Nikos swung his sleek, high-performance sports car into his parking space directly outside the paediatric emergency department.
He’d offered her marriage and put a diamond the size of New York on her finger.
And she’d given it back.
Theos mou, what was going on in her head? How many women had longed for him to make exactly that gesture?
Her refusal had been genuine. And yet she still wanted him. He knew that. So why hadn’t she just said yes?
Realising that he didn’t have any answers made him realise how little he knew about her.
What, in all honesty, had they shared in the six passionate months they’d spent together? Sex, he acknowledged ruefully. They’d lived in a small intimate bubble that had involved their work at the hospital and the two of them. Nothing had intruded.
And that had been the way he’d wanted it.
Locking his car, Nikos strode purposefully towards the entrance of the paediatric emergency department, his naturally competitive nature roused by the block she’d erected in the path of their relationship.
She would marry him, he vowed silently. She was carrying his baby. It was just a matter of understanding why she was saying no. Once he understood that, he would turn the no to a yes.
Praise for Medical™ Romance author
Sarah Morgan:
‘Whether it’s a Modern™ or a Medical™ Romance,
if a book’s got Sarah Morgan’s name on the
front cover, then a spellbinding read is guaranteed!
Fast-paced, moving and passionate…another keeper
by the wonderfully talented Sarah Morgan!’
—Cataromance on THE REBEL DOCTOR’S BRIDE, Medical™ Romance July 08
‘An exceptional romantic tale written by a writer—
romantic, intense and absolutely breathtaking…
I can’t wait for the next spellbinding romance
by this hugely talented star!’
—Cataromance on BOUGHT: THE GREEK’S INNOCENT VIRGIN, Modern™ Romance June 08
Sarah Morgan trained as a nurse, and has since worked in a variety of health-related jobs. Married to a gorgeous businessman, who still makes her knees knock, she spends most of her time trying to keep up with their two little boys, but manages to sneak off occasionally to indulge her passion for writing romance. Sarah loves outdoor life, and is an enthusiastic skier and walker. Whatever she is doing, her head is always full of new characters, and she is addicted to happy endings.
Recent titles by the same author:
Medical™ Romance ITALIAN DOCTOR, SLEIGH-BELL BRIDE THE REBEL DOCTOR’S BRIDE** THE ITALIAN’S NEW-YEAR MARRIAGE WISH* THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS
*Brides of Penhally Bay
**Glenmore Island Doctors
Modern™ Romance THE VASQUEZ MISTRESS BOUGHT: THE GREEK’S INNOCENT VIRGIN THE SHIEKH’S VIRGIN PRINCESS THE BRAZILIAN BOSS’S INNOCENT MISTRESS
Sarah Morgan also writes sexy heroes and feisty heroines for Mills & Boon Modern™. Don’t miss her next one POWERFUL GREEK, UNWORLDLY WIFE coming soon.
THE GREEK
BILLIONAIRE’S
LOVE-CHILD
BY
SARAH MORGAN
PROLOGUE
IT WAS a bad time to realise that she was in love.
The atmosphere in the resuscitation room was strained and tense—the child’s injuries so severe that no one was holding out much hope of a good outcome.
No one, that was, except Dr Nikos Mariakos, the Greek consultant who had a reputation for making miracles happen.
Ella adjusted the oxygen flow with shaking hands and sneaked a glance at the man working across from her. Her heart tumbled, dipped and soared.
Why now? And why this man?
She’d broken both her rules.
Don’t trust.
Don’t love.
At the age of eight she’d learned that men were bad news and she’d locked away her emotions and thrown away the key.
But this man had not only found the key, he’d used it. And what had started as a scorching affair, a physical release from the constant stress of working in the paediatric emergency department, had turned into something deeper.
Ella felt a moment of pure panic, but the child’s condition didn’t allow time for reflection.
‘Suction—more light.’ He gave his orders in a calm, detached tone, apparently undaunted by the enormous task that faced him. It was almost as if he relished the challenge. His hands didn’t shake, his brow didn’t sweat and there was no trace of emotion on his cold, handsome face as he worked to stabilise the critically injured child.
I really do love him, Ella thought helplessly, watching every movement of his swift, skilled fingers with something close to desperation. Only hours earlier they’d been in bed. Those same fingers had created a very different kind of magic and the sensual spell he’d woven had somehow unravelled the protective web she’d spun over years of suspicion and caution.
A feeling of dread seeped into her bones as she realised how vulnerable she was.
Love had punched holes through her defensive shield.
Love now made her open to the same agonising hurt she’d suffered as a child.
‘Do you want to give him another unit of blood?’ It was one of the more junior doctors who spoke, his face almost as pale as that of their small patient.
‘No. I want to control the haemorrhage.’ The consultant’s coldly analytical approach to the critically injured child was in direct contrast to the less experienced doctor’s agitation. ‘Raise the temperature in here. I want overhead heaters and warming blankets.’
Ella quietly did as he instructed, remembering the day Nikos had started in the department. His reputation had caused such a stir that for days before his arrival no one had talked about anything but his technical brilliance and the fact that he was the youngest consultant ever appointed in the hospital.
And then he’d strode through the doors and the talk from the females in the department had shifted from his clinical skills to the fact that he was sexy enough to start a riot in a nunnery.
Even Ella, with her natural suspicion of very handsome men, had been blinded. Not just by his startling good looks, but by his bold, determined approach to every case that came through the doors of the emergency department.
Dismissive of bureaucracy, Nikos Mariakos was fearless in his pursuit of clinical excellence. His willingness to challenge conventional thinking and push boundaries meant that he frequently clashed swords with the hospital management