LITMIR.BIZ

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every nerve ending in her body.

      He was going to want an answer to his proposal, and she didn’t know what that answer was. She had spent the last few hours trying to recover her equilibrium, trying to tell herself that she didn’t need to rush this decision, that he would just have to wait. But he didn’t look like a man who was prepared to wait.

      There was something so determined about his every step, his every look, that she could feel those calm, rational thoughts starting to dissolve.

      ‘Good evening, Katie; you’re late!’ Alexi’s tone was cool. Yet his eyes seemed to burn into hers as she looked up at him.

      ‘Am I?’ She shrugged. ‘I was reading a few notes from the meeting this morning, I must have lost track of time.’ It was a blatant lie; she had stared at her notes and tried to read them, but all she had been able to think about was Alexi’s proposal.

      ‘Were you, indeed?’ Alexi felt a flicker of impatience. He had always liked the fact that she was as obsessed about work as he was—it had suited him. But it didn’t suit him now.

      He noticed she wore little make-up, just a sprinkling of gold along the dark line of her lashes, and a hint of red gloss on her lips. She looked young and freshly innocent.

      ‘Well, I guess you were worth waiting for,’ he added huskily. ‘You look lovely.’

      ‘Thank you.’ She couldn’t quite control her blush, and he smiled.

      He found the contrasts of her character fascinating—one moment she was the strong, confident businesswoman, and the next she was his innocent mistress again, the woman who had pleased him so well in the bedroom, who had responded to him with such sweet hesitancy, as if almost afraid by the turbulence of their passion.

      How had he allowed her to slip away from him these last few weeks? He was angry with himself for letting that happen. One thing was sure—it wouldn’t happen again! ‘So, have you thought about my offer, Katie?’

      The abruptness of the question was intensely disquieting. ‘Are we talking about work now or your marriage proposal?’ she grated sarcastically.

      ‘You know very well what I’m talking about.’

      ‘Yes, unfortunately I do. But what I can’t understand is how can you treat the subject of marriage as if it were a mere business proposition.’ She asked the question with raw emphasis.

      ‘Actually, like it or not, marriage is a business proposition,’ he told her bluntly. ‘It is a legal partnership.’

      ‘You sound like a lawyer,’ she murmured. ‘But then, you did train and qualify as a lawyer, didn’t you?’ she reflected suddenly. ‘I remember you telling me that now.’

      ‘What has that got to do with anything?’ he demanded with irritation.

      ‘A great deal, believe me.’ She flicked her chin up proudly. ‘Because I don’t want to be trapped in a cold, businesslike marriage, Alexi!’

      He laughed at that. ‘Katie, honey, who are you kidding? The heat between us is like a furnace.’

      As his eyes drifted down over her, the truth of that remark was all too obvious; she felt herself tremble inside as she recalled just how deeply he could satisfy her.

      How did you fight your feelings for someone who could look at you and turn you into a quivering mass of longing? she wondered hazily.

      Well, she was damned if she was going to be a pushover, she told herself firmly. She had her pride, and marriage to a man who didn’t love her would take some swallowing. She wasn’t sure she could go through with it … even for the sake of her child.

      But what were the alternatives? Facing Alexi in a courtroom for a custody battle? The very thought made her nerves twist anxiously. Not only could he buy and sell her for breakfast, he knew the law inside out—he would annihilate her!

      ‘Alexi, did you mean it when you said you would fight me for custody?’ She flicked him an uncertain look.

      ‘I never say anything I don’t mean,’ he answered her steadily. ‘But I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to hurt you.’

      ‘Then don’t!’ Her voice broke slightly.

      ‘Then don’t make me!’ he countered her plea, his eyes unyielding. ‘This is about more than just you, Katie,’ he reminded her. ‘This is about a child—the heir to the Demetri fortune, no less!’

      ‘That’s all that matters to you, isn’t it? That you have “control” of your precious son and heir.’

      ‘Is that such a bad thing?’ He shrugged. ‘Anyway, the word “control” sounds harsh. What I want is to be a good father.’

      ‘And just have control of me?’

      He smiled at that. ‘Katie, I want control of you in a completely different way.’

      His eyes slipped down over her curves and the air seemed to sizzle between them.

      She knew exactly what he meant by that, and she remembered all too well how good it had felt to have him plundering her mouth, controlling her body …

      ‘We are good together, Katie,’ he told her softly. ‘And do you really want our child to grow up meeting the different partners who just pass through our lives and yet ultimately affect his?’

      Instinctively she put a protective hand down over her stomach as the words echoed through her consciousness. That was the very last thing she wanted. That was the situation that haunted her worst nightmares. For a moment she remembered some of her mother’s men friends who had visited for a few weeks and then left. She remembered one in particular who had taken a dislike to her.

      ‘Katie?’ Alexi frowned as he saw how she paled suddenly.

      ‘You’re right. I don’t want that situation.’ She whispered the words unevenly.

      ‘So let me take care of you both, hmm?’ He reached out and tipped her chin up so that she was forced to meet his gaze.

      The gentleness of that request simmered through her. She noticed how the suit he wore accentuated his powerful physique, how the white shirt brought out his Mediterranean skin tones, how dark his hair looked against the evening sky. He was so familiar to her. She knew him. She knew he meant it when he said he would care for her and for their child …

      ‘I can give you everything you could ever wish for, Katie,’ he said softly.

      Except love, and she wanted that from him so desperately. The knowledge filtered through her uncomfortably.

      Why? Why did that matter so much to her? Surely the most important thing was that their child would have a happy and secure upbringing?

      Because she loved him. For a moment the truth was illuminated inside her as if a spotlight had been switched on inside her soul. That was why she had been so frightened of getting too close to him. That was why she was still running scared!

      Every man she had ever known in her life had hurt her. And Alexi was capable of doing the most damage of all. Not physically—but emotionally. And the scars he could inflict would go much deeper than anything else.

      Unrequited love was a difficult emotion to solve—Katie had tried to end the pain by severing the connections, but that hadn’t worked. And now she was in even deeper. How could she sever the connections with the father of her child?

      Even if she said no to his marriage proposal he would always be in the background of her life.

      ‘I need your answer now, Katie—what is it to be?’

      She pulled away from the touch of his hand.

      He sounded so supremely confident. She hated that about him … yet loved that about him.

      If she said no, would she regret it for the rest of her life? She had a sudden

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