disbelief. ‘You’re leaving me to travel on alone to Ashur?’
‘Only for thirty six hours at most. I’m afraid that I can’t be in two places at once.’
‘Even on what’s supposed to be our wedding night?’ Ruby launched at him.
The prince shut his laptop and shot her a veiled look as silky as melted honey and somehow that appraisal made her tummy perform acrobatics. ‘Are you offering me one?’
The silence simmered like a kettle on the boil. Her cheeks washed with heat, Ruby scrambled to her feet. ‘Of course, I’m not!’
‘I thought not. So, what’s the problem? The exact date of our marriage will not be publicly announced. Very few people will be aware that this is our wedding night.’
Ruby almost screamed. He was not that stupid. He was seriously not that stupid and his casual reaction to her criticism enraged her. She breathed in so deep and long she was vaguely surprised that her head didn’t lift off her shoulders and float. ‘You’re asking me what the problem is? Is that a joke?’
Raja uncoiled from his seat with the fluid grace of a martial arts expert. Standing very straight and tall, broad shoulders hard as a blade, Raja rested cool eyes on her, for he was not accustomed to being shouted at and he was in no mood to become accustomed to the experience. ‘Naturally I am not joking.’
‘And you can’t see anything wrong with dumping me with a bunch of strangers in a foreign country? I don’t know anyone, don’t speak the language, don’t even know how to behave,’ Ruby yelled back at him full volume, causing the steward entering the cabin with a trolley to hastily backtrack and close the door again. ‘How can you abandon me like that?’
The prince gazed down at her with frowning dark eyes, exasperated by her ignorance. Clearly she had no concept of the extensive planning and detailed security arrangements that accompanied his every movement and that would soon apply equally to hers. Familiar as Raja was with the military precision of planning a royal schedule set in stone often months in advance, he saw no room for manoeuvre or a change of heart. ‘Abandon you? How am I abandoning you?’
Made to feel as if she was being melodramatic, Ruby reddened and pursed her sultry mouth. ‘You’re supposed to be my husband.’
Taken aback by the reminder, Raja quirked an expressive ebony brow. ‘But according to you we’re only faking it.’
‘Well, you’re not faking it worth a damn!’ Ruby condemned with furious bite, strands of hair shimmying round her flushed cheekbones, eyes accusing. ‘A husband should be loyal and supportive. I don’t know how to be a princess yet and if I make mistakes I’m likely to offend people. Hasn’t that occurred to you? You can’t leave me alone in a strange place. I don’t know how to give these people what they expect and deserve and I was depending on you to tell me!’
Unprepared for his gutsy bride to reveal panic, Raja frowned, setting his features into a stern mask. ‘Unfortunately arrangements are already in place for us to go our separate ways this afternoon. It is virtually impossible to make last-minute changes to that schedule. We’re about to land in Najar, I’m expected home and you’re flying on to Ashur by yourself.’
Suddenly mortified by the nerves that had got the better of her composure, Ruby screened her apprehensive gaze and said stiffly as she took her seat with determination again, ‘Fine. Don’t worry about it—I’m sure I’ll manage. I’m used to being on my own.’
Ruby didn’t speak another word. She was furious with herself for revealing her insecurity. What on earth had she expected from him? Support? When had she ever known a man to be supportive? Raja had his own priorities and they were not the same as hers. As he had reminded her, their marriage, their very relationship, was a fake. As, to be fair, she had requested. Her soft, full mouth curved down. Clearly if she wasn’t sleeping with him she was on her own and that was nothing new….
THE instant Ruby stepped out of the plane the heat of the sun engulfed her in a powerful wave, dewing her upper lip with perspiration and giving the skin below her clothes a sticky feeling. In the distance an architectural triumph of an airport building glinted in the sun. A man bowed low in front of her and indicated a small plane about fifty yards away. Breathing in deep and slow to steady her nerves, Ruby followed him.
At the top of the steps and mere seconds in her wake, the prince came to a dead halt, rare indecision gripping him.
‘You’re supposed to be my husband … loyal and supportive.’
‘How can you abandon me?’
His stubborn jaw line clenched. He gritted his teeth. He could not fault her expectations. Would he not expect similar consideration from her? He was also a very masculine guy and it went against the grain to ignore her plea for help. At a time when her role was still so new to her, even a temporary separation was a bad idea. Of course she was feeling overwhelmed and he was well aware that people would be only too willing to find fault when she made innocent mistakes. He strode down the steps, addressed the court official waiting to greet him and politely ignored the surprise, dismay and the sudden burst of speech that followed his declaration of a change of plan. All the signs were that the little plane parked on the asphalt was almost ready to take off and, determined not to miss his chance to join his bride, Raja headed straight for it. His security chief ran after him only to be waved away for so small a craft had only limited room for passengers.
Ruby buckled her belt in the small, stiflingly hot compartment. She had never flown in so small a plane before and she felt utterly unnerved by her solitary state. When a young man approached her with a bent head and a tray to proffer a glass she was quick to mutter grateful thanks and grasp it, drinking down the fragrantly scented chilled drink, only to wince at the bitter aftertaste it left in her mouth. She set the empty glass back on the tray with a strained smile and the steward retreated again.
A split second later, she heard someone else board and Raja dropped down into the seat by her side. Astonished by his reappearance, Ruby twisted round to study him. ‘You’ve changed your mind? You’re coming with me?’
Raja basked in the glowing smile of instant relief and appreciation she awarded him.
Ruby recalled him asking her if she was offering him a wedding night. Although she had said no, his change of heart made her worry that they had got their wires crossed. But wasn’t that a stupid suspicion to cherish? A guy with his looks would scarcely be so desperate that he would nurture such a desire for an unwilling woman.
The same young man reappeared with a second glass but when he focused on Raja, he suddenly froze and then he fell to his knees in the aisle and bowed his head very low, almost dropping the tray in the process.
Raja reached for the drink. The steward drew the tray back in apparent dismay and Raja had to lean out of his seat to grasp the glass.
‘What’s wrong with him?’ Ruby whispered as the steward backed nervously out of the plane again. As the door slammed shut the engines began revving.
‘He didn’t realise who I was until he saw me up close. He must have assumed I was one of your guards when I boarded.’
The plane was turning. ‘I have guards now?’
‘I
