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Everything had happened so quickly that she didn’t know what to think.
‘Let me assure you that I am fully committed to this family,’ Theo said. ‘And I expect you to give me more children.’
His words rolled through her like a command, and his gaze seemed to penetrate to the centre of her being. She pressed her teeth into her lower lip and stared at him, knowing unequivocally that he was deadly serious.
‘You will also be a perfect wife to me,’ he added. ‘In the bedroom or anywhere else I want you.’ His voice was loaded with sexual intent, and his eyes skimmed meaningfully over her semi-naked body. Then he turned and walked out of the room.
Kerry swallowed reflexively and started to tremble all over again. Because she knew exactly what he meant—what he wanted from her.
A sweet dark river of anticipation began to flow along her veins, spreading out and filling every inch of her entire being with renewed desire for him. She longed to surrender her body to him again. Completely.
Later that evening, after Lucas had been put down for the night in his new nursery, Kerry strolled through the house feeling very unsettled. Theo was in his study, catching up on some work, but he’d told her he would join her for dinner. She’d showered and dressed carefully, choosing a dark blue halterneck dress and high-heeled sandals. The soft silky fabric was gathered below the bust and fell in gentle folds to just above her knees.
She wande
red from room to room, thinking about everything that had happened. But it was almost impossible for her to take on board just how much her life had changed over the last few days. All she knew was that for Lucas’s sake she had to find a way to make her marriage to Theo work. She knew they were compatible in the bedroom—but there was more to married life than making love and looking after children.
She was walking through the hallway when she found herself drawn to a series of paintings on the wall. Something about them seemed really familiar. Of course she knew she’d seen them lots of times before, but it was more than that.
Suddenly it came to her. They reminded her of the watercolours she had admired at Drakon’s house. She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked even closer. The more she studied them, the more certain she became that they were by the same artist—and they were all of locations on Drakon’s island. There was more to Theo’s interest in the old man’s island than he was letting on.
A few moments later she heard the door of Theo’s study open. She looked up to see him coming along the corridor, rolling his shoulders as he often did when he became tense working at his computer.
A little frisson ran through her as she watched him walking towards her. He was so utterly good-looking that simply gazing at him took her breath away. He had changed out of his business suit and was dressed casually in dark jeans and a T-shirt that fitted him like a second skin. Even from that distance she could see the magnetic movement of his sculpted muscles as he walked towards her.
She realised that she had missed just looking at him and admiring his athletic physique—marvelling in the fact that such a gorgeous man shared her bed at night.
‘Ready for dinner?’ he asked as he came up beside her.
‘Yes,’ she said, matching his mild tone. ‘I’m starving. Lunch seems a long time ago.’
A little jolt shot through her as he slipped his arm around her waist, but she forced herself to relax. He clearly intended that they should put their earlier argument behind them and act like a normal couple—and she wasn’t going to give him any cause for complaint.
He turned her away from the paintings and started walking towards the dining room. But at that moment she made a decision—if they were to act like a normal couple, then she ought to feel free to discuss things openly with him.
‘Before we go,’ she said quickly, ‘I was wondering about these paintings. I’m intrigued as to why you and Drakon both have paintings by the same artist.’
Theo stopped in his tracks, and she felt him grow tense beside her.
‘I’d thought that by now you would understand that I don’t like people meddling or sticking their nose in where it doesn’t belong,’ he said. His voice was level, but she could feel displeasure emanating off him.
She turned towards him, determined that he would not over-awe her with the steely force of his personality.
‘I’m not meddling,’ she said, shaking her head slightly. ‘I’m asking a perfectly natural question. Presumably you want Lucas to grow up with a mother who is able to have a proper conversation with his father?’
Theo looked down at her upturned face, into her wide blue eyes, surprised to realise that she was right. His response had been automatic—a knee-jerk reaction to unwanted interest in his family’s difficult past. Now she was going to be part of his family, bringing up his son as a Diakos, it made sense for her to know a little about his family background—if not all of it.
In the past they had never really talked about anything personal, and now he understood that it had not turned out to be a very good basis for a relationship. If they had been more open with each other then it would not have been so easy for Kerry to keep her pregnancy from him. Trust was vital in any relationship—and he did not want her keeping secrets from him in the future.
‘The paintings are the work of my uncle,’ Theo said.
‘Your uncle was an artist—how wonderful!’ Kerry exclaimed—then she paused, her expression quizzical. ‘But that means your uncle used to live on Drakon’s island!’ she gasped. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘Who told you that?’ Theo asked, disconcerted by how much she already seemed to know.
‘No one,’ Kerry said. ‘I just worked it out this minute. I asked Drakon about the paintings in his house the first evening at dinner—you were late joining us because of your long walk. He told me that the artist who painted them used to live on the island.’
‘That is correct,’ Theo replied, unsettled to discover how close to sensitive information Kerry had strayed during her conversation with Drakon. He wondered how much the old man actually knew about the paintings and their artist.
