Prince Rajvardhan Thakore goes to her rescue in the middle of a snowstorm in Zurich. They are forced to share his hotel suite, with Chitrangada throwing royal tantrums. Sparks fly, and how!
Her father tries to force her into a marriage with Raja Harischandra Gajanan, who is his own contemporary. The princess fights her father, only to be pushed into a corner. Will her queenly attitude help her out of the situation? Read my book to know more.
An excerpt from my book:
It was a good fifteen minutes before she stepped out of the bathroom, clad only in the t-shirt that smelled of him—a musky perfume and all male. She wondered if she would be able to sleep with his perfume clinging to her. Stepping out, she saw that the lights were off in the bedroom as she tiptoed her way to the sitting room, shutting the door softly behind her.
Sleep failed to come as Rajvardhan lay on his back, the comforter drawn over his naked body, his hands stacked under his head. Princess! He was sure that wasn’t her real name. But she definitely has royal airs, he thought, a smile on his face. She was beautiful, almost ethereally so, until you caught the aggression in her eyes that indicated that she was a rebel. A rebel princess! Her charcoal eyes glowed with joy, burned in anger, or danced with mischief, never still for a moment, capturing his attention completely. He had had a difficult time keeping his distance from her. But then, Prince Rajvardhan Thakore would never take advantage of a woman. For all her brave talk, he could see that she had been nervous about spending the night in his suite. He wondered about the actual truth. He didn’t believe that she had no room booked in her name in the European city. Her story had been too tall to swallow. Rajvardhan grinned to himself, sure by now that she was playing truant. Now that, he could understand as he so loved to do it himself.
He got up to punch his pillows into a more comfortable shape before lying down again. But sleep continued to elude him. Maybe a glass of hot milk would help. The hotel had twenty-four hours room service. He got up to pull on a pair of shorts before walking into the sitting room. He had better check if Princess needed something too.
“Hey!”
Chitrangada fell off the sofa, startled to hear his voice. She had been tossing on her makeshift bed, doing her best to find a comfortable position, only to fail. She fitted on the sofa only if she pulled her knees close to her chest. But that was no inducement to sleep. And she had been sure that Raj must be out like the light. He had said that he was too tired and needed his beauty’s sleep, hadn’t he?!
What the hell was he doing here in her room now?
She got up from the floor, muttering curses in both Hindi and English as she rubbed a hand over her hip that had hit the floor. Not that anything more than her ego had been really hurt as the carpet was too thick. “What do you want?” she asked him rudely, before sitting on the sofa with a plonk.
“I’m going to order some hot milk. Do you need anything from room service?”
Chitrangada brightened. “Can I have pizza? I just realised that I’m hungry. That’s probably the reason I’m unable to sleep. Couldn’t you sleep either?” She asked as an afterthought.
Rajvardhan bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. Somehow, he didn’t think she would appreciate his amusement. She looked adorable in his t-shirt that fell to mid-thigh, her long, long legs appearing slim and sexy. Her hair was tumbled all over her face, making her appear cute. “That’s right. Do you have a craving for some special topping, Princess? Or anything will do?” He went to the dining table and picked up the menu before handing it over to her.
Chitrangada watched him walk away from her, her eyes drawn to his strong, bare legs, the muscles rippling as he moved. It looked like he was blessed with way more than his share of good looks. “Do you think I can have chunks of chicken, onions and peppers, topped with loads of cheese?” She drooled as she thought of the pizza, her stomach growling. She had only munched on starters at the party she had been to, too distracted by thoughts of escaping her bodyguards to eat a proper dinner.
“Let me check,” said Rajvardhan, lifting the receiver to call room service. “Would you like to drink something?”
“Wine?” She smiled, her dimples flashing, catching his gaze. She paused before talking again, “On second thoughts, I’ll have coffee. I need something hot.”
His eyebrow went up in query as he spoke into the phone, placing their orders. “Coffee then? Are you sure you won’t change your mind again?” His eyes danced as he looked at her.
Chitrangada tried to glare at him but failed. The situation is too surreal, she thought as her lips curled in an inadvertent smile which made her eyes glow.
Rajvardhan placed the hand phone on its stand, staring at her dumbfounded. If anything, she appeared more beautiful than earlier. And he realised he liked his t-shirt on her, hugging her luscious curves. Realising that he was staring, he turned his gaze to the window and walked towards it, pushing back the curtains to look down at the near-empty road.
She cleared her throat loudly, trying to draw his attention. Failing, she called out, “Raj.”
He turned his head halfway, refusing to move from his position. She was a walking temptation and he wanted to stay as far away as possible. “What?”
“Why don’t you sit down? You seem threatening somehow, when you are on your feet.” He must be a few inches above six feet for sure. Not that should really be threatening, considering that she was so tall herself. But Chitrangada had suddenly decided that she would like to know this handsome hunk some more. And she couldn’t deny that he was considerate. He hadn’t found her request for pizza strange at all, despite it being half past two in the morning.
He sighed. Talk about temptation calling! She was literally calling out to him. Unable to resist, he walked over and sat on the bed she had made out of the sofa.
“I didn’t exactly mean right there.” Chitrangada muttered in a small voice, scowling in his direction. As it is, it had been difficult to get to sleep. Now, he was creating more memories by parking his butt on her bed.
“You’re too demanding, Princess.” There was laughter in Rajvardhan’s voice as he looked up at her, patting the space next to him. “Why don’t you sit down too? Unless it’s your turn to take a threatening stance.”
“Very funny.”
