The Innocent's Shameful Secret
Page 15
A daughter who would be called Maria, a decision already mutually and joyfully arrived at, which had caused Madame Constantinou to weep with happiness.
And maybe it was still early days to talk of reconciliation between Alexis and his father, and she should wait and allow time to do its healing.
‘So here you are, agapi mou.’
She jumped a little as her husband’s voice reached her.
Alexis came to stand behind her, his arms sliding round her, his hands resting gently on the mound of her belly. ‘I thought Nicos advised you to rest.’
‘I wanted to unwind a little. Perhaps wait for the moon to rise.’
‘We’ll watch for it together. And then you must obey your doctor’s orders.’
She said, keeping her voice casual, ‘Is Nicos still here?’
‘Yes, in the dining room drinking coffee with Mama. He said to tell you he asked Xander if he would prefer a sister or a brother, and our son replied he was hoping for a donkey.’
She giggled. ‘He’s talked about nothing else since the Stephanides foal was born.’
‘Perhaps I should ask Takis if he would sell it. We can tell Xander it is a gift from the baby.’ He paused. ‘How is our little one?’
‘Remarkably peaceful for a change. And seems to have changed position.’ She relaxed against him. ‘But my back has started to ache, so perhaps I’ve spent too much time on my feet. A massage later would be much appreciated.’
‘It will be my pleasure.’ He kissed the top of her head and they stood in silence for a while, simply content to be together, until Selena moved, sharply and uncomfortably.
‘What is it?’ Alexis was alerted instantly.
‘My back. It’s not just an ache any more.’ She drew a deep breath. ‘I think maybe I should go and lie down while you tell Nicos I seem to be having contractions. Quite quick ones. And warn Mama and Eleni, too.’
He said hoarsely, ‘Ah, dear God,’ and lifted her gently into his arms, carrying her swiftly and safely to their bedroom.
‘This should not be happening here like this,’ he said as he placed her on the bed, and helped her out of her pleated silk dress. ‘I should have insisted that we stayed in America, where you would have the best of care.’
‘As I shall get from Nicos.’ She reached up and stroked his cheek lovingly. ‘Because I want this baby born here, as you were, with everyone I love around me. It—it’s important to me,’ she added, her voice shaking a little.
‘Ah, matia mou,’ he said softly and bent and kissed her.
Left alone, Selena felt absurdly calm.
A perfect day, Alexis had called it, and this would be its unexpectedly perfect ending.
The contractions were getting stronger, and she made herself relax and breathe through them, each one bringing her a step closer to the moment when she would hold their new child in her arms.
A baby conceived one magical afternoon as the early autumn sun turned the temple columns to fire.
Our little Maria, she thought, or—maybe—it might be Petros, after all. I’ll just have to trust Apollo the Healer. And she smiled.
* * * * *
EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT
Ruthless Prince Adam Katsaros offers Belle a deal – he’ll release her father if she becomes his mistress! Adam’s gaze awakens a heated desire in Belle. Her innocent beauty might redeem his royal reputation – but can she tame the beast inside…
Read on for a sneak preview of
THE PRINCE’S CAPTIVE VIRGIN
“You really are kind of a beast,” Belle said, standing up. Adam caught her wrist, stopped her from leaving.
“And what bothers you most about that? The fact that you would like to reform me, that you would like for your time here to mean something and you are beginning to see that it won’t? Or is it the fact that you don’t want to reform me at all, and that you rather like me this way. Or at least, your body likes me this way.”
“Bodies make stupid decisions all the time. My father wanted my mother, and she was a terrible, unloving person who didn’t even want her own daughter. So, forgive me if I find this argument rather uncompelling. It doesn’t make you a good person, just because I enjoy kissing you. And it doesn’t make this something worth exploring.”
She broke free of him and began to walk away, striding down the hall, back toward her room. He pushed away from the table, letting his chair fall to the floor, not caring enough to right it as he followed after Belle.
He caught up to her, pivoting so that he was in front of her. She took a step backward, then to the side, butting up against the wall. Then, he caged her between his arms, staring down at her. Her blue eyes were glittering, her breasts rising and falling rapidly with each breath.
“This is the only thing worth exploring. Not what could be, but what you have. The fire that burns between you and another person. For all you know, in the days since you’ve been here the entire world has fallen away. And if we were all that was left… Would you not regret missing out on the chance to see how hot we could burn?”
She shook her head. “But the world hasn’t fallen away,” she said, her trembling lips pale now, a complete contrast to the rich color they had been only moments ago. “It’s still there. And whatever happens in here will have consequences out there. I will help you, Adam, but I’m not going to give you my body. I’m not going to destroy that life that I have out there to play games with you in here. You’re a stranger to me, and you’re going to remain a stranger to me. I can pretend. I can give you whatever you need when it comes to making a statement for your country. But beyond that? I can’t.”
Then, she turned and walked away, and this time, he let her go.
Don’t miss
THE PRINCE’S CAPTIVE VIRGIN by Maisey Yates
The first part in her ONCE UPON A SEDUCTION trilogy
Available June 2017
PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Copyright ©2017 Maisey Yates
ISBN: 978-1-474-05239-9
THE INNOCENT’S SHAMEFUL SECRET
© 2017 Sara Craven
Published in Great Britain 2017
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk