Page 9 of Christmas Baby with Her Ultra-Rich Boss

They left through the same rear door Konstantinos had used to work his fury into the snow. The usually pristine mound of snow lining the path had had gouges taken out of it from where he’d made his furious snowballs. She’d watched with her hand over her mouth from the window, her heart aching and her head reeling at his raging anguish.

She welcomed the cold air she breathed in through the falling snow and by the time they reached his cabin, her mind felt clearer and sharper. She wished the rest of her felt clearer, too, but guilt and apprehension lay too heavily inside her for that. But there was a smidgen of relief mingled in her churning emotions. Konstantinos knew.

His learning of the pregnancy was the only thing she no longer had to fear. The rest of her worries and nightmares could still come to pass.

Inside the luxury cabin that was at least ten times the size of her own, Lena stripped down to her work uniform while Konstantinos hung up his sodden coat in the heated cupboard by the entry door, and removed his soaked shoes and socks. Her heart twisted to see the snowflakes glistening on his black hair. Despite the warmth of the cabin, he must be freezing.

‘You should have a bath to get warm,’ she said quietly.

‘Do not feign concern for my well-being,’ he snapped, then yanked his sweater off, ripped his tie from around his neck, undid the top three buttons of his shirt, and whipped that off, too. The wet clothes all landed like puddles on the floor.

The last Lena saw of him was his ramrod straight back as he stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him. A short moment later came the sound of running water.

Needing to keep herself occupied for fear of driving herself crazy with her fearful thoughts, she gathered Konstantinos’s discarded clothes, intending to place them in the laundry box situated by the main door to stop sodden clothes from damaging the wooden flooring. For reasons she couldn’t begin to comprehend, she pressed her nose into the bundle. The scent of his cologne made fresh tears swim in her eyes and, feeling choked and sicker than ever, she dropped the bundle into the box.

Each cabin came equipped with its own drinks station. Knowing Konstantinos took his coffee black, she slotted an espresso pod into the machine then made herself a hot chocolate. Once both drinks were done, she hesitated before helping herself to a miniature Scotch from the mini-bar and pouring it into his coffee. She knew she could have done with a stiff drink herself when she’d first discovered she really was pregnant.

At the bathroom door, she hesitated again before gently knocking on it. ‘I’ve made you a hot drink,’ she called, and wished she didn’t sound so tremulous.

The door swung open. A cloud of warm, citrusy steam escaped.

Konstantinos, phone in hand, wearing only a towel around his snake hips, glowered down at her.

At five foot five, Lena wasn’t particularly short but in that moment she felt tiny. Almost a foot taller than her, it was only when Konstantinos was undressed that his full strength and muscularity became apparent. Clothed, his masculinity was almost threatening in its intensity. She’d never known anyone so rampantlymale. Undressed, there was a raw, rugged beauty to his physique that had stolen her breath the first time she’d seen him naked and now brought her close to spilling hot coffee over herself.

His gaze dropped accusingly to her hand.

She swallowed the moisture that had filled her throat and mouth and whispered, ‘It’ll help warm you.’

A pulse throbbed on his jaw. His chest rose and then, fingers brushing against hers, took the cup from her hand, gave a sound that could be interpreted as grudging gratitude, and closed the door.

Lena blew air out of her mouth and pressed a hand to her chest, the other to her swelling bump. She would take it as a positive sign that he’d accepted the drink.

Miserably, she sat on one of the armchairs and thought back to a time when looking for the tiniest positive sign was all that had kept her sane. The blinks that showed Heidi understood what was being said to her. The first smile. The first attempt at speaking. The first successful attempt at speaking. And then the knowledge had come that this was as good as it was going to get, that her sister had reached the limit in her recovery. There would be no more new positives.

How could Heidi not have resented Lena for her health, resented that Lena had walked away physically whole while Heidi was condemned to a life of paralysis? It made her want to weep to think of the life Heidi should be leading. Shehadwept. Oceans of tears. But those tears didn’t change anything. Heidi would never be a mother and have the family of her own she’d craved since they were little girls. Lena hadn’t given two thoughts to having children until she’d missed her period. She was only twenty-five. Children and family had been years away...until they weren’t.

Feeling more movement in her belly, she closed her eyes and rubbed it, wondering again how Heidi would take the news she was going to be an aunt when Lena told her family on her leave next month. She imagined the shocked but delighted smile but—

The bathroom door opened.

Lena’s eyes snapped open and her thoughts scuttled away.

Dressed only in a complementary grey Siopis robe that was too short for his tall frame and yet still managed to look as if it had been designed with Konstantinos in mind, he carried his cup to the coffee machine and slid another pod into it. ‘Can I get you anything?’

The offer brought a lump to her throat. ‘No, thank you.’

As she’d done, he poured a miniature Scotch into his coffee then carried it to the armchair beside hers, straightened his robe, and sat down.

Although outwardly calmer, she could feel the tension vibrating through his frame, sensed he was holding on to his anger by a whisker, and when he finally fixed his green eyes on her, the coldness in them made her quail.

‘How certain are you the child is mine?’

‘Completely certain.’

His top lip curved. ‘Be very careful, Lena. I am aware of the amount of bed hopping that takes place amongst the staff here. Are you positive no other man could be the father?’

‘One hundred per cent positive. You’re the only man I’ve been with in six years.’

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