Claiming His Christmas Consequence. Michelle Smart

head.

      ‘I’m not here for a business meeting either.’

      ‘Then why don’t you tell me what’s so urgent you turn up unannounced at my home demanding an audience.’

      ‘Your home?’

      ‘Bought and paid for. The title deeds to the Ravensberg building are held with my lawyer if you wish to see them?’ Nathaniel hadn’t rented since the first apartment he’d had when he’d been seventeen and his landlord had dragged his heels over fixing the broken heating system during a particularly cold spell.

      He liked to be master of his own destiny, reliant only on himself. All his properties, business and personal alike—and he had so many he’d lost count—were solely his. He didn’t owe a cent to any person, bank or organisation. His business was his and his alone. No one could take it away from him. Bricks and mortar he could count on; permanent fixtures in a fragile world full of horrors.

      ‘Title deeds are only worth something if you own the land the property is built upon. Take your development here in my country for example.’

      ‘For sure,’ he agreed amiably. He knew it infuriated Dominic that his father had overridden his objections and granted Nathaniel all the necessary permissions. ‘But I think you will need to use a different example with which to make your point. I always purchase the land itself for any development I undertake.’

      Nathaniel was over halfway through the construction of a hotel and business complex that would be Monte Cleure’s highest landmark. It was his most ambitious project to date, a skyscraper of magnificence and beauty. Architect Monthly magazine had declared it a potential contender for Building of the Decade.

      So far he had invested one hundred million euros in the development and fully expected to spend the same amount again by the time the project was complete.

      ‘Now why don’t we stop all this pussy-footing around and you tell me why you’re here, and then I can go back to bed?’

      ‘My sister.’

      ‘Which one?’ he asked with a nonchalant shrug, although his head immediately began to whirl.

      Dominic swelled up like an overinflated balloon, and his eyes grew cruel and dark. ‘Catalina.’

      Nathaniel made sure to keep his features neutral.

      He hadn’t breathed a word about his night with the Princess. Not to anyone. He didn’t for a moment think Catalina would have spoken of it either, not when she had her virginal reputation to protect. From the moment she’d admitted him into her room she’d made it clear it was something that could never be spoken of or alluded to.

      It had been the perfect one-night stand, one in which there would never be any danger of the woman waking in the morning and dropping casual hints about getting together another time.

      He’d left Catalina’s room as the sun had risen, both of them knowing their goodbye kiss would be their last.

      What they’d shared had been one incredible night that could never be repeated.

      Dominic had to be here on a fishing expedition. His spies had probably reported that Nathaniel and Catalina had danced together at Helios’s wedding.

      He hadn’t seen her since. She hadn’t attended Helios and Amy’s Coronation last week. A few discreet enquires had determined that she’d had a stomach bug...

      Something cold snaked up his spine.

      He leaned back in his chair and inhaled. ‘What about her?’

      Dominic’s eyes glittered with malice. ‘She’s pregnant.’

CHAPTER TWO

      NATHANIEL’S HEART SHUDDERED to a halt.

      His brain whirled and it took a few beats before he found his voice. ‘Catalina’s pregnant?’

      Immediately his mind flew to those first glorious moments when he’d abandoned an adulthood of protection to enter her unsheathed.

      What had he been thinking?

      This could be a joke. A trap. It was no secret that Dominic hated him. Their mutual loathing had been a fixture of their lives since their schooldays.

      ‘Yes, you sick playboy. My “virgin” sister is pregnant and you’re the father.’

      The way Dominic emphasised the word virgin made Nathaniel’s fingers itch to punch him. He restrained himself, sinking onto a sofa, hooking one ankle over his knee and folding his arms loosely across his chest in a pose he knew would infuriate the Prince far more than physical threats of violence.

      ‘What makes you think I’m the father?’

      ‘She’s admitted it. She sent one of her companions to get a pregnancy test for her. A different companion—one with more loyalty to the House of Fernandez—was suspicious and found the box hidden in her rooms. She informed me immediately.’

      Every curse Nathaniel had ever learnt in every language he’d ever been taught flew through his mind.

      ‘Catalina took the test yesterday morning. Our personal physician did an additional test that also came back positive. Merry Christmas. My sister is pregnant and you’re the father.’

      ‘Where is she?’ He would not take Dominic’s word for anything, let alone something of such importance. ‘I want to see her.’

      ‘She’s at the palace. As you can imagine, the news quite ruined Christmas for us.’

      ‘My heart bleeds for you.’

      Dominic gave a cruel smile. ‘Father and I have discussed the matter in great detail. Catalina can still have a future within the House of Fernandez but first we need to contain this situation. You will be required to marry her for a limited time to legitimise the child.’

      Nathaniel laughed.

      Was it possible he was locked in some alcohol-induced nightmare?

      ‘Oh, I’m being very serious.’ Dominic finally took a seat, spreading his legs out in a way meant to convey dominance. ‘You will marry her or you will find the title deeds to your development revoked and the building repossessed by the palace. The Ravensberg building will also be repossessed.’

      ‘Are you threatening me?’

      Dominic paused before answering, clearly unnerved by Nathaniel’s placid tone. ‘I’m simply telling you of the consequences. I can have you removed from Monte Cleure at the snap of my fingers.’

      ‘I’m sure you can.’

      A malevolent expression spread over the Prince’s face.

      ‘The stupidity of some people really does astound me.’ Nathaniel shook his head sadly. ‘To think someone would threaten to take away land legally bought and bring a halt to a development that will boost Monte Cleure’s economy exponentially... Why would someone make threats like that? If word was to get out that land legitimately purchased could be snatched away at the whim of a despot ruler, who would want to invest in such a place? Why would someone put their whole economy in peril?’

      Dominic turned puce. ‘Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to confiscate your land and expel you from our country and to hell with the consequences. We would recover from any short-term financial hit. However, my father will not allow a bastard to be born into the House of Fernandez. Catalina has brought enough shame to our family in recent months...’

      ‘What, by ending her engagement to Helios?’ Nathaniel said scornfully, cutting him off. ‘Was she supposed to marry him knowing he loved someone else?’

      ‘We both know Helios ended it, whatever the world was told. If Catalina had done her duty and held his interest she would never have been dumped for a common whore and would now be