The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Rrincess(63)

She almost cried out as wave after wave of sensation ripped through her, but some deep-held

instinct for self-protection made her stifle her moans, and she closed her eyes so that he would

not see the depth of her emotions as they climaxed simultaneously. He was the love of her life,

she thought when they lay together while their breathing gradually slowed. After the incredible

passion they had just shared it seemed impossible that he did not feel something for her, some

small glimmer of affection that would give hope to her starving heart.



But when he rolled off her and gave a languorous stretch, his satisfied smile was that of a man

who had just enjoyed fantastic sex that had left his body sated and his emotions untouched. He

got up from the bed, and her eyes were drawn helplessly to him, her stomach dipping as she

absorbed the masculine beauty of his lean, hard body, gleaming like bronze in the afternoon

sunlight. She thought he was heading for the en suite, but he carried on out of the bedroom,

returning minutes later with a slim velvet box in his hands.



‘I bought you a present,’ he murmured as he rejoined her on the bed.



‘Another one?’ she protested faintly, thinking of the numerous dresses, exotic underwear, and

fabulous jewellery he had given her over the past few weeks. If he only knew it, she would swap

all of them for the words she longed to hear from him. But she knew he would never say them.

She was his wife, and the mother of his child, but she was not the love of his life, and she never

would be. It was just a pity her aching heart could not accept that fact.



‘Aren’t you going to open it?’



Quickly she flipped open the box and stared at the necklace made up of dozens of square-cut

diamonds that glittered like teardrops on the black velvet cushion. It was breathtaking, and, from

her knowledge of jewellery from the Royal Collection on Aristo, mind-bogglingly expensive.



He was waiting for her to say something, but for some reason she wanted to cry and she bit

down hard on her lip, her eyes blurring so that the diamonds seemed to fracture into a thousand

sparkling shards. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she choked, ‘but you’ve already given me so much.’ And yet of

the things that mattered, so little. ‘You don’t have to keep buying me presents, Nikos.’



He lifted the necklace from the box and fastened it around her neck so that it lay cold against her

skin. ‘I like to buy you gifts,’ he said with a shrug. ‘I want you to know that I appreciate you.’



‘Do you?’ she asked cautiously, her heart trembling with fragile hope.



‘Certainly.’ His mouth curved into a sensual smile as he leaned back on the pillows to admire

the diamonds at her throat. They had cost him the earth, but they were worth every penny when

they were displayed in all their shimmering glory on her naked skin. ‘Our marriage was not what

either of us would have chosen,’ he stated coolly, ‘but we both acknowledge the responsibility

we have towards the baby we created during a moment of madness. I think we have become

friends as well as lovers, haven’t we, Kitty? And I believe that our companionable relationship,

based on mutual respect and trust, is the greatest gift we can give our child.’



Was that the reason he had made the effort to spend time with her—to befriend her and make

her trust him? Was it all for the baby’s sake? Of course it was, she acknowledged painfully.

Their child would grow up in a harmonious environment with two parents who were polite and

courteous towards each other as all good friends were. It should be enough. It would have to be

enough. But it wasn’t, and the loveless future that stretched before her suddenly seemed very

bleak.





CHAPTER THIRTEEN


NIKOSfelt the last spasms slowly drain from his body, and rested his head on Kitty’s breasts.

Her skin was velvet soft beneath his cheek and he inhaled the delicate, floral scent of her

perfume. He was tempted to remain lying on top of her, their bodies joined, but after a few

moments he rolled over and stared up at the ceiling, feeling the familiar frustration that, although sex with her seemed to get better and better, the distance he sensed between them was growing

wider.



He did not like clingy women, he reminded himself irritably. He should be pleased that Kitty no

longer cuddled up to him after sex and instead moved to her side of the bed as soon as their

passion was spent, but perversely he wished that she were not quite so unmoved by their physical

intimacy.



He propped up on one elbow as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. At least she was no

longer shy about her body, and did not rush to cover up, he mused as he studied her voluptuous