The Gold Collection. Maggie Cox

hope you find him, chérie,’ he murmured. He raised his glass. ‘What shall we drink to—absent fathers?’ Beneath the mockery Freya caught the anger in his voice and indignation surged through her. What right did he have to be angry? She was the one who struggled to combine being a single mother with the necessity to work and pay the bills. He lived here in his penthouse apartment enjoying a life of unimaginable luxury, with no understanding of the real world or how many times she had felt overwhelmed by her responsibilities.

      But voicing her resentment would get her nowhere. Zac was convinced that Aimee wasn’t his child and, in fairness, she could understand why. But the very fact that he’d had a vasectomy meant that he did not want to be a father and his present anger was going to be nothing compared with his fury when he learned the truth.

      ‘I guess we’ll just have to wait for the results of the paternity test,’ she muttered as she got to her feet. Suddenly she was bone-weary and could scarcely believe it had only been twelve hours ago that Zac had stormed into the hospital and back into her life. Returning to the penthouse and reliving the memories of the life she had shared with him was more agonising than she had anticipated and she felt the sting of tears behind her eyelids. ‘I wish I hadn’t come here,’ she flung at him angrily. ‘Aimee and I could have stayed in a hotel instead of being here with you and your horrible, suspicious mind.’

      Black brows winged upwards at her outburst. ‘I’ve already explained that I’d like the reason for your visit to Monaco to remain a private affair and I prefer to keep you here under my control. I’ve arranged for a nurse from the clinic to visit tomorrow to take the necessary mouth swabs,’ he informed her coolly. He drained his glass and stood up, instantly dwarfing her. He was too much for her to cope with when her emotions were so precariously balanced, but when she moved to step past him, he blocked her path. ‘The results should be back within ten days, and then you’ll be free to leave. Until then I’m afraid we’re stuck with each other. But it’s possible we’ll find some compensation in being forced to spend time in each other’s company.’

      Freya gave a disbelieving laugh. ‘Such as?’

      Too late she recognised the gleam in his eyes and her heart lurched as his arm shot out and snaked around her waist.

      ‘Such as this,’ he said, ignoring her punitive struggles to escape from his grip as he lowered his mouth with slow deliberation until it hovered millimetres above hers. ‘You may dislike me almost as much as I dislike you, but unfortunately sexual desire seems to have no respect for our mutual loathing—does it, Freya?’

      Before she could formulate a reply, he closed the gap between their mouths and kissed her, his lips moving over hers in a fierce assault that demanded her response. The mockery of his last statement rang in her ears and she pressed her lips together in a desperate attempt to deny him. How could he kiss her like this if he hated her? her brain asked numbly, but it was clear that her body did not care. It had been so long since she had been in his arms and she had missed him so much.

      Weakly she tried to push against his chest but her senses flared at the scent of his cologne and the male heat emanating from him and slowly her fingers uncurled and crept up to his shoulders. His tongue probed relentlessly against her mouth until, with a little gasp, she parted her lips and he instantly thrust between them while his hand tangled in her hair and he angled her head to his satisfaction.

      ‘Zac…’he dealt with her mumbled protest with swift efficiency, deepening the kiss until it was flagrantly possessive, his lips branding her tender flesh as his hunger escalated and he sought her total capitulation. Only when he felt her tentative response, felt the soft stroke of her tongue inside his mouth, did he ease the pressure a little as he explored her with an erotic intent that left her trembling and breathless, and with a moan of despair Freya curled her hands around his neck and clung to him shamelessly.

      A quiver ran through her when she felt his hand slide up and down her body, curve possessively around her buttocks and then move up to her waist. With a deft movement he loosened the belt of her robe and pushed the material aside to reveal the wisp of lace beneath that did little to hide her breasts from his hungry gaze. His eyes darkened and with slow deliberation he pushed the strap of her nightdress over her shoulder, lower and lower until one breast was completely bared.

      ‘No…’ she whispered frantically, knowing that she should stop him but desperate to feel his hands on her sensitive flesh. She’d been starved of him for so long and she whimpered when he cupped the soft mound with his lean brown fingers and flicked his thumb pad back and forth over the taut peak of her nipple. Liquid heat coursed through her and she moaned softly and leaned into him, but he tensed and abruptly lifted his head.

      ‘You were always completely uninhibited in the bedroom,’ he stated harshly, staring down at her with undisguised contempt in his eyes. ‘Don’t look at me with those doe eyes and tell me you don’t want to be here because I know perfectly well what you want, chérie, and I think I’ve demonstrated rather conclusively that I can provide it.’

      The note of self-disgust in his voice destroyed Freya even more than his deliberate cruelty. Clearly Zac had been surprised by his desire for her and shocked by the level of his need, but he despised himself for it almost as much as he despised her. When he released her she swayed unsteadily and for one horrific moment she actually thought she was going to be sick.

      ‘There’s little point in denying that you can still push all the right buttons,’ she said bitterly, colour storming into her pale cheeks when she remembered her wanton response to him. ‘But it’s just lust, Zac. I’m a normal woman and I have the usual needs, which I have no intention of indulging,’ she added on a note of fierce pride. ‘Don’t get it into your head that it’s anything more than that. You don’t mean anything to me.’

      She left her books on the table and flew across to the door, desperate to reach the relative sanctuary of her room, but his confident drawl followed her.

      ‘I’m glad to hear it, chérie, because when I choose to take you to bed it will be on the strict understanding that your body is the only thing I desire—your conniving little mind I can do without. Bonne nuit,’ he murmured silkily when she gave an audible gasp of fury. ‘I hope you sleep well, Freya, and don’t have too restless a night.’

      It was his superior smile that did it. Freya’s anger burst the tight bands of her self-control and with a choked cry she snatched up a small glass ornament from the bureau and flung it at him. He fielded it expertly—of course, she thought bleakly as she fled along the hall to her room. Was there nothing that Zac didn’t excel in? Or had he had plenty of practice in avoiding missiles that irate ex-lovers hurled at his head? It was not a comforting thought and burning up with mortification, she flung herself into bed, drew the covers over her head and wished she could dismiss the sound of his cruel laughter from her ears.

CHAPTER FOUR

      FREYA was running down the hall of the penthouse with Aimee in her arms, searching for Zac. She could hear his voice ahead of her but the passageway seemed to go on for ever and he remained a distant figure who taunted her desperate attempts to catch up with him. Tears filled her eyes as she struggled on. Aimee was heavy and her wrist was agony, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart as she faced the knowledge that she would never reach Zac and she would always be alone…

      ‘Freya—wake up.’

      A familiar, terse voice sounded loud in her ear and when she opened her eyes she discovered that she was not in the hall, but her bedroom, and Zac was standing close to her bed regarding her with undisguised impatience.

      ‘You were dreaming,’ he told her when she stared up at him warily, her eyes huge and shadowed, unwittingly revealing a degree of vulnerability that caused Zac’s frown to deepen. ‘I suppose you’re bound to suffer flashbacks from the accident.’ He glanced at his watch and his mouth tightened. He had waited for Freya to wake up and was already behind schedule, but she looked achingly fragile this morning and he was irritated by his concern. ‘Do you want to talk