Modern Romance November 2016 Books 5-8. Rachael Thomas

does he want?’

      The concierge’s voice dropped to a scared murmur. ‘It is not my place to ask.’ Nathaniel might be the boss and owner of the entire building, but Dominic was heir to the throne of the entire country.

      Nathaniel left unsaid his thought that the Prince might not be such a self-satisfied moron if people asked questions of him.

      ‘Send him up.’

      While he waited for the elevator to bring Dominic to him, he staggered to the kitchen and downed a pint of water.

      Whatever the Prince wanted could not be good.

      A loud rap on the door announced his arrival.

      Nathaniel pulled the door open. The burly figure of the heir to the Monte Cleure throne strode in, followed closely by a bodyguard.

      ‘What can I do for you, Dominic?’ he asked, deliberately not using his title. Then, also deliberately, he turned his back and walked through to the living area. ‘Here to celebrate some festive cheer with me?’

      When there was no answer, he said, ‘Can I offer you a drink?’

      ‘From the look and smell of you, you’ve already had enough to drink,’ Dominic sneered. He had the air of a junior silverback making a show of asserting its dominance. If his head didn’t hurt so much, Nathaniel would find it amusing.

      ‘If I’d known you were coming I would have showered. So, drink?’

      ‘I’m not here for a social visit.’

      ‘I didn’t imagine you were. However, I am of the opinion that even the most boring business conversation can be sweetened with a pot of fresh Columbian coffee.’ It could only help his pounding 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,