A taut stillness entered the air around them as Sebastian washed her face. He finally put the cloth down and took a towel, drying Aneesa’s hands.
Then he dropped the towel and brought his hands to Aneesa’s jaw, his thumbs brushing back and forth against her cheeks. She was barely breathing now, hypnotised by the blue glitter of his eyes, by the heady sense of expectation in the air, by his intensely masculine scent. She could see his jaw clench as if he was exerting some control and inwardly a hidden part of her trembled to think that he had to exert it because of her.
He didn’t step away; he didn’t take his hands from her jaw or face, and Aneesa felt like she was slowly being set on fire. Her gaze slipped down to his mouth and she ached to know how it would feel be to be kissed by him. She’d never been properly kissed by any man, thanks to her sheltered upbringing and then the even more sheltered world of being Jamal Kapoor Khan’s love interest, on and off the screen.
Sebastian’s virile masculinity wound around her like a spell, rendering her oblivious to everything but him and this moment in time. Making her forget everything.
He asked with a gruff voice, ‘What did you mean when you said your fiancé would only be concerned about his reputation?’
Aneesa blinked and welcomed his breaking of the seductive spell, but with that came the emotion surging again. Sebastian held her steady even when she felt one or two tears slip out, his thumbs merely catching them.
‘I couldn’t marry him. It would have been a lie. I could have done it if it was just for myself and to save my family from the shame … but he expected us to have children. And I couldn’t bear the thought of bringing a child into such a façade….’
Sebastian frowned. ‘What façade? What do you mean?’
Aneesa tried to look down but Sebastian tipped her chin back up, not letting her escape. And in all honesty there was a part of her aching to tell someone about what had happened. And who better than a practical stranger she’d never meet again?
‘Jamal is gay. His assistant has been his lover for years. Everyone knew apparently except me….’ Bitterness tinged her voice. ‘And I didn’t know because I was so wrapped up in myself, in believing that everyone loved me and that my life was all perfect. I only found out because I walked in on him and his lover a couple of days ago.
‘He wanted to marry to project an image of respectability. Homosexuality might be legal now but it’s still taboo here, especially in Bollywood. His career would be over if people found out. And I was the perfect fool for him to seduce …’
Aneesa avoided Sebastian’s eyes now, terrified she’d see his disgust and pity. But his hands just tightened on her jaw, tipping it up again so that she couldn’t avoid his gaze. There was no pity in his eyes, only an intense heat. She felt as if she were being scorched alive from the inside out and there was a curious ache in the pit of her belly, an ache she knew instinctively that only he could assuage.
Sebastian was unable to stop a visceral emotion from rising; her eyes were two huge almond-shaped pools of dark brown, long lashed and full of swirling emotions. ‘You’re so beautiful….’
The old Aneesa would have taken the compliment for granted. But now all she could think of to say was, ‘So are you.’
Sebastian let her face go but only to take her hand in his and lead her out of the bathroom.
Once in the living room again Aneesa tugged free of Sebastian’s grip. Instantly she felt bereft, but fear of the way this man was making her feel so instantly out of control made her panicky. As if she were on a runaway train going faster and faster. ‘I should really go. I can’t impose on you anymore.’
She saw something indefinable flash in his eyes but he just said laconically, ‘You’re ready to go out there and take on the fallout of the bride fleeing the most high-profile wedding of the year? The place will be swarming with press by now.’
Aneesa felt the blood drain from her face to remember what lay outside this suite and heard Sebastian curse softly. He came close again but she stopped him with a hand and then looked down as if momentarily mesmerised. She looked back up and tried to smile wryly. ‘Do you know that ever since I was a little girl I dreamt of the day I’d get married? I fantasised about the Mehendi ceremony. All of my cousins and female relations gathered to witness the drawing of the intricate henna design on my hands and feet … in preparation for my husband to discover on our wedding night.’
Her smile wobbled. ‘And yet when it came to my wedding, I insisted on a top Bollywood make-up artist and wouldn’t let my female relatives have anything to do with it. At the last minute I tried to change it, but the make-up artist kicked up such a fuss that I couldn’t….’
It suddenly hit Aneesa then, the very real probability that she would not have a second chance to have the wedding night of her childhood dreams. No chance to make reparations with her relatives and do it properly.
An awful gaping emptiness wrenched her insides, the loss of a lifelong dream profound, even as she recognised that the wedding she’d just run from had been a million miles from the dream she’d visualised as a child anyway.
She looked at Sebastian and said huskily, ‘I’ll never have that first night with my husband.’ She gestured with a hand over her whole outfit. ‘This is all … wasted.’
Sebastian’s face was implacable, stern, and Aneesa could sense in that moment that he rarely lost control. And suddenly, Aneesa felt an overwhelming urge to see him lose that control. She had no idea where it was coming from but it was rising and gathering force within her.
Without even realising what she was doing she’d moved closer to Sebastian and she saw his eyes flare, bright blue. It emboldened something deep inside her. She blurted out without thinking, ‘I wish I’d met you … I wish that my first night could have been with you.’
Aneesa knew on some dim level the enormity of what she had said, but her heart had slowed to a steady deep beat, her blood was pooling low in her belly and her gaze dropped to Sebastian’s mouth. She was simply speaking the truth and couldn’t have held it back even if she’d wanted to.
Everything within Sebastian narrowed to this moment. Arousal so fierce that it was almost painful gripped him. Did she know what she was saying? Was she a virgin? That thought should be sending him running, fast, in the opposite direction. But it wasn’t; it was having an even more incendiary effect on his blood. Aneesa was looking at his mouth, her lips parting, eyes glowing like dark jewels, and he couldn’t resist—he had to taste her, touch her. Kiss her.
Abruptly Aneesa tried to back away, the sudden dawning of realisation in her eyes, and her cheeks flushing with what had to be embarrassment. Registering her emotion made Sebastian feel inordinately protective. He reached for her and captured her easily, spanning two hands around her slim waist, bare under the drape of the sari, her skin satin soft.
Gently, yet with unmistakable remorselessness, he pulled her towards him and bent his head. Never before had he been so achingly aware of every small move, the delicious anticipation of kissing a woman for the first time.
Aneesa was powerless to resist Sebastian’s attraction. When he’d pulled her closer he had looked as if he wanted to consume her whole, and fire exploded along every vein in her body.
His mouth was so close now … Aneesa could feel her eyes flutter closed, the intensity of feelings within her almost unbearable. And then their breaths mingled, his firm mouth touched hers and she was lost in a heady world of sensation that obliterated all the pain and turmoil as effectively as if she’d just lost her memory.
The kiss started off slow and gentle, a sensual exploration that made her tremble all over. Sebastian’s hands moved up from her waist to hold her head loosely, fingers caressing her skull. She could feel her already unravelling hair coming loose.
He coaxed her lips apart and when she felt his tongue explore her open mouth to touch her tongue in an intimate caress, she gasped and fresh