Page 7 of Impossible Heir for the King

She was an ‘operation’. A problem, not a person. And what did he mean by her ‘knowledge’ of the situation? Had he thought she might be complicit in this catastrophe in some way? How could she have been?

‘Obviously now things will change,’ he added grimly. ‘Your father will be informed of your whereabouts.’

‘Don’t tell him about the baby.’ Agitated by the thought she stepped towards him. ‘I don’t want you to tell him.’

Her father would not be an ally. He would want to take whathecould get from this. He wouldn’t get it—but the shame of it would be too awful. She had to handle King Niko herself.

‘Of course I won’t if you don’t wish me to,’ Niko assured her calmly. ‘Frankly I’d prefer that we keep this quiet while we ascertain paternity and then make the necessary arrangements.’

And just what were those necessary arrangements to be?

He watched her keenly. ‘If the child is mine, then I am sure we can come to an agreement where you’ll be better off than you have been until now.’

That soft, patronising assumption angered her. It wouldn’t be an ‘agreement’ but an order. How could her life be better when she still had little choice in what she did? Now she had less chance of getting her freedom. And as for her poor child?

Bitterness flooded her, forcing a sarcastic snap. ‘Wow, you make it sound as if I’ve won a lottery of some kind and I should be all “hashtag, grateful”!’

CHAPTER THREE

NIKORUBBEDHIStemple and tried to remind himself that the woman before him was still in a state of shock and he needed to be patient. But it was an unusually difficult task. Nobody, but nobody, spoke to him the way she had—repeatedly—in the five minutes since he’d walked into the room. That she’d challenged him about his sex life, her voice vibrating with judgement, had been enough to irritate him, but for her to be so clearly appalled by the generous assurance he was now trying to offer? It was unreasonable. This situation was bad enough without her creating unnecessary drama. It wasn’t as if he were thrilled either. Despite being almost thirty he’d had zero intention of marrying any woman anytime soon. He’d have to eventually, but he’d not planned to for a decade more at least. Children would have been minimal. An heir and a spare at most. Having seen his parents’ struggles a love match was utterly out of the question and so, as distasteful to him as it was, he’d been preparing for the lesser of two horrors—a passionless arrangement similar to that of his grandparents.

He’d intended to select someone able to handle the challenges of public life, someone who had the upbringing, education and experience to perform the job. Someone from a nearby nation perhaps, but one definitely from a similar level in society as him. That certainly wasn’t some young Cinderella who’d spent almost all of her twenty-three years below deck on her father’s grimy illegal gambling boat. She was the worst possible option.

So yeah, he wanted to snap back at her and he swerved close to it. But he took a breath and saw how sallow and tired she looked. Like any cornered creature she was lashing out to defend herself. He’d seen Pax’s bare bones report—she was virtually a slave for her own father, so he understood why she’d be prickly. He would rise above her aggravation. If he was the father of her baby, he would execute an understanding tolerable to them both. They wouldn’t actually have to have much to do with eachotherat all in this.

A muscle in his eyelid twitched and he struggled to stand still. The urge to step forward and fold her into his arms again almost overpowered him. It was flat-out crazy. But she wasn’t anything like he’d expected. He’d locked eyes on her just before dawn this morning and seen everything thathadn’tbeen visible in the long-range-lens photo in Pax’s file. She had midnight eyes, big beautiful orbs that were unfathomably deep and mysterious—the sort a man could lose himself in for aeons and honestly, he had. He’d lost sense of everything for a moment, his purpose—hell, his own name. He’d gazed endlessly, absorbing the height of her, the narrowness of her shoulders, the length of her neck, the fullness of her lips. All her features added up to a beauty that had shaken him. And those hypnotic eyes had simply tempted him.

Now he tried to suppress the empty ache but the contentment he’d felt while holding her for the duration of that journey had beenweirdand worse, he missed it. He’d refused to relinquish her, ignoring the querying looks from Pax. But she was his responsibility and he’dfelther fear. It had been imperative that he try to reassure her somehow, even slightly. He had the desire to do that again now. Problem was that desire was being diluted by another even stronger one.

No. It was probably just the uncertainty of the situation pushing him to literally take charge of her. Basic instincts often generated physical actions, right? Like lust. He would ignore it. She needed reassurance only, not unbridled seduction.

‘Perhaps you should be grateful,’ he said quietly. ‘After all, you might not have known the truth of your condition for some time and that could’ve brought complications for you. At the very least you’ll now get the medical attention you need.’

It’s your job to look after her.His father’s words echoed in his mind and he tensed. He would not fail this time.

‘And whether the child you carry is mine or not, I promise you’ll continue to receive the care you need throughout this pregnancy and beyond.’ He stepped closer, unable to resist that urge to be nearer, needing to impress upon her his uncompromising position. ‘But let me also promise thatmyfirstborn will be the heir to my throne, regardless of their gender. My firstborn will have everything that is rightfully theirs.Everything. Honour. Riches. Protection. And my name.’

Despite his distaste for marriage he would ensure the legitimacy of this child. Secrets and shame had destroyed too much of his family already. It was never happening again.

She swallowed. ‘Your name?’

‘We’ll marry as soon as the paternity is confirmed.’ He saw panic swoop into her eyes. ‘In name only,’ he added swiftly. ‘While you’re pregnant.’

‘But then?’ She stared at him in consternation. ‘No king of Piri-nu has ever divorced.’

He hesitated. It was bitterly unfortunate and of course he dreaded condemning someone to palace life for good but he had no choice.

His aunt Lani had been illegitimate—the firstborn offspring of his philandering grandfather. She’d been reared within the palace walls but her lineage not just unacknowledged, but hidden. She’d worked as a maid and had unknowingly served her own blood relatives. The devastation that had ensued when the truth came out was something Niko had never forgiven himself for. And he would never allow anything like it to happen again.

He would do better for this child. Maybe he would even allow them to make their own decision regarding claiming the crown eventually. Maia could have choices too. Initially they would be limited but beyond the birth, he would assist her however he could.

‘There will be support and more freedom than you think,’ he said.

She was pretty and with new clothes she might be stunning. And while she had zero society training, that could be provided. Except even with all that, Niko knew how hard someone could find palace life. Somehow he had to come up with something satisfactory. He just didn’t know what it was yet.

Divorce would only be a last resort.

‘Are you saying I have to marry you and finish growing your baby but then I’ll be free to live my life however I please?’ she pushed him.

---