LITMIR.BIZ

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back once she had broken the unwritten rules of the Santina family by defying the king. For a moment she hesitated. And then an image of her standing in church beside the stranger her father wanted her to marry filled her head, galvanising her. Her heart had begun to thump wildly just in case someone at the palace had discovered her absence and had realised that she might try to leave the island. The thought of the ignominy of being dragged back to the palace to face her father and his wrath was all Sophia needed to carry her out of the airport building and into the April night air.

      In front of her, down the length of the red carpet that had been put out to welcome their guests, she could see the steps to the executive jet with Ash’s royal crest emblazoned on its side.

      There was no one around to stop her as she climbed the steps to the plane, dragging her case with her. Sophia wasn’t used to carrying her own luggage, just as she wasn’t used to packing her own things. The case was heavy and she was slightly out of breath by the time she had managed to drag it behind her and into the empty body of the executive jet.

      The main cabin of the plane was elegant but businesslike compared with some of the private jets on which she had travelled before. It was clear to her that Ash used his plane as an extension of his office when he travelled, but then, unlike some of the men who formed part of the smart set with whom Sophia partied, Ash was primarily a businessman, despite his title. At the far end of the cabin there was another door. Sophia went to it and opened it. Beyond it lay a bedroom fitted with a large double bed; a door next to the bed opened into a bathroom. The grey-and-white decor of the main cabin was repeated throughout.

      The bedroom area of the plane was in darkness and through the window Sophia could see Ash striding down the red carpet towards the plane accompanied by a uniformed steward. Her heart skipped a beat, tension filling her. She wanted to rush to meet him and beg him for help but he was frowning and looked impatient. Sophia looked towards the bathroom. What if she simply hid herself in there and waited until they had taken off before she revealed her presence to him? That way he would have no choice other than to help her.

      The bathroom was compact with a good-size shower and the usual facilities. Most of the spare floor space was taken up by her case so she had to perch on it after she had pulled the door to and taken the precaution of locking it. Presumably there was another lavatory off the main cabin of the jet for staff, so she should be safe in here until they had taken off.

      As soon as the jet’s door was locked behind him, enclosing him in its cabin, Ash removed his jacket and sat down at his desk, reaching for his laptop. He had work to do ahead of the meeting he was returning to Mumbai to attend. He had planned to speak with Sophia before he had left the ballroom. His deep-rooted sense of responsibility demanded that he at least tell her that her marriage need not be as bad as she obviously felt it would be, but he hadn’t been able to find her. And if he had found her? If she had pleaded with him yet again for his help? He pushed the laptop away and stood. He had no idea where it had come from, this persistent unwanted ache of what he refused to call anything but mere male lust, but he did know that neither it nor Sophia herself could have any place in his life.

      In her hiding place Sophia felt the plane start to move down the runway and then gather speed, before lifting into the sky. She had done it. She had left the island and it was too late to change her mind now. In the morning her family would know she had gone, and her father … Her father would be furious with her, but if he wouldn’t listen to her and let her tell him how she felt then she had no other way of showing him just how much she did not want this marriage.

      The plane levelled off. Sophia opened the bathroom door. The bedroom was still in darkness. She looked towards the door to the main cabin and the light showing underneath it. She went towards it and then stopped. She felt so vulnerable and alone. If she went to Ash now she was afraid that she might … That she might what? Throw herself at him and beg him to hold her, to comfort her, to keep her safe? That was ridiculous and it just showed how unlike her real self she was behaving to even think such a thing. It would be better though, wouldn’t it, for her to wait a little longer before she did see Ash in order to give herself time to feel less vulnerable.

      Ash didn’t much care for the new temporary steward who had been taken on while his usual man, Jamail, had gone home to look after his sick mother. The man hovered too much and too closely. There was something in his eyes that Ash didn’t like, although he told himself that he was probably being unfair to him as he shook his head, refusing the drink the steward had offered. He looked at his watch. Just gone 1:00 a.m. It was a six-hour flight to Mumbai at least and, with the time difference, it meant it would be 9:30 a.m. before they landed. He had arranged for his meeting to take place in his office in his penthouse apartment in the city, to save time and also to allow him to leave for Nailpur—the Rajasthan state of which he was the ruler and from which he derived his title—the following day to attend to his business there.

      A new message from Hassan caught his eye. In it his old friend was complaining that they hadn’t had a chance to catch up at the engagement party.

      It was true that Alex, Hassan and Ash didn’t get much opportunity to catch up with one another in person. They all had busy lives. Ruefully, he emailed back—Perhaps you should get engaged yourself, and throw another party—and then went back to concentrating on the key points he wanted to discuss with the consortium that was going to renovate one of Nailpur’s smaller palaces and turn it into an exclusive luxury hotel.

      Whilst he personally did not need the money this venture would bring in, the people of Nailpur did. Ash sat back again in his chair as he contemplated the problems he and the highly trained young managers he had hired were having persuading the people of the benefits of growing their crops in a more modern and cost-effective way. For the hotel and the other plans he had to bring tourists and money into the area, which needed to become more self-sufficient. They had the land and the climate with which to grow much of the food visitors would require, but the local farmers were afraid of committing to the new methods of agriculture Ash wanted to introduce. In order to get round that he was encouraging their sons—and daughters—to go to agricultural colleges so that hopefully they would come back and persuade their families to adapt to modern ideas.

      The door that led to the small kitchen beyond which lay the flight deck opened and the steward came out asking Ash if he would like anything to eat or drink.

      In the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed in the dim glow from the brilliantly star-lit sky outside—she hadn’t dared switch on the light in case it alerted Ash to the fact that she was here before she was ready to face him—Sophia took a deep breath. She couldn’t hide herself away in here forever. She got up, heading for the door into the main cabin, then stopped as she heard voices and realised that Ash was talking to someone.

      She couldn’t go in there now. She’d have to wait until he was alone. She went back to the bed and sat down on it, stifling a yawn as she did so. It had been a long and exhausting day and the bed looked very tempting. Too tempting to resist, Sophia admitted as she had to stifle another yawn.

      Two minutes later, having automatically removed her shoes and her dress, she was tucked up beneath the beautifully welcoming and expensive sheets, her eyes already closing.

       CHAPTER FOUR

      FOUR o’clock. Another couple of hours or so and they’d be touching down in Mumbai. He might as well get some sleep, Ash acknowledged as he closed down his laptop and then made his way to the jet’s bedroom, not bothering to turn on the light as he headed for the bathroom where he stripped off his clothes and then stepped into the shower. Emerging from it he dried himself and then pulled on one of the two thick towelling robes that hung on the inside of the bathroom door.

      This time he did switch on the bedroom light and then froze in disbelief as he saw what—or rather who—it revealed.

      ‘Sophia! What the …’

      The angry sound of Ash’s voice brought Sophia out of her shallow sleep to struggle into a sitting position as she clutched the bedclothes around her naked

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