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The Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress by Maya Banks

“Who are you?” she asked.

He was a dominating presence. Tall, lithe, dangerously intent as his amber eyes stared back at her. He wasn’t American.

His gaze dropped to the hand she had cupped protectively over her abdomen. “Our baby is fine,” he said. “I am Chrysander Anetakis. Your fiancé.”

She searched his face for the truth, but he looked back at her, calm, no hint of emotion.

He was someone she had been intimate with. Obviously in love with. They were engaged and she was pregnant with his child. Shouldn’t that stir something in her?

“I don’t remember,” she said, her voice cracking.

“You will,” he said, those amber eyes boring into hers.

To Tame Her Tycoon Lover by Ann Major

“You’re living a lie, Logan Claiborne, and I’m one of the few people who knows it. You’re no elegant, refined gentleman. You use your money like a shield to fend off anything that’s real…like me.”

“Do the smart thing for once. Just leave.”

“Or you’ll what?” When she licked her mouth, making her lower lip shine wetly, something that had been wound too tight for nine damn years snapped inside him, unleashing a force he would have denied with every breath in his body.

With a suddenness that startled them both, his hard arms circled her and then crushed her against him. “You shouldn’t have come back here. You shouldn’t have messed with me again.”

“So, you do want me…a little,” she whispered, her musical voice a husky taunt against his throat. “Is that why you’re so afraid of me?”

Yes, she was right. He wanted her naked and writhing underneath him again.

The Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress

By

Maya Banks
To Tame Her Tycoon Lover

By

Ann Major

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Available in July 2010 from Mills & Boon® Desire ^™

Royal Seducer

by Michelle Celmer

&

Bossman Billionaire

by Kathie DeNosky

Billion-Dollar Baby Bargain

by Tessa Radley

&

The Moretti Arrangement

by Katherine Garbera

The Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress

by Maya Banks

&

To Tame Her Tycoon Lover

by Ann Major

The Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress

By

Maya Banks

Dear Reader,

The Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress launches a trilogy about the Anetakis brothers, Chrysander, Theron and Piers. In this story we meet Marley Jameson, who is struggling to remember a past she had with the handsome and enigmatic CEO of Anetakis International, while Chrysander comes to terms with her supposed betrayal.

As much as Chrysander would like to distance himself from the mother of his unborn child, he finds himself inexorably drawn to Marley. How can he love a woman who tried to destroy him? And what happens when she remembers all that she has forgotten?

These questions form the cornerstone of this emotional story about betrayal, love and ultimate forgiveness. I hope you’ll enjoy Marley and Chrysander’s road to happily ever after!

Maya Banks

PS Be sure to look for the next THE ANETAKIS TYCOONS BOOK THIS September.

MAYA BANKS has loved romance novels from a very (very) early age and, almost from the start, she dreamed of writing them as well. In her teens, she filled countless notebooks with over-dramatic stories of love and passion. Today her stories are only slightly less dramatic, but no less romantic.

She lives in Texas with her husband and three children and wouldn’t contemplate living anywhere other than the South. When she’s not writing, she’s usually hunting, fishing or playing poker. She loves to hear from readers and she can be found online at either www.mayabanks. com or www.writemindedblog.com, or you can e-mail her at maya@mayabanks.com.

To Marty Matthews and Shara Cooper. That bar conversation at RT 2007 was the first kick in the behind to do something about my long-standing dream of writing for Desire^™. I still remember that gush-fest fondly.

To Roberta, for saying, “Let’s do it” when I outlined my career goals in the summer of 2007. Hey, we did it!

To Amy: You of all people know how much I love category and just how excited I was to be given a chance to write it. Thanks for being just as thrilled as I was.

To Dee, who I think wanted this for me as much as I did and was with me every step of the way. Thank you!

And finally to Steph, who started it all for me. Without you, I wouldn’t have written The Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress and I wouldn’t have submitted. It was that phone call that started everything in motion. I’ll always love you for that.

Chapter One

Pregnant.

Despite the warmth of the summer day, an uncomfortable chill settled over Marley Jameson’s skin as she settled on the bench in the small garden just a few blocks from the apartment she shared with Chrysander Anetakis.

She shivered even as the sun’s rays found her tightly clenched fingers, the heat not yet chasing away the goose bumps. Stavros wouldn’t be happy over her brief disappearance. Neither would Chrysander when Stavros reported that she hadn’t taken proper security measures. But dragging along the imposing guard to her doctor’s appointment hadn’t been an option. Chrysander would have known of her pregnancy before she could even return home to tell him herself.

How would he react to the news? Despite the fact they’d taken precautions, she was eight weeks pregnant. The best she could surmise, it had happened when he’d returned from an extended business trip overseas. Chrysander had been insatiable. But then so had she.

A bright blush chased the chill from her cheeks as she remembered the night in question. He had made love to her countless times, murmuring to her in Greek—warm, soft words that had made her heart twist.

She checked her watch and grimaced. He was due home in a few short hours, and yet here she sat like a coward, avoiding the confrontation. She still had to change out of the faded jeans and T-shirt, clothes she wore only when he was away.

With reluctance born of uncertainty, she forced herself to her feet and began the short walk to the luxurious building that housed Chrysander’s apartment.

“You’re being silly,” she muttered under her breath as she neared the entry. If the doorman was surprised to see her on foot, he didn’t show it, though he did hasten to usher her inside.

She stepped onto the lift and smoothed a hand over her still-flat stomach. Nervousness scuttled through her chest as she rode higher. When it halted smoothly and the doors opened into the spacious foyer of the penthouse, Marley nibbled on her lip and left the elevator.

She walked into the living room, shedding her shoes as she made her way to the couch, where she tossed her bag down. Fatigue niggled at her muscles, and all she really wanted to do was lie down. But she had to determine how to broach the subject of their relationship with Chrysander.

A few days ago, she would have said she was perfectly content, but the results of today’s blood tests had her shaken. Had her reflecting on the last six months with Chrysander.

She loved him wholeheartedly, but she wasn’t entirely sure where she stood with him. He seemed devoted when he was with her. The sex was fantastic. But now she had a baby to think about. She needed more from the man she loved than hot sex every few weeks as his schedule permitted.

She trudged into the large master suite and started when Chrysander walked from the bathroom, just a towel wrapped around his waist.

A slow smile carved his handsome face. Every time she laid eyes on him, it was like the first time all over again. Goose bumps raced across her skin, lighting fire to her every nerve-ending.

“Y-you’re early,” she managed to get out.

“I’ve been waiting for you, pedhaki mou,” he said huskily.

He let the towel drop, and she swallowed as her eyes tracked downward to his straining erection. He paced forward predatorily, closing rapidly in on her. His hands curved over her shoulders, and he bent to ravage her mouth.

A soft moan escaped her as her knees buckled. He was an addiction. One she could never get enough of. He had only to touch her, and she went up in flames.

His mouth traveled down her jawline to her neck, his fingers tugging impatiently at her shirt. Of their own accord, her fingers twisted in his dark hair, pulling him closer.

Hard, lean, muscled. A gleaming predator. He moved gracefully, masterfully playing her body like a finely tuned instrument.

She clutched at his neck as he lowered her to the bed.

“You have entirely too many clothes on,” he murmured as he shoved her shirt up and over her head.

She knew they should stop. They needed to talk, but she’d missed him. Ached for him. And maybe a part of her wanted this moment before things changed irrevocably.

He released her bra, and she gasped when his fingers found her highly sensitized nipples. They were darker now, and she wondered if he’d notice.

“Did you miss me?”

“You know I did,” she said breathlessly.

“I like to hear you say it.”

“I missed you,” she said, a smile curving her lips.

It shouldn’t have surprised her that he made quick work of her clothing. He tossed her jeans across the room. Her bra went one way, her underwear the other. Then he was over her, on her, deep inside her.

She arched into him as he possessed her, clinging to him as he made love to her, their passion hot and aching. It was always like this. One step from desperation, their need for each other all consuming.

As he gathered her in his arms, he whispered to her in Greek. The words fell against her skin like a caress as they both reached their peaks. She snuggled into his body, content and sated.

She must have slept then, because when she opened her eyes, Chrysander was lying beside her, his arm thrown possessively over her hip. He regarded her lazily, his golden eyes burning with sated contentment.

Now was the time. She needed to broach the subject. There would never be a better occasion. Why did the thought of asking him about their relationship strike terror in her heart?

“Chrysander,” she began softly.

“What is it?” he asked, his eyes narrowing. Had he heard the worry in her voice?

“I wanted to talk to you.”

He stretched his big body and pulled slightly away so he could see her better. The sheet slid down to his hip and gathered there. She felt vulnerable and exposed and trembled when he slid his hand over the peak of one breast.

“What is it you want to talk about?”

“Us,” she said simply.

His eyes grew wary and then became shuttered. His face locked into a mask of indifference, one that frightened her. She could feel him pulling away, mentally withdrawing from her.

A buzz sounded, startling her. Chrysander cursed under his breath and reached over to push the intercom.

“What,” he demanded tersely.

“It’s Roslyn. Can I come up?”

Marley stiffened at the sound of his personal assistant’s voice. It was late in the evening and yet here she was, popping into the apartment she knew he shared with Marley.

“I’m very busy at the moment, Roslyn. Surely it can wait until I come into the office tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but it can’t. I need your signature on a contract that’s due by 7:00 a.m.”

Again Chrysander swore. “Come then.”

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He strode toward the polished mahogany wardrobe and pulled out slacks and a shirt.

“Why does she show up here so often?” Marley asked quietly.

Chrysander shot her a look of surprise. “She’s my assistant. It’s her job to keep up with me.”

“At your personal residence?”

He shook his head as he buttoned up his shirt. “I’ll return in a moment, and we can have our talk.”

Marley watched him go, her chest aching all the more. She was tempted to save the discussion for another night, but she had to tell him of her pregnancy, and she couldn’t tell him of the baby before she knew how he felt about her. What he thought of their future. So it had to be done tonight.

As the moments grew longer, her anxiety heightened. Not wanting the disadvantage of being nude, she rose from the bed and dragged on her jeans and shirt. So much for looking composed and beautiful. She shook her head ruefully.

Finally she heard his footsteps outside the bedroom suite. He walked in with a distracted frown on his face. His gaze flickered over her, and his lips twitched.

“I much prefer you naked, pedhaki mou.”

She gave a shaky smile and moved back to the bed. “Is everything all right with work?”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Nothing that shouldn’t have already been taken care of. A missing signature.” He stalked toward the bed, a lean, hungry glint in his eyes. As he came to a stop a foot away from where she sat, he reached for the buttons on his shirt.

“Chrysander…we must talk.”

Annoyance flickered across his face, but then he gave a resigned sigh. He sank down on the bed next to her. “Then speak, Marley. What is it that’s bothering you?”

His closeness nearly unhinged her. She scooted down the bed in an effort to put distance between them. “I want to know how you feel about me, how you feel about us,” she began nervously. “And if we have a future.”

She glanced up to check his reaction. His lips came together in a firm line as he stared back at her. “So it’s come to this,” he said grimly.

He stood and turned his back to her before finally rotating around to face her.

“Come to w-what? I just need to know how you feel about me. If we have a future. You never speak of us in anything but the present,” she finished lamely.

He leaned in close to her and cupped her chin. “We don’t have a relationship. I don’t do relationships, and you know this. You’re my mistress.”

Why did she feel as though he’d just slapped her? Her mouth fell open against his hand, and she stared up at him with wide, shocked eyes.

“Mistress?” she croaked. Live-in lover. Girlfriend. Woman he was seeing. These were all terms she might have used. But mistress? A woman he bought? A woman he paid to have sex with?

Nausea welled in her stomach.

She pushed his hand away and stumbled up, backpedaling away from him. Confusion shone on Chrysander’s face.

“Is that truly all I am to you?” she choked out, still unable to comprehend his declaration. “A m-mistress?”

He sighed impatiently. “You’re distraught. Sit down and let me get you something to drink. I’ve had a trying week, and you are obviously unwell. It benefits neither of us to have this discussion right now.”

Chrysander urged her back to the bed then strode out of the suite toward the kitchen. After a long week of laying traps for the person attempting to sell his company out from under him, the last thing he wanted was a hysterical confrontation with his mistress.

He poured a glass of Marley’s favorite juice then prepared himself a liberal dose of brandy. The beginnings of a headache were already plaguing him.

He smiled when he saw Marley’s shoes in the middle of the floor where she’d left them as soon as she’d come off the elevator. He followed the trail of her things to the couch where her bag was thrown haphazardly.

She was a creature of comfort. Never fussy. So this emotional outburst had caught him off guard. It was completely out of character for her. She wasn’t clingy, which is why their relationship had lasted so long. Relationship? He’d just denied to her that they had one. She was his mistress.

He should have softened his response. She probably wasn’t feeling well and needed tenderness from him. He winced at the idea, but she’d always been there ready to soothe him after weeks of business trips or tedious meetings. It was only fair that he offer something more than sex. Though sex with her was high on his list of priorities.

He turned to go back into the bedroom and try to make amends when the piece of paper sticking out of Marley’s bag caught his eye. He stopped and frowned then set the drinks down on the coffee table.

Dread tightened his chest. It couldn’t be.

He reached out to snag the papers, yanked them open as anger, hot and volatile, surged in his veins. Marley, his Marley, was the traitor within his company?

He wanted to deny it. Wanted to crumple the evidence and throw it away. But it was there, staring him in the face. The false information he’d planted just this morning in hopes of finding the person selling his secrets to his competitor had been taken by Marley. She hadn’t wasted any time.

Suddenly everything became clear. His building plans had started disappearing about the time that Marley had moved in to the penthouse. She’d worked for his company, and even after he’d convinced her to quit so that her time would be his alone, she still had unimpeded access to his offices. What a fool he’d been.

Stavros’s call to him hours earlier stuck in his mind like a dagger. At the time, it had only registered a mild annoyance with him, a matter he’d planned to take up with Marley when he saw her. He’d lecture her about being careless, about being safe, when in fact, it was him who wasn’t safe with her. She’d gone to his office then disappeared for several hours. And now documents from his office had appeared in her purse.

The papers fisted in his hand, he stalked back to the bedroom to see Marley still sitting on the bed. She turned her tear-stained face up to him, and all he could see was how deftly she’d manipulated him.

“I want you out in thirty minutes,” he said flatly.

Marley stared at him in shock. Had she heard him correctly? “I don’t understand,” she choked out.

“You have thirty minutes in which to collect your things before I call security to escort you out.”

She shot to her feet. How could things have gone so wrong? She hadn’t even told him about her pregnancy yet. “Chrysander, what’s wrong? Why are you so angry with me? Is it because I reacted so badly to you calling me your mistress? It came as a great shock to me. I thought somehow I meant more to you than that.”

“You now have twenty-eight minutes,” he said coldly. He held up a hand with several crumpled sheets of paper in them. “How did you think you’d get away with it, Marley? Do you honestly think I would tolerate you betraying me? I have no tolerance for cheats or liars, and you, my dear, are both.”

All the blood left her face. She wavered precariously, but he made no move to aid her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What are those papers?”

His lips curled into a contemptuous sneer. “You stole from me. You’re lucky that I’m not phoning the authorities. As it is, if I ever see you again, I’ll do just that. Your attempts could have crippled my company. But the joke is on you. These are fakes planted by me in an attempt to ferret out the culprit.”

“Stole?” Her voice rose in agitation. She reached out and yanked the papers from his hand. The words, schematics, blurred before her eyes. An internal e-mail, printed out, obviously from his company ISP address, stared back at her. Sensitive information. Detailed building plans for an upcoming bid in a major international city. Photocopies of the drawings. None of it made sense.

She raised her head and stared him in the eye as her world crumbled and shattered around her. “You think I stole these?”

“They were in your bag. Don’t insult us both by denying it now. I want you out of here.” He made a show of checking his watch. “You now have twenty-five minutes remaining.”

The knot in her throat swelled and stuck, rendering her incapable of drawing a breath. She couldn’t think, couldn’t react. Numbly, she headed for the door with no thought of collecting her things. She only wanted to be away. She paused and put her hand on the frame to steady herself before turning around to look back at Chrysander. His face remained implacable. The lines around his mouth and eyes were hard and unforgiving.

“How could you think I’d do something like that?” she whispered before she turned and walked away.

She stumbled blindly into the elevator, quiet sobs ripping from her throat as she rode it down to the lobby level. The doorman looked at her in concern and offered to get her into a cab. She waved him off and walked unsteadily down the sidewalk and into the night.

The warm evening air blew over her face. The tears on her cheeks chilled her skin, but she paid them no heed. He would listen to her. She would make him. She’d give him the night to calm down, but she would be heard. It was all such a dreadful mistake. There had to be some way to make him see reason.

In her distress, she took no notice of the man following her. When she reached the curb, a hand shot out and grasped her arm. Her cry of alarm was muffled as a cloth sack was yanked over her head.

She struggled wildly, but just as quickly, she found herself stuffed into the backseat of a vehicle. She heard the door slam and the rumble of low voices, and then the vehicle drove away.

Chapter Two

Three months later

Chrysander sat in his apartment brooding in silence. He should have some peace of mind now that there was no longer any danger to his company, but the knowledge of why was hardly comforting. He stared at the pile of documents in front of him as the evening news droned in the background.

His stopover in New York was going to be short. Tomorrow he’d fly to London to meet with his brother Theron and have the groundbreaking ceremony for their luxury hotel—a hotel that wouldn’t have happened if Marley had gotten her way. A derisive snort nearly rolled from his throat. He, the CEO of Anetakis International, had been manipulated and stolen from by a woman. Because of her, he and his brothers had lost two of their designs to their closest competitor before he’d discovered her betrayal. He should have turned her over to the authorities, but he’d been too stunned, too weak to do such a thing.

He hadn’t even ridded his apartment of her belongings. He’d assumed she’d return to collect them, and maybe a small part of him had hoped she would so he could confront her again and ask her why. On his next trip back, he’d see to the task. It was time to have her out of his mind completely.

When he heard her name amidst the jumble of his thoughts, he thought he’d merely conjured it from his dark musings, but when he heard Marley Jameson’s name yet again, he focused his angry attention on the television.

A news reporter stood outside a local hospital, and it took a few moments for the buzzing in Chrysander’s ears to stop long enough for him to comprehend what was being said. The scene changed as they rolled footage taken earlier of a woman being taken out of a rundown apartment building on a stretcher. He leaned forward, his face twisted in disbelief. It was Marley.

He bolted from his desk and fumbled for the remote to turn the volume up. So stunned was he that he only comprehended every fourth word or so, but he heard enough.

Marley had been abducted and now rescued. The details on the who and why were still sketchy, but she’d endured a long period of captivity. He tensed in expectation that somehow his name would be linked to hers, but then why should it? Their relationship had been a highly guarded secret, a necessary one in his world. His wish for privacy was one born of desire and necessity. Only after her betrayal had he been even more relieved by the circumspection he utilized in all his relationships. She’d made a fool of him, and only the knowledge that the rest of the world didn’t know soothed him.

As the camera zoomed in on her pale, frightened face, he felt something inside him twist painfully. She looked the same as she had the night he’d confronted her with her deception. Pale, shocked and vulnerable.

But what the reporter said next stopped him cold, even as an uneasy sensation rippled up his spine. He reported mother and child being listed in stable condition and that Marley’s apparent captivity had not harmed her pregnancy. The reporter offered only the guess that she appeared to be four or five months along. Other details were sketchy. No arrests had been made, as her captors had escaped.

“Theos mou,” he murmured even as he struggled to grasp the implications.

He stood and reached for his cellular phone as he strode from his apartment. When he broke from the entrance of the well-secured apartment high-rise, his driver had just pulled around.

Once inside the vehicle, he again flipped open his phone and called the hospital where Marley had been taken.

“Her physical condition is satisfactory,” the doctor informed Chrysander. “However, it is her emotional state that concerns me.”

He simmered impatiently as he waited for the physician to complete his report. Chrysander had burst into the hospital, demanding answers as soon as he’d walked onto the floor where Marley was being treated. Only the statement that he was her fiancé had finally netted him any results. Then he’d immediately had her transferred to a private room and had insisted that a specialist be called in to see her. Now he had to wade through the doctor’s assessment of her condition before he could see her.

“But she hasn’t been harmed,” Chrysander said.

“I didn’t say that,” the doctor murmured. “I merely said her physical condition is not serious.”

“Then quit beating around the bush and tell me what I need to know.”

The doctor studied him for a moment before laying the clipboard down on his desk. “Miss Jameson has endured a great trauma. I cannot know exactly how great, because she cannot remember anything of her captivity.”

“What?” Chrysander stared at the doctor in stunned disbelief.

“Worse, she remembers nothing before. She knows her name and little else, I’m afraid. Even her pregnancy has come as a shock to her.”

Chrysander ran a hand through his hair and swore in three languages. “She remembers nothing? Nothing at all?”

The doctor shook his head. “I’m afraid not. She’s extremely vulnerable. Fragile. Which is why it’s so important that you do not upset her. She has a baby to carry for four more months and an ordeal from which to recover.”

Chrysander made a sound of impatience. “Of course I would do nothing to upset her. I just find it hard to believe that she remembers nothing.”

The doctor shook his head. “The experience has obviously been very traumatic for her. I suspect it’s her mind’s way of protecting her. It’s merely shut down until she can better cope with all that has happened.”

“Did they…” Chrysander couldn’t even bring himself to complete the question, and yet he had to know. “Did they hurt her?”

The doctor’s expression softened. “I found no evidence that she had been mistreated in any way. Physically. There is no way to find out all she has endured until she is able to tell us. And we must be patient and not press her before she is ready. As I said, she is extremely fragile, and if pressed too hard, too fast, the results could be devastating.”

Chrysander cursed softly. “I understand. I will see to it that she has the best possible care. Now can I see her?”

The doctor hesitated. “You can see her. However, I would caution you not to be too forthcoming with the details of her abduction.”

A frown creased Chrysander’s brow as he stared darkly at the physician. “You want me to lie to her?”

“I merely don’t want you to upset her. You can give her details of her life. Her day-to-day activities. How you met. The mundane things. It is my suggestion, however, and I’ve conferred with the hospital psychiatrist on this matter, that you not rush to give her the details of her captivity and how she came to lose her memory. In fact, we know very little, so it would be unwise to speculate or offer her information that could be untrue. She must be kept calm. I don’t like to think of what another upset could cause her in her current state.”

Chrysander nodded reluctantly. What the doctor said made sense, but his own need to know what had happened to Marley was pressing. But he wouldn’t push her if it would cause her or the baby any harm. He checked his watch. He still had to meet with the authorities, but first he wanted to see Marley and said as much to the doctor.

The physician nodded. “I’ll have the nurse take you up now.”

Marley struggled underneath the layers of fog surrounding her head. She murmured a low protest when she opened her eyes. Awareness was not what she sought. The blanket of dark, of oblivion, was what she wanted.

There was nothing for her in wakefulness. Her life was one black hole of nothingness. Her name was all that lingered in the confusing layers of her mind. Marley.

She searched for more. Answers she needed to questions that swarmed her every time she wakened. Her past lay like a great barren landscape before her. The answers dangled beyond her, taunting her and escaping before she could reach out and take hold.

She turned her head on the thin pillow, fully intending to slip back into the void of sleep when a firm hand grasped hers. Fear scurried up her spine until she remembered that she was safe and in a hospital. Still, she yanked her hand away as her chest rose and fell with her quick breaths.

“You must not go back to sleep, pedhaki mou. Not yet.”

The man’s voice slid across her skin, leaving warmth in its wake. Carefully, she turned to face this stranger—or was he? Was he someone she knew? Who knew her? Could he be the father of the child nestled below her heart?

Her hand automatically felt for her rounded belly as her gaze lighted on the man who’d spoken to her.

He was a dominating presence. Tall, lithe, dangerously intent as his amber eyes stared back at her. He wasn’t American. She nearly laughed at the absurdity of her thoughts. She should be demanding to know who he was and why he was here, and yet all she could muster was the knowledge that he wasn’t American?

“Our baby is fine,” he said as his gaze dropped to the hand she had cupped protectively over her abdomen.

She tensed as she realized that he was indeed staking a claim. Shouldn’t she know him? She reached for something, some semblance of recognition, but unease and fear were all she found.

“Who are you?” she finally managed to whisper.

Something flickered in those golden eyes, but he kept his expression neutral. Had she hurt him with the knowledge she didn’t know him? She tried to put herself in his position. Tried to imagine how she’d feel if the father of her baby suddenly couldn’t remember her.

He pulled a chair to the side of the bed and settled his large frame into it. He reached for her hand, and this time, despite her instinct to do so, she didn’t retract it.

“I am Chrysander Anetakis. Your fiancé.”

She searched his face for the truth of his words, but he looked back at her calmly, with no hint of emotion.

“I’m sorry,” she said and swallowed when her voice cracked. “I don’t remember…”

“I know. I’ve spoken to the doctor. What you remember isn’t important right now. What is important is that you rest and recover so that I can take you home.”

She licked her lips, panic threatening to overtake her. “Home?”

He nodded. “Yes, home.”

“Where is that?” She hated having to ask. Hated that she was lying here conversing with a complete stranger. Only apparently he wasn’t. He was someone she had been intimate with. Obviously in love with. They were engaged, and she was pregnant with his child. Shouldn’t that stir something inside her?

“You’re trying too hard, pedhaki mou,” he said softly. “I can see the strain on your face. You mustn’t rush things. The doctor said that it will all come back in time.”

She clutched his hand then looked down at their linked fingers. “Will it? What if it doesn’t?” Fear rose in her chest, tightening her throat uncomfortably. She struggled to breathe.

Chrysander reached out a hand to touch her face. “Calm yourself, Marley. Your distress does you and the baby no good.”

Hearing her name on his lips did odd things. It felt as though he was speaking of a stranger even though she did remember her name. But maybe in the madness of her memory loss, she’d been afraid that she’d gotten that part wrong, and that along with everything else, her name was a forgotten piece of her life.

“Can you tell me something about me? Anything?”

She was precariously close to begging, and tears knotted her throat and stung her eyes.

“There will be plenty of time for us to talk later,” Chrysander soothed. He stroked her forehead, pushing back her hair. “For now, rest. I’m making preparations to take you home.”

It was the second time he’d mentioned home, and she realized that he still hadn’t told her where that was.

“Where is home?” she asked again.

His lips thinned for just a moment, and then his expression eased. “Home for us has been here in the city. My business takes me away often, but we had an apartment together here. My plan is to take you to my island as soon as you are well enough to travel.”

Her brows furrowed as she sought to comprehend the oddity of his statement. It sounded so…impersonal. There was no emotion, no hint of joy, just a sterile recitation of fact.

As if sensing she was about to ask more questions, he bent over and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Rest, pedhaki mou. I have arrangements to make. The doctor says you can be released in a few days’ time if all goes well.”

She closed her eyes wearily and nodded. He stood there a moment, and then she heard his footsteps retreating. When her door closed, she opened her eyes again, only to feel the damp trail of tears against her cheeks.

She should feel relief that she wasn’t alone. Somehow, though, Chrysander Anetakis’s presence hadn’t reassured her as it should. She felt more apprehensive than ever, and she couldn’t say why.

She pulled the thin sheet higher around her body and closed her eyes, willing the peaceful numbness of sleep to take over once more.

When she woke again, a nurse was standing by her bedside placing a cuff around her arm to take her blood pressure.

“Oh, good, you’re awake,” she said cheerfully as she removed the cuff. “I have your dinner tray. Do you feel up to eating?”

Marley shook her head. The thought of food made her faintly nauseous.

“Leave the tray. I’ll see to it she eats.”

Marley looked up in surprise to see Chrysander looming behind the nurse, a determined look on his face. The nurse turned and smiled at him then reached back and patted Marley’s arm.

“You’re very lucky to have such a devoted fiancé,” she said as she turned to go.

“Yes, lucky,” Marley murmured, and she wondered why she suddenly felt the urge to weep.

When the door shut behind the nurse, Chrysander pulled the chair closer to her bed again. Then he settled the tray in front of her.

“You should eat.”

She eyed him nervously. “I don’t feel much like eating.”

“Do you find my presence unsettling?” he queried as his gaze slid over her rumpled form.

“I—” She opened her mouth to say no, but found she couldn’t entirely deny it. How to tell this man she found him intimidating? This was supposed to be someone she loved. Had made love with. Just the thought sent a blush up her neck and over her cheeks.

“What are you thinking?” His fingers found her hand and stroked absently.

She turned her face away, hoping to find relief from his scrutiny. “N-nothing.”

“You are frightened. That’s understandable.”

She turned back to look at him. “It doesn’t make you angry that I’m frightened of you? Quite frankly, I’m terrified. I don’t remember you or anything else in my life. I’m pregnant with your child and cannot for the life of me remember how I got this way!” Her fists gripped the sheet and held it protectively against her.

His lips pressed to a firm line. Was he angry? Was he putting on a front so as not to upset her further?

“It is as you said. You don’t remember me, therefore I am a stranger to you. It will be up to me to earn your…trust.” He said the last word as if he found it distasteful, and yet his expression remained controlled.

“Chrysander…” She said his name experimentally, letting it roll off her tongue. It didn’t feel foreign, but neither did it spark any remembrance. Frustration took firm hold when her mind remained frightfully blank.

“Yes, pedhaki mou?”

She blinked as she realized he was waiting for her to continue.

“What happened to me?” she asked. “How did I get here? How did I lose my memory?”

Once again he took her hand in his, and she found the gesture comforting. He leaned forward and touched his other hand to her cheek. “You shouldn’t rush things. The doctor is quite adamant in this. Right now the most important thing for you and our child is to take things slowly. Everything will come back in its own time.”

She sighed, realizing he wasn’t going to budge.

“Get some rest.” He stood and leaned over to brush his lips across her forehead. “Soon we will leave this place.”

Marley wished the words gave her more reassurance than they did. Instead of comfort, confusion and uncertainty rose sharply in her chest until she feared smothering with the anxiety.

Sweat broke out on her forehead, and the food she’d picked at just moments ago rolled in her stomach. Chrysander looked sharply at her, and without saying a word, he rang for the nurse.

Moments later, the nurse bustled in. At the sight of her, sympathy crowded her features. She placed a cool hand on Marley’s forehead even as she administered an injection with the other.

“You mustn’t panic,” the nurse soothed. “You’re safe now.”

But her words failed to ease the tightness in Marley’s chest. How could they when soon she was going to be thrust into an unknown world with a man who was a complete stranger to her?

Chrysander stood by her bed, staring down at her, his hand covering hers. The medication dulled her senses, and she could feel herself floating away, the fear evaporating like mist. His words were the last thing she heard.

“Sleep, pedhaki mou. I will watch over you.”

Oddly, she did find comfort in the quiet vow.

Chrysander stood in the darkened room and watched as Marley slept. The strain of the frown he was wearing inserted a dull ache in his temples.

Her chest rose and fell with her slight breaths, and even in sleep, tension furrowed her brow. He moved closer and touched his fingers to her forehead, smoothing them across the pale skin.

She was as lovely as ever, even in her weakened state. Raven curls lay haphazardly against the pillow. He took one between his fingers and moved it from her forehead. It was longer now, no longer the shorter cap of curls that had flown about her head as she laughed or smiled.

Her skin had lost its previous glow, but he knew restoring her health would bring it back. Her eyes had been dull, frightened, but he remembered well the brilliant blue sparkle, how enchanting she looked when she was happy.

He cursed and moved away from the bed. It had all been a ruse. She hadn’t ever been happy. Truly happy. It seemed he’d been incapable of making her so. All the time they were together, she’d plotted against him, stolen from him and his brothers.

Though he’d considered her his mistress, he’d never placed her in the same category as his others. What he’d shared with her hadn’t been mercenary, or so he’d thought. In the end, it had boiled down to money and betrayal. Something he was well used to with women.

Yet he still wanted her. She still burned in his veins, an addiction he wasn’t equipped to fight. He shook his head grimly. She was pregnant with his child, and that must take precedence above all else. They would be forced together by the child, their futures irrevocably intertwined. But he didn’t have to like it, and he didn’t have to surrender anything more than his protection and his body.

If she would once again be placed under his protection, then he’d do all he could to ensure she had the best care, her and their baby, but he’d never trust her. She would warm his bed, and he wouldn’t lie and say that prospect wasn’t appealing. But she would get nothing more from him.

Chapter Three

Two days later, Marley sat nervously in a wheelchair, her fingers clutched tightly around the blanket the nurse had draped over her lap. Chrysander stood to the side, listening intently as the nurse gave him the aftercare instructions. Marley fingered the maternity top that one of the nurses had kindly provided for her and smoothed the wrinkles over the bump of her abdomen. They’d all been exceedingly kind to her, and she feared leaving their kindness to venture into the unknown.

When the nurse was finished, Chrysander grasped the handles of the wheelchair and began pushing Marley down the hallway toward the entrance. She blinked as the bright sunshine speared her vision. A sleek limousine was parked a few feet away, and Chrysander walked briskly toward it. The driver stepped around to open the door just as Chrysander effortlessly plucked her from the wheelchair and ushered her inside the heated interior. In a matter of seconds, they were gliding away from the hospital.

Marley stared out the window as they navigated the busy New York streets. The city itself was familiar. She could remember certain shops and landmarks. She possessed a knowledge of the city, but what was missing was the idea that this was home, that she belonged here. Hadn’t Chrysander said they’d lived here? She felt like an artist staring at an empty canvas without the skills to paint the portrait.

When they pulled to a stop in front of a stylish, modern building, Chrysander bolted from the limousine while the doorman opened the door on her side. Chrysander reached inside and carefully drew her from the vehicle. She stepped to the sidewalk on shaky feet, and he tucked her to his side, a strong arm around her waist as they walked through the entrance.

A wave of déjà vu swept over her as the lift opened and he helped her inside. For the briefest of moments, her memory stirred, and she struggled to part the veils of darkness.

“What is it?” Chrysander demanded.

“I’ve done this before,” she murmured.

“You remember?”

She shook her head. “No. It just feels…familiar. I know I’ve been here.”

His fingers curled tighter around her arm. “This is where we lived…for many months. It’s only natural that it should register something.”

The lift opened, and she cocked her head as he started forward. His phrasing had been odd. Had they not lived here just a short time ago? Before whatever accident had befallen her?

He stopped and held out his hand to her. “Come, Marley. We’re home.”

She slid her fingers into his as he pulled her forward into the lavish foyer. To her surprise, a woman met them as they started for the large living room. Marley faltered as the tall blond young woman put a hand on Chrysander’s arm and smiled.

“Welcome home, Mr. Anetakis. I’ve laid out all contracts requiring your signature on your desk as well as ordered your phone messages by priority. I also took the liberty of having dinner delivered.” She swept an assessing look over Marley, one that had Marley feeling obscure and insignificant. “I didn’t imagine you’d be up for going out after a trying few days.”

Marley frowned as she realized the woman was implying that Chrysander had been through the ordeal and not Marley.

“Thank you, Roslyn,” Chrysander said. “You shouldn’t have gone to the trouble.” He turned to Marley and pulled her closer to him. “Marley, this is Roslyn Chambers, my personal assistant.”

Marley gave a faltering smile.

“Delighted to see you again, Miss Jameson,” Roslyn said sweetly. “It’s been ages since I last saw you. Months, I believe.”

“Roslyn,” Chrysander said in a warning voice. Her smile never slipped as she looked innocently at Chrysander.

Marley glanced warily between them, her confusion mounting. The ease with which the woman moved around the apartment that Chrysander called home to both of them was clear, and yet Roslyn hadn’t seen Marley in months? The proprietary way his assistant looked at him was the only thing currently clear to Marley.

“I’ll leave you two,” Roslyn said with a gracious smile. “I’m sure you have a lot of catching up to do.” She turned to Chrysander and put a delicate hand on his arm once more. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll come straight over.”

“Thank you,” Chrysander murmured.

The tall blonde clicked across the polished Italian marble in her elegant heels and entered the lift. She smiled at Chrysander as the doors closed.

Marley licked her suddenly dry lips and looked away. Chrysander was stiff at her side as though he expected Marley to react in some way. She wasn’t stupid enough to do so now. Not when he was so on guard. Later, she would ask him the million questions whirling around her tired mind.

“Come, you should be in bed,” Chrysander said as he curled an arm around her.

“I’ve had quite enough of bed,” she said firmly.

“Then you should at least get comfortable on the sofa. I’ll bring you a tray so you can eat.”

Eat. Rest. Eat some more. Those dictates seemed to compose Chrysander’s sole aim when it came to her. She sighed and allowed him to lead her into the living area. He settled her on the soft leather couch and retrieved a blanket to cover her with.

There was a stiffness about him that puzzled her, but then she supposed if the roles were reversed and he’d forgotten her, she wouldn’t be very sure of herself, either. He left the room, and several minutes later returned with a tray that he set before her on the coffee table. Steam rose from the bowl of soup, but she wasn’t tempted by the offering. She was too unsettled.

He sat in a chair diagonally to her, but after a few moments, he rose and paced the room like a restless predator. His fingers tugged at his tie as he loosened it and then unbuttoned the cuffs of his silk shirt.

“Your assistant…Roslyn…said she left work for you?”

He turned to face her, his eyebrows wrinkling as he frowned. “Work can wait.”

She sighed. “Do you plan to watch me nap then? I’ll be fine, Chrysander. You can’t hover over me every moment of the day. If there are things that require your attention, then by all means see to them.”

Indecision flickered across his handsome face. “I do have things to do before we leave New York.”

A surge of panic hit her unaware. She swallowed and worked to keep her expression bland. “We’ll be leaving soon then?”

He nodded. “I thought to give you a few days to rest and more fully recover before we go. I’ve arranged for my jet to fly us to Greece, and then we’ll take a helicopter out to the island. My staff is preparing for our arrival as we speak.”

She stared uneasily at him. “Just how wealthy are you?”

He looked surprised by the question. “My family owns a chain of hotels.”

The Anetakis name floated in her memory, what little of it there was. Images of the opulent hotel in the heart of the city came to mind. Celebrities, royalty, some of the world’s wealthiest people stayed at Imperial Park. But he couldn’t be that Anetakis, could he?

She paled and clenched her fingers to control the shaking. They were only the richest hotel family in the world. “How…how on earth did you and I…” She couldn’t even bring herself to complete the thought. Then she frowned. Had she come from such a family?

Fatigue swamped her, and she dug her fingers into her temples as she fought the tiredness. Chrysander was beside her in an instant. He picked her up as though she weighed nothing and carried her into the bedroom. He carefully laid her on the bed, his eyes bright with concern. “Rest now, pedhaki mou.”

She nodded and curled into the comfortable bed, her eyes already closing with exhaustion. Thinking hurt. Trying to remember sapped every ounce of her strength.

Chrysander slumped in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. He fingered the list of phone messages as his gaze lighted on the one from his brother Theron. There was a message from his other brother, Piers, as well.

He shifted uncomfortably and knew he wouldn’t be able to put them off for long. They would have gotten his messages by now and be curious. How he was going to explain this mess to them and also explain why he was taking the woman who had tried to damage their business home to Greece was beyond him.

With a grimace, he picked up the phone and dialed Theron’s number.

He spoke rapidly in Greek when his brother answered. “How did the groundbreaking go?”

“Chrysander, finally,” Theron said dryly. “I wondered if I was going to have to fly over to beat answers from you.”

Chrysander sighed and grunted in response.

“Do hold while I get Piers on the phone. It’ll save you another call. I know he’s as interested in your explanation as I am.”

“Since when do I answer to my younger brothers?” Chrysander growled.

Theron chuckled and a moment later Piers’s voice bled through the line. He didn’t bandy words.

“Chrysander, what the hell is going on? I got your message, and judging by the fact you never showed up in London, I can only assume that you’re otherwise occupied in New York.”

Chrysander pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and closed his eyes. “It would appear that the two of you are going to be uncles.”

Silence greeted his statement.

“You’re sure it’s yours?” Theron finally asked.

Chrysander grimaced. “She’s five months pregnant, and five months ago, I was the only man in her bed. This I know.”

“Like you knew she was stealing from us?” Piers retorted.

“Shut up, Piers,” Theron said mildly. “The important question is, what are you going to do? She obviously can’t be trusted. What does she have to say for herself?”

Chrysander’s head pounded a bit harder. “There is a complication,” he muttered. “She doesn’t remember anything.”

Both brothers made a sound of disbelief. “Quite convenient, wouldn’t you say?” Piers interjected.

“She’s leading you around by the balls,” Theron said in disgust.

“I found it hard to believe myself,” Chrysander admitted. “But I’ve seen her. She’s here…in our—my apartment. Her memory loss is real.” There was no way she could fake the abject vulnerability, the confusion and pain that clouded her once-vibrant blue eyes. The knowledge of her pain bothered him when it shouldn’t. She deserved to suffer as she’d made him suffer.

Piers made a rude noise.

“What do you plan to do?” Theron asked.

Chrysander braced himself for their objections. “We’re flying out to the island as soon as I feel she’s well enough. It’s a more suitable place for her recovery, and it’s out of the public eye.”