‘Nikos, I don’t think you actually met my sister at the ball a few weeks ago. This is Princess
Katarina…’ Sebastian fell silent, plainly bemused by Nikos Angelaki’s coldly furious expression
and Kitty’s sudden pallor. The tense silence between them caused a ripple to run through the
room, and Kitty felt the curious stares of the assembled guests, but her wide, shocked eyes were
locked on Nikos’s face.
He was the first to speak. ‘Oh, we met, my friend,’ he drawled in an icy tone that sent a shiver
down Kitty’s spine. His eyes narrowed, and Kitty could feel the aggression that emanated from
him. ‘But it seems that Princess Katarina likes to play games, and regrettably she neglected to
properly introduce herself—didn’t you, Rina? ’
Shock surged like a foaming torrent through Nikos’s blood, and with it a black rage that
threatened to choke him. The woman who had come in from the balcony and was staring at him
fearfully was instantly recognisable when she had spent the past three weeks lodged in his
brain—and yet, dressed in her royal robes and tiara, she was someone he did not know.#p#分页标题#e#
She had lied to him that night on the beach. How she had lied! He closed his eyes briefly and
tried to get a grip on the savage anger that made him want to shake her and demand an
explanation as to why she had pretended to be a servant, instead of telling him at the start that she was Princess Katarina Karedes.
Had she found the pretence amusing? Fury burned corrosively in his gut. And why the hell had
she slept with him? Not slept, he corrected himself grimly. She hadn’t slept in his arms, she’d
had sex with him—and even then she had lied by omission when she had failed to warn him she
was a virgin. But he had slept. Overcome with exhaustion, and physically sated after making
love to her, he had felt more relaxed than he had done in years and had been unable to fight the
tiredness that had settled on him. When he had stirred again he’d discovered that an hour had
passed, and Rina had disappeared.
Memories of the wild passion they had shared filled his mind. And another memory, of the
private conversation he’d had with Sebastian when he had first arrived at the palace today,
caused his heart to crash in his chest. Sebastian had been tense and grim-faced, and at first Nikos
had assumed his friend was uptight about the fact that he had still not located the Stefani
diamond. But the prince had wanted to confide in him about another matter, and had sworn him
to secrecy before revealing that another scandal was about to rock the House of Karedes. His
sister, Princess Katarina, had been seduced by some unknown man, and was pregnant.
Theos, no! It could not be true. He stared at Rina—unable to think of her as Princess Katarina—
and tried to decipher the truth from her pale face. Not again, not to him. Not after the tragedy of
his past that he would never forget for as long as he lived. But he knew instantly that this was no
cruel trick. It was entirely possible that Rina had conceived his baby, and from the frown
forming on Sebastian’s brow it was clear that his friendship with the prince was about to be
blown to pieces.
Kitty could not tear her eyes from Nikos’s face, and the glittering fury in his dark gaze filled her with trepidation. He could not possibly guess her secret, she assured herself. But her hand moved
instinctively to her stomach and she saw his eyes narrow as he witnessed the betraying gesture.
Sebastian was speaking, but his words did not register in Kitty’s brain as she watched his
concerned expression change to one of dawning comprehension followed by stunned fury. The
rushing sound in her ears grew louder, as if she were standing at the edge of a waterfall. And
then she was falling, and a great dark nothingness rushed up to meet her.
Kitty slowly opened her eyes and stared up at the fresco of cherubs that adorned the ceiling. For
a moment she felt disorientated, but then her brain clicked into gear—and her memory returned
with a vengeance. She turned her head to look around and realised that she was in the small ante-
room leading from the formal drawing room. She recalled the blanket of black nothingness that
had enveloped her, and understood. She must have fainted, for the first time in her life, and
someone had carried her in here and placed her on the sofa. That someone was now silhouetted
against the bright sunlight streaming in through the window, and even though she could not
discern his features she was conscious of the waves of anger emanating from him.
Nikos! She swung her legs off the sofa and jerked upright, and then gasped as a wave of nausea