The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Princess (24 page)

few months ago would have had him buzzing for days. He glanced back at the table. ‘If I’d

known you had planned for us to have dinner together I would have come home earlier.’

It was a fair point, Kitty admitted silently. But she had been afraid to tell him of her plans for his birthday in case he rejected her. ‘It’s your birthday,’ she murmured, ‘and you have a right to

spend it how you choose.’

He gave a faint laugh. ‘I’d forgotten it was my birthday until I walked in and saw the banner.

The last birthday I celebrated was my sixteenth, before my mother died.’ He looked at the

wrapped parcel. ‘How did you know it was today?’

‘I looked in your passport.’ Kitty tried to imagine him at sixteen: a boy on the threshold of

manhood who less than a year later had been left without a single relative in the world. She

groped for courage and smiled at him. ‘Are you going to open your present?’ she asked softly.

Nikos did not know what he was expecting, or why his heart was jerking unevenly in his chest.

He couldn’t actually remember having a surprise birthday present in his life, and he didn’t know

how to react. Kitty was watching him, and after a moment’s hesitation he ripped off the paper

and stared in stunned silence at the portrait, feeling an unfamiliar stinging sensation behind his

eyelids.

‘Do you like it?’ Kitty could not bear the taut silence. ‘The artist worked from a copy of the

photo of your mother. I think he’s done a good job, don’t you?’

‘I…don’t know what to say.’ His throat felt raw as the emotions he had suppressed for so many

years burned a fiery path inside him. It was many long years since the woman captured so

perfectly on the canvas had smiled at him and told him that she loved him, but as Nikos stared at

the image of his mother he felt his heart crack open.

‘Nikos?’ His frozen stillness was not the reaction Kitty had hoped for and for a terrible moment

she thought he was angry. But then he looked over at her and she saw his wet lashes, and the

tension that had gripped her for the past few hours when she had been waiting for him to come

home snapped. ‘Oh, Nikos—
don’t
!’

She flew to him and touched his face with trembling fingers. ‘I never meant to upset you.’

‘You haven’t.’ He fought to control the emotions that were coursing through him like a

relentless torrent released from a dam. ‘It’s a wonderful present, Kitty. I can’t believe you went

to so much trouble.’ He looked again at the painting and his eyes ached. ‘Why did you?’

‘Because I know how much you loved her.’ She took a deep breath, her heart beating liked a

trapped bird beneath her ribs. ‘And because I love
you
, Nikos. With all my heart.’

‘Kitty!’ He placed the painting carefully on the table and then turned back to her and gripped her

upper arms so tightly that his fingers bit into her skin. Was he going to shake her until she

retracted her last statement? she wondered, her heart turning over at the hunted expression on his

face.

‘It’s all right,’ she assured him gently. ‘I know you don’t feel the same way about me. I think

you loved Greta, and I understand that after what she did you would never want to love anyone

again.’

Tears blurred her vision and misted her glasses, and when she took them off she missed the flare

of emotion in his eyes. ‘I fell in love with you that night in the cave,’ she told him, her voice

steady and fearless, although inside she was shaking, ‘and although I tried hard to deny my

feelings, I know I will love you until I die.’

She wished he would say something, even if it was the words of rejection she was expecting, but

he continued to stare at her as if he had never really seen her before, and his thoughts were

hidden behind his lashes that were still spiked with moisture.

‘I have something for you, too.’

It was the last thing she had expected him to say, and she bit her lip when he suddenly released

her and strode over to his briefcase. He handed her a square, wrapped package, and she took it

with a sinking heart. At least it felt too heavy to be more jewellery, she thought numbly, hoping

that she could manage to sound suitably pleased with his gift, when inside her heart was breaking

that he hadn’t made any response, bar shock, when she had told him how she felt about him.

‘Open it,
agape
,’ he said quietly. ‘I am not good with the words, and I’ve had so little practice in saying what I need to say. But my gift may explain better.’

Startled by the distinct tremor in his voice she fumbled with the packaging, and as she tore off

the paper her heart—time, the universe—seemed to stand still. Even without her glasses she

recognised the familiar book from her childhood, and suddenly her heart began to beat very fast.

‘
Russian Fairy Tales and Fables
—the book my father used to read to me,’ she whispered, her

voice sounding as if it came from a long way off. ‘I can’t believe it. It’s the most wonderful

present you’ve ever given me, Nikos. Where on earth did you get it?’ And, more importantly—

why? she wanted to ask. But she was too afraid of his answer to voice the question.

‘One of the reasons I went to New York was to meet the private collector who owned it, and

persuade him to part with it.’ Nikos stroked her hair back from her face with an unsteady hand,

and the emotion that blazed in his eyes made her catch her breath.

‘I know how much you miss your father, and how special this book is to you. I want—’ he

swallowed hard, emotion still clogging his throat ‘—I want to be a good father to our child,

Kitty. A father like you had—who reads stories every night and loves his child unreservedly.’ He

paused, and felt as though he were about to leap off a precipice, into the unknown. But then he

looked into Kitty’s soft brown eyes, saw the love there—her love for him—and he felt an arrow

pierce his heart. ‘But more important than that, I found the book because I didn’t know how else

to tell you that you are my life, Kitty, and all that I am, everything I have worked for, is

meaningless without you.’

Kitty took a ragged little breath, not daring to hope that he meant the words he had uttered in his

velvet-soft tone. ‘You don’t have to pretend…or say things just because you think I want to hear

them. I understand how your past must have affected you, and made it impossible for you to ever

trust another person…’

Nikos placed his finger lightly across her lips. ‘I trust you, Kitty
mou
,’ he said, and with the words came an indescribable feeling of release and joy as he had never known before. His wife

was honest and open, brave, and heartbreakingly generous. Her love for him shone in her eyes

and he felt it wash over him and cleanse him until he felt weak with relief and empowered by the

strength of
his
love for
her
.

‘I love you, Kitty.’ He drew her into his arms— tentatively, as if she were made of finest

porcelain and he was afraid she would break—and held her against his chest, feeling their hearts

beat in unison. ‘I think I probably fell in love with you when I mistook you for a waitress at the

palace ball—and, certainly, after I had made love to you in the cave and you then disappeared. I

tried everything to find you and if I had I would have hoped to have had a relationship with you.’

‘You mean you were going to ask Rina to be your mistress?’ Kitty queried, her eyes widening at

his tender smile.

‘It was all I could have offered, then,’ he said, his voice low and aching with regret for the time

he had wasted. ‘I had vowed never to marry again, and certainly never to fall in love. But then I

learned that there was a baby…and within weeks I had broken my first vow, and was fast on my

way to breaking the second.’

‘Oh, Nikos.’ The expression in his eyes told her louder than any words that it was true—

unbelievably, miraculously, he loved her. And because she understood how hard it must have

been for him to admit his feelings to himself, let alone to her—and allow himself to be

vulnerable and open to hurt—she loved him even more. Suddenly words were not enough, and

she reached up to cup his face with her hands and brushed her mouth over his, emotion flooding

through her when he responded instantly and kissed her with such sweet passion, such
love
, that tears slipped silently down her cheeks.

‘Don’t cry,’ he pleaded as he lifted her and carried her down the hall. ‘I never want to make you

cry, Kitty
mou
.’ But his eyes were wet too when he reached their bedroom and stood her by the bed while he drew down the zip of her gold dress and gently tugged the material until it fell in a

shimmering pool at her feet.

‘You are so beautiful, so soft and perfectly formed,’ he whispered against her mouth as he

removed the rest of her clothes, his, and drew her down onto the bed, covering her body with his

own. ‘After what happened with Greta and the baby I felt frozen inside,’ he admitted rawly.

‘And to be honest I was glad that nothing ever touched my emotions. I didn’t want to care for

anyone ever again, and I told myself I was happy dating dozens of women who meant nothing to

me.

‘I didn’t want to marry you, and I certainly didn’t expect to fall in love with you, but bit by bit

you crept under my guard. You were so generous and giving, and although you had enjoyed a

privileged upbringing you cared so much for others who have nothing. Sometimes I think you

want to change the world,’ he said softly, smiling down at her. ‘You changed me, Kitty. You

made me feel again, and you made me see that I was being a coward by denying how I felt about

you, even though I was sure you could not love me when I had forced you to leave the home you

loved, and your family. We will move back to Aristo if you want,’ he offered. ‘I want you to be

happy, Kitty, and I realised during the week I was in the States that I don’t care where I live as

long as I am with you.’

She shook her head firmly. ‘You belong in Athens, Nikos, and I belong with you. But I agree; it

doesn’t really matter where we are, as long as we’re together—you, me, and soon the baby.’ She

traced her fingers over his jaw and the sensual curve of his mouth, and felt desire flood through

her when his body stirred against hers. ‘But, Nikos, do you think we could stop talking now?’

she whispered against his mouth. ‘So that I can show you how much I love you.’

And she did with such passion and generosity and the love that she no longer had to hide from

him that Nikos’s heart overflowed with the emotions he had denied for so long. And when he

moved over her and joined them as one, it seemed to him that their souls as well as their bodies

had fused, and he knew that the love they shared would last a lifetime.

CHANTELLE SHAW

lives on the Kent coast, five minutes from the sea, and does much of her thinking about the

characters in her books while walking on the beach. She’s been an avid reader from an early age.

Her schoolfriends used to hide their books when she visited – but Chantelle would retreat into

her own world, and still writes stories in her head all the time. Chantelle has been blissfully

married to her own tall, dark and very patient hero for over twenty years, and has six children.

She began to read Mills & Boon® books as a teenager and, throughout the years of being a stay-

at-home mum to her brood, found romantic fiction helped her to stay sane! She enjoys reading

and writing about strong-willed, feisty women, and even stronger-willed sexy heroes. Chantelle

is at her happiest when writing. She is particularly inspired while cooking dinner, which

unfortunately results in a lot of culinary disasters! She also loves gardening, walking, and eating

chocolate (followed by more walking!). Catch up with Chantelle’s latest news on her website,

www.chantelleshaw.com.

Read on for our exclusive interview with

Chantelle Shaw!

We chatted to Chantelle Shaw about the world of THE ROYAL HOUSE OF KAREDES. Here

are her insights!

would you prefer to live on Aristo orcalista? what appeals to you most abouteither island?

I think I would prefer to live on Aristo – known as the jewel in the Mediterranean – because it

has stunning scenery, fabulous beaches and fantastic shopping and nightlife. Who wouldn’t want

to live in a millionaire’s paradise! But the wildness and beauty of the desert on Calista appeals to my romantic nature.

what did you enjoy about writing aboutThe Royal House of Karedes?

I liked the fact that the stories and characters in the Royal House of Karedes are all interwoven,

and yet at the same time I was given the opportunity to make the storyline I was given my own.

The locations and the fact that the stories were set around a royal dynasty meant lots of Presents

glamour which was great fun to write!

How did you find writing as part of acontinuity?

It was the first time I have written a continuity book, and rather daunting when some of the other

authors are so much more experienced than me. But it was a great honour, and I enjoyed taking

part. I can’t wait to read all the other books in the series.

when you are writing, what is yourtypical day?

On a typical day I write from 9.30am until 3.00pm while my children are at school. In the

evening, after sorting out dinner, homework and after-school clubs, I often write for another hour