‘Can you explain how drama therapy could help the children who have been affected by the fishing-fleet disaster?’ one of the guests sitting at the table asked Mina.
‘When we experience a traumatic event such as a bereavement we can feel overwhelmed by our emotions and try to block them out. But when we watch a film or play, or read a book, we are able to feel strong emotions because we are emotionally distanced from the story.’ She leaned forwards, and her voice rang with sincerity. For the first time all evening Aksel sensed that the real Mina was speaking. ‘Drama provides a safety net where we can explore strong emotions,’ she continued. ‘As a drama therapist I hope to use drama in a therapeutic way and help the children of Revika to make sense of the terrible tragedy that has touched their lives.’
A nerve flickered in Aksel’s jaw. How could he have doubted her compassion? he wondered. Her determination to try to help the bereaved children shone in her eyes. There was no reason for her to take an interest in a remote fishing village, but it was clear that the plight of the children who had lost their fathers affected her deeply. It was impossible that Mina was faking the emotion he could hear in her voice. It struck him forcibly that she was honest and trustworthy, but his view of all women had been warped by the fact that his mother and Karena had betrayed him. He had believed that Mina had betrayed him and spoken to the press in London, but as he looked at her lovely face he saw that she was beautiful inside, and he knew he had misjudged her.
The rest of the evening was purgatory for Aksel. For a man who had shut off his emotions, the acrid jealousy scalding his insides as he watched Mina expertly work the room and charm the guests was an unwelcome shock. With superhuman effort he forced himself to concentrate on his conversation with a company director who had donated a substantial sum of money to the Revika disaster fund for the privilege of sitting at the prince’s table, but Aksel’s gaze was drawn to the dance floor where Mina was dancing with Benedict Lindburg.
His personal assistant was simply doing his job, Aksel reminded himself. Benedict understood that protocol demanded the prince must mingle with the guests and make polite conversation, but Mina had looked wistful as she watched some of the guests dancing, and Ben had smoothly stepped in and asked her if she would like to dance.
Aksel frowned as he watched Benedict place his hand on Mina’s waist to guide her around the dance floor. In normal circumstances he liked Ben, but right now Aksel was seriously tempted to connect his fist with the younger man’s face. The circumstances were anything but normal, he acknowledged grimly. Since he had met Mina his well-ordered life had been spinning out of control.
His mind replayed the scene earlier today when he had taken her to meet his grandmother. He had been fully aware that Mina had not meant it when she had told Princess Eldrun she loved him. But hearing her say the words had evoked a yearning inside him. It was ironic that in his entire life only two women had ever told him they loved him—and they had both been lying. Karena had deliberately fooled him into believing she cared for him, while Mina had gone along with the pretence of the royal romance at his request.
He scanned the dance floor, hoping to catch her eye, but she wasn’t looking at him because she was too busy laughing with Ben.
‘Excuse me,’ Aksel said firmly to the company director before he strode across the dance floor.
‘Sir?’ Benedict immediately released Mina and stepped back so that Aksel could take his place. The PA could not hide his surprise. ‘Sir, the head of the National Bank of Storvhal is waiting to speak to you.’
‘Invite him to dinner at the palace next week,’ Aksel growled.
He stared into Mina’s green eyes and felt a primitive surge of possessiveness as he swept her into his arms. Desire heated his blood when she melted against him. He did not know if her soft smile was real or part of the pretence that they were romantically involved. The lines were blurring and the only thing he was certain of was that he had never ached for any woman the way he ached to make love to Mina.
‘Ben,’ he called after his PA. ‘Send for the car. Miss Hart and I are leaving the party early.’
‘But...’ Benedict met the prince’s hard stare and decided not to protest. ‘Right away, sir.’
* * *
‘Aksel, is something wrong?’ Mina’s stiletto heels tapped on the marble floor as she followed Aksel into the palace and tried to keep up with his long stride. He did not answer her as he mounted the stairs at a pace that left her breathless. At the top of the staircase he caught hold of her arm and swept her along the corridor, past her bedroom and into the royal bedchamber.
Mina had never been into his suite of rooms before and her eyes were instantly drawn to the enormous four-poster bed covered in ornate gold silk drapes. The royal coat of arms hung above the bed, and all around the walls were portraits of previous princes of Storvhal. From the moment Aksel opened his eyes every morning and looked at his illustrious ancestors he must be reminded that the weight of responsibility for ruling Storvhal sat on his shoulders, she thought wryly.
She was shocked by the fierce glitter in his eyes as he tugged his tie loose and ran his hand through his hair. As far as she could tell the charity dinner had gone well, but Aksel was clearly wound up about something.
‘What’s the matter?’ she said softly.
‘I’ll tell you what’s the matter!’ He crossed the room in two strides and halted in front of her. ‘You!’ The word exploded from him.
Mina stared at him in confusion. ‘What have I done?’
‘I don’t know.’ Aksel seized her shoulders and stared down at her, a nerve jumping in his jaw. ‘I don’t know what you have done to me,’ he said roughly. ‘You’ve bewitched me with your big green eyes and made me feel things that I didn’t know I was capable of feeling—things I sure as hell don’t want to feel.’
He was on a knife-edge, Mina realised. She did not pretend to understand the violent emotions she sensed were churning inside him, but her tender heart longed to ease his torment and, with no other thought in her mind, she cupped his stubble-rough jaw in her hands and pulled his head down so that she could place her mouth over his.
He groaned and clamped his arms around her, pulling her hard against him so that she felt his powerful erection nudge her thigh.
‘Desire was my father’s downfall. I vowed that I would never be weak like him and allow my need for a woman to make a fool of me.’ He slid his hand down to her bottom and spread his fingers over her silk dress. ‘But I need you, Mina.’ There was anger in his voice, frustration with himself. ‘I want you more than I knew it was possible to want a woman.’
CHAPTER TEN
A SHUDDER RACKED Aksel’s body. He could not control his hunger for Mina and it scared him because he had always believed he was stronger than his father.
He needed to make her understand how it was for him. That all he wanted was her body and nothing else—not her beautiful smile, or the tender expression he glimpsed in her eyes sometimes, and not her compassionate heart—he definitely did not want her heart.
‘You are not your father, Aksel,’ she said gently. ‘The people of Storvhal admire and respect you. They think you are a good monarch—as I do. But I want to know the man, not the prince. I want you to make love to me,’ she whispered against his mouth, and her husky plea destroyed the last dregs of Aksel’s resolve.
Wordlessly he spun her round and ran the zip of her dress down her spine. The strapless silk gown slithered to the floor. She wasn’t wearing a bra and Aksel’s breath hissed between his teeth as he turned her back to face him and feasted his hungry gaze on her firm breasts and dusky pink nipples that were already puckering in anticipation of his touch.
‘You are exquisite,’ he said hoarsely. ‘At the dinner tonight I was imagining you like this—naked except for the diamonds and emeralds glittering against your creamy skin. But the truth is you don’t need any adornment, angel. You’re beautiful inside and out, and I...’ his voice shook ‘...I
want to hold you in my arms and make you mine.’
The flames leaping in the hearth were reflected in his eyes, turning ice to fire. ‘Will you give yourself to me, Mina?’
Her soft smile stole his breath. ‘I have always been yours.’ She lifted her hands and unfastened the necklace, dropping the glittering gems onto the bedside table at the same time as she stepped out of the silk dress that was pooled at her feet. ‘I don’t need diamonds or expensive gowns. I just need you, Aksel.’
He reached for her then and drew her against him, threading his fingers into her hair as he claimed her mouth. His kiss was everything she had hoped for, everything she had dreamed of since the night at the hotel in London. They had been strangers then, but now her body recognised his, and anticipation licked through her veins as he stripped out of his clothes. In the firelight he was a powerful, golden-skinned Viking, so hugely aroused that the thought of him driving his swollen shaft inside her made Mina feel weak with desire.
He laid her on the bed and removed the final fragile barrier of her underwear before he knelt above her and bent his head to kiss her mouth, her throat and the slopes of her breasts. The husky sound she made when he flicked his tongue across her nipples made Aksel’s gut twist with desire and a curious tenderness that he had never felt before. Satisfying his own needs took second place to wanting to give her pleasure.
He moved lower down her body, trailing his lips across her stomach and the soft skin of her inner thighs before he gently parted her with his fingers and pressed his mouth to her feminine heart to bestow an intensely intimate caress that drew a gasp of startled delight from Mina.
Aksel was taking her closer and closer to ecstasy, but as Mina twisted her hips beneath the relentless onslaught of his tongue she wanted to give him the same mind-blowing pleasure he was giving her. She wanted to crack his iron control and show him that making love was about two people giving themselves totally and utterly to each other.
He moved over her, but instead of allowing him to penetrate her she pushed him onto his back and smiled at his obvious surprise. ‘It’s my turn to give, and your turn to take,’ she told him softly, before she wriggled down the bed, following the fuzz of blond hairs that adorned his stomach and thighs with her mouth.
‘Mina...’ Aksel tensed when he realised her intention and curled his fingers into her hair to draw her head away from his throbbing arousal. But he was too late, she was already leaning over him, and the feel of her drawing him into the moist cavern of her mouth dragged a harsh groan from his throat. The pleasure was beyond anything he had ever known. He had never allowed any women to caress him with such devastating intimacy, and he had always held part of himself back because he could not bear to be weak like his father. The Prince of Storvhal must never lose control.
But his body did not care that he was a prince who had been schooled since childhood to shoulder his royal responsibilities. His body shook uncontrollably as Mina ran her tongue over the sensitive tip of his erection. He gripped the sheet beneath him and gritted his teeth as he fought against the tide that threatened to overwhelm him.
‘Enough, angel,’ he muttered, tugging her hair until she lifted her head. His hand shook as he donned a protective sheath. His usual finesse had deserted him and he dragged her beneath him, his shoulder muscles bunching as he held himself above her. He watched her green eyes darken as he pushed her legs wide to receive him, and at the moment he entered her and their two bodies became one she smiled and whispered his name, and Aksel was aware of an ache inside him that even the exquisite pleasure of sexual release could not assuage.
As Aksel drove into her with strong, demanding strokes Mina knew that her body had been made for him. She arched her hips to meet each devastating thrust, until she was teetering on the edge, and her muscles clenched in wave after rapturous wave of pleasure. At the moment she climaxed Aksel gave a husky groan and buried his face in the pillows while shudders wracked his big frame.
His few seconds of vulnerability touched Mina’s heart. Her passion was spent and in its sweet aftermath she felt a fierce tenderness as she cupped his face in her hands and gently kissed his mouth.
‘I don’t believe you are empty inside,’ she whispered.
He rolled away from her and stared up at the ornate bed drapes decorated with the royal coat of arms.
‘Don’t look for things in me that aren’t there,’ Aksel warned. ‘I made love to you selfishly for my own pleasure and to satisfy my needs.’
Mina shook her head. ‘That isn’t true, although I think you want it to be the truth,’ she said intuitively. ‘I think something happened that made you lock your emotions inside you.’ She hesitated. ‘Are you still in love with the woman in Russia who you had hoped to marry?’
‘Karena?’ He gave a harsh laugh, ‘God, no—my youthful infatuation with her ended when I discovered the truth about her. How do you know about Karena, anyway?’
‘I don’t know much. Ella Holmberg told me you had been in love with a Russian woman but couldn’t marry her because the Storvhalian people would not have approved.’
Aksel sat up and raked a hand through his hair. Mina missed the warmth of his body and sensed that he was drawing away from her mentally as well as physically. She was convinced that the key to unlocking him was in his past.
Wrapping the silk sheet around her, she moved across the bed so that she could see his face. She was still wearing her hearing aids, but earlier, concentrating on numerous conversations with guests at the party had been tiring, and she found it easier to read his lips.
‘What did you mean when you said you discovered the truth about Karena?’ she asked curiously
For a moment she thought he wasn’t going to answer, but then he exhaled heavily.
‘You cannot underestimate how badly my father damaged the monarchy during his reign. As you know, it wasn’t just his many affairs that caused unrest.
‘My father married my mother because her family owned a mining company which had discovered huge gold reserves in Storvhal’s mountains,’ Aksel explained. ‘Instead of sharing the discovery with his government ministers, my father made a secret deal, which allowed the Russian company to extract the gold in return for a cut of the profits. He abused his position as ruling monarch and when the Storvhalian people found out that he was stripping the country’s assets they were naturally horrified.
‘I did not know the full extent of my father’s treachery until after his death. My mother had inherited the mining company and she hoped to win my support to continue extracting the gold. I was in a difficult position. My mother was disliked in Storvhal, and by my grandmother, but she was still my mother. I often visited her at her home in Russia, and that’s where I met Karena.’
He gave a cynical laugh. ‘I was a young man burdened by the responsibilities of being a prince and perhaps it was no surprise that I fell madly in love with the beautiful Russian model my mother introduced me to. It was certainly what my mother had intended,’ he said harshly. ‘She hoped that if I married Karena it would strengthen my ties with Russia.
‘But my grandmother and Harald Petersen were afraid that the Storvhalian people would not accept another Russian princess and tried to dissuade me from marrying Karena. Harald went as far as to have Karena spied on by government agents. I did not approve of his methods,’ Aksel said grimly. ‘But it soon became clear that Karena had duped me and pretended to be in love with me because my mother had sold her the idea that if I married her she would enjoy a life of wealth and glamour as a princess.’
‘You were betrayed by Karena and your mother,’ Mina said softly. ‘You were hurt by the two women you loved and it’s no wonder you shut off your emotions.’ Aksel must have yearned for love when he had been a child growing up at the palace with his strict grandmother, she mused. She did not think Princess Eldrun had been unkind, but she had told Mina that she had taught her grandson to put his duties as a prince before his personal feelings.
His hard face
showed no emotion and she despaired that she would ever reach the man behind the mask. ‘After you had learned the truth about Karena, did you end your relationship with her?’
He nodded. ‘I returned to Storvhal and did not expect to see her again.’
Aksel stared into Mina’s deep green eyes and wondered what the hell was happening to him. He never talked about his past, but it was as if floodgates in his mind had burst open, and he wanted, needed, to let the secrets he had kept hidden for so long spill out of him.
‘Eight months after I broke up with Karena I went to see her in Russia.’
Mina looked at him intently. ‘Were you still in love with her?’
‘No.’ Aksel’s chest felt as if it were being crushed in a vice. He drew a shuddering breath and dropped his head into his hands. ‘Karena had contacted me out of the blue to tell me she had given birth to my child. She told me I had a son.’
‘A son...!’ Mina could hear the shock in her voice. ‘You have a child? Where is he?’ Her heart hammered against her ribs as she tried to absorb Aksel’s startling revelation. ‘Does he live with Karena in Russia?’
Aksel lifted his head from his hands, and Mina caught her breath at the expression of raw pain in his eyes. ‘Finn is on the mountains, beneath the stars,’ he said huskily. ‘I took him to the Sami reindeer-herders because they are the most trustworthy people I know. They buried him according to their traditions, and they tend to his grave when I can’t get up to the cabin.’
‘His grave...’ Mina swallowed hard. ‘Oh, Aksel, I’m so sorry.’ Driven by an instinctive need to comfort him, she put her arms around his broad shoulders and hugged him fiercely. A memory flashed into her mind. ‘The sketch of the baby at the cabin, that was a picture of Finn, wasn’t it?’ she said softly. ‘What happened to him?’
A Night in the Prince's Bed Page 14