Ruthless Revenge: Sinful Seduction: Demetriou Demands His Child / Olivero's Outrageous Proposal / Rafael's Contract Bride. Кейт Хьюит
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a resigned sigh.
‘I’m still coming to terms with all of this,’ Alekos answered. He took a deep breath, needing to ask the next question even if the answer hurt him. ‘Was Lukas...was he a good father to Niko?’
Iolanthe was silent for so long that Alekos tensed to hear her answer, dread pooling in his stomach. ‘I think he tried at first,’ she finally said. ‘He tried to try, anyway. But...’
Alekos tensed further, knowing he both didn’t want and needed to hear this. ‘But what?’ he asked, his voice coming out in a near-growl.
‘He never bonded with him,’ Iolanthe admitted quietly. ‘He might have tried a little at the very beginning, but, as I said before, Niko was a difficult baby. He had colic, and Lukas couldn’t handle the constant crying. He withdrew from both of us, sleeping in the corporate flat most nights.’
Alekos waited a moment, not trusting himself to sound calm. ‘And later? When Niko wasn’t a baby?’
‘He couldn’t get over that Niko wasn’t his son,’ Iolanthe admitted in a whisper. ‘He started blanking him out, ignoring him as often as he could, just as he did me. Niko tried to reach him at first. They both loved computers and technology, and it should have been something they bonded over. But Lukas wouldn’t even try. I think his rejection hurt Niko terribly.’ A tear slipped down her cheek, splashing onto her thumb. She wiped it away with a shaky laugh. ‘I don’t know why I’m coming apart now—’
‘I wanted you to tell me. I want to know.’
‘I feel guilty,’ Iolanthe burst out, her voice low and tormented. ‘Sometimes I wonder if Niko would have done better with me alone, rather than with a father who had no time for him. If I’d been more confident I wouldn’t have married Lukas. I would have struck out on my own, looking for that adventure I once told you about.’ She smiled through her tears and it felt like a fist closing around Alekos’s heart. ‘I wish I had. Maybe then...maybe then Niko wouldn’t have the struggles he has now.’
Her voice broke on the last words and Alekos reached for her. ‘You can’t lose yourself in regret,’ he said as he stroked her hair and she nestled against him. ‘You have to look towards the future.’ The feel of her body pliant against his pushed his self-control to the limit. He longed to tilt her face up towards his, kiss the tears from her cheeks and then plunder her plush mouth. But Iolanthe needed his comfort and compassion now, not his lust.
‘I suppose you’re right,’ she murmured, staying in the shelter of his arms.
It was advice he gave without taking himself, Alekos knew. For fourteen years he’d let the past guide and control him, shaping every action he took, even now. But unlike Iolanthe he had no regrets. Petrakis deserved to have his company destroyed. It had been built on Alekos’s hard work, after all. Even now he couldn’t let go of that knowledge, that goal. Especially now. Talos Petrakis had conspired to take his son from him as well as his business. He could have told Iolanthe the truth about what had happened long ago, could have allowed her to make up her own mind about who to marry.
Are you really going to blame Petrakis for your own failings? You’re the one who drove her away. Who told her to leave.
Perhaps Iolanthe felt the new tension in his body for she moved out of his embrace, turning her head away from him. ‘It feels strange to be comforted by you.’
Alekos flinched as if he’d been dealt a body blow. ‘I suppose it does.’
‘I’m not used to depending on anyone.’ She turned to face him, her gaze as clear as a full moon. ‘I’m afraid of depending on you, Alekos, of Niko depending on you.’
Alekos tried to keep the affront from his voice. ‘I won’t let you down.’
‘That requires a certain level of trust,’ Iolanthe answered as her gaze flitted away from his. ‘And trust has to be earned...for both of us.’
He hated the thought that she feared he’d fail her. Again. ‘Which is why we’re here. To get to know one another. To learn to trust one another.’
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