Restless Billionaire (3 page)

 
          
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 her system.

 
          
‘Shouldn’t
you be kissing your groom about now?’

 
          
His
laconically spoken words and their accompanying picture sent a wave of nausea
through Aneesa. Barely thinking, she said numbly, ‘All Jamal will be concerned
about is his precious reputation.’

 
          
Hearing
her own voice loud in the silence made shock grip her anew. She had to leave.
Get away from here, but just as she started to move she realised that her legs
had turned to jelly. To her utter horror and chagrin, she folded to the ground
from the waist down like a rag doll, the previous minutes’ events crippling
her.

 
          
So
quickly, that she didn’t have time to register, the man had hauled himself out
of the pool and was crouched beside Aneesa, water sluicing off his taut body.
Big hands came under her arms and suddenly he was lifting her up as if she
weighed no more than a doll.

 
          
Amidst
the shock of reality hitting her, and his proximity, a torrent of words
clamoured to get out.

 
          
‘I’m
so … sorry … had no idea anyone was here. I ran … had to get away. I’ll go …
leave you alone … shouldn’t be here …’

 
          
Aneesa
was aware that her teeth were chattering and that the man was effortlessly
supporting her as he led her back through the doors and into a luxurious living
room, switching on low lights as he went. His arm around her was like a steel
support, and the wet body she could feel through her sari felt like a warm wall
of hard muscle.

 
          
He
brought her over to a sumptuous couch and sat her down with a gentleness that
belied his obvious strength. When she was seated he crouched down and looked up
into her face. However handsome she’d thought him
before,
up close he was quite simply breathtaking.

 
          
Even
though his hair was wet, she could see that it was cut almost militarily short.
His blue eyes were deep set, over a patrician nose which gave him a look of
royalty. A thin upper lip spoke of a cool control, but his full lower lip spoke
of passion and an innate sensuality, and even though he was a complete stranger
Aneesa had the almost overwhelming urge to run her finger along that lower lip
and see if his icy blue eyes would darken with the promise of sensual
satisfaction.

 
          
Aghast
at the totally uncharacteristic and wanton direction of her thoughts she
recoiled back and then wished she hadn’t as it gave her a better view of his
broad shoulders and tautly muscled chest, covered with a smattering of
masculine hair.

 
          
Something
flashed in his eyes and he drew back too, asking, ‘Will you be OK for a minute
if I go and put some clothes on?’

 
          
Aneesa’s
head nearly fell off she nodded it so vigorously. She couldn’t even speak and
just watched with a dry mouth as he stood to his full imposing height, and
strode away. Helplessly, her eyes drawn to the sheer athletic grace with which
he walked. He had a broad back, which tapered down to narrow hips and then
lower to where his short swim trunks hugged the globes of his muscular bottom.
His skin was a burnished olive as if he spent much time outdoors, and dimly she
wondered if he might be some sort of professional athlete.

 
          
With
a flood of heat rising from her belly upwards Aneesa finally dragged her gaze
away and groaned, bringing her hands to her face. What was wrong with her? She’d
just sent her whole life into a tailspin and here she was drooling over some
stranger’s half-naked body.

 
          
The
only thing stopping her from getting up and running at that moment was a
curious sense of lethargy and also the very real fear that she’d collapse
again. Also she owed this man an explanation for bursting into his penthouse
suite. She told herself she’d just wait till he came back and then apologise
and leave, and hopefully by then she’d be in a fit enough state to walk out
with some measure of dignity, and find some other sanctuary where she could
lick her wounds.

 
          
Sebastian
stepped out from under the cold spray of the quickest shower he’d ever taken
and roughly ran a towel over his body. He’d had to take a cold shower because
merely putting his hands under Aneesa Adani’s arms when he’d helped her inside
had unleashed a flood of desire so forceful that he’d nearly lost control.

 
          
He
could still feel the gentle swell of her breast against his side, the silky
brush of her hair as it had swung against him and an enticing scent of exotic
flowers. Her skin was as soft as he’d imagined it might be earlier.

 
          
He
cursed himself as his body started to respond to the mental images again and he
enforced rigid control, dragging on a pair of black trousers and a white shirt.
Clearly she didn’t feel the same level of intensely immediate attraction if the
way she’d recoiled just now was anything to go by. And what the
hell
was she doing here anyway? She
should be in the midst of her wedding right now, and yet she’d looked like a
car crash victim. Albeit the most beautiful car crash victim he’d ever seen.

 
          
Grimly
he recognised that he obviously hadn’t misread her look earlier. Her mouth … He
had to grit his jaw just thinking of how it had trembled. How she’d pressed
those lips together to try and contain her emotion. And how it had made him
want to reach up and pull her head down to his so that he could press his mouth
against hers and see if she tasted as sweet as she looked.

 
          
He’d
just finished his first punishing set of lengths when she’d burst onto the
terrace and for a second he’d believed he might be hallucinating.
Or going mad.
He’d spoken out loud as much to dispel the
image before him, but then she’d screamed and turned around, clearly stunned to
find anyone there. And as soon as he’d realised that she was very real, his
brain had gone into meltdown.

 
          
Chagrined
to be brought to this level of lack of control, Sebastian took a deep breath
and went back out to the living room.

 
          
* * *

 
          
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 stomach
and 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 with arms crossed, leaning
insouciantly against the glass doors. The white of his shirt couldn’t disguise
the powerful chest underneath, or the way the muscles in his arms bunched. He
watched her intently and she flushed.

 
          
She
bit her lip and then said, ‘I’m very sorry for disturbing you like this. I had
no right to barge in.’

 
          
He
frowned then, black brows drawing together over those mesmerising eyes. ‘How
did
you get in?’

 
          
Aneesa
faltered for a moment, much of her journey here was hazy. ‘I think through a
service lift, into a utility room …’

 
          
His
mouth tightened with displeasure and Aneesa read it to mean that he was angry
with her. She started to apologise again. ‘I’m so sorry—really, I had no idea
where I was going—’

 
          
He
cut her off. ‘It’s not your fault.’

 
          
Just
then a phone rang, making Aneesa flinch. Her heart started to hammer again and
she looked from the phone on a nearby table to the man in horror. ‘They must be
looking for me….’

 
          
As
he pushed himself away from the glass doors he said, ‘I’ll have to answer it or
they’ll send someone up.’

 
          
Aneesa
stood in agitation, still gripping the glass. ‘Please, don’t tell them I’m
here.
Please
. I’m not ready to deal
with … it.’

 
          
She
watched as the man picked up the phone, answering with a curt, ‘Yes,’ his eyes
never leaving hers.

 
          
Aneesa
could just hear an indistinctly panicked voice. They must be phoning every room
in the hotel. Her heart sank. This man was a complete stranger; he had no
obligation to protect her. But even as she was thinking this and fearing the
worst he cut off the babble on the phone and said, ‘I’ve seen no one. Please
don’t disturb me again tonight unless it’s urgent. I’m sure the manager can
deal with the situation.’

 
          
And
he put down the phone. His eyes hadn’t left hers for a second.

 
          
Relief
washed through Aneesa, dizzying in its intensity, even as her skin tingled, as
if something unspoken had just passed between them. ‘Thank … thank you so much,
I know you have no obligation to help me….’

 
          
The
man prowled close to her and took the glass from her white-knuckled grip,
placing it down on a table. Curiously, she recognised that even though she didn’t
know him, she felt safe with him. As if she could trust him. And that was a
revelation when for days she’d looked at everyone around her with suddenly
jaundiced eyes.

 
          
He
straightened up again to his full intimidating height. ‘Perhaps we should
introduce ourselves, because it looks like you won’t be going anywhere for a
while. They have every guard combing the hotel for you right now. I think you
must be aware that I know who you are.’

 
          
Up
until recently she would have automatically expected that response, but while
this man knew who she was, clearly he wasn’t in thrall and that gave Aneesa a
heady feeling. New humility and untold gratitude for this sanctuary made her
voice soft. ‘Yes, I’m Aneesa.’

 
          
After
a long moment she put out her hand, only becoming belatedly aware of what a
caricature she must look like with the henna tattoo and all the elaborate
jewels, and the wedding outfit. Her hand was enveloped in his much larger one,
his grip warm and strong and sending a disturbing electric tingle right to her
groin. He smiled and it was lopsided, making Aneesa feel dizzy again. She
feared after tonight that she’d never get her equilibrium back.

 
          
‘Sebastian
… at your service it would seem.’ Sebastian had made a split-second decision
not to mention his family name, feeling it hanging like a yoke around his neck,
and was aware for the first time that he was in the presence of someone who
didn’t appear to know who he was. The thought was curiously heady.

 
          
A
thread of illicit tension snaked through Aneesa at his words. As if he might be
at her service in a much more carnal way. Shocked by that thought, and suddenly
overwhelmed by everything and feeling more and more ridiculous, she said
shakily, ‘Would you mind if I used your bathroom?’