More pride than principle, Carrie accepted, shivering with cold. Aunt Mabel, never one to miss an opportunity, had immediately dismissed her nursing staff and hired Carrie in their place. It was a job Carrie had been pleased to do. Aunt Mabel hadn’t paid her, but at least she had felt useful, as if she was earning the right to her board and lodgings, though, of course, she had paid for those, too. In her naïvety, she had hoped by working for her aunt it would bring them closer.
She knew better than to expect miracles now, but whatever happened she would cope with it. Apart from sharing the news of her pregnancy with her baby’s father, she was after a reference. With a baby to support she had to find something more than casual work and had left her job in such a hurry she had overlooked the practicalities. Where had her brain been?
Somewhere below Nico Fierezza’s belt, Carrie accepted grimly as she shouldered her way into his sleek steel-and-glass office building. She had been so overwhelmed by Nico noticing her at all that she had been swept into a fantasy of her own making without any thought of the consequences.
The first discovery Carrie made was that the girl who had once been her assistant was now office supervisor. Meek and mild to haughty in twelve weeks flat, which wasn’t bad going, Carrie conceded as she braved the girl’s disdainful stare.
‘Not there.’ The emery board that had been busily sawing at some impressive red talons took a break. ‘If you leave your case there it will drip on the carpet.’
‘I seem to be doing that, anyway,’ Carrie pointed out, holding onto her composure by the thinnest of threads. ‘Do you mind if I take off my coat and hang it up to dry?’
The girl shrugged.
‘Is Nico in?’
‘Mr Fierezza? I’m afraid you can’t just drop in here on the off chance that Mr Fierezza will see you. He’s a very busy man. You will have to make a proper appointment.’
‘I appreciate the fact that he’s busy…’When was Nico not busy? ‘I’m prepared to wait if I have to, but would you mind telling him that I’m here?’
‘Why can’t I help you?’ The girl’s gaze sharpened as she looked at Carrie.
‘Are you going to call him? Or shall I go straight in?’ Straightening her back, Carrie left the girl in no doubt that she would.
‘It won’t help you to go—’
The girl moved faster than Carrie could have imagined, leaping in front of her to bar the way to Nico’s office. ‘He isn’t here,’ she said smugly.
Carrie’s shoulders slumped. The news was a real blow.
‘Carrie!’
Carrie’s heart lifted as she turned to see an older woman advancing on them like a galleon in full sail.
‘Great to see you, Carrie! What are you doing here?’ Linking arms, she led Carrie away.
Carrie couldn’t believe her luck. Sonia Farraday was one of her favourite people. Legend had it that Sonia came with the building, but Carrie knew that Sonia was the hub around which everything in Nico’s London office revolved when he was away.
‘Let me get you a hot drink—you’re soaked through,’ Sonia insisted. ‘Come into my den. And, Shelley…’ Sonia’s voice hardened ‘…find a cloth and dry off Carrie’s suitcase.
‘Honestly,’ Sonia added as she bustled Carrie into her pin-neat room, ‘young women these days!’ Her gutsy laugh proved exactly why Carrie liked her so much. ‘Now then, what can I do for you?’ Sonia demanded once they were both seated.
‘I need to speak to Nico, Sonia.’
‘Hmm.’ Sonia sat back. ‘That’s not so easy. Nico isn’t in London and he won’t be back for some time. As soon as he’s tied up all the loose ends on his latest project Nico’s going to visit his family in Niroli. There are rumours he may stay there indefinitely,’ she confided with a meaningful glance.
‘In Niroli?’ Carrie paled.
‘He doesn’t share everything with me. Nico keeps his private life private, as you know. He’ll tell me what he intends to do when he’s ready and not before.’ Sonia’s shrewd gaze sharpened as it rested on Carrie’s face. ‘Why don’t you let me get you that drink now? You look worn out. When I come back we’ll have another chat, and then I’ll make some calls and see if I can help you….’
Carrie nodded dumbly as Sonia left her. Nico living in Niroli was a complication she hadn’t factored into her thinking. And now she had aroused Sonia’s curiosity, and she didn’t want to confide in her. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Sonia, but Nico had to be the first to know about their baby.
As she sat waiting in the office Carrie stared thoughtfully at the computer. Nico’s address in Niroli would be there somewhere, and if her password hadn’t changed she could bring it up on the screen….
It only took her a few minutes and then she sat back stunned by what she had discovered. Nico didn’t have an address in Niroli; not as such—he kept an apartment at the palace. She had known Nico was the king’s grandson, but perhaps because he had never made anything of it she had always thought of him as a lesser royal, a man whose connections to the glittering court were so distant as to be insignificant. But now she knew better. Nico Fierezza was not only a member of the ruling family of Niroli, he lived in the palace.
Her baby’s father lived in a palace!
It made her mission to find Nico a lot bigger challenge, but not impossible, Carrie determined as Sonia bustled back into the room with a tray of coffee. ‘Now, drink this up,’ Sonia told her warmly. ‘You look as if you’ve seen a ghost. Are you sure you’re looking after yourself properly, Carrie?’
Sonia was fishing, Carrie realised. ‘I’m doing fine. It’s just so cold outside.’
‘You should be back in this nice warm office. We miss you.’
It was another prompt, Carrie realised, but she couldn’t accept the opening Sonia was giving her. She could never work for Nico again after what had happened between them.
When they had finished their coffee Sonia was as good as her word, and it only took a couple of calls for her to establish that Nico was in Niroli.
Niroli. The island was a legend. It was a smarter and more glamorous world than she could ever imagine. Nico belonging there made him seem more remote and unapproachable than ever.
Sensing Carrie’s reluctance to talk, Sonia didn’t press her, but when the time came for her to leave, Sonia insisted, ‘You mustn’t walk to the underground in this weather, Carrie, or you’ll catch your death of cold. I’m going to call a cab for you. Are you still at the same address?’
As Sonia’s hand hovered over the telephone receiver Carrie accepted that what the older woman had told her changed everything, but she couldn’t embroil Sonia in her difficulties. She had a child to protect now and must stand on her own two feet. ‘If you could call a taxi that would be great, but if you don’t mind I’ll decide where I’m going when it gets here….’
CHAPTER TWO
IT WASN’T as if she had any ties holding her in England, Carrie reflected as the plane banked steeply on the final approach to Niroli and, in spite of her apprehension, she couldn’t suppress her excitement at the thought of seeing Nico again. Her hands tightened around the in-flight magazine in which she had found pictures of the palace taken from the air. Just the thought of trying to gain entrance to somewhere so splendid made her heart race. The question was, could she do it?
She had to do it, Carrie determined, stuffing the magazine back in its net. Staring out of the window, she tried to distract herself. She could see the bright blue ocean far below dotted with tiny boats and, in the distance, the coastline of Niroli, edged with pale golden sand. The island looked so tranquil from the sky she didn’t want to think about the drama that was about to unfold, but she wouldn’t dodge it, either. There was some irony in the situation. When Nico had hired her he’d said it was her quiet perseverance that had brought her to his notice, and now that same determination was about to be turned against him….
She was pregnant because they’d had sex at the office party. It was such a cliché,
she could hardly believe it herself, but she had always been ready for Nico; he’d only had to look at her a certain way. She had been hovering on the fringes of the party with a wineglass in her hand. She wasn’t good at small talk, the words would never come quickly enough, and if they did, they were invariably the wrong words. People couldn’t be bothered to wait while she tried to find something witty or fascinating to say. She hadn’t drunk a lot, just a glass or two of wine. In fact, she had been wondering how soon she could slip away without causing offence. It had been during one of those ‘poised for flight’ moments that Nico had sought her out.
‘All alone, Carrie?’
Her heart performed a perfect somersault. Nico Fierezza had never spoken to her outside office hours. Yet he’d been there standing right next to her, so close she could smell his cologne and could separate each complex note: musk, sandalwood, vanilla and an additional edge of something that hinted of warm water and toothpaste and long, hot, soapy showers—
‘Daydreaming?’ He’d broken into her thoughts with that low, husky voice that’d always made her tremble inwardly when she was taking notes for him.
‘That’s not like you, Carrie,’ he’d observed.
The note of censure had made her stare up into slate-blue eyes she had never felt brave enough to study before. Then she’d seen they had a striking pewter ring around the iris and that the whites were very white against his tan.
‘I’ve been watching you….’
The fact that he’d even noticed her was news, indeed, and the touch of humour in his voice had ensured that her attention remained fixed to his face. But, as usual, nothing sparkling had flown to her lips. It’d been the most exciting moment of her life and she’d been speechless. She’d taken in Nico’s lashes, so long and thick and black like the stubble on his cheeks, and then her pulse had gone wild when he’d smiled into her eyes.
‘Are you all right? Can I get you something before we land?’
Shocked into the present, Carrie gasped out loud. She had been gripping the seat arms, she realised, which the flight attendant had mistaken for nerves. ‘Nothing, nothing, thank you….’
As the woman walked away Carrie tried to shut the memories out, but Nico’s voice was in her head…Nico teasing her, Nico telling her she was his strait-laced secretary with the big innocent eyes and there were questions he wanted answered…She was spellbound that he was interested in anything other than her secretarial skills. And then he’d said something extraordinary: ‘You must know you’ve been under my wing since you got here….’
Under Nico’s wing? Her mind went into free fall. She’d hoarded up each time he’d smiled at her like a miser hoarding gold, but she’d always believed he was encouraging her to do better, to work harder….
‘I love your modesty,’ he’d gone on. ‘I find subtlety in a woman incredibly attractive….’
Attractive? Nico found her attractive? His words had echoed in her head like a siren call. And then she’d found her voice, but only to stutter clumsily, ‘I’ve not…I mean, I’m not…’
‘If I’ve got this wrong just say the word…’ His voice had been teasing.
What word? None came to mind.
‘I want you, Carrie….’
The moment he’d said that she was lost. She wanted Nico so badly it hurt. And then he’d leaned back against the wall, his timing impeccable. She had been so sure he was about to take her in his arms that she swayed towards him, which was all the answer Nico had been looking for.
She might have made a sound when he’d removed the wineglass from her hand, but she was certainly struck dumb when he’d taken her from the party, lead her by the hand across the room. She’d followed him willingly; she would have followed him anywhere.
When they’d reached the boardroom he’d shut and locked the door. Then, gathering her to him, he’d used the lightest and most persuasive touch on her arms as if asking her permission to go further. She’d given it gladly. He hadn’t needed to ask, her body’d melted like candle wax. She’d not only been willing, she’d been eager to serve. Nico Fierezza was a god amongst men. He was the only man she had ever wanted and it’d been a dream come true. He could have done anything with her.
Nico was everything she had imagined and more. He was tender, loving, considerate and hotter than a man had any right to be. While he’d dropped kisses on her neck above the chaste white barrier of her Peter Pan collar he’d freed the buttons on her blouse with long, deft fingers. Soothing and exciting her at the same time with his lips, tongue and teeth, he’d suggested all sorts of wickedness in husky Nirolian. She’d been so aroused she’d yelped in complaint when he’d paused to push her neatly tailored jacket from her shoulders. But as it was only a short pause, she’d forgiven him, and then her blouse was open to the waist and her heavy breasts in the fine lace bra were fully exposed for his perusal. She’d felt a moment’s shame knowing her bras were far too small for her and she had been meaning to buy more, but the expression on Nico’s face had told her to relax. He’d approved. He’d loved her breasts. He’d loved the way they’d spilled over the confining cups and he’d loved the fact that her nipples had been so engorged they’d pressed like tight red buds against the flimsy lace.
Arching her back, she’d thrust them towards him, making her breasts a gift to him, her first gift to Nico….
Carrie flinched now as the flight attendant lightly touched her hand.
‘We’ve been forced to circle the airport, but we’ll be down on the ground very soon….’
‘Thank you for telling me.’
‘A drink of water, perhaps?’
‘I’m fine, honestly…just a little tense.’ And just a little concerned that her guilty thoughts were an open book to the woman!
‘It’s understandable,’ the flight attendant said sympathetically. ‘There’s been a lot of turbulence, but it’s nothing to worry about. In ten minutes or so it will be all over and your holiday will have begun.’
Her holiday? If only! Carrie smiled. ‘Thank you…I’m not usually so much trouble….’
‘No trouble at all,’ the flight attendant assured her, moving on to attend to another nervous passenger.
She couldn’t allow herself to become distracted like this, Carrie told herself firmly. She had to make a conscious effort to blank Nico out of her mind. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on happy thoughts about the tiny child growing inside her until a light touch on her shoulder told her that the flight attendant was back with her water. ‘You’re very kind.’
‘That’s what we’re here for.’
The small kindness brought tears to Carrie’s eyes. She knew her hormones were to blame, but took it as a warning that she must be careful to keep a check on her feelings when she met Nico. She must give him no reason to think her weak.
She drank the water down quickly and closed her eyes, trying to shut her mind to everything, but soon she was drifting into the half world somewhere between waking and sleeping where Nico was waiting for her. She couldn’t blame him for what had happened. She had been as eager as he that night and had turned from meltingly acquiescent to fiercely demanding in the space of a kiss….
Everyone knew Nico was strong, but that night she had discovered that his body felt like warm marble beneath her hands. The intimacy of touching his naked skin had given her an incredible charge. From that moment on she had been able to think of nothing but him sinking deep inside her.
Nico had known exactly what she’d wanted. His hands had been sure as they’d reached for the fastening on her skirt. She had encouraged him, laughing softly, nipping his skin with her small white teeth until he’d appeared to change his mind…Nico had had other plans for her. Swinging her into his arms, he had settled her on the edge of the boardroom table where she was at the perfect height for him. As he had nudged his way between her thighs she had wriggled impatiently, lifting her hips this way and that to make it easier for him to remove her briefs….
A sudden jolt flu
ng Carrie into full consciousness. They had landed, she realised with surprise. Time to put her jacket on…gather her things. Would she ever escape Nico, waking or sleeping?
‘You can let go of the arm rests now and relax,’ the flight attendant told her with a smile.
If only it were that easy. ‘Thank you for everything…’
The girl paused with her hand on the back of Carrie’s seat. ‘We’ll be taxiing for around ten minutes before we reach the terminal building, so you’ll have plenty of time to organise yourself. You’ll have someone meeting you, I expect?’
No, no one. As loneliness washed over her Carrie realised why she had behaved the way she had on the night of the party. She had wanted to be with someone who wanted her…And when that someone had been Nico…‘No, there’s no one meeting me,’ she admitted, spinning the words on a note of optimism. ‘This is my first solo trip and I’m looking forward to it.’
‘You know, I’ve always wanted to go it alone. I admire you.’
There was nothing to admire, Carrie thought, maintaining her upbeat expression. ‘I’ll let you know how it goes.’
As the flight attendant hurried away Carrie wondered if anything could blunt the passion she felt for Nico and allow her to think clearly. He didn’t make it easy. ‘Not yet, mouse, I set the pace…’ That was what he had said to her at the party and she had been happy to fall into line. All that had to change now. No one challenged Nico, but she would now for the sake of their child.
It wasn’t as if she was unprepared. She had played the scene where she told him about their baby over and over again in her head, preparing for rejection. She had even drafted the accusations for him: she should have been more responsible; she should have taken precautions; she should have been on the pill at the very least. Condoms? Condoms took a degree of forward thinking and there had been no time for that….
Freeing her seat belt and standing up, Carrie eased her way into the packed aisle. As she waited for the line to move forward a woman in front of her turned and said, ‘Perfect, isn’t it?’
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