CHAPTER NINE

      XAN LISTENED IN stunned silence while Elvi told him the story about her kid brother’s accidental removal of the brush pot from his penthouse apartment. Anger sparked, flared and climbed to an extraordinary height inside him.

      ‘So, let me get this straight,’ Xan urged with lethal derision. ‘I was cast as the baddie in this scenario right from the start. You couldn’t trust me with the truth, your mother couldn’t and even my own head of security, who clearly worked out the truth from the beginning, couldn’t trust me to do the right thing!’

      ‘It wasn’t like that, Xan—’

      ‘It was exactly like that,’ Xan retorted crushingly, his volatile temper flaring like a comet over the lowering awareness that everybody but him had known what was going on. ‘You all presupposed that I would visit my wrath on your little brother and would refuse to believe his version of what happened.’

      ‘We didn’t want to take the risk that you would react the wrong way,’ Elvi admitted heavily.

      ‘Diavole...well, I’m reacting very much in the wrong way now!’ Xan slung at her in a raw undertone. ‘You all conspired to keep the truth from me.’

      ‘No, that’s untrue!’ Elvi argued, leaping upright. ‘My mother worked it out when the police found the brush pot in our home and she immediately owned up to protect Daniel. There was no discussion, no conspiracy and Dmitri simply guessed what had happened because he was there that day. I had to tell you before the wedding, Xan. I’m sorry you’re annoyed but I couldn’t let you go on believing that my mother is a thief.’

      Still furious, Xan released his breath in a measured hiss even as he reflected that that word, ‘annoyed’, barely covered his reaction. Even as he controlled his scorching anger, however, he was understanding another, even less palatable side to what he had belatedly learned: he had taken his rage over the theft out on a complete innocent. Although no actual crime had been committed, he had intimidated Elvi into becoming his mistress. There was no escaping that harsh fact. His unjust treatment of her bit deeper than ever. His conscience would never be clear on that score because, not only had he railroaded a virgin into his bed, he had also been careless enough of her well-being to get her pregnant.

      Xan’s long brown fingers curled into potent fists of frustration. It was another dark day for him, he acknowledged bitterly. Was there to be no end to the constant revelations of his sins, his oversights, his mistakes? Had some greater force thrown Elvi into his path simply to trip him up and teach him that he was as fallible as every other human being? Cocooned by wealth and arrogance, he had believed he was untouchable and far too clever to be seduced by temptation. But one fatal moment of weakness had overwhelmed him with the kind of messy consequences he had successfully avoided all his life.

      Elvi was that weakness and his inability to resist Elvi had directly led to the conception of his first child and would soon be followed by a shotgun marriage. Without warning, Xan was viewing life through a changed lens and feelings he had suppressed for years were surging to the fore and destabilising him. He didn’t do self-doubt and castigation but Elvi’s arrival had changed everything, transforming him into a man he barely recognised.

      ‘You have my promise that in the future I will treat your family with every respect,’ he ground out flatly.

      ‘I appreciate that,’ Elvi admitted quietly.

      Xan gazed at her, hunger rising spontaneously from the ashes of his anger. He didn’t understand how she could do that to him, make him flip from rage to a sexual craving so deep and strong it made him ache. He wanted to take her home with him and possess her over and over again until that ferocious, uncontrollable need was finally sated. And all that desire meant was that once again he was selfishly in the wrong because the unwitting object of his desire was pregnant and fragile.

      Elvi met Xan’s dark brooding gaze and butterflies leapt and danced in her tummy, emotions and responses she struggled to contain assailing her, making her feel hot and foolish and giddy. ‘If it’s any consolation, I’m sorry I didn’t feel able to tell you the truth sooner.’

      Possibly Xan didn’t appreciate how daunting his reputation was or how frightening the amount of power he wielded could be, Elvi reflected ruefully. But the clenched set of his hard, dark face disturbed her, making her appreciate that Xan’s emotions ran deep, much deeper than she had ever suspected. It was not that she had ever believed him to be shallow, but she had mistakenly assumed that his self-discipline kept his emotions fully in check. She could see, however, that he was still angry and upset, papering over the cracks to put her at ease, but still upset by her clear belief that he could not have been trusted to treat her little brother with understanding and compassion. And try as she might, that suspicion only made her want to hold him close and hug him, a response which would’ve been no more welcome to him, she conceded unhappily.

      * * *

      ‘You are sure that you want to go through with this?’ Sally Cartwright prompted worriedly, her attention locked to her daughter’s pale profile as she sat staring out of the window of the limousine. ‘You can change your mind at the very last moment. I won’t be upset.’

      ‘I’m not having second thoughts. I’m just nervous.’ Elvi forced a smile and tugged at the sleeves of her dress with restive fingers. It was a dream creation. Intricate embroidered lace sheathed her arms and ornamented the bodice, the classic shape moulding her figure while the slim skirt lent her an elegant tailored look.

      ‘I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Falling pregnant isn’t a good enough reason to get married,’ her mother continued. ‘We would manage—’

      ‘Xan wants this baby too,’ Elvi reminded the older woman.

      ‘He’s a very reserved man, the exact opposite of the kind of man I always thought you would choose,’ Sally admitted bluntly.

      ‘Somehow we work,’ Elvi parried uncomfortably, wishing her mother noticed a little less, knowing her subdued mood had encouraged Sally’s last-ditch attempt to get her daughter to reconsider her plans.

      In the two weeks since she had agreed to marry Xan, she had been very busy. Xan had come down to Oxford to meet her mother and her brother. He had been smoothly polite and pleasant but Elvi had recognised his discomfiture even if nobody else had. Everyone in her family had assumed the worst of him and he knew it.

      He had hired a wedding planner to take charge of their big day. He had arranged for her to visit a designer salon, where she had fallen in love with her dress and where the staff had taken great care to ensure it was a perfect fit. He would’ve preferred her to move into the penthouse with him, but he had accepted her decision to stay with her family without argument. He had even accompanied her to the doctor to have her pregnancy confirmed and, since he had taken that time out of his day for her benefit, she had allowed him to join her for the consultation. In fact, in every way possible Xan had been supportive, reasonable and considerate of her needs. So why were her spirits low on her wedding day?

      Possibly being forced to consider her future had also forced her to be more honest with herself. Once she had recognised