by Diana Fraser
“Yes, this truly is bohemian. Like The Warehouse.”
There was silence for a few moments. “What was your mother like? I know so little about her. Only that knowledge which is public.”
“Public? Like the fact she was an alcoholic who died of a heart attack?”
“Yes.” He shrugged. “Plus the history of her designs.”
“Yes, well the design history would be accurate but not much else.”
“You mean she wasn’t an alcoholic?”
“Unfortunately she was that.” She hesitated. But it was time he knew. “But she didn’t die of a heart attack. That was something my father put about. Mustn’t have the family name or business adversely affected by scandal.”
“What kind of scandal?”
Taina took a sip of wine, wondering why she’d chosen now to tell Daidan. But she knew why. He’d offered her an olive branch and she’d enjoyed spending time with him. It was as if the past year hadn’t happened. She couldn’t tell him all her secrets and she prayed he’d never find out some of them, but this one she could. It would help him to understand her a little. “My mother committed suicide.”
His eyes widened with surprise and he squeezed her hand. “Taina, I’m so sorry. That must have been terrible for you. How old were you?”
His immediate concern for her welfare warmed her. “I was fourteen—it happened ten years ago.”
“How did it happen?”
“She hung herself. On the hook at the end of her studio.”
“The hook? No wonder you didn’t… But how did you know your father hushed it up?”
“I found her.” Her voice faltered. Deciding to tell Daidan was one thing, but actually telling him was bringing the memories back with painful force. She sucked in a calming breath and glanced up, trying to suppress the tears. “In her studio. Hanging.”
“Oh my God!”
“And it was my fault.”
“Taina! You were fourteen. How can you possibly blame all this on yourself?”
“Because when I was fourteen my mother and father separated and my father made me choose between living with my mother or living with him. I was scared of my mother when she was drunk. And my father was so controlling that he was very hard to say ‘no’ to. So I said I’d go with him. I can still remember the look on my mother’s face. She was devastated.”
“You were fourteen! Your father should never have put you in that position.”
“He did it because he knew I wouldn’t be able to say ‘no’ to him. And he knew that it would shatter my mother and he wanted to hurt her. You see, she’d fallen in love with someone else.”
“I’d always thought it was your father who’d left your mother because of her drinking.”
“No. That was something he spread about. They just wanted to lead separate lives. Poor Mama didn’t stand a chance with him as her enemy. That day I found her, I’d gone to tell her that I’d changed my mind and that I wanted to live with her. I’d gone to tell her that I loved her. But it was too late.”
Daidan moved to sit beside her. He put his arm around her and she placed her cheek against his chest. “Christ, Taina, I never knew. We met when you were twenty-two, and I wondered why you seemed so withdrawn from your father.”
“It was my only way of coping. Father didn’t seem to think there was a need for me to have therapy so I just coped with it on my own. You were my therapy, Daidan. You.”
“I had no idea.” He paused. “Taina, why don’t you come with me to Ma’in tomorrow?”
She sat back and looked at him with surprise. “Ma’in? Are you sure?”
“You’ve only ever met my brothers at our wedding. It’s about time I took you to my homeland. Sahmir and his wife will be there.”
“Sahmir? Married? Who’d have thought?” She laughed, remembering the charming Sahmir who’d flirted with her shamelessly.
“And who’d have thought we wouldn’t be?” He paused. “I mean it, Taina. Why don’t you come?”
“I don’t understand why you’d want me to.”
“Because you’re my wife, maybe?”
“And is that really why you want me to come?”
“Partly. And also maybe because I’m tired of being the strange uncle whose wife deserted him. Maybe because I’d like to maintain a united front. Maybe because it’ll give us a chance to talk business, uninterrupted, about the launch and the future of the company. And maybe…”
“Another maybe?”
“And… maybe… because I simply want your company.”
She could have argued against all of those “maybes” except the last one. That one floored her.
“Look at us now. Away from your father’s business legacy, away from the pain of your history, we’re good together. And in the bedroom, I know we can be good together. We could make it work this time.”
Inside her a voice screamed “no”. There was still too much he didn’t know. She nodded and heard herself agreeing. “I’d like that.”
“Good.”
“But…” She pressed her lips together as she tried not to smile. “The bedroom bit…”
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Yes?”
“Tell me how you’re so sure.” She shrugged innocently. “Because we’ve only made love twice since I’ve returned and the last time was memorable for all the wrong reasons.”
“Hm. The number of orgasms I gave you aren’t good enough reasons to remember our lovemaking?”
She nearly choked on her drink as she looked around to see if they’d been overheard. But the music was so loud it seemed unlikely. And, she noticed, being at the back of the room, the walls of the booth kept them completely hidden from view. She shifted her leg closer to his and he put his hand on her thigh beneath the table. Her breath hitched and she moved her face closer to his, her lips brushing his chin, the rough stubble stimulating her even further. She moaned as his hand slid under her dress and moved up her inner thigh. She closed her eyes as he massaged her leg, his thumb tantalizingly brushing her sex every now and then. But his hand didn’t move any higher.
“How about a little aperitif.” He dipped his head to her ear and whispered. “An orgasm now to get you in the mood and then more later.”
If he was expecting any kind of verbal response, he was out of luck. All Taina could think about was movement of his hand against her bare skin, suggestive and tempting and… driving her crazy. She kissed him, pressed closer to him, and hoped her movements would push his hand higher up her leg. It did.
As the kiss deepened, he fanned out his fingers in the narrow gap between her thighs until the side of his hand was pressed hard against her sex—covered only by the damp silk of her knickers. She hooked one thigh over his to allow his hand greater access and he took the hint. His hand immediately slid beneath her thong and played along the wet length of her lips, just as his tongue played in her mouth. She tipped her head back, her mouth open, allowing him to plunder her just as his fingers pushed deep inside her. She moved against him harder now, her clitoris ramming against the V of his thumb and forefinger as he pleasured her to within an inch of her life. Less than an inch. Because with a loud cry, only partly drowned by the thudding beat of the music, she felt she’d died and gone to heaven as she collapsed against him.
“My Taina. I adore pleasuring you. You melt under my touch. Like some delicious dessert that I need to taste. Come…” He straightened her dress. “Let’s go to my family’s home and I will make good my promise to you. Luckily there’s no one else staying there at present.”
Taina needed no further incentive and they’d soon hailed a cab and were drawing up outside the Paris home of the royal family of Ma’in in the Place Des Vosges. She looked up at the impressive house as Daidan paid the cab driver.
She whistled. For all the wealth she was accustomed to, these mansions were something else with their smart brick and stone striped façade and vaulted arcade which fronted them, held aloft by pillars. “I didn’t kno
w your family had a house in Paris.”
“There is so much you don’t know, Taina.”
Once out the taxi he took her hand and unlocked the house. Taina walked through the rooms, admiring the graceful proportions and the beautiful antique furniture.
“If this is only your pied-a-terre in Paris, I can’t imagine what your family home is like.”
“The palace in Ma’in? It’s grand. Of course it’s grand. My father made sure of that.”
“How come you never talk about it?”
“Because it’s my home no longer. I feel more at home in Helsinki than Ma’in.”
“Really? Why, when you spent so much time in Ma’in?”
He shrugged as he poured them both a glass of champagne. “I didn’t really spend so much time in Ma’in. As soon as I could, I left. Studied overseas. Worked overseas.”
She accepted the glass and went to the window to look out at the gardens opposite, mysterious in the long twilight of a Parisian summer. She opened the window and leaned out. “Is that a fountain I can hear?”
“Yes. It’s where Sahmir first met Rory.”
“Really? How did that come about?”
“You’ll have to ask her when you come to Ma’in. Because”—he said pulling her away from the window and into his arms—“I have more important things on my mind now.” He brushed his lips against hers.
“Such as?” she murmured against his skin.
“I believe I promised you something.”
“Some thing? Singular? I don’t think so.”
“Um, more than one. And I never renege on a promise. Always deliver in full.”
“Now how many was it”—she laughed as he took her hand and they raced up the stairs—“six maybe, or was it more?”
He stopped and kissed her, their panting breath having little to do with the exertion. “As many as you wish, habibti,” he murmured against her cheek as his hands wandered. “And as fast or as slow as you wish…”
A few hours later Daidan rolled off Taina and lay panting, on his back. “I should have known you’d choose ‘fast’. You, my darling, are an impatient woman. The night is young and yet I’ve already given you the orgasms you requested.”
Taina pushed her head under his arm and he kissed her and held her close. The room was dark—Taina had made sure of that—lit only by the faint starlight which now entered the uncurtained window. “I’m pretty sure I’m not going to let you leave this bed until we’ve moved into double digits.” She nipped his chest playfully.
His grip on her tightened. “And I’m pretty sure I’m not going to let you leave my side ever again.”
His words may have intended to be playful but they hung on the silence with a weight of meaning. They should have been comforting, should have been welcome but all she could think of was that would he want her if he knew what had happened?
She swallowed. “And I… I’ll only leave if you want me to go. Otherwise I’m back to stay.” She lifted her head to catch his gaze, so he could see how much she meant it. “Whether we have a child or not.”
“I’m sorry. I handled everything so badly. But all along, you have to know, that there was only one thing that was every really important to me. I might have wanted the diamond company—of course I wanted to make a name for myself, to be someone, other than a prince of a country I’d never reign. But over and above all these things, I wanted you. Only you. Only ever you. I’ll never ask you to go. Never.”
She swallowed, suddenly nervous. “Never’s a long time. And I’m not that same woman who left you. I was away over a year… things happened—”
He frowned. “What things? Tell me, Taina. I know you’re keeping something from me.”
“Nothing. I don’t mean anything much. Just normal things.” She tried to laugh it off, tried to move away but he held her tight.
“Tell me. Don’t be afraid. I’ll look after you. I’ll sort it out, whatever it is.”
“Maybe that’s what I’m afraid of, Daidan.”
She felt the power leave his arms before they dropped to his side. He looked away and she wished she’d never said anything, wished that the moment had continued.
He swung his legs to the floor and sat on the bed for a moment, with his head in his hands, before rising and dressing.
She sat up. “Where are you going?”
He didn’t turn to face her. “Work. There’s always work to do. You sleep.”
She reached for his hand and he squeezed it without turning around. “Daidan.” She had to make him stop. She had to see what was in his eyes. She couldn’t bear it that she’d broken that moment, when he’d opened his soul to her and she’d thrown it back in his face. “Daidan, please, look at me.” Irrationally she felt as if he were to look her in the face, she could eradicate those last words of hers by sheer force of will alone.
But then he looked at her and the sadness and frustration she saw there robbed her of speech.
He turned his palms upwards in a helpless gesture, as if to say “you see?”, shook his head and left the room.
And in that moment she knew she had to tell him everything—that not telling him all the facts was worse. He could be imagining things that had never happened. Imagining she’d never loved him, and never would love him. It was best that he knew the truth. She wouldn’t name names. Just tell him what had happened to her. What it was that had made her return, wanting a baby so desperately.
She pressed her hand against her stomach. She might be pregnant already for all she knew. They’d only made love twice before tonight but she’d been at her most fertile and each time he’d come so fiercely into her, as if to claim her for his own again, that she’d felt he’d made her his in more ways than one.
She walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She caught sight of herself in the mirror under the glare of the bathroom light. Under that light she could see what she’d hoped to keep from Daidan, but what she now knew she had to tell him. Her fingers traced the telltale silvery stretch marks down her stomach. Then she looked up suddenly into eyes that were afraid. What would he do when she told him she’d already had a child?
CHAPTER SIX
Ma’in was basking under brilliant sunshine when Taina and Daidan landed. Taina was treated like royalty in Finland, by virtue of being the only daughter of one of the country’s wealthiest families but she’d never been treated like actual royalty. Her previous experience paled into insignificance.
Paparazzi lined the arrivals hall and Taina was glad she hadn’t dressed down for the occasion. Daidan appeared to be totally comfortable with the fuss and attention around their arrival and for the first time Taina saw him in a different light. He’d dressed in robes for arriving in Ma’in. More comfortable, he’d said. And also because Tariq, the king and his older brother, was a traditionalist. Besides, the people liked it. It was fitting. Whatever the reasons, Taina thought Daidan looked sensational in the long white robes. They made his tall, lean body look taller somehow, and his dark complexion more exotic. He truly looked like a prince.
They were soon driving in a stretch limo down the wide avenue lined with exclusive boutiques at the end of which the royal palace sat, white and gleaming in the mid-day sun. The avenue of date palms that lined the pink-tinted procession-way provided welcome shade. Under their graceful branches, rainbows flickered as water sprang up from hidden irrigation pipes to keep the beds of white flowers fresh.
As they got out the car two tall men, both dressed in flowing white robes, came down to greet them. One, smiling and amiable, was slightly ahead of the other more austere and dignified one.
“Daidan,” the younger, sunnier Sahmir said, gripping Daidan by the shoulders and pulling him to him in a big brotherly hug. “Good to see you. How have you been?” And then he spotted Taina who’d just got out the car and stood behind Daidan, suddenly feeling very shy.
“Taina! What an unexpected surprise.” He glanced at Daidan. “You didn’t tell us to expect Taina!”
Daidan shrugged. “You’d find out soon enough. Anyway, it was a last minute decision.”
Tariq meanwhile had gone straight toward Taina and taken her hand and kissed it. “Taina, it is a real pleasure and honor to have you with us. Thank you for coming. We, as Daidan’s family, truly appreciate it.”
Taina was touched by the big man’s warmth and gentleness. He moved aside so Sahmir could greet her with a kiss on both cheeks. For a moment she marveled at the difference between the three men.
Then she looked up at Daidan and she saw such a heated gaze that she momentarily forgot the other two men and accepted his outstretched hand. Once he had her by his side he turned to his brothers. “Taina has returned to Helsinki,” he said simply. Trust Daidan to say “Helsinki” instead of “me”. But it looked as if the brothers understood fully.
“Good,” said Tariq.
“Didn’t think this was a social visit before she returned to wherever it was. Where were you again, Taina?”
She smiled and shrugged. It all seemed a long way behind her now. “Nowhere important.” By the look on Daidan’s face he liked the answer.
Taina had been to many beautiful and extraordinary places all over the world but, as they walked into the palace, she thought she’d never seen anything like this before. Their footsteps echoed on the marble floor as they entered a large reception area, decorated in cream and gold. The walls soared up two stories high, with each story framed by a series of gold-trimmed balconies. The building and its furnishings were on a scale of glamor and riches she’d never before experienced.
And then there were the people—many fully robed—who bowed respectfully as the King and his family passed by.
“Taina!” She turned to face Tariq. “My wife, Cara, will be sorry not to have been here to greet you but we didn’t know you were coming and she’s busy with the baby. However I know she’ll want to meet you as soon as possible. As will my three children from my first marriage.”
“That’s Tariq’s way of saying, ‘prepare to be bombarded with questions by his kids’,” said Sahmir. “Rory’s and my first baby is due next month. We got married a couple of months ago. You won’t be able to stop her from meeting you as soon as she hears the news, either.”