Riad Dubois: The Complete Romance Series

by Avery North

  Rising, he came to stand behind her and massage her shoulders.

  “Emma, I think you have found a solution to my problem. I am going to bring you to my favorite French restaurant and watch you enjoying it.”

  Emma spun round in delight as she entered the restaurant. Looking up at him, her eyes sparkling, she commented, “It is so, well so French.”

  She laughed at how absurd her statement sounded. Hugging her, he guided her to a table where a waitress was standing.

  “And what do you call so French about this restaurant?” he asked as they studied their menus.

  “Oh, the shabby chic furniture, the bowls of flowers, those French prints on the walls.”

  He smiled at her enthusiasm. She certainly had an eye for décor. He could just imagine how that Riad would unfold under her hands.

  He had promised himself he wouldn't discuss business over dinner, but he had to ask one of the many questions that were niggling at him.

  “Emma, could you see yourself becoming involved in this project of mine?”

  “From London? Now that would be very difficult. You will probably find someone here.”

  He sat back, considering her. Yes, she was right. Best probably to find someone on the ground here or on the family team. But he could imagine the impact she would make on the project and not just on the project but on his life as well.

  And he didn’t really know her although it was beginning to feel as if he had known her a long while already.

  "Have a prawn," he said, spearing a piece of seafood on his fork.

  Looking at her as she enjoyed the food, he found himself admiring her style of dress again. She obviously wasn’t obsessed with what the Parisian fashion houses dictated. She was in black again, having changed quickly before they left the Riad, but this time it was a black outfit made of ruffles and lace with a black belt accentuating her waist. Her face was beginning to take on a tan from hours spent in the Moroccan sun.

  Feeling his eyes on her, she squirmed.

  "Apologies," he said, reaching another prawn to her on his fork, "I really have to mind my manners."

  She smiled, revealing a dimple he hadn’t noticed on her face.

  “Are you going to go and see those properties?” she asked.

  "Tomorrow, but let's not talk about it now." He was already thinking about the storm that would blow up when he told his family he was advancing his plans. Tonight would have to be about Emma, about him and Emma. Tomorrow could paint everything in a different light. Feeling the familiar bulge in his trousers, he looked across at her again.

  Leaving the restaurant when their meal was finally over, he put his arm on her shoulders to guide her to the car. They could talk tomorrow. Tonight he wanted to lie beside her and feel her pliable body molding itself to his.

  “Where is Raoul gone to now?” Nicole demanded at the dinner table.

  “To the old city with Emma, I think,” Louise answered.

  “Really? He is spending a lot of time with a girl he just met. Another of his holiday romances.”

  "Emma seems a nice girl," Renoir interjected, seeing Louise's face darken. Really his wife was going to split the family apart if she didn't stop the constant criticism.

  "I'm sure she is," Nicole sniffed. "But when you are as well connected as Raoul, you can have a lot of undesirables queuing up."

  “Excuse me,” Louise was preparing to leave the table.

  Chapter 6

  Breakfast was a somber affair. Rising early, Emma was determined to make the most of the day before it became too warm to venture outside. And so much had happened the previous day she needed to process it before events unfolded further.

  The guests who were in the dining room were eating quietly; even a calm appeared to have settled at the Dubois's table. Gilbert, she had passed in the hall, and he had greeted her with a mere "Good Morning."

  “Strange,” she had thought and “Even stranger still,” she now thought as she saw him approaching her table and pulling out a chair to join her.

  “Emma, I need to have a quick word.”

  “Yes, of course,” she put down the croissant she was about to bite into.

  “Sorry, I am disturbing your meal, but this is important. You seem to have a bit of a thing going on with my brother?” He gave her an enquiring look.

  “OK., well, he is the most charming one of us. But he does have a bad habit of hurting his girlfriends, and I don't want to see you, or any friend of Louise's, falling into that trap."

  “It’s OK., Gilbert.” Feeling bemused, she smiled at him. Why was he giving her this warning? Louise seemed to be quite OK., about seeing her with Raoul.

  “Look,” Gilbert spoke, the words coming in a rush, “There’s complicated stuff going on with the family at the moment. Don’t let him draw you into it.”

  Complicated stuff? Well, she couldn’t very well ask Gilbert what that was about. All she could do was thank him for telling her.

  Going back to her breakfast, she resolved to ask Raoul as well. But he wasn't anywhere to be seen. He hadn't joined his family for breakfast. But he had said he was going to see the Riad they had viewed online. That explained his absence.

  Anyhow she had holidays to enjoy. Another hour and she would get to the new city to do some shopping, and there was the Islamic art gallery she wanted to see.

  Wandering through the new city an hour later, she decided she could splurge some of her bonus in the French boutique Louise had told her about. Purchases complete and the bag advertising the boutique dangling from her arm, she ordered coffee at the pavement restaurant. Perched on a stool at the table, she finally felt free of all that was going on at the Riad. Charming as the place was, she had suddenly begun to feel she couldn’t breathe there. She needed to distance herself from the whole Dubois saga for a few hours.

  Getting involved with Raoul, of course, had been her own doing. She had broken the rule she always followed on holidays, the rule that said, "Don't get involved," and caused laughter among her friends. Now she had become one of the people she had laughed at. But she could easily solve that. There were plenty of cultural and artistic exhibitions here to more than occupy her and of course plenty of her bonus money left to do some serious shopping.

  There had been those gold earrings she had seen in the jewelers next to the boutique, and she needed some art for her home in London.

  Raoul and his Riad came to mind. She had enjoyed talking to him about it. But why had he asked her to say nothing to Gilbert and Louise about it? That she couldn't fathom, best to steer clear of all conversations of that nature in the future. Louise was too precious a friend to lose because of some silly holiday romance.

  Feeling free of the burdens she had brought to the city with her, she ordered another coffee, before setting off to buy the earrings and something for Louise.

  ***

  "You have been where?" Gilbert asked Raoul as he walked into his office. Seeing Ahmed, his assistant in chief, frown, he gestured to Raoul to follow him to the courtyard. He had been planning on taking a break anyway.

  “OK., so where did you say you have been?" He turned to face Raoul in the courtyard.

  “Looking at Riads for sale,” Raoul slumped into a poolside chair.

  “Why? Are you seriously thinking of buying one? I thought we had knocked that idea on the head.”

  “Yes, I am. But I have been looking at the costs. It’s going to be more than I can manage. I had thought I could do it alone.”

  “You can look at the books at round about the time of start-up here. They will give you an idea,” Gilbert said.” And don’t forget, the old man had more than enough money when he started,” he added grimly.

  Gilbert looked closely at his brother. He had certainly begun to show initiative. That defeated look was one he himself had worn when attempting to make a go of this place, and that was after it had been set up. Maybe they had just been a little too hard on him. For a moment, he felt guilty about how he himself
had agreed with his parents in their assessment of his younger brother.

  “OK., let’s talk,” he took a chair beside his brother. “Raoul, tell me about the places you have been looking at.”

  Raoul looked at him suspiciously. Could this be his brother trying to muscle in on his plan? But what the hell was there to lose? A bright idea with no money to back it?

  “This is all actually thanks to Emma and her computer files,” he began before giving an outline of the places he had seen. “That derelict place was actually her favorite, and she had some very good ideas about how it could be renovated."

  “Yes, Louise says she is very artistic. But, would she have a part to play in your plan?”

  “If there were a plan,” Raoul couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice. “But I would like her to have some input if that were possible. But London, Marrakesh? Would that be possible?”

  “Give me a couple of hours,” Gilbert said. “Go for a swim and relax. See you back here at six sharp and not a word to the family.”

  He left Raoul contemplating the pool and went in search of Louise. She would help him put his thoughts in order.

  Raoul had his swim and retired to the coffee shop to think. At least there he wouldn't be interrupted, not in the dead heat of the day anyway. Scribbling on the paper napkin that had come with the coffee, he found himself listing his options, when it came to a Riad that was easily done if he could find the money to make the dream a reality—moving from Paris to Marrakesh? He drew a definite plus beside that on his list. Emma?

  He couldn't write anything about Emma. Putting his head in his hands, he realized he could only feel about Emma. Even here, in the too warm coffee shop, he could feel her breath on his face and smell her perfume. Rubbing his hand along the tabletop, he could feel he was stroking her skin.

  And he could feel ashamed that he had seen her as a way of getting his mother’s approval and the financial support he needed for his plan.

  “That was crass,” he muttered to himself, “almost like pimping out your girlfriend.” That was something he had never done. He might have had girlfriends from the wrong side of town in his mother’s opinion but behaving like a pimp. He rolled the napkin into a ball and aimed it at a wastepaper basket, startling the waiter.

  “You OK., Mr. Raoul?" the waiter approached.

  “Sure, Ashim. Just another coffee, please."

  The coffee arrived with another napkin. Writing more carefully now, he began to list what he could do for Emma if she consented to continue being his girlfriend.

  Gilbert was closeted with Louise in his office. He had interrupted her own work, but the look of concern on his face prompted her to put the article she was writing aside.

  “Louise, you know I have been worried about Gilbert and the situation with my parents?”

  She nodded. She had been telling him that Raoul would never thrive while his parents exercised so much control over his life. She had seen that control at first hand the previous night and had had to leave the lounge before she lost her temper.

  “What I am going to suggest will surprise you.”

  Taking a notebook from his desk, he outlined his plan. They would buy out their Riad from the family. They wouldn’t have a problem getting the funds together.

  "Are you in agreement with that, Louise?"

  Louise nodded, giving a silent "yippee" Aloud, she said, "Yes, that moment has to come. Running a Moroccan hotel from headquarters in Paris isn't going to work in the long-term."

  “Great, we’re in agreement on that one. Now onto Raoul.”

  He turned to a new page in the notebook, a page with more notes on it.

  “I agree with what you said about his situation. He is unlikely to get support to break away from the parents. But there is a way we can help.”

  He outlined his plan for helping Raoul to buy the Riad and start his own business in Marrakesh.

  “Which may or may not be combined with our Riad. But these are all discussions for the future. Your opinion, Louise?”

  “I’m in total agreement,” she reached to give him a peck on the cheek, “as long as you are the one carrying out the family discussions.”

  ***

  The Riad was quiet when Emma returned from her trip to the old city. Louise and Gilbert were nowhere to be seen, and the only sound in the lobby was the whirring of fans. Even the Dubois had gone to ground.

  An iced coffee or a beer was what she needed after being out in this heat. Pressing the bell on the desk, she summoned a waiter from the back of the Riad and ordered a beer. Thinking that the iced coffee might have been more sensible, she sipped the beer deciding it wasn’t any more extreme than the rest of the day’s extravagances. She was sifting through her purchases when she heard Louise approaching. She smiled at Louise’s beaming face as her friend took a seat beside her.

  "You have been shopping," Louise said, taking in the bags.

  “Yes, and this is for you,” Emma said, handing Louise the box containing the piece of jewelry she had bought her.

  “And can I ask you a question?” she said as Louise tried on the neckpiece.

  "This is gorgeous and, of course, ask away," Louise answered, turning her head to get a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror.

  “Gilbert said something confusing to me about Raoul this morning.” She recounted the conversation.

  “OK.,” Louise leaned back, still fingering the neckpiece. “I think he would tell you something very different this evening. Raoul has been misjudged by everybody, Gilbert included. But he has worked all afternoon to put it to rights. He is meeting Raoul later to sort some things. What, I am not at liberty to say right now.” She grinned, “Watch this space and enjoy the romance.”

  With an airy wave, she walked off, still wearing her present.

  Chapter 7

  “Stranger and stranger,” Emma thought as she entered the dining room. The Dubois’s table was unoccupied, Ahmed, Gilbert’s right-hand man, was carrying out dining room duties and could there possibly be something missing in the usual attention to detail?

  Maybe, whatever Louise had been so mysteriously referring to was happening right now?

  Whatever it was, she had to eat. Ordering her usual selection of seafood and white wine, she studied her new outfit. It was very different from her usual style, but the Madame in the shop had said it suited her, and Emma found herself in agreement with her. The cream silk gown certainly flattered her figure. The looks she had got walking through the dining room seemed to confirm that.

  Raoul’s eyes lighting up with appreciation when he entered the dining room and approached her table seemed to confirm her assessment of the dress as well.

  "You look wonderful," he said, slipping into a chair across from her. “Wonderful. Oh, Emma. Let’s eat and go somewhere to talk.”

  Their meal eaten; he took her hand. She found herself walking with him down the pathway to Djema el Fna while he filled her in on his meeting with Gilbert. "You see, Emma, it is going to happen, and I won't have to do anything I don't approve of to make it happen." He turned to her, his eyes gleaming "And I want to celebrate that with you. You helped me see the way it could be done."

  He put his arms around her tilting her chin to kiss her, his hands stroking her back and shoulders. Responding to his kiss, she pressed herself closer to him, her hands tracing the flow of his hips.

  “This is exactly where you first kissed me,” he whispered in her ear. “And they are the same youths who were about then,” he commented as a wolf whistle rang out.

  “Let’s do what we did then,” Emma whispered in response.

  The lobby was quiet when they got back; most guests were still eating. The girl on reception gave them a knowing smile as they tried to pass unnoticed by the desk.

  Locking the bedroom door, Raoul turned to her and drawing her into his arms kissed her hungrily, his tongue delving deeper into her mouth as she responded, her body feeling his erection as she clung closer to h
im. His fingers were on the fastening of her dress, loosening it until it fell at her feet. Holding her at arm's length, he ran his eyes over her body, feasting on the new lingerie, the erect nipples pushing at the fabric of her bra and the downy shadow under the lace of her panties.

  “Emma,” his arms were around her again, unclipping her bra and sucking her breasts as they broke free from their restraints. Holding his head closer to her breasts, she moaned as she felt his hands moving inside her panties until they too were at her feet, and a hand moved to part her legs one finger moving slowly over her clitoris.

  Suddenly she couldn't take it any longer. She needed to be on the bed; she needed him without clothes, his erection brushing against her bare skin. A tug on his hand was all it took to convey her need, and then she was the one doing the undressing. The silk shirt joined the clothes on the floor, followed by the linen chinos. She delayed at the boxers, sitting back to admire the bulge before slowly removing them and freeing the member from its confines. She listened to his moans as she took the member in her mouth, stopping only when she felt the moment would be ruined.

  He responded, his hands roving over her body, stopping at her most sensitive parts, his tongue following the progress of his hands until he reached her clitoris and brought her to a frenzied orgasm.

  When he entered her, she moaned, feeling his manhood filling her body and staying there thrusting until they both succumbed and came together.

  "And that was a wonderful end to a weird and wonderful day," she remarked, watching him zipping up his chinos. She was already showered and dressed, agreeing with him that tonight was a night to drink Champagne, some of Gilbert’s best as he called it.

  At the top of the stairwell, he twirled her in front of the mirror to allow her admire her dress again. "Wonderful, but don't forget that eccentric style of yours." She smiled. Not many people admired her eccentric style.

  ***

  The bar was busy when they got downstairs. Taking a seat at a table in the lobby, she looked around as she waited for Raoul and the Champagne. She thought she could hear Gilbert and Louise's voices coming from the bar area. Swinging around, she saw them accompanying Raoul and a waiter carrying an ice bucket. And bringing up the rear was Renoir. Given what Raoul had told her about the day's events, she hadn't expected to see him still around. But he was, and he was the first to approach her.