He shrugged. ‘Nothing. It was all a long time ago.’
‘But to do that to you, and your father...’ She shook her head. ‘It must have been...’
‘It’s water under the bridge.’ Adoni slashed the air with a dismissive gesture. ‘At the time I thought it vital I discover who fathered and abandoned me. But I realised it was a waste of energy. My identity isn’t about my parents. It’s about what I make of my life. Who I’ve become.’
He paused, and Alice saw he was watching her absorb his words. Yet he wasn’t looking for sympathy. The stern set of his lips and the arrogant tilt of his head reminded her he was no longer the bereft teenager he must once have been. This was a powerful man in control of his life and his world.
Until you sashayed in and told him he was going to be a father.
Was that why he’d been so furious? Because this was something he had no control over?
Or was it that the situation cut too close to the bone? Because it required him to overcome his prejudice and trust her.
‘I’m not like your mother, Adoni. I didn’t plan this.’ Surely he realised that? He’d seducedher.
He regarded her without comment and Alice felt a little twist of distress as she realised that, given his history, he couldn’t possibly take her word for that. He couldn’t trust her.
‘I’ll take the paternity test tomorrow.’
He nodded, abruptly. ‘Efharisto. Thank you.’
Adoni took one of her hands in his. His were large and capable. There was a dusting of silky black hair across his olive skin and Alice had sudden, intimate recall of his naked body, the same lovely burnished colour all over. Heat bloomed and she swallowed hard.
‘I may have reacted badly, Alice, but don’t judge me on that.’ Absently he stroked her thumb. ‘Just as I won’t judge you on the fact you got drunk and put the hard word on a total stranger.’
She stiffened, yanking her hand back, but he merely tightened his grip. ‘I didn’t—’
‘Shh. That doesn’t matter.’ This time he stroked his thumb across her palm and she shuddered. To her horror she realised it wasn’t indignation rippling through her, but arousal. ‘What matters is the baby.’
‘Exactly. The baby.’ Alice nodded, her head moving jerkily as if pulled by a string. It was difficult concentrating on his words when her body responded so flagrantly.
Herpregnantbody. Surely sexual arousal should dim with pregnancy, shouldn’t it? She knew so little about this stuff!
Looking into those mesmerising eyes, feeling the evocative tug of his deep voice right at her very core, Alice didn’tfeelpregnant. She felt hot and bothered, tense and aware and...interested.
‘There’s no need to worry, Alice.’ Did he misread her distraction? She was just giving thanks that he’d misconstrued her reaction for nerves when he continued.
‘If the child is mine I’ll be there every step of the way.’ His gaze dropped to her abdomen in a provocative, assessing stare.
Just as before, Alice felt a shudder of elemental response tear through her. It started as embarrassment but that was eclipsed by a jagged gouge of physical arousal and a bone-deep thrill of power.
Because there was something like possessiveness in his unwavering gaze and warm grasp. As if, despite himself, he too approved and wanted. Not just the baby, buther.
Pride, logic and modern morals told her she should require far more from a man thanwant. But in her state of heightened awareness, Alice had never known anything as powerful as the urge to reach out and test the boundaries in the most primitive way possible. To push a little and rediscover the heady sense of oneness she’d discovered with Adoni, the sheer carnal pleasure of melding with his beautiful body.
He leaned closer, his fresh breath soft on her cheeks. ‘If this child is my flesh and blood, myonlyflesh and blood, I’d never abandon it. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep and care for it. To guide and protect it. I’ll be part of its life every day.’
Alice met his unwavering gaze as his words penetrated. Abruptly that swell of arousal faded.
By admitting the baby was his she’d removed the safety net she’d craved—time to consider whether she really wanted Adoni Petrakis and his sophisticated, cynical world to impinge on her baby’s life, and hers.
The dynamic between them had shifted irrevocably.
Adoni had money, prestige and authority. He was her baby’s father and, it was now clear, he had every intention of being a hands-on father.
How far would he go to ensure that?
She knew nothing about the legalities. She told herself firmly that there was no way he could have the baby taken from her so he got sole custody. Was there?
Another tremor racked her, yet this time it wasn’t the heated rush of excitement but the chill cascade of fear.