The Tycoon's Temporary Bride: Book Four Page 10

“I’m sorry,” Tashi had said at the pain that was still evident in Adam’s eyes. She did a quick calculation and realized that when she’d lost her mother, she was the same age Alyssa was when she lost both her parents. Thank God for loving aunts and uncles who picked up the parenting baton when parents died, and absentee fathers were nowhere to be found. “Those poor kids, to lose both parents at the same time.”

  “It was rough for the first year, but with the love and devotion from Bryce and Kaya they’re on their way to total recovery. It helps that we’re all very close. The kids have a huge support system.”

  As they’d entered an interlude of silence, Tashi had felt a deep sense of relief at the bond of trust between the men. Even though they probably shared the most private details of their lives with each other, they nonetheless, kept one another’s secrets, even from each other. What she wouldn’t give for a friend like that, a sibling, or a cousin to confide in.

  She’d had friends growing up in Ohio, but no one close enough to form a lifetime bond like Adam and his friends—partly because of her over-protective uncle who watched her every move and limited her social interactions. He’d tried to talk her out of moving to New York to attend college. New York was too big, too far away, and filled with bad people who could lead her astray. Tashi had told him that she was going with or without his approval. He’d stared at her as if he’d seen a ghost, like he’d been trapped in a moment of déjà-vu.

  It was the first time she’d ever challenged his authority, or even shown a hint of rebellion against his principles, and it had felt good, a little wicked, actually. They’d argued long and hard and she’d told him that since she was eighteen, he couldn’t legally stop her. At that, he’d conceded and given her his blessings, with warnings to be wary of strangers and not to trust people too easily and quickly. They’d parted on the best of terms and had spoken to each other every single day until he died.

  Tashi had thought her uncle weird when she was a child, but as she’d gotten older, she’d begun to suspect that his paranoia was a direct result of the ambiguous circumstances surrounding her mother’s drowning death. They’d ruled it a suicide, but her uncle always told her that her mother had loved her more than life and would not have taken her own life, leaving her little baby girl motherless.

  He’d lost his only sibling, and his niece was the only relative he had left. He’d felt it his duty to protect her. He never displayed any bitterness or anger, just caution and mistrust when dealing with strangers, and sometimes with people they knew.

  During her college years in New York, Tashi had made a few friends, but still no one close enough to form a lifetime relationship. Then her uncle had died unexpectedly, casting her into a state of even greater loneliness. He hadn’t told her he was sick. In the letter she’d received after the fact, he’d explained that he hadn’t wanted her to worry about him, to give up her life to care for him. She would have gone to him in an instant.

  Tashi had bit back the sob that almost escaped from her throat. Scottie had come along shortly after her uncle’s death. Her vulnerability and her need for human contact had weakened her defenses and left her wide open to his trickery. If it weren’t for that agent who’d died saving her, only God knew where she’d be right now.

  Her uncle had been right all alone. It was best not to trust people, yet, she’d thought, glancing across the table at Adam, here was a man who’d proven he could be trusted. “It’s hard for me to trust people,” she’d said to Adam as the prospect of her impending isolated future had settled in her belly. The thought of being out there alone again scared her. She doubted she’d ever meet another Adam.

  “I sense that,” he’d replied, smiling. “But trust comes with time, Tashi. It took Erik, Bryce, Massimo, and me years to form the level of confidence we have in and with each other. Especially Massimo,” he’d added with a chuckle. “We fought constantly when we were children. Our fathers were best friends and were always pitting us against each other, always pushing us to challenge each other and ourselves. Up to this day, my father still compares me to him.”

  “How are you and Massimo related?” She’d intended to continue her background reading on him, but then she’d gotten sick, and since he’d been taking care of her, Tashi had felt as if she would be invading his privacy if she continued to snoop into his life.

  “Our mothers were sisters,” he’d responded.

  Tashi had detected a catch in his voice. “What are the odds that two sisters would marry two best friends and settle down in the same town? I know of some siblings who can’t stand being in the same state, much less live next door to each other.”

  “My mom was only thirteen months older than Aunt Giuliana, so their sibling bond was formed from an early age. They attended the same fashion design university and worked in marketing in the same fashion house in Milan. Even though it’s been twenty odd years since Aunt Giuli died, my mom still misses her. I believe it’s one of the reasons she moved back to Italy where the happiest memories of their lives were spent.” A melancholy frown had flittered across his features as he swirled the wine around in his glass, watching the white liquid undulate against the clear glass as if he were predicting its movement in response to his motions.

  “So who met whom first?” she’d asked to lighten the mood.

  He’d set the glass down and captured her gaze again. “They all met at a moonlit night festival while on a Safari in Kenya.” His voice had regained some of its vigor. “Mom had won a trip for two in a lottery, and quite naturally—”

  “She took her sister and best friend with her.”

  “Yes. It so happened that Dad and Uncle Luciano were also there on their annual safari.” He’d stopped talking for a while and allowed his gaze to wander off over the tops of the green tree line. “Fate had placed them in the right place at the right time.”

  “It reminds me of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Was there a mischievous Puck to get them all confused before they figured out who really loved whom?”

  “Oh no, cara. There was no Midsummer Night’s Dream mix-up. Each person had fallen instantly in love with the right mate, and six months later, they exchanged vows in a double wedding ceremony.”

  “That’s romantic.” Tashi had never believed in love at first sight. How could she when she’d been programmed to distrust at first sight. Her paranoid heart was never opened to the possibilities of any close relationship. It was desperation, not love or friendship that sent her into Scottie’s arms. And although she’d been awestruck when she’d first met Adam, and since then had begun to develop affectionate feelings for him, she had to remember that it was also desperation that had brought her to his home. What she was feeling could be a strong dose of gratitude.

  But perhaps love at first sight was real for those who’d experienced it.

  “Do you believe in fate, Tashi?” Adam had asked, watching her closely, his enigmatic blue eyes glittering in the afterglow of the radiant sunset illuminating the terrace on the west side of the mansion overlooking a deep green ravine with the rushing sound of what sounded like a waterfall in the far distance.

  “I don’t know,” Tashi had responded on a shrug. “I think things just happen.”

  “Do you really believe things just happen after the way we met at Mountainview Café, then at the grocery store? When did you Google me?”

  “How do you know I Googled you?”

  He’d smiled. “I only gave you my first name. So you must have looked me up on the Internet to find out that I was the Adam Andreas of Andreas International. Otherwise you wouldn’t have known to call me three days later when you were in need.”

  “Okay,” Tashi had admitted grudgingly. “I looked you up as soon as I got to my apartment. I was curious.” She’d averted her gaze for an instant as her mind wheeled back to the moment when she’d added his hotel’s number to her phone. It’s a good thing she had because she would have been too sick to look him up the night she’d needed him.


  As she’d sat there, subjected to his surveying eyes, Tashi had begun to feel lightheaded at the realization that Adam might be right about fate having a hand in her being in his home. He was sent to help her in her hour of need. But why Adam, specifically, and not someone else, some other man?

  “I’m happy you decided to feed your curiosity,” he’d said breaking into her thoughts. “But what if we’d never met that day, what would you have done?”

  “I guess I would have called someone else.” She’d still been trying to deny the truth, the evidence of destiny playing a role in their meeting, their lives.

  “Like who?”

  “Mindy.” Why hadn’t she called Mindy? It would have made more sense since she lived next door.

  “She wasn’t home. Remember she told us she was gone all weekend? But you didn’t know that because you hadn’t even attempted to call her, which tells me a lot.”

  Could it really be fate that made her call Adam? “Then I guess I would have died,” she’d stated defensively as a chill had washed over her. No one would have missed her. No one would have known she was dead until her body had begun to decompose and stink up the place.

  Tashi flinched now at the thought. She was too young to come to such an end. She’d read about these end-of-life scenarios happening to lonely old women with lots of cats, never a young vibrant woman who hadn’t yet experienced life.

  “Well, I for one am most thankful that didn’t happen, Tashi,” Adam had said with a gentle softness in his voice. “I’ve only known you for two weeks, but I can’t imagine my life without ever knowing you. I’ve enjoyed taking care of you, watching you get stronger, watching the spark return to you beautiful emerald eyes, hearing the confidence in your voice.”

  As Tashi had gazed across the table at him, she’d been tempted to tell him something, give him a little piece of the woman he’d nursed back to health, but she knew that the less Adam Andreas knew about her, the less danger he’d be in if her nemesis ever made it to Granite Falls.

  Adam clearly believed fate had brought them together. Maybe they would have met again after that initial collision and the run-in at the grocery store—she didn’t know. But there was some merit to his thinking: she did get sick, she did call him, he did bring her to his home and nursed her back to health, and just when she was planning to leave town and him behind, her money was stolen, forcing her back to his home and his care. What was the meaning, the purpose of it all since her association with Adam could bring him harm in the future? Was he fated to die because of her?

  Guilt, and some other emotion she didn’t recognize had pushed Tashi out of her chair. They’d cleared the table and stacked the dishes into the terrace dishwasher then she’d excused herself and escaped to the master suite for the rest of the night where more guilt over occupying his personal quarters had assailed her.

  It was those precarious moments when they’d stood on the edge of something astronomical, when some epiphany was about to be revealed that scared her most. She tried to avoid them as much as possible, especially because she’d come to sense a deep spirituality in Adam.

  He seemed to be at peace with himself and one with everything around him, and he smiled a lot. Warmth flowed through Tashi’s being as she thought of Adam’s smile that exuded balance and confidence, a smile that always made her feel safe, like she was home, in a place where nothing and no one bad could harm her.

  If she took away nothing else from her brief encounter with Adam Andreas, Tashi knew she would take the visions of his smiles with her. When she felt doubtful and afraid in the future, she would think of him. He’d renewed her belief that there were genuinely kind, decent, and good men in the world. Men like her uncle, the nameless FBI agent, and Adam. Those three men had one thing in common—they’d all cared for her. She would make them proud.

  Tashi took another sip of her orange juice as the grandfather clock across the hall chimed out the mid-morning hour.

  This morning, like every other morning, Adam had awakened her with a kiss on her forehead, and then escorted her to the bathroom where a bath was waiting for her. As she soaked in the scented bubbly Jacuzzi, he made breakfast and set it on the balcony off the master bedroom, where they’d eat while enjoying the view of the majestic green mountains and interlocking lakes in the distance.

  They’d settled into a routine where Adam would disappear after breakfast while she cleaned up the kitchen, made their beds, and twice she’d done their laundry. Having no other chores to occupy her time, Tashi read a lot, just like she used to do when she was living on the other side of town. She couldn’t say she missed the town’s library since Andreas Estates was equipped with a well-stocked one that housed both hardcopy and digital books. All she had to do was download to her ereader for borrow.

  She was never big on TV, so when she was tired of reading, she swam laps in the first-floor Olympic-sized indoor swimming pool, worked out and practiced her kickboxing in the fully equipped gym next to it, soaked in the hot tub, perspired in the sauna or the steam room—depending on her mood—and a couple days she’d just lazed around and watched old classic movies in the ultramodern home theatre.

  That was the daily life of Princess Tashi of Andreas Estate for the past week.

  Adam had never joined her on any of her indoor excursions, and the mansion was so big, she never ran into him. But during their daily meals, he always asked about her use of the numerous amenities and if she were enjoying her exploration of the house. A few days ago, when he’d been late starting dinner, she’d mentioned that he didn’t have to cook every day, nor did he have to join her for every meal.

  “They’re not just meals, Tashi,” he’d responded. “They’re dates.”

  “Dates?” she’d asked, frowning at him. “We’re dating?”

  “Yes. I’m getting to know you as I hope you’re getting to know me.”

  “But I haven’t told you anything about me.”

  He’d chuckled, folded his arms across the tabletop, and leaned toward her, his body, his presence eating up the small space between them. “Quite the contrary, Miss Holland. I’m learning a lot about you, even though you don’t talk.”

  “How?” She’d wanted to move back, give herself breathing room, but she was transfixed, immobilized by his electric eyes.

  “My preparing your meals every day, waking you up with a kiss every morning, and running your bath is equivalent to driving to your home to pick you up. Sometimes I stand and watch you sleep, anticipate the moment when you open your eyes and smile at me. Those are the most fulfilling and exciting moments of my day.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Tashi had responded as her heart began to race at a thousand beats per second. “And how are these dates going for you, Adam?” As soon as she’d asked that question, Tashi knew she was ready to engage in the subtle games of truth and dare, subdue and conquer, that men and women played with each other. She couldn’t remember ever being that audacious with anyone, much less a man.

  Paradoxically, it was Adam’s calm demeanor that seemed to coax out the naïve, yet wantonly curious girl who’d been hiding in the shadows her overprotective uncle had cast over her. She felt safe playing with Adam, like if she broke her doll, he’d mend it, or if she sent a ball flying through the neighbor’s window, he’d take the blame for her. She felt like she had a pal who’d be there for her, no matter what.

  His smile conveyed his enthusiasm in sharing his thoughts with her. “Meals for me aren’t merely about eating, or satisfying a hunger, Tashi. It’s a very intimate and pleasurable event. I love to watch you enjoy my dishes, just as much as I enjoy preparing them for you. My heart flutters when your eyes pop wide as you place something tasty into your mouth. I love to watch the way your lips curl around your fork or your spoon, the subtle motions of your mouth while you chew, and the ripples of muscles in your throat when you swallow. Your goodnight kiss to me is when your little pink tongue emerges from your mouth and slides across your lips to capture
remnants of your meals.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Tashi had had trouble breathing as Adam’s sensuous words hummed inside her. He hadn’t touched her, yet she’d never felt so aroused, so feminine in her entire life. She’d quivered deep inside and expelled a soft sigh as something hot and burning erupted inside her. To her dismay, she’d felt moisture settling inside her panties.

  “The way a person eats is indicative of what kind of lover he or she will be,” he’d continued, smiling as if he knew exactly what was happening to her. “You, my little Tashi, would be shy and uncertain at first. Your irises would widen at each new sensation, and your pupils would lighten with curiosity, then darken with desire as you test the level of pleasure each touch brings you. Then as you gain confidence and satisfaction, you’ll abandon your inhibitions and let the pleasure wash over you.”

  Later that night, with her skin flushed and her body aching, Tashi had lain awake in the darkness of Adam’s white bedroom and imagined what it would be like to make love with him. He would be gentle and patient at first, nibble on her body slowly and sensuously, then as her passion grew, he’d relax his control and lick and lap at her indelicately…

  Pushing the sensuous thoughts aside, Tashi rose from the sofa and walked over to the glass wall. It was a beautiful day. The sky was a deep blue with wispy clouds scattered across it. The sun was high and she could almost feel the rays melting into her skin as she gazed down on the colorful flower garden surrounded by trimmed shrubbery and walking paths below her.

  She glanced back at her camera bag. She’d taken lots of shots from various angles inside the mansion, but she’d never ventured out to inspect the grounds. Perhaps it was time to extend her exploration and enjoy the grounds as much as she’d been enjoying the interior of Andreas Estates before she made her departure.

  With her camera bag in hand, Tashi left the sunroom and made her way down to the first-floor compartmentalized shoe closet where all shoes were kept. The room was bigger than her multi-family apartment building. Adam allowed no one to wear shoes past the first floor. He’d told her it was because he didn’t have a housekeeper, but Tashi believed it had a lot to do with his spiritual personality.