Kostas stepped out of the front door of the hotel, shoulders slouched, brows drawn together, and his face a mask of unease.
“Kostas,” she called out.
His gaze swung her way and his hard expression melted in blatant relief. He rushed to her and pulled her into his arms.
“I thought you’d left,” he rasped.
“No, I just went to get food. How did you find me?”
He pulled away enough to touch her cheek and stare down at her. “I called every hotel and asked if a redheaded American had checked in. There were two places that said yes, and this hotel is the second I’ve been to.”
Tears filled her eyes and she gave a watery laugh. “Can we talk?”
“Of course. I’ll have your suitcase retrieved and we can talk in the car.”
He guided her to the back of the Bentley and climbed in beside her. Even though guards stood watch outside, with the tinted windows and the driver out retrieving her suitcase, they were alone.
Kostas gripped her hand. “First, let me say it again. I love you, Eva.”
Her chest swelled with the joy that filled her. “I know. Or I mean, I believe you now.”
His gaze searched hers. “You do?”
“I do. And I love you too, Kostas. I really do,” she said in a rush. “Everything I said earlier was a lie. I was being stupid.”
“Oh God.” His mouth closed over hers, parting her lips and plundering her mouth in a desperate, reverent kiss.
When he lifted his head, she sighed.
Eva opened her eyes and met his gaze. “And it doesn’t matter about Saina. We can be supportive—”
“The baby is not mine.”
“W-what?” The breath locked in her chest as she searched his gaze.
“I had one of the royal investigators immediately dig up everything they could about her. She was dating a man before she became engaged to Petros. They found him and interviewed him.” Kostas’s jaw flexed. “Her meeting me that night was no accident.”
“I don’t understand.”
“She was already pregnant with her lover’s child when the engagement between Petros and Saina was agreed upon. She knew the wedding wouldn’t be soon enough to pass off the child as Petros’s and he rebuked her seduction attempt—insisting they wait until after the wedding.
So she seduced me with the hope that she could say it was mine.” He gave a harsh laugh. “She was determined to become royal, and didn’t care which brother she married.”
Shocked at the level of deceit the woman had gone to, Eva could only shake her head.
“The paper is already printing an apology and Saina’s lover has gone to the media with the truth.”
“Kostas…”
“I love you. Stay and marry me, glykia mou. I know you don’t care for Mykorini, but maybe you will learn to—”
“I love Mykorini and I love you.” She kissed him again. “Nothing would make me happier than staying here and being your wife.”
He shuddered with emotion. With relief. “And my queen.”
“And your queen.”
And then his lips were on hers, and she couldn’t think about whether she would be a good queen, a good wife, or even a good mother.
All that mattered was the love they had for each other. It would see them through the rest.
~One year later~
Kostas lifted his crying daughter from the crib and kissed her cheek.
“Are you hungry, little Kalli? Let us find your mother.”
Entranced by the tiny, perfect face of his child, he could only marvel at how much love he had for Kalliope and Evelynn.
He found Eva in their bedroom, putting on earrings in preparation for a diplomatic dinner tonight. She was staring at a picture of the two of them at his coronation last year.
“I hope I fit in that dress again someday,” she murmured, turning to take their daughter from him.
“Give it time. And I will love you no matter your size. And so will the people of Mykorini.” He kissed her and murmured honestly, “You will always be my beautiful queen.”
“And you will always be my handsome king.” She smiled. “An amazing king to his people.”
He gave a murmur of appreciation. “Thank you. I am becoming more accustomed to my position.”
“You were born for it. You’re an incredible king, husband, and father.” She kissed him again over the top of their daughter’s head. “I’m so glad I let myself be corrupted by you in the Hamptons.”
He laughed. “Ah, but who corrupted whom?”
She joined him in laughter as she moved to a plush chair where she would breastfeed Kalliope.
“I rather think I saved you, Kostas,” she teased.
But he was completely serious as he murmured, “Yes. I rather think you did, glykia mou.”
And he couldn’t have been more grateful.
~The End~
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Discover more in the A is for Alpha series. Indulge your fantasies with these steamy, contemporary romances about sexy, billionaire alpha males, and the women who capture their hearts. Readers can enjoy the series in any order.
• The Billionaire’s Baby Bargain
• Beauty and the Sheikh
• Taught by the Tycoon
• Taken by the Pirate Billionaire
Shelli is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author who read her first romance novel when she snatched it off her mother’s bookshelf at the age of eleven. One taste and she was forever hooked. It wasn’t until many years later that she decided to pursue writing stories of her own. By then she acknowledged the voices in her head didn’t make her crazy, they made her a writer.
Shelli is a true pluviophile (lover of rain) and currently lives in the Pacific Northwest where she writes various genres of romance. She’s a compulsive volunteer, and has been known to spontaneously burst into song. www.shellistevens.com
Corrupted by the Prince (A is for Alpha Book 5) Page 10