The Tycoon's Pregnant Mistress / To Tame Her Tycoon Lover: The Tycoon's Pregnant Mistress

She felt his presence before he ever made a sound. Slowly, she turned to see Chrysander standing in the doorway of her closet. His expression softened when she swiped at her face and turned quickly away.

He stepped forward and captured her wrist in his hand. “Marley, I’m sorry.”

She stiffened and raised her chin until she met his gaze. “I shouldn’t have meddled in your belongings.” She raised her hand to gesture at the closet full of clothes. “We obviously keep a very separate lifestyle. You’ll pardon me while I relearn the ropes.”

He frowned darkly and stared at her in confusion. “What are you talking about? There will be no separation of our lifestyles.”

She shrugged indifferently. “The evidence is here. It doesn’t take an idiot to figure it out. You’ve put me in my own room. My clothes are separate. Our things are separate. Our beds are separate. It’s a wonder I ever got pregnant,” she added wryly. She swallowed and then pressed on with the question burning uppermost in her mind. “Why are you marrying me, Chrysander? Was my pregnancy an accident? Was I some lascivious bitch who trapped you into a relationship?”

She knew she sounded hysterical even as the words tumbled out, but the hurt was eating away at her insides. She needed reassurance, some sign that the life he claimed was hers was a happy place and not one filled with dark gaps like the holes in her memory.

“Theos! Come with me.”

Before she could protest, he was dragging her from the closet. He ushered her over to the bed and sat her down before settling beside her.

She glanced uncomfortably around. “Where is Patrice?” She had no wish to have a disagreement in front of anyone else.

“I dismissed her when I arrived,” he said impatiently. “She is only here when I cannot be until we leave for Greece. She’ll remain on the island with us for as long as you have need of her.”

Marley couldn’t keep the disappointment from her expression. “But Chrysander, I don’t need her at all, and I thought we would be alone once we reached the island.”

His look told her that he wanted anything but, and hurt crashed in again at his seeming rejection.

“You may think she isn’t needed, but I won’t take chances with your recovery. Your health is too important to me.” His voice became softer, and his eyes lost some of their hardness. “You’re pregnant, and you’ve undergone a great deal of stress. It’s only natural that I would want the best care possible for you.”

She swallowed and slowly nodded.

He stared intently at her. “Now, as for my earlier rudeness…I apologize. I had no right to speak to you that way.”

She snorted, which caused his eyebrows to rise. “I don’t think rude adequately covers it. You were a first-class jerk.”

Color rose in his cheeks, and he swallowed. “Yes, I was, and for that I apologize. I have no excuse. I’ve been busy making arrangements for our travel, and I took my frustrations out on you. It’s unforgivable, but I ask for your forgiveness nonetheless.”

“I accept your apology,” she said coolly.

“And as for your other assertions.” He took one of his hands away from hers and dragged it carelessly through his dark hair. “We do not lead separate lives. Nor will we. You did not trap me into a proposal, and I won’t have you say it again.” He paused and sighed. “I put you in this room out of deference to your condition. I didn’t think it fair of me to expect you to share a room and a bed with a man who is a stranger to you. I had no wish to put such pressure on you.”

In that light, her worry seemed silly. What she’d perceived as a slight had in fact been an act of caring on his part. Her shoulders sagged as her breath escaped in a sigh.

“I thought…”

“What did you think, pedhaki mou?”

“I thought you didn’t want me,” she said lamely.

He let out a curse and cupped her face in his palm. For a long moment, he stared at her. Light blazed in his golden eyes, and then he lowered his head to hers. Her breath caught in her throat and hung there as his lips hovered over hers.

A fierce longing ignited within her, and suddenly she wanted nothing more than his mouth on hers. When their lips met, a bolt of electricity shot down her spine and rebounded, spreading through her body like wildfire.

Instinctively, she arched into him, working her body into the shelter of his as his fingers fanned across her cheek and he deepened the kiss. Her breasts tightened as desire hummed through her belly. His chest brushed across her taut nipples, and she flinched in reaction.

Her arms snaked around him, and her fingers dug into the hair at his nape. Peace enveloped her. A sense of rightness she hadn’t experienced since waking in the hospital bed lodged in her mind.

A low groan worked its way from his throat as he pulled away. His breath came in ragged spurts, and his eyes shimmered with liquid heat.

“Your body remembers me, pedhaki mou, even if your mind does not.” Pure male satisfaction accentuated his statement. It sounded arrogant, self-assured, but it gave her flagging confidence a much-needed boost. He sounded very pleased at the idea that she recognized him, if only on a physical level.

“I don’t have any suitable clothing,” she blurted, then blushed at the absurdity of her statement. Her brain had gone to mush as soon as he’d kissed her, and now she scrambled to cover the awkwardness.

One brow went up again.

“Why don’t I have any maternity clothes?” she asked. “Did I not buy any?” She reached for any plausible explanation as to why she wouldn’t have appropriate clothing among the closetful of outfits she owned.

Chrysander frowned. “I am sorry, pedhaki mou. I did not think of this. Of course you cannot go around in your jeans.” He smiled a slow, sensual smile. “Even if I do love to see you in them.”

She cocked her head to one side.

He chuckled, and the sound, sexy and low, vibrated over her hypersensitive body. “You do not like to wear them around me. Something about looking nice when we are together, but I assure you, you would look beautiful in a sackcloth if you chose to wear one.”

Heat bloomed in her cheeks, and she smiled at the compliment.

He shook his head ruefully. “I am not doing a good job of taking care of you since your release from the hospital. I’ve upset you and not seen to your needs. This is something I must remedy at once. I admit, though, that your safety and well-being, not your clothing, was uppermost on my mind.”

“Don’t say that,” she protested. “You’ve been wonderful. Well, except the brief stint as a big jerk.” She smiled teasingly at him as she spoke. “This can’t have been easy for you, and yet you’ve been incredibly patient. I’m sorry for being such a shrew.”

He touched her face again, and for a moment, she thought he’d kiss her once more. “I won’t let you apologize, Marley. You keep worrying about how hard this is for me, when you are the one who has suffered.” He took his hand away and stood. “Now I must make some phone calls so I can have more appropriate clothing arranged for you.”

She blinked in surprise. “Couldn’t we just go shopping?”

He frowned. “You are not up for a shopping trip. I want you to rest. We’re leaving for the island tomorrow morning, as soon as you have seen the doctor and he gives his approval for you to travel.”

“Tomorrow?” she parroted. “So soon?”

He nodded. “Now you know why I must hurry if I am to have your clothing delivered on time.”

She put her hands up helplessly. He said it as though he had much experience in making things happen in accordance with his wishes. If he could have clothes delivered to her on such short notice, then who was she to argue?

“Now—”

She held up a hand to silence him. She knew enough about the look on his face and the tone of his voice to know that an order to rest was about to follow.

“If you tell me to rest again, I may well scream.”

His gaze narrowed, and he was about to protest.

“Please, Chrysander. I feel well. I napped while you were gone. Now, you promised me lunch when you returned from your meeting, and I find myself starving. Can we go eat?”

He cursed again and clenched his fingers into fists. “Of course. Apparently, I strive to be thoughtless in all things. Come and sit down at our table. I’ll get us something to eat.”