To his utter chagrin and disgust, Sebastian realised that he was ogling a bride in the midst of her wedding ceremonyand that merely looking at her was arousing him to a level that he hadn’t felt since his last liaison had ended some weeks previously. He realised, too, that on some very base level he felt jealous of the groom, that he would be the one to uncover the lush secrets of his new wife’s exotic beauty.Sebastian cursed himself. He’d no doubt that Aneesa Adani was like every other girl of her upper-middle-class upbringing. A little princess. Her marriage to this man was merely the next step in a life of luxury and inherent idleness, despite her career as an actress. And he’d no doubt, too, that she would be no blushing virgin on her wedding night. Despite the chaste lovemaking of the Bollywood movies, in the real world the stars were just as amoral and prone to bed-hopping as in Hollywood, and she’d had a highly publicised relationship with this man for months.Despite those a
ANEESA whirled around so fast her head spun and she gripped the wall behind her with both hands. And then she saw him in the dim light. She recognised him instantly by his intense piercing blue eyes, like chips of ice. It was the man from the shadows she’d seen downstairs. And now she also registered what she’d missed entirely in her distraught state: a state-of-the-art terrace pool, lit from underwater.The man’s arms were resting nonchalantly on the side of the pool, and crossed, as if he was quite used to hysterical women in full bridal regalia bursting onto his private terrace.His hair was slicked back against a well-shaped skull and in the shadows the lines of his face were stark, his jaw hard. He arched one ebony-black brow and once again Aneesa had the gut-clenching realisation of how extraordinarily handsome he was. It was a physical sensation she’d never experienced with Jamal, even though she’d believed herself to be in love with him. The realisation sent shock through
Aneesa heard the stranger returning and stood, but almost immediately she swayed. In a second he was by her side again—and dressed, she noted with relief. He pushed her back down onto the couch gently.His voice was grim. ‘You’re not in any state to go anywhere.’Before Aneesa could protest he was handing her a glass which held about an inch of dark golden liquid. She looked up and said huskily, ‘I don’t drink.’He held it out. ‘Consider it medicinal. You need something, you’re clearly in shock.’Belatedly she noted the English intonation of his accent.With a slight tremor in her hands she took the glass, relieved that their fingers didn’t touch, and wrinkling her nose, she took a sip, wincing as the fiery liquid burnt its way down her throat. Almost immediately she could feel it settle into her stomachand a resulting warm numbing glow spread outwards.She sensed rather than saw him move away and when she could muster the courage she looked up to see him standing a few feet away wit
She held out her dripping hands stupidly and looked up at him, struggling to regain control. ‘I ….I can’t get rid of the henna tattoo…. Do you have any idea what this means?’Sebastian shook his head, looking grim. And gorgeous.Aneesa was aware of that even in this state.She said brokenly, ‘It’s meant to symbolise my transition from innocence … except now I don’t even have a husband to seduce me! I’m going to be walking around with the physical mark of my shame for everyone to see for weeks!’Sebastian just got a facecloth and wrung it out in the warm water. He came close and gently wiped at the trails of mascara running down Aneesa’s cheeks. She could feel the backs of his lower arms brush against her chest as he wiped her face, and in an instantaneous reaction, her nipples stiffened, pushing against the hard material of her bodice top. Her inner agitation died away as a wholly new tension entered her body, flooding her belly with a hot tingling awareness, a sensation of melting.A
ANEESA could barely breathe as it was, especially with his big hand on her waist. She’d been drenched in mortification ever since she’d so boldly all but begged him to kiss her. Even now she burned. But in truth, ever since she’d seen him in the shadows earlier, on some level she’d wished for this moment, not even knowing that she’d see him again. Not even knowing what she’d really wanted. And what she wanted now, with a fierce need, was him.‘I …’ she began, and stopped. Was she really going to do this? Just throw caution to the wind? He subtly moved her so that her body was flush with his, so that she could feel his thighs against hers through the material of their clothes. When she felt a hard ridge she blushed even fiercer.She stalled, trying with a desperate feeling of futility to cling onto some kind of sanity. ‘I don’t even know you….’ An insidious suspicion struck her and she pulled back slightly. ‘Do you do this often? I mean, it’s easy for you to just offer to take women to
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
Something about him looked so tortured in that moment that Aneesa had to fight back the urge to put out her hand to touch him in comfort.His head came up and his eyes speared hers. ‘But I’ve also been feeling alive, and connected, for the first time in my life.’He stood tall again and Aneesa felt curiously weightless. He reached out a hand and curled it around her jaw, fingers around her neck under the heavy fall of her hair. She could feel a slight tremor in his hand and her heart tripped.‘I never … wanted to create a family. I never wanted to marry. I never wanted to fall in love. I had no frame of reference for all of those things that most people aspire to, and take for granted. I’ve always been terrified that something of my father’s twisted genes was lying dormant in me and that basic happiness was something I could never have, as if I was jinxed in some way.‘But seeing Nathaniel get married, and Jacob come home to try and make amends … seeing him come to terms with the past
He palmed her breasts, making the peaks tighten into sharppoints, and she drew his head down so that he could take a nipple into his mouth. Her belly tightened with pleasure as he suckled her roughly. She met him head-on, biting the skin on his shoulder, and then licking where she’d bitten, revelling in his unique musky taste.Neither of them could wait, desperation fuelling their movements as Sebastian pushed her legs apart and settled between them. Just before he thrust, with Aneesa’s hands on his hips, her legs drawn back, he said with a guttural moan that seemed to be pulled out of him, ‘I need this … I need you.’An ache lodged in her throat and emotion surged as he thrust deep inside her. And then they were caught up in the familiar dance, which took them higher and higher until every sinew was pulled taut, and when an explosion of intense pleasure gripped her and went on and on, Aneesa wondered how she’d ever be able to cope knowing she’d never have this again.Long languorous m
THREE days later, sitting at the dinner table, Sebastian couldn’t quite believe that he was still there, amidst the organised chaos of Adani family life. As soon as he’d been pulled into the house, it had been taken for granted that he had to stay. And not only that, but Aneesa’s parents had clearly gone out on a limb and challenged their conservative beliefs to put him and Aneesa in a room together.She’d looked at him miserably once they’d been alone in the bedroom. ‘I had no idea they would do this. I’m as shocked as you, believe me. But if I cause a fuss they’ll get embarrassed—’He’d waved a hand. ‘It’s fine. It’s not like we’ve not shared a room before.’‘No,’ Aneesa had said, avoiding his eye. Evidently she hated this as much as he did and just wanted him to return to England so that she could get on with her own life and having the baby.Something in her demeanour had made his voice sharp. ‘Look, I’ll stay a couple of days and then I’ll have to return anyway, so we can put up
Her eyes narrowed. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’He looked away and shrugged, cursing himself for showing that it bothered him on any level. ‘You always said you would want to go home.’He could feel her penetrating look and tensed. She sighed. ‘Yes, I did. And I think the time to go is before I turn into a total caricature of some kind of jealous lover.’Her honesty surprised him. He was so used to women being vague, indirect.Before he could dwell on the significance of that, she stood and said breezily, ‘You made it very clear what would happen here. What you wanted. So I really don’t see the point in prolonging my stay. Things should have died down at home, and I need to get prepared for the baby coming.‘That is—’ her voice suddenly became more hesitant ‘— unless things have changed for you …?’Sebastian looked up at her. The sun was behind her and all he could see was her narrow framed silhouette. She had to be referring to the fact that he seemed to turn into a walking human e
A house, a country house; it had to be. Where his mistress lived. Feeling nauseous, Aneesa instructed the driver to stop in a lay-by where she was just out of sight of Sebastian’s car. She paid him and got out and watched him drive away. Feeling utterly ridiculous now, on wobbly legs she walked around the corner of the hedge fully prepared to meet a locked gate when she walked slap-bang into a solid wall of muscle.Hard hands held her, blue eyes as cold as ice blistered down into her shocked ones. ‘What the hell do you think you’re playing at following me in that cab like some character in a bad movie?’Too shocked to do anything but blurt out the truth, Aneesa just said, ‘I thought you were going to meet a mistress or a lover so I followed you.’Aneesa could see the play of emotions cross his face and even a glint of humour. She could deal with his anger better than pity. ‘Don’t laugh at me.’Sebastian’s face sobered and his hands became gentle on her arms. ‘And what exactly were you
ANEESA was sitting beside Annabelle at one of the round tables where they’d just finished coffees. She didn’t need to look around to know that Sebastian hadn’t reappeared. She was trying to concentrate on the conversation but was still smarting from his cruel words.She was also reeling with the knowledge that this beautiful, immaculately turned-out woman had been so horrifically beaten. Annabelle was being very sweet and explaining that her twin brother, Alex, was a racing car driver based in Australia, and couldn’t be there.Aneesa put a hand to her bump, only realising what she’d done when she noticed Annabelle follow the movement. She grimaced. ‘It’s still small, but it seems to be getting bigger by the day now.’Annabelle smiled politely but then looked away with a small frown forming between her grey eyes. ‘Jack should be here too, our elder brother, but I haven’t seen him yet. I know Jacob wants to talk to him….’Annabelle’s eyes snagged and widened on something or someone else
An enigmatic look had passed between Sebastian andLucas.Through it all Sebastian had his arm clamped aroundAneesa’s waist and her face was starting to hurt from smiling so much. And then she felt him tense rigidly. She followed his gaze to see a man approach them, the man she’d guessed was Jacob in the church. Tall with thick black hair, dark eyes like Rafael. And a grimly determined look on his face. Aneesa could feel Sebastian’s urge to turn and walk away and she silently willed him to stay. He did.But as the two tall men squared up to each other the lengthening silence became unbearable. Aneesa might have been invisible for all the attention either man gave her, and then abruptly Sebastian issued a tortured sounding, ‘I can’t do this.’ And letting Aneesa go, he strode away and out of the reception room.Jacob’s black eyes followed his brother and Aneesa could see the sorrow in them. She tentatively touched his sleeve and he looked down at her, finally focusing on her. Apologisi
He’d grown up learning to duck from his father’s loose fists. He’d invariably been protected by one of his brothers and witnessed them getting a dose of physical violence, but none more so shocking than his beautiful older sister, Annabelle, the day their father had whipped her mercilessly, leaving her with permanent scars. He’d been too small to step in and help her and that sense of ineffectualness had stuck with him, heightening his sense of isolation. And his sense of fear that perhaps he couldn’t protect his own child.When they’d bought his suit for the wedding, he’d led Aneesa to a well-known designer shop on Bond Street, but on the threshold she’d pulled back and he’d looked down to see her face, puce with embarrassment. He’d frowned. He would have thought she’d have been running in, eager to indulge. But when she’d refused to budge she’d finally admitted, ‘I don’t have enough money to pay for a dress here. Let’s go somewhere else. Please.’And gruffly, he’d assured her that h
INARTICULATE rage boiled upwards within Sebastian. ‘How dare you go through my personal things!’Aneesa stood before him, pale and intensely vulnerable- looking but with an unmistakably determined glint in her eyes. Her chin came up. ‘I dare because as your own brother just told me, I’m a part of your family now and will be for a long time to come, thanks to our baby.‘Tell me,’ she asked conversationally, colour returning to her cheeks, ‘was last night just a quickie before you asked me to move out, or were you planning on taking your fill before my body becomes too rounded and repulsive to you?’‘Stop it,’ Sebastian said curtly, the thought of her body growing more rounded having the complete opposite effect on his body. And before she could say anything else he asked, ‘What did you mean about my brother?’Aneesa leaned back against the desk, still holding the wedding invitation and the brochures. ‘Jacob just called. He wants to know why he hasn’t been able to get in touch with you