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‘Oh,’ she breathed, momentarily forgetting everything as magical sensations spiralled out from where his tongue worked her aching nipple. ‘Oh, Theo.’
Suddenly her eyes snapped open and her hands were on his shoulders, pushing him roughly away.
It was as if by saying his name out loud she had broken the spell. For a few dizzy moments she’d been in thrall to him, had lost all strength to resist—but now she was plummeting back to earth, remembering her determination to keep him at arm’s length.
She stared up at him, dragging her scattered thoughts back together. Then, like a drenching with cold water, she pictured the look of disgust on his face as he stared at her stretch marks.
‘You don’t truly want me!’ she cried, springing to her feet and staring down at him, still kneeling on the bed. ‘Why are you doing this? I saw how you looked at my stretch marks.’
‘You really think I care what your stretch marks look like?’ Theo’s voice was incredulous as he stood up next to her. ‘In all the time we were together I never realised how vain and shallow you are.’
‘I saw the expression on your face,’ Kerry said. ‘So don’t try to tell me that you don’t think they are horrible and ugly.’
‘They’re nothing!’ Theo grated. ‘Skin-deep, superficial lines that will soon fade. They are the marks of being a mother—you should be proud of them, not cringing and trying to hide them.’
‘You don’t mean that!’ Kerry exclaimed. ‘I saw how disgusted you looked when you saw them.’
‘I was disgusted at what they represent,’ Theo barked. ‘Disgusted with you! With what you took from me.’
He spun away, scrubbing his hands roughly over his face as if he was in the grip of strong emotion. Then he turned back, fixing her with his piercing gaze.
‘They are the marks of your pregnancy—the marks that formed because my son was growing inside you.’ Theo’s voice was dangerously calm, but Kerry could see the fury glinting in his eyes. ‘You took that from me—denied me the chance to be part of that.’
Kerry stared at him, stunned that he felt so strongly about missing out on her pregnancy. She’d never guessed it would mean so much to him.
‘You should have told me,’ Theo said. ‘You should have told me you were pregnant.’
‘I tried,’ Kerry said. ‘But you wouldn’t listen.’
‘I don’t believe you,’ he said. ‘You never tried to contact me.’
‘No, I mean…’ She hesitated, suddenly realising that Theo had assumed she’d discovered her pregnancy after he threw her out.
Theo cursed savagely in Greek, then stormed across the room and seized her by the arms.
‘You already knew!’ he accused. ‘You knew before you left Athens!’
‘I tried to tell you,’ she insisted. ‘You wouldn’t listen to me. You just told me to get out.’
‘You should have made me listen,’ he said. ‘My God! To think you walked out of my home with my son already growing inside you!’ He swore again. ‘How long had you known?’
‘I found out that evening,’ Kerry said shakily, staring up at him nervously. It was as if a violent storm was building, towering up into a wild sky, crackling with electricity that was waiting to strike. ‘I was on my way to tell you when I overheard you talking to Corban.’
Theo’s eyes flared dangerously again and she realised it had been a mistake to mention Corban, reminding Theo about the events of that awful night. Then she remembered him accusing her of dishonesty—of never being open and of deliberately keeping things from him.
There and then she vowed that he would never be able to justifiably challenge her on that score again. If this forced relationship between Theo and herself had any chance of working she could never again give him grounds to call her out on her honesty—or lack of it.
‘I didn’t keep on trying to tell you after the first time because I was scared,’ she whispered. ‘Scared of what you might do. I’d just heard you telling your brother to kidnap Nicco from his mother. I was frightened you would try to take my baby from me.’
Theo stared down at her, a muscle pulsing in his jawline and his eyes narrowed intimidatingly. The moment lengthened, and Kerry shifted her weight uneasily from one foot to the other.
‘I will never try to take Lucas from you,’ Theo said at last. ‘In return, I expect you to be a perfect mother to him—and to the other children we will have.’
‘Other children?’ she gasped. ‘Surely it’s too early to be talking about more children?’
‘Why?’ he demanded. ‘Do you want Lucas to be an only child? Are you not fully committed to this marriage?’
‘No…it’s not that.’ She paused, suddenly feeling under even more pressure.
