that none of the guests or members of the press who were at the reception today actually guessed
that you are pregnant. If we marry quickly no one need know that it’s a shotgun wedding.’
He watched Kitty twisting her hands in the folds of her blue satin gown that the Queen and
princesses customarily wore on formal state occasions. The floor-length dress disguised her
shape, but beneath the stiff material he could picture the rounded fullness of her breasts and the
dip and curve of her waist and hips, and he felt the familiar tug of sexual frustration that had
plagued him since the night of the ball. He felt a sudden urge to pull the pins from her hair and
run his fingers through the rich chestnut silk, and when she lifted her head he noted that her eyes
were a deep, dark brown, velvet soft and fringed by impossibly long, thick lashes.
‘Where are your glasses? Or were they part of your costume for your little theatrical
performance the night we met?’ he queried mockingly, forcing himself to move away from the
temptation of her lush pink mouth. He was infuriated that he still wanted her despite the evidence
that she had lied to him. The whole ‘Rina the waitress’ charade was still beyond his
comprehension and he hated the idea that she had played him for a fool, but he couldn’t forget
the wild passion they had shared in the cave, and he was aware from the familiar tightening in
his gut that his body was impatient for a repeat performance.
‘I’m wearing my contact lenses today,’ Kitty told him stiffly, ‘and I’ve already explained that I
didn’t deliberately set out to trick you. Circumstances just…happened.’ Her voice wavered as
she tried to imagine her mother’s shock and concern at the news of her pregnancy. Queen Tia
would want her to marry Nikos, she acknowledged heavily, and Sebastian would be in favour of
a quick solution to the embarrassing problem of her pregnancy. But how could she go through
with it, and marry a man who had made it clear that he did not believe in love and would never
care for her?
‘Make no mistake, Kitty,’ Nikos said quietly as he watched the play of emotions on her face. ‘If
you think I will simply walk away and allow you to bring up our child on your own, be warned, I
will fight you for custody. Even if it means sacrificing my friendship with Sebastian I will have
no compunction about dragging you and the rest of the royal family through the courts, and the
fallout is likely to be extremely damaging to the monarchy.’
There was no doubt that Nikos was deadly serious, and a shiver ran through Kitty when she met
his hard stare. The first time she had met him she had detected a ruthless side to him that he hid
beneath a veneer of seductive charm. There was no sign of that charm now. He had called#p#分页标题#e#
himself a pirate, and she realised with terrifying certainty that if she chose to do battle with him, she would lose.
‘I am utterly determined that my child will live in Greece with me,’ he said curtly. ‘It’s up to
you if you want to take an active role in his upbringing.’
‘What do you mean—an active role in his upbringing? It’s my baby! And why do you think it’s
a boy? There’s just as much chance it’s a girl,’ Kitty said shakily, still reeling from Nikos’s
assertion that he wanted their child to live in Greece. ‘You can’t possibly expect me to leave
Aristo. I’ve lived here all my life.’
On the night of the ball the palace had seemed stifling, and she had felt a restless longing to
escape the confines of royal life. Now that life seemed safe and reassuring and she wanted it to
remain unchanged. But of course her life would change, she was going to be a mother, and in her
heart she knew she could not remain at the palace and bring up her child without its father. ‘If we
were to marry, why couldn’t you live here at the palace too?’ she asked Nikos faintly.
‘My business is based in Athens, and I need to be there,’ he explained coolly. ‘Naturally, as my
wife, you will live with me, and although we will retain strong ties with Aristo and the royal
family, our child, boy or girl,’ he said pointedly, ‘will grow up in Greece. I’ve discussed it with
Sebastian and he is in complete agreement,’ he added, as if that settled the matter.
Kitty shivered at the grim finality of his words. Sebastian had agreed, and, although her brother
would never force her into marrying Nikos, she knew realistically that she had no option. She felt
as though prison bars were closing around her. The room suddenly seemed claustrophobic and
she stumbled to her feet and hurried across to the door. For the sake of her child, and the royal