Returning to Claim His Heir

‘Go,’ he said simply.

The cry sounded out again—faint, but enough to tell her she needed to go. It was a divine intervention, of sorts, saving her from her own uncontrollable libido. Stupid, stupid girl.

‘Nora.’

She turned around and saw he was still standing where she’d left him. The night sky formed an impressive backdrop, making him look even more otherworldly than he already did.

‘I have to leave again shortly for the city.’ He cleared his throat and adjusted the collar of his shirt, looking up at her. ‘Have dinner with me again tomorrow?’

She swallowed hard at the knowledge that she had a twenty-four-hour reprieve. She would figure out how to tell him about Liam. She had to. Nodding and throwing him a tight smile, she practically ran the rest of the way up to her room, her heart hammering in her chest.

Duarte stepped inside the entrance hall of the house and was struck by the utter silence. He’d spent the morning with Angelus, and they’d agreed to send the thumb drive for immediate decoding, finding a source they trusted so the information wouldn’t be lost. The rest of his day in Rio had been spent in meetings with the future tenants of his new developments, figuring out what they needed and ensuring he was offering the best fresh start possible for them.

He’d eventually cut his day short and decided to return to the coast early, knowing he wanted to ask Nora more questions but also just wanting to be with her.

Upstairs, he passed the door to Nora’s room. It was open. He saw the bed freshly made and the small cot. He entered the room, his gut tightening at how empty it looked. He felt his body poised to run downstairs, to investigate further, when a splashing noise outside caught his attention.

He reached the balcony in a few quick steps, peering down to see a blur of action in the pool. Nora sat at the edge, dipping her tiny infant’s toes into the water. As though she felt his presence, she looked up and spotted him. A shy smile crossed her lips and she waved.

Duarte pressed his lips together, hardly able to manage the riot of emotions coursing through him. For that split second he’d believed she’d gone, he’d been ready to rip through the country in search of her. It was madness. He felt as if he was losing what little control he’d gained over himself in the past months. How was it possible to feel calmed by this woman’s presence and yet so completely undone?

She had essentially admitted to being part of the syndicate that had tried to kill him. She was a criminal by her own admission. And yet something in him refused to believe that was all she was. He had witnessed her care for her son, her intelligence and heard of her determination to finish her studies.

She was a contradiction. He usually despised things that didn’t make sense, and yet he kept moving back to her, time and time again, as if he was a magnet and she was his true north.

Even as he told himself he needed to keep his distance, and regain the upper hand in order to move forward with his investigation, he found himself moving down the stairs and through the house towards the sound of her gentle laughter.

Nora had felt as though she were breaking apart all day as she’d wrestled with her decision and her fear of staying too long here in this wonderful place. She didn’t quite know how to accept the calm happiness of being so secure and cared for... Deep down, she knew this kind of life was never meant for someone like her. She knew she couldn’t stay for ever. Especially once Duarte knew everything. She wished that everything could just stay the same in their little bubble, but it couldn’t.

And then Duarte had come back early from the city, and he had looked down at her in his intense way and she’d felt her heart sing in response.

He’d stayed outside with them for much longer than he ever had before, even offering to hold Liam while she took a short swim. She’d felt her hands shake as she’d passed her precious child into Duarte’s arms, trying not to stare at their identical colouring and the same little frown between their brows.

The urge to tell him in that moment that he held his son in his arms had been overwhelming, but Inés had been watching them, and Nora hadn’t been prepared to do it in the middle of the day.

Coward, she’d told herself as she’d dived under the water to disguise the tears that had flooded her eyes.

And even now, as she showered and dressed for dinner, her stomach flipped as her mind replayed the image of the two of them together in her mind. Father and son...

She knew she couldn’t stay there another moment, knowing she was keeping such a huge thing from him. Duarte was not the man she’d thought he was. He was not like her father. Yes, he would be angry at her deceit, but she didn’t believe he would be cruel.

She no longer feared that he would want to take her son from her and she now knew she couldn’t keep his son from him. Liam was an Avelar by birth, and no matter how much she wished it to be different she had no hope of competing with the kind of life such a birthright would offer him.

She needed to tell Duarte and hope that they could find a way through this together.

Duarte had taken his time showering and dressing for dinner, his senses heightened. Now he waited in the dining room, listening to the sounds above of Inés and Nora talking as they readied the infant for bed.

He had surprised himself with his interest in the boy, offering to hold him that afternoon out of pure curiosity. And something had tightened in his chest as he’d looked into the small silvery blue eyes so like Nora’s. He’d felt something protective and primal that he’d feared examining too closely.

He didn’t want to come on too strong, he reminded himself. This was just dinner between two people with a mutual attraction.

When Nora appeared, the sight of her curves encased in jade-green silk stole his breath. She always looked beautiful, but tonight she looked radiant. Her eyes looked wider, outlined with the barest sweep of shadow, and the apples of her cheeks glowed with vitality. Her soft full lips were painted a rose-pink that made his own mouth water at the memory of how she tasted.

‘You’re really dressed up.’ She smiled nervously. ‘Have you ordered another chef audition?’

‘Not exactly.’ His voice sounded a little rough even to his own ears, and he could see the way she looked at him a little uncertainly. He cleared his throat, running a hand along his freshly shaved jaw. ‘I thought we could go out tonight—if that’s okay? The old town is really not to be missed, and I know a place that makes the best moqueca de peixe in the whole of Brazil.’

She smiled, and Duarte felt his chest ease.