She’d hit the earth without a parachute. Little pieces of her had smashed into dirt and rocks. Her body and soul had shattered into a million pieces.
“You remember,” he said quietly.
“Everything,” she choked out.
She realized she was naked in front of him. And she’d just let him make love to her. How could she? How could she?
Shaking with a repressed sob, she grabbed her silk robe off the back of the bathroom door, wrapping it swiftly around her shoulders and tying the belt tight. She wiped away angry tears from her eyes before she whirled back to face him.
“Was it some kind of sick joke to you? You destroyed my family, then kept me here as some kind of pathetic love slave?”
“No! That’s not how it was!” Rising from the bed, he grabbed her by the shoulders, searching her eyes. “You know that’s not how it was between us!”
Against her will, memories rushed through her mind. The two of them running together beneath the rain in Venice. Making love against the backdrop of the Acropolis. How he’d looked at h
er as he kissed her in the surf, their first day on this island. His laughter. His tenderness. His deep dark passion in the night.
Furiously, she pushed the memories away. She wouldn’t think about that. She couldn’t.
Misery flashed through her, misery so strong it nearly made her stagger. Just moments before in his arms, she’d been so happy. She’d been filled with joy that he loved her. She’d felt she finally had her place in the world—in his arms. As his wife. Carrying his child.
Now, all she felt was loss a thousand times. It was even worse than when she was fourteen, when she’d lost her father, her home and her mother in space of a few months. Because of him.
Because she’d failed.
She’d spent the last eleven years plotting to get revenge. To do whatever it took to take him down. Before he could ever hurt anyone again as he’d hurt her.
Instead, she’d betrayed her family’s memory. She’d failed everyone she loved.
She’d always promised herself that she would be a better daughter to John Craig as soon as her revenge was complete. Then, in Istanbul, while hiding from Talos’s goons, she’d been shocked—horrified—to hear news of his death. Her stepfather had died without knowing how she loved him.
And now it was too late. She swallowed, blinking back tears. A pity she hadn’t been driving faster when her hands had slipped on the steering wheel of her Aston Martin. A pity she hadn’t crashed into a speeding train instead of the postbox.
She’d wasted eleven years of her life for nothing.
Talos had managed to keep his company in spite of her stolen documents. He’d tricked her into marrying him. And worst of all, she was pregnant with his child.
Her enemy’s victory was complete.
She touched her belly in shock. “I can’t believe it,” she whispered. “Of all the men in the world—to be pregnant by the one I hate the most. The one I swore to destroy.”
He winced, then reached for her. “Eve, please—”
“No!” She jerked away from him. “Don’t touch me!” She turned away, heading for the door, desperate to get out of the bedroom, away from the soft, mussed sheets that were still warm from the tender passion of their bodies, away from the scent of him that still clung to her. Away from the happiness of the innocent, explosive joy she’d experienced but moments before.
“I don’t blame you,” he said quietly behind her, causing her to halt. “When I found out you were Dalton’s daughter, I already knew I was falling in love with you. So I brought you here to the island.” He took a deep breath. “I thought if I kept you safe and hidden from the world, you wouldn’t remember. I prayed you never would.”
She whirled around with a gasp, the breath suddenly knocked out of her.
“To punish me?” she said, wanting to cry. She lifted her chin. “To claim your victory?”
Talos bowed his head. “To be your husband,” he whispered. “To love you for the rest of my life.”
His words crept into her soul like mist, whispering echoes of past tenderness and love.
No! She wouldn’t let him trick her ever again!
Wiping away her tears angrily, she lifted her chin. “Don’t talk to me of love,” she spat out scornfully. “My father gave you everything, and you ruined him without mercy. For your own gain.”