Natalie Rivers - The Diakos Baby Scandal

He reached out, looped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. He felt a tremor pass through her as she tensed and tried to pull away from him.

‘Lean on me till you get your strength back,’ Theo said, tightening his hold on her. Then he dropped his voice and spoke quietly, for her ears alone. ‘Don’t forget why you are here. You are my fiancée and you will act like it.’

With a deliberate effort Kerry relaxed her body and allowed herself to lean against Theo. She was surprised that apparently he’d picked up on how she was feeling—he’d never shown any sign of noticing her tendency to motion sickness before. But this time it was particularly awful—probably almost anyone would have noticed if she looked even half as bad as she felt.

All she could do was concentrate on drawing calming breaths into her lungs and putting one foot in front of the other. Theo’s arm was around her—a steady anchor and a welcome distraction from the nausea that rolled through her.

However, it didn’t take long before her awareness shifted entirely onto the sensation of his hard body next to her. The stressful journey and the way it had made her feel so rotten slipped away, and she was simply conscious of how closely Theo was holding her.

His body was strong and athletic, and she could feel his muscles moving as they made their way along the rocky path together. They were walking in unison, and she suddenly realised that meant he had matched his stride to hers. For some reason that realisation sent a shiver skittering down her spine. Whether it had been intentional or instinctive, on some level Theo had been attuned to her body and the rhythm of her movements.

‘Feeling better now?’ he asked. His deep, masculine voice passed like a physical vibration right through her, setting her nerve-endings alight and making her even more conscious of his powerful male form beside her.

She turned to look up at him, suddenly convinced that he had known the exact moment her attention had shifted onto the sensual experience of walking with him. Somehow the thought made her feel exposed and vulnerable.

She lifted her head and his eyes caught hers, holding them locked to his dark gaze. He was studying her intently, and all at once she got the feeling that he was probing—trying to read her mind. She didn’t remember him looking at her like that before—as if he thought she was guilty of something.

Then she suddenly realised that she’d never had anything to hide from him before. Was she imagining his scrutiny because she had an enormous secret?

‘The house is just over the brow of the hill,’ he said, lifting his hands to cradle her face gently. ‘Drakon may be old—but his mind is sharp. He’ll be watching us, so never let the pretence that you are my fiancée slip.’

‘I don’t want to lie,’ she said, pulling away from him slightly. She’d enjoyed meeting Drakon the previous year, and, despite his funny old ways, she had liked him. ‘It doesn’t feel right.’

‘Then we’d better make our act convincing, so Drakon won’t ask you any tricky questions,’ Theo said. ‘And, as they say, actions speak louder than words.’

Before she realised his intention, one strong arm had slipped around her back and pulled her hard against him. The other hand lifted to cup her chin and tip her face up to his.

She opened her lips to protest, and at that moment his mouth came down on hers.

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