For Love or Money Bundle (Harlequin Presents) Read online

  ‘Whatever happened to modern?’

  He flashed her a smile. ‘Gone, but just for today. Do you promise?’

  She gave a wan smile in return. ‘Has anyone ever told you that you’re a bully?’

  ‘Frequently,’ he replied calmly. ‘Do I have your promise?’

  ‘All right.’

  What else could she do?

  To her surprise, Sebastien took her hand and escorted her into her mother’s room. As she saw the hunched figure of her grandfather Alesia started to shake and she felt Sebastien’s hand tighten on hers in silent comfort.

  Her mother was lying in the bed, her face white, her eyes fixed on the man who had made her life such a misery.

  ‘I’m astonished that you choose to visit someone whose very existence you have denied,’ Sebastien said icily, his dark eyes hard as granite as he surveyed the man standing in front of him with nothing short of contempt.

  ‘It’s none of your business,’ Dimitrios growled angrily.

  Alesia felt her knees quiver but Sebastien’s gaze didn’t flicker.

  ‘You made it my business when you joined the fortunes of our two families. Let me make something very clear,’ he said silkily. ‘We have this one conversation and then you are no longer welcome near any member of my family. Particularly my wife and her mother.’

  ‘Ah, yes—how is your wife?’ The older man gave Alesia a nasty smile. ‘I set you up, Fiorukis.’

  ‘And for that I will be eternally grateful.’ Sebastien slid a possessive arm around Alesia’s waist. ‘Had it not been for your relentless scheming, I never would have met Alesia.’ He glanced at her briefly and a curious smile touched his firm mouth. ‘And that would have been a pity because she has enriched my life.’

  Alesia stared at him, momentarily transfixed by the look in his eyes, and then came back down to earth with a bump as Dimitrios Philipos gave a harsh laugh.

  ‘If you’re looking at her like that then you obviously haven’t seen further than her body. It’s time to tell you the truth. She can’t give you children. No more Fiorukises.’

  Alesia flinched and then felt herself hauled into the protective circle of Sebastien’s arms.

  ‘My feelings for Alesia have nothing whatsoever to do with her ability to bear children,’ he said, his tone dangerously soft. ‘And if you insult my wife one more time you’ll regret it, Philipos. Unlike you, I know how to protect my own.’

  Alesia held her breath. No one had ever fought in her corner or protected her before. All her life she’d been the one fighting for her mother, she’d been on her own against the world, and then suddenly this man, this man she’d deceived, was standing up for her—

  A lump formed in her throat. She loved him so much and she just hated the fact that he felt obliged to look after her.

  Lacking her sensibilities, Dimitrios Philipos gave a derisive laugh. ‘Face it, Fiorukis, I’ve won. You may have the company back but you must know by now that nothing can save it and you may pretend that you don’t care about children, but we both know the truth about that. You’re Greek. Enough said.’

  Alesia was frozen to the spot in shock. She stared at Sebastien, waiting to see signs that he was intimidated by the man in front of him, but Sebastien merely studied the older man in grim-faced silence and then, when he finally spoke, his voice was scathing. ‘Firstly, the company has been returned to its rightful owner—the Fiorukis family. Your poor business decisions may have virtually brought the company down but my skills will rescue it and rebuild its reputation. As for Alesia—’ he tightened his grip on her waist ‘—she has proved herself to be loyal, strong and loving—the three most important characteristics in a Greek wife.’

  Dimitrios gave a snort. ‘She can’t give you a son and the contract you signed means that you can’t get yourself a new wife.’

  ‘Then it’s fortunate that I have no desire for a new wife,’ Sebastien drawled, his sharp gaze resting on Charlotte’s shocked face for a moment before returning to his enemy. ‘I think the strain of seeing you has exhausted Alesia’s mother. So I want you to leave. Now. It’s over. Finished. You are no longer welcome near my family.’

  Dimitrios’s lip curled. ‘They’re my family too, Fiorukis. If I choose to stay, I stay.’

  ‘I think not. And it’s time to look at some facts.’ Sebastien’s tone was gritty and hard. ‘You lost the right to call them family when you exiled them from Greece and denied their existence. You lost the right to call them family when you failed to offer any provision for them, even though Charlotte’s only crime was loving your son. You lost the right to call them family when you shamefully used Alesia as a tool of your own revenge. They are no longer your family, Philipos, they’re mine.’ His dark eyes gave a dangerous flash. ‘And I always protect what’s mine. Unlike you.’

  Dimitrios looked at him warily. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

  ‘You blamed my family for the explosion on our boat,’ Sebastien delivered softly, ‘but we both know that you—and you alone—arranged that explosion. You were responsible for the death of your own son.’

  There was a hideous silence and Alesia heard her mother give a soft gasp of disbelief and shock.

  Dimitrios glanced at her, a brief flash of panic in his eyes, and then he turned back to Sebastien, his eyes blazing. ‘You think I was trying to kill my own son?’

  ‘No.’ Sebastien’s gaze was hard. ‘I think you were trying to kill my father because he’d been trying to persuade Costas to bury the ridiculous feud between our families once and for all and merge the businesses.’

  ‘It was a ridiculous idea! My son should not have been on that boat!’

  Sebastien inhaled sharply. ‘The explosion was meant for my family but circumstances changed and when they finally boarded the boat your son and his wife were with them. And it was your son who died along with my uncle. And you were responsible. Don’t you think it’s time to end this feud, Philipos?’

  Breathing rapidly, his eyes wild, Dimitrios rushed for the door, but it was blocked by several men.

  ‘The Greek authorities wish to speak to you,’ Sebastien said in a tone of utter disgust. ‘They’re very interested in several events that have taken place, including some of the recent investments you’ve made.’

  Dimitrios paused in the doorway and glared at Sebastien. ‘She’s going to cost you a fortune.’

  At that, Sebastien gave a flicker of a smile. ‘I live in hope. I keep giving her my credit card and she refuses to use it. She is utterly unique. Again, I thank you for the introduction. I’d given up hope of ever finding a woman like her.’

  As Dimitrios was led from the room Alesia sank on to a chair, her legs shaking too badly to support her weight.

  ‘Is it true?’ Charlotte’s voice was a croak. ‘He planted the bomb?’

  Sebastien nodded, closing the door to ensure privacy. ‘We always suspected that he was responsible but there was never any proof.’

  ‘And now?’

  Sebastien shrugged. ‘There is still very little actual proof, but he has been conducting some extremely shady business deals over the past few years. I think his place of abode for the foreseeable future will be behind bars. Perhaps the reason for putting him there no longer matters.’

  Charlotte closed her eyes. ‘He is a truly evil man. I think even Costas saw it. It was the reason he wanted to join your father in the business. He wanted a fresh start. I tried to persuade him not to. I was always afraid of what Dimitrios would do. It seems I was right.’

  ‘You paid a high price,’ Sebastien agreed quietly and Charlotte’s eyes flew open.

  ‘And you paid a high price too. You were forced to marry Alesia in order to return the company to your father.’

  Sebastien gave a lopsided smile. ‘It was no hardship, I can assure you,’ he drawled softly. ‘Your daughter is stunning in every way. Beautiful and brave.’

  Charlotte looked at him for a long moment and then turned to Alesia. ‘This was the job
you mentioned to me? You married for money?’

  ‘There was no other way of getting you the operation,’ Alesia said desperately and Sebastien covered her hand with his own.

  ‘She did totally the right thing,’ he said smoothly, ‘and I would urge that you don’t trouble yourself over our relationship. I love your daughter very much and I’m eternally grateful that she chose to marry me.’

  Alesia shot him a grateful look. Even though she knew he was just protecting her mother from the truth, even though she knew he didn’t really love her—

  ‘And now you must rest.’ Sebastien straightened in a lithe movement and glanced towards the door, where a doctor was hovering. ‘I understand that you have made improvements today. I want you to know that as soon as you are well enough I intend to fly you to my home in Athens. Sunshine can be very restorative and you don’t see enough of it in London.’

  ‘Greece?’ Charlotte gave a tremulous smile. ‘I never thought to see Greece again, even though it was once my home—’

  In a gesture that surprised Alesia, Sebastien stooped to kiss her forehead. ‘And, rest assured, it will be your home again.’

  Back in the hotel, Alesia collapsed on the white sofa feeling utterly drained. Her head swam and she felt totally washed out. ‘Thank you,’ she said hoarsely. ‘For all the things you said to her, thank you. And for standing up to my grandfather. I suspect you’re the only person to ever do that.’

  ‘We are well rid of him,’ Sebastien said, dark eyes surveying her with visible concern. ‘You look on the point of collapse. I should not have taken you with me. It was too much for you.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ Alesia muttered, rubbing fingers across her forehead. ‘Just tired, I suppose.’

  Sebastien gave a brief nod. ‘Eat something,’ he ordered roughly, ‘and then you can sleep.’

  He reached for the phone to order room service just as Alesia stood up to use the bathroom.

  Immediately she felt blackness descend on her and slid to the floor in a heap.

  She awoke to find Sebastien on his knees beside her, his powerful frame simmering with pulsing tension, his jaw clenched hard as he held her hand and tried to revive her.

  As her eyes flickered open he released a juddering breath. ‘When are you going to stop doing this to me? I never knew the meaning of the word fear until I met you.’

  She closed her eyes again, wishing that the feeling of sickness would pass. ‘Sorry,’ she mumbled weakly. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me—’

  ‘I do,’ Sebastien contradicted her in a grim tone. ‘You have been under severe strain. Starting with the wedding, then worry about your mother, followed by a traumatic experience in my pool and then the stress of having the truth discovered. Then meeting your grandfather again.’

  Alesia squeezed her eyes tightly shut, unable to look at him. ‘Don’t remind me. My grandfather tried to kill your family. You saved my life and my mother’s life and I repay you by forcing you to marry me, even though I can’t give you the children I know you want. I feel so guilty.’ She covered her face with her hands and gave a soft groan, just tortured by the enormity of everything that had happened. ‘Do other people have lives as complex as mine?’

  ‘Possibly not,’ he drawled, a hint of humour in his dark tone. ‘But I’m sure their lives would be very boring by comparison.’

  She shook her head, utterly swamped by guilt and unable to raise a laugh. Her hands dropped to her sides and she forced herself to look at him. ‘I never intended to marry anyone, you know. I decided that it wouldn’t be fair.’

  Sebastien inhaled sharply. ‘Presumably that’s why you were still a virgin on our wedding night?’

  Alesia nodded. ‘I never let men get close. I didn’t want to risk becoming attached to any of them.’

  ‘But marrying me was easy because you hated me so much,’ Sebastien said wryly. ‘You blamed me for everything.’

  ‘It was the wrong thing to do,’ she groaned in mortified tones. ‘I see that now. But I was desperate for the money and I couldn’t see any other way of getting it. And I didn’t have all the facts—’ The room started to swim again and she lay back against the cushions of the sofa, her face ashen.

  ‘Neither of us had all the facts, agape mou,’ Sebastien said quietly, his eyes clouded with worry as he looked at her, ‘but now we do. Stop worrying. You’re making yourself ill. The doctor will be here in a minute.’

  ‘It’s probably nothing,’ Alesia mumbled, placing a hand on her churning stomach. ‘I just picked up a bug when I swallowed all that water.’

  ‘Well, whatever it is I want it sorted out,’ Sebastien growled and Alesia almost smiled at that. The doctor had better have an instant diagnosis to hand; otherwise he was going to experience Sebastien’s legendary lack of tolerance.

  There was a knock on the door and one of the Fiorukis security team entered with a tall man who Alesia assumed to be the doctor. Under Sebastien’s eagle eye he asked her all sorts of detailed questions, some of them more than a little embarrassing, but Sebastien didn’t flicker an eyelid, his expression grim and expectant as he watched the doctor.

  Finally the other man straightened and closed his bag. ‘How long have you been married?’

  ‘Six weeks.’

  ‘Then I think congratulations are in order,’ he said lightly. ‘You’re going to have a baby.’

  There was a hideous silence and finally Alesia found her voice. ‘But that isn’t possible,’ she croaked and the doctor gave a wry smile.

  ‘After what you’ve told me about your medical history I can understand why you’d think that, but I can absolutely assure you that you are pregnant, Mrs Fiorukis.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘I’ve been a doctor for thirty years,’ the doctor said calmly, ‘and, although every doctor is occasionally in doubt about a diagnosis, this time I’m completely sure. The sickness you’ve been experiencing is a normal part of pregnancy. It should pass in a few weeks’ time, as will the tiredness. Hopefully then you’ll be able to enjoy the experience.’

  Alesia didn’t dare breathe. She was pregnant?

  Sebastien raked long fingers through his dark hair, a stunned expression in his eyes. ‘But how could the other doctors have got it so wrong?’

  The doctor shrugged and walked towards the door. ‘There is much that we understand about fertility and conception but equally there is much that we don’t understand,’ he admitted. ‘Why else do desperate couples adopt, only to produce a child naturally? I have seen men with virtually no sperm count succeed in fathering a child. Although we doctors like to pretend that we have all the answers, the truth is that nature can sometimes produce miracles. You’ve just experienced that miracle, Mr Fiorukis. Be grateful.’

  Sebastien closed the door behind the doctor and walked back to Alesia, who was still lying on the sofa.

  ‘I’m afraid to move,’ she whispered and he gave a wry smile of understanding.

  ‘I don’t think it will fall out,’ he said huskily, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her into the bedroom.

  ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘Getting you the rest you badly need.’

  She closed her eyes. There was still so much that needed to be said. ‘Do you realize what this means?’

  He tensed slightly as he lowered her gently into the middle of the bed. ‘What does this mean?’

  ‘We are now allowed to divorce.’

  He stilled and then he stretched out a lean bronzed hand to flick off the light. ‘Go to sleep,’ he said, strain thickening his deep drawl, ‘and we’ll talk in the morning.’

  Alesia closed her eyes to hold back the tears that threatened to give her away. She was pregnant. She was having a baby. She ought to be filled with joy.

  So why did her life suddenly seem so empty?

  When Alesia awoke it was daylight and Sebastien was sprawled in a chair in the corner of the room, watching her through veiled eyes.

  ‘Sebastien?’
She struggled upright. ‘What are you doing there?’

  ‘I didn’t trust you not to do one of your disappearing acts,’ he said gruffly, running a hand over his roughened jaw, ‘and you’re not going anywhere until we’ve had a conversation. Stay there and don’t move.’

  He left the room and returned moments later carrying a plate of biscuits and a drink.

  She sat up and looked at him quizzically. ‘What’s this?’

  ‘The doctor suggested that dry biscuits before you move in the morning might help the sickness,’ he said, the strain of the past few days visible in his face. He waited while she nibbled the biscuit. ‘Is that better?’

  She chewed and then nodded. ‘Yes, actually, it is.’

  ‘Good.’ He inhaled deeply and then sat on the edge of the bed. ‘Because we need to talk and I don’t want you finding excuses to leave the room. And before you speak another word, there is one thing you should know. I am willing to agree to almost anything you ask, but I will not give you a divorce. So don’t ever ask me again.’

  Alesia put the half-eaten biscuit back on the plate. ‘You’re not responsible for what happened, Sebastien. I know that now. It was all my grandfather’s fault. I wonder if that is part of the reason he couldn’t bear to have my mother and me in his life? Perhaps it intensified his guilt, reminding him of what he’d done.’

  ‘You assume that he is capable of guilt and remorse,’ Sebastien muttered, ‘but frankly I’m not so sure. And the reason I don’t want you to leave has nothing to do with my own feelings of responsibility and everything to do with the way I feel about you.’

  Alesia gave a wobbly smile. He was Greek to the very backbone. He’d fathered a child and his traditional macho instincts wouldn’t allow him to let her go, even though he didn’t love her.

  ‘This is just because you know I’m pregnant—’