He gives me a strange look and I chew my lower lip in worry, my forehead puckering.

“Aaliya, about last night...” he begins. “That second time, I didn’t use a condom. I...”

I raise my hand to stop him. “I’m on the pill, Damien. Besides, it was the wrong time of the month.”

“Oh! Good.” He exhales and bows his head.

I understand his relief. After all, in his mind he’s only just met me and yet he lost control with me to the extent that he didn’t use protection. I smile inwardly at that thought. I’ve been on the pill ever since Rian was born. Neither of us wanted another child so soon.

I’d hoped to be stranded here for at least a day more with him but it doesn’t seem likely now. We hurry through the rest of the meal and our departure is even faster.

We reach the private airstrip and I have to literally pinch myself when our car parks right in front of a waiting jet. It is gleaming white, with black stripes running across the base. The interior is softly lit with individually placed, plush leather seats, a leather couch and a small table in front of it. I stare at it all in awe as I take my seat. The staff greets us and Damien speaks familiarly to them. He takes a seat next to me and we take off soon after.

Damien takes out his laptop as soon as the flight takes off. “Sorry, I need to get some work done,” he says and is soon busy working.

He’s reverted to his brooding self, the one I now recognize as the post-accident Damien or perhaps it was him from the pre-Aaliya days. I grin at that thought.

A sudden gust of cold air from the air conditioner blasts against my skin, making me shiver. I had changed into my own clothes for the flight and now I remove my red shawl from my handbag and drape it across me. Damien lifts his head, his gaze latching onto the red shawl and then his eyes lock with mine. He stares hungrily at me and I know he too is remembering the previous night. He gives me a slow lingering look that makes me hot all over before he blinks and turns his attention back to the laptop screen in front of him.

The flight is short and we arrive in London much too soon for my liking. There’s a car, a jaguar, waiting at the tarmac and Damien asks me for directions to my house once I’m settled next to him. He relays the information to Mike to get us there and lapses into silence, his attention once again on his phone.