Ruthless Russian, Lost Innocence - Shaw Chantelle - Страница 38

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In the taxi to the airport he phoned his PA and asked her to postpone the meeting, and then he called his chief executive and ordered him to catch the next flight to Prague. The delay meant there was a danger they would lose the deal, but for the first time in his life he had something he cared about more than business-his one thought was to get back to the Villa Corraline as quickly as possible.

He should not have left Ella alone. Especially when she was in a state of shock after finding out that she was pregnant. He believed now that she had not known she was expecting his baby. Unlike many women he had met she was not a clever actress, and the expression of stunned disbelief on her face when the doctor had given her the news had been real. He could not believe he had made that crass accusation that she had planned to get rid of the baby. The Ella he had come to know was simply not capable of such an action. But, having accepted that fact, he also had to accept that she had announced she was going back to London because she wanted to end their relationship.

Guilt clawed in his gut when he recalled their last explosive confrontation. They both wanted their child, but instead of having a rational discussion about how best they could bring up the baby he had threatened her with a custody battle. No wonder he had glimpsed real fear in her eyes. In her mind he must seem as much of a bully as her father had been-that same father who, when she was a child, had locked her in the tower room of the family mansion, knowing that she was terrified the place was haunted.

He could not blame her if she refused to have anything more to do with him, he thought bleakly, cursing the traffic that clogged the roads leading to the airport. He could only pray that she would give him another chance and allow him to explain just what she meant to him.

Silver moonlight danced across the waves which gently lapped the shore. The beach was silent, the air warm and still, and the fine white sand felt soft beneath Ella’s feet as she strolled along by the water’s edge.

For the first time since she had learned that she was pregnant with Vadim’s baby a sense of calm had settled over her, and she knew that her decision to remain in France and wait for him had been the right one. She had been in the taxi, on the way to the airport, when she had come to her senses and accepted that running away was not the answer. She couldn’t live as a fugitive for the rest of her life, and, more importantly, she accepted that she could not deny Vadim his child.

Back at the villa she had tried to remain calm, and for the baby’s sake had forced herself to eat something. But tonight sleep had proved impossible, and after tossing restlessly in the big lonely bed for over an hour she had finally got up, slipped on her grey silk robe and walked down to the beach.

She missed Vadim, she acknowledged as she stared up at the crescent moon and the stars that studded the sky like diamonds on a velvet backdrop. Apart from the few days when she had been in Paris, this was the first night they had spent apart since they had become lovers. It was such a short time, really, yet her life seemed to have been entwined with his for ever, and she could not imagine living without him.

Now that she was over the shock of discovering that she was pregnant, she was able to think rationally again. Vadim’s threat to fight for custody of their child was understandable when she knew that he still grieved for the daughter he had lost. But she was certain he would never force her to hand over her baby.

It all came down to trust, she mused as she turned to walk back towards the house. Her father had been a cruel man, who had delighted in hurting her and her mother, but Vadim was nothing like him. She could not deny him his chance to be a father again, and when he returned from Prague she would tell him that she accepted his proposal to share Kingfisher House, so that they could bring up the baby together. It would not be easy, living close to him yet being shut out of his life. But she loved him so much that she was prepared to sacrifice her happiness for his.

Lost in her thoughts, she gave a start when she heard her name being called across the dark beach. Vadim was calling her. But Vadim was in Prague. She gave herself a mental shake, convinced that she had imagined his voice. Loving him was turning her into a madwoman, she thought ruefully.

‘Ella…’

A figure came running out of the shadows, tearing across the sand towards her. ‘Vadim?’ Even from a distance she sensed his urgency, and without thinking of anything but her need to be with him she began to run too.

He reached her and swept her into his arms, crushing her against his chest so that the breath was driven from her body. The expression on his face was tortured, his brilliant blue eyes blazing with an emotion that made her heart miss a beat. She could not imagine why he was there, and she stared up at him in confusion when she felt a shudder run through his big body. What could have happened to cause him to look so shattered?

‘I thought you had gone-that I had driven you away…’ His voice was muffled against her throat, and her heart turned over when she felt wetness against her skin.

‘Why are you here?’ she asked shakily. ‘Why aren’t you in Prague, finalising your deal?’

‘I suddenly realised what was truly important to me.’ His Russian accent was very pronounced, his voice as deep and haunting as the notes of a cello. ‘I thought I had terrified the life out of you with my unforgivable threat to fight you for custody of the baby. I was sure you had decided to leave me, and when I arrived at the villa and saw your violin was missing I knew I had been the biggest fool on the planet.’

The expression blazing in his eyes made Ella tremble, but she was afraid that her mind was playing tricks, seeing what it wanted to see. ‘I had planned to leave,’ she admitted, ‘but halfway to Nice I realised that I couldn’t go. Our baby needs both its parents,’ she said huskily.

Vadim closed his eyes briefly and sent up a silent prayer. His heart was slamming beneath his ribs as he tightened his arms around Ella and pressed his lips to her brow, utterly undone by the emotions storming through him. ‘When I walked into the empty house I was afraid that I had left it too late to tell you-’ He broke off, his throat convulsing, and Ella stroked a trembling hand over his face.

‘Tell me what?’ she whispered.

Her hair smelled of lemons. He would carry the evocative scent to his grave-a tangible reminder of the woman who had stolen his heart. Taking a deep breath, he stared down into her smoke-soft eyes. ‘That I love you,’ he said unsteadily. ‘With all my heart and everything I am, angel moy.’ He gave a faint smile at her stunned expression. ‘You are my world, Ella, and I am nothing without you.’

‘Vadim…’ Tears blurred her eyes and she placed a trembling finger across his lips, no thought in her head to hold back the words she had wanted to say for so long. ‘I love you too-desperately-and I will do so for ever,’ she added fiercely, realising from his stunned expression that he needed convincing of the depth of her love for him.

‘Then why did you say that living at Kingfisher House with me would be unbearable?’ he demanded raggedly.

She blushed. ‘Because I knew that I loved you, and I couldn’t stand the thought of sharing the house but not your life.’

‘I only said I would fight you for the baby because I hated the idea of you living away from me and having other relationships,’ Vadim admitted, tangling his fingers in her long blonde hair and tipping her face to his. ‘I refused to admit how much you meant to me until I went to Prague and it finally hit me how goddamned miserable I was without you.’

His tension suddenly eased, and he stared down at her, his blue eyes blazing with such tenderness, such love, that tears blurred Ella’s vision.

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