tense, Nikos told himself. And of course she wasn’t merely visiting, this would be her home too
now, and it must seem very different from what she was used to. His penthouse apartment was
luxurious but it was not a royal palace.
They would both have to make adjustments, he acknowledged. He liked his space, and since his
divorce had never invited any of his lovers to spend a night at the apartment. Now Kitty would
be living here; but she was his wife, not his mistress, and he could not expect their relationship to only be confined to the bedroom. Presumably they would eat breakfast together every morning,
and dine together when he returned home in the evening, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about
sharing his private domain. He had been alone for so long that it had become his way of life, but
in a few months from now the baby would be here, and he felt a fierce jolt of excitement as he
imagined life with his child.
He would be a good father, he vowed silently. His child would want for nothing, especially his
love. But for the sake of the child he would have to help Kitty settle in Athens so that she was
not tempted to flee back to Aristo. He glanced at her, his eyes narrowing on the firm swell of her
breasts outlined beneath her silk jacket. The matching skirt moulded her delightfully round
bottom, and as he imagined tugging the jade silk over her hips he felt himself harden, and he was
fiercely tempted to lead her down the hall to the master bedroom and demonstrate that from now
on the only place she would ever want to be was in Athens—in his bed.
His heartbeat quickened and he placed his hand on her shoulder, stroking back her long chestnut
hair that felt like silk against his skin. He wanted to brush her hair to one side and press his lips to the pulse beating at the base of her throat, but once again he was aware of her sudden tension
and he dropped his hand back to his side.
He did not know what was wrong with her, and, quite frankly, he wasn’t in the mood to play
games. When he had kissed her in the church her eager response had been a satisfactory
indication that she shared his impatience to consummate their marriage. But since then she had
cooled considerably, and her edginess puzzled him. Maybe she just needed time to adjust?
Marriage, impending motherhood and moving from Aristo to Athens were all momentous
changes to her life, and he guessed that she had found the wedding a strain. Even though they
had planned to keep it low-key, the marriage of a member of the royal family was a significant
event and it had seemed as though half the population of Aristo had been invited to the wedding.
Curbing his impatience to take her to bed, he moved away from her. ‘I’ll give you a guided tour
of the apartment, and perhaps you’ll start to feel more at home.’
‘Thank you.’ Kitty followed Nikos down the hall, her heart sinking as she glanced around. His
apartment was ultra-modern and minimalist with white marble floors and pale walls teamed with
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black leather sofas and silver furnishings. It was a typical bachelor pad designed for a busy
executive and not the sort of place she could imagine bringing up a baby. She remembered the
shabby but comfortable palace nursery where she had spent her childhood: toys strewn across the
floor and the vast bookshelf stuffed with her beloved fairy tales. Tears welled in her eyes when
she recalled how her father had visited the nursery every evening to read to her, even if he’d had
to interrupt important meetings to do so. She couldn’t imagine Nikos doing the same for their
child, and she could not picture them living here together, playing happy families.
‘There will be no need for you to spend much time in here,’ he informed her when he ushered
her into the gleaming, stainless-steel kitchen. ‘My butler and cook, Sotiri, takes care of
everything on the domestic front. I’ll introduce you to him later.’
He continued on down the hall, past the elegant dining room, and three generous-sized
bedrooms, one of which Kitty supposed would be a nursery when the baby was born. At the far
end of the corridor Nikos flung open the remaining door— and Kitty came to an abrupt halt in
the doorway.
The master bedroom overlooked the Acropolis which, now that dusk had fallen, was illuminated
by spotlights and gleamed gold against the indigo sky. It was a breathtaking sight, but Kitty’s
attention was riveted by the enormous bed that dominated the room, with its leather headboard
and black silk sheets. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors covered the length of one wall, reflecting the
bed—and its occupants, she realised, her heart lurching when she spied the bottle of champagne
cooling in an ice bucket. It was a room designed for seduction, and she wondered how many