Page 13 of The Heir Affair

He shrugged as if the details were of no interest to him.

‘The marriage is part of an arrangement I made with her father, Prince Andreas, to purchase anchorage in Galicos for Caras Shipping’s new cruise liners.’ The muscle in his jaw began twitching again, his frustration at being forced to explain himself clear. ‘It was a requirement of the Prince, because he did not wish to sell land in the principality to anyone outside the royal family. He suggested that a marriage between us would make him more comfortable about selling me the land.’

She sucked in a breath, the pragmatic answer, and the cold tone, somehow worse than the thought he had cheated on the woman he loved. ‘You’re dating the Princess to secure a land deal?’

The thought sickened her. Whowasthis guy? Really? Of course, she understood people didn’t always marry for love, she wasn’tthatnaïve. But she was still stunned that anyone could be so ruthless.

His gaze sharpened. ‘I am not in a relationship with Princess Freya. I have met her precisely twice. And I have never slept with her.’ His eyes darkened. ‘In fact, I have not slept with anyone since that day. Because you have a hold on me which I cannot break.’

She stiffened, shocked by the revelation. But even more shocked by the desire to romanticise it, when the brittle light in his eyes suggested he saw her effect on him as some kind of curse. She knew how he felt now, because the feelings she’d had for him, the feelings she’d believed had developed over that one bright beautiful day, had all been a lie.

‘If that’s supposed to make me feel better, it doesn’t,’ she said.

She turned, intending to head down to the lower deck and beg his steward for a lift back to the mainland if she had to. But before she could make her getaway, he caught her wrist and tugged her back around to face him.

‘Feelings are not important now. What matters is what is going to happen next. You and this baby are my responsibility, and I will not allow you to—’

‘I don’t care what you’ll allow.’ She jerked her wrist free, forcing the anger with his arrogance to the fore to cover the hurt. ‘I can look after myself without any help from you.’

‘And yet it is clear you cannot…’ He grasped her wrist again.

But then they both startled at the sound of someone clearing their throat, loudly.

She swung round to see a man—as tall and muscular as Alex, with the same piercing blue eyes—standing with his hip propped against the bar, his legs crossed at the ankles and his arms folded over his chest. His stance was casual, his demeanour a lot less intense and moody than Alex’s, but she already knew this had to be his younger brother… She’d read in that same article that Theodoros Caras co-owned the company, but also that he was a devastatingly handsome and charming playboy. She could see that was objectively true—his chiselled features were more finely drawn than his brother’s, but they lacked the brooding intensity that made Alex’s face so compelling.

A feral light glittered in the man’s eyes and a cynical smile twisted his lips.

‘Sorry to interrupt your lovers’ quarrel,’ he said, his English perfect but his accent a mid-Atlantic mix of American and European, unlike his brother’s, which was much more Greek. ‘But you need to keep the noise down.’

The man’s gaze dropped to her stomach, but then to Poppy’s astonishment he laughed.

‘So, it’s true. The Internet is already buzzing with the news Princess Freya’s intended was seen escorting a pregnant waitress off the wharf and taking her to his yacht.’

The chuckle turned wry with amusement as his gaze rose back to Poppy’s burning face.

‘Good to meet you, miss.’ He gave her a mock bow. ‘I’m Theo Caras, Xander’s bad-boy kid brother.’ He dipped his head to indicate her pregnancy, his smile widening as his attention returned to his brother, and those blue eyes became eagle sharp. ‘But if that’s really my brother’s responsibility—as he just broadcast to the crew of this yacht and probably every sharp-eared paparazzi with a telephoto lens gathered on the dock a mile away—it appears I’m not the only bad boy in the family any more.’

CHAPTER FOUR

‘I’m so gladyou find this situation amusing,’ Xander growled, switching into Greek to address his brother so Poppy would not be able to understand their argument. The last thing he needed was for his brother’s sarcasm to make this impossible situation even worse.

He had never felt more frustrated or impotent in his life—the fact that he was also now brutally turned on after that ill-advised kiss was not helping him control his temper.

His marriage to Freya could not go ahead. That much was already obvious. Not only had he never had any real desire to take the woman to his bed, but his private life had just become a great deal more complicated. Factoring in an arranged marriage now would only make the situation worse. He had no desire to lose the port deal that had been ten months in the making, but his child would have to take precedence.

‘Is the baby yours?’ his brother asked, taking the hint and switching into their native tongue as well, while getting straight to the point.

‘Yes,’ he said, because there was no point in denying it. The realisation a part of him wanted Poppy’s baby to be his did not escape him either. A part of him that had a lot to do with the furious wave of desire when he had first seen her rounded belly in the bar, and noticed her full breasts, and wanted to believe he had staked a claim to her in the most elemental way possible.

‘Are you sure about that?’ Theo asked, even as he maintained the relaxed stance—probably for Poppy’s benefit so she would not realise the direction of the conversation.

‘She has no reason to lie,’ he replied sharply, annoyed his brother would accuse Poppy of such a deception, even though he had believed the same thing himself at first. But he hadn’t been able to maintain that delusion for long—her open, honest expression and her refusal to accept his help damning his suspicious nature.

His brother let out a harsh laugh. ‘Yeah, right. You’re a rich man, Xander.’ He spoke in rapid Greek now as his gaze drifted to the woman who was still trying to pull out of Xander’s grip. ‘And she’s a waitress. Plus, you’re about to marry into European royalty. You don’t think that gives her an incentive to pretend you’re the father of her kid? How much has she asked for to keep quiet about your little accident?’

‘She has asked for nothing. She does not want my money…’ Which was the most infuriating thing of all. Before either of them could say more, though, Poppy had struggled loose.

‘Sorry to interrupt,’ she announced in English, not sounding sorry at all. ‘And it’s been nice meeting you, too, Alex’s bad-boy kid brother,’ she continued in the same indignant tone that suggested she had guessed their switch to Greek had been a deliberate attempt to exclude her. ‘But I’m going back to shore now.’