The Greek Billionaire’s Secret Baby
Michele Dunaway
Kindle Edition
Copyright 2012 Michele Dunaway
All rights reserved
KindleEdition License Notes
This is an original work of romance fiction, never before published. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author who receives no payment on illegal downloads.
Please note this is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locals is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
To Julie Picraux, who believed from the beginning, and to Alexandra Gantner, for all things Greek.
*****
Chapter One
“You have no other choice in this matter. You will marry me.”
As the cold-blooded proposal left Alexander Pappas’s full Greek lips, Lauren Andrews pressed her back firmly up against her worn leather office chair, her posture becoming a rigid, immovable mountain.
She forced herself not to blink as she stared into fathomless black eyes, eyes that once long ago had looked at her with nothing but decadent desire.
There was no doubt that Alex Pappas, multimillionaire head of Pappas Foods, was anything but extraordinary. At thirty-five, he defined the timeless adage of tall, dark, and handsome.
His perfectly styled jet-black hair showed no hint of early gray and his powerful figure easily topped six feet. His body was fit, always in perfect shape. His broad shoulders and chest led to a tapered waist, and his flat washboard stomach were more gracious hereditary than an overzealous commitment to sweaty exercise.
He had all the classic features a woman craved in a man: healthy Mediterranean skin, a proud square chin, a straight nose, and a slight dimple that accented his cheeks whenever he smiled. His obsidian eyes were ringed with thick black lashes that could stir any woman’s soul, and even now, despite her anger, those unblinking black orbs hypnotized and tugged at Lauren’s emotions.
She had loved this man deeply. Months ago, before that bitter morning, Alex’s gaze and smile had held the promise of the world. His kiss had pledged never-ending joy and happily ever. His lovemaking had….
It was that inner steel which comes from surviving empty promises, that provided Lauren much-needed reserve strength, and in a moment of pure frustration, she made a sharp, impatient gesture with her right hand.
“Do you think that if you keep badgering me and demanding that I marry you, I’m going to change my mind? After all our history, don’t you know me better than that?”
She inhaled a deep, calming breath. “Look, we’ve already been over this twice. I am not a client you can wear down until you get your way. From now until doomsday, my answer to your unwanted marriage proposal will remain a steadfast no.”
Her insides quivered slightly at having dealt such a powerful ultimatum, but outwardly she schooled herself to remain controlled and composed. For one brief moment, Alex’s handsome face contorted in visible anger before he restrained his wayward emotions and squashed them like a bug.
A man accustomed to complete command over everything in his life, Alex’s silky dark lashes flickered only once as he slammed his expression into the timeless business façade Lauren remembered all too well. Yet, she’d succeeded in driving her point home, and she experienced a small jolt of surprise when the slight crease that had formed between his full dark eyebrows remained visible. Perhaps he wasn’t as emotionless as he appeared. She still had some effect on him.
Just as he did on her.
He’d been all her hopes and dreams once, so much that she’d sacrificed herself. As the silence lengthened, she mentally traced her fingertips over his soft dark eyebrows, recalling their smooth texture. Her imaginary roving fingers forged a path over each silky wisp, down his nose, and lingered on his lips that would long ago capture her wandering fingertip and suckle it.
They’d always had immediate combustion. Sex had never been an issue, and his need for her had easily matched her need for him.
She shivered as innate desire rushed over her. She clenched her legs as her body betrayed her. She hadn’t realized that after all this time she’d want him.
His mere presence in her office proved she wasn’t over him, even though it had been eight months since the last time she’d caressed him.
But the texture of his velvety brows and the soft kisses from those full passionate lips were memories best forgotten. Yes, better leave everything deeply buried in the turbulent past, especially now, when he’d never believe her.
Even if she bared her soul and cried the truth from the rooftops, Alex Pappas would always think the worst of her. Back aching, Lauren shifted, trying to find comfort in her hard wooden chair.
Assessing her soreness, Alex exhaled his frustration. He ran a finger beneath the collar of his short-sleeve polo shirt, his casual attire a concession to the stagnant air of Central Mexico. He jerked his hand free and gestured to the barren room.
“Infernale! Lauren, take a look around you! Look at this place! This place rivals Hell for hot.”
His gaze fell on a beetle moving as if it had few cares.
“Even the bugs here are lethargic. You can’t remain in this place in your condition. This is no place to carry, much less raise a child. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that for the first time in my life, perhaps I’m in control,” she shot back, irritated. “You have no right to tell me what to do.”
“I have every right.”
“No. You don’t own me. I’m happy here.”
And in a way, she was. She could care less that, back in New York City, the International Betterment Foundation occupied an entire floor of a pricey Midtown high rise. Here in Central Mexico, the organization, which set out to improve the lives of those less fortunate, had two rooms complete with peeling paint, worn wood floors, and ceiling fans instead of air-conditioning.
But this place was her haven, and she refused to admit to Alex that she was hot and uncomfortable in her seventh month of pregnancy. She’d gained only the required amount of weight, yet with the major life stressors of the past few months, her pregnancy hadn’t been easy.
Alex began to pace the small room that served as Lauren’s office. He made a grand, sweeping gesture with his right arm, the same arm he’d often curled around her as they’d slept. She’d found his arms a haven, before the issues between them had begun. Then her blinders had fallen off, leaving her exposed to how things worked in his family. She hadn’t been a priority.
His harsh words cut through the room, jostling Lauren’s thoughts. “I have never understood my brother’s or your fascination with living like paupers. You both have Harvard college degrees. You can do so much more, be so much more than this.”
Like what? Be his mistress? Marry him and be his forgotten wife? Once she would have gladly accepted either, but no longer. She was worth more than that, and pride dictated she fight him. She iced her tone.
“Don’t let the shabbiness fool you, Alex. I use my very expensive degree every day. I enjoy working in the field. I make a real difference, have a real im
pact on people’s lives. I help them. I don’t just push paper around or file useless reports that no one reads.”
His scowl increased, and Lauren shook her head, warning him not to interrupt her. A lock of blond hair escaped the confines of her ponytail holder and she impatiently pushed the wayward strand behind her right ear. He needed to understand, go he’d away and leave her alone for eternity.
As much as she’d wanted him once to be her future, she’d learned that wasn’t possible. He’d made her an afterthought. She was not a pet. She would not be kept.
“This is my world, Alex, and I like living in Mexico. I’m staying. This is where I belong. I have Christopher’s work to finish. He’d made such progress teaching English, and he’d even figured out how to teach it better and faster. Baby or no baby, there is nothing you can do or say to change my mind. I have a job to do. You of all people should understand that.”
His pacing stopped abruptly and he took several purposeful steps toward her desk. Despite the warm humid air, Lauren shivered as his baritone voice rolled over her in one long seductive wave. “There was a time I could easily change your mind.”
His black-eyed stare hypnotically held hers, and his deep voice rumbled as he continued in that low and husky tone that always made her flush. Even now, she hated herself for being wet and ready.
“I remember when there was a time you could refuse me nothing, am I not correct, innamorato? Do you not remember that time between us as well? I do. I considered it heaven. I made love to you, and held you long into the night, often waking you to do it again. You were so passionate. You never denied me. Not once.”
Despite her staunch stand against him, raw unbridled excitement began to bubble through Lauren as her body traitorously reacted to the powerful memory his silky words elicited.
If nothing else, her body had missed lying next to his. Their lovemaking had been nothing less than phenomenal, and whatever and whenever he’d wanted, she’d always been good to go. Her body knew his, and even in her pregnant state, various parts of her ached for the man she’d walked out on nearly eight months ago. She wanted to feel him inside her, to reconnect in the one way that had swept away all the lies.
Pushing another wayward piece of hair behind her ear helped her diffuse her body’s heated reaction. She couldn’t be swayed by his loaded words. Picking up a pencil gave her an acceptable way to break out from under his hypnotic gaze and the yellow wood was a solid reassurance beneath her trembling fingers.
But none of her deliberate evasive actions changed the fact that she was a moth and he was the flame, and that her body wanted nothing more than to again feel his mastery and have him take her, right here and now.
Oh, she should have never gone back to him all those months ago. Never. She shouldn’t have trusted that things had changed.
No, she was one hundred percent responsible for her current predicament. Her missionary parents would have told her she’d created this mess of her life and now she had to live with it.
“Thinking about our memories?” he asked. He arched one of those sexy brows and lowered his voice. “Admit it, we had something special.”
Special? It had been that and more, until the lies and deception surfaced. She’d naively thought he’d loved her, yet his family had actively worked for her removal. They’d even offered her money. She’d told Alex, and he’d taken his cousin’s word over hers.
She had to get him out of her office and her life, and the fervent need to do just that increased and threatened to overwhelm. She wanted her life to return to the semblance of normalcy that she’d created, if her chaotic time post-Alex could ever be called “normal.”
She inhaled a deep breath. She slowly let the air leave of her lungs, purposely giving the impression of wasting time. Every inch of her both physically and mentally buzzed with fervor, but she willed herself to sound ambivalent, dismissive.
She could not marry him, could not ever try a relationship with again. Twice had been enough.
“Memories are best left in the past, Alex. While I’m sure my body will always crave yours, we had two shots at happy-ever-after and failed at both. Those times are gone. We should just let the past rest in peace.”
Alex must have tired of the reminiscing approach for he placed his hands on her desk and leaned toward her, his full lips entered kissing range. His breath smelled of fresh mint. Lauren’s heart raced as heat rushed through her, and the adrenaline pulsed to her curled toes.
Despite her body’s immediate physical reaction to his dominant proximity, Lauren refused to inch backwards. She refused concede, refused to let him know he had any remaining power to affect her. She didn’t want him to know that physically, she could not resist him, that if he kissed her she would lose all control and let him have whatever he wanted.
“That those times are gone is a gross understatement.” The words he spoke were calm and contained, but having known Alex for so long, Lauren heard the restrained power and anger. “Do you not think that I, of all people, realize that? How could I not? You made it perfectly clear that we had no future the very moment you went from my bed to my brother’s. Now you indifferently pour your indiscretions out like salt into a wound.”
Lauren opened her mouth and, seeing his dark expression, closed her lips. Her protest that it was all a lie could wait. Alex drew a sharp inhale.
“I know this isn’t the undying love type of marriage proposal you wanted, Lauren, and,” he took a moment to give a curt shake his head, “of course, I know the bitter reality that I am no longer the man you wanted. Your disgusting actions proved how wrong I was to assume that perhaps you were my other half, the woman for my future. But we have no other choice in the matter now. There is a child to consider. My brother’s child.”
He straightened and paced for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts. “I’m sure that Christopher planned on marrying you. My brother, although misguided in his choice of occupation and bedmates, was otherwise an honorable man. The fact remains that you are pregnant and your baby deserves his birthright. He must bear the Pappas surname. There are no bastard children anywhere in the lineage. Not one for centuries. It’s a matter of family pride and honor that we keep it that way. You will do what’s right, if not for yourself, but for that baby you carry.”
Lauren held herself immobile as he continued his onslaught.
“Surely you see that your child’s birthright is now impossible without your marrying me. I will not dishonor my family name. Family means everything to me, or I would not be here.”
Lauren knew that much was true. Alex had too much pride. What he saw as a betrayal had cut him deeply.
“Christopher’s son deserves his name and his family,” Alex continued. “No matter how many protests you utter, no matter how you sit there as still as a statue, I will not accept no for an answer. You will marry me, Lauren. It’s the only way to do what’s right. At least have some decency and think of someone else for a change.”
“I am.” Finished he returned to hover over her desk, and Lauren caved and scooted her chair backward. When she finally spoke her tone was sharp, bitter with the irony only she knew, with the secret she now kept, the secret he wouldn’t believe.
She had never betrayed him. Never dishonored him.
As to marriage, reentering the Pappas world and its manipulations was something she’d vowed never to do. She’d promised herself that she would raise her baby in a healthy, loving environment. And so she locked gazes with Alex, the man who had been her world, the man who had shattered everything she’d believed in with his disbelief, doubt, and distrust.
“I know exactly what being a Pappas means, Alex. My brief tenure in your life unfortunately taught me that valuable lesson. I can’t go there again.”
Her voice shook, and she paused as she remembered. In the six months she’d lived with him during their first go-round, family and the family business had always come first, especially the latter.
When he finally had arri
ved home, usually hours late, his “Didn’t you get my message?” became synonymous with a jeweler’s box arriving the next morning. Their second go-round eight months ago had lasted exactly six days.
Both times, her place in his life never had been a top priority. Oh, she’d been important when she’d first met him, until his family had declared her inappropriate wife material. As certain as the sun vanished each night in the western horizon, Alex’s devotion to his family and its foods business was one thing that never would change.
She could not return to that life.
She had a child’s future to consider, even if that meant denying certain creature comforts, like air conditioning. She was no so spoiled that she had to have it all.
Her fingers tightened their tenacious grip on the wooden pencil and she averted her gaze. She had to remain firm. She could not give in to Alex’s demands. Christopher would want that. Right?
Of course Christopher would, Lauren convinced herself, although some doubt remained. She bolstered her confidence. Christopher’s actions to protect her and provide her with a safe, platonic haven could not be for naught; she owed it to his memory to persevere, to stay the course she had chosen despite any outside world impressions.
Despite her resolve, when she spoke, Lauren couldn’t hide the tremble of her voice. “We both know I’m not your family, Alex. I never will be a Pappas. Please go and leave me alone.”
As expected, Alex didn’t back down or concede the point. He simply rolled his shoulders back, emphasizing his impressive full height. His smooth and sure movement reminded Lauren of the cheetah she’d seen stretch once in the wilds of India. But a strange tiredness ringed Alex’s eyes.
The ceiling fan continued its useless journey and the silence became unbearable. Finally, he spoke. “Tell me, Lauren, would marriage to me be that terrible of a thing? You lived with me, shared my bed. I thought maybe last October we had another chance. Of course, that was before Christopher came to visit…”
The Greek Billionaire's Secret Baby (Contemporary Romance) Page 1