Her legs wobbled, knees threatening to give out, as she gasped, ‘Sebastian …’ Her hands tightened on his shoulders, as he seemed to effortlessly know just what to do to stoke her desire higher and higher. Her belly was clenched, her skin tingling all over and her head felt like it might explode.‘It’s … too much …’ It’s not enough! The contradictory thoughts rang in her head.She wanted him to stop and never to stop, and it was overwhelming. She nearly cried out when he took his hand away and stood again. He pressed a hot kiss against her mouth and said, ‘Sorry … we’ll take it slower….’Aneesa was immediately contrite. ‘No … I mean, I don’t know … I just—’He shushed her with a finger to her lips. ‘You don’t have to say anything … it’s OK. This is just the beginning.’And then he started to strip, making her mind go blank.His shirt came off to reveal that stunningly beautiful chest again and then his hands were on his trousers. Helplessly her eyes dropped and she watched in fascinati
And her whole body felt different, zinging with energy and yet deliciously lethargic. Wanting to wash away the blood, she turned on the shower and stepped in, after pulling her hair in to a messy knot on her head.Standing under the sluicing hot spray, she didn’t feel an ounce of remorse for what had happened even though she knew it would shock her fans and her family to know what she’d just done. It would just have to be her own secret, something she would hug to herself for a long time, perhaps forever….After drying herself, she let her hair down again and wrapped the sari around herself once more, in a haphazard fashion. Uncertainty gripped her just before she opened the bathroom door. What would Sebastian expect now? Should she just leave and try to get out of the hotel without anyone seeing her?Opening the door hesitantly she saw that Sebastian wasstill asleep on the bed and she crept over to the window to look out over Mumbai. Suddenly an acute sense of loneliness gripped her
Aneesa hitched up her chin. ‘Jamal will be fine—he’s made surviving in Bollywood into an art form and I’m sure he’s already making sure he’s being portrayed as the poor victim.’Sebastian stood away from the door. ‘I know a good PR person here, if you need someone to take care of you.’Aneesa shook her head and fought the desire to say yes, as if to hold onto some tenuous link that he was holding out, but he was only being polite. ‘Thanks but my agent will have someone lined up I’m sure….’He started to walk away. ‘I’ll take you down to a back entrance. I’ve arranged for a car to be waiting for you outside, so hopefully that’ll ensure you get away without being noticed.’Aneesa nodded and put on the baseball cap. She’d transferred all of her wedding paraphernalia into the glossy bag. As much as she never wanted to see it again, she couldn’t leave it behind.So briskly that she felt a little dizzy, Sebastian led her out, and back into the service elevator which had brought her into the
‘JUST make sure it’s done, Alain. I don’t want to hear about this problem again.’ Sebastian switched off his mobile phone and had to quell the urge to call his senior hotel manager in Paris back to apologise. He’d been like a bear with a sore head for weeks now. He knew the reason why, but as the implications of this set in, Sebastian scowled, earning a quick glance from his driver through the rearview mirror. His driver knew better though, than to engage him in conversation when he was silent like this.The city of London slid past the car, as Sebastian tried desperately not to give into the urge to think of her again. It was getting worse. She’d invaded his dreams ever since India, and he’d conducted video conferences with his team in Mumbai rather than go over there again. As if he couldn’t even trust himself to be in the same city.His fist clenched automatically in rejection of that thought but he ignored it. Aneesa Adani was not like the women he sought out to be his lovers. She
On a reflex Sebastian’s eyes dropped to Aneesa’s waistline where there was only the slightest hint of a belly. Which could be nothing, or could be something. His baby. He felt dizzy. He sought refuge in rising anger which he knew had something to do with the fact that she hadn’t just made this trip because she couldn’t forget him and wanted to see him again.The anger rose up, directed at her now for being here, and invading his peace, when he had so recently been castigating her for that. A small voice mocked him: Peace?Since when have you had peace in your life? Like a coward, Sebastian ignored the memory of the long minutes he’d slept in Aneesa’s company that night….‘I used condoms.’ His voice was icy cold.Aneesa flushed; imperceptibly her chin hitched up. ‘I know. But it must have … Something must have happened. This is your baby—why would I come all the way here if it wasn’t?Believe me, this was as much of a shock to me as it is to you.’ Sebastian crossed his arms. Aneesa shi
Sitting in the back, listening to Sebastian take a call on his phone, he was a million miles from the man she’d met that night in Mumbai, and when she looked back on it now, it all seemed like a flimsy mirage, because this man was acting as if he wouldn’t kiss her again if his life depended on it.‘… and then Daddy said that I simply must have the house in Holland Park, and I said …’Sebastian let the woman’s irritating voice tune in and out, nodding occasionally to signal his interest when really he had no more interest in the anaemic blonde sitting opposite him than he would in the overweight maître d’ who’d shown them to the table. Which was strange as up until recently blondes had been his preference—the cooler, the better. He scowled inwardly. Until he’d met an exotic Indian princess.It had been too late this afternoon to cancel the date and some rogue part of him had wanted to keep it, make boundaries clear with Aneesa. But he hadn’t been able to get the wounded bruised look fr
Aneesa’s hands clenched to fists at her sides, the calming benefits of the past half-hour of meditation wasted. ‘Not this woman. After what I have been through recently, marriage or getting married is the last thing on my mind, believe me. To be perfectly frank, I don’t think I ever want to get married. It’s obvious that this is all a massive inconvenience to you. I can leave today, it’s no problem. The last thing I want to do is cramp your bachelor lifestyle.’Anger blurring her vision now, Aneesa went to her suitcase which was still half unpacked. She hauled it to the bed and with hands shaking started to throw things in. ‘I’ve told you about the baby, and that’s enough. Now I should leave andlet you get on with your life. I can let you know when the baby is born and perhaps we can come to some arrangement where you can visit when you want. That’s if you’re interested.’She stopped for a moment, her chest heaving and her eyes blurring with tears this time.‘And where exactly are yo
BY SATURDAY evening Aneesa was worn out. She’d spent the day with Sebastian and his assistant exhaustively going through the hospitals and prenatal doctor recommendations, before finally making some choices. And while for her it was hammering the reality of her pregnancy home more and more, if anything it seemed to make Sebastian retreat further and further.Late this afternoon he’d absented himself from discussions and gone to his study. When Aneesa had been letting his pleasant middle-aged assistant out of the apartment, the PA turned to Aneesa and confided, ‘I’m very happy for you both … I’ve always hoped that Sebastian would—’The older woman had stopped abruptly and blushed and then said awkwardly, ‘I’m sure you don’t need to hear my ramblings. Goodbye, dear.’And she was gone, leaving Aneesa wondering what on earth she’d been about to say. She whirled around with a guilty flush on her face as if she’d been caught out when Sebastian said from behind her, ‘I thought we’d stay in t