Claiming My Hidden Son (The Notorious Greek Billionaires Book 1)

by Maya Blake

  ‘My grandmother was a feminists’ feminist. She hated every aspect of a patriarchy that dictated what she could and couldn’t do. She especially hated it when my grandfather died and everyone expected her to remarry because she had a young daughter to care for.’

  I caught the edge of Ax’s puzzled frown and couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips.

  ‘She never did remarry, but after she lost her house she was forced to live with my parents. I grew up in the shadows of her rebellion. She urged me to stand my ground. To question everything.’

  His frown cleared, a droll look entering his grey eyes. ‘Ah. I see.’

  ‘Needless to say she butted heads with my father almost on a daily basis.’

  Ax tensed. Not wanting the mood tarnished, I passed my hand over his chest—a soothing gesture that worked with Andreos but might not work with his father. My breath caught when he exhaled after a handful of seconds.

  ‘Anyway, I found out on my wedding day that she’d left me an envelope. My mother was to give it to me when she thought I needed it.’

  A trace of regret flashed across his face. ‘She thought you’d need it the day you married me.’

  It wasn’t a question, more of an acceptance of how things had turned out.

  I shrugged. ‘Besides my father, none of us knew much about you. What little I knew before we met at the altar I found out online,’ I said, recognising but unable to stop the hint of censure in my tone.

  The regret in his eyes deepened as he nodded. ‘I accept that. So your father really kept you in the dark about everything?’

  ‘Yes. And it wasn’t anything new. He did that most of my life.’

  ‘Why?’

  The whisper of family shame slithered over my skin. ‘Surely you’ve heard the rumours?’

  ‘I prefer facts to rumours,’ he stated.

  I didn’t bother to ask what he’d heard. I wanted this discussion over as quickly as possible.

  ‘My mother left home when I was fifteen. She’d met another man and was planning on leaving my father. But they were involved in an accident. The man died. My mother survived—obviously—but she suffered a spine injury and... Well, you’ve seen her. My father brought her back home and promised to take care of her—under certain conditions.’

  The hand that had been lazily trailing through my hair froze. ‘It seems your father makes a habit of using people’s misfortunes against them.’

  I couldn’t deny that truth. And when Ax used his hold to gently propel my gaze up to his I couldn’t hide it from him.

  Whatever he saw in my face made him exhale again. ‘I used to think that was an encompassing Petras family trait,’ he murmured.

  ‘Used to?’ Did that mean he’d changed his mind? That he wasn’t tarring me with the same brush as my father any more?

  He continued to stare at me for a long stretch. ‘You’re nothing like him. You have a formidable inner strength that he doesn’t—clearly inherited from your grandmother,’ he said.

  The low, gruff words opened up a fountain of emotion inside me that stopped my breath, especially when he brushed his lips over mine, as if wanting to seal the words in.

  Getting carried away would have been so easy, but I forced myself to pull back. ‘Anyway, I moved from under my father’s thumb to under yours without any intermission—’

  He stiffened, his face growing a shade paler. ‘Under my thumb? I made you feel like that?’

  I shrugged. ‘You dictated where I would live. How I would live. Without giving me a say. So when you told me to find a way... I did.’

  His jaw tightened and after a moment he nodded. ‘I don’t blame you for staging a rebellion. I would have in your shoes too. Perhaps not with anonymity but...that’s understandable considering my reaction to our marriage.’

  Tears prickled my eyes, threatening to spill at the thought that he was seeing things from my side. ‘Anyway, my grandmother’s letter left details of a Swiss bank account in my name. I went to Switzerland to see what it was all about. She’d left me the means to live under a new identity if I chose. There was also a box with some of her things in it.’

  ‘That’s how you were able to live without detection for a year?’ he said.

  I nodded. ‘I think she meant me to use it more as a way to rebel against my father than a way—’

  ‘For you to escape your new husband?’ he finished with terse amusement.

  ‘Either way, it seemed like a sign.’

  A touch of hardness entered his eyes. ‘Leaving your husband tearing his hair out for a year.’

  ‘You weren’t my husband. You especially weren’t interested in being one the morning after the wedding. You married me to save your precious company, so don’t pretend my absence caused you any personal slight or even—heaven forbid—any anxiety!’

  ‘You carried my name. You were supposed to be under my care. Believe me, your disappearance was punishment enough—especially when I was left imagining the worst,’ he rasped in a raw tone.

  Plastered to him as I was, I felt the shudder that shook his frame, and his set jaw and the flash of bleakness in his eyes spoke to a vulnerability I’d never have imagined him capable of until tonight.

  I stopped breathing, because... No, I hadn’t quite thought about it. ‘It wasn’t just our forced marriage, Axios. My father was threatening my mother too.’

  Fury flashed in his eyes. ‘What?’

  ‘He wanted to keep me in line through her. But she made me promise I wouldn’t stay if I was unhappy. It all got a bit too much.’

  ‘Did he carry out his threat?’

  I shook my head. ‘I’m guessing he was too busy playing with his windfall.’

  The monthly phone calls with my mother had assured me she was okay, and had been all the wind beneath my wings I’d needed to stay away.

  He bit out a tight curse and threw an arm over his forehead. ‘Your father has a lot to answer for, but he’s saved himself a trouncing by leaving your mother alone,’ he growled. After a moment, his gaze pierced mine again. ‘My investigators eventually traced your flight from Greece to Switzerland and assured me that my wife had simply chosen to run away of her own accord. At least now I know how you managed to avoid detection after you left Geneva, but perhaps you’d be so kind as to finish telling me where you went?’

  The pulse of anguish still underlined his anger, but knowing it wasn’t directed at me made it easier to finish my retelling.

  ‘I took a train to Strasbourg and then wandered through Europe for a time before heading to South-East Asia. After that I made my way through Africa.’

  All the while keeping in touch with Dr Trudeau and praying for my baby’s continued health.

  ‘When did you know you were pregnant with Andreos?’ he rasped.

  My stomach hollowed out in remembrance, and it took every ounce of self-control not to show how that fateful day still affected me. How the possibility that I would never meet my child had left me broken and sobbing for one day straight, until the fervent prayers had begun.

  ‘I found out early. In Switzerland.’

  He waited, his gaze imploring me for more. But I had nothing more to give. Nothing that wouldn’t see the precious time I had left with Andreos compromised.

  And it would be. It was clear Axios was deeply possessive and protective of his son. Over the past few days I’d learned just how meticulous and all-powerful he could be. I couldn’t afford for the time I had with my baby to be compromised.

  Or, on the flipside, he simply wouldn’t care.

  Pain snaked through me, dulling my heartbeat. No, he was better off not knowing.

  ‘Why Kenya?’ he asked, tugging me back to the present.

  ‘Because I was seven months pregnant when I got there. Because I loved it there and knew I wouldn’t be able to travel. I chose
to stay and have Andreos there.’

  Again, he lapsed into contemplative silence, those piercing grey eyes pinning me to the bed. Then, ‘Thank you for telling me,’ he said simply. Gruffly.

  Tears prickled. To hide them, I lowered my head until our lips were a whisper apart. He didn’t protest. His eyes simply went molten and his hard body stirred beneath mine as I closed the gap and helped myself to the magic of his kiss.

  He allowed my exploration for a minute. Allowed the tentative probe and the slide of my tongue against his in a deeper kiss while the hand around my waist moved in a slow caress up and down my back, until he boldly cupped my bottom and brought me into brazen contact with his impressive arousal.

  Then he flipped me over and took complete control, effectively emptying my brain of everything but the naked desire snaking through my body, setting me alight with a need so acute all I could do was let it wholly consume me.

  Nevertheless, his warning ricocheted in my head long after our bodies had cooled. Long after his deep, steady breathing indicated sleep.

  Because telling myself I didn’t care what my actions had caused Axios after I took up the fight for my health, that I wasn’t important enough to cause a ripple in his existence, didn’t quite ring true in my head. I cared. Even if marrying him and taking his name had been a transaction dictated by my father for financial gain, our coming together had produced a son. And that mattered. Whether I liked it or not, Axios mattered to me. More than perhaps was wise.

  The intensifying ache inside that reminded me I might have less time than I imagined added to the turmoil churning inside me, keeping me awake as dawn approached. Eventually mental exhaustion won out, and I fell into a sleep fuelled with pleasure and pain, blissful happiness and acute sadness.

  Thankfully I was in a state of happiness when I resurfaced from sleep to the sound of a cooing baby.

  ‘Kalimera, my angel,’ I murmured, my drowsy awakening made all the better by my sweet baby’s enthusiastic babble and the innocent smell of his freshly bathed body.

  Eyes still closed, I felt my heart bursting with a joy that widened my smile.

  ‘He’s been very patient as he waited for his mama to wake, but I fear that state is about to be over,’ drawled the deep, masculine voice of my baby’s father.

  My eyes flew open, the reminder of where I was and what had transpired last night fracturing my smile as I encountered the arresting image of a rudely vibrant Axios, one hand propping up his head and the other resting lightly on his son’s stomach.

  Andreos, his curious gaze switching between his father’s face, mine, and just about every bright object it could touch upon, wriggled with impatience and babbled some more before letting out a cry that signalled he was well and truly done with waiting to be fed.

  My lungs flattened with surprise and an unexpectedly sharp yearning as Ax shifted onto his back, lifted his son and held him aloft, a drop-dead gorgeous smile breaking out on his face as father and son stared at each other.

  ‘You’ve made it this far, o moro mou. Give it another half-minute and you will be rewarded, hmm?’ he teased.

  I sat up, unable to help my blush and self-consciousness at the reminder that I was naked under the sheets.

  After anointing his son’s forehead with a gentle kiss, Axios turned to watch me sit up and arrange the pillows around me in preparation to feed an increasingly impatient Andreos.

  When I was settled, Axios handed him over. And, just like last night, he didn’t seem in a hurry to leave. In fact, he settled back on his pillow, his gaze unashamedly fixed on me as I settled our son at my breast.

  Sunlight streamed through the partially opened curtain, bathing the parts of Axios I could see in mouthwatering relief—mainly his very naked, very chiselled torso. The effort it took to drag my gaze away and avoid the incisive eyes was depressingly monumental.

  ‘I... What time is it?’

  ‘It’s a little after nine,’ he answered, reaching out to caress his son’s bare, plump foot. ‘You were out of it when the monitor signalled that Andreos was awake. Sophia was about to give him a bottle, but I thought I’d bring him to you instead.’

  I nodded, my throat clogging at the picture of togetherness and domestic bliss his words painted. Before I could stop myself, might-have-beens crowded my heart and I stared down at Andreos, painfully aware of Ax’s presence in the pictures that filled my mind.

  A little desperately, I reminded myself that this was all temporary. A short stretch of time to enjoy with my son before—

  ‘Calypso?’

  I blinked, unable to stop myself from being compelled to meet his gaze.

  His eyes narrowed and he waited a beat before asking, ‘What’s wrong?’

  I shook my head. ‘It’s nothing. I’m just a little tired, that’s all.’

  His shuttered gaze said he knew I was being evasive. But he let it go. ‘Not too tired to spend a few hours out of the city, I hope?’

  Surprised, I stared at him. ‘Out of the city?’

  He nodded. ‘I thought we could fly to Agistros for the afternoon. Agatha will organise a picnic for us and we’ll spend a little time by the water.’

  ‘Why?’ I blurted.

  He tensed slightly. ‘On the rare occasion that I find myself with free time, I wish to spend it with our son. With you. I thought you might enjoy it. Am I wrong?’

  I flushed. ‘I... No.’

  I’d planned nothing except spending a lazy day with Andreos. But the thought that Axios had plans, that he wanted to include us, kicked a wild little thrill into my bloodstream. A dangerous thrill. One I needed to nip in the bud sooner rather than later.

  ‘I was planning on heading down to the beach here, but one beach is as good as any other, I suppose.’

  A sly smile tilted one corner of his lip. ‘I beg to differ. The beaches on Agistros rival the best in the world.’

  My cheeky need to tease grew irresistible. ‘According to you.’

  His smile widened. ‘Since I own it, my opinion is the only one that counts.’

  The statement was so unapologetically arrogant I laughed. The sound seemed to arrest him, his eyes turning that molten shade that sent heat pulsing through my blood as we stared at each other.

  ‘I believe this is the first time I’ve heard you laugh,’ he rasped, his gaze raking over my face to settle brazenly on my mouth, almost effortlessly calling up another blush that suffused my face. ‘I like it.’

  Without warning his hand rose, his fingers trailing down one hot cheek and along my jaw before dropping down to recapture his son’s foot.

  Something heavy and urgent and profound shifted inside me. The thought that I didn’t know this facet of the man I’d married and that I wanted to hit me square in the midriff, before flaring a deep yearning towards all the dark corners of my heart.

  My smile felt frayed around the edges as I fought to maintain my composure, fought not to blurt out another prayer for things I didn’t deserve.

  I’d been given so much already.

  Gloom wormed through my heart, the fear of what lay ahead and of fighting an uphill battle I might not win casting shadows over the gift of another day.

  I was still struggling to banish it when a knock came on the door.

  ‘Ah, right on time,’ he murmured.

  With another heart-stopping smile Axios launched himself out of bed. Naked and gladiator-like in all his glory, he walked across the suite, stopping long enough to pull on a dark dressing robe before heading for the door.

  He returned a minute later, wheeling a solid silver trolley loaded with breakfast dishes. Bypassing his side of the bed, he stopped the trolley close to me before hitching up a thigh and settling himself next to me.

  I tried and failed not to watch him pour coffee for himself, tea for me, and lift a large, succulent bowl of ripe strawberries.


  He waited until I’d put Andreos over my shoulder and begun rubbing his back to elicit a burp before he shifted closer. Dipping one end of a strawberry into a bowl of rich cream, he leaned forward and then held the plump fruit against my lip.

  ‘Taste.’ His voice was deep, low. Hypnotising.

  I leaned forward, parted my lips and took the offering. He watched me chew with the kind of rapt attention that could wreak havoc with a woman’s sensibilities. Only after I’d swallowed did he help himself to a piece—minus the cream.

  He alternated between feeding me and himself until the bowl was empty, and then he set about piling more food on a plate.

  ‘I can’t eat all that,’ I protested as I laid a very satisfied Andreos down beside me.

  Axios shrugged, setting the tray in my lap. ‘Our son is very demanding. And I get the feeling that state is only going to get more challenging. You’ll need all the advantages you can get.’

  About to tell him there was nothing I was anticipating more, the words stuck in my throat, and a bolt of heartache clenched my heart in a merciless vice.

  Thankfully Axios was in the process of lifting a newspaper from a side pocket of the trolley, granting me a scant few seconds to get my emotions under control before he straightened and flicked the paper open.

  Then a different sort of tension assailed me.

  Seeing the pictures gracing the front page, I felt my gut twist. While I’d known we’d be under scrutiny last night, it hadn’t occurred to me that we’d actually make front-page news.

  The first picture had been taken when we’d first entered the ballroom. With our heads close together, Ax’s masculine cheek almost touching mine, it hinted at an edgy intimacy between us that was almost too private.

  From the look on Axios’s face, he didn’t feel the same.

  He turned the page and my insides churned faster. There were more pictures, including some of us on the balcony, his hand splayed on my back, right before he pulled me in for that toe-curling kiss.

  Axios stared at the pictures with something close to smug satisfaction.

  ‘Did you know we were being photographed?’ I asked, biting into a piece of ham-layered toast and concentrating on stirring my tea so I wouldn’t have to look at the picture. At how the sight of Axios in a tuxedo continued to wreak havoc with my equilibrium. Nor face the fact that a very large part of me was wondering what true intimacy with this man whose name I’d taken would feel like.