by Неизвестный
She took a step backward, shaking her head. “Is it true? Did you…” Her panicking gaze drifted over to
Victor. “Did he…?”
“Now, let’s just calm down—” Victor began, until Cal stepped across her eyeline, cutting the older man
from view.
“It’s not what you think.”
Her expression tightened. “But is it true?”
His nod was brief but nothing less than shattering. Ava’s face crumpled for one second but in the next,
she straightened, a flash of something hard and angry in her eyes as she pulled her shoulders back.
Alarmed, he reached for her but she put up a warning hand.
“Don’t. I thought this baby was important to you, that I was important. But obviously, gaining control of
your precious company takes top priority.”
“Now wait just a minute—” Victor interrupted but to Cal’s amazement, her ferocious glare had him
snapping his mouth shut.
She had guts, his Ava. There weren’t many people who’d stare down the powerful Victor Prescott.
With a look of pure disgust, she backed away, the white satin skirt swirling around her legs in a flurry.
And with that one small movement, she dragged the ground out from under him, crumpling hope
beneath his feet. In desperation he scrambled for something to say, anything that would stop her from
walking out.
“You’ll lose Jindalee.”
Instead of binding her to him, it drove her away. The look she gave, pain mingled with pity, ground the
rest of his words to hot dust in his mouth as she kept on backing away.
“Do you think that’s all I care about—business? Then you don’t know me at all.”
Cal jerked forward but she was out the huge chapel doors, hurrying past Isabelle, standing openmouthed
in the vestibule.
Cal sprinted after her. It wasn’t over. He could fix this, he could turn that utter horror in Ava’s eyes back
into the slow blooming love he suspected was lurking below the surface. He—
He came to a halt on the pathway. She’d paused at the white Bentley that had delivered her to the
church, a hand on the door. With his blood pounding hard and fast, he sighed, a man spared a reprieve.
“Ava. Please, let me explain about—”
“Cal…” The pain in her voice pierced his resolve, sending shards of alarm through his brain. Then she
slowly turned and the pale fear etched on her face forced his heart into his throat. She clutched her
stomach, her eyes huge. “The baby,” she gasped. “Cal, the baby!”
He only just managed to catch her as she pitched forward in a dead faint.
“You look like death warmed over.”
Isabelle’s gentle voice broke through the swirling blackness of Cal’s thoughts and he glanced up. Beside
him, on the bed, Ava had been asleep for twelve hours. Twelve hours in which he’d run the gamut of
emotions: despair, regret, self-loathing. Twelve hours in which he’d prayed to every deity he could
name, and then some he couldn’t. Let her live. Let our baby live.
He wasn’t surprised he looked like crap.
“The doctor says both she and the baby will be fine,” Isabelle said now.
With a curt nod, he dragged a hand over his stubbled chin, words failing him.
When Isabelle gathered him in her arms, he held on tight, letting her rock him gently like he was once
again her baby. “They’re fine, Cal,” she whispered. “They’re fine. I’m so happy for you.” She pulled
back then, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue before composing herself. “Victor’s outside. He wasn’t sure
if you’d want to see him after…well.” She waved a hand, letting him fill in the rest.
“You heard.”
“Victor told me. He has a convoluted way of showing it, but he loves you. He isn’t proud of deceiving
you, you know. You’re a good man, Cal and I love you very much. But you’re also stubborn and
unforgiving.”
“If you’re taking his side—”
“I’m taking no one’s side. Believe me, Victor knows how angry I am.” Her face softened as she added,
“Give him a break—we both had a terrible scare. Can you imagine how he’s been since having to face
his mortality?”
They both shared the black humour with mutual smiles until Isabelle said, “We talked for weeks—about
life, family. Zac. You. We both knew you hadn’t been happy in a while. I thought you needed romance
and Victor assumed your work wasn’t challenging enough.”
Wasn’t challenging enough? Cal shook his head, harsh laughter bubbling from his mouth.
“Cal?”
Ava’s croaky question shot him to his feet. He barely registered his mother’s departure, the gentle click
of the door behind. Instead his complete attention was on the seemingly tiny figure on the hospital bed.
Her hand went to her stomach, her eyes round with panic. “The baby—”
“He’s okay.” He took her hand, felt the icy cold beneath his fingers. “You’re okay.”
“He?”
Cal nodded, too choked up to speak.
“We’re having a boy,” she said faintly. When her eyes met his, relief smashed down on him like a
thousand bricks.
“Jesus, Ava…you…I…”
To his shame, his voice cracked on that last word. And to compound his mortification, he felt the track
of tears slide over his cheeks. Flushed, he reached up to dash them away but Ava tightened her grip with
a confused frown.
“Cal…did I hear you praying to Buddha?”
He went for a laugh but it came out nervous and unsure. “Yeah.”
“And God and Mohammed and—” she screwed her face up in concentration. “—Zeus?”
“I wanted to make sure the message got through.”
“Because of me?”
Her eyes were deep and fathomless, eyes he could happily drown in. His heart began to up its tempo, his
breath shaky.
“I didn’t want to lose you. Or the baby. Ava…” He took a deep breath, snaring her wide gaze in his.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” She swallowed, the small movement drawing Cal’s attention to the smooth
column of her throat. “Waiting for the ambulance was the longest ten minutes of my life. And when they
couldn’t revive you…”
He bowed his head, panic rising up in his throat as the memory engulfed him. The soft pressure of her
hand grasping his dragged him back from the edge and he looked up, only to go under again, drowning
in those blue eyes.
“I didn’t think you needed to know,” he began again. “You were marrying me anyway and I…dammit.”
Her hand squeezed his. “I understand, Cal. It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. An omission is still a lie. I…” He hesitated, then said, “I love you, Ava.”
She drew in a sharp breath and closed her eyes, almost as if it hurt. In the long, painful seconds that
followed, Cal waited, his skin prickling, nerves taut. As he waited, a small tear trickled out and curved
over her cheek, before her eyes flew open.
“I love you too, Cal. But…” She paused, took a deep shuddery breath that seemed to come from the
depths of her soul. A shard of deep pain crossed her face, wounding him square in the chest. “How can
this marriage work? I want to be with you, Cal, because I love you. But your life is VP Tech, it’s not
with me.”
“Sweetheart, I don’t want the company. I want you.”
Confusion flitted across Ava’s face. “But I thought—”<
br />
“Yes, I originally wanted to marry you to get the company. But things have changed. I’ve changed.” He
massaged her hands gently between his. “I am one-hundred-percent, completely and totally in love with
you. And I am one-hundred-percent positive that I don’t want VP Tech. I want a life. With you.”
Oh. Everything ground to a slow, breath-stopping halt. Ava couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. In her head,
thoughts began to zip crazily around, sending her brain into a whirl.
“Ava?” He smiled, a tentative smile that got her heart racing, her blood pumping. “You’re in shock.”
“No…yes…I…” Her heart pounded in fury, sending a wonderful tingle through every vein, every limb.
This was more, so much more than she ever expected. Ever hoped. Ever wanted.
“Nod if you can hear me,” Cal said, his voice dipping low, making her shiver.
She nodded.
“You love me.”
Nod.
“Do you want to marry me?”
Nod.
“How does a March wedding at Jindalee sound?”
Nod.
His slow, generous grin melted her bones. “I’m going to kiss you.”
She finally managed to breathe. “Wait. Does this mean Zac gets the company?”
“Oh, so now you have a problem with marrying a guy who’s unemployed?” he teased, his mouth so
close to hers that it made her tremble.
Her lips curved. “You should call him. He walked out on Victor, not you.”
“I was planning to. But first you need to shut up so I can kiss you.”
“Yes,” she managed just before his warm breath feathered into hers and their lips met in a long,
languorous kiss.
Epilogue
Two months later
“W ell? What did Zac have to say?” Ava said from the bedroom doorway as Cal hung up the phone.
He glanced up, then did a double take. “What on earth have you got on?”
She looked down at her attire, then back up at him with an innocent grin. “Your boxers are nice and
roomy. And your T-shirt smells like you. Mmm,” she purred, rubbing the sleeve against her cheek with
exaggerated delight.
He laughed, tossed the phone onto the couch and crossed the room in long, purposeful strides. As he
reached her, the setting sun spread through the window, bathing her in red and gold ribbons. The light
bounced off her shoulders and the glints in her freshly washed hair, illuminating her pregnant belly in all
its glorious roundness.
He exhaled, slowly and shakily.
“Lord, you’re beautiful.”
He’d never get tired of seeing her blush. And when he reached out to cup her belly, their eyes met, both
acknowledging the joy and power of the life growing inside her.
She tilted up her chin, her lips seeking his, and without reservation he gave himself up to the pure
pleasure of their kiss. Her peach-and-vanilla fragrance, now as familiar as the silken skin beneath his
fingers, never failed to turn him on. Her willing mouth, her long-limbed beautiful body, now lush and
plump with his child…Senses exploded and in record time he was hard, the familiar thump-thump of
arousal speeding up his heartbeat, forcing his breath out in ragged gasps.
Ava abruptly pulled back. “What did Zac say?”
Cal groaned, his arms tightening around her. “I’m ready and raring to go and you want to talk about my
brother?”
“Hey, mister, you were the one who started kissing me.”
“Yeah, but you wanted it.” His hand swept down her back and over her butt before coming to rest on her
belly. He grinned when he felt her shudder and a tiny groan escaped her kiss-stung lips.
“Cal!”
He sighed with exaggerated grief. “Fine. Zac didn’t believe Victor would give up VP Tech or I’d given
up the CEO’s position.” He leaned in and resumed his exploration, placing soft, seductive kisses on her
warm nape. Her small pleasure-laden sigh sent a shot of pure male satisfaction through his veins.
“But he’s taking the position?”
Cal grunted noncommittally, his attention and mouth now focused solely on where her neck met her
earlobe. “That’s not clear. He’s coming down to Sydney on Friday to sort it all out.”
“That’s great!” Ava pulled back, breaking contact midkiss. “With Victor now fully in remission it’d do
them both good to sort out their differences and—”
“Wife-to-be,” he growled, tightening his embrace, “do you want to talk about Zac and Victor or would
you rather I take off that ridiculous getup and kiss you all over?”
“Oh.”
Ava swallowed. If a girl could melt, she’d be doing it right about now. The hot, possessive look in Cal’s
eyes made her entire body sing with anticipation, the insistent press from his groin proof positive he
wanted her. But more than that, he loved her. Every day he showed her—and not just with gifts she
suspected gave him more pleasure to give. It was in the thousand little ways that a commanding, proud
man such as Cal Prescott demonstrated love—in the sudden looks, the constant, gentle touching. And in
the middle of the night, when they lay spent and satisfied from lovemaking, he’d caress her seven-month
bump and talk to their child with such reverent adoration that it brought her to tears every time.
“I have something for you,” Cal said with a grin as he turned her around and steered her into the
bedroom.
She blinked now, forcing the emotion back. “Cal, really. You don’t need to keep buying me things. I’ve
got more than enough clothes and jewellery to last…What’s that?”
He’d removed a scrap of black material from his jacket pocket and was dangling it from one finger with
a wolfish grin.
“Are those my…?”
“Black satin knickers from our first night together.” He hooked two fingers around the delicate
waistband and pulled. “Care to try them on?”
Ava rolled her eyes. “They’d hardly fit.”
He nodded seriously. “I guess not.”
“Cal!”
He laughed as her punch landed on his arm, her balled fist making absolutely no impact upon the knots
of honed muscle. With a mischievous gleam in his eye, he wrapped her in his arms and they gently fell
to the bed, his body cradling hers.
As their laughter subsided, his face became serious, an expression she’d come to know all too well.
Slowly, sensuously, he locked his fingers in hers and pulled them over her head. “I love you, wife-to-be.”
She’d never get sick of hearing those words from his lips. That low, throbbing declaration flooded her
senses, filling her with love, clogging her throat with brimming emotion.
“And I love you, husband-to-be.” And then with her whole body, her whole heart, she proceeded to
show him.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-3866-8
Copyright © 2009 Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
Bossman Billionaire
Copyright © 2009 by Kathie DeNosky
One Night with the Wealthy Rancher
Copyright © 2009 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Sheikh’s Betrayal
Copyright © 2009 by Alexandra Sellers
The Tycoon’s Secret Affair
Copyright © 2009 by Maya Banks
Billion-Dollar Baby Bargain
Copyright © 2009 by Tessa Radley
The Magnate’s Baby Promise
Copyright © 2009 by Paula Roe
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the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills,
Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation
whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual
known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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MAYA BANKS
THE TYCOON’S SECRET AFFAIR
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Epilogue
Prologue
J ewel Henley shifted on the hospital bed, one hand curled around her cell phone, the other hand
pushing aside hot tears. She had to call him. She had no choice.
Having to depend on the man who couldn’t get her out of his life fast enough after their one-night stand
wasn’t a prospect she relished, but for her baby, she’d do anything. Swallow her pride and try to let go
of the burning anger.
Her free hand dropped to rest on the burgeoning swell of her belly, and she felt the sturdy reassurance of