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The rain had eased off a little, and Eirik retrieved Arielle’s bag from the boot of the car before coming round to open her door. ‘Wait there,’ he told Maks. Arielle saw that he had left the window partly open for the dog’s comfort.
The empty car park was a sign that the marine scientists and other staff who worked at the institute had not arrived yet. They walked over to the accommodation block and took the lift up to the third floor. Arielle’s tension grew when Eirik followed her into her apartment. He was prolonging the inevitable when he would leave. It was unlikely she would meet him again, but no doubt his wedding to whichever aristocratic woman he decided to marry would be shown on TV and be headline news around the world.
She watched him prowl around her small but functional flat. ‘I need to get ready for work,’ she reminded him. ‘Thanks for a nice weekend.’
His brows rose. ‘Nice! Seriously, is that all it was for you?’
She glared at him. ‘Do you want me to thank you for the most amazing sex I’ve ever had?’
‘It was amazing for me too.’ Eirik’s soft tone made inroads on her heart. ‘Come with me. I want to show you something. It won’t take long.’
With a sigh, she followed him back to the lift and they went up to the top floor of the building.
‘This is incredible,’ Arielle murmured when Eirik ushered her into a huge open-plan apartment. Floor-to-ceiling windows along an entire wall gave a panoramic view of the beach, which even on a grey day was wild and beautiful. The décor in the apartment was Scandi style, with pale wood floors, and walls and furniture in neutral tones. Minimalism combined with comfort that probably cost a fortune, Arielle thought.
‘I had the penthouse designed when I established the marine research institute,’ Eirik told her. ‘I lived here when I ran my yacht-building business, but now I’ve sold the business and I am busy with royal duties the penthouse is empty most of the time.’ He strolled over to her and caught hold of her hand, linking his fingers through hers. ‘You could move in here.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Me? Why? I have an apartment. It’s not as impressive as this, but I doubt I’d be able to afford the rent for the penthouse.’
Eirik pulled her towards him, and Arielle went unresistingly because it might be the last time she was in his arms. ‘Don’t worry about the rent,’ he murmured. ‘If you live at the penthouse I will be able to visit you without anyone knowing of our involvement.’
Arielle’s heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. ‘Are you suggesting that I could be your secret mistress?’
His eyes blazed. ‘We are good together,skatta. You admitted that it was the best sex you’ve ever had. And it’s the same for me. I don’t want to lose you.’
Her emotions see-sawed. Eirik seemed to be saying that he wanted her in his life, but she would be his grubby secret. They would not have a relationship, just an involvement, which was another way of saying he wanted to have sex with her when it was convenient for him to visit her at the penthouse. Arielle remembered Eirik had said that when he was growing up he hadn’t had a close relationship with his parents, particularly his mother, who had largely ignored him while she’d desperately tried to win Prince Otto’s love. Maybe being starved of affection in his childhood had hardened his heart and it was why he shunned emotional relationships.
‘But you must marry soon so that your father can abdicate, and you will become the Reigning Sovereign with your Princess Consort to assist you.’
‘I am not married at the moment. Even when I become engaged, a wedding will take time to arrange.’ He shrugged. ‘And afterwards I will retain my freedom.’
Arielle bit her lip. ‘How can you ask a woman, perhaps Ida Lundberg, to spend the rest of her life with you when you are not prepared to offer her commitment and fidelity?’
Eirik’s jaw tightened. ‘I will make it clear to whoever I marry that in public we will give a show of unity, but in private we’ll have separate lives, and lovers, as long as we are discreet.’
‘That was what your parents’ marriage was like, wasn’t it? But you told me that your mother loved your father and was hurt by his affairs. What will you do if your wife falls in love with you?’
He swore. ‘It won’t happen. But if it did, why would it matter to you?’
‘Because you have asked me to be your mistress. I’d be the third person in your marriage, and it would be unbearable to know that I was the reason for your wife’s heartbreak.’
Eirik raked his hand through his hair. ‘This is a crazy conversation. I don’t have a wife.’
‘Yet.’Arielle let out her breath slowly. ‘You need to court the woman you intend to marry and who will be the mother of your children.’ She tried to smile but failed. ‘Who knows, you might fall in love with your bride.’
‘I have neither the desire nor intention to fall in love,’ Eirik said curtly. He tightened his arm around Arielle’s waist so that she was plastered against his whipcord body, and threaded his other hand into her tangled curls, which she’d meant to style into a neat chignon before starting work in the marine laboratories. She should not be here in his penthouse, and her body should not be responding to the glitter in his eyes as he lowered his face towards hers. ‘I want you, and you want me,’ he insisted. ‘That is all that matters for now.’
His warm breath grazed her lips, and she was so tempted to lose herself in the mastery of his kiss, but somehow she resisted. ‘You want to keep me hidden,’ Arielle muttered. ‘Are you ashamed of me because I am a nobody?’
Eirik lifted his head and stared down at her. ‘Of course I’m not ashamed of you. And you are not a nobody. Why do you put yourself down? You are beautiful, clever, passionate about marine conservation, and as sexy as hell.’
‘But you wouldn’t ask me out to a restaurant, or anywhere where we could be seen in public. I would be your invisible mistress.’
He frowned. ‘Have you any idea what your life would be like if we were spotted together? If there was speculation that we were in a relationship, you would be hounded by the press. I have had to deal with media intrusion in my personal life for as long as I can remember, but you have never experienced the relentless attention you would receive.’
Oh, but she had, and it was an experience she never wanted to repeat. Arielle shuddered at the memory of the pack of journalists and press photographers who had been outside the court during her father’s trial. The rumours that she had known about Gerran Rowse’s drug-smuggling operation, and the murder of a policeman, had put her in the spotlight three years ago. Even before then, when she was a child, her surly father had been unpopular with the villagers in Penash because of his filthy temper and readiness to start a brawl in the pub when he was drunk. As a consequence, Arielle had been picked on by other children at school simply because she’d been seen as different. After Gerran had been sent to prison, she had been treated with suspicion by the villagers.
If the press in Fjernland discovered that the future monarch was having an affair with the daughter of a notorious criminal, the story would make headline news. Worst of all, Eirik would learn about her past. She had done nothing wrong, but she was deeply ashamed of her connection to her vile father.
