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‘No, that’s untrue!’ Elvi argued, leaping upright. ‘My mother worked it out when the police found the brush pot in our home and she immediately owned up to protect Daniel. There was no discussion, no conspiracy and Dmitri simply guessed what had happened because he was there that day. I had to tell you before the wedding, Xan. I’m sorry you’re annoyed but I couldn’t let you go on believing that my mother is a thief.’
Still furious, Xan released his breath in a measured hiss even as he reflected that that word, ‘annoyed’, barely covered his reaction. Even as he controlled his scorching anger, however, he was understanding another, even less palatable side to what he had belatedly learned: he had taken his rage over the theft out on a complete innocent. Although no actual crime had been committed, he had intimidated
Elvi into becoming his mistress. There was no escaping that harsh fact. His unjust treatment of her bit deeper than ever. His conscience would never be clear on that score because, not only had he railroaded a virgin into his bed, he had also been careless enough of her well-being to get her pregnant.
Xan’s long brown fingers curled into potent fists of frustration. It was another dark day for him, he acknowledged bitterly. Was there to be no end to the constant revelations of his sins, his oversights, his mistakes? Had some greater force thrown Elvi into his path simply to trip him up and teach him that he was as fallible as every other human being? Cocooned by wealth and arrogance, he had believed he was untouchable and far too clever to be seduced by temptation. But one fatal moment of weakness had overwhelmed him with the kind of messy consequences he had successfully avoided all his life.
Elvi was that weakness and his inability to resist Elvi had directly led to the conception of his first child and would soon be followed by a shotgun marriage. Without warning, Xan was viewing life through a changed lens and feelings he had suppressed for years were surging to the fore and destabilising him. He didn’t do self-doubt and castigation but Elvi’s arrival had changed everything, transforming him into a man he barely recognised.
‘You have my promise that in the future I will treat your family with every respect,’ he ground out flatly.
‘I appreciate that,’ Elvi admitted quietly.
Xan gazed at her, hunger rising spontaneously from the ashes of his anger. He didn’t understand how she could do that to him, make him flip from rage to a sexual craving so deep and strong it made him ache. He wanted to take her home with him and possess her over and over again until that ferocious, uncontrollable need was finally sated. And all that desire meant was that once again he was selfishly in the wrong because the unwitting object of his desire was pregnant and fragile.
Elvi met Xan’s dark brooding gaze and butterflies leapt and danced in her tummy, emotions and responses she struggled to contain assailing her, making her feel hot and foolish and giddy. ‘If it’s any consolation, I’m sorry I didn’t feel able to tell you the truth sooner.’
Possibly Xan didn’t appreciate how daunting his reputation was or how frightening the amount of power he wielded could be, Elvi reflected ruefully. But the clenched set of his hard, dark face disturbed her, making her appreciate that Xan’s emotions ran deep, much deeper than she had ever suspected. It was not that she had ever believed him to be shallow, but she had mistakenly assumed that his self-discipline kept his emotions fully in check. She could see, however, that he was still angry and upset, papering over the cracks to put her at ease, but still upset by her clear belief that he could not have been trusted to treat her little brother with understanding and compassion. And try as she might, that suspicion only made her want to hold him close and hug him, a response which would’ve been no more welcome to him, she conceded unhappily.
* * *
‘You are sure that you want to go through with this?’ Sally Cartwright prompted worriedly, her attention locked to her daughter’s pale profile as she sat staring out of the window of the limousine. ‘You can change your mind at the very last moment. I won’t be upset.’
‘I’m not having second thoughts. I’m just nervous.’ Elvi forced a smile and tugged at the sleeves of her dress with restive fingers. It was a dream creation. Intricate embroidered lace sheathed her arms and ornamented the bodice, the classic shape moulding her figure while the slim skirt lent her an elegant tailored look.
‘I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Falling pregnant isn’t a good enough reason to get married,’ her mother continued. ‘We would manage—’
‘Xan wants this baby too,’ Elvi reminded the older woman.
‘He’s a very reserved man, the exact opposite of the kind of man I always thought you would choose,’ Sally admitted bluntly.
‘Somehow we work,’ Elvi parried uncomfortably, wishing her mother noticed a little less, knowing her subdued mood had encouraged Sally’s last-ditch attempt to get her daughter to reconsider her plans.
In the two weeks since she had agreed to marry Xan, she had been very busy. Xan had come down to Oxford to meet her mother and her brother. He had been smoothly polite and pleasant but Elvi had recognised his discomfiture even if nobody else had. Everyone in her family had assumed the worst of him and he knew it.
He had hired a wedding planner to take charge of their big day. He had arranged for her to visit a designer salon, where she had fallen in love with her dress and where the staff had taken great care to ensure it was a perfect fit. He would’ve preferred her to move into the penthouse with him, but he had accepted her decision to stay with her family without argument. He had even accompanied her to the doctor to have her pregnancy confirmed and, since he had taken that time out of his day for her benefit, she had allowed him to join her for the consultation. In fact, in every way possible Xan had been supportive, reasonable and considerate of her needs. So why were her spirits low on her wedding day?
Possibly being forced to consider her future had also forced her to be more honest with herself. Once she had recognised Xan’s emotional depth and his sheer determination to do what he believed to be right, she had finally acknowledged that she had fallen in love with him. He worked very hard at hiding his true nature behind a cold, indifferent façade and she wondered why he was that way, why he had felt the need to suggest that he had enjoyed an idyllic childhood when clearly, from the number of marriages his father had had, it must have been anything but idyllic. But Xan had only allowed her the glimpse of that harsh truth when he discussed what he wanted for his own child and admitted that he had never felt secure when he was a boy.
And ironically the reason she loved Xan was also why she was unhappy. In marrying her because she was pregnant, he was doing what he believed he had to do for their child’s benefit. He didn’t love her, wouldn’t miss her if she was gone, wasn’t marrying her for the right reasons, so how could she celebrate her wedding day? Even worse, he had not laid a finger on her since she had left the island, had stolen not so much as a single kiss, which scarcely suggested that she was the most sexually desirable of brides.
They arrived at the London church and she walked down the aisle on her brother’s arm, wondering if her friend, Joel, was in the church. Joel had been acting oddly with her from the day he received the wedding invitation, phoning her up to demand to know when she had met Xan and why she hadn’t mentioned that she was seeing someone. His apparent annoyance had been unfair when he had been up in Scotland and out of contact for weeks while he worked on a portrait commission. Elvi supposed that Joel’s reaction was proof that some people really didn’t like surprises.
Meeting Xan’s mother, Ariadne’s beaming smile as she reached the end of the aisle, Elvi went pink. Xan’s family had greeted her with open arms and she was very grateful for that, even if she recognised that their hostility would not have made a dime of difference to Xan, who ruthlessly walked his own path. She finally let her attention focus on the tall Greek man awaiting her at the altar, the fine dark grey suit outlining his broad shoulders and lean, powerful physique, a ripple of compelling awareness shimmying through her before she even connected with his dazzling amber-gold eyes and the lush black lashes that so effectively framed them. Her tummy shifted and her heartbeat quickened as her mouth ran dry, liquid heat snaking wantonly up through her pelvis.
She wanted Xan, wanted him as she had never known she could want any man and it still unnerved her, that needy wanting, that treacherous hunger that transcended all barriers and had nothing to do with her brain. Her colour heightened, her legs weak, she swayed a little and he rested a steadying hand against the shallow indentation of her spine, the heat of his light hold leaving her insanely aware of his masculinity. Not cool, so not cool, she castigated her disobedient body as the ceremony began.
Xan threaded a slender platinum ring onto her finger, his touch sure, his responses firmer and clearer than her own, no hint of nervous tension in his demeanour. He was her husband now, she registered in awe, turning away from the altar with her hand resting on his arm. It was done now: they were married. Because she had conceived, not for any other reason, she reminded herself wretchedly, feeling like a ball and chain foisted on him, telling herself off for that fanciful thought. After all, they were both equally responsible for the contraceptive oversight that had led to conception.
All Xan’s family had made a special effort to attend their wedding, even Delphina and Takis, who had cut short their honeymoon to spend a few days in London. On the steps, Elvi smiled and smiled until her face hurt with the effort of putting on a good show. Joel had come to the wedding, she noted with relief, seeing her best friend in the crowd, his mobile face unusually stiff and expressionless. Disapproving? Like her own family, he probably assumed she was rushing into marriage too quickly but then she hadn’t told Joel that she was pregnant. Just then she wondered if Xan’s family were aware of her condition and she asked Xan once they were in the limo travelling to the hotel for the reception.
His lean, darkly handsome features tensed. ‘I saw no reason to mention it. The baby’s our business.’
Relieved, Elvi nodded agreement, wondering if his family would have been as welcoming had they known the truth or whether she would have been downgraded to the level of a calculating hussy, who had entrapped Xan. Whatever, it scarcely mattered, she conceded ruefully, because they would realise that she was pregnant soon enough.
After the meal was served they circulated. She saw her mother chatting to Dmitri and noted Xan staring.
‘What’s going on there?’ he asked drily.
