Eve felt Talos’s dark gaze fall upon her mouth as he said softly, “I’ll show you the place where I first kissed you.”
Her bones turned to liquid. She looked up at him, her heart pounding as she licked her lips involuntarily. “Where is that?”
His eyes were hot and dark. “In Venice.”
“Venice,” she repeated, and the word was a wistful sigh. She looked up at him with yearning, knowing she should refuse—knowing she should stay in London and see the specialist Dr. Bartlett had recommended. But her refusal caught in her throat. Caught by her romantic dreams. Caught by him.
Talos reached down to stroke her tender bottom lip with his thumb, caressing her face with his powerful hands.
“Come to Venice,” he said darkly. “I will show you everything.”
He cupped her face with both hands, holding her hard against his body as he looked down at her, commanding her with his gaze.
“And then,” he whispered, “you will marry me.”
Jennie Lucas grew up dreaming about faraway lands. At fifteen, hungry for experience beyond the borders of her small Idaho city, she went to a Connecticut boarding school on scholarship. She took her first solo trip to Europe at sixteen, then put off college and travelled around the US, supporting herself with jobs as diverse as gas station cashier and newspaper advertising assistant. At twenty-two she met the man who would be her husband. After their marriage she graduated from Kent State with a degree in English. Seven years after she started writing she got the magical call from London that turned her into a published author.
Since then life has been hectic, with a new writing career, a sexy husband and two small children, but she’s having a wonderful (albeit sleepless) time. She loves immersing herself in dramatic, glamorous, passionate stories. Maybe she can’t physically travel to Morocco or Spain right now, but for a few hours a day, while her children are sleeping, she can be there in her books. Jennie loves to hear from her readers. You can visit her website at www.jennielucas.com, or drop her a note at [email protected]
Bought: The Greek’s Baby
By
Jennie Lucas
Dear Reader
Have you ever wished you could start your life all over again?
Have you ever wished you could leave behind all your regrets—all the headaches and heartaches of the past—and miraculously have a brand-new life?
That is what happens to Eve Craig. She wakes up in a London hospital with no memory of who she is. Even more shocking—she’s three months pregnant!
A darkly handsome Greek billionaire shows up at the hospital, claiming to be her baby’s father. He demands Eve marry him at once! But how can she marry a man she doesn’t remember? The stranger’s ruthless sensual power frightens her, so she fights him.
But Talos Xenakis won’t take no for an answer. Three months ago his beautiful ex-mistress gave him her virginity, then heartlessly betrayed him. He came for revenge. Discovering she’s pregnant, he changes his plans. He will marry Eve, make her regain her memory, then destroy her—body and soul.
Can we ever truly leave the past behind us? Maybe with the power of love…
With warmest wishes for an unforgettable year
Jennie Lucas
To Patty Sowell,
the miracle of our house, with gratitude
CHAPTER ONE
TALOS XENAKIS had heard a lot of lies in his life, particularly in relation to his beautiful, ruthless ex-mistress. But this one topped them all.
“It can’t be true,” he said in shock, staring at the doctor. “She’s lying.”
“I assure you, Mr. Xenakis, it’s true,” Dr. Bartlett replied gravely. “She has no memory. Not of you, not of me, not even of her accident yesterday. And yet there’s no physical injury.”
“Because she’s lying!”
“She was wearing a seat belt when her head hit the air bag,” Dr. Bartlett continued. “There was no concussion.”
Talos stared at him with a scowl. He had a reputation as a doctor of immense skill and integrity. He was rich from a lifetime of serving wealthy, aristocratic patients—so he couldn’t be bought. He was known as a family man, still completely in love with his wife of fifty years, an adored father of three and grandfather of eight—so he couldn’t be seduced. So he honestly must believe Eve Craig had amnesia.
Amnesia.
Talos’s lip curled. After all of her devilish cleverness, he would have expected more of her.
Eleven weeks ago, after stabbing him in the back, Eve Craig had vanished from Athens like a ghost. His men had searched for her all over the world without success until two days ago, when she’d suddenly resurfaced in London for her stepfather’s funeral.
Talos had dropped a billion-dollar deal in Sydney, ordering his men to trail her until he could reach London on his private jet. Kefalas and Leonidas had been right behind Eve yesterday afternoon when she’d left the private hospital in Harley Street. They’d watched her tuck her long, glossy dark hair beneath a silk scarf, put on big black sunglasses and white driving gloves and drive away in her silver Aston Martin convertible.
Right into a red postbox on the sidewalk.
“It was so strange, boss,” Kefalas had told him that morning when he’d arrived from Sydney. “She seemed fine at the funeral. But leaving the doctor’s office she drove like a drunk. She didn’t even recognize us when we helped her back into the hospital after the accident.”
Now, Dr. Bartlett looked equally puzzled as he scratched the back of his wispy white head. “I held her overnight for observation, but cannot find anything physically wrong with her.”
Talos ground his teeth. “Because she doesn’t have amnesia. She’s playing you for a fool!”
The elderly doctor stiffened. “I do not believe Miss Craig is lying, Mr. Xenakis. I have known her since she was fourteen, when she first came here with her mother from America.” He shook his head as he mused, “All the tests came back negative. The only symptom seems to be the amnesia. Leading me to perhaps wonder if the accident was merely the catalyst—the trauma was an emotional one.”
“You mean she brought it on herself?”
“I wouldn’t say that exactly. But this is outside my field. It’s why I’ve recommended a colleague, Dr. Green.”
“A psychiatrist.”
“Yes.”
Talos latched on to the one valuable bit of information. “So if there’s nothing physically wrong with her, she can leave the hospital.”
The doctor hesitated.