Bound by My Scandalous Pregnancy

by Maya Blake

  The aircraft banked, granting a first view of the resplendent villa and grounds in the mid-afternoon sun.

  ‘Oh, my God,’ my mother whispered.

  The sentiment echoed inside me.

  Spread beneath us was the most magnificent sight I’d ever seen. The sprawling whitewashed villa was divided into two giant wings the size of football fields and connected by an immense glass-roofed living area that could easily accommodate a thousand guests. A sparkling swimming pool abutted the living area, and a tiered lawn went on almost for ever, ending at a large gazebo set right on the beach, complete with twin hammocks set to watch the perfect sunset.

  I was still drenched in awe when the scene of the wedding ceremony came into view.

  Unlike the spectacle of his brother’s wedding—the details of which my mother had delighted in showing me via her magazines—Neo had agreed to a close-family-only wedding. The handful of guests were perched on white-flower-decorated seats, laid out on a blinding white carpet on the vast landscaped lawn. The ‘altar’ was bursting with white and pink Matthiola, specially imported from Italy, and the florists’ gushing use of the flower meant to symbolise lasting beauty and a happy life echoed in my mind as the chopper landed.

  The walk from the aircraft to where Neo’s family members had risen to their feet felt like a trek across a field of landmines, my pulse leaping with apprehension with each step, the sea-tinged breeze lifting my organza and lace wedding dress, reminding me how far away I was from normal reality.

  I was marrying a wealthy, powerful man. One who’d proved he could bend the path of destiny itself to his will. One who was assuming greater and greater occupation in my thoughts.

  One who bristled with impatience as my steps faltered.

  Beside Neo, a man matching his height murmured to him, a kind of hard amusement twitching his lips. Neo sent him a baleful glare before his eyes locked on mine, compelling me with the sheer force of his dynamism.

  Despite our many charged conversations, I hadn’t seen him since the night of his skewed proposal. His designer stubble was gone, and the lightning-strike effect of his clean-shaven face stalled my feet completely.

  Somewhere along this journey I’d fooled myself into thinking I could handle an association with this powerful man. Now, I wasn’t so sure. How could I be when his very presence struck me with such alarming emotions?

  The man next to him stepped forward, momentarily distracting me.

  Axios Xenakis—Neo’s older brother.

  He approached, eyeing me with the same piercing Xenakis gaze, unashamedly assessing me before the barest hint of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

  He placed himself next to me and, with a nod at my mother, offered me his arm. ‘As much as I’m enjoying seeing my brother twisting in the wind, perhaps you’d be so kind as to have a little mercy?’

  ‘I’m not doing anything...’ I murmured.

  ‘Precisely. You are merely hesitating long enough for him to feel the kick of uncertainty. Believe me, I know what that feels like.’

  His words were directed at me but his gaze flicked to a dark-haired, stunningly beautiful woman cradling an adorable baby in her arms. They shared a heated, almost indecently sensual look that would have made me cringe had my whole attention not been absorbed by the man I’d pledged to marry. The man who looked a whisker away from issuing one of those terse little commands that irritated and burned but also flipped something in my stomach while getting him what he wanted.

  What he wanted, clearly, was for me to honour my word.

  One hand twitched, and it was as if a layer of that supreme control slipped as he watched me.

  Think of Mum. Think of the baby.

  Knowing he was eager to secure his child delivered a numb kind of acceptance over me. Helped propel me to where he stood.

  He exhaled, and just like that control was restored.

  The ceremony went off without a hitch. Probably because Neo had forbidden any.

  In what seemed like a breathless, head-spinning minute I was married to one of the most formidable men on earth. And he was turning to me, his fierce gaze locked on my lips.

  It was all the warning I got before he leaned down, his lips warm and dangerously seductive as they brushed mine once. Twice. Then moved deeper for a bare second before he raised his head.

  His gaze blatantly raked me from head to toe, his nostrils flaring as his gaze lingered on my belly.

  ‘Dikos mou,’ he murmured beneath his breath.

  ‘What?’

  He started, as if realising he’d spoken aloud, then immediately collected himself. When he circled my wrist with one hand and turned me to face the dozen or so guests, I steeled myself against the fresh cascade of awareness dancing over my body—told myself it meant nothing, was simply a continuation of whatever role he was playing. And when he turned to rake his gaze from the swept-back, loosely bound design the stylist had put my hair into, over my face and down my body, before deeply murmuring, ‘You look beautiful...’ I told myself it was for the benefit of his family.

  Barely minutes later, once the wait staff had begun circulating with platters of exquisite canapés and glasses of vintage champagne, Neo had grown aloof. A fine tension vibrated off him, increasing every time I tried to extricate myself from his hold.

  When it grew too much I faced him, thankful that we were temporarily alone. ‘Is something wrong?’

  His expression grew even more remote. ‘Should there be?’

  I shrugged. ‘You’re the one who seems agitated.’

  For a tight stretch of time, he didn’t speak. Then, with piercing focus, he said, ‘I commend you for holding up your end of the bargain, Sadie.’

  Despite the backhanded compliment, his expression suggested he was waiting for the other shoe to fall.

  I raised an eyebrow, eager to find a level footing with him, despite the cascade of emotions churning through me. Barely a month ago I’d been blissfully unaware that I carried a child. Now, I wasn’t simply a mother-to-be, I was the wife of a formidable man from an equally formidable family.

  ‘Does that win me some sort of brownie point?’ I asked, more to cover the quaking intensifying within me than anything else—because, despite his expression, the fingers holding me prisoner were moving over my wrist, exploding tiny fireworks beneath my skin.

  That touch of hardness tinged his smile. ‘Sadly not. You had your chance to win more during the prenuptial agreement signing.’ His gaze probed as if he were trying to unearth something. ‘Perhaps you regret signing it now?’

  I frowned. ‘Why would I? There was nothing in there unacceptable to me. It seemed skewed in your favour—just as you wanted it, I suspect?’

  He shrugged. ‘As with any of my contracts, it seeks to protect what’s mine. But you’ve signed on that dotted line, so there’s no going back.’

  ‘I don’t get what’s going on here. You wanted me to throw a fit over the prenup?’ I asked, puzzled. ‘Why on earth would I do that?’

  He tensed, a flash of disconcertion darkening his eyes before he erased it. ‘That was one scenario. But, seeing as you signed it, let’s not dwell on it. The deed is done.’ His gaze dropped to my belly again. ‘Now we wait,’ he breathed.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  HIS WORDS SEEPED deep into my bones, robbed me of breath.

  For one tiny minute I’d forgotten that Neo harboured a very large question mark over my baby’s paternity. That every term he’d negotiated and every luxury he’d tossed at my feet in his relentless pursuit of possessing the child I carried had come with the unspoken clause that he was hedging his bets. That my word wasn’t good enough.

  And where I’d have shrugged off the accusation a month ago, these past two weeks had weakened my foundations, wilting me enough that the barbs burrowed through the cracks. And stuck.

  Wor
se, I only had myself to blame—because his endgame, like my father’s, hadn’t changed.

  This time when I tugged my hand away he released me, although his lips tightened for a nanosecond. ‘What’s the matter?’

  Our progression over the lush green grass had brought us to a section of the never-ending garden with luxurious bespoke seats set around beautifully decorated low tables, more in the style of an elegant garden party than a wedding reception.

  He stopped at the seats that were set up on a dais and, beckoning one of the sharply dressed waiters carrying platters of food, helped himself to two gold-rimmed plates overflowing with Greek delicacies.

  ‘Why, absolutely nothing,’ I answered, plastering on a bright, patently fake smile.

  He started to frown. I looked away, only to catch Ax’s watchful gaze.

  I turned back to Neo. ‘Does your brother know why you...why we...?’

  ‘We’re married, Sadie. I’m your husband. You’re my wife. You’ll have to get used to saying it. Try the chicken,’ he said, holding out a silver-skewered morsel to me.

  The scent of lemon and rosemary wafted towards me enticingly, but I hesitated, refusing to let that bewildered fizzing inside me gain traction. ‘You didn’t answer my question.’

  He dropped the food back onto the plate, his jaw momentarily clenching. ‘Why we’ve exchanged vows today is nobody’s business but ours. You have my word that no one will dare to question you on it.’

  ‘Because you’ve decreed it?’

  His eyes hardened. ‘Yes.’

  ‘And they obey whatever you say, without question?’

  A spine-tingling glint flickered through his eyes. ‘I’m in a unique position to demand that obedience, so, yes.’

  ‘And how did you garner such unquestioning loyalty?’ I semi-taunted, a little too eager to get beneath his skin the way he so effortlessly got beneath mine.

  ‘By giving them what their grasping little hearts desire, of course. Isn’t that the way to command most people’s allegiance? Something in return for something more?’

  Flint-hard bitterness glazed his words, triggering a burst of alarm.

  Something in return for something more.

  Wasn’t that what my father had orchestrated for himself with his own family? A calculated means to an end?

  Neo couldn’t have made his endgame clearer. So why was I plagued with the urge to be sure? ‘Does that apply to you too?’

  The faintest ripple whispered over his jaw. ‘We’re not talking about me.’

  ‘Aren’t we?’ I asked.

  But when he started to speak, I shook my head to pre-empt him. To mitigate the ball of hurt that far too closely resembled the pain I’d felt at my father’s actions.

  ‘I’m not sure what happened to you to make you believe that’s how everyone ticks—’

  His eyes grew icily livid as he stared me down. ‘I do not require your pity. Not now or ever,’ he stated through gritted teeth.

  Aware I’d touched on a raw nerve, I breathed in, curled my hands in my lap to stop them from reaching out for him. ‘It wasn’t pity. It was a need to understand—’

  ‘Again, this isn’t a lesson in dissecting my character, Sadie.’

  Aware we were now drawing his parents’ gaze, I took another breath. ‘Fine. When will I start work?’

  Scepticism and suspicion glinted in his eyes. ‘So eager to get down to business?’ he drawled. ‘Not even time to entertain the idea of a honeymoon? You are aware that, as Mrs Xenakis, you now have the power to command my pilot to take you anywhere in the world your heart desires?’

  I forced a shrug, and the uncanny sense that this was some kind of test intensified the chaos inside me. ‘As tempting as that is, what’s the point? We both know what this is. What my heart desires is to get started on my internship and finish my degree.’

  The tic in his jaw returned, a little more insistent this time. ‘You don’t need reminding, I hope, that taking care of yourself and the baby is your number one priority?’

  My fingers tightened. ‘No, I don’t. And you’re beginning to sound like a broken record.’

  ‘If you wish me to lay off, then have some food. It will please me,’ he tossed in silkily, offering the succulent chicken again.

  But my appetite had disappeared.

  ‘If you’re so interested in the chicken, Neo, then you have it. I’m going to powder my nose. And, in case you don’t get that, it’s a euphemism for I need some space.’

  The briefest flare of his nostrils was the only sign he was displeased. In that moment I didn’t care. I walked away, making a beeline for the wide opening of the living room wing. With the glass doors folded back and tucked out of sight, and late-afternoon sunlight spilling in through the glass ceiling onto the stylish grey and white Cycladic furnishings, the inside was a breathtaking extension of the outside.

  Despite the chaos reigning inside me, I couldn’t help but be affected by the stunning beauty surrounding me. But it only lasted for a minute—then reality came crashing back.

  I blindly turned down one hallway, relieved when a half-open door revealed the sanctuary I was looking for. Shutting myself in, I attempted to regulate my breathing as questions ricocheted in my head.

  The postcard my father left me had testified to the fact that selfishness and greed were his mainstays. But what had happened to Neo to fuel his actions?

  Over the last week I’d given in to curiosity and done more internet searching. Very few details had been forthcoming regarding his broken engagement to Anneka. Even the circumstances of his accident were obfuscated. Although about the tall, Dutch beauty herself there’d been reams and reams, prompting in me even more questions as to why two people who’d outwardly looked like the kind of couple romance novels portrayed had parted ways.

  I wanted to tell myself I didn’t care. Again, my very emotions mocked me. The need to know, to see beneath the surface of the man I’d married, clawed at me.

  Ten minutes dragged by. Knowing I couldn’t remain hidden in the bathroom for ever, I splashed cool water over my hands, dabbed a few drops at my throat before exiting—just in time to see Callie Xenakis enter the living room, carrying baby Andreos.

  She spotted me and smiled. ‘I came in here to escape the heat for a few minutes. Won’t you join me?’ she invited, her movements graceful as she sank into one sumptuous sofa.

  For some reason I hesitated, my gaze darting outside to where Neo stood with his brother. There were similar intense expressions on their ruggedly handsome faces as they spoke.

  Ax said something to Neo, his expression amused. Neo responded sharply, his mouth flattening into a displeased line which only seemed to further amuse his brother.

  ‘Do me a favour and leave those two alone for now? Ax’s been wanting payback for a while,’ Callie said with a grin.

  ‘Payback for what?’

  Her stare was wickedly teasing but also contemplative, as if she was wondering whether she could trust me.

  After a couple of seconds, she shrugged. ‘I’m sure you’ve seen the papers. Let’s just say my marriage didn’t get off to a rosy start. And Neo... Well, he enjoyed a few jokes at his brother’s expense. And those two are nothing if not competitive.’

  I frowned. ‘So your husband’s ribbing my... Neo about me?’ Somehow I couldn’t bring myself to call him my husband.

  Callie laughed. ‘Ax thought he’d have to wait years to get back at his little brother. If ever.’

  ‘I’m not sure there’s much humour in any of this.’

  Her eyes grew even more speculative, and there was an intelligence shining in the blue depths that made me wish for different circumstance for our meeting. I would have liked to be friends with Callie Xenakis.

  ‘I don’t think you need telling that everyone’s wondering about you. This wedding came out
of the blue.’

  I firmed my lips, reminded of Neo’s claim that our marriage was nobody’s business.

  As if she’d read my thoughts, Callie waved an airy hand. ‘It’s no one’s business but yours, of course, but... Well, no one expected this from Neo. Not so fast, anyway,’ she murmured, then grimaced, her gaze searching mine before she returned her attention to her son.

  Sensing that she’d said more than she’d intended to, I let the subject go, unaware that my gaze had strayed to Neo until he turned his head sharply, lanced me with those piercing eyes that threw fresh sparks of awareness over my skin. Even when his brother spoke again, Neo kept his gaze on me, the ice receding to leave a steady blaze that set off fresh fireworks.

  It took monumental effort to pull my gaze free, to suck air into my lungs and turn back to Callie, who was laying her son on the wide seat, keeping one hand on his plump little belly to stop him wriggling off as she picked up a futuristic-looking remote and pressed a button.

  Immediately a section of the ceiling went opaque, granting a little reprieve from the sun’s rays.

  As I moved towards her, her gaze flickered over my dress. ‘That’s a stunning dress,’ she said, a wistful tone in her voice.

  I stared down at my wedding gown. The style was simple, the bodice had a wide neck and capped sleeves that gave glimpses of my skin beneath the lace, and the soft layered skirt parted discreetly at intervals to show my legs when I moved. The whole ensemble felt like the softest, most seductive whisper against my skin.

  ‘I... Thank you.’

  She smiled, but a hint of sadness crossed her face before evaporating a moment later.

  ‘Can I ask you a question?’ I ventured.

  ‘Of course,’ she invited.

  ‘What does dikos mou mean?’

  Her eyes widened, and when she blushed I cringed inside, wondering if I’d committed a faux pas. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was anything rude—’

  ‘Oh, no, it’s not. It’s just that Ax says it a lot. Where did you hear it?’

  I bit my lip, still not certain I wanted to divulge it. ‘Neo said it after...after we exchanged rings.’