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The smile evaporated. Her skin tingled and her senses jumped as rigid purpose tightened his features. He leaned forward until his lips were a scant inch from her ear. ‘Did you not learn your lesson about crossing swords with me in Tanzania, Violet?’ he murmured softly, dangerously in her ear.
She couldn’t stop the shiver that racked her frame. She angled herself away from him, aware she was in danger of disgracing herself by toppling over but not caring in that moment. ‘Are you threatening me?’ Why did the very thought make her senses shiver in anticipation, make the flesh between her legs swell with need?
‘I’m threatening you with the exact reaction you’ve been hoping for since embarking on this...escapade.’
Just like in Tanzania, just like in every interaction he’d ever had with this breathtaking creature, Zak felt unnerved, unbalanced. For as long as he could remember, every moment of his life had been shaped in strict conformity, that secret yearning to be an exemplary son to a seemingly exemplary father directing him to life in the military. While he’d had his share of liaisons, they’d been discreet, with no incidence of drama that might bring embarrassment to him or his family.
His father had not only betrayed him and everything Zak had believed was an honourable legacy, he’d plunged his entire family into scandal and endangered Montegova. That time was seared onto his psyche, had driven him to be extremely circumspect in his own relationships. He staunchly believed his immunity to soft words and lofty promises granted him a gratifying insight into people’s true characters. He’d learned never to accept anyone at face value. Never to fall into seductive traps.
So far, his only stumbling blocks had been an unforgettable kiss six years ago, a moment of insanity at a stunning waterfall, and a ruthless decision to kidnap.
All incidents that involved Violet.
The unsettling part of it all was...he wouldn’t change a single thing.
With each passing day, he wanted the child in her womb with a deeper fervour. Blood of his blood. Flesh of his flesh. Under his care.
A chance to rewrite history?
Perhaps it was a little selfish, but what if he achieved the impossible and got right what his father had got so wrong? What if he engendered loyalty, trust, integrity...even affection in his child, traits he’d believed were a cornerstone of his own life until he’d discovered otherwise. What if he could help his heir...thrive?
Wasn’t that worth pursuing this course of action with Violet? Wasn’t it worth living temporarily with this hollow pit in his stomach that whispered that he could fail?
He wouldn’t, of course. He couldn’t. This was too...vital. But he did admit things hadn’t turned out the way he’d envisaged.
For starters, he’d expected her to throw a tantrum. Perhaps even pout and plead while she pretended to play hard to get over his proposal. Right before she fell into line with his wishes.
Instead she’d treated him with cool, sustained, never-ending indifference.
It grated. He was used to women falling over themselves to gain his attention. Had experienced it at a near nauseating level at Remi’s wedding when, with his brother newly off the market, even more avid eyes had turned his way.
On that occasion, he’d withstood their interest simply to avoid the temptation to stare at and fill his senses again with Violet at every opportunity.
Now he wanted an engagement of a specific sort. The kind that gave him free rein to touch her glowing skin, to attract a smile that didn’t start and end with mild disdain.
To have her not deliver that vacant smile when their paths crossed, then look through him as if he wasn’t there. The first few days he’d been amused. Then he’d been irritated.
Then a dismaying feeling had overwhelmed him that she was getting steeped in this role she’d determinedly taken to freeze him out. It was that feeling ballooning out of proportion that’d ejected him from his study in the middle of a workday, his concentration a shambles of shattered focus and intense vexation. The sensation of losing time and ground with Violet had demanded he seek her out, finally end this nonsense.
Of course, the impact of her smooth golden skin, long-legged grace and those blue eyes had seemed more vivid each time he looked into them had all played a part, too, wreaking carnage with his body.
So...one way or the other, the cold, silent treatment was ending now. Before he lost his mind.
One side effect of pregnancy she’d dreaded was morning sickness. Another one Violet hadn’t quite anticipated was a heightened sense of smell.
The moment she inhaled Zak’s unique masculine scent, her senses went into overdrive. Heat fired up in her pelvis, the blood rushed into her breasts, hardening her nipples as fine tremors invaded her body.
In desperation, she licked her lips. His eyes darkened as he followed the swipe of her tongue, his chest expanding on a deep breath.
‘We’ll need to discuss this rationally sooner or later—’
‘Why do you want to saddle yourself with me, Zak?’ she blurted, her earlier misgivings furiously resurfacing. ‘You don’t even know me. Not really. And I don’t know you, save for what’s bandied about on the internet. I could be your worst nightmare. Let me go and in a few months’ time we can discuss shared custody—’
‘No.’ A blaze of possessiveness in his eyes accompanied the hard refusal.
‘You won’t even—’
‘Let’s change things a little,’ he said smoothly, intent eyes riveted on the pulse leaping at her throat.
