Page 8 of Impossible Heir for the King

‘There will be certain limitations.’

‘Such as?’

The defiance in her eyes set his teeth on edge. ‘We’re getting ahead of ourselves,’ he gritted out, barely reining in his temper. ‘Perhaps we need to wait for the paternity results before finalising our marriage details.’

She stared at him in horror all over again. ‘How long will it take to get those?’

‘I’ll get the doctor. I believe he brought the necessary equipment.’ He saw her flinch and felt a flash of compunction. ‘You’ll be okay, Maia. I promise you he is our best.’

He didn’t return to the room with the doctor. Maia needed privacy and he needed time to think. But he paced right outside, oddly anxious as he waited for the examination to be completed. He needed to know she was well enough to withstand this pregnancy. He’d asked the doctor to make very sure of that. Because right now she didn’tlookit and she’d had that near fainting spell. But then he remembered the fight in her body when he’d grabbed her this morning—her lithe agility and defiance. She had spirit and strength when she needed it. And if she had proper support then they might get through this.

He whirled when the door opened. ‘Everything okay?’

‘I’m going to do an ultrasound scan to check the foetus,’ the doctor said. ‘I wondered if you would like to observe.’

Niko hesitated. When Pax had first come to him with concern in his face and told him about a possible mix-up at the medical centre, Niko had thought he was pranking him. It was the most preposterous thing he’d ever heard. He, like Maia, had laughed. It was a catalogue of coincidences impossible to believe.

Pax was tracking down information about who’d been scheduled for the insemination and how it was that his sample had been used. He didn’t yet know if there were sinister implications but in all this he’d never believed that such a random procedure would have been successful. The doctor had added false reassurance too. After all, it would have had to have been the right time for Maia. Apparently it had been and he might just have to step up and become a father. The one thing he’d never wanted to do, alongside a woman he didn’t know at all and who wasn’t the right kind of woman destined to be his bride.

Unless, of course, she was already pregnant by another man and this baby wasn’thisat all. Yet oddly, that prospect made him unaccountably angrier and yes, he realised he would like to observe the scan. He wanted to see Maia’s face.

‘Thank you.’ He nodded.

Back in the lounge Maia was reclined on the sofa. Her trousers were loosened and tugged down only enough to reveal her belly. He averted his gaze from the paler skin and gentle curve. She’d turned her face away and didn’t acknowledge his arrival. He suppressed the sudden urge to cup her cheek and gently turn her back to him. Her avoidance bothered him not because it was a blatant disregard of protocol, but because it felt more personal. He felt she disliked him. Oddly—because it really shouldn’t matter—he dislikedthatrealisation intensely.

He glanced down and saw she’d balled her hand into a fist. He saw the purpling patch on her wrist from when she’d hit it as she’d almost slipped in trying to get away from him. Shame licked his insides. Plus her lips were puffier and redder because of the tape they’d sealed across her mouth. He’d noticed it when she’d had that dizzy spell just before—that pout had been appallingly tempting. Regret filled him. Whether this was his baby or not, this woman needed better care.

He focused on the portable monitor as the doctor slid a wand over Maia’s stomach. For a moment it was all grey swirls. Then it was there. A blob. Then identifiable parts—head, limbs,life. The heartbeat sounded like galloping ponies.

‘That’s fast.’ He glanced at the doctor in concern. ‘Is that—’

‘Perfectly normal, Your Highness,’ the doctor calmly replied without taking his assessing gaze from the screen. ‘Everything is looking very well. The measurements look appropriate for the time of the original appointment and the foetus is developing well.’

So it was the right size, right stage of development to behis. He glanced back at Maia’s face. She’d been looking at the screen as well and now she looked at him and he saw the truth in her eyes. This washischild. Even as she lifted her chin in slight defiance. He was suddenly certain there was no boyfriend. His possible bride was not promiscuous. Her disapproval of his sexual mores echoed in his ears. Yet he’d also seen the flare in her eyes when he’d held her close through that dizziness. And he’d felt her response. It hadn’t been fear. It hadn’t been distaste. It had been heat. Temptation curled. Niko Ture was used to being well regarded and if he had to win over his reluctant bride he knew one way to do it.

No. This wasn’t about proving a point or about personalpleasure. No doubt that was what she expected of him and he was filled with the desire to behave contrary to her disapproving expectations. They were going to have to get along for a lifetime which meant instead of seducing her, he might have to make her his friend. But Niko had few true friends. He didn’t trust many people and the likelihood of him trusting her?

He sighed. She would be a business partner at best. Ideally a distant acquaintance. The palace was large enough for them to reside in effectively separate households. But that didn’t get around the fact that his people were going to demand much that she didn’t yet understand.

What had happened at that clinic was a mistake, maybe. A miracle, definitely. It was the most appalling complication of his adult life.

He ushered the doctor out, speaking with him briefly in the corridor to arrange a full debrief later. And to get something he needed now. When he returned she’d tidied her clothing and was awkwardly perched on the edge of the sofa. He drew up a small footstool and sat before her, smiling to himself when her eyes widened.

He squeezed ointment from the tube he’d gotten from the doctor.

‘What are you doing?’ she asked.

He held his hand out for her to put hers in. ‘May I?’

Maia stared, confused by his gesture and intention and that soft smile. Confused because she’d just seen proof of a tiny life growing within her on that screen. Confused because she had no idea what she should do next. There was too much to process—that she was pregnant was truly a miracle she couldn’t yet believe. For so long she’d secretly feared that would be impossible—not just because she’d thought she might never have her freedom to find a partner but that she might not have the physical capacity for pregnancy even if she did. But now there was absolute contrariness—amazement and incredulity andwonder...

All her weak body wanted was to tip back into thisstranger’sarms and cry—both scared tears and happy tears. But Maia never cried and she wasn’t about to start now.

‘Your wrist.’ He nodded simply. ‘It’s bruised.’

‘But you don’t need to—’

‘Please. It’s herbal, it won’t harm the baby.’

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