Rachael Thomas – From One Night to Wife (страница 8)

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.’