Page 81 of Modern Romance Collection December 2024 Books 1-4

As she knew it would, his gaze followed those curves, igniting little fires inside her everywhere it went.

‘I will be a father,’ he said roughly. ‘I will be anything you want. As long as you and I sleep together as much as possible. I’ll have to rearrange my schedule, of course, but I can make it work.’

Sleep together as much as possible sounded good, yes—

What are you doing? Did you fully comprehend what he’s asking you to do? You didn’t come here for this. You came for the sake of your baby.

Nell gritted her teeth, attempting to put aside the heat rising inside her, trying to focus yet again on what he’d said. He would be a father. Also, there was something about a schedule...

‘Schedule?’ she asked. ‘What schedule?’

‘The schedule I use to run my life,’ he said. ‘My time is expensive and so I schedule every minute of it. That includes any time I take to spend with lovers. I will add the baby to the schedule and I will definitely be adding time for you.’

A little shock went through her, though she wasn’t sure why. Important people were often very busy, so it made sense to have a schedule. Then again, scheduling lovers? That seemed over the top.

Aristophanes Katsaroswasover the top though. Everything about him screamed intensity. The vivid silver of his eyes. His deep, rough voice. His compelling, electric presence. A genius. A billionaire. Head of a global finance company. Powerful. No part of him was middle-of-the-road.

Andthisman was the father of her baby.

There was such satisfaction to be had about that particular fact. That this man was her child’s father and that she, as mediocre as she was, had attracted his attention.

In a dim corner of her brain, a warning sounded. Because no matter how pleased she was that he wanted her, he was also a stranger to her, despite how many times she’d had sex with him. And now he was demanding that she live in one of his houses. Demanding that she be put in his schedule so they could have sex.

What on earth was she doing even contemplating it? She’d slipped up back in the elevator and made a mistake, giving in to the power of their physical chemistry. It couldn’t happen again, not given how much it clouded her thinking. She had a child to consider now and that baby was more important than anything else in her entire life.

Taking another slow breath, she dug her nails into her palms, the slight pain an antidote to the heat in her blood. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I don’t want you to schedule me for anything. And I don’t want to move into one of your houses either, not when I don’t even know you.’

Instantly his dark brows drew down into a scowl, the silver glitter of his eyes becoming even more intense. ‘That is not acceptable,’ he growled.

‘Which part is not acceptable?’

‘All of it.’

Nell tried to keep a grip on her temper, meeting him stare for stare, because, while she might be only a lowly kindergarten teacher and he a powerful billionaire, she couldn’t let him get under her skin. Not again. He might be used to getting his way, but she wouldn’t let him this time. Stubbornness of the male kind was something she was used to dealing with—in boys, admittedly, not men—but fundamentally they were the same.

She needed to hold her ground, make him understand that he wasn’t in charge of this.

‘I don’t care if it’s acceptable,’ she said evenly. ‘The only thing I require of you is that you be a father to this child. Be part of their life.’

‘So you’ve already said.’

‘I only wanted to make sure you heard. Little boys have painted-on ears.’

His scowl became a glower, his gaze burning like liquid mercury. ‘I am nota little boy, Miss Underwood,’ he said in a voice like gravel. ‘Shall I demonstrate how I differ?’

More heat shot down her spine. Oh, yes, she wanted him to demonstrate. Shebadlywanted him to demonstrate.But again, she couldn’t give in. Sex with him wasn’t what she was here for. Because while it had been amazing, the experience in the elevator had also reminded her of why surrendering to him was a bad idea.

She’d always wanted a husband and partner, a family, a chance to recreate the family she’d lost after her parents had died. She wanted that security again, the feeling of belonging, and she already knew she wasn’t going to get that with Aristophanes Katsaros.

He was rich and powerful beyond her wildest imaginings. He belonged to a world she had no conception of and didn’t want to be a part of anyway. And even aside from all of that, he was also incredibly overbearing and rude. A man like that would suck her in, chew her up, and spit her out, she had no doubt.

She shifted, holding his relentless stare. The glitter of heat still burned there, but there were shadows now as well. The storm clouds of his temper, tarnishing the silver to steel.

‘If you don’t want me to treat you like a little boy, then you’ll have to stop acting like one,’ she said with an attempt at calm. ‘I am not having sex with you again, and I will not be moving out of my flat, and that’s final.’

His eyes darkened further. He was clearly not a man used to being denied. ‘I am very rich, Miss Underwood. You do understand that, don’t you? If you don’t want one of my houses, then I can buy you one. I can buy you a whole town if you prefer.’

‘I don’t want you to buy me anything.’

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