Maharaja's Mistress

‘You missed that while you were choosing what to wear.’

Unfolding his athletic frame, Ram came to stand in front of her. Taking hold of her hands, he drew her close. ‘I just wanted you to have some treats. When we reach Ramprakesh things will be different.’

When had she heard something like this before? But she could only guess how different things would be for Ram, and had to force back tears when he tightened his grip on her hands.

‘I’ve been running the country alongside my other business interests since my father’s death, but it isn’t enough, Mia. My people need me to stay with them. A distant playboy who issues directives from time to time is no use to them. They need my physical presence so I can put an end to all the corruption and make sure there’s a strong government in place. That’s why I’ve started building a house there. I don’t want to live in some vast, echoing palace. I want to open all the palaces as institutes of culture. I want a reliable health service and education for all, and—’

‘You have a vision,’ Mia interrupted softly.

Ram thought about that for a moment. ‘Yes, I do,’ he said quietly. ‘I want to slip into the country without any fuss and start work immediately. But until then…Well, why don’t we make the most of our time together?’

Could she do that? Could she forget about tomorrow until they docked?

That didn’t sound much like her, Mia concluded as she held Ram’s gaze. But what lay ahead of Ram was so much bigger than anything she would have to face. ‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘What I should have said was thank you.’

‘There’s no need to thank me,’ Ram assured her with a grin. ‘Shall we eat now? Oh, and by the way—the Ramprakeshi clothes suit you.’

And with biting irony made them look like a couple, Mia realised, catching sight of their reflection in the mirror. Ram was wearing traditional clothes too, and his blue-black tunic with its Nehru collar not only toned with her outfit, but suited his exotic colouring perfectly. She couldn’t help wondering what a man like Ram wanted with her when he could have anyone in the world. It wasn’t long before more doubt demons crept in. ‘This interior design work you mentioned—is that just something you made up to keep me sweet?’

‘No, of course it isn’t,’ he said with surprise. ‘You’ve seen the yacht—do I need to say more? Surely you don’t think this is how I want to live?’

‘And your house in Ramprakesh?’

‘Will be very different too—maybe you can help me—’

‘I’d love to,’ she said, wondering if she wasn’t taking on too much.

‘You can do it, Mia,’ Ram said as if he’d read her mind. ‘I know you can.’

‘You have a lot of confidence in me,’ she said as they walked out onto the deck for lunch.

‘Should I doubt you?’ Ram demanded as he held her chair ready.

‘No.’

‘But?’

‘No buts,’ Mia said as she unfurled her napkin. In fact, no buts ever again. If Ram could do this—return to rebuild a country—surely she could handle a little redecoration. It was just a matter of scale—and, like everything else in life, confidence.

‘It’s all work in progress, Mia,’ Ram assured her as he took his seat. ‘This is as much a voyage of discovery for me as it is for you. Let’s just say we’re both embarking on a steep learning curve.’

She met his gaze and saw his vision of a better future for Ramprakesh. Whatever else Ram decided during this voyage she knew that from the moment he set foot in his homeland Ram would be an engine for change and the thought filled her with love and pride.

‘Ramprakesh is a fabulous country, Mia. Wait until you see it.’

‘I can’t wait.’ She gazed into his eyes.

‘Would you like some bread?’

‘Sorry?’ It took her a moment, and then she saw that Ram’s gaze was amused. He was telling her without words that this short, precious time was theirs and they shouldn’t waste a second of it.

Chapter Eleven

THEY were hardly inside Mia’s stateroom door before Ram was kissing her. This was everything she had ever wanted. Being with Ram had exceeded her dreams beyond anything she could have imagined and she couldn’t think about the end of the voyage now—she refused to think about it. Ram’s kisses were tender, passionate, cherishing, hot, and this was as close as two people could be—

And they were naked by the time they made it to the bed.

‘Did you imagine one helping of Mia would be enough for me?’ Ram demanded huskily as he turned her beneath him.

‘I think we’ve entered the land of excess.’

‘We’re not even close yet,’ he assured her, moving down the bed.

‘Glutton,’ she accused him mid-gasp.

‘Are you complaining?’

‘Certainly not.’ Placing her hands on his shoulders, she put Ram to work again. ‘I have no complaints—none whatsoever—except I can’t hold on—’

‘You’re not supposed to hold on,’ he said, taking her mid-scream of pleasure. ‘And with every nautical mile we travel we’re growing closer to that land of excess you mentioned…’

He wasn’t joking, Mia realised as she moved with him, relishing each fabulous sensation as Ram transported her from a deeply satisfying conclusion to yet another hungry new beginning.

‘Are you trying for a record here too?’ she demanded some time later when she was still throbbing with sensation.

‘You know how competitive I am,’ he said, nuzzling her lips with his mouth.

‘Don’t ever change,’ she murmured as a kiss became a caress, and the caress fired the hunger inside her.

‘I have no intention of doing so,’ Ram assured her as he took her again.

She didn’t mean to spoil the mood, but the closer they became physically, the more she wanted to know about Ram. ‘What?’ he said, prompting her while they were briefly resting.

‘There’s something elusive about you.’ Easing round in his arms, she stared into his face.

‘Like all the stuff you won’t tell me?’ His gaze lingered on her eyepatch. ‘School gave you the chance t

o try rally driving at an early age, and you used to be a good driver. What happened, Mia—when did you become reckless enough to bend a car round a tree?’

The recklessness had started on the night he left. But this was about Ram and she refused to be distracted. ‘My injuries are out there for everyone to see. Yours are hidden,’ she told him bluntly. ‘And whatever you’re keeping locked away from me can only have happened while I was in hospital undergoing surgery.’

‘Very good, Miss Marple. Any more insights you’d care to share with me?’

‘Don’t make light of it, Ram. I just wish you’d share those secrets with me. I understand the responsibilities you’re facing, and I know you can’t take me with you into that world.’

Ram’s answer to this was to stroke and kiss her brow. ‘What did I tell you about making the most of this time?’ he said, and, drawing her into his arms, he kissed her—lightly, deeply, passionately…‘You worry too much about everything, Mia.’

‘About you, maybe,’ she admitted, finding it increasingly difficult to keep her feelings under wraps.

‘I’m the last person you should be worrying about. I’m a mighty maharaja, remember?’ Ram laughed as he mocked himself, a blinding flash of perfect teeth against his smooth dark skin. And then he kissed her again, and tickled her, until she had to beg him to stop, by which time she was crying with laughter.

‘You don’t need to offer me a job,’ Mia murmured, lying warm and contented in Ram’s arms after they had made love again. ‘You’re right about this being a wonderful adventure, but when I go home I’ll almost certainly pick up my career—and that’s thanks to you. You kick-started my brain, my ambition, my lust for life—’

‘And for me, I hope?’

‘Do you need to ask?’ she said, sweeping a gaze down Ram’s brazenly exposed body. He didn’t even cover himself with a sheet. He just lay there, inviting attention—distracting her so she could hardly think beyond the next bout of pleasure. ‘I don’t need you to look out for me, Ram—nor must you feel you have to give me a job.’