The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Princess (15 page)

Nikos was so in control, and he made her feel so stupid. She didn’t even know now why she had

made such a fuss about sleeping with him; it was just some deeply ingrained instinct for self-

protection that warned her against giving herself to a man who might be her husband, but was a

man she knew very little about.

Eventually she fell into a fitful doze and when she woke sunlight was streaming through the

blinds. She took her time showering and drying her hair, but she could not put off facing Nikos

for ever, and, spurred on by hunger, and the knowledge that she must eat for the baby, she

ventured out of her room.

She found him sitting at the breakfast table on the terrace, engrossed in his newspaper. Dressed

in pale jeans and a cream shirt that contrasted with his bronzed skin, he was impossibly

handsome, and Kitty halted in the living room while she tried to control her desperate awareness

of him.

He stood up when she stepped onto the terrace, and pulled out a chair for her. She had steeled

herself for a sarcastic enquiry about how she had slept, and she knew from the dark shadows

beneath her eyes that he would guess she’d barely slept at all, but to her relief he made no

comment about the previous night.

‘There is fruit and yoghurt and fresh rolls, but if you would like something cooked I’ll tell

Sotiri,’ he greeted her.

‘This will be fine,’ Kitty mumbled, glancing at the dish of mixed summer berries and the

creamy yoghurt, ‘but no coffee, thank you. I haven’t been able to drink it since I fell pregnant.’

‘Have you suffered much from morning sickness?’

‘Not really—I’ve felt nauseous a few times, but unfortunately it hasn’t affected my appetite. I’m

already bursting out of most of my clothes.’ She broke off, blushing furiously when Nikos’s gaze

hovered on her blouse that was too tight and was gaping over her breasts. ‘No doubt I’ll get a lot

bigger yet,’ she muttered dismally as she resisted pouring honey onto her yoghurt.

Nikos’s eyes narrowed at her rueful tone, and he voiced the question that had been gnawing

away at him. ‘How do you feel about this baby, Kitty?’

‘I don’t know,’ she replied slowly. ‘To be honest, it all seems to be part of a dream and I keep

thinking that one day soon I’ll wake up and find I’m at the palace on Aristo with nothing to think

about other than my research work for the museum.’

‘Is that what you wish?’

‘I would be lying if I didn’t say that part of me wishes I was back there,’ she admitted. ‘Aristo

was my home for my whole life and it was a wrench to leave and come to somewhere new. I

don’t know Athens at all, and from what I’ve seen it looks big and busy, and I’ll probably spend

my whole time getting lost.’

Nikos caught the wistful note in her voice, and for the first time he appreciated just how hard it

must have been for her to leave the island she loved. ‘I will do my best to help you settle here,’

he murmured. ‘I haven’t arranged a honeymoon, but I’ve taken some time off work so that I can

show you around the city.’ He paused, aware that for the first time in his life he felt awkward

about how to treat a woman. Kitty was not any woman, she was his wife, and in a few months

she would be the mother of his child. ‘I was thinking about what you said last night,’ he said

quietly. ‘And for the baby’s sake I think you are right to suggest that we should get to know each

other better, and to become…friends.’

Friends!
Kitty gave a little start of shock. If she was honest she could not imagine being friends with Nikos. He was too remote, too forbidding, and way too sexy for her to believe they could

establish a comfortable, friendly relationship. But wasn’t this what she wanted? she reminded

herself—an opportunity to learn more about the man behind the mask.

‘As for your pregnancy feeling unreal, it may seem more real after we have seen the

obstetrician,’ Nikos continued. ‘He has suggested an early scan to determine the date the baby is

due.’

‘That’s not hard to work out. There is only one possible date that I could have conceived…’

Once again hot colour flooded Kitty’s cheeks and she dared not meet Nikos’s gaze as she

recalled the passion they had shared in the cave on the night of the royal ball. He could have no

idea why she had refused to consummate their marriage last night, and no comprehension of her

shyness in front of him or her insecurities about her body. But if he felt impatient he hid it well, and the unexpected warmth of his smile stole her breath.

‘So what would you like to do today? I could show you the best places to shop in Athens.

Ermou Street has some excellent boutiques.’

‘If we are going to get to know each other better, then the first thing you should understand is

that I hate shopping,’ Kitty said firmly. ‘But I would like to explore Athens. Have you always

lived in the city?’

‘Yes.’ His smile faded. ‘But the streets where I grew up are not on the tourist trail, and I’m sure

you don’t want a tour of the slums.’

Was he ashamed of his background? Kitty wondered. ‘You aren’t responsible for the

circumstances of your birth,’ she murmured. ‘And you must be proud of all you have achieved.

You are one of Greece’s most successful businessmen.’

Nikos shrugged, but her words stayed in his mind. His success was phenomenal, but he had

never stopped to consider his achievements. He had always been focused on the next deal,

planning his next move up the corporate ladder. But he supposed he was proud—the boy from

the gutter who had clawed his way to the top. He had never had anyone to share his success with

before, but Kitty made him feel good about himself, and he realised suddenly that his new wife

might appear quiet and shy, but she was deeply perceptive.

He relaxed back in his seat and smiled at her again, noting how the sun made her hair gleam like

raw silk. ‘If it’s not to be shopping, where would you like to go?’

‘The Parthenon, the Temple of Zeus, the National Gardens.’ Kitty listed the famous landmarks.

‘You are a native Athenian, so I guess you know those places well.’

‘I certainly do,
agape
.’ He had never thought of himself as a native Athenian; he had always felt rootless and incomplete because he had no knowledge of who had fathered him. But it came to

Nikos then that he was proud of his city and he wanted to show it to Kitty, and one day to their

child who would be born here. ‘Let’s play tourists, then,’ he said as he stood and held out his

hand to her. ‘I understand that you miss Aristo, but I will make you fall in love with Athens.’

Would Nikos also make her fall in love with him? Kitty brooded three days later as they walked

around the National Archaeological Museum. He had been an enthusiastic guide showing her

around the sights of the city, and during the days that they had spent together he had revealed

some of the real Nikos Angelaki. She now knew that he kept his body in shape by playing squash

and working out at the gym; that he liked sushi, and preferred to eat out with a few close friends

rather than attend the lavish parties he was regularly invited to.

Stavros, his chauffer, and Sotiri, his butler, were clearly devoted to him, and Kitty was

impressed that he engendered such loyalty from his staff. For such a wealthy and successful man,

he appreciated the simple things in life—good food, good friends—and she had discovered a

shared interest in contemporary films and authors, which had led to several long and interesting

discussions when she had forgotten her shyness and chatted to him animatedly.

Away from the apartment at least, they seemed to be developing the friendship he had

suggested, and even though she knew he was making an effort for the future, when they would

be parents to their child, she clung to the nuggets of himself that he was willing to share. But

back at the apartment the tension between them returned, brought about by the fierce sexual

awareness that smouldered like a sleeping volcano between them and seemed in danger of

erupting at any moment.

It was a situation she had brought on herself, Kitty admitted, thinking of the previous night

when yet again she had been unable to sleep and had stared at the door connecting her room to

his, wondering if she would ever have the courage to walk through it and end the deadlock. But

she could not throw off her wariness. She was not afraid of the physical intimacy of sex, but she

feared that if she gave herself totally to Nikos he would have a power over her that she was not

ready to award him.

‘Where to next?’ His voice echoed faintly in the vast, marble-floored museum and broke into

her thoughts. ‘Shall we carry on into the Sculptures Collection, or do you want to rest now? You

look tired today, and for the baby’s sake you don’t want to overdo things.’

The only reason she was tired was because she had spent the night fantasising about him making

love to her, Kitty acknowledged silently, blushing beneath Nikos’s piercing gaze and praying he

could not read her mind as he seemed able to do.

‘I’d like to carry on,’ she told him. ‘Isn’t it incredible to think that some of these pieces date

back to the seventh century BC? We have a few ancient sculptures from the time of the Roman

and Byzantine Empires in Aristo’s museum, but the collection here in Greece is the most

important in the world, and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to see it.’

‘I’m glad you find something in Athens thrilling,
agape
,’ Nikos taunted softly, feeling a mixture of amusement and impatience when Kitty blushed again. She was staring at him with her big,

wary eyes; reminding him of a nervous deer poised to dash away should he venture too near.

At first, when she had refused to sleep with him, he had thought she was playing some sort of

game. He had met women who used sex as a weapon and had no compunction about withholding

it as a form of blackmail to get what they wanted, and he had cynically assumed that Kitty was

no different. But he had learned these past few days that his wife
was
different. He had never met anyone like her before, but he was growing more and more convinced that her sweet, shy nature

was not an act.

‘If you are bored, we could go—and I’ll come back another time,’ she said anxiously.

‘I’m not at all bored,
agape
. Your knowledge of your subject is quite astounding and you make a far more fascinating guide than the guidebook.’ He was surprised to realise that he was

speaking the truth. He enjoyed talking to Kitty and hearing about her work as a researcher at

Aristo’s Museum of History. She was fiercely intelligent and her passion for her work made her

interesting.

He did not often have meaningful conversations with women, Nikos owned. His ex-lovers had

invariably been models or socialites who talked predominantly about themselves or the latest

gossip in the tabloids, and he had allowed them to witter on, and made suitable responses, during

the necessary few dinner dates before he took them to bed.

With Kitty he could not give in to the urgent clamouring of his body and sweep her off to bed.

He did not understand why she was holding back. He knew that she wanted him, and had had as

little sleep as him for the past few nights, but he was not going to jump on her like some callow

youth at the mercy of his hormones. He was determined to wait until she gave some indication

that she had resolved the issues that clearly bothered her— and so he’d had no choice but to talk

to her, and to his amazement he had discovered that he liked her as a person and would value her

friendship.

‘Actually, there’s something in the next room that I want to show you,’ she told him as they

walked past the exhibits. ‘This little figurine was sculpted round about five hundred and forty

BC, and she was found about twenty years ago on Aristo—in the little fishing village, Varna. I

remember you said that your mother’s family came from there, and I thought you would be

interested to see a little piece of your heritage.’

‘My heritage?’ Nikos frowned. ‘I never knew my family in Varna. My grandparents cut off all

contact with my mother when she fell pregnant with me and I don’t suppose they even knew of

my existence.’

‘But even so, you have roots on Aristo,’ Kitty insisted. ‘I was thinking that it might be nice to

trace your family tree. I can trace my ancestors back for generations, but one day our child will

want to know about your side of the family.’

‘You won’t get far tracing my father. My mother took his identity with her to her grave,’ Nikos

said harshly.

‘That must be strange,’ Kitty said softly. ‘I imagine you feel as though a part of you is missing.

But to my mind that is even more reason to research your mother’s side—so that we can give our

child as complete a history as possible.’

She wandered off to look at the next exhibit, leaving Nikos staring after her. She was almost too

perceptive, he brooded. Not knowing the identity of his father had always haunted him and Kitty

had touched a nerve when she had guessed that he felt a part of him was missing. His child

would make him feel whole, but he was unnerved by the realisation that Kitty probably guessed

how much his baby meant to him.

The paparazzi were waiting for them when they walked out of the museum—a group of four or

five sitting astride motor-scooters, who started snapping photographs despite Nikos’s angry