot all my inhibitions…’ She trailed off and stared at Nikos, and then said rather desperately,

    ‘I really would be happier if we shut the blinds.’

    He shook his head, and reached for her, drawing her gently against him so that her breasts were

    crushed against his chest while he threaded his fingers through her hair. ‘Who was this friend of

    the family who violated you and shattered your self-confidence?’ he demanded.

    Kitty hesitated. ‘Vasilis Sarondakos.’

    ‘ Theos! Sarondakos again! Pray for his sake that I never run into him, because my fist is itching to meet his face,’ Nikos said grimly. ‘But there are more subtle methods of retribution. I happen

    to know that Vasilis has spent the fortune he inherited from his grandfather and is desperately

    looking for a backer for his business venture. Wouldn’t it be a pity if he failed to get the cash he needs?’ he murmured with a cold gleam in his eyes that warned Kitty he would be a dangerous

    opponent in the boardroom. ‘I’ll call in a few favours with my banking friends.’ He smiled at

    her, warmth replacing the icy anger that he felt for Vasilis.

    ‘Forget Sarondakos and his spite, agape . You should be proud of your gorgeous body, not want to hide it away. Do you feel dirty or ashamed when I make love to you?’ he asked softly.

    Slowly, Kitty shook her head, afraid that if she admitted she felt nothing but desperate, searing

    desire when she was in his arms he would realise the effect he had on her.

    He was stroking her hair, soothing the tension from her, and her heart missed a beat when he

    eased her away from him a fraction and cradled her breasts in his hands. ‘I want to see the

    sunlight gild your body when I make love to you,’ he said, his voice as soft and sensuous as

    crushed velvet. ‘I want to watch your eyes darken when I touch you like this.’ He brushed his

    thumb pads over her nipples and then rolled the taut peaks between his fingers, sending exquisite

    sensation shooting through her. ‘And I want to see all of you, Kitty, every last delectable inch.’

    Her skirt fluttered to the floor, and she heard him inhale sharply as his gaze roamed over her

    gossamer-fine stockings and stiletto heels, and the tiny scrap of white lace that covered her

    femininity. Her thick chestnut hair had fallen forwards, and he pushed it back over her shoulders

    and cupped her breasts again, his eyes gleaming hotly beneath his heavy lids.

    ‘ Theos, how can you doubt what you do to me?’ he demanded rawly as his restraint gave way

    and he hauled her into his arms so that the throbbing force of his arousal pushed insistently

    between her thighs. He claimed her mouth in a fierce, hungry kiss, and somehow managed to

    strip out of his clothes and push her backwards onto the bed without taking his lips from hers.

    In the sunlight his hair gleamed like black satin as he moved down her body, pausing to take

    each swollen nipple into his mouth while he dipped his hand between her thighs. She was wet

    and ready for him and arched her hips in mute supplication as he caressed her. He withdrew his

    finger and pushed her legs wider apart and she thought he would take her immediately, and her

    breathing quickened. Instead she gave a shocked cry when he bent his head and placed his mouth
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    over her femininity, his tongue taking the place of his finger as he thrust it into her damp

    opening.

    ‘Nikos…no!’ Frantic with embarrassment she gripped his hair and tried to drag his head up, but

    he did not cease his intimate caress and soon she forgot everything but the molten heat of her

    desire and her spiralling need for his full possession. Just when she thought she could withstand

    no more, and teetered on the edge of orgasm, he moved over her and entered her with one

    forceful thrust, his erection so powerful that he had to pause while her muscles stretched to

    accommodate him. And then he moved again, quick and hard, each sure stroke building her

    pleasure until it was unbearable and she could feel the first spasms pulsate deep in her pelvis.

    She almost cried out as wave after wave of sensation ripped through her, but some deep-held

    instinct for self-protection made her stifle her moans, and she closed her eyes so that he would

    not see the depth of her emotions as they ed simultaneously. He was the love of her life,

    she thought when they lay together while their breathing gradually slowed. After the incredible

    passion they had just shared it seemed impossible that he did not feel something for her, some

    small glimmer of affection that would give hope to her starving heart.

    But when he rolled off her and gave a languorous stretch, his satisfied smile was that of a man

    who had just enjoyed fantastic *** that had left his body sated and his emotions untouched. He

    got up from the bed, and her eyes were drawn helplessly to him, her stomach dipping as she

    absorbed the masculine beauty of his lean, hard body, gleaming like bronze in the afternoon

    sunlight. She thought he was heading for the en suite, but he carried on out of the bedroom,

    returning minutes later with a slim velvet box in his hands.

    ‘I bought you a present,’ he murmured as he rejoined her on the bed.

    ‘Another one?’ she protested faintly, thinking of the numerous dresses, exotic underwear, and

    fabulous jewellery he had given her over the past few weeks. If he only knew it, she would swap

    all of them for the words she longed to hear from him. But she knew he would never say them.

    She was his wife, and the mother of his child, but she was not the love of his life, and she never

    would be. It was just a pity her aching heart could not accept that fact.

    ‘Aren’t you going to open it?’

    Quickly she flipped open the box and stared at the necklace made up of dozens of square-cut

    diamonds that glittered like teardrops on the black velvet cushion. It was breathtaking, and, from

    her knowledge of jewellery from the Royal Collection on Aristo, mind-bogglingly expensive.

    He was waiting for her to say something, but for some reason she wanted to cry and she bit

    down hard on her lip, her eyes blurring so that the diamonds seemed to fracture into a thousand

    sparkling shards. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she choked, ‘but you’ve already given me so much.’ And yet of

    the things that mattered, so little. ‘You don’t have to keep buying me presents, Nikos.’

    He lifted the necklace from the box and fastened it around her neck so that it lay cold against her

    skin. ‘I like to buy you gifts,’ he said with a shrug. ‘I want you to know that I appreciate you.’

    ‘Do you?’ she asked cautiously, her heart trembling with fragile hope.

    ‘Certainly.’ His mouth curved into a sensual smile as he leaned back on the pillows to admire

    the diamonds at her throat. They had cost him the earth, but they were worth every penny when

    they were displayed in all their shimmering glory on her naked skin. ‘Our marriage was not what

    either of us would have chosen,’ he stated coolly, ‘but we both acknowledge the responsibility

    we have towards the baby we created during a moment of madness. I think we have become

    friends as well as lovers, haven’t we, Kitty? And I believe that our companionable relationship,

    based on mutual respect and trust, is the greatest gift we can give our child.’

    Was that the reason he had made the effort to spend time with her—to befriend her and make

    her trust him? Was it all for the baby’s sake? Of course it was, she acknowledged painfully.

    Their child would grow up in a harmonious environment with two parents who were polite and

    courteous towards each other as all good friends were. It should be enough. It would have to be

    enough. But it wasn’t, and the loveless future that stretched before her suddenly seemed very

    bleak.

    CHAPTER THIRTEEN

    NIKOSfelt the last spasms slowly drain from his body, and rested his head on Kitty’s breasts.

    Her skin was velvet soft beneath his cheek and he inhaled the delicate, floral scent of her

    perfume. He was tempted to remain lying on top of her, their bodies joined, but after a few

    moments he rolled over and stared up at the ceiling, feeling the familiar frustration that, although *** with her seemed to get better and better, the distance he sensed between them was growing

    wider.

    He did not like clingy women, he reminded himself irritably. He should be pleased that Kitty no

    longer cuddled up to him after *** and instead moved to her side of the bed as soon as their

    passion was spent, but perversely he wished that she were not quite so unmoved by their physical

    intimacy.

    He propped up on one elbow as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. At least she was no

    longer shy about her body, and did not rush to cover up, he mused as he studied her voluptuous

    breasts and delightfully round bottom, and felt himself harden again. He knew he should have no

    complaints about their marriage. They got on well out of bed, and their *** life was amazing. So

    why did he feel as though something was missing—something elusive, that he did not

    understand, but seemed to be the cause of the curious flatness he felt inside?

    She had been brushing her hair, and now it rippled down her back like a river of silk. ‘I thought

    we could host a dinner party next week,’ she murmured as she set down the brush and turned to

    face him. ‘We’ve been invited to several recently, and it’s time we returned the compliment.’

    ‘Fine—but it can’t be next week,’ he replied, thinking of the meeting that had been arranged at

    the last minute. ‘I’m flying to New York on Sunday night and I’ll be away until the following

    weekend.’

    Kitty felt a stab of disappointment, and her voice was unwittingly sharp when she spoke. ‘This

    is the first I’ve heard of your business trip.’ She paused, and then added, ‘I assume it is for

    business?’ Shannon Marsh lived in New York. Was he planning on a reunion to catch up on old

    times? She instantly dismissed the idea. She trusted Nikos; he had married her because he

    wanted his child, and for the same reason he would remain faithful to her.

    But she did not want him to go away. They had been getting on well recently, better than she

    had ever dared hope at the start of their marriage, and she was afraid that while he was away he

    might revert back to the old, cold Nikos. She wished he would suggest that she accompanied him

    to America, but maybe he thought she was too busy with her charity work? She hesitated, feeling

    a rush of nerves, and then murmured, ‘Perhaps I could come with you?’

    ‘Not this time, I’m afraid.’

    His smile was meant to take the sting out of the words, but when all was said and done it was

    still a rejection, Kitty thought miserably.

    ‘I’ll be busy all week, and you’ll get bored.’ He saw the flare of hurt in her eyes and briefly

    contemplated changing his mind. But these were important negotiations, and she would be a

    distraction. If he was honest, the real reason he didn’t want her with him was because he wanted

    some time to himself, Nikos acknowledged. She was in his mind a lot lately, more than he was

    comfortable with, and he needed to prove to himself that he could walk away from her any time

    he liked.

    ‘Well—’ Kitty dredged up a smile and tried to act as if it was no big deal ‘—another time,

    maybe?’ But she was so hurt that she couldn’t help being cool with him for the rest of the

    weekend, and he either didn’t notice, or didn’t care, because he made no comment when she
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    turned away from him in bed on Saturday night, and, instead of pulling her into his arms as she

    longed for him to do, he rolled over and fell asleep, unaware that she wept silent tears into her

    pillow.

    She had to stop this, Kitty told herself at the beginning of the following week—after she had

    bade Nikos a frosty goodbye and he had shrugged carelessly and walked out of the apartment

    without a backward glance. She had to stop longing for what he could never give her, and make

    the most of what she had—a charming, attentive, extremely virile husband who she knew was

    determined to make their marriage work.

    But the days without him dragged, and although she kept herself busy with her work for the

    foundation she missed him desperately. He phoned every evening, but their conversations were

    stilted. The distance between them had nothing to do with the fact that they were miles apart;

    there was a subtle change in their relationship, and she was afraid she was losing the tenuous

    closeness she had sensed had grown between them.

    But what was she expecting from him? she asked herself towards the end of the week, when his

    absence sat like a dull weight in her chest. She knew his history, and understood how terribly he

    had been damaged by his past. It was possible that he would never fully recover, yet she was still

    waiting for him to act like a knight in shining armour from the fairy tales she used to read, and

    go down on bended knee to proclaim his undying love for her.

    Unlike him she had enjoyed a blissfully happy childhood surrounded by love from her parents,

    brothers and sister. It was easy for her to love when she had never known pain and rejection. But

    instead of telling him honestly how she felt about him, she hugged her love for him to herself

    like a miser, and hid her emotions behind her pride.

    Perhaps it was time to dismiss her pride and ignore that little voice in her head that whispered

    that in love stories the hero had to admit his love first. This wasn’t a story, this was real life—

    and Nikos’s life had been far from a fairy tale. The worst he could do would be to tell her that he

    would never love her in return, she told herself, feeling a flutter of fear in her stomach at that

    very likely prospect. Since he had married her he had shown her kindness and respect, and his

    faith in her ability to head the charitable foundation he had set up in honour of the woman who

    had befriended him had been a huge boost to her self-confidence.

    Lost in her thoughts, she did not notice that Sotiri had come out onto the terrace with her

    breakfast until he halted by the table and gave a low whistle.

    ‘Anastasia!’

    Kitty followed his gaze to the portrait of Nikos’s mother that had been delivered to the

    apartment that morning and was now propped on a chair. ‘Was that her name? I didn’t realise

    you knew her, Sotiri.’

    ‘Sure thing—Nikos and I grew up on the same streets. His mother was a lovely lady; everyone

    liked her. It broke Nikos’s heart when she died,’ Sotiri said gruffly. ‘Where did you get the

    painting?’

    ‘I took a copy of the little photo on his desk and sent it to an artist on Aristo who has painted all the recent portraits of the royal family,’ Kitty explained. ‘Nikos had told me that the photo was

    his only memento of his mother, and I thought it would be nice to have a proper painting of her.

    The artist has done a good job and caught her likeness perfectly,’ she murmured as she studied

    the painting. ‘I was planning to give it to Nikos when he arrives home on Sunday—which I also

    happen to know is his birthday, although he hasn’t mentioned it. Do you think he’ll like it,

    Sotiri?’ she queried, doubts forming when he continued to stare at the picture with a curious

    expression on his face.

    He turned to her and gave her an intent glance. ‘I think he’ll be speechless, Miss Kitty.’ He

    hesitated and then said quietly, ‘He does have a heart, you know; he just keeps it well hidden.’

    Kitty spent the whole of Sunday torn between excitement because Nikos would soon be home

    and dread because he might not like the painting, or her reason for giving it to him. She had

    learned from his secretary that his flight was due to land in Athens late in the afternoon. Sotiri

    had prepared a special dinner, and had left it ready for her to serve, and she set the table, added

    candles and flowers and placed the wrapped portrait on his chair.

    After a long debate over what to wear she chose a simple gold silk gown, which was cleverly cut

    to disguise the pregnancy weight she’d gained on her hips and stomach, and had a low-cut

    neckline that she knew Nikos would approve of. She left her hair loose, the way he liked it, put

    on the diamond necklace that had been his last gift to her, and sprayed perfume to her pulse

    points, and then paced the apartment impatiently, her heart thudding.

    But he didn’t come home. As the evening ticked by her tension grew, and finally, when it

    seemed unlikely that his flight would be this late, she phoned his mobile.

    ‘Angelaki,’ he answered just as she was about to cut the call, and she frowned at the background

    sounds of music and female voices.

    ‘Nikos, I was expecting you home hours ago.’

    ‘Were you?’ He sounded dismissive and vaguely surprised. ‘I don’t remember saying what time

    I would be home.’

    ‘No, but I thought…’ She trailed off. ‘Are you back in Athens? Where are you?’

    ‘The casino—I bumped into a couple of friends at the airport.’ A woman laughed close to the

    phone. No doubt she was some blonde bimbo who was hanging onto his arm, waiting for him to

    finish his call to his wife, Kitty thought furiously. ‘Don’t wait up for me, agape . I could be a while.’

    ‘Fine.’ Her hands were shaking when she ended the call, and tears burned her eyes. She had

    spent the whole week looking forward to him coming home, but he couldn’t have emphasised

    more clearly that he hadn’t given her a second thought while he had been away, and was in no

    rush to see her again.

    He had never given any indication that he wanted her to be anything more than his convenient

    *** partner and the mother of his child, she reminded herself bleakly. It was not his fault that she had fallen in love with him, and he would be astonished if he could see her now, with tears and

    mascara streaking her face as she threw herself on the bed and cried until her heart ached.

    Nothing much had changed, Nikos brooded as he glanced around the casino. It was the same old

    crowd of die-hard bachelors grouped around the roulette table, the same vacuous girls flirting

    with any rich-looking man under seventy. This had been his way of life for years and he had

    never questioned whether or not he enjoyed it, he thought as he detached himself from a

    predatory blonde and walked towards the exit.

    He didn’t know why he had come here. But that was a lie, he acknowledged, raking a hand

    through his hair. He had come because he was scared to go home. Him—Nikos Angelaki—the

    toughest kid on the streets, the most feared adversary in the boardroom. He had known this

    churning feeling in his gut before; when he’d sat with his mother in the hospital and vowed he

    would earn the money somehow for her cancer treatment, and she had smiled her soft smile at

    him and said it was too late. He’d felt that same sickening sensation in his gut when he’d looked

    at Greta, spaced out on cocaine, and realised she was telling him the truth about his baby.

    But this was a different feeling, and it had been gnawing away at him all week while he had

    been in the States missing Kitty so badly that he had only felt half alive. He had been blind for

    weeks, or maybe so afraid of what he could see that he had closed his eyes and ignored it. He

    couldn’t ignore it any longer—or avoid her, he brooded as he stepped off the kerb and hailed a

    taxi. He didn’t belong in the nightclubs and casinos; he belonged at home with his wife.

    It was almost midnight when he walked into the apartment. He had expected it to be in darkness,

    and Kitty to have gone to bed, but a light glowed beneath the dining-room door. Frowning, he
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    opened it, and stopped dead. Someone had taken great care with the table—but he doubted Sotiri

    had arranged the floral centrepiece or hung the birthday banner on the wall.

    A faint noise from behind him told him he was no longer alone, and he jerked his head round to

    see Kitty standing in the doorway. She was wearing a shimmery gold dress that displayed a

    tantalising amount of her full breasts, and predictably desire surged through him. His gaze

    moved up to her face. Unusually she was wearing her glasses instead of her contacts, but he

    could see that her eyes were red-rimmed as if she had been crying.

    ‘How was your trip?’ she asked in a curiously flat voice.

    ‘Successful.’ He shrugged, unable to drum up much interest in the completion of a deal that a

    few months ago would have had him buzzing for days. He glanced back at the table. ‘If I’d

    known you had planned for us to have dinner together I would have come home earlier.’

    It was a fair point, Kitty admitted silently. But she had been afraid to tell him of her plans for his birthday in case he rejected her. ‘It’s your birthday,’ she murmured, ‘and you have a right to

    spend it how you choose.’

    He gave a faint laugh. ‘I’d forgotten it was my birthday until I walked in and saw the banner.

    The last birthday I celebrated was my sixteenth, before my mother died.’ He looked at the

    wrapped parcel. ‘How did you know it was today?’

    ‘I looked in your passport.’ Kitty tried to imagine him at sixteen: a boy on the threshold of

    manhood who less than a year later had been left without a single relative in the world. She

    groped for courage and smiled at him. ‘Are you going to open your present?’ she asked softly.

    Nikos did not know what he was expecting, or why his heart was jerking unevenly in his chest.

    He couldn’t actually remember having a surprise birthday present in his life, and he didn’t know

    how to react. Kitty was watching him, and after a moment’s hesitation he ripped off the paper

    and stared in stunned silence at the portrait, feeling an unfamiliar stinging sensation behind his

    eyelids.

    ‘Do you like it?’ Kitty could not bear the taut silence. ‘The artist worked from a copy of the

    photo of your mother. I think he’s done a good job, don’t you?’

    ‘I…don’t know what to say.’ His throat felt raw as the emotions he had suppressed for so many

    years burned a fiery path inside him. It was many long years since the woman captured so

    perfectly on the canvas had smiled at him and told him that she loved him, but as Nikos stared at

    the image of his mother he felt his heart crack open.

    ‘Nikos?’ His frozen stillness was not the reaction Kitty had hoped for and for a terrible moment

    she thought he was angry. But then he looked over at her and she saw his wet lashes, and the

    tension that had gripped her for the past few hours when she had been waiting for him to come

    home snapped. ‘Oh, Nikos— don’t!’

    She flew to him and touched his face with trembling fingers. ‘I never meant to upset you.’

    ‘You haven’t.’ He fought to control the emotions that were coursing through him like a

    relentless torrent released from a dam. ‘It’s a wonderful present, Kitty. I can’t believe you went

    to so much trouble.’ He looked again at the painting and his eyes ached. ‘Why did you?’

    ‘Because I know how much you loved her.’ She took a deep breath, her heart beating liked a

    trapped bird beneath her ribs. ‘And because I love you , Nikos. With all my heart.’

    ‘Kitty!’ He placed the painting carefully on the table and then turned back to her and gripped her

    upper arms so tightly that his fingers bit into her skin. Was he going to shake her until she

    retracted her last statement? she wondered, her heart turning over at the hunted expression on his

    face.

    ‘It’s all right,’ she assured him gently. ‘I know you don’t feel the same way about me. I think

    you loved Greta, and I understand that after what she did you would never want to love anyone

    again.’

    Tears blurred her vision and misted her glasses, and when she took them off she missed the flare

    of emotion in his eyes. ‘I fell in love with you that night in the ****,’ she told him, her voice

    steady and fearless, although inside she was shaking, ‘and although I tried hard to deny my

    feelings, I know I will love you until I die.’

    She wished he would say something, even if it was the words of rejection she was expecting, but

    he continued to stare at her as if he had never really seen her before, and his thoughts were

    hidden behind his lashes that were still spiked with moisture.

    ‘I have something for you, too.’

    It was the last thing she had expected him to say, and she bit her lip when he suddenly released

    her and strode over to his briefcase. He handed her a square, wrapped package, and she took it

    with a sinking heart. At least it felt too heavy to be more jewellery, she thought numbly, hoping

    that she could manage to sound suitably pleased with his gift, when inside her heart was breaking

    that he hadn’t made any response, bar shock, when she had told him how she felt about him.

    ‘Open it, agape ,’ he said quietly. ‘I am not good with the words, and I’ve had so little practice in saying what I need to say. But my gift may explain better.’

    Startled by the distinct tremor in his voice she fumbled with the packaging, and as she tore off

    the paper her heart—time, the universe—seemed to stand still. Even without her glasses she

    recognised the familiar book from her childhood, and suddenly her heart began to beat very fast.

    ‘ Russian Fairy Tales and Fables—the book my father used to read to me,’ she whispered, her

    voice sounding as if it came from a long way off. ‘I can’t believe it. It’s the most wonderful

    present you’ve ever given me, Nikos. Where on earth did you get it?’ And, more importantly—

    why? she wanted to ask. But she was too afraid of his answer to voice the question.

    ‘One of the reasons I went to New York was to meet the private collector who owned it, and

    persuade him to part with it.’ Nikos stroked her hair back from her face with an unsteady hand,

    and the emotion that blazed in his eyes made her catch her breath.

    ‘I know how much you miss your father, and how special this book is to you. I want—’ he

    swallowed hard, emotion still clogging his throat ‘—I want to be a good father to our child,

    Kitty. A father like you had—who reads stories every night and loves his child unreservedly.’ He

    paused, and felt as though he were about to leap off a precipice, into the unknown. But then he

    looked into Kitty’s soft brown eyes, saw the love there—her love for him—and he felt an arrow

    pierce his heart. ‘But more important than that, I found the book because I didn’t know how else

    to tell you that you are my life, Kitty, and all that I am, everything I have worked for, is

    meaningless without you.’

    Kitty took a ragged little breath, not daring to hope that he meant the words he had uttered in his

    velvet-soft tone. ‘You don’t have to pretend…or say things just because you think I want to hear

    them. I understand how your past must have affected you, and made it impossible for you to ever

    trust another person…’

    Nikos placed his finger lightly across her lips. ‘I trust you, Kitty mou ,’ he said, and with the words came an indescribable feeling of release and joy as he had never known before. His wife

    was honest and open, brave, and heartbreakingly generous. Her love for him shone in her eyes

    and he felt it wash over him and cleanse him until he felt weak with relief and empowered by the

    strength of his love for her .

    ‘I love you, Kitty.’ He drew her into his arms— tentatively, as if she were made of finest

    porcelain and he was afraid she would break—and held her against his chest, feeling their hearts

    beat in unison. ‘I think I probably fell in love with you when I mistook you for a waitress at the
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    palace ball—and, certainly, after I had made love to you in the **** and you then disappeared. I

    tried everything to find you and if I had I would have hoped to have had a relationship with you.’

    ‘You mean you were going to ask Rina to be your mistress?’ Kitty queried, her eyes widening at

    his tender smile.

    ‘It was all I could have offered, then,’ he said, his voice low and aching with regret for the time

    he had wasted. ‘I had vowed never to marry again, and certainly never to fall in love. But then I

    learned that there was a baby…and within weeks I had broken my first vow, and was fast on my

    way to breaking the second.’

    ‘Oh, Nikos.’ The expression in his eyes told her louder than any words that it was true—

    unbelievably, miraculously, he loved her. And because she understood how hard it must have

    been for him to admit his feelings to himself, let alone to her—and allow himself to be

    vulnerable and open to hurt—she loved him even more. Suddenly words were not enough, and

    she reached up to cup his face with her hands and brushed her mouth over his, emotion flooding

    through her when he responded instantly and kissed her with such sweet passion, such love , that tears slipped silently down her cheeks.

    ‘Don’t cry,’ he pleaded as he lifted her and carried her down the hall. ‘I never want to make you

    cry, Kitty mou .’ But his eyes were wet too when he reached their bedroom and stood her by the bed while he drew down the zip of her gold dress and gently tugged the material until it fell in a

    shimmering pool at her feet.

    ‘You are so beautiful, so soft and perfectly formed,’ he whispered against her mouth as he

    removed the rest of her clothes, his, and drew her down onto the bed, covering her body with his

    own. ‘After what happened with Greta and the baby I felt frozen inside,’ he admitted rawly.

    ‘And to be honest I was glad that nothing ever touched my emotions. I didn’t want to care for

    anyone ever again, and I told myself I was happy dating dozens of women who meant nothing to

    me.

    ‘I didn’t want to marry you, and I certainly didn’t expect to fall in love with you, but bit by bit

    you crept under my guard. You were so generous and giving, and although you had enjoyed a

    privileged upbringing you cared so much for others who have nothing. Sometimes I think you

    want to change the world,’ he said softly, smiling down at her. ‘You changed me, Kitty. You

    made me feel again, and you made me see that I was being a coward by denying how I felt about

    you, even though I was sure you could not love me when I had forced you to leave the home you

    loved, and your family. We will move back to Aristo if you want,’ he offered. ‘I want you to be

    happy, Kitty, and I realised during the week I was in the States that I don’t care where I live as

    long as I am with you.’

    She shook her head firmly. ‘You belong in Athens, Nikos, and I belong with you. But I agree; it

    doesn’t really matter where we are, as long as we’re together—you, me, and soon the baby.’ She

    traced her fingers over his jaw and the sensual curve of his mouth, and felt desire flood through

    her when his body stirred against hers. ‘But, Nikos, do you think we could stop talking now?’

    she whispered against his mouth. ‘So that I can show you how much I love you.’

    And she did with such passion and generosity and the love that she no longer had to hide from

    him that Nikos’s heart overflowed with the emotions he had denied for so long. And when he

    moved over her and joined them as one, it seemed to him that their souls as well as their bodies

    had fused, and he knew that the love they shared would last a lifetime.

    CHANTELLE SHAW

    lives on the Kent coast, five minutes from the sea, and does much of her thinking about the

    characters in her books while walking on the beach. She’s been an avid reader from an early age.

    Her schoolfriends used to hide their books when she visited – but Chantelle would retreat into

    her own world, and still writes stories in her head all the time. Chantelle has been blissfully

    married to her own tall, dark and very patient hero for over twenty years, and has six children.

    She began to read Mills Boon® books as a teenager and, throughout the years of being a stay-

    at-home mum to her brood, found romantic fiction helped her to stay sane! She enjoys reading

    and writing about strong-willed, feisty women, and even stronger-willed ***y heroes. Chantelle

    is at her happiest when writing. She is particularly inspired while cooking dinner, which

    unfortunately results in a lot of culinary disasters! She also loves gardening, walking, and eating

    chocolate (followed by more walking!). Catch up with Chantelle’s latest news on her website,

    www.chantelleshaw.com.

    Read on for our exclusive interview with

    Chantelle Shaw!

    We chatted to Chantelle Shaw about the world of THE ROYAL HOUSE OF KAREDES. Here

    are her insights!

    would you prefer to live on Aristo orcalista? what appeals to you most abouteither island?

    I think I would prefer to live on Aristo – known as the jewel in the Me***erranean – because it

    has stunning scenery, fabulous beaches and fantastic shopping and nightlife. Who wouldn’t want

    to live in a millionaire’s paradise! But the wildness and beauty of the desert on Calista appeals to my romantic nature.

    what did you enjoy about writing aboutThe Royal House of Karedes?

    I liked the fact that the stories and characters in the Royal House of Karedes are all interwoven,

    and yet at the same time I was given the opportunity to make the storyline I was given my own.

    The locations and the fact that the stories were set around a royal dynasty meant lots of Presents

    glamour which was great fun to write!

    How did you find writing as part of acontinuity?

    It was the first time I have written a continuity book, and rather daunting when some of the other

    authors are so much more experienced than me. But it was a great honour, and I enjoyed taking

    part. I can’t wait to read all the other books in the series.

    when you are writing, what is yourtypical day?

    On a typical day I write from 9.30am until 3.00pm while my children are at school. In the

    evening, after sorting out dinner, homework and after-school clubs, I often write for another hour

    or so, and I try to snatch some time at weekends, especially as my story develops and I want to

    know what will happen next.

    where do you get your inspiration for thecharacters that you write?

    Inspiration for my characters is difficult to explain. They usually just come into my head and I

    know exactly what they look like – hair colour etc, and usually they arrive with a name, but

    sometimes I look through a name book and one will jump out that I know instinctively is right

    for my character. I think about the character’s background right back to childhood and I make

    loads of notes that I don’t often use in the book but help me to really know the person I am

    writing about. I also spend quite a lot of time thinking and researching the character’s job,

    interests and talents.

    what did you like most about your heroand heroine in this continuity?

    I liked my heroine, Kitty, because she seemed a very real person, and like many of us she was

    insecure about her body and how she looked. Her lack of confidence made being in the public

    eye an ordeal for her, but despite her shyness she forced herself to carry out her royal duties. Her gentle demeanour hid a strong will and she also had a deeply compassionate nature. My hero,

    Nikos, seemed like a ruthless businessman and a playboy, but underneath his vulnerability made

    me like him. He had developed a tough shell because he had been hurt by so many things in his

    past. Not knowing the identity of his father troubled him and made him feel as if he was only

    half a person – and later he had been devastated when he was cruelly betrayed by his first wife

    who he had loved.

    what would be the best – and worst –things about being part of a royal dynasty?

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