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Excerpt(s)
China
Chapter
One
She
was on a flight from hell!
Time
had no relevance for her. Days, hours, minutes no longer mattered. She was
scared for her life.
Having
her wrists cuffed to the armrests and her ankles to the legs of the seat didn't
help either. Gooseflesh flashed along her skin, the terror of her situation
causing her to feel colder than she was.
Her
breath shuddered from her chest in great gulps of air. She couldn't stop
hyperventilating, and it didn't seem to matter that she was well on her way to
passing out. Every pore in her body was reacting to her fear. She was shaking
uncontrollably. The hood they'd covered her head with shut out all sense of
sight, leaving her fear to feed upon itself. Her lips quivered pitifully, as her
tears gathered strength for another deluge.
Jia
Li was absolutely terrified. Reality slowly settled in, relentlessly squeezing
her chest like a vise. One thing was for sure, this was really happening to her.
Trying
to catch her breath, she forced herself to think back to how she'd ended up in
this nightmare. Anything to take her mind off what was coming next.
The
day had been a typical Monday afternoon in San Francisco. It was a beautiful
warm summer's day with the usual breeze chilling things down just enough for a
light sweater to be necessary. She'd been running errands, the last one putting
her in the heart of Chinatown during the busy lunch break. After having fought
her way through throngs of tourists, she'd finished and had started to make her
way back to her apartment when she was grabbed. In a flash she'd been pulled
back into a narrow alley.
A
strong arm had wrapped around her waist and a hand pressed against her mouth,
instantly silencing her. Jia faced the street and watched people passing by
without so much as a glance to witness her mounting trouble. She dropped her
bags and clawed at the hand covering her mouth. She tried to kick back at the
man holding her but only managed to trip herself as he dragged her backwards.
Without
anyone seeing them, they slipped through a door, and she was gone.
*
India
Chapter
One
"What
a beautiful day. I can't believe it's deserted out here on the Theosophical
Society's grounds. It's a national holiday and the city is bursting at the seams
with people, but not out here. I'm happy we have it all to ourselves. It's so
peaceful sitting here beneath this big old banyan tree."
The
young couple had eyes only for each other as they prepared to take a major step
in their lives together.
"Are
you sure with what we're about to do, Sati?"
"Oh
yes, Bodhi, most definitely. I love you, belong with you and will have you as my
husband."
"My
heart, you know your remaining family, your uncle and his clan, will no longer
claim you as a Chaudhari."
"I
understand. Yes, I'm grateful they took me in when I was young, but there has
never been any love or respect for me as a person. Up to this point my uncle has
dictated my life. It's time for me to take control and make my own decisions.
I'm responsible for choosing where I go for the rest of my years and it's with
you." She reached over and stroked her fingertips across the masculine
stubble decorating his cheek.
He
was a strikingly handsome man, which made her a very lucky woman to possess his
heart.
As
she defied convention by touching him in public, she thought about her life. She
had worked very hard and the result had been her reputation as a beloved
Bollywood starlet. It was only business, she understood that. Still, she'd been
pleasantly surprised when her agent, Vasin told her how the name Sati Chaudhari
on a marquee was sought after. It meant millions upon millions of rupees earned
for those with their fingers in the pot.
There
was often a downside to success and hers was being overworked. A while back
she'd been on a set, filming and the press had started to speculate about the
cause of her apparent exhaustion. Not wanting to have anything negative
associated with her or the film, Vasin had pushed for a break.
Thankfully,
an opening for a spa weekend at the exclusive Raj Lake Palace floating on Lake
Pichola in Udaipur had been found. She'd headed straight there, looking forward
to the peace they offered in the beautiful setting. Unfortunately, once she
stepped into the lobby a guest had recognized her and the restful weekend looked
impossible. After having gained her autograph, he'd begun to make a nuisance of
himself. Then her future husband had stepped around the corner and into her
life.
"Do
you remember when we first met?" Her query was barely heard over the
rustling leaves.
"How
could I forget? You appeared so fragile in the lobby as that fan was trying to
push in on you."
"You
stepped out from around the corner and took my breath away. So very handsome
and, like a knight in shining armor, you escorted me away from the chaos and
handled everything personally. You made me feel so special."
She
smiled with fond memories over that first weekend. It had been full of
confidential meetings where they'd talked about their likes and dislikes, dreams
of the future and the horrors of reality. By the end her break, they'd made
plans to meet up gain, and then again. Eventually their secret rendezvous led to
even more interludes.
It
would be fair for people to believe he was obnoxious, arrogant and snobbish,
being born into a family of privilege, yet she'd never found him to be any of
those things. In fact he was the direct opposite.
Bodhi
Burke was a confident and open-minded man who worked hard in the family hotel
business and was determined to take the company around the world. With an
Englishman and half-Indian woman for parents, he mainly took after his Anglo
father. Very tall, physically fit and handsome, yet his mother's genes were
definitely in the mix with his silky soft, rich brown hair and light hazel eyes.
Fixing
her eyes to his, she thought how the surrounding thick, long black lashes would
be the envy of many women. Suddenly, she felt nervous and Sati looked for
assurances.
"Do
you have doubts?"
"None."
There was no change in his direct gaze, nothing in his body language that showed
any hesitation. He was as sure as she that their decision was the best one for
them both. "Sati, my love, have I told you today what a beautiful bride you
make?"
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