by Diana Fraser
Taina cleared her throat. “Yes, he founded it. He owned land in northern Finland in the diamond fields which extend into Russia, into Ukrelia. He began mining on a small scale to begin with, where the diamonds were largest and most easily accessible.”
“Ah, and that would have been when he discovered the original Kielo diamond.” Milla slid a photo across the table. “One of the most fabled in the world. A collector’s dream.”
“And it will remain a dream,” interjected Daidan. “The piece was made into a necklace which my wife now owns.” They exchanged guarded glances. “And it’ll form the centerpiece of our collection.”
The reporter gave a low whistle. “The collection which will re-launch Kielo jewelry designs, a showcase for your family’s diamond mine. I hope you’ll have guards on hand!”
“Oh yes. The combined value of all the pieces will be in excess of ten million dollars. So we’ll be working with replicas most of the time. The originals will remain under lock and key in Helsinki except for the launch of course.”
“But you’ll give the press a viewing?” She smiled. “Maybe that’s something we could discuss over dinner?”
Daidan smiled back. “My wife and I would be delighted. We have plans tonight, but perhaps another evening?”
It seemed the editor was less delighted that Daidan’s wife would be joining them. She turned a cooler face to Taina. “And Taina, so nice to see you back. Tell me how was the Caribbean, or was it Aspen, or the Maldives?” She screwed up her face in mock confusion. “Where was it you went? Rumor had you placed in just about every hotspot over the past twelve months.”
Taina licked her suddenly dry mouth, unable to think how to respond. Daidan came to her rescue.
He leaned forward, his hands gathered loosely between his knees and cast the reporter an intent look. “I don’t think we’re here to discuss Taina’s holiday, do you, Milla?”
The reporter blushed and stammered. “Of course. So… tell me what it is you’re most looking forward to about the launch?”
Taina nodded to Daidan, she was on firmer ground now. “It’s a culmination of years of work. First by my father who sadly passed away before he could see the results of his labors.” She glanced at Daidan. “And then by Daidan who’s taken it beyond my father’s imaginings.”
“And your mother?”
There was another awkward pause. Her mother’s death had been hushed up but Taina knew that rumors as to what really happened were plentiful. “The launch will mark ten years since her death. And it will be her pieces which will provide the focus of the launch. And so, of course, it’ll be a very special moment for me.” She glanced at Daidan, determined not to let the other woman have even a small victory. “For both of us.” She extended her hand to Daidan who took it and brought it to his lips and kissed it. There was a flash as someone took a photograph.
“As you can see, Milla, it’s going to be very much a family affair,” said Daidan.
Then he looked back at Taina with a warmth as if he’d been touched by her answers. They were only the truth but maybe he hadn’t been expecting the truth. And with just that one look suddenly she thought things might just work out between them.
Daidan opened the door for her and stepped aside. “Dinner went well tonight, I thought. The team seemed very upbeat.”
He watched her enter the apartment which he’d bought after she’d left and look around. “Yes, they were enthusiastic. They’re going to be fun to work with.” She walked up to first one painting and then another and then glanced around the entire space. “These are all new.”
“You didn’t expect me to take your artwork, did you? After you left I put everything of yours, everything of the family’s, into storage.”
“I noticed you kept my mother’s painting of me. It was in the lounge, on the island.”
He shrugged. “Must have escaped my notice.”
“Of course.” She turned back to the new painting and examined it closely. “It’s beautiful.”
He came up behind her and gently touched her shoulders. He hesitated a moment waiting to see her response to his touch. She froze, but only momentarily. Then he heard the slightest moan and he pressed his fingers deeper into her flesh, finding the small knots of tight muscle which revealed the tension she always carried. She tried to hide it but he knew her well.
As his thumbs probed her tense muscles, his fingers swept around her shoulders, stroking and caressing. She relaxed under his hands and leaned against him.
He kissed the side of her neck and, dredging up all his willpower, he stood up straight again. He couldn’t risk losing himself in his feelings of lust.
He turned her in his arms.
“How are you feeling?”
“Tired.” She cocked her head to one side and looked up at him with the sweetest of expressions. It nearly undid his intentions.
“So… you wish to go to bed.”
She smiled, revealing the small dimples either side of her mouth. “I do.”
He took a deep breath. He needed to be clear. “To sleep?”
Her lips twitched and she ran her hand up the lapel of his jacket, pulling back the cloth in a little tug, curling it around her hand. Her gaze roved up and down his face before settling on his eyes. She shook her head slightly. “No, Daidan. I want you to make love to me. Just as you used to.” She sighed. “Close your eyes.”
He narrowed them instead. “Why?”
She smiled. “So suspicious.” She brushed a finger over his eyes and trailed it down his cheek, touching his lips before dropping her hand to her side. “Close them,” she repeated.
With the memory of her finger upon his skin, he did as he was told.
“Do you remember when we first met?”
He closed his eyes more tightly as he recalled that evening. “Of course. I’d only just arrived in Helsinki from Australia to meet your father and I ended up meeting you first. I’d never been anywhere like this and was sitting in the park in the bright light of evening, overlooking the harbor, and then I saw you. You were wearing jeans and a t-shirt and were sitting alone also, listening to the music.”
“And I looked over and caught you staring at me.”
“Of course I was staring at you. I’d never seen anyone as beautiful as you. But it was something more. There was a quality that got to me. Somehow you managed to avoid all my defenses.”
“And then you came and sat down beside me. Tell me what happened next.”
He frowned. “Why? You know what happened as well as I do. It’s almost as if you’re needing some kind of reassurance. Do you?”
She shook her head in denial a fraction too late and he knew, for some reason, she was nervous.
“Tell me the truth.”
She closed her eyes, exhaled a tightly held breath and looked away. “You’re right. I do feel kind of nervous. Stupid really.”
He shrugged. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. But Taina, we don’t have to make love tonight, or tomorrow. We can wait until you’re ready. There’s no hurry.”
As soon as he’d finished speaking her face relaxed. She had been scared.
“Come,” he continued. “Let’s go into the lounge, I’ll pour you a drink and we can talk about whatever you like. About how we first met, about anything you like.”
She nodded gratefully. “I’d like that.”
He led her into the lounge and she walked to the windows and looked out over the sweep of harbor, dotted with lights. “Champagne?”
“That would be lovely.”
By the time he’d returned, she’d kicked off her shoes and had her feet curled under her, on the sofa. He handed her the glass. “How about a toast?”
“What shall we drink to?”
“To us. And to taking things slowly.” He held her gaze as they clinked glasses and took a sip. “Now.” He placed the glass on the table and sat down beside her. “What shall we talk about?”
“Us. That first night.”
> “As I remember, I took you to my hotel and we made love.”
“Is that all you remember?”
“You can’t expect me to remember all our conversations.”
“I guess not.” She grinned. “Just the important bits.”
But he wasn’t smiling now. “They weren’t the important bits. The important bits were that we were just two people. There was no money, no business, no families to come between us. No complications. Just us.”
“Just us. Not for long though, was it?”
“No. We only had a few nights before I discovered you were the boss’s daughter.”
“And then everything changed.” They were silent for a few moments.
“I know you don’t believe me, but when I asked you to marry me the first time, my proposal had nothing to do with your father or the business. All the arrangements we made came later.” He shrugged. “But those arrangements seemed normal to me—such marriages are a part of my culture.”
“But not mine.”
“No. Not yours.”
“And nor is hitting someone flat to the ground who flirts with your girlfriend.”
He bristled. “I was merely protecting you. That’s what a boyfriend, a husband does.”
“It nearly landed you in jail though, didn’t it?”
He nodded briefly.
“You can’t do anything like that ever again. You know that, don’t you? The police warned—”
“I know what they warned. You don’t need to tell me where my hot-headed passions can lead me. I know well enough. That’s why they’re contained. That’s why I didn’t follow you as I should have done.”
She leaned back on the sofa. “I’m sorry. I wanted us to remember the good times. Do you think… that we could turn the clocks back, just for tonight? Just you, just me, just two people, before everything became so complicated?”
“Just two people,” he repeated. “Of course.”
He took her by the hand and they walked into the bedroom, barely aware of their surroundings.
Once inside he closed the door and kissed her. He’d meant it to be a gentle kiss to begin with but the nervousness she’d been showing earlier had now completely disappeared. And she turned the kiss into a totally sensuous experience—of lips upon lips, mouth opening onto mouth and tongue sweeping against tongue. As their kiss deepened he moved his hands over her shoulders, caressing the edges of her backless dress, skimming his thumb down, below the low rise of the dress. His fingers sought out the lacy strap of her underwear and he groaned, pulling her harder to him so she was left in no doubt as to how much he desired her.
He felt her gasp against his mouth and her hands roved under his jacket and then up inside his shirt. The feel of her hands against his bare skin was enough to drive nearly everything out of his mind. Nearly but not quite. Tonight was too important to him to mess it up by taking her as fiercely as he wanted to. He wanted to coax her, he wanted to enjoy her, but more than that he wanted her to want him as much as he wanted her. He wanted to make sure that she never left him again.
Reluctantly he pulled away from her mouth. He smiled as she leaned in to him, wanting more. Instead he brushed her cheek with his lips, pushed her hair back, nibbled her ear before moving lower. He remembered well the places on her body where he could arouse her with a single touch. But he wasn’t leaving it to a single touch tonight.
He kissed the dip above her collar bone and was rewarded with an instinctive arching of her upper body, allowing him greater access, while her hips stayed pressed against his. He smiled to himself as he flicked his tongue into the same dip. She gasped and he kissed it harder, almost suckling the sensitive area. Their bodies just fitted together. Like some kind of elastic memory—their muscles and joints melded together as if they were one. And they would be soon.
He picked her up in his arms and walked over to the chaise at the foot of the bed. He untied the halter top which would have fallen to her waist if she hadn’t crossed her arms against her breasts.
“I want to see you, Taina.” He brushed his hands along her arms, willing her relax. There was no way he was going to force anything.
She bit her lip and nodded and let the dress drop to expose her breasts but still she held the dress tight against her stomach. Her breasts were small and round, their nipples hard and erect, waiting for his mouth.
“Perfect,” he murmured. He lifted her to standing on the chaise, giving him more freedom to touch all of her. He licked around her nipple before taking it in his mouth and suckling it until it elongated.
Her hands swept into his hair, holding him where she wanted him to be. And he feasted on her—every part of his body, every thought and feeling was attuned to hers. He’d forgotten how good she tasted, forgotten how much he needed her. It was as if he’d been merely existing up till now—a man dying in the desert, who’d forgotten how good it was to have his thirst quenched. He moved to the other breast and felt the quickening of breathing as she responded like she’d always done.
He pulled away. “Taina,” he murmured against her skin that smelled of peaches and cream. “God I’ve missed you.”
He went to push down her dress but she stopped him and he looked up, surprised.
Although her breathing was still coming hard she clutched her dress to her stomach and there was something in her eyes that made him stop. Something he’d have described as fear if he’d thought it were a possibility.
“What’s wrong? Am I going too fast?”
“No, nothing’s wrong,” she whispered. Then she sucked in a deep breath, shrugged and slipped off the couch and walked toward the door. He stood and watched, incredulous. Was she just going to walk away? Then she stopped and turned off the light switch and darkness sank into the room. The only lights now came from the glow of the city that lay beyond the window. There were no neon lights to ruin the atmosphere, just the lights from the harbor and buildings around them.
“There,” she said. “That’s better.”
“Whatever you want, Taina.”
She took a few steps and paused. In the dim light he saw her pull the dress over her head in one swift movement and it fell to the floor. Now she was wearing only her black Louboutin heels and a white lacy thong. He didn’t think he’d ever seen a sight more enticing. The shadows fell over her creamy skin revealing no detail but a sensual play of light and dark.
“So perfect.” He held out his hand for her and she walked toward him, pushing her fingers through his. He gripped them and brought their joined hands to his lips. “Taina, you are so beautiful. I’d forgotten just how beautiful, how perfect you are.”
Suddenly she pulled her hand away. “No one is perfect, Daidan.”
“You are. Come here.” He pulled her to him and kissed her again, intent on getting her to understand in no uncertain terms just how beautiful she was.
Taina felt more comfortable now it was dark. It had been so long since she’d been with Daidan. She couldn’t bear to be a disappointment to him. All thoughts were swept away by his searching kiss and his equally searching hands, caressing her back, her bottom, slipping his hands under her brief thong, pulling it slightly so that it pulled against her clitoris. She gasped and pulled away.
His eyes narrowed, questioningly. She smiled and ran her hand up his shirt and pushed them both under his jacket. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”
He grinned and slipped out of his jacket. “This better?”
She shook her head.
He loosened his tie but got stuck on the knot.
She loosened it for him, pulling it from around his collar with a snap before tossing it to one side. Then she unbuttoned his shirt slowly until it hung loose, and placed her palms against his dark nutmeg skin—smoothly muscled and strong. She’d forgotten how it made her feel. How the brush of her hands against his skin made her feel deep inside, increasing her need for him.
She pressed her lips to his chest and then lower to his stomach. He held her there fo
r a moment before pulling her away. He shrugged off his shirt while her hands shook as they tried to unzip his straining trousers. Her hands went to explore him further but he pulled her to standing.
“Not tonight, habibti. Tonight I want to see you. Tonight I want to make love to you, face to face, so that I can truly believe you are in my arms again.”
He took her by the hand and led her to the bed.
CHAPTER THREE
Taina fell back onto the silk sheets. Daidan knelt on the bed, his hands sweeping up her legs and pushing them apart. Then he took her foot and kissed it, caressing it with his mouth, massaging it with his fingers until she was writhing, desperate for him to be inside her.
And then he kissed her—not on the foot, not the knee not the thigh, but on her sex. His tongue probed the wetness he found there before licking that most sensitive area that throbbed with need. She gripped the sheets with her fists and began to pant, the ripples of orgasm instantly mounting, demanding release. He’d always been able to bring her to instant arousal with a few deft touches of his hands and tongue. And it was no different now.
“Daidan,” she pleaded. But still he kept on with his wicked tongue and his fingers. Then suddenly he pulled away and in one swift movement had pushed deep inside of her with his cock. She came instantly. He stayed, buried deep within her as she cried out, her body shaking as wave after wave of release came over her.
He held her until it had passed and then he pulled out and thrust deeply inside her again. He entwined his hands with hers and pushed them above her head. Between his hands and his hips she couldn’t move even if she’d wanted to. He kissed her before pulling away too soon. She lifted her face to his but he shook his head, as he moved in and out of her in a slow, relentless rhythm which was already building up the coiling sensations inside her. Like the crackling electricity in the atmosphere before a storm, every part of her felt alive, more alive than she’d felt all the time she’d been away from him. And then she felt him tense and he grunted as his hips thrust deeply into her with deliberate strokes as he came into her. Her body orgasmed around him, drawing his seed deep into her body where she needed it. She lay back, eyes closed, pinned down by his arms, as slowly her breathing and body returned to normal.