CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SIX

A RISTOPHANES TURNED OVER and opened his eyes. Half of him had been dreading that the night before had been a dream, that when he awoke he’d find his bed empty and the woman he’d been with, the warm, silky, beautiful little woman he’d spent the night exploring every inch of, would be gone.

But she wasn’t gone. She was still fast asleep next to him in his giant bed, her thick auburn hair spread like kelp over the white Egyptian cotton pillowcase. Her hands were tucked beneath her chin like a child’s, her auburn lashes lying still on her cheeks. The sheet had slipped down to her waist, exposing pale shoulders, the swell of her stomach and the graceful arch of her back.

She was lovely. So lovely.

Once she’d agreed to a night together the day before in his office, he’d been very tempted to simply lay her out on the carpet before his desk and have her there and then. However, he’d decided that there would be fewer interruptions if he took her back to his penthouse apartment on the Upper East Side, that looked out over Central Park.

So he had and they’d fallen into bed immediately, only surfacing for food and drink, before losing themselves in each other again. They hadn’t talked. They’d let their bodies continue the same wordless conversation they’d first had back in Melbourne, communicating via sensation, with touches and licks, and caresses and bites, and pleasure.

It had been incredible. Maybe even more incredible than that first night they’d spent together, which was saying something.

He wanted to reach out and touch her, trace her little bump the way he hadn’t been able to keep from doing in the elevator the day before, a rare experience for him since usually after a night with a lover, all he wanted to do was leave. Then again, they hadn’t had much sleep and she was still jet-lagged. She really should have some rest.

Especially since she’s pregnant.

An unwelcome arrow of reality pierced him, making his chest feel tight and uncomfortable. Yes, how could he have forgotten that? He was going to be a father.

It was hard thinking when he was right next to her, with her warmth and scent all around him, because she made him want to do things other than thinking. So, he slid out of bed carefully without waking her.

And he did need to think. She’d been very clear the day before that she didn’t want to move into one of his residences, or give up her life in Melbourne, and why her feelings about this mattered to him, he wasn’t sure. But they did, and he didn’t like that they did.

Frowning to himself, he went into the en suite bathroom, stepped into the huge granite shower, and turned on the water, letting it slip over his naked body.

Logically it made sense to insist she move where it was easier for him to visit both her and the child. He could more easily care for her there—or rather have his staff care for her. Also, the more he thought about it, the more he realised he wanted his child to have one place to grow up in. A home.

He’d had one once, before his mother had abandoned him. A large house in Athens, with a garden he’d played in, but that was all he remembered about it. He remembered more of being shipped around the country, from one foster family to another, always a new house, always new family. He’d lost count of how many homes he’d had, which was why he’d used his mind to escape. In the privacy of his own head, there was familiarity, continuity. Control.

Yet while that had worked for him in many ways, he didn’t want his own child to have that kind of childhood. It had been a lonely existence to be always left longing for a connection with someone, anyone. A longing that had never been fulfilled, since he’d never stayed with any family long enough to establish any kind of connection.

Eventually he’d excised that longing from his heart and taught himself not to want, never to need. But still...

His child should have better than that.

He stepped out of the shower, dried himself off and pulled on the first pair of trousers that came to hand. Then he went out of the bedroom, padded down the hallway and into the cavernous kitchen of his massive apartment, and began the process of making coffee.

Yes, logically the child should be accessible to him and he had to be close, or at least within easy reach should anything happen with Nell. A child cared for by only one parent was a child at risk; some people, for one reason or another, couldn’t deal with the pressures of parenthood after all. His mother being a prime example.

There had been times in his life when he’d tried to understand why she’d left him the way she had, but that had been the one puzzle he’d never managed to solve. There had been no signs that he could remember, no hint that she’d suddenly found being a mother to him impossible. He’d loved her and he’d thought she’d loved him.

Not that it mattered now, since he’d put his fury at her away years ago. He only wanted to be sure that the same thing wouldn’t happen to his child, which meant he’d need Nell to be situated closer to him. She wouldn’t like it—she’d mentioned her job and her friends—but he wouldn’t be moved on this particular point. Europe, Japan, and the States were his main bases of operations, and as such he couldn’t base himself in the southern hemisphere.

After preparing himself a small cup of the thick black espresso he preferred, he took it out into the living area, the huge floor-to-ceiling windows giving a fine view over the large green rectangle of Central Park far below.

Aristophanes sipped his coffee, still thinking.

He could be ruthless when he chose—he hadn’t got to where he was today by being kind or gentle—but he could offer Nell some incentives. Obviously, money wasn’t going to work, since she’d told him she didn’t want it, but he had plenty of other ways to leverage her agreement.

Sex, for example. One night had taken the edge off his hunger, but only slightly. He couldn’t stand the thought of her going back to Melbourne right now. He wanted to keep her here, in his bed for the next few days, and, considering how passionate and wanton she’d proved herself to be, he thought she wouldn’t refuse him.

She wanted him every bit as badly as he wanted her, and he was prepared to use their chemistry to get her to do what he wanted. Also, he could find her a job if that was what she needed, and as for her friends... He’d give her his private jet so she could fly them out from Melbourne whenever she liked.

She’d find that acceptable, wouldn’t she?

He sipped again at his coffee, staring out through the glass, satisfaction gathering inside him. Telling his secretaries to amend his schedule to include Nell was his first order of business. In fact, he was even considering moving his morning meeting from eight to eleven, to give himself a few more hours with her.

Conversation wasn’t his strongest suit, but business negotiations were. It wouldn’t be difficult to change her mind about living in one of his residences. Certainly nothing a few good orgasms couldn’t fix.

Speaking of which...

Inevitable physical desire began to rise again, so he downed the rest of his coffee, put it down on a side table, and turned from the windows. He was halfway across the room to the hallway that led to the bedroom when Nell suddenly appeared.

She was wrapped in one of his sheets, her hair a glorious auburn veil around her shoulders, and he opened his mouth to tell her to get rid of the sheet, then stopped.

Her face was very pale, almost as white as the cotton wrapped around her lovely body. ‘I... I...’ she murmured, took a step towards him, then staggered.

A fist closed around his heart, and he was moving before he’d even thought the action through, striding over to her and sliding an arm around her waist just as her knees went out from under her. She fell against him and he caught her, holding her fast.

‘Nell,’ he said urgently. ‘What happened? What’s wrong?’

Her pale face turned against his chest, her dark eyes suddenly full of fear. ‘I’m...bleeding...’

The fist around his heart squeezed tighter. The baby...

Dimly he was aware of an unfamiliar feeling, something akin to fear, but he pushed it ruthlessly aside, sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her over to the sectional sofa near the windows. He laid her gently on it as adrenaline flooded his body, the way it had the night she’d fallen over on the pavement, but this time it was even more intense. He wanted to keep hold of her, use his body as a shield against anything that would hurt her or the baby.

His baby.

‘Hush,’ he murmured. ‘And lie still. I’ll get help.’ As he reached into the pocket of his trousers to get his phone, Nell’s fingers closed around his wrist and held on tight.

‘I don’t want to lose the baby,’ she said hoarsely, her dark eyes full of desperation. ‘Please don’t let me lose it.’

In that moment certainty gathered weight and solidity inside him. A determination. She would not lose their baby. He’d move heaven and earth, bring down the sun if need be to ensure that she wouldn’t.

‘You won’t lose it.’ He held her gaze with his so she could see his conviction. ‘I’ll make sure you don’t.’

The fear in her eyes eased a little and she nodded, releasing his wrist.

Ten minutes and some urgent calls later, his doctor arrived and organised for Nell to be transported via helicopter to a private hospital not far from his apartment. And as she had that night in Melbourne, Nell held tight to his hand the whole way, and didn’t let go even when she was rushed into an examination room in preparation for a scan.

His whole body felt tight and that fist around his heart wouldn’t let go, squeezing and squeezing. And as the doctor came in and sat by the bed, murmuring reassuring things as she prepared Nell for her ultrasound, he realised with a kind of shock that the baby hadn’t seemed real to him before now. It had been an idea, a concept, a fact. He hadn’t thought deeply about the reality of it, because he’d been too wrapped up in Nell and their intense physical chemistry.

Now though, as the doctor spread gel on Nell’s stomach and positioned the wand, the reality of his child hit him over the head with all the solidity of a cricket bat. And along with it came the choking fear that it was too late, that she might lose it.

They might both lose their child.

He stared at the monitor beside Nell’s bed, holding her hand, filled with the most intense helplessness. There was nothing he could do in this moment, nothing he could say that could affect the outcome. It was out of his hands.

It reminded him so powerfully of his childhood, of watching yet another social worker walk up to the front door of whichever house he was living in at the time, knowing that she was here to take him away again. That he was going to be moved again, given to a new family, living in a new house, and that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

His jaw was so tight it ached, and he had to use every ounce of his considerable strength to force away the fear. Nell’s fingers around his were tight too, holding his hand in a painful grip, and he had no idea why everything had suddenly changed.

Why he only realised now how much he wanted something when he was on the point of losing it. And he didn’t know whether it was because of her or whether it had been there inside him all along, but that didn’t matter.

What mattered was that he couldn’t lose his child. He couldn’t.

The doctor moved the wand a few times, frowning at the screen, while Nell sat in the bed, her face the colour of ashes.

‘What is it?’ Aristophanes demanded, his voice rough as gravel. ‘Please tell me the baby is fine.’

‘The baby is fine,’ the doctor said calmly, still frowning as she ran the wand back over Nell’s stomach. ‘At least one of them is.’

Aristophanes was conscious first of a flood of relief then, hard on its heels, cold shock. ‘What? What other one?’

‘Oh, there’s the other one.’ The doctor made another pass with the wand then the frown vanished and her face relaxed. ‘It was hiding. But both have got good heartbeats and don’t look like they’re in any distress.’

Nell’s face got even whiter. ‘I’m sorry, but what do you mean by “both”?’

The doctor glanced at her then at Aristophanes and smiled. ‘Oh, you didn’t know? There are two babies in there. Congratulations, you’re having twins.’

For a long moment neither he nor Nell spoke as the words penetrated, the shock still echoing inside him.

‘Twins,’ Nell murmured blankly. ‘We’re having twins.’

‘Yes,’ the doctor said, turning the monitor around so they both could see. ‘Do you want to know the gender?’

Aristophanes stared fixedly at the monitor and the two little pulsing heartbeats on the screen, then he glanced down at Nell, who was still holding his hand in a death grip. Her gaze met his, dark and velvety and full of shock.

Nell nodded mutely at him and he nodded at the doctor. Not that he cared about the gender of his child. Of his child ren . Not when he was still reeling from perhaps nearly losing one baby, unable to even get his head around the concept of two of them.

‘A perfect pair,’ the doctor said. ‘A girl and a boy.’

That was when Nell promptly burst into tears.

A few hours later, feeling drained and not a little shell-shocked, Nell sat once again on the couch in Aristophanes’ New York apartment, wrapped up in a cashmere blanket, staring at the pale carpet and wondering what on earth she was going to do.

The night before, all she’d been able to think about was him. She hadn’t been able to get enough, and the more she had of him, the more she wanted. He’d been ravenous for her too, and she’d decided to allow herself the whole night of not thinking of anything else.

It had been amazing, magical. So when she’d finally woken up and gone to have a shower, she hadn’t been thinking about the baby. Her head had been too full of him and what she was going to do now they’d had their night together.

She’d started to wash herself dreamily and only then had she noticed the blood. That, combined with the lack of sleep and heat of the water, had nearly made her faint. Somehow, dizzy and nauseated, she’d managed to get herself out of the shower and semi-dry, before stumbling down the hallway to the living area to find him.

Only then had she fainted.

He’d caught her though, the strength of his arms surrounding her as he’d carried her over to the couch. For a brief moment she’d felt safe and cared for. But after that...

She didn’t like to think about the tense hour after that, of being rushed to a hospital and then waiting for the doctor to see if her baby was okay. She’d been numb with fear and dread, her only lifeline Aristophanes’ big warm hand around hers.

She hadn’t wanted to lose her baby. She couldn’t bear the thought.

Finding out the baby was fine had made her dizzy with relief.

Finding out that there were two babies instead of one had been a shock. To put it mildly. Because at her first scan there hadn’t been two. Apparently, though, one could remain undetected that early.

She’d felt ridiculous for bursting into tears, but the surprise of twins on top of everything else had been too much for her. Aristophanes’ arms had gone around her once again, and she’d turned her face against his chest, the intellectual part of her wondering why it was that she felt so much better when she was in his arms. Especially when she knew nothing about him. Yet in that moment, she hadn’t been thinking intellectually. She’d been nothing but rubbed-raw emotion as the doctor had said a lot of stuff that had gone over her head and was only now sinking in.

For the health of her babies, she had to rest. Not complete bed rest, but she had to limit her activities. No lifting heavy objects. No standing upright for longer than twenty minutes. No walking longer than twenty minutes. And definitely no sex.

Now here she was, in this stranger’s apartment, expecting not one but two of his babies, and the health of those babies was dependent on a support system at home that she didn’t have.

She didn’t know what to do.

How was she supposed to return to Melbourne? She couldn’t work, that much was certain, and she’d need someone to look after her, and, given that she had no one to do that for her, there was only one solution.

Aristophanes and his demand that she live in one of his residences.

Before he’d made her lose her mind in his office, he’d suggested it, yet she’d been barely able to take it in, too blinded by her need for him. There had been a momentary spark of temper then...well. She hadn’t been able to think more about it.

Now, though, she was staring that demand full in the face.

She liked her job and her flat, and her life in Melbourne. After she’d left her aunt and uncle’s house at eighteen, she’d shifted cities from Perth where she’d grown up, to Melbourne across the country, wanting to get as far away from childhood as she could. She’d been determined to make a new life for herself, in a new city where no one knew her and she wasn’t bound by the limitations her aunt and uncle had put on her.

She’d always wanted to make a difference to people, to help them, and while she hadn’t been smart enough for med school or nursing, or social work, being a preschool teacher had fulfilled the nurturing, protective need in her.

No one had looked after her as a child. No one had cared after her parents had died. The kids she looked after obviously still had parents, but someone needed to watch over them during the day, and she’d be that someone.

She loved the work and didn’t want to give it up. Yet there didn’t seem to be a lot of choice, not if she wanted to put the health of her children first. That was if Aristophanes Katsaros’ offer was still open. She assumed it was, since she was still pregnant, and he’d been very clear the day before about what he wanted. Then again, who knew? He might have changed his mind since sex was off the table.

She lifted her gaze from the carpet to where he stood in the middle of the vast minimalist living area, all pale carpet, pale walls and black leather furniture. He was pacing back and forth, talking on his phone. She wasn’t sure what language he was speaking—it was too fast for her to guess—but it definitely wasn’t English.

He’d told her to sit and rest while he ‘organised’ some things, but she hated sitting still. She also wanted to know what he was organising. She wanted to know what he thought about the fact that they were having twins.

In the hospital, his face had been set in granite lines, his whole body radiating tension. Yet his long fingers around hers had been gentle and firm, holding her with intent. He clearly hadn’t been about to let her go and she’d liked that. His grip had felt like an anchor, holding her steady against a powerful current.

She’d seen fear in his eyes, though, and for some reason it had been comforting that he’d been scared for their baby too. But then had come the revelation of the twins and his eyes had gone dark with shock.

Did he want them? She didn’t know. They hadn’t talked about it. They hadn’t talked about anything, and, despite her spending all of the previous night with him, she still knew nothing about him.

Today he was in another grey suit with a white shirt. His jacket had been thrown carelessly over one of the chairs, his shirtsleeves rolled up, exposing strong tanned forearms. Even now, after everything, her heart beat fast and her mouth dried as she looked at him move with careless, athletic grace.

What was going to happen? Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to like it, she just knew. Perhaps there was another option that didn’t involve throwing herself on his mercy, or upending her life, yet if one existed, she couldn’t think of what it might be.

It was times like these, bad times, that she wished desperately her parents hadn’t died, especially her mother. She wished she could talk to her about her pregnancy, about how she was going to be a mother too, but...that was impossible. She had only her aunt and her aunt hadn’t cared. Her aunt had four other children of her own and she’d never shown much interested in her husband’s brother’s little girl.

For a second Nell closed her eyes, trying to recall her mother’s face, but there was only a faint blur in her memory. It had been too long. All she had left now was the faint scent of her mother’s favourite perfume and the gentle warmth of her hugs.

Nell’s stomach hollowed, her throat feeling thick, but she forced away the rush of emotion. God, she didn’t have the energy to cry again.

In front of her Aristophanes stopped pacing and pocketed his phone. ‘It is arranged,’ he said, striding over to where she sat.

‘What’s arranged?’ she asked.

He came to a stop in front of her, folding his arms over his broad chest, his gaze the colour of steel. ‘You will not be returning to Melbourne. At least not until our children are born.’

A little shock went through her. She hadn’t known what to expect from him, but she hadn’t thought he’d take charge so immediately. There was no denying the authority in his voice though, the tone of a man used to giving commands and having them obeyed.

Deep down she was conscious of something tight and afraid relaxing, but her temper flickered. He hadn’t even asked her what she wanted; he’d simply decided all on his own. ‘Thank you for asking my opinion,’ she said acidly. ‘Always nice to have what I want completely disregarded.’

Storm clouds gathered in his eyes. ‘What you want is irrelevant. You are carrying two children— my children—and the best thing for their welfare and therefore yours is to be properly cared for by me.’

Her temper, already frayed by the day’s emotions, flickered higher. She was tired. So very tired. ‘They’re also my children,’ she snapped. ‘And since when did their welfare suddenly become of the utmost importance to you?’

‘Since sleeping with you almost lost them,’ he snapped right back.

Her anger leapt, and she half rose from the couch. ‘So this is my—’

But before she could finish, he was suddenly there, reaching for her and gathering her up in his arms like a child. For a moment she lay still against the hot wall of his chest, too surprised to move. Then her anger redoubled, and she twisted. ‘Let me go!’

His grip on her tightened. ‘Keep still,’ he growled, his stormy gaze full of steel. ‘This will not help the babies.’

At that, all her fury abruptly flickered then went out. He was right, of course. Getting angry and arguing wasn’t exactly the rest the doctor had ordered. Her children mattered more than her anger.

She took a breath, willing herself to relax. ‘Fine. But if you don’t want me to argue with you, don’t make me the bad guy.’

He scowled. ‘I am not making you the bad guy.’

‘Yes, you did. You made it sound as though I somehow nearly lost the babies on purpose.’

‘I... I did not mean that.’ His mouth tightened. ‘I just did not like the idea that we put them at risk for something as meaningless as sex.’

This time it was hurt that echoed through her. ‘Meaningless? Is that what you think last night was?’

‘It was pleasurable,’ he said tightly. ‘But hardly the most important thing in the world.’

The splinter of hurt slid deeper inside her. It had been pleasurable, he wasn’t wrong about that, but it had never been meaningless, not to her. He’d made her feel, for the first time in her life, beautiful, desirable, and...special. It had deeply affected her. But clearly it hadn’t been the same for him. Pleasurable, he’d said. Not that important.

Stupidly, her eyes filled with tears, which she hated. She hated, too, that somehow she’d given him the power to hurt her in this way, because what did it matter that it hadn’t been as earth-shattering for him as it had been for her? Did she really care what he thought about it anyway?

Since she’d left her aunt and uncle’s, she’d told herself that she didn’t care about other people’s opinions of her. That she was tired of caring. Tired of wanting more than she’d ever been given. Tired of feeling so insecure all the time.

Yet here she was, expecting twins with this scowling man, and she was hurt that he hadn’t thought that sex with her was as great as she’d thought it was herself.

Stupid of her. She didn’t care what he thought, not one iota.

‘That not-very-important sex created these babies,’ she said coolly, blinking away the tears and leaning her head against his shoulder. ‘But I’m glad it was merely “pleasurable” for you.’

He stared down at her, his eyes narrowing, and it was downright unfair how that scowl made him look even hotter than he already was. ‘You are tired,’ he said abruptly. ‘You were jet-lagged when you arrived, and then I kept you up far too late. You have had so little sleep and today has been full of too many surprises.’ He turned and started in the direction of the hallway, still carrying her as if she weighed nothing at all. ‘You should rest while I prepare everything for our trip tomorrow.’

That he was planning something else he hadn’t told her about somehow didn’t come as a surprise. ‘What trip?’ she asked as he carried her into the hallway.

‘I own an island off the coast of Greece and the villa there is perfect for convalescing. There is also a separate villa where the doctor can stay should any emergencies happen.’

Of course he owned a Greek island. And apparently she was expected to stay there like Napoleon on Elba, except pregnant and without the benefits of being the Emperor of France or of having an army.

She glared up at him. ‘Did you even think to ask me whether I might like to go to Greece or was this just another thing that you decided?’

‘I have some meetings in Athens,’ he said, stalking through into the bedroom. ‘I can make sure you’re safely settled while I’m there.’

‘What if I don’t want to go to Greece? What if I want to stay here?’

The bedroom was huge, his vast bed pushed up against one wall, the sheets tangled from their activities the night before.

‘What you want is irrelevant,’ he said, carrying her over to the bed. ‘The well-being of the babies is all that matters.’

That hurt too. To her aunt and uncle, all she’d been was an extra and very much unwanted child, but to Sarah at the preschool, she was a valued teacher. The children she taught loved her and missed her when she wasn’t there. To them she was important.

So to be treated as if she were nothing more than a human incubator now made her feel like that unwanted child once again. She hated it. She hated, too, that he was right.

‘Fine. But the well-being of the babies also depends on the well-being of the mother,’ she said tartly as he set her down gently on the mattress. ‘And being treated as if I’m nothing more than a vessel for your children does not exactly help my well-being.’

‘You are not just a vessel.’ He glanced down at the small bump of her stomach, then unexpectedly he reached down and touched it, his fingers tracing the curve.

A small arrow of surprise caught at her, because, as well as possession, there was reverence in the touch, and she hadn’t expected that of him.

Then he spoiled it by straightening suddenly, his hand dropping away, storm clouds shifting in his eyes. ‘Do not be difficult, Nell.’

‘I’m not being difficult. You’re the one being rude, hurtful and overbearing, not to mention ordering me around like a small dog.’ She gripped the edge of the mattress. ‘We were supposed to talk about this, remember? That’s why I came here to New York in the first place, to have a conversation about what we’re going to do, not for you to have a conversation with yourself.’

He was silent, clenching and unclenching his hands as if trying to relax them, and she suddenly had the impression that, for all his authority, all his apparent confidence, he was as much at sea about the situation as she was. Except he either didn’t know he was at sea or couldn’t admit it. And that was a surprise. He was a man used to being in charge and making decisions, and he needed to be considering the vastness of his company. He brought that natural authority to sex, too, yet she’d held her own against him there, matching him passion for passion. They’d found a natural equilibrium in bed, each of them the other’s perfect match.

Out of bed, though, it was another story. He was just as stubborn as she was, and what worked with physical passion didn’t work when it was two people trying to negotiate a difficult situation.

She let out a breath. Arguing wasn’t going to help and she didn’t want to fight him anyway. She didn’t have the energy for it. But still, one thing she’d learned dealing with both children and their parents was that sometimes hammering at someone wasn’t the way to go. Especially when it only made them push back even harder.

Sometimes a different approach worked better.

With a conscious effort, she pushed aside her anger. ‘Look, I’m sorry. But all of this has been a terrible shock. I was hoping to talk to you, not spend the night with you. I didn’t even know if you’d welcome the idea of a baby, let alone be a father to it. And then to think I was losing it, then finding out it’s twins...’ She swallowed. ‘It’s a lot to deal with.’

His steely gaze flickered, as if he’d been expecting another attack, not her sudden honesty. ‘Yes,’ he said after a moment. ‘Yes, it is. And I admit that the situation we find ourselves in is...difficult. My schedule is full for the entire month and I do not have a lot of leeway to include you and the babies, which is why I decided on Greece. I can visit you and make sure everything is as it should be.’

Well, at least he’d made a stab at explaining his reasoning, even if it didn’t make much sense to her. Especially his ridiculous schedule. If he was the boss, couldn’t he rearrange a few things?

She released her grip on the mattress. ‘Why is me going home to Melbourne so difficult? Surely if you’re the CEO of your company, you can do whatever you want?’

‘Within reason,’ he said. ‘But I cannot stand wasted time or inefficiency, and Melbourne is out of my way.’

‘Why do you need to visit me at all? You’ve only known you’ll be a father for all of twelve hours. Also, we can’t have sex, so what’s the point of a visit?’

He glowered, as if she’d pointed out something he didn’t like. ‘I didn’t lie when I told you that the welfare of my children became important to me the moment I thought I was losing them. In that examination room, looking at that monitor and seeing two heartbeats, that’s when I decided. And as you’ve already pointed out, the health of the babies is dependent on the health of the mother. That’s why I want to visit. I need to make sure you are well.’

Nell felt that little splinter of hurt work its way even deeper inside her, which was annoying. Why did it matter to her that he visit her for her , not simply because she was the mother of his children? Why did she want more than that? They’d spent two nights together, that was the grand total of their dealings with each other, and, while those two nights had rocked her world on its axis, the reality of the man standing in front of her was very different from the lover who’d made her see actual stars. Perhaps too different.

‘In that case,’ she said tightly, ‘I’d imagine it’ll be a very quick visit.’

‘Yes. It will. Which is another reason for you to be close to where I do business. There’s no point wasting time in idle conversation.’

Nell opened her mouth to tell him he was being an absolute bastard, but abruptly she didn’t have the energy. All she wanted to do now was sleep. ‘Fine,’ she said wearily. ‘I’m sure you have plenty to do. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay.’

He kept on frowning. ‘You don’t seem—’

‘Please, just leave me alone,’ she interrupted, the frayed tether she had on her temper snapping. ‘I need to sleep.’

His mouth worked, as if he meant to say something. But then, clearly changing his mind, he straightened. Gave her a single nod, then turned on his heel and went out.