{"id":3390,"date":"2024-01-08T10:40:44","date_gmt":"2024-01-08T10:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abby-green.com\/?post_type=portfolio&#038;p=3390"},"modified":"2024-02-02T12:20:26","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T12:20:26","slug":"heir-for-his-empire","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/abby-green.com\/portfolio-item\/heir-for-his-empire\/","title":{"rendered":"Heir For His Empire"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='av_section_1'  class='avia-section av-opsdw6-0277e45d2e31378b3596d79105548fd2 main_color avia-section-default avia-no-shadow  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_section  avia-builder-el-first  avia-bg-style-scroll container_wrap fullsize'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><main  role=\"main\" itemprop=\"mainContentOfPage\"  class='template-page content  av-content-full alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-3390'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-mjn8qu-1c2645dfc8d24888d49efcfe4f4340d0\">\n.flex_column.av-mjn8qu-1c2645dfc8d24888d49efcfe4f4340d0{\n-webkit-border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n-moz-border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div class='flex_column av-mjn8qu-1c2645dfc8d24888d49efcfe4f4340d0 av_one_half  avia-builder-el-1  el_before_av_one_fourth  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding '     ><p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-23jjjq-510655b7f809f12a3aa798ada97aab0c\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-23jjjq-510655b7f809f12a3aa798ada97aab0c{\npadding-bottom:10px;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-23jjjq-510655b7f809f12a3aa798ada97aab0c .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-23jjjq-510655b7f809f12a3aa798ada97aab0c .av-subheading{\nfont-size:15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-23jjjq-510655b7f809f12a3aa798ada97aab0c av-special-heading-h3 blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-2  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first  av-linked-heading'><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag'  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Heir For His Empire<\/h3><div class='av-subheading av-subheading_below'><p>The heir he didn&#8217;t plan for is her best kept secret.<\/p>\n<p>USA TODAY bestselling author Abby Green captivates with this shock baby romance.<\/p>\n<p>Returning for her&#8230;<br \/>\nStaying to secure his heir.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-jxrivs0d-9b4d9f4a26435218d8582cda9f2fef2d'  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>CEO Ajax Nikolau rules his empire with legendary control, until two sizzling nights with lawyer Erin Murphy threatens it all. Because a year later, he discovers the bombshell that could destroy every wall he&#8217;s built&#8211;he&#8217;s a father! And he will protect what&#8217;s his&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Abandoned as a child, Erin vowed to always rely on herself. But when the paparazzi discover the new Nikolau heir, they&#8217;re forced into hiding. Isolated together on a Greek island, forgetting their passionate connection becomes impossible. Especially when Erin uncovers why Ajax is so determined to claim what&#8217;s his&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><br \/>\n<div  class='avia-button-wrap av-23dbs6-f8ec9e57542a200d4e82b9d56811b7c5-wrap avia-button-left  avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_textblock  el_before_av_hr '><a href='#excerpt'  class='avia-button av-23dbs6-f8ec9e57542a200d4e82b9d56811b7c5 avia-icon_select-yes-left-icon avia-size-medium avia-position-left avia-color-dark'  ><span class='avia_button_icon avia_button_icon_left' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue84f' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><span class='avia_iconbox_title' >Read an Excerpt<\/span><\/a><\/div><br \/>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-jd8dfa-7e6e9cf64778cc784c142a186ba04527\">\n#top .hr.hr-invisible.av-jd8dfa-7e6e9cf64778cc784c142a186ba04527{\nheight:30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='hr av-jd8dfa-7e6e9cf64778cc784c142a186ba04527 hr-invisible  avia-builder-el-5  el_after_av_button  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id=\"style-css-av-jxriwdo6-98c51af3a2b792c8fc3553a86a5b959f\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-jxriwdo6-98c51af3a2b792c8fc3553a86a5b959f{\npadding-bottom:10px;\nfont-size:42px;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-jxriwdo6-98c51af3a2b792c8fc3553a86a5b959f .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-jxriwdo6-98c51af3a2b792c8fc3553a86a5b959f .av-special-heading-tag{\nfont-size:42px;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-jxriwdo6-98c51af3a2b792c8fc3553a86a5b959f .av-subheading{\nfont-size:22px;\n}\n\n@media only screen and (min-width: 480px) and (max-width: 767px){ \n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-jxriwdo6-98c51af3a2b792c8fc3553a86a5b959f .av-special-heading-tag{\nfont-size:0.8em;\n}\n}\n\n@media only screen and (max-width: 479px){ \n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-jxriwdo6-98c51af3a2b792c8fc3553a86a5b959f .av-special-heading-tag{\nfont-size:0.8em;\n}\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-jxriwdo6-98c51af3a2b792c8fc3553a86a5b959f av-special-heading-h3 blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-19  el_after_av_hr  el_before_av_textblock  av-inherit-size av-linked-heading'><div class='av-subheading av-subheading_above'><p>Excerpt from<\/p>\n<\/div><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag'  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Heir For His Empire<\/h3><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-jxrixqv6-648333a3a013df2a88a72299dd9ca7c6'  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>Erin still couldn\u2019t believe Ajax Nikolau was standing in her small one and a half bedroom apartment talking to her. Saying&#8230;nonsense. She needed him to be gone. This situation was too dangerous. She wasn\u2019t ready to let him know he was a father right now. She had intended going to him and being cool and collected. Calm. Not in her stockinged feet with her baby\u00a0 &#8211; <em>their baby! \u2013 <\/em>just feet away.<\/p>\n<p>Before she could think of something appropriate to get him to leave he asked, \u2018Why did you leave? Because of what happened between us?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Erin swallowed. She wasn\u2019t about to explain her emotional vulnerabilities to the man who had been responsible for them. She managed to force out, \u2018Don\u2019t be ridiculous. I took that job because it offered better prospects.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Then he said, \u2018I haven\u2019t had a lover since you.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>He sounded almost accusing. He was looking at her intensely, the same way he had in that elevator. Blood rushed to her skin, making it tingle. Between her legs pulsed with awareness and it shocked her. She hadn\u2019t felt so much as a blip of desire since the baby. <em>Since Ajax. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>She was confused. She was afraid to think too much about what it meant, that he hadn\u2019t had a lover since her. Or how that made her feel. Slightly giddy.<\/p>\n<p>Erin tried to ground this rapidly evolving situation in some reality again. \u2018Why are you here?\u2019 She was confused. Did he want her to work for him again?<\/p>\n<p>Ajax shook his head slightly as if clearing it, \u2018I think I came here because I haven\u2019t forgotten what it was like&#8230; Have you?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>As if to help her, a memory flashed back of how it had felt to have Ajax\u2019s body moving in and out of hers, skin slick with sweat, hearts pounding, straining to reach the building pinnacle of \u2013<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Yes,\u2019 Erin lied desperately, \u2018I\u2019ve had other things to think about.\u2019 <em>Like his daughter. <\/em>Her guts churned as memories of finding out about the pregnancy flooded her brain.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019d thrown herself so completely into her new job to try and put what had happened between her and Ajax Nikolau behind her that three months had almost gone by before she\u2019d acknowledged the bouts of morning sickness that had lasted for about a month, and noticed that her already irregular periods had actually stopped.<\/p>\n<p>And, that the bloating wasn\u2019t going away. In fact, it was getting worse. She could barely fit into some of her clothes any more.<\/p>\n<p>And when yet another male client\u2019s gaze had gone to her bigger \u2013 than \u2013 usual chest, she\u2019d had to face the fact that she had to take a moment out of her schedule to get her symptoms checked.<\/p>\n<p>Until the doctor had said the fateful words, <em>\u2018You\u2019re pregnant, almost thirteen weeks along,\u2019 <\/em>she\u2019d literally not even contemplated that possibility. Or maybe she\u2019d been too scared to let the possibility exist.<\/p>\n<p>She had a mild form of endometriosis and so whenever she was irregular or there were strange symptoms she put it down to that. And stress had always had a big effect on her periods, so to say finishing an affair \u2013 even short \u2013 lived \u2013 and starting a new job was stressful was an understatement.<\/p>\n<p>The doctor had looked at her incredulously, \u2018You really had no clue?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Erin had shaken her head, feeling stupid. <em>Pregnant. <\/em>She\u2019d been in a daze for days.<\/p>\n<p>Ajax\u2019s voice cut through the memories when he glanced at her ringless hand and said, \u2018You\u2019re obviously not married, or engaged.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Erin covered her hand. \u2018That doesn\u2019t mean anything, I could be in a relationship.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Are you?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019d forgotten how blunt he was. <em>Just so we\u2019re clear, I want you, Erin.<\/em> She shook her head. \u2018No&#8230;but are you really suggesting that there\u2019s still something between us?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>He didn\u2019t have to answer that. It sizzled between them, as much as Erin would like to deny it. Desperately she tried to pretend it wasn\u2019t happening. \u2018Do I need to remind you that you were the one who cut things off?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Maybe I was a little too&#8230;hasty.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The memory of how close she\u2019d allowed him to get, made Erin say tartly, \u2018It\u2019s been almost two years, the opposite of hasty I would say.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>His gaze met hers, the intensity of his unusually light eyes made Erin quiver inwardly. He said, \u2018I\u2019ve been a little busy.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Well, so have I.\u2019 Birthing his daughter. <em>Tell him<\/em>. But her mouth wouldn\u2019t form the words. Guilt was like acid in her stomach.<\/p>\n<p>Ajax took a step closer to Erin. She knew she should step back but her limbs were like lead. He said, \u2018How can you deny it when it\u2019s running like electricity between us right now?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>His scent washed over her and she breathed it in \u2013 distinctive and achingly, instantly familiar \u2013 musky and woody with something spicy underneath. It hurtled her back in time and all Erin could see was Ajax. She was engulfed in memories, and treacherously, lust. The stresses and strains of the past months dissolved. She was just a woman again, standing in front of a man who had seared himself onto her psyche in more ways than one.<\/p>\n<p>She really felt as if she\u2019d been reconfigured after those two nights in his bed. Her cells re \u2013 aligned. Even though she hadn\u2019t been an innocent, she\u2019d felt as if he\u2019d transformed her into a woman. A sexual woman. With a sense of her own sensual power. He\u2019d given something to her, something she couldn\u2019t even name, but it had felt precious. And she\u2019d forgotten about it until now. Or maybe she\u2019d blocked it out. But here, under his avid gaze, she was feeling all those things again. Sensual, powerful. Desired.<\/p>\n<p>He reached out and touched her hair lightly. \u2018It suits you.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Erin felt self \u2013 conscious. \u2018I&#8230;thank you.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Ajax kept his hand lifted, he said, \u2018May I?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Erin wasn\u2019t sure what he was asking, but everything in her body had her nodding her head. His finger tips traced the line of her jaw, down to her chin. He lifted it slightly, looked at her mouth. \u2018I\u2019ve dreamed of you&#8230;\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Erin had been too exhausted to dream much but there had been nights when she\u2019d known she\u2019d had torrid dreams. She\u2019d just been relieved not to have remembered much about them. She\u2019d felt them lingering in her body though, because she\u2019d woken aching, feeling unsatisfied.<\/p>\n<p>Ajax moved closer. Erin didn\u2019t step away, even though she knew she should, but right now she couldn\u2019t quite remember why. She was caught up in the intensity of Ajax\u2019s proximity and the way he was looking at her and so when his head lowered towards her and his mouth touched hers, she felt nothing but a wild surge of desire. <em>Yes please.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Had he asked if he could kiss her? She didn\u2019t care. She\u2019d given her assent just by accepting it. His mouth moved over hers, more insistent. Asking a question. Erin answered without hesitation, her mouth opening under his, allowing him to deepen the contact.<\/p>\n<p>He moved closer, wound an arm around her back and pulled her into him where she could feel the hard thrust of his desire for her. It sent arrows of need right to her core where she was melting and \u2013<\/p>\n<p>Ajax pulled his head back abruptly, \u2018What\u2019s that sound?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>It took a second for Erin to register the cry of her baby. She reacted instantly, pushing free of Ajax\u2019s arms, and ran to the bedroom.<\/p>\n<p>Ashling had pulled herself up and was standing in her cot, crying. She stopped as soon as Erin appeared giving a gummy smile with glimpses of her newly forming teeth, undoubtedly the cause of her distress.<\/p>\n<p>Erin went in and picked her up. Her cheeks were hot, classic sign of teething pain. She\u2019d almost forgotten about Ajax so she startled a little when she turned around and he was in the doorway.<\/p>\n<p>Ashling saw him and she went still in Erin\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n<p>He was looking at the baby, face like stone. Then he stepped back from the doorway so Erin could come out. She had no choice. She went into the sitting \u2013 room.<\/p>\n<p>Ajax looked at Ashling again. And then, after a long moment, at Erin. \u2018You said you weren\u2019t with anyone.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019m not.\u2019 She clutched Ashling to her like a shield.<\/p>\n<p>He looked at the baby again. \u2018Who&#8230;what?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Reaction was starting to set into Erin\u2019s body, she felt herself trembling. \u2018Her name is Ashling.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Ajax was transfixed. The resemblance between father and daughter was almost laughable as they studied one another. Sallow skin, dark hair. He dragged his gaze away from the baby to look at Erin.<\/p>\n<p>He said, \u2018She\u2019s mine.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>It was emphatic. Even though Erin knew this was her opportunity to admit that he was right she heard herself blurting out, \u2018How can you be so sure?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Ajax was grim. \u2018Because she\u2019s the image of my son.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p><\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-37vvhy-b72d15cd95da914721275c27e493a291\">\n.flex_column.av-37vvhy-b72d15cd95da914721275c27e493a291{\n-webkit-border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n-moz-border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div class='flex_column av-37vvhy-b72d15cd95da914721275c27e493a291 av_one_fifth  avia-builder-el-21  el_after_av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-last  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding '     ><\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":3391,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[23],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - 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