AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Reality hit Arielle like a sledgehammer. She would never agree to be Eirik’s mistress once he was married. But while he was still single, she had been tempted to have an affair with him in the hope that the chemistry between them would fizzle out. And if she was honest, she’d hoped that the fairy tale would come true, and the handsome prince would fall in love and want to marry her.
Eirik had made it clear there was no chance of that happening, but if a miracle occurred and he decided to conduct their relationship in the public eye, it would be a nightmare, Arielle realised sickly. The press would be certain to dig up the dirt on her father and she would be humiliated in front of Eirik. Worse still, Eirik would be embarrassed by his association with her, and perhaps his judgement would be questioned by the people of Fjernland. She simply could not allow that to happen.
He slid his hand beneath her chin and tilted her face up to his. ‘When I arranged for you to be taken to the cabin without asking if you wanted to go, you accused me of denying you the right to make your own choices. I’m not asking you to decide right now where we go from here.’ His eyes blazed. ‘But you won’t find this fire with anyone else,skatta.’
He bent his head and crushed her mouth beneath his in a kiss that startled Arielle with its urgency. She wound her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through the blond hair above his collar. When Eirik kissed her passionately as he was doing and stroked his finger gently over her cheek as if she were infinitely precious, she could almost believe that she meant something to him. But it was hopeless.
She broke the kiss and pulled out of his arms. He did not stop her, and his expression was unreadable. ‘I...have to go,’ she whispered before she walked quickly over to the door and out of the penthouse.
Valdemar arrived at the marine research institute in the afternoon. He looked as though he hadn’t slept for days, but there was a wide grin on his face.
‘How is Frida?’ Arielle asked him. She really liked the couple and had enjoyed working with Frida on a report about microplastic pollution in the oceans and possible solutions to the problem.
‘Mother and baby are doing well.’ Valdemar showed her a picture on his phone of a tiny infant swaddled in blankets. ‘Meet my son, Lars,’ he said with obvious pride. ‘The birth had to be induced because of Frida’s dangerously high blood pressure and Lars is small because he was a month early. But he has a healthy pair of lungs that he uses particularly well at night.’
‘Congratulations.’ Arielle felt an unexpected pull of maternal longing as she looked at the photo of the newborn baby. She’d vaguely hoped she would have a family one day, but she would want to be with a man who loved her and their children. Would Eirik love the heir he must produce to ensure that Fjernland continued to be an independent principality? She hoped so, for she knew what it was like to grow up without a loving father.
‘Come into my office,’ Valdemar said. He offered Arielle a seat. ‘You may remember that Frida was meant to address the National Council and report on the effects of microplastics in the marine environment.’
Arielle nodded. ‘We wrote the report together and our findings are based on sediment samples taken from the North Sea.’
‘The assembly will take place on Saturday, but Frida is on maternity leave, and we are both agreed that you should address the National Council.’
‘But there are other, more highly qualified marine biologists than me who would be better to give the report,’ Arielle stammered.
‘You demonstrated when you gave a seminar to a group of university students a week ago that you have a gift for public speaking. Also, you wrote the report with Frida, which makes you the ideal person to deliver the speech.’ Valdemar smiled. ‘Please agree to take Frida’s place. A lot is riding on the report, and we are hoping to persuade the National Council to increase the marine research institute’s funding.’
‘Well... I am honoured that you have chosen me.’ Shocked was a better description of how she felt, Arielle thought. After a lifetime of feeling voiceless, she was being encouraged to make a speech about a subject close to her heart and hopefully bring more attention to marine conservation. It was thanks to Eirik that she had been given this chance. He had brought her to Fjernland to work at the research institute. Why did everything centre around him? she thought with a sigh.
For the rest of the week Arielle worked on polishing the wording of the speech that she would give to the National Council. Valdemar had explained that the fifteen members of the government were elected by the Fjernlandic people every three years, and the ministers assisted the hereditary Reigning Sovereign to rule the principality. Crown Prince Otto was convalescing after his recent illness and Prince Eirik would deputise for his father at the National Council’s assembly.
At least worrying about speaking at such a prestigious event had helped to keep her mind off Eirik during the days, Arielle thought ruefully. But she was lonely in bed without him. They had spent four nights together at his cabin in the mountains and she had grown used to curling up against his big body when they were in bed, which had been most of the time. She felt a familiar tingle of longing in her breasts and low in her pelvis as she remembered his skill as a lover. He had taken her to heaven with his thrilling caresses, but he’d coupled fierce passion with an unexpected tenderness that had captivated her heart.
On the first night back in her flat she had still been awake at midnight when her phone rang and Eirik’s name flashed on the screen.
‘I take it you can’t sleep either,’ he’d drawled when she’d answered on the second ring.
‘No,’ she’d admitted.
‘I miss you.’ His husky voice had made her toes curl.
‘I miss you too.’
‘Good. Tell me what you have been doing.’
She had told him about the report she’d been asked to give at the National Council’s assembly. It had led to a wider discussion about marine conservation and Eirik’s determination to protect Fjernland’s seas and the island’s unique natural environment when he became the Reigning Sovereign.
‘You helped me to realise that when I am the monarch, I will be able to introduce changes to some of the policies that are outdated and hopefully bring a new energy to how Fjernland is governed,’ he’d told her. ‘I have made my peace with the royal life and responsibilities that await me.’
‘I’m glad,’ Arielle had said. She’d wondered if Eirik had also accepted that marriage was a non-negotiable part of his royal life. He did not mentiontheirrelationship and perhaps he had decided to take her advice and court the woman he planned to make his bride.
He had phoned again last night, and they had chatted until two a.m. When her alarm had gone off at six, she had struggled to wake up. After work she visited Valdemar and Frida and admired baby Lars. Arielle had never held a tiny baby before, and when she walked back to her apartment block next to the institute, she thought wistfully of the Oskarssons’ happy family unit.
The sight of a black limousine in the car park made her heart leap at the thought that Eirik was here and would invite her up to his penthouse. As she approached the car, the chauffeur held the rear door open. Eirik must be intending to take her somewhere, Arielle thought as she slid onto the back seat.
‘Hi, gorgeous...’ Her voice faltered as her eyes met Princess Hulda’s icy gaze. ‘G-good afternoon, Your Highness. I did not realise...’
‘I assume you were expecting to see my son, Miss Tremain. Or should I address you as Miss Rowse? That is the name recorded on your birth certificate.’
