The Mistress: The Mistress\Wanted: Mistress and Mother (5 page)

She touched the keypad, and the monitor lit up. At least she
wasn’t a useless vegetable and had retained knowledge of the basics. As
frustrating as her memory loss was, she was relieved to know it was confined to
her personal history and not to the world around her.

She shook her head, plagued by the sheer absurdity of it
all.

For the first half hour, she did countless searches on memory
loss, but wading through the mass of conflicting opinions only gave her a vile
headache. So she turned her attention to looking up information on
Chrysander.

It was a bit frightening to see just how powerful and wealthy
Chrysander was. He and his two brothers were a formidable presence in the hotel
industry. There wasn’t much personal information, though, and that was what she
craved.

She sat back, irritated with her cowardice. What she needed was
to ask Chrysander for the information she wanted. For goodness’ sake, he was her
fiancé, her
lover.
They’d created a child together,
and he’d asked her to marry him. If only she could remember those events, she
would feel more sure of herself.

“What are you doing?”

Chrysander’s whiplike voice lashed over her, and she jerked in
surprise and fright. She stared up to see him standing in the doorway, anger and
suspicion glittering in his eyes. His mouth was drawn into a tight line. He
strode toward her before she could even formulate a response.

“Chrysander, you scared me.” Her hand went to her chest to try
and calm the erratic jumping of her pulse.

“I asked you what you were doing,” he said coldly as he walked
around the desk to stand beside her.

Hurt and confusion settled over her. “I was just surfing the
Internet. I didn’t think you’d object to me using your laptop.”

“I prefer if you leave the things in my office alone,” he said
curtly, even as he reached out and closed the computer.

She slid out of the chair and stood staring at him in shock.
Tears burned the corners of her eyes. He looked at her with such...loathing. A
shiver took over her body, and she desired nothing more than to be as far away
from him as possible.

“I’m sorry,” she managed to choke out. “I was just trying to
discover something about me...you...this horrid memory loss. I won’t bother you
or your things again.”

She turned and fled the room before she embarrassed herself and
broke into sobs.

Chrysander watched her go and cursed under his breath. He
dragged a hand through his hair before he sat down and reopened the laptop. A
quick check of the browsing history showed she’d done nothing more than research
memory loss and a few articles about his company. Another check of his files
indicated none of his business documents had been accessed.

He cursed again. He’d reacted badly, but seeing her using his
computer had immediately put him on guard. In that moment, he’d wondered if her
memory loss was all a ruse and she was plotting again to betray him.

He propped his elbows on the desk and held his head in his
hands. His meeting with the detective in charge of the investigation into
Marley’s abduction had been an exercise in frustration. They had little to no
information to go on, and the one person who could supply it couldn’t
remember.

Marley hadn’t been rescued as the news had led viewers to
believe; rather, she’d been abandoned by her kidnappers, and an anonymous caller
had alerted police to her presence in the rundown apartment building. When
they’d arrived, they’d found a frightened pregnant woman obviously in shock.
When she’d awoken in the hospital, she’d remembered nothing. Her life, in
essence, began on that day.

So many questions, so much unknown.

What had been made clear to him, though, was that he couldn’t
take chances with her safety. Whatever threat there was to her was still out
there, and he’d be damned if he let anyone get close enough to hurt Marley or
his child again. He’d expected the authorities to balk when he said he was
taking Marley out of the country, not that he cared, because her well-being was
his top priority and he would do whatever it took to ensure it.

Instead, they’d agreed that it was the best choice and advised
him to step up his security. They wanted to be notified the moment her memory
returned, so they could question her. Chrysander supplied them with his contact
information and told them he would be leaving with her the next day.

There was much to do to prepare for their departure. He’d
already alerted his security team both here and on the island. Preparations were
under way, but he still had many phone calls to make. Yet the sight of Marley’s
tears and the hurt in her voice gave him pause. He should shove it aside and
continue with his plans. Her safety was important. Whether she was upset was
not.

Even as he thought it, he was on his feet and going after
her.

* * *

Marley stood in the closet of the bedroom Chrysander had
given her, staring blindly at the row of clothing hanging in front of her. She
wiped the tears with the back of her hand and concentrated on what to wear.

She rummaged through the many outfits, but none of them felt
like her. With an unhappy frown she turned to the row of shelves that lined the
right side of her closet and saw a stack of faded jeans next to several neatly
folded T-shirts.

She reached for the jeans, knowing that this was what she felt
comfortable in. But when she unfolded the first pair, she saw that they weren’t
maternity pants. A quick search of the rest yielded the same results.

She turned back around and flipped through outfit after outfit
on the hangers and saw that they, too, were not suitable clothing for a woman in
the more advanced stages of pregnancy. Why did she have nothing to wear? She
glanced down at the bulge of her stomach. While she wasn’t huge, the waistlines
of the clothing in her closet were too confining for a woman five months
along.

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.