He narrowed his eyes in mock anger. “You, habibti, are a tease.”
She cocked an eyebrow, her eyes checking the movement beneath his towel. “A tease? Someone who has no intention of following up? Is that what you think me?”
“Taina,” he said with a husky, dangerously low voice, as he advanced on her.
“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” she said, continuing to step back until the bed stopped her movement. Before she could side-step it, he grabbed her and proceeded to show her in no uncertain terms that “following up” was exactly what they’d be doing, and just how good his hands were.
Long after she’d fallen asleep, Daidan continued to hold Taina. He softly stroked her clear forehead and gently kissed her head, mussing her blond hair with his lips. She shifted every now and then and whimpered a little. He’d stroke her face, massage away the frown on her brow and she’d sigh, roll into his body, brush her lips against his chest and fall asleep once more.
How on earth had this woman whom he loved so dearly ended up pregnant by another man? It was so unlike her to have a casual relationship. Taina wasn’t casual about anything. The thought of her with another man made him sick to his stomach, but he didn’t stop caressing her. He might never know exactly what had happened but it wouldn’t stop him from being with her, from loving her. It also wouldn’t stop the hurt and frustration which refused to leave him.
Hours later, he eased his arms from beneath her and rose. He’d go to his study and work, just as he had done while she was away. At least that diverted his mind for a little while.
Taina awoke with a start once more. Two nightmares in one night. Wouldn’t it ever end? She blinked against the bright sun that was streaming into her bedroom. There was no sign of Daidan. His place in the bed was cold. Out of all the things he’d said, he’d not once said that he’d forgiven her. She doubted he ever would. No, he must have left as soon as they’d make love and she’d drifted off to sleep.
She sat on the edge of her bed, trying to repel the vestiges of her nightmare, her feelings of helplessness. She rubbed her wrists, as if she could feel the ropes chafing them, just as they had done. She doubted the feelings of humiliation and anguish would ever leave her. She stood up and pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail. She’d shower, she’d get herself together like she had every day since. She’d tidy everything up so that it was as if it had never happened. Just like she always did. Nothing more for Daidan to know about.
It’d be better for Daidan to believe the child was a product of some temporary liaison rather than the truth. Because she couldn’t trust Daidan’s passionate nature not to take the law into his own hands.
CHAPTER NINE
Taina pressed save on the computer and rolled her shoulders, checking to make sure the finishing touches to the presentation had been saved properly. Then she forwarded it to Daidan’s computer. The flickering light blinked off and she ejected the memory stick. At last! Done!
Feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she pocketed the memory stick and rose from the desk where she’d been working for the past four hours, since three in the morning. Now it was morning and she could hear staff at work in the office with Daidan.
She went into the dining room where breakfast was laid out for anyone who wanted it. Her stomach turned at the smell of the cooked food and she picked up a croissant and glass of mineral water instead. She took a bite of the croissant, pulled a face and then left the rest, focusing on the water. Strange, she felt a little queasy. Too much work and not enough sleep.
She wandered into the living room with her glass of water. She sat down on the leather couch and suddenly remembered sitting on the same couch when she’d first come to see Daidan with her proposition in spring. Three months ago. An age ago. But now it was midsummer and the open windows let in warm morning air, not snow. And that wasn’t the only thing that had changed. She’d been afraid that this house would feel like a prison to her, as it had been when she’d grown up here. But to her amazement it hadn’t. And that was down to Daidan. He’d kept her safe here on the island but he hadn’t kept her a prisoner. He’d been right—it had been safest for them to stay on the island until the launch, and emotionally and intellectually she’d been free.
During the day she’d worked on the designs for the next collection, building on and incorporating her mother’s designs, bringing them up to the minute with her own spin. And at night Daidan had set her free, physically and emotionally. They’d come to know each other more intimately than ever before and she’d sensed a shift in him. He didn’t talk about her past any more. It seemed he’d come to some kind of decision to not let any jealousy, any sadness about what had happened to her to interfere with their future. And for that she was thankful.