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Phoebe stared up at him and saw by the expression on his handsome face that he was deadly serious, not a hint of amusement lingering in his eyes.
‘That is not going to happen,’ she said bravely, but inside she was quaking like a leaf with fear at the prospect of Ben going to Greece—not to mention the prospect of Jed being in her life again, especially with fresh evidence of her own demeaning response to him. Tearing her gaze away didn’t help. A naked man should not be able to look so intimidating and yet so desirable. Closing her eyes for a second, she shook her head, totally humiliated by her own weakness where he was concerned. Then, opening them again, she looked straight past him.
‘You have had your fun, Jed. Get dressed before you catch cold.’ She spoke to him as she would to Ben, and, picking up her glass of wine from the table, she glanced at the sofa before turning to sink down into the armchair.
Phoebe felt exhausted, yet her own innate honesty forced her to admit she was more sensually alive than she had been in years. How had he got too her so quickly? she wondered. Five years of celibacy could do that to a woman, she supposed, and took a sip of wine. Especially with a super-stud like Jed Sabbides, who was fast becoming the bane of her life…
‘Though on second thoughts a dose of pneumonia might get you out of my life,’ she muttered.
‘Not a very nice sentiment to the father of your child, and not worthy of the Phoebe I knew, with the laughing eyes and the tender heart.’
Surprised, she glanced at him, but if he thought he could sweet-talk her simply because they’d had sex he was wasting his time. She was relieved to see he had put his jeans on, but she could not help admiring the play of muscles in his chest and abdomen as he raised his arms and pulled the black sweater over his head. As his dark head emerged he looked down at her, the knowing sensual gleam in his eyes telling her he had read her mind.
Jed was too sophisticated, too knowledgeable of the female sex. She had no doubt many more beautiful and more experienced women than her had fallen for his seductive charms. She hadn’t stood a chance.
Phoebe was disgusted with herself—and him…coupling like animals on Aunt Jemma’s prized sofa. Yet she could not deny the lingering warmth inside her, the musky male scent of him still in her nostrils. She shivered, suddenly afraid not just for Ben but for herself.
She had to get rid of Jed before she succumbed to his overwhelming masculine attraction all over again. She had to get rid of him once and for all—or at least limit any contact with him to the bare minimum. With that in mind, she answered him.
‘You never knew me, Jed. You never wanted to—except as a willing female in your bed, eager to do anything you asked.’ It took every ounce of willpower she possessed to look steadily at him. ‘If you think having sex with me now changes anything, you are wrong. I am no longer the innocent girl who thought sex equated with love. You should be pleased with yourself. You taught me well. Sex is just sex—a pleasurable pastime, but never to be confused with love.’
He didn’t look pleased. The dark eyes staring down at her flared with anger and some other emotion she could not define, but she didn’t care as she continued. ‘I love my son. Ben is a delightful, happy and open-hearted boy, loved by those around him, and there is no way am I going to let a cold, emotionally retarded man like you come between us.’
‘You seem to forget he is my son as well,’ Jed prompted.
‘Unfortunately I can’t forget…And I concede you are right in as much as we do need to talk.’
‘Seeing sense at last,’ he stated, and moved closer.
Phoebe lifted her arm and held her hand out palm-up in rejection.
‘Wait—hear me out,’ she demanded, her blue eyes cold on his hard face. ‘I will tell Ben you are his father when I think he is ready, and I am willing to allow you to visit him—but under my rules. The times of your visits are to be arranged sensibly between us or through a lawyer. But either way I will not allow you to take him out on his own or to Greece, simply because I don’t trust you to return him.’
‘You dare to lay down rules to me?’ Jed declared, outraged. He had listened to Phoebe malign him long enough and, grasping her by the upper arms, he hauled her to her feet. ‘Now it is your turn to listen to me, woman. For starters, five years ago I never suggested you have a termination. I was angry when you said you were pregnant because it simply wasn’t something I expected and you caught me off guard. What I said later, when I had got over my initial panic, was supposed to reassure you. I told you not to worry and that Dr Marcus would look after you meaning I would provide the best medical care for your pregnancy and I would pay for everything. I meant until the child was born and ever after. So get that into your crazy mixed-up mind once and for all. To me, all life is sacred. I would never, ever suggest terminating a child of mine.’ Jed declared adamantly.
‘I know I said having a child was not on my agenda, but logically how could it be when you had only told me moments earlier you were pregnant? And if you think you can use your misguided perception of the conversation we had to prevent me claiming Ben as my son, forget it…You have had Ben to yourself for years, but not any more—of that I can assure you.’ His dark eyes raked over her casually clad slender body, so feminine and yet so deceitful, Jed reminded himself.
‘Now, we can do this the easy way: put the welfare of our child first by marrying and providing him with a stable home and two parents. Or we can do it the hard way and fight in every court there is for custody. That is the only choice you have, Phoebe, believe me. There is no way I am going to be a part-time father in my son’s life.’
Phoebe drew in a shuddering breath. His denial of ever suggesting a termination made a kind of sense, if it was true. And trust Jed to have a logical explanation for the not on the agenda. Unfortunately that did ring true. Could she possibly have been mistaken all these years?
Either way, it did not really matter, and the crazy mixed-up mind comment had gone down like a lead balloon. She was slow to anger, but this arrogant man holding her had made her just that. It was Jed who drove her crazy…making her doubt herself. But there was absolutely no doubt in her mind that he had deserted her in the end. Whatever excuse he came up with could not change that fact.
Now he had walked back into her life, into her house, and in no time at all had seduced her into having sex. And she had let him, almost begged him. Worst of all, he had made her afraid.
She had fought hard to build her self-esteem after Jed’s betrayal, to build a life and a career to support her son, and she was proud of what she had achieved. No way would she allow his incredibly powerful personality to overcome her own. She had once before and it had almost destroyed her.
Phoebe stared defiantly up at him and, avoiding the termination issue, latched on to his last comment. ‘You won’t be able to help it,’ she derided. ‘I seem to remember you were always a workaholic, flying between continents on business every few days. I once worked out that in our twelve-month affair we actually spent less than six months together. Unless you have had a massive lifestyle change you would always be a part-time father, married or not, and as I have told you I prefer not.’
Jed stiffened, dropping his hands to curl them into fists at his sides as he looked at her long and hard. Then his heavy lidded eyes lowered, masking his expression.
‘No, I have not changed, Phoebe,’ he finally responded. ‘But you certainly have. You rarely argued with me before. I remember a beautiful, bright and sensual girl, eager to explore all life had to offer. Not a sharp-tongued—’
‘You mean a besotted fool,’ she cut in swiftly. ‘Willing to do your bidding at the drop of a hat. Well, those days are well and truly over. I am a mother—I have a son I love and a life that I love, and we don’t need you. I want you to leave now.’ Suddenly she was tired, confused, and just wanted him gone.
‘Don’t worry, I will. But before I leave you need to hear a few home truths—something to think about before I return tomorrow,’ he told her curtly. ‘Whatever you may think, Ben does need me. However much you try to deny it, the boy is part Greek. He is going to inherit a major Greek company one day, and a lot more. He needs to know the language and how to handle the responsibility—not something he is likely to learn stuck in a quiet backwater of the English countryside with a mother and great-aunt his only family.’
Phoebe listened in growing alarm as a stony-faced Jed continued in a cold, hard tone. ‘I remember you told me your parents died in a car accident when you were seventeen. But Ben has a grandfather, an aunt and uncle, cousins, and a dozen other relatives in Greece—not to mention a father,’ he declared with an arrogant arch of one ebony brow. ‘Do you really think he will thank you later for depriving him of the largest part of his family?’ he queried. ‘Or is it more likely he will grow to resent you for depriving him of what is his by right?’
With a sinking heart Phoebe realised what Jed said could very well be true. Did she have the right to deprive Ben of the Greek side of his family? In her heart she knew the answer was no, and the realisation sapped what little energy she had left. All she wanted to do was go to bed and bury her head under the pillow, pretend today had never happened, but she knew that was not an option.
‘You may be right,’ she sighed, too exhausted to argue further.
‘You know I am, Phoebe,’ he drawled, his eyes no longer cold as they met hers. Something in the gleaming depths made her heart miss a beat. ‘You may think you have the ideal life with Ben, but there is nothing ideal about bringing up a child without a father. Even a part-time one, as you think I would be.’ He lifted his hand and drew a gentle finger down her cheek. ‘But given a chance I could surprise you.’
Jed did…His hand slipped lower down to curve round her waist, and with his eyes still locked with hers, the warmth in them unmistakable, he bent his head and brushed her lips with his. He kissed her softly, gently, before raising his head, a wry smile on his handsome face.
‘What was that for?’ Phoebe asked, stirred by his tenderness when she did not want to be.
‘For Ben, and for what we shared in the past—and for what we just shared now on your very accommodating sofa. I could not leave you in anger. Sit and finish your drink. I’ll see myself out.’
Phoebe was left staring at his broad back as he walked out of the room. She was still standing when she heard the front door softly close. Only then did she sink back down into the armchair. Picking up her glass of wine, she drained it.
Damn! She was mindlessly obeying Jed again…and swearing was in danger of becoming a habit with her all because of him.
She glanced wearily around, her gaze alighting on the sofa. It was impossible to miss it, dominating the room, but she would never be able to sit on it again without remembering her downfall—and Jed.
Amazingly, with all the anger, fear and humiliation she felt at her own weakness where he was concerned, a smile curled her kiss-swollen lips as she saw again in her mind Jed’s big body sprawled on the floor, and the look of total confusion on his face as to how he had got there—identical to Ben’s when he had a fall. Jed had looked funny, and he had surprised her because instead of being angry, as she had expected, he’d been amused…
He had surprised her also with his adamant denial that he had suggested a termination. For years she’d believed that he had, and had used it to cling to her hatred of him, but now she was forced to face the fact she was probably wrong. He had never actually said the word. All she had heard was that Dr Marcus would ‘take care’ of her pregnancy and that Jed would pay for everything, and in her emotional state, with her innocent fantasy of a ring and marriage so brutally squashed, maybe she had been thinking a bit wildly and put the worst connotation on his statement…
Not that what she had thought made any difference now.
Jed was here and he wanted his son, and she had to deal with him.
Chapter Seven (#ulink_919b7005-9e86-5132-8e9f-6f4af9010c9f)
PHOEBE barely slept, and when she did a tall dark man haunted her dreams. She awoke with a start to find Ben standing by the bed. She glanced at the clock—six-thirty in the morning. Watching Ben scramble up on to the bed, demanding she get up, she laughed and gave him a cuddle—but inside she was worried sick at the thought of how his young life might change with the arrival of Jed Sabbides.
As for her life—the very idea of Jed sweeping in and out of it for heaven knew how long didn’t bear thinking about. Having to see him on a regular basis visiting Ben was not something she looked forward too, but after a long, restless night she realised she would eventually have to give Jed more than supervised visiting rights to his son. Subjecting Ben to a custody battle was a pointless exercise. As his mother, she had no doubt she would win full custody, but the courts would certainly give Jed partial rights anyway. The only alternative offered—to marry the man—was completely out of the question. She had trusted Jed once with her heart and soul, and he had destroyed her trust. A marriage might work without love if there was respect and friendship between the couple, but without trust there was no hope.
Phoebe would never trust Jed again, and she could think of no hell on earth worse than being married to a man her own innate honesty forced her to admit she had little to no power to resist on a sexual level. That was something else she had learned last night as she awoke from a dream, her body hot and throbbing with frustration.
For years, sex or the lack of it had not bothered her—yet Jed in no time at all had reduced her to a sensually needy female with an ease that scared her. No way was she putting her head in that noose again.
In that moment Phoebe made her decision. She would tell Jed she was willing to amend the conditions on his visiting rights and allowing him to see Ben. At first it would be in her presence, but later, once Ben was comfortable with him, on his own. It was a big concession on her part, which meant eventually gifting Jed a modicum of trust, but not yet—and she wasn’t going to tell him today…
Today she was going to take Ben to the caravan they owned at a holiday park on the edge of Weymouth Bay. They spent all their holidays there and Ben loved the place. They could pick up the wallpaper for his bedroom in the home decor shop in Weymouth, and over the weekend go searching for fossils at Lyme Regis before closing the caravan up for the winter. The autumn half term holiday was usually the last time they used the caravan until the next year. She wasn’t really running away…
Maybe it was cowardly, Phoebe admitted, but she did not feel like facing Jed again quite so soon—not after so helplessly falling apart in his arms last night. She needed time to regain her emotional balance, and this was the perfect solution. At least she could avoid him for a couple of days.
Her car was parked at the end of the drive, the case with their clothes was in the boot, and they were almost ready to leave.
Phoebe glanced around. It was beautiful crisp autumn morning, the sun was shining, and she took a deep breath, her spirits rising. She was warmly dressed in a blue ribbed wool sweater and grey trousers, her cashmere jacket was already in the car, and she glanced at her son.
‘Right, Ben, have you got everything? Rucksack and wellies for the beach?’ she prompted, and she smiled as he held up his bright red wellington boots and bag. ‘Good—put them in the car, and then we can go.’ Holding open the rear passenger door, she watched as he tightened his grip on the boots in one hand and the small rucksack containing tools and toys in the other.
Suddenly the roar of a car engine shattered the silence and she froze, but with a glance up the road she recognised Julian’s red Ferrari and heaved a sigh of relief. The car drew to a growling halt and Julian leapt out and strolled towards her, a broad grin on his attractive face.
‘Hi, Phoebe—Ben my favourite godson.’ He gave Ben a high five. ‘Going fossil-hunting I see.’ It was Julian who had introduced Ben to the hobby, and given him the small rucksack with the child-sized tools.
‘Yes.’ Ben grinned happily up at Julian, and then moved to place his things on the floor of the car.
‘How are you, Phoebe?’ Julian asked, his silver gaze resting on her.
‘Fine.’ She smiled as he looped an arm around her shoulders.
‘You don’t look it. Dark circles under the eyes…what have you been up to?’ he joked.
‘Nothing m—’ But the roar of another car engine drowned out her response.
Unbelievable. She groaned as the black Bentley coming from the opposite direction swerved across the road to pull up a foot in front of the Ferrari, effectively blocking her drive.
Jed Sabbides was not in the best of moods. The first call he had made after discovering Ben was definitely his son yesterday had been to Leo, the head of the security firm that guarded the Sabbides family, to arrange for his operative Sid in England to watch over Phoebe and Ben—with a few added precautions. One of which had been to inform him if they left their home. He had no intention of letting Phoebe run out on him again. Which was why, when he’d received the call this morning in the middle of breakfast, he had left immediately. And had arrived, from what he could see, just in time.
Phoebe, with her long hair swept back in a ponytail and wearing a figure hugging blue jumper and grey pants, looked stunning, and his body reacted with instant enthusiasm even as he frowned at the sight of her companion.
What the hell was Julian Gladstone doing here so early? And with his arm around Phoebe…Whatever they’d had going before, Jed did not want to know. But as of last night Phoebe was his again, and the sooner the man understood that the better.
He let none of his anger show as he stopped his car and got out.
Phoebe tensed, her blue eyes widening as Jed exited the car. Cleanshaven, he was wearing the same black leather jacket as yesterday, and underneath a white rollneck sweater. His long legs were encased in blue denim jeans, and if anything he looked more wickedly attractive than he ever had before. Maybe because a vivid image of him standing in the middle of her living room, his great body stark naked, his bronzed skin gleaming moist in the aftermath of sex, flashed inconveniently into her mind…
Julian bent his blond head to murmur in her ear. ‘Ah, now I understand the dark circles.’ Straightening, he called out in his cut-glass English accent as Jed walked towards them. ‘Good morning. Jed Sabbides, I believe. You are a long way from home, old man.’
Phoebe was expecting fireworks as Jed approached, but she could not have been more wrong. He stopped a foot in front of them.
‘Hi, Phoebe.’ He gave her a brief frowning glance before dropping gracefully to his haunches and adding, ‘Hello, Ben,’ his frown vanishing as he grinned at the boy.
Phoebe glanced down at the two heads almost on a level and heard her son’s joyful response. Her gaze wandered to where the faded denim of Jed’s jeans was pulled taught across muscular thighs, outlining his sex in stark detail. Hastily she looked away, appalled at where her thoughts were taking her, and was relieved when Jed stood up and turned his attention to Julian.
‘Good morning, Julian Gladstone, isn’t it?’ He returned Julian’s greeting.
For a long moment Phoebe simply stared at the scene before her. They were like two stags at bay—both big, powerful males, leaders of the pack. She recognised the macho confrontation. But then to her amazement Jed held out his hand to Julian, who automatically slipped his arm from her shoulders and took the offered hand.
Jed nodded his head in the direction of the road.
‘Nice car you have there, Gladstone—the latest model Ferrari.’
To Phoebe’s astonishment, both men turned to admire the red car.
‘I took delivery of the same model two weeks ago, but I have not had a chance to drive it yet. How does it handle?’ Jed asked.
For the next five minutes Phoebe might as well have been invisible, and in one way she was grateful. Jed’s brief hello had told her clearer than more words that making love—no, not love, having sex—last night meant nothing to him, whereas she, for some inexplicable reason, after years of celibacy never bothering her, had only to look at the man to start thinking about sex…
The tableau was surreal, and she shook her head to dispel her wayward thoughts and simply watched, speechless, as Julian and Jed, with her beloved Ben in tow, strolled to the side of the road. Ben was allowed to sit in the passenger seat of the Ferrari while the men entered into a serious discussion—she presumed on the relative merits of the cars.
By the time they returned to her Jed and Julian appeared to be friends, and Ben had a serious case of dual hero-worship…
‘Mum, Jed has a new Ferrari the same as Uncle Julian’s at his home in Greece. Do you think we can have a new car soon?’ her son asked, casting a disdainful look which reminded Phoebe startlingly of his father at her old Mini Cooper and then a hopeful look up at her.
‘Yes, of course you can. I’ll buy a new one,’ Jed answered before Phoebe could open her mouth. ‘I gave that car to your mum for Christmas long before you were born. I’m amazed she still has it.’ He gave Phoebe a mocking smile that was enough to make her blood pressure rise along with her anger.
‘Did you really?’ Julian inserted. ‘You never told me that, Phoebe.’ And after a shrewd glance at the two adults he finally grinned. ‘Obviously I had it wrong about you two.’ Patting Ben on the head, he said, ‘Have a good time, sport, I’ll see you later. And good luck Jed.’ Then his blue eyes held Phoebe’s for a moment. ‘Have a good day, Phoebe. I’ll be in touch.’ And he left.
Reeling in shock that first Ben and now Julian had fallen for Jed’s easy charm, Phoebe bitterly resented the fact—never mind his revelation about her car and his audacity in saying he would provide a new one.
‘What did you say to Julian?’ she demanded of the tall dark figure beside her.
‘I told him the truth—I spent an informative and intimate evening with you last night—and thanked him for being a good godfather to Ben.’ Jed shrugged his broad shoulders.
He didn’t see the need to inform Phoebe of everything they had discussed. Julian had been hostile at first, and had brought up his wanting Phoebe to terminate her pregnancy. Jed had told him bluntly exactly what he had actually said to Phoebe at the time. He had then suggested man to man that the mind of a woman was a mystery to most logically minded males, and the interpretation they could put on a few words might be totally illogical and contrary to what a guy actually meant. Julian had agreed with him, but somehow Jed knew repeating the conversation to Phoebe would almost certainly end with her calling him a male chauvinist pig again, and he didn’t need the hassle.
He had enough of a problem trying to persuade her to his way of thinking as it was. He had thought last night their sexual compatibility would do the trick, but no such luck. He realised she did not trust him an inch, and until she did he was never going to get Ben.
Last night he had called his British lawyer and told him the whole story, and Phoebe’s take on it. In his opinion Jed had little chance of winning custody of his son in an English court unless he could prove she was a totally incompetent mother—which from what Jed had told him she was not. She was a respected schoolteacher, financially viable, who owned her own home and had an aunt as a built-in babysitter. Jed didn’t have a leg to stand on. The lawyer’s advice was to reach an amicable arrangement with Phoebe if possible, and if not then to get the pair of them to Greece. He stood a much better chance in a Greek court.
With the lawyer’s advice in mind, Jed had formed a plan to spend as long as it took with Phoebe and behave like an old friend rather than a lover while getting to know his son. Provided he could keep his hands off Phoebe, his no-sex, friendly but firm ploy would work. He knew she wanted him, and once he got her to trust him a little it should be no problem getting her to visit Greece and agree to marry him. If not, he’d go to court…
With that in mind, he wasn’t going to give her the chance to argue. ‘Phoebe, you go and get the things you need out of your car and put them in mine, while I put Ben in his seat. He’s told me we are going out for the day, and my car will be much more comfortable for all of us.’ Jed gave her a brief smile and saw the fury in her eyes. Looking down at Ben, he added, ‘Isn’t that right, Ben?’ He wasn’t above using his son to back him up, and, taking the boy’s hand, he headed for the car.
Phoebe, her face scarlet with embarrassment and anger, simply stood open-mouthed at the turn of events. She was mortified at the thought of Jed implying to Julian they’d had sex, and furious at his arrogant assumption he could take over her plans for the day. At least he obviously assumed it was just for the day, which was lucky for her—because with Ben skipping along at Jed’s side towards the car, his hand trustingly in the man’s, she knew she could not argue with him.
Fighting with Jed in front of her son would only result in Ben resenting her interference. Maybe that was what Jed was hoping for? Biting her lip, she retrieved her jacket, the rucksack and wellington boots from her car, and, thankful for small mercies, ignored the suitcase in the boot and locked the car. She closed the gates behind her and slid into the back seat of the convertible without saying a word. Then to her horror Ben piped up…
‘Mum, you’ve forgotten the case with all our stuff for the weekend.’
Jed glanced over his shoulder, his dark gaze narrowed. ‘I thought you had planned just a day out? Ben said we are going hunting for dinosaurs—not something I have done before. But the whole weekend sounds much better. Where exactly were you planning on staying?’ he demanded silkily.
‘In our caravan by the sea. You can stay with us if you like. Can’t he, Mum?’ Ben spoke up yet again, and for the first time in her life Phoebe felt like strangling her own son.
‘No, Ben we are only going for the day now,’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘Jed is a very important man, and we could not possibly impose on his valuable time for more than a few hours,’ she said, sarcasm lacing her tone as she shot her nemesis a filthy look. ‘We are wasting time. Drive on.’ But he didn’t
‘No, Phoebe. I could not possibly deprive you of a weekend away. I have time to spare and would love to spend it with you both.’
‘Isn’t that great, Mum?’ Ben asked, and after her brilliant son had informed Jed the caravan was huge, with two bedrooms and a sofa that made a bed, she did not even have the excuse that there was no room for the manipulative devil. Mentioning that Jed had not packed was a waste of time, as the damn man said he could buy anything he needed…
Then with a cynical smile he insisted on taking her car keys and retrieving the suitcase from her car. Phoebe, running out of excuses to refuse, was stunned into horrified silence.
