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'I don't know what you mean: my pregnancy is no secret,' Jemma said, rising to her feet, the pain of their parting flooding back, and with it her anger. 'But, as you expressed a desire never to set eyes on me again, it's hardly surprising my condition escaped your notice,' she finished facetiously.
Had she no idea what he had gone through the last few months? Sick with longing for her, and unable to sleep, he had worked every hour of the day and night in an attempt to block her from his mind. He'd made a mint of money in the process that he didn't need. But nothing had eased his need for Jemma. In desperation he had taken Davina out—just for dinner—but even that had been a disaster. Now Jemma was standing before him, defiance in her stunning amber eyes, and he had had enough.
'Don't try my patience,' he snarled. 'You know very well what I mean. You never had any intention of telling me you were pregnant. I asked you when we parted if it was a possibility, and you lied and said no. But you're not getting the chance to say no to me again.'
The expression of ferocious anger on his handsome face shocked Jemma to the core. His very presence shocked her. She became intensely aware of his iron-hard body, close to her own, and the scent of him, a mixture of expensive cologne and musky male. She had thought the more advanced stages of pregnancy would diminish her sexual awareness, but it didn't seem to be working!
'I never lied to you. When you mentioned the possibility of me being pregnant. I was bleeding; something I've since learnt is common in the early stages,' she explained—though she didn't owe him an explanation. She didn't owe the swine anything!
She took a step back, and stumbled as her leg hit the seat she had just vacated. With lightning reflexes Luke's arm wrapped around her waist, his hand splayed across the side of her stomach. I'm all right,' she snapped, and felt the baby kick against his palm. She saw his features soften and the anger in his eyes turn to awe as they met hers.
'God—the baby kicked. Does it hurt you?' he asked huskily.
'No, I'm fine,' Jemma managed shakily. At least she had been fine before Luke arrived. Now she was anything but! 'You can let me go now, and tell me how you found me and why you're here.'
His arm fell from her waist and he gave her a sardonic glance. 'I'm surprised Liz didn't call to warn you; she seems to be the only person you allow close to you.'
'Liz told you? I don't believe you. She wouldn't…' Jemma tailed off as she remembered the two missed telephone calls earlier on.
'Don't worry; Liz didn't betray your trust, Peter did. I met him at a business party last night, and while we were having a whisky together he told me. As a father himself, he thought I deserved to know.'
'Well, now you do.' Jemma managed a nonchalant shrug, but inside she was trembling. After nearly five months she had almost convinced herself that she didn't love Luke, and she certainly didn't need him. She had her new home and her baby to look forward to. But now that she had seen him again her carefully erected defences were in danger of being torn down. Already her nerves were on edge, and she was intensely conscious of him. He was leaner, the frown lines between his black, arched brows deeper, but his sexual magnetism was as potent as ever.
'What do you want, Luke?' she asked carefully. She was legally still his wife, and he could make it very difficult for her if he chose to exercise his paternal rights over the child. He could destroy her tentatively constructed new life, and make any thought of rearing her baby on her own look very dodgy. At the very least he could insist on regular access to the child. 'And can you hurry up? I've already been in the sun long enough for one day.'
'You're my wife and you are carrying my child,' Luke said with icy precision, and he scooped her up in his arms before she could even guess his intention.
'Are you crazy? Put me down!' Jemma screeched furiously, but had to grasp his neck for support as he strode purposefully towards the house.
'No. What I want is to protect you and my child, and you're right—you have had too much sun,' he told her as he shouldered through the door into the spacious kitchen. He slowly lowered her to her feet, his silver eyes flicking curiously around the room. 'This is nice.'
'I'm not interested in your opinion,' Jemma shot back furiously. 'And I don't know what your game is, but I can tell you now you're wasting your time. I don't want you here.' Turning her back on him, she walked towards the sink, needing a glass of water to cool down.
Luke caught her shoulder and spun her around, his determined silver eyes locking onto hers. 'You have no choice.' Where had she heard that before? she wondered with bitter resentment. Nothing had changed. 'I'm staying here for as long as it takes. For ever if I have to. I love you, and I'm damned if I'll let you go again.'
Jemma stared up at him, amazed. She couldn't have heard him right. 'Say that again.'
He ran a distracted hand through his black hair. 'I love you, Jemma. I always have,' he said, his deep voice thick with emotion.
She heard the words and for a moment she almost believed him—until she felt her baby move inside her. 'No,' she said. 'No, I don't believe you.' How could she have forgotten even for an instant that Luke was a master manipulator who quite ruthlessly used his fierce intelligence and considerable power to get what he wanted? And he wanted her baby. 'You're lying just to get my baby.' And with the realisation came an equally abhorrent thought:
Luke must have somehow discerned she loved him, and now he was offering her what he thought she wanted…
'I have no reason to lie, Jemma. I'm the father of your child, and the baby is mine whatever happens between us. But it's you I love,' he insisted. Reaching for her, be eased her right up against the length of his body and added, 'It's you I need in my life—desperately. I've tried living without you and it was a living hell.'
There was a harshness in his voice that touched her heart. She looked up into his eyes and saw deep emotion in the silver depths. She began to weaken. Dear heaven, she wanted him to love her so much… 'You have to believe me, because I can't let you go again.'
His comment was like a douche of cold water; she'd been in danger of believing him—but no more. Suddenly all the emotion and resentment she had suppressed for months came bubbling to the surface. She placed her hands on his chest and forced some space between them.
'You never let me go, Luke. As I recall, you walked out on me, declaring you never wanted to see me again—and I know why!' she spat. 'What kind of an idiot do you take me for? You come into my home, declare undying love for me, and expect me to fall at your feet. Well, I've got news for you. I can see through your little game with my eyes closed,' she raged. 'Do you think I don't know about Davina? I know you were dating her before you married me—the Davina who was with you when I called you on your birthday and you passed off as your PA. The very same Davina I saw you photographed with in a magazine recently.'
His hands fell from he
r and he stepped back, dark colour staining his high cheekbones.
'Don't bother denying it,' she jeered. 'I suppose the pair of you thought it was some sophisticated joke to pretend to be talking to me on the phone when she was the object of your sexy conversation. You know what? You make me sick. And as for your supposedly caring suggestion that I look for a house because you knew the apartment didn't suit me, why didn't you just tell me you wanted me to leave then? But, no, that was too simple for your Machiavellian mind. And to think I had actually decided to put the past behind me and make our marriage work. That sure as hell was one of life's little ironies.' She shook her head and laughed a bitter, humourless laugh. 'Oh, just get lost, Luke. I'm going to rest.' And with that she turned to walk out of the kitchen, shaking with the force of her emotional outburst.
'Oh, no, you don't, Jemma,' Luke said, pulling her back in his arms. 'You're not running away now. You were actually jealous of Davina.' he stated, his eyes now gleaming silver with relief. 'Have you any idea how happy that makes me feel? Knowing that you've felt even a fraction of the jealousy that has gnawed at my soul since I met you?' Jemma opened her mouth to deny it, but he didn't give her the chance. 'Have you any idea how long I've waited to break through your super-cool control? How much I've longed to reach you on a deeper level? How often I lay in bed beside you sated with sex but knowing that you were keeping a wall between us, your deeper emotions locked away with your dead husband? You can't begin to know what it did to me. Me—Luke Devetzi—who never believed in love.' He gave her a look of wry self-mockery. 'And I fell hopelessly in love with a woman who was locked in the memory of her past love.'
