The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Princess (22 page)

own childhood that had lacked even basic necessities such as food, let alone toys and books.

Kitty had said that a child needed love more than material possessions, and maybe she was right.

He knew without doubt that he would love his child, but what kind of father would he be when

he had never had a role model? He felt singularly inadequate for the job, especially when Kitty

would surely compare his efforts at fatherhood with her own father, whom she had obviously

idolised.

Her life had turned out vastly different from the life she must have imagined as a child, he

brooded. Instead of meeting a prince with an aristocratic lineage she had been forced to marry a

commoner who had no idea who had fathered him. And she missed Aristo and the royal palace—

she never said so, but he knew she didn’t enjoy living in the apartment in the centre of a busy

city, and that when he was at work she often visited Athens’ famous National Gardens.

‘Maybe we should start looking at houses,’ he startled Kitty by saying. ‘Somewhere in the

suburbs, with a garden for the baby to play in when it’s older. Would you like that?’

‘It would be nice,’ she replied slowly. ‘But you like the apartment. It’s your bachelor pad.’

‘Mmm, but I am not a bachelor any more, and I want what is best for our child—I’ll contact

some estate agents,’ Nikos said decisively. ‘But moving takes time, and for now I was thinking

that we could turn your dressing room into a nursery so that we are close to the baby if it wakes

during the night—unless you’re planning on sleeping in there again yourself?’

Kitty blushed at the teasing glint in his eyes, knowing that he was remembering her first few

nights at the apartment when she had refused to share his bed. ‘You might prefer us to sleep

apart when I’m nine months pregnant and the size of a whale,’ she murmured, voicing the fear

that had been niggling away at her that he would no longer find her attractive when she was

heavily pregnant. ‘Really, Nikos, I’m sure I’m going to be
huge
. I’ve already gained weight.’

‘I know,’ he growled as he leaned against a tree and drew her into his arms. ‘Your breasts are

bigger—and I am definitely a breast man,’ he muttered, deftly unbuttoning her jacket so that he

could caress her full curves that were straining beneath her silk blouse. He ran his finger lightly

down her cheek and saw the betraying quiver that ran through her. ‘You look tired,
agape
.’

‘Oh!’ Kitty’s face fell. She did not want to be told she looked tired; she wanted Nikos to tell her

she looked gorgeous and sexy and that he was impatient to take her to bed. ‘Well, I’m not. I feel

fine.’

‘What a pity.’ His mouth curved into an amused smile when she stared at him in confusion. ‘I

was thinking that you should spend the rest of the afternoon lying down—and to prevent you

from feeling bored, I would lie with you and…entertain you.’

Kitty couldn’t restrain the little shiver of excitement that ran through her, and she felt a delicious tingle of anticipation at the sultry gleam in Nikos’s eyes. ‘In that case, we’d better go home,’ she whispered against his mouth, and gave a low murmur of approval when he claimed her lips in a

hungry kiss that demanded her eager response.

Fortunately it was not far back to the apartment, although Nikos was so impatient that he had

already removed her jacket and unfastened her blouse by the time the lift reached the top floor.

‘You mustn’t keep carrying me,’ she protested when he swept her into his arms and raced down

the hall. ‘I’m no lightweight, Nikos.’

He laughed, and the sound rumbled in his big chest as he lowered her to her feet in the bedroom.

‘I like carrying you. You fit into my arms,’ he murmured, tugging her blouse over her shoulders

and reaching round to unsnap her bra.

Her breasts were getting huge, and her nipples were bigger and darker, Kitty noted dismally

when she glanced down. She looked so different from the skinny, flat-chested blonde models

Nikos had dated in the past, and some of her old insecurity about her shape returned. Sunshine

was pouring through the windows, and she was unnerved at the thought of taking off her clothes

and standing stark naked in the brilliant light, when before they had only ever made love in the

soft glow from the bedside lamps.

‘I’ll shut the blinds,’ she murmured, inching away from him and crossing her arms over her

breasts.

His brows rose quizzically and he paused in the act of removing his shirt. ‘Why? We’re on the

top floor and not overlooked by anyone,’ he said, the amusement in his voice fading when he

tried to prise her arms open and she stubbornly resisted. ‘What’s the matter, Kitty? Why don’t

you like me seeing your body? Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you hide beneath the sheets

whenever you can.’

His strength easily outmatched hers, and Kitty hung her head when he drew her arms down to

her sides. ‘I’m fat,’ she burst out miserably. ‘And it’s not all due to being pregnant. I’ve always

had curves, and I’ve never liked my body—not since—’ She broke off and stared determinedly

at the carpet.

Frowning, Nikos put a finger under her chin and tilted her face up. ‘Not since what,
agape
?’

She shrugged awkwardly, sure that Nikos must be growing impatient with her. But when she

looked at him she saw nothing but concern in his dark eyes, and she felt a sudden urge to confide

in him.

‘It’s stupid, really,’ she muttered. ‘I went on a date years ago. My first date as it happens. My

father had always been very protective, and I was ridiculously naïve. Anyway, my father

persuaded me to go on a date with the son of one of his friends—I think Papa probably arranged

it because he’d realised I was never going to find a boyfriend when I spent all my time in the

library,’ she told Nikos wryly.

‘The evening was a disaster, culminating in my “date” assaulting me in the back of his car.’

‘What do you mean by
assaulted
? Were you raped?’ Nikos was shocked by the savage anger

that coursed through him, and the surge of protectiveness that made him want to pull Kitty into

his arms and simply hold her.

‘No, no,’ she assured him quickly. ‘To be honest, I think he was too drunk. But he ripped my

dress and…and touched me, and when I tried to stop him, he accused me of leading him on. He

made me feel ashamed of my body, and I suppose I let the incident grow huge in my mind.

‘When I met you, and we made love in the cave, I was pretending to be somebody else, and I

forgot all my inhibitions…’ She trailed off and stared at Nikos, and then said rather desperately,

‘I really would be happier if we shut the blinds.’

He shook his head, and reached for her, drawing her gently against him so that her breasts were

crushed against his chest while he threaded his fingers through her hair. ‘Who was this friend of

the family who violated you and shattered your self-confidence?’ he demanded.

Kitty hesitated. ‘Vasilis Sarondakos.’

‘
Theos
! Sarondakos again! Pray for his sake that I never run into him, because my fist is itching to meet his face,’ Nikos said grimly. ‘But there are more subtle methods of retribution. I happen

to know that Vasilis has spent the fortune he inherited from his grandfather and is desperately

looking for a backer for his business venture. Wouldn’t it be a pity if he failed to get the cash he needs?’ he murmured with a cold gleam in his eyes that warned Kitty he would be a dangerous

opponent in the boardroom. ‘I’ll call in a few favours with my banking friends.’ He smiled at

her, warmth replacing the icy anger that he felt for Vasilis.

‘Forget Sarondakos and his spite,
agape
. You should be proud of your gorgeous body, not want to hide it away. Do you feel dirty or ashamed when I make love to you?’ he asked softly.

Slowly, Kitty shook her head, afraid that if she admitted she felt nothing but desperate, searing

desire when she was in his arms he would realise the effect he had on her.

He was stroking her hair, soothing the tension from her, and her heart missed a beat when he

eased her away from him a fraction and cradled her breasts in his hands. ‘I want to see the

sunlight gild your body when I make love to you,’ he said, his voice as soft and sensuous as

crushed velvet. ‘I want to watch your eyes darken when I touch you like this.’ He brushed his

thumb pads over her nipples and then rolled the taut peaks between his fingers, sending exquisite

sensation shooting through her. ‘And I want to see all of you, Kitty, every last delectable inch.’

Her skirt fluttered to the floor, and she heard him inhale sharply as his gaze roamed over her

gossamer-fine stockings and stiletto heels, and the tiny scrap of white lace that covered her

femininity. Her thick chestnut hair had fallen forwards, and he pushed it back over her shoulders

and cupped her breasts again, his eyes gleaming hotly beneath his heavy lids.

‘
Theos
, how can you doubt what you do to me?’ he demanded rawly as his restraint gave way

and he hauled her into his arms so that the throbbing force of his arousal pushed insistently

between her thighs. He claimed her mouth in a fierce, hungry kiss, and somehow managed to

strip out of his clothes and push her backwards onto the bed without taking his lips from hers.

In the sunlight his hair gleamed like black satin as he moved down her body, pausing to take

each swollen nipple into his mouth while he dipped his hand between her thighs. She was wet

and ready for him and arched her hips in mute supplication as he caressed her. He withdrew his

finger and pushed her legs wider apart and she thought he would take her immediately, and her

breathing quickened. Instead she gave a shocked cry when he bent his head and placed his mouth

over her femininity, his tongue taking the place of his finger as he thrust it into her damp

opening.

‘Nikos…no!’ Frantic with embarrassment she gripped his hair and tried to drag his head up, but

he did not cease his intimate caress and soon she forgot everything but the molten heat of her

desire and her spiralling need for his full possession. Just when she thought she could withstand

no more, and teetered on the edge of orgasm, he moved over her and entered her with one

forceful thrust, his erection so powerful that he had to pause while her muscles stretched to

accommodate him. And then he moved again, quick and hard, each sure stroke building her

pleasure until it was unbearable and she could feel the first spasms pulsate deep in her pelvis.

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