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 suite last night. All the way
down to the ground floor she wondered what one said to the man with whom you’d
spent all night in complete wanton abandonment.
She
felt a desperate urgency rising within her and, inexplicably, tears pricked the
backs of her eyes. She pulled the baseball cap down lower, as if she could hide
from Sebastian.
They
reached the ground floor where a discreet member of staff waited, and he led
them to a back door where there was indeed a luxury saloon waiting outside. The
member of staff melted away. It was just the two of them in a plain staff
corridor and Aneesa took off her cap for a moment to look up at Sebastian.
She
opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. His face looked stark and
expressionless. His eyes flinty blue. She had to go
now or she’d crumple, and while extending her hand, she garbled out, ‘Look …
thank you for … everything. I don’t know what I would have done if—’
‘Aneesa.’ He took
her hand and pulled her to him, his eyes burning in his face now. ‘You don’t
have to thank me. Last night was an honour for me, even if it came on the back
of your ruined wedding. I’m sorry you had to go through that, but I’m not sorry
about what we shared … but you know it can’t go any further than this, don’t
you?’
Aneesa
nodded and felt like she was breaking apart inside. She’d thought she’d loved
Jamal but not once had he made her feel like this . As if on the one hand she was dying and on the other hand
being reborn again every time she looked into his eyes. And God help her but
she couldn’t look away.
With
a look of something almost savagely intent on his face, Sebastian pulled her
into his body and dipped his head. She had no defence for the kiss that
followed, and heard a faint moan coming from her mouth. The kiss was harsh and
brutal and yet more gentle than anything she’d experienced with him in the
previous cataclysmic twelve hours.
That
sense of inner desperation mounted— she
was never going to see him again —and now she kissed him back as if her life
depended on it, arms wrapped tight around his neck, their bodies straining
together. When they finally drew apart they were both breathing heavily and
Aneesa’s heart was pounding. She realised that she was clinging onto Sebastian
like an octopus and took her arms down before he had to extricate himself.
With
two hands on her waist he put her back and her legs felt wobbly. She bent and
picked up the fallen baseball hat and put it on with trembling hands.
‘Goodbye,
Aneesa.’
She
couldn’t even look at him. ‘Goodbye,
Sebastian.’
And before she did something stupid, like throw herself at him and beg him not to let her go, she walked swiftly to the car, where the
driver jumped out to open the door for her. The windows were tinted and she
didn’t look back at Sebastian once.
The
following morning Sebastian was getting ready to leave the hotel to return to
Europe, half listening to the news on the TV, when he heard Aneesa’s name and
turned to see her beautiful face filling the screen.
He
turned the sound up, and then had to sit down when his legs felt suspiciously
weak. It looked like a press conference and Aneesa was dressed in a
conservative trouser suit, shirt buttoned up, hair tied back and sleek. Her
face was pale and her eyes were huge and red-rimmed.
His
hand clenched into a fist on his thigh in an
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 suite last night. All the way
down to the ground floor she wondered what one said to the man with whom you’d
spent all night in complete wanton abandonment.
She
felt a desperate urgency rising within her and, inexplicably, tears pricked the
backs of her eyes. She pulled the baseball cap down lower, as if she could hide
from Sebastian.
They
reached the ground floor where a discreet member of staff waited, and he led
them to a back door where there was indeed a luxury saloon waiting outside. The
member of staff melted away. It was just the two of them in a plain staff
corridor and Aneesa took off her cap for a moment to look up at Sebastian.
She
opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. His face looked stark and
expressionless. His eyes flinty blue. She had to go
now or she’d crumple, and while extending her hand, she garbled out, ‘Look …
thank you for … everything. I don’t know what I would have done if—’
‘Aneesa.’ He took
her hand and pulled her to him, his eyes burning in his face now. ‘You don’t
have to thank me. Last night was an honour for me, even if it came on the back
of your ruined wedding. I’m sorry you had to go through that, but I’m not sorry
about what we shared … but you know it can’t go any further than this, don’t
you?’
Aneesa
nodded and felt like she was breaking apart inside. She’d thought she’d loved
Jamal but not once had he made her feel like this . As if on the one hand she was dying and on the other hand
being reborn again every time she looked into his eyes. And God help her but
she couldn’t look away.
With
a look of something almost savagely intent on his face, Sebastian pulled her
into his body and dipped his head. She had no defence for the kiss that
followed, and heard a faint moan coming from her mouth. The kiss was harsh and
brutal and yet more gentle than anything she’d experienced with him in the
previous cataclysmic twelve hours.
That
sense of inner desperation mounted— she
was never going to see him again —and now she kissed him back as if her life
depended on it, arms wrapped tight around his neck, their bodies straining
together. When they finally drew apart they were both breathing heavily and
Aneesa’s heart was pounding. She realised that she was clinging onto Sebastian
like an octopus and took her arms down before he had to extricate himself.
With
two hands on her waist he put her back and her legs felt wobbly. She bent and
picked up the fallen baseball hat and put it on with trembling hands.
‘Goodbye,
Aneesa.’
She
couldn’t even look at him. ‘Goodbye,
Sebastian.’
And before she did something stupid, like throw herself at him and beg him not to let her go, she walked swiftly to the car, where the
driver jumped out to open the door for her. The windows were tinted and she
didn’t look back at Sebastian once.
The
following morning Sebastian was getting ready to leave the hotel to return to
Europe, half listening to the news on the TV, when he heard Aneesa’s name and
turned to see her beautiful face filling the screen.
He
turned the sound up, and then had to sit down when his legs felt suspiciously
weak. It looked like a press conference and Aneesa was dressed in a
conservative trouser suit, shirt buttoned up, hair tied back and sleek. Her
face was pale and her eyes were huge and red-rimmed.
His
hand clenched into a fist on his thigh in an
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