The Tycoon's Pregnant Mistress (The Anetakis Tycoons #1)(32)

In her shock, she loosened her grip and the door slammed shut, leaving her kneeling and shaking against the cold wood. No! She needed to know. She had to know. Who was she and what had happened to her?

“Marley. Marley!” Chrysander’s urgent tones intruded on her dream. “You must wake up, pedhaki mou. It’s just a dream. You’re safe. You’re here with me.”

She opened her eyes to see Chrysander over her, his eyes bright with concern. He’d turned the lamp on beside the bed, and for that she was grateful. She felt suffocated by the darkness of her dream.

She felt wetness on her cheeks and realized she’d been crying in her sleep. Her heart still raced with panic, and she couldn’t dispel the awful feeling of foreboding that had gripped her.

She tried to speak, to tell Chrysander she was all right, but a cry wrenched from her throat. He gathered her tightly in his arms and held her close as her body shook with sobs.

“You’re going to make yourself ill, Marley. You must stop.”

For a long time she gripped his arms, not wanting him to pull away from her. When she finally managed to regain control of herself, he gently eased her back onto the pillows.

“What has frightened you so badly, agape mou?”

The images from her dream came roaring back, but she was hard-pressed to make sense of them. Thankfully, the awful panic had receded so that she could breathe normally again.

“I was at a door,” she said, her speech faltering. “And I knew that on the other side of the door were my memories. But I couldn’t open it no matter how hard I tried. Finally, I managed to crack it but then…”

“Then what?” he asked gently.

“Fear,” she whispered. “So much fear. I was afraid. I let go of the door, and it slammed shut.”

He lay back down beside her and curled his arms around her. “It was just a dream, pedhaki mou. Just a dream. It can’t hurt you. You fear the unknown. This is natural.”

She slowly began to relax against him. He stroked her back, his palm gliding up and down her spine.

“Are you all right now? Do you want me to call for Dr. Karounis?”

She shook her head against his chest. “No. I’m fine. Really. I feel so silly now.”

“You’re not silly. Try and go back to sleep. I fear I kept you awake far too long tonight.”

His voice had deepened to a husky timbre, and her body tightened all over as she remembered the ways he’d kept her up.

With a yawn, she burrowed as tightly as she could against his hard body and let herself fall into what was this time a dreamless sleep.

Chrysander rose at dawn the next morning. He hadn’t slept since Marley had awakened with her nightmare. After he’d soothed her, and she had fallen into a more peaceful rest, he’d lain awake, staring at the ceiling as he realized the impossibility of their situation.Careful not to wake Marley, he showered and dressed. After checking to make sure she hadn’t been disturbed, he went quietly down the stairs. He bypassed his office, though it was his custom to begin the day with business matters.

This morning something drove him to the beach where Marley so often visited. The air was chilly blowing off the water, but he took no notice as he stood watching the waves break and slide into shore.

Marley’s past, their past, threatened her in sleep. Her memories waged war at her most unguarded moments, and what would he do when it all came back?

The terrible conflict that ate at him was wearing him down. He should be angry, and at times he was. But it was also easy to forget. Here on the island, safeguarded from the rest of the world, it was easy to pretend that it was just him and Marley and their unborn child. No past betrayals, no lies, no deceit.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and bowed his head in resignation. Never before in his business or personal life had he felt so out of control, so indecisive. Could he forgive her for trying to destroy him and his brothers? That was the million-dollar question, because if he couldn’t, they had no future. When she remembered, things would irrevocably change, and he could either hold on to the acid taste of betrayal, or he could forge ahead and offer his forgiveness.

Theos mou, but he didn’t have the answer. He didn’t know if he had it in him to be so generous. He wanted her, no question. He was drawn to her, even knowing her sins. She was pregnant with his son, but could he honestly say that if she weren’t pregnant, he could so easily cast her aside?

Small arms circled his waist, and a warm body burrowed against his back. He looked down to see Marley’s hands clasped around his middle, and he brought his up to cover hers automatically.

She hugged him tightly, and he could feel her cheek pressed against his spine. She felt…right.

Slowly he eased her hands away so that he could turn in her arms. She looked up at him with warm and welcoming eyes before she dove into his arms and nuzzled against his chest.

“Good morning,” he said, unable to prevent the surge of desire from racing through his body.

“I stopped by your office but didn’t find you. I was worried,” she said as she pulled away.

He cocked his head. “Worried?”

“You’re never not in your office,” she said lightly. “And then I couldn’t find you anywhere in the house. I thought…I thought you might have left.”

He ran his hands up to her shoulders and squeezed reassuringly. “I wouldn’t leave without telling you, pedhaki mou.” Was he so distant, so caught up in his efforts to avoid her that this was what she thought of him? If she did think so, he could hardly blame her. Between Mrs. Cahill and Dr. Karounis, he’d erected a veritable arsenal of people to put between them.