The Tycoon's Pregnant Mistress (The Anetakis Tycoons #1)(8)

He stopped and held out his hand to her. “Come, Marley. We’re home.”

She slid her fingers into his as he pulled her forward into the lavish foyer. To her surprise, a woman met them as they started for the large living room. Marley faltered as the tall blond young woman put a hand on Chrysander’s arm and smiled.

“Welcome home, Mr. Anetakis. I’ve laid out all contracts requiring your signature on your desk as well as ordered your phone messages by priority. I also took the liberty of having dinner delivered.” She swept an assessing look over Marley, one that had Marley feeling obscure and insignificant. “I didn’t imagine you’d be up for going out after a trying few days.”

Marley frowned as she realized the woman was implying that Chrysander had been through the ordeal and not Marley.

“Thank you, Roslyn,” Chrysander said. “You shouldn’t have gone to the trouble.” He turned to Marley and pulled her closer to him. “Marley, this is Roslyn Chambers, my personal assistant.”

Marley gave a faltering smile.

“Delighted to see you again, Miss Jameson,” Roslyn said sweetly. “It’s been ages since I last saw you. Months, I believe.”

“Roslyn,” Chrysander said in a warning voice. Her smile never slipped as she looked innocently at Chrysander.

Marley glanced warily between them, her confusion mounting. The ease with which the woman moved around the apartment that Chrysander called home to both of them was clear, and yet Roslyn hadn’t seen Marley in months? The proprietary way his assistant looked at him was the only thing currently clear to Marley.

“I’ll leave you two,” Roslyn said with a gracious smile. “I’m sure you have a lot of catching up to do.” She turned to Chrysander and put a delicate hand on his arm once more. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll come straight over.”

“Thank you,” Chrysander murmured.

The tall blonde clicked across the polished Italian marble in her elegant heels and entered the lift. She smiled at Chrysander as the doors closed.

Marley licked her suddenly dry lips and looked away. Chrysander was stiff at her side as though he expected Marley to react in some way. She wasn’t stupid enough to do so now. Not when he was so on guard. Later, she would ask him the million questions whirling around her tired mind.

“Come, you should be in bed,” Chrysander said as he curled an arm around her.

“I’ve had quite enough of bed,” she said firmly.

“Then you should at least get comfortable on the sofa. I’ll bring you a tray so you can eat.”

Eat. Rest. Eat some more. Those dictates seemed to compose Chrysander’s sole aim when it came to her. She sighed and allowed him to lead her into the living area. He settled her on the soft leather couch and retrieved a blanket to cover her with.

There was a stiffness about him that puzzled her, but then she supposed if the roles were reversed and he’d forgotten her, she wouldn’t be very sure of herself, either. He left the room, and several minutes later returned with a tray that he set before her on the coffee table. Steam rose from the bowl of soup, but she wasn’t tempted by the offering. She was too unsettled.

He sat in a chair diagonally to her, but after a few moments, he rose and paced the room like a restless predator. His fingers tugged at his tie as he loosened it and then unbuttoned the cuffs of his silk shirt.

“Your assistant…Roslyn…said she left work for you?”

He turned to face her, his eyebrows wrinkling as he frowned. “Work can wait.”

She sighed. “Do you plan to watch me nap then? I’ll be fine, Chrysander. You can’t hover over me every moment of the day. If there are things that require your attention, then by all means see to them.”

Indecision flickered across his handsome face. “I do have things to do before we leave New York.”

A surge of panic hit her unaware. She swallowed and worked to keep her expression bland. “We’ll be leaving soon then?”

He nodded. “I thought to give you a few days to rest and more fully recover before we go. I’ve arranged for my jet to fly us to Greece, and then we’ll take a helicopter out to the island. My staff is preparing for our arrival as we speak.”

She stared uneasily at him. “Just how wealthy are you?”

He looked surprised by the question. “My family owns a chain of hotels.”

The Anetakis name floated in her memory, what little of it there was. Images of the opulent hotel in the heart of the city came to mind. Celebrities, royalty, some of the world’s wealthiest people stayed at Imperial Park. But he couldn’t be that Anetakis, could he?

She paled and clenched her fingers to control the shaking. They were only the richest hotel family in the world. “How…how on earth did you and I…” She couldn’t even bring herself to complete the thought. Then she frowned. Had she come from such a family?

Fatigue swamped her, and she dug her fingers into her temples as she fought the tiredness. Chrysander was beside her in an instant. He picked her up as though she weighed nothing and carried her into the bedroom. He carefully laid her on the bed, his eyes bright with concern. “Rest now, pedhaki mou.”

She nodded and curled into the comfortable bed, her eyes already closing with exhaustion. Thinking hurt. Trying to remember sapped every ounce of her strength.