Читать книгу Modern Romance Collection: July 2017 Books 1 - 4 - Sharon Kendrick - Страница 21

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ARISTON LET HIMSELF quietly into the apartment to hear the unmistakable sounds of someone slowly reciting the Greek alphabet. He stood very still. They were coming from the music room, which was situated at the furthest end of the penthouse, and they were being spoken by a voice he didn’t recognise. He frowned as he heard a second voice stumble over the letter omicron—traditionally a difficult letter for non-Greek speakers to pronounce—and suddenly realised that it was his wife who was now speaking. He began to walk along the corridor and the sight which greeted him took him completely by surprise. A beautiful young Greek girl wearing a sweater and a very short denim skirt was standing outlined against one of the giant windows and his wife was sitting near the piano, reading aloud from a textbook. They looked up as he walked in and he saw uncertainty cross over Keeley’s features as her words died away.

The smile he gave was intended to be pleasant but his words didn’t quite match. ‘What’s going on?’ he questioned.

‘Ariston! I wasn’t expecting you.’

‘Apparently not.’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘And this is?’

‘Eva. She’s my Greek teacher.’

There was a pause. ‘I didn’t know you had a Greek teacher.’

‘That’s because I didn’t tell you. It was going to be a surprise.’

‘Look, I can see you must be busy.’ Eva was looking at each of them in turn and beginning to gather up a stack of papers before thrusting them hastily into a leather briefcase. ‘I’d better go.’

‘No,’ said Keeley quickly. ‘You don’t have to do that, Eva. There’s still half an hour of the lesson left to run.’

‘I can always come back,’ said Eva in a bright voice which suggested this was never going to be an option.

Ariston waited as Keeley showed the teacher out, listening to the sound of her rapid returning footsteps before she marched into the room and glared at him.

‘What was that all about?’ she demanded.

‘I could ask you the same question. Who the hell is Eva?’

‘I told you. She’s my Greek teacher—isn’t that obvious?’

‘Your Greek teacher,’ he repeated slowly. ‘And you found her...where?’

She sighed. ‘She’s the sister of the waiter who served us the night we went to the Kastro restaurant. He overheard me saying to Korinna that I wanted to learn Greek and so he gave me Eva’s card on my way back from the washroom.’

‘Run that past me again,’ he said. ‘She’s the sister of some random waiter you met in a restaurant?’

‘What’s wrong with that?’

‘You’re seriously asking a question like that?’ he demanded. ‘Think about it. You don’t even know these people!’

‘I do now.’

‘Keeley,’ he exploded. ‘Don’t you realise the potential consequences of inviting strangers into my home?’

‘It’s my home too,’ she said in a shaky voice. ‘Or at least, it’s supposed to be.’

With an effort he altered the tone of his voice, trying to dampen down the anger which was rising up inside him like a dark tide. ‘I’m not trying to be difficult, but my position is not like that of other men. I happen to be extremely wealthy. You know that.’

‘Oh, yes—I know it. I’m never likely to forget it, am I?’ she retorted hotly. ‘What do you want me to do, Ariston—go around checking that Eva hasn’t pocketed one of your precious Fabergé eggs?’

‘Or maybe,’ he continued, as if she hadn’t spoken, ‘maybe introducing you to the Greek teacher was simply a clever diversion and the pretty-boy waiter has designs on you himself?’

‘You think he has designs on me?’ She stood up and gave a disbelieving laugh as she angled her palms over the curve of her belly. ‘Looking like this? How dare you? How dare you say such a thing to me?’

Ariston let her words wash over him but instead of being irritated by her defiance, all he could think about was how ravishing she looked in her anger. Her blonde hair was spilling wildly around her face and her green eyes were spitting emerald fire and automatically he reached out to pull her into his arms. That first contact made her pupils dilate and although she had started beating her hands furiously against his chest, she moaned when he started to kiss her and she moaned some more when he palmed her nipple and felt the tip pushing hungrily against his hand. She kissed him back and her kiss was hot and hard and angry, but the beating of her fists became less insistent. He levered her closer, and jutted his hips so that she could feel just how hard he was and she writhed against him in furious frustration.

Slipping his hand underneath her dress, he felt her bare thigh and as he began to stroke his fingers up towards her panties his desire went right off the scale. Just like hers. He could hear the unsteady rush of her breath as she scrabbled at his belt, and as she slipped the notch free he felt as if he might explode. He was rock-hard and the unmistakable scent of her arousal was in the air as his slowly moving fingers reached her panties to discover they were damp. So damp. He groaned again, and so did she as he pushed the taut panel aside and slicked his finger over her honeyed flesh, confident that sex would dissolve the tension between them as it always did. Couldn’t he show her who was boss and wouldn’t her hungry body accept that, the way it always did? Her arms wound themselves around his neck and he was about to pick her up and carry her over to the chaise-longue when suddenly he came to his senses.

‘No,’ he said suddenly, his heart pounding in protest as he removed her hand from his trousers and pushed her away.

It took several moments before she spoke and when she did she looked at him in confusion. ‘No?’

‘I don’t want you, Keeley. At least, not right now.’

‘You don’t?’ she questioned, before giving a disbelieving laugh. ‘Are you quite sure about that? Isn’t that the way you like to settle any kind of disputes we have?’

He suppressed a ragged groan before forcing himself to step away from her. ‘I’m not making love to you when we’re in this kind of mood,’ he said, his voice thick. ‘I’m angry and so are you, and I fear I might be more...physical with you than I should be.’

‘And?’

‘And that’s probably not the best idea given that you’re pregnant.’

Keeley stared into his shuttered features as desire drained from her body, like water from the bathtub, and in its place came a horrible sinking realisation. Because no matter what she did or what she said—no matter how hard she tried or how long they stayed married—Ariston would always remain in command. She could learn Greek until the cows came home but it wouldn’t make any difference. She could even try to find out more about ship-owning, but she would be wasting her time. Because what she wanted didn’t count. It was what Ariston wanted which counted and it always would, because he ruled the roost and had been allowed to do so for years.

He liked her to know her place and to run everything past him first. He didn’t like strangers in the house and now she knew that, she would be expected to respect his wishes. Her home had become her prison and her husband the rigid jailer. And the reason he didn’t want to make love to her right now was nothing to do with his fears about her pregnancy. The expression on his face was as dark as the time he’d told her about his mother and suddenly she understood why. Because he didn’t like the way she was making him react, she realised.

He didn’t want to lose control or to be seen to lose control.

And she realised something else, too. That if she stayed, she would spend the rest of her life sublimating herself to his desires and his whims. The one thing she had asked for when she’d agreed to marry him hadn’t materialised. They would never be equals—and what kind of an example would that be for her son?

Smoothing her hands over her hot cheeks, she stared at him. ‘I’m done with this, Ariston,’ she whispered hoarsely.

He narrowed his eyes. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘You. Me. Us. I’m sorry. I can’t do this any more. I can’t stay in this...this mockery of a marriage.’

His smile was cruel. She hadn’t seen him look at her that way in a long time, but now she was reminded of the essential ruthlessness which lay at the very core of him.

‘But you don’t have any choice, Keeley,’ he said silkily. ‘You’re pregnant with my child and there’s no way I’m letting you go.’

She met the quiet fury in his eyes. ‘You can’t stop me.’

‘Oh, I think you’ll find I can,’ he said. ‘I have the experience as well as the wherewithal. You have nothing while I have everything. I can get the full weight of any international court to rule in my favour in a custody battle—don’t ever doubt that—though it’s a path I’d rather not take. So don’t make me, Keeley. Why don’t we just calm down and recalibrate?’ He fixed his steely blue gaze on her. ‘Perhaps I was a little unreasonable—’

‘Perhaps?’ she demanded and she realised something else, too. That people didn’t interrupt Ariston. His power had allowed him to build a wall around himself so high that nobody ever dared try. He’d made up all the rules and everyone else was supposed to just fall in and obey them. And everyone always had—until now. She was the only one who had dared to step out of line, but he couldn’t wait to make her step right back in it again. ‘You don’t get it, do you?’ she said shakily. ‘This isn’t a marriage, Ariston. It’s a farce and a prison—and I’m not just talking about your lack of trust or the jailer-like behaviour you’ve demonstrated simply because I had the temerity to invite someone home!’

‘Keeley—’

‘No! You will hear me out. You will. Do you want to hear the reality of what it’s like being married to you? Of how great it really is? You spend long hours in the office—and when you’re back, at best you tolerate me. Guaranteed orgasms and the occasional trip to the theatre don’t add up to intimacy, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, because you don’t want intimacy. You told me that yourself and at the time I thought I could live with it, or maybe even change it—but now I know I can’t. Because you don’t care about me, Ariston—all you really care about is your baby. Sometimes you make me feel like a character in a science-fiction film, someone who is growing your child so that you can take him away from me just as soon as he’s born! As if I’m nothing but a damned incubator!’

‘Keeley—’

‘Will you stop trying to interrupt me?’ she yelled. ‘When I mentioned that we were completely outnumbered by staff and spoke of my desire to help with a little housework, you looked at me as if I was some kind of freak. So what am I supposed to do all day? Haunt the shops like some well-dressed mannequin while I blitz your credit card?’

‘Lots of women do.’

‘Well, not me. If you must know, it bores the hell out of me. I had a brief love affair with excessive spending before we got married, but I’m over it now. It’s an empty, meaningless existence. I’d rather give the money to charity than keep buying more overpriced handbags!’

‘Keeley—’

‘I haven’t finished,’ she continued icily. ‘You speak Greek and I can’t, which means I would always be the outsider—and when I do use my initiative to take lessons, I get accused of having the hots for my teacher’s brother!’

‘I hear what you’re saying,’ he said, sucking in an unsteady breath. ‘And I realise I overreacted. Of course you must have lessons if you want them, but at least let me choose someone suitable to teach you. You can’t just sign up with the sister of someone you’ve bumped into at a restaurant.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because they haven’t been vetted,’ he gritted out.

It was the final straw and it was at that point that Keeley knew there could be no going back. And no going forward either. Her heart was pounding fit to burst but somehow she kept her voice steady. ‘So what am I supposed to do—be stuck in here while you vet anyone I might wish to see? Do you want to build barriers around me as high as the ones you’ve built around yourself?’

‘Now who’s overreacting?’ he demanded.

‘I’m not.’ She shook her head. ‘I thought things might change a little once we were married—but instead of the closeness I foolishly hoped might happen, all I get is anger and suspicion! I feel sorry for you, Ariston,’ she added quietly. ‘To view the world in such a cynical way means you’ll never be happy and that will inevitably spill over into all our lives. And I’m not having any child of mine brought up in an atmosphere like that. I don’t want our son to grow up knowing only distrust and cynicism—or to wonder why Mummy and Daddy never show each other any real affection. I want him to have a healthy view of the world, and that’s why I’m leaving.’

‘Just try,’ he challenged softly.

She gave a nod of bitter understanding as she met his darkened eyes. ‘Is that your way of saying you’ll cut off my funds? Are you going to play the financial tyrant in addition to the emotional one? Would you really go that far, Ariston—after everything you’ve been through yourself? Well, go right ahead—be my guest! But if you do that I’ll go straight to a lawyer and get them to slap a maintenance order on you. Or I’ll sell these.’ She pointed a shaking finger at the cold diamonds which flashed on her fingers, and then at the glittery tennis bracelet which was dangling from her wrist. ‘Or this. Or if need be, I’ll go to the papers. Yes. I’d do that, too. I’d sell my story and tell them what it was like being married to the Greek tycoon. I’d do anything to make sure you don’t take my baby away, no matter how much you offer me to disappear from your life. Because I would never ever walk away from my baby and no amount of money could induce me to.’ She sucked in a deep breath before her next words came out with a quiet intensity.

‘I am not your mother, Ariston.’

She saw him flinch as if she’d hit him, but nothing was going to stop her now. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me,’ she said, her voice trembling, ‘I’m going to pack my things and move out. And if you try to stop me, I’ll... I’ll call the police!’

His expression was unfathomable as their gazes clashed and she knew she’d pushed him as far as she possibly could. All the things she’d said had needed to be said and she’d meant every word of them, but that small glimmer of hope inside her refused to die. Could he read it in her eyes? Could he see the yearning she suspected still lingered there? The hope that maybe this showdown had cleared the air once and for all and he would let her get close enough to be the wife she really wanted to be. To show him all the love which was in her heart and maybe break down some of those formidable barriers he’d erected around his own. She swallowed. He might not ever be able to love her back, but couldn’t he relax enough to like her and to trust her?

But the moment he opened his mouth she knew she had been wishing for the stars.

‘I think, given your current state of hysteria, that you might be better to sleep on it. I will give you some space by moving into a hotel tonight—and hopefully, by morning, you might have calmed down a little.’ His voice suddenly softened. ‘Because getting yourself into this kind of state can’t be good for the baby, Keeley.’

It was the final twist of the knife and Keeley wanted to howl with frustration. And sorrow. That too. She was glad he cared for his unborn son, but suddenly she needed him to care for her, too—and he was never going to do that. Quickly, she turned away from him, terrified he would see the heartbreak on her face or witness the tears which had begun to stream from her eyes as she stumbled her way towards the bedroom.