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The Greek's Billion-Dollar Baby
Clare Connelly
The man with the iron will… Meets the woman who will change his life! He might be outrageously wealthy, yet all the money in the world couldn’t save Leonidas Stathakis from the pain—and gut-wrenching guilt—of losing his loved ones. Since then, he’s forbidden himself all pleasure in life. Until he meets enchanting innocent, Hannah at a lavish party in Greece… That night, Leonidas breaks all his rules, indulging in red-hot oblivion—with inescapable consequences…!
The man with the iron will…
Meets the woman who will change his life!
All the money in the world couldn’t save Leonidas from the pain—and guilt—of losing his loved ones. Since then, he’s forbidden himself all pleasure in life. Until he meets enchanting innocent Hannah at a lavish party in Greece…
Reeling from the discovery of her fiancé’s infidelity, Hannah is determined to swear off men. But her instant chemistry with Leonidas is undeniable. And for one night, they break all their rules, indulging in red-hot oblivion—with inescapably powerful consequences…
CLARE CONNELLY was raised in small-town Australia among a family of avid readers. She spent much of her childhood up a tree, Mills & Boon book in hand. Clare is married to her own real-life hero and they live in a bungalow near the sea with their two children. She is frequently found staring into space—a sure-fire sign that she’s in the world of her characters. She has a penchant for French food and ice-cold champagne, and Mills & Boon novels continue to be her favourite ever books. Writing for Modern is a long-held dream. Clare can be contacted via clareconnelly.com (http://www.clareconnelly.com) or at her Facebook page.
Also by Clare Connelly (#u4211c2fb-f8ca-5516-a7f7-43c243996385)
Bought for the Billionaire’s Revenge
Innocent in the Billionaire’s Bed
Bound by the Billionaire’s Vows
Her Wedding Night Surrender
Spaniard’s Baby of Revenge
Shock Heir for the King
Christmas Seductions miniseries
Bound by Their Christmas Baby
The Season to Sin
Mills & Boon DARE
Guilty as Sin miniseries
Her Guilty Secret
Her Innocent Secret
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
The Greek’s Billion-Dollar Baby
Clare Connelly
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08828-2
THE GREEK’S BILLION-DOLLAR BABY
© 2019 Clare Connelly
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Note to Readers (#u4211c2fb-f8ca-5516-a7f7-43c243996385)
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For Emma Darcy,
who wrote the first Mills & Boon I ever read
and thus gave me one of the greatest gifts of my life:
an enduring love of passionate escapist romance.
There is a piece of Emma Darcy in every book I write.
Contents
Cover (#u640d02a5-c9f0-5332-a56a-2ab3eaca033e)
Back Cover Text (#uc9aa5e46-9d0c-5d0f-a7b7-73256d586cdb)
About the Author (#u97d5d711-b521-5ae6-b504-3717d6b0d717)
Booklist (#u228418f9-2a04-54a1-803c-568e792113a8)
Title Page (#u94e2d895-3288-5201-be51-a94ede2fcfd8)
Copyright (#ue406bb1a-0562-5656-ab41-69e42bcfce28)
Note to Readers
Dedication (#ud18265b4-6a20-5d6a-b2f0-6a0a845088c1)
PROLOGUE (#u95f2ed94-fc28-52bd-a5e8-0ac3feae1ba5)
CHAPTER ONE (#uf7ae1c12-d8da-5429-be37-5fc1226f5b6e)
CHAPTER TWO (#u025da424-9122-5cd2-9289-742cf86bb745)
CHAPTER THREE (#uaa315e35-8d06-5ed5-b0c0-285091e0742e)
CHAPTER FOUR (#u80df2dba-5825-57d9-b340-1ae6262a9f30)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
PROLOGUE (#u4211c2fb-f8ca-5516-a7f7-43c243996385)
BEING EQUAL NUMBER TWO on the international rich list might have made Leonidas Stathakis the envy of the world, but Leonidas knew from personal experience that money was a poor substitute for having what you really wanted in life.
Billions in the bank didn’t take away the empty throb of loss that dogged your steps when you’d had to bury your loved ones.
Being rich didn’t take away the grief, nor the guilt, nor the pain and the sense of impotence at knowing you had put someone in harm’s way—that you had failed to protect them.
This was his fourth New Year’s Eve without his family. The fourth year he’d seen draw to a close with only memories of his wife, Amy, and their two-year-old son, Brax.
It felt like a lifetime.
When he closed his eyes, he saw her as clearly as if she were standing in front of him. He’d never forget the way she smiled, as though she’d struck a match inside and happiness was exploding out of her.
How could someone so full of life and vitality simply cease to exist? For all her strength, she’d been so weak at the end, so fragile. Ploughed into while walking Brax to the playground. What chance did either of their bodies stand against that hunk of metal, commanded by a madman?
Hair that had been a vibrant russet with eyes that were the same shade as the ocean beyond this hotel; he saw her as she’d been in life, and then, as she’d been in death.
He would never forget Amy Stathakis, nor the violent fate that had awaited her, murdered because of his father’s criminal activities.
Dion Stathakis had destroyed their family, and, with Amy and Brax’s death, had destroyed Leonidas’s life.
Anger surged inside him and he curved his fingers more tightly about his Scotch glass, wondering how many of these he’d had. Not so many as to dull the pain yet, though in his experience it took more than a few quick drinks in a bar to get anywhere near the obliteration he sought. Especially at times like this, when his memories were at their clearest.
Happiness surrounded him. Loud, exuberant noises of celebration. People seemed to love marking the close of a year, celebrating the arrival of a new one, and he could understand that. At one time, he’d felt just the same—he had celebrated life with Amy.
Now, every day was something to be got through. Every year was simply something he survived—without them. His very existence was a betrayal. How many times had he thought he would give his life to return theirs? He was the son of the criminal bastard—he, Leonidas, should have paid for his father’s crimes. Not his innocent wife and their beautiful son.
Bitterness threatened to scorch him alive.
He threw his Scotch back and, without his signalling for another, a hostess arrived at his table, replacing it with a substitute, just as he’d requested. There were some perks to being the owner of the place, and this was one of them.
He lifted his head towards her in acknowledgement, noting dispassionately how attractive she was. Blonde hair, brown eyes, a caramel tan and pale pink lips that were quick to turn into a smile. A nice figure, too. She had the kind of looks he had once found irresistible.
But not any more.
Yes, he could have opened himself to the hint of desire that stirred inside him. That started in his gut and, as his eyes dropped to her breasts, to the hint of lace he could see beneath the cotton shirt she wore, spread like flame, threatening to make him hard right there in the skyline view bar of his six-star hotel on Chrysá Vráchia.
But he refused the impulse. He turned his attention to his Scotch, taking pleasure in denying his body any hint of satisfaction on that score. It had been four years. Four years without Amy, four years without knowing the pleasure of a woman. It was a habit he had no intention of breaking…
CHAPTER ONE (#u4211c2fb-f8ca-5516-a7f7-43c243996385)
HANNAH HADN’T COME to Chrysá Vráchiato lose her virginity.
She hadn’t come to this stunning Greek island for any reason other than she’d been in shock and needed to escape Australia. Her controlling aunt, uncle, and the cousin she’d thought of as a sister—who’d been sleeping with Hannah’s fiancé.
She’d discovered them in bed together and been at the airport two hours later, booking the first available flight—which just happened to bring her here.
This stunning paradise she’d heard of all her life and wanted to visit. Golden cliffs, white sand beaches, turquoise waters, lush green forests—it was paradise on earth and the perfect place to chew through her honeymoon savings and rebuild her heart.
So apparently even the darkest storm clouds had silver linings.
No, Hannah hadn’t come to Greece to lose her virginity but as her eyes kept straying to the man across the hotel bar, she felt the pull of desire deep in her chest, and something more.
