‘To England,’ he said. ‘I have a family christening I can’t get out of. This is the first time the Carters have been together in a long time and I’m not looking forward to it.’
‘Why not?’
‘Why is none of your business,’ he snapped. ‘Let’s just say that family reunions have never been my thing. But since there’s safety in numbers, you can be my plus one. You get safe passage out of here, and I get someone who can deflect some of the attention away from me.’
‘But I don’t want to go to England for a family christening—and I certainly don’t want to be your “plus one”.’
‘No? Then what else are you going to do?’
Sophie fished around for a suitable answer but with a sinking heart realised her options were limited. They always were. She didn’t want to go home—not right now, when the people of her country would still look at her with sympathy in their eyes. Yet anywhere else would only emphasise her lone status—especially around Christmas time. Wouldn’t travelling with Rafe stop the press from getting too close, while she decided what she was going to do next? Hadn’t she proved that she could cope with hard work and be resourceful? She was young and fit and there was a great big world out there. Why shouldn’t she use this opportunity to decide how best to embrace her new life?
She met the steely gleam of his eyes, thinking about the harsh things he’d said to her. She didn’t like him very much but something told her she’d be safe with him. Not because they shared a special connection because of what had happened last night, but because he was strong and powerful. A man like this could protect you, she thought wistfully. And he could make you want him, even if you knew that wanting him was the last thing you needed.
She could do nothing to stop the ripple of sexual awareness which had started spreading over her body but she did her best not to think about it. His offer made perfect sense but she could only accept it if she took it at face value. She would go along for the ride, but no further. She mustn’t start yearning for things Rafe Carter was never going to give her. Because even though he’d taken her to heaven and back last night, this morning his eyes were cold and unwelcoming.
He doesn’t much like you either, she thought.
And even though his opinion didn’t matter, wasn’t it funny how something like that could hurt?
FORTY THOUSAND FEET above the South China Sea and wanting to break the hours of interminable silence, Sophie turned towards the brooding figure who was seated beside her. ‘I’m surprised you don’t have bodyguards.’
Rafe looked up from the papers he’d been reading, his eyes narrowing, clearly irritated at having been interrupted from the work which had consumed his attention since they’d first boarded the aircraft. ‘Why the hell should I have bodyguards?’
Sophie waved a hand to encompass all the luxurious fittings of his private jet. ‘Why not? You travel like a royal. You’re rich as Croesus. Aren’t you worried that somebody might kidnap you and spirit away your vast fortune?’
His grey eyes glittered. ‘I have a black belt in both karate and judo,’ he said silkily. ‘I’d like to see somebody try.’
Sophie absorbed this as he picked up his papers again and she stared at the white clouds billowing outside the aircraft window. Her comparison hadn’t been made lightly. Their journey from Poonbarra had been so smooth that at times it had felt like being part of a royal convoy again. Yet she’d been sad at having to say goodbye to the Outback station where everyone had just accepted her as she was. To them she was an ordinary woman who’d learnt how to cook and mop floors and use a dishwasher. She had been dreading the moment of confessing her identity to Andy and the other men, knowing it would change everything. But she had been wrong, because they’d acted as if it meant nothing. They’d gruffly told her they wished she weren’t going. And hadn’t tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as the car had left Poonbarra for ever, her feeling as though she was leaving behind a peace and a freedom she would never know again?
They had flown in a light aircraft to Brisbane airport, where Rafe’s private jet had been fuelled and ready to go. He’d made her telephone her brother and tell him that she was flying to England under his protection. And although Myron had been angry, his relief at being able to speak to her after so long, and knowing she was ‘in safe hands’, was almost palpable. And now they were flying towards the UK and it felt unreal. It was unreal. She was going to England to meet the family of a man who clearly couldn’t stand her—and she didn’t have a clue what she was going to do afterwards.
Her heart sank. Everything had been fine until he’d turned up at Poonbarra. She’d thought she’d have another couple of months before she needed to make any major decisions about her future, but Rafe Carter’s seduction had changed everything. Should she ask him about flights to Isolaverde once the ceremony was over? She stared at his proud, carved profile. Maybe not right now. Why not prepare herself for what lay ahead instead?
She cleared her throat. ‘Maybe you should tell me something about your family.’
He looked up, his face not particularly friendly. ‘Like what?’
‘A few facts would help. Who’s going to be at this Christening. That sort of thing.’
Answering questions of a personal nature was an activity Rafe habitually avoided and, besides, he wasn’t in the mood to talk to Sophie. He was still angry with her. For her deception. For not telling him who she really was. For coming onto him and failing to tell him she was a virgin.
Yet his body was refusing to listen to the disapproval which was clouding his mind. The single thought which consumed him was how much he wanted to have sex with her by daylight—with the sun streaming in through the cabin windows and illuminating her creamy body. His throat thickened as he imagined her arching that elegant back, those long legs stiffening helplessly as she came. He didn’t usually bring lovers on long-haul flights because being trapped in an enclosed space for so many hours meant the possibility of boredom was very high. But for once there had been no other option.
Pushing his erotic thoughts away, he met the questioning look in her eyes.
‘It’s my nephew’s christening,’ he said shortly.
‘Right,’ she said. ‘So is it your brother or your sister who is the parent?’
‘My half-brother. Or at least, one of them.’
‘Right. And how many half-brothers do you have?’
With a barely stifled sigh of irritation, Rafe put down his pen. ‘Three. Or at least, three that I know about,’ he answered. ‘And a half-sister named Amber.’
‘Gosh. That’s a lot. How come?’
His instinct was to snap back: how do you think? Until he remembered that her privileged life had probably protected her from the worst excesses of relationships—of children born in and out of wedlock and illicit affairs which wrecked marriages.
‘Because my father liked women. Ambrose Carter was something of a darling in his day, which is probably why he married four times and why I have so many half-siblings. There’s Amber, Chase, Gianluca and Nick—he’s the one who’s just had the baby—or rather, his wife, Molly, did.’
‘Are they’re all going to be there?’
‘Everyone except Chase. He’s in South America, halfway up the Amazon. Molly’s parents are both dead.’ There was a split-second pause. ‘But her twin sister is going to be there. Like I said, it’s complicated.’
‘Okay.’ She shifted her gaze to his. ‘And does your father—Ambrose—have a good relationship with his children?’
‘As much as each mother would allow.’ He gave a faint