Page 84 of Modern Romance Collection December 2024 Books 1-4

Yes, logically the child should be accessible to him and he had to be close, or at least within easy reach should anything happen with Nell. A child cared for by only one parent was a child at risk; some people, for one reason or another, couldn’t deal with the pressures of parenthood after all. His mother being a prime example.

There had been times in his life when he’d tried to understand why she’d left him the way she had, but that had been the one puzzle he’d never managed to solve. There had been no signs that he could remember, no hint that she’d suddenly found being a mother to him impossible. He’d loved her and he’d thought she’d loved him.

Not that it mattered now, since he’d put his fury at her away years ago. He only wanted to be sure that the same thing wouldn’t happen to his child, which meant he’d need Nell to be situated closer to him. She wouldn’t like it—she’d mentioned her job and her friends—but he wouldn’t be moved on this particular point. Europe, Japan, and the States were his main bases of operations, and as such he couldn’t base himself in the southern hemisphere.

After preparing himself a small cup of the thick black espresso he preferred, he took it out into the living area, the huge floor-to-ceiling windows giving a fine view over the large green rectangle of Central Park far below.

Aristophanes sipped his coffee, still thinking.

He could be ruthless when he chose—he hadn’t got to where he was today by being kind or gentle—but he could offer Nell some incentives. Obviously, money wasn’t going to work, since she’d told him she didn’t want it, but he had plenty of other ways to leverage her agreement.

Sex, for example. One night had taken the edge off his hunger, but only slightly. He couldn’t stand the thought of her going back to Melbourne right now. He wanted to keep her here, in his bed for the next few days, and, considering how passionate and wanton she’d proved herself to be, he thought she wouldn’t refuse him.

She wanted him every bit as badly as he wanted her, and he was prepared to use their chemistry to get her to do what he wanted. Also, he could find her a job if that was what she needed, and as for her friends... He’d give her his private jet so she could fly them out from Melbourne whenever she liked.

She’d find that acceptable, wouldn’t she?

He sipped again at his coffee, staring out through the glass, satisfaction gathering inside him. Telling his secretaries to amend his schedule to include Nell was his first order of business. In fact, he was even considering moving his morning meeting from eight to eleven, to give himself a few more hours with her.

Conversation wasn’t his strongest suit, but business negotiations were. It wouldn’t be difficult to change her mind about living in one of his residences. Certainly nothing a few good orgasms couldn’t fix.

Speaking of which...

Inevitable physical desire began to rise again, so he downed the rest of his coffee, put it down on a side table, and turned from the windows. He was halfway across the room to the hallway that led to the bedroom when Nell suddenly appeared.

She was wrapped in one of his sheets, her hair a glorious auburn veil around her shoulders, and he opened his mouth to tell her to get rid of the sheet, then stopped.

Her face was very pale, almost as white as the cotton wrapped around her lovely body. ‘I... I...’ she murmured, took a step towards him, then staggered.

A fist closed around his heart, and he was moving before he’d even thought the action through, striding over to her and sliding an arm around her waist just as her knees went out from under her. She fell against him and he caught her, holding her fast.

‘Nell,’ he said urgently. ‘What happened? What’s wrong?’

Her pale face turned against his chest, her dark eyes suddenly full of fear. ‘I’m...bleeding...’

The fist around his heart squeezed tighter. The baby...

Dimly he was aware of an unfamiliar feeling, something akin to fear, but he pushed it ruthlessly aside, sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her over to the sectional sofa near the windows. He laid her gently on it as adrenaline flooded his body, the way it had the night she’d fallen over on the pavement, but this time it was even more intense. He wanted to keep hold of her, use his body as a shield against anything that would hurt her or the baby.

Hisbaby.

‘Hush,’ he murmured. ‘And lie still. I’ll get help.’ As he reached into the pocket of his trousers to get his phone, Nell’s fingers closed around his wrist and held on tight.

‘I don’t want to lose the baby,’ she said hoarsely, her dark eyes full of desperation. ‘Please don’t let me lose it.’

In that moment certainty gathered weight and solidity inside him. A determination. She wouldnotlose their baby. He’d move heaven and earth, bring down the sun if need be to ensure that she wouldn’t.

‘You won’t lose it.’ He held her gaze with his so she could see his conviction. ‘I’ll make sure you don’t.’

The fear in her eyes eased a little and she nodded, releasing his wrist.

Ten minutes and some urgent calls later, his doctor arrived and organised for Nell to be transported via helicopter to a private hospital not far from his apartment. And as she had that night in Melbourne, Nell held tight to his hand the whole way, and didn’t let go even when she was rushed into an examination room in preparation for a scan.

His whole body felt tight and that fist around his heart wouldn’t let go, squeezing and squeezing. And as the doctor came in and sat by the bed, murmuring reassuring things as she prepared Nell for her ultrasound, he realised with a kind of shock that the baby hadn’t seemed real to him before now. It had been an idea, a concept, a fact. He hadn’t thought deeply about the reality of it, because he’d been too wrapped up in Nell and their intense physical chemistry.

Now though, as the doctor spread gel on Nell’s stomach and positioned the wand, the reality of his child hit him over the head with all the solidity of a cricket bat. And along with it came the choking fear that it was too late, that she might lose it.

They might both lose their child.

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