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other woman herself at that moment and felt no regret for the action.

      ‘You, madam, have the filthiest mouth I’ve ever encountered,’ Grandy bit out in disgust to accompany the blow. ‘And if there weren’t a lady present, my granddaughter, I would tell you in your own disgusting language exactly what I think of you!’

      ‘Don’t worry, Patrick,’ Matthew spoke grimly, ‘I’ll do that for you—as I escort Marilyn to the door!’ he added pointedly.

      ‘Well I don’t know why everyone is so angry with me,’ Marilyn looked petulant. ‘You have to admit, this baby is a little—convenient.’

      Shay drew herself up to her full height. ‘My baby isn’t a convenience at all, Marilyn,’ she bit out clearly. ‘Ricky and I desperately wanted this child, had been trying to conceive one for several months, and I don’t aim to see it harmed, not even by your caustic tongue, so I would advise you not to make your slanderous assumptions outside of this house. This baby will be mine, will be born in my home, the home I make for us in England, and I don’t aim to let it be contaminated by the oppressive atmosphere of this so-called family,’ she dismissed disgustedly. ‘Now if you would all excuse me, I should like to go to my suite.’

      LYON WATCHED HER go, deaf to the heated conversation taking place between Matthew, Patrick and Marilyn. It hadn’t occurred to him that Shay could be pregnant with Ricky’s baby, he had put the fainting down to grief, although he realised now it was probably a combination of both things.

      Shay was carrying Ricky’s child. He tried to analyse how that made him feel, and couldn’t. One thing he did know, she couldn’t leave here now. Without paying attention to the heated argument going on in the room, he strode off after Shay.

      ONLY LYON and Derrick had refrained from making any comment about the baby, and as the latter was probably still totally bewildered by the significance of it he didn’t really count. What had Lyon been thinking behind those golden eyes; she never had been able to tell. She had expected the angry outburst to come from him, knew from the lawyer in Los Angeles that Lyon had already had the papers drawn up to buy Ricky’s share in the Falconer empire from her. As one of the family lawyers in England, Marilyn had been sure to know of that contract, had probably helped draw it up! As the other woman had guessed, the existence of her baby prevented Shay from accepting the more than generous offer; she owed it to Ricky to let his child claim, and know, its natural inheritance from him.

      She was ecstatic about the baby, Ricky had been too, but she would be the first to admit that it also placed her in an awkward position, that of having to see Lyon when she would rather never set eyes on him again. Her only consolation was that he knew it too.

      Without benefit of clothes, a soothing bath being run in the adjoining bathroom, she knew her pregnancy was much more noticeable, her reflection in the full-length mirror showing full breasts, the nipples turning a darker brown, the tips highly sensitised as they prepared for the baby, her stomach slightly rounded, a faint fluttering sensation there when she least expected it telling her that her pregnancy definitely wasn’t a fantasy.

      She secured her hair back loosely with a ribbon, relaxing back in the sunken bath, closing her eyes wearily as the scented water began to soothe her. It was all over, she could leave here now, find a reliable lawyer who, for the most part, could deal with Lyon. It was as if a weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders, and she could breathe again, could leave the stifling atmosphere of Falconer House and look forward to her life with her baby.

      She was smiling gently to herself as she reentered the bedroom from taking her bath, her hands halting in their task of tying the belt around her robe as she saw Lyon slowly rising from his sitting position on her bed, quickly finishing the task as she straightened her shoulders challengingly. She was unaware of the forward thrust of her hard-tipped breasts beneath the clinging silk of the black robe with its purple flowered pattern that Ricky had brought back for her from a trip he had made to Japan the previous year.

      ‘What are you doing in here?’ Shay demanded hardly, furious that he had dared to invade her privacy in this way, no matter what he considered the provocation to be.

      He shook his head. ‘When I came in here I had no idea you were taking a bath.’

      She gave him a scornful look. ‘You don’t seem to have left even when you did realise.’

      Lyon shrugged, his mouth twisting. ‘I wanted to talk to you.’

      Her eyes flashed her anger. ‘Do you also doubt the length of my pregnancy?’ Her hands clenched about the tie-belt of her robe.

      ‘Marilyn has the suspicious mind of a lawyer—’

      ‘Marilyn has the mind and mouth of a sewer!’ Shay spat out contemptuously.

      ‘Those too,’ he sighed ruefully. ‘I just—Why didn’t you tell us about the baby, Shay?’ Lyon’s eyes had darkened to a deep tawny colour.

      She shot him a resentful glare, moving to the mirror to release her hair down her back, irritated that the smooth paleness of her face now lacked any make-up, feeling emotionally naked and exposed too. ‘I did intend telling all of you.’ She turned back to Lyon. ‘There just hasn’t been a suitable occasion,’ she dismissed.

      ‘You consider today was a suitable occasion?’ Lyon mocked disbelievingly.

      ‘I consider your wife’s harassment just another of the nightmares I’ve had to endure in this house!’ Shay snapped vehemently. ‘Marilyn certainly excelled herself today!’

      ‘Marilyn is no longer my wife,’ Lyon reminded softly.

      ‘You aren’t divorced yet,’ scorned Shay disbelievingly, sure there would be no divorce between this couple. ‘Whose idea was it for you to separate?’

      ‘Marilyn met Derrick and decided she would like to marry him,’ Lyon revealed stiffly. ‘He’s a lawyer, too.’

      ‘I didn’t think it was your decision.’ Her voice was bitter.

      ‘Shay—’

      ‘What do you want in here, Lyon?’ she asked wearily. ‘It’s been a traumatic day and I’d like to rest for a while now.’

      ‘I wanted to—I need—’ He came towards her blindly, his hands covering hers as they still rested on the tie of her belt. ‘Let me see, Shay,’ Lyon urged gruffly, his eyes pure gold.

      Her shocked gaze clashed with his, paling before the heated colour flooded her gaunt cheeks. ‘No…!’ She groaned her protest, unable to move as his lean hands gently caressed hers.

      ‘Please,’ he encouraged throatily.

      Shay stopped breathing completely as he moved her hands aside, holding them firmly at her sides before slowly releasing them and moving his own hands back to the belt at her waist. She wanted to stop him, her desperation evident in her panicked dark eyes, but she couldn’t seem to move or speak, gasping for air as Lyon pulled the belt apart, smoothing the silk material back on to her shoulders, Shay’s breathing becoming strangulated as the cool air brushed her hot flesh.

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