“Oh, please, don’t do this to me now. We really have to do this, so be a little patient, sweetheart.”          Michaela Roberts put her hand over her belly and tried to suppress the sense of rising nausea that was threatening her with immediate action if she didn’t get a hold of some saltine crackers or a bottle of cranberry juice.          Lately, morning sickness was draining all her energies, and it was even worse when it lasted the entire day. Worse still now when she was about to tell a man she didn’t know he was going to be a father of her baby…          She parked her car and took a deep breath, almost relieved to discover a roadblock in her path. The wrought-iron gates that divided the massive mansion from the rest of the world looked impenetrable.    &nb

          She was taking her time to reply and Maxim decided to wait patiently. His gaze stopped on her hands. They were delicate, feminine hands, void of jewelry and flashy nail polish. It was far too easy to imagine how soft those hands would feel on his body, how pale they would look against the dark skin of his chest.          A pang of lust hit Maxim low in the gut. Michaela Roberts was a beautiful woman, there was no denying that. Much less adorned than the type of woman he was accustomed to.          Her face had only the bare minimum of makeup, showing flawless ivory skin, her copper eyes slightly emphasized by colored eyeshadow. Her full lips had just a bit of pale pink gloss on them that wouldn’t take long to kiss right off.          Her long, light-brown hair was st

          Again, her sweet voice broke his train of thoughts. This time this bothered him a lot. Thinking about her in a certain way was… amazing. “I’m thinking of taking legal action against the clinic,” Michaela said softly. “I’m a lawyer and I’m certain we would have an extremely strong case.” “I’m certain we would, too, despite the fact that I don’t have a law degree,” Maxim replied wryly. “But that would mean a lot of press.”           The media circus would be out of control. Sensational headlines for a world that loved nothing more than scandal. And his wife’s fertility issues, his marriage, all of it would be thrust into the spotlight.           It was the last thing he wanted, both for Antonia’s sake and his own. There was no point in tearing down her memory… not now that she was gone. Some things were best left buried, and the f

          She should’ve been extremely content with him as her baby’s father. First and foremost, he was royal and extremely wealthy. He was to be the next king of Carpathia and along with that would receive an inheritance worth billion, coupled with the personal fortune he’d amassed with his hugely successful corporation.          His chain of luxury hotels and casinos was popular with the rich and famous, both on the island of Carpathia, and in almost every other major tourist spot in the world. In the eyes of most women, he would be the golden chalice. A ticket to status and riches beyond most people’s imaginations.          And yet Miss Michaela Roberts had acted as though carrying his baby was equivalent to being sentenced to the royal dungeon, which they didn’t have at the palace, regardless of what

          She ignored Maxim, thrusting her chin up and trying to look unaffected by him, his presence, and his insinuations. Maxim gripped her hand and stopped her from walking, drawing her close to him. Her heart began to pound so hard she was certain he must be able to hear it.          Standing this close to him, Michaela could feel the heat coming from his body, smell the intoxicating, masculine scent that was one hundred percent raw, sexual man. One hundred percent Maxim, the man, not Maxim, the prince.          Michaela slightly shook her head. Since when had she noticed how a man smelled? Unless she was at the gym and it was in a negative connotation, she didn’t think she ever had.          So why did Maxim’s smell appeal to her like this? Why did it make her puls