The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Princess (19 page)

organised the fights cared too much.’

‘You mean you fought men, even though you were not much more than a boy?’ Kitty felt sick

and her horror must have shown in her eyes because Nikos grimaced.

‘Many things in my past are not pretty,
agape
. I had a tough childhood—but our child will not have to fight to survive,’ he vowed fiercely, placing a hand on her stomach as if to protect the

tiny life she carried. ‘I grew up knowing hunger and deprivation, and there were many times

when my mother had no money to pay the rent and we were evicted onto the streets. But even

though life was hard I never doubted her love for me. She worked herself quite literally to death

to feed and care for me.’

The words were torn from his throat. Words he had never spoken to anyone before, and he

wondered why he felt this urge to unburden the memories of his past to Kitty. Her brown eyes

were gentle and velvet soft, and she made no comment, simply waited patiently for him to

continue.

‘My mother was terrified I would fall into a life of crime,’ he admitted grimly, ‘but when I was

sixteen she was offered a job as housekeeper for Larissa Petridis, and I was allowed to live with

her in the staff quarters of the Petridis mansion. Stamos Petridis had died some years before and

had left Petridis Shipping to his only daughter. Larissa had never married and had no children of

her own but she took an interest in me. She offered to pay to send me to college, and, although it

hurt my pride, I accepted, knowing that if I gained a degree I could get a good job and support

my mother as she had supported me.’

He rolled onto his back, his jaw rigid as the memories he had pushed away for so long returned

to haunt him. ‘My mother died of cancer before I graduated.
Theos
, she was only in her early thirties,’ he grated, his voice cracking, ‘but the hardships she had suffered during her life had

taken their toll, and when she became ill she had no strength to fight the disease. For a while I

was crazy with grief but Larissa persuaded me to make something of my life. She offered me a

position within her company and I quickly demonstrated a flair for business—although there was

some gossip that my rise to top management was because I was Larissa’s lover.

‘The rumours were unfounded,’ he told Kitty. ‘I looked upon Larissa as a surrogate mother, and

she treated me like the son she had never had— although it amused her to allow the media to

think there was something between us. Larissa was what you might call a character,’ he added

dryly.

‘When she died suddenly I was as shocked as anyone when I learned that she had made me her

sole beneficiary. I took charge of the company, and I’ve worked hard to make it successful.’

He broke off, his eyes dark and tortured, and Kitty’s heart turned over. ‘I’m sure Larissa would

have been proud of you,’ she said softly. She had heard the affection in his voice when he spoke

of the woman who had befriended him—yet Larissa had died only a few short years after his

mother and once again he had been left alone. No wonder he seemed so hard and ruthless. His

father had abandoned him before he had been born, and he had lost the only two people he had

loved. She wanted to weep for the lonely boy he had once been, and the man who had built an

impenetrable wall around his heart. Acting on instinct, and uncaring that she might reveal too

much of herself to him, she cupped his face in her hands and brought her mouth to his in a kiss

that offered comfort and understanding and a tenderness that shook Nikos to his core.

Passion built swiftly between them and he moved over her and entered her, taking them both to

the heights of pleasure. It was just good sex; he repeated the mantra in his head as he drove into

her and felt his pleasure build and build until it was intolerable and he could hold back no longer.

Sexual alchemy was a potent force that held them both in its thrall, but that was
all
it was, he assured himself as her soft cries shattered the last remnants of his control.

But afterwards, as he lay with his head on her breasts, he felt more relaxed than he could ever

remember. And later, when he lay beside her and she curled up against him, he slept peacefully

for the first time in years.

SUNLIGHTslanting through the blinds roused Kitty from a deep sleep. She stretched, and rolled

over, smiling at the sight of the cup of camomile tea that Nikos had placed on her bedside table.

She was now into the second month of her pregnancy and often woke feeling nauseous. The

herbal tea was the only thing that seemed to settle her stomach, and Nikos made it for her every

morning, and would not allow her out of bed until she had drunk it.

She had seen a new side to him these past couple of weeks, she mused. He still seemed remote

sometimes, and he worked long hours, driven, she guessed, by the demons of his impoverished

childhood. But most nights he came home in time for them to eat dinner together, even though he

often carried on working in his study for a few hours afterwards. She looked forward to their

shared meals. Face it, Nikos coming home was the highlight of her day, she admitted wryly. She

enjoyed their conversations about her work and his, or their lively discussions about events in the

news. She was as passionate about politics as she was about history, and in Nikos she had found

someone who was happy to challenge her views and state his own. He made her feel alive in a

way no other man ever had—and when he swept her off to bed every night and made love to her

with skilled passion, he gave her body more pleasure than she had believed was possible.

Since the night of the charity gala that had ended with them consummating their marriage they

had attended numerous parties and social events, and she was slowly beginning to find it less

nerve-racking when she walked into a room full of strangers. Unlike on Aristo where she had

managed to avoid the limelight, people in Athens seemed fascinated by her royal status and

wherever she went she was the focus of avid interest from Nikos’s wide circle of friends and

business associates.

But it was difficult not to attract attention when Nikos insisted on her wearing the glamorous

gowns that now filled her wardrobe. The clothes she had brought from Aristo had mysteriously

disappeared, and been replaced by elegant day wear, and exotic, overtly sexy cocktail dresses

and ball-gowns that she would never have chosen for herself. Sometimes she wondered if he was

trying to turn her into a woman more like the sophisticated models he had dated before he had

married her, but her insecurities about her body were gradually fading and her self-confidence

growing as she blossomed beneath his attention and his undisguised desire for her.

She could hear the sounds of the shower and knew that he would emerge from the en suite

dressed in one of his designer suits that he wore for work. He would look as gorgeous as ever,

but a glance in the mirror revealed that her hair looked like a bush and her face was a peculiar

shade of green. The nausea was bad again this morning. Yesterday she had actually been sick,

but fortunately not until after Nikos had gone.

She sat up slowly, praying the feeling would pass. She couldn’t bear the idea of throwing up

while he was around. It would be so undignified, she thought miserably, but her body cared

nothing for dignity, and with a gasp she shot off the bed and raced through the connecting door

to her dressing room and bathroom.

Nikos found her there five minutes later, and, ignoring her terse plea to go away and leave her

alone, he remained with her while she lost the contents of her stomach, and then wiped her face

with a damp cloth as if she were a helpless child.

‘Are you feeling any better?’ he asked quietly when she sat on the edge of the bath, ashen-faced

and utterly spent. For some reason the concern in his voice angered her. He wasn’t asking

because he cared about her; he was only worried about the baby. She caught sight of her

reflection in the mirror, and tears stung her eyes when she saw her sallow skin and her hair

hanging limp and lustre-less on her shoulders. She looked disgusting, and she felt embarrassed

about him seeing her at her most vulnerable and unattractive.

‘I
hate
feeling like this,’ she admitted miserably.

Nikos stiffened at her words. ‘It is a natural side effect of pregnancy. The doctor said the

sickness should lessen in a few more weeks.’

He made her sound as though she was making a huge fuss over something trivial, and Kitty

glared at him. ‘Well, he would say that, he’s a man, and he’s never had to go through this.’ Any

more than Nikos had. The unspoken words hung in the air. ‘You have no idea how revolting I

feel right now,’ she told him tightly. ‘It’s okay for you. Your body isn’t going to change out of

all recognition and blow up like a balloon, and you don’t have to worry that whatever you eat for

dinner is likely to bounce back up before breakfast.’

‘True,’ he said in a clipped tone, his dark eyes focused intently on her as if he was determined to

read her mind. ‘But it will be worth it in the end—when the baby is here.’

‘I suppose,’ Kitty muttered. Now she was ashamed of her silly outburst, and for some reason she

wanted to cry, but not in front of him. Hormones had a lot to answer for, she thought heavily.

‘I’m fine now,’ she assured him. ‘Go to work, Nikos.’

He hesitated. ‘If it was any other day I would cancel my engagements and stay home. But I have

a series of important meetings scheduled.’

She was desperate for him to go so that she could shower and wash her hair, try and make

herself look vaguely human. ‘I don’t need you here,’ she told him edgily. ‘The nausea is passing,

and in a while I’ll eat something.’ When he still did not move she cast around her mind for

something to convince him she was perfectly all right. ‘I thought I might look into some charities

that I could support. You said you have a friend who organises fund-raising events,’ she

prompted him.

‘Yes, Melina Demakis. I’ll find you her number. But I don’t want you to take on too much.

Your main priority should be caring for your health, and that of the baby.’

‘I realise that, and I will take care of myself.’ Kitty thought of the lonely hours she had spent in the apartment since he had returned to work. ‘You’re at your office all day, and I can’t just sit

around for the next seven months until the baby comes.’

He stared at her for a moment more and then nodded. ‘All right—come with me now and I’ll

give you Melina’s contact details.’

Nikos’s office was decorated in the same minimalist style as the rest of the apartment, pale walls

and black furniture, a couple of modern prints in silver frames on the walls. The only personal

item in the room was a small framed photograph on his desk.

‘My mother,’ he said when Kitty glanced curiously at the picture of a woman with dark hair and

a gentle smile. ‘That was taken when I was a child. I found it among her things after she died.

It’s the only photo I have of her,’ he added, taking the picture from Kitty and staring down at it.

‘She was very pretty,’ she murmured, ‘and she looks kind.’

‘She was.’

Kitty was startled by the flare of pain in his eyes, but it was quickly hidden behind the sweep of

his thick lashes. He set the photo down without further comment and flipped open the address

book on his desk. ‘Melina’s details are here. I’m afraid I must go, I’m running late, and I may

not be back for dinner. But Sotiri will cook for you, so make sure you eat—for the baby’s sake.’

His concern for his child was indisputable, Kitty thought when he had gone. Naturally she

wanted to do what was best for the baby, but sometimes Nikos made her feel more like an

incubator than an expectant mother.

By late morning she was feeling more like her usual self, and when she had showered and

dressed, and eaten a huge breakfast, the day stretched before her. She had phoned Melina

Demakis and spoken at length about possible charities she might like to support, and had

arranged to meet the older woman and several of her committee members the following week. It

seemed that she was destined to spend her life attending fund-raising events, and because of her

royal status she was likely to bring attention to the organisations she supported, but it seemed an

empty existence, and she wished she could do something more worthwhile.

She flicked idly through the daily newspaper, pausing when a familiar name caught her

attention. She had met Father Thomaso a few years ago when she had opened a hospice on

Aristo that he had raised funds for. Now in his late sixties, the priest was at an age when he could have retired, but instead he was living in Athens and had set up a charity to help underprivileged

young people.

In the article Father Thomaso spoke movingly of the problems facing the very poor, especially

children and teenagers—many of whom were immigrants who had come to Athens for a better

life and had ended up living in slums or rough on the streets. He had opened a youth centre to

provide a place of safety for children and adolescents, and was asking for financial and practical

support.

Deeply touched by the case stories she had read, Kitty picked up the phone, and when she set it