‘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'd been innocent, going through a traumatic time. She lived in India and had indelible roots to the place.

And she was the only woman who had managed to somehow sneak under his guard to a place no one had reached. Ever. Not even his own family. And for that reason alone, she was danger with a capital D.

Sebastian had found out shortly after returning from India that his only full sibling, his younger brother Nathaniel, had seen their prodigal oldest half-brother Jacob when he had turned up at the opening night of Nathaniel's latest West End play after years of unexplained absence. Nathaniel had left the stage, which had led to a sequence of events that had forced Nathaniel to seek sanctuary from the press on  Sebastian's private island.


It had sparked a revival in media interest in their



scandalous family history, and in the whereabouts of his and Nathaniel's mother, something they could both have done without. While Sebastian got on with most of his siblings, even if he didn't see much of them now, his relationship with Nathaniel was his closest one, albeit largely from a distance.

The relationship with his oldest half-brother, however, had been non—existent for years.

Once, Jacob had been Sebastian's only anchor in a dark and unstable world. An adored and revered older brother. By the age of ten, Sebastian had witnessed more than any child of his age should have had to, and had dealt with seeing his mother being sent to a mental institution.

He'd always been the loner out of all his siblings, a cerebral child who had struggled in isolation to comprehend the mercurial moods of their charismatic father. But at a crucial point in Sebastian's life, Jacob had left the home with no warning and no explanation, and ever since then Sebastian had had no one who'd cared enough to coax him out of himself. From that moment on, he'd become even more withdrawn.

And without the anchor of their oldest brother, all the Wolfe siblings had inevitably drifted apart. Sebastian had buried the pain of that abandonment deep inside him and had channelled all of his energy into a single-minded desire to succeed. Which he had done many times over.

Jacob's return now was precipitating a whole host of unwelcome emotions within Sebastian, and so far he'd managed to avoid meeting him. However, Sebastian had just agreed to let Nathaniel use his London hotel for his upcoming wedding, and he knew that Jacob was due to attend, so even though he had no wish to avoid the rest of his family, if Jacob was going to be there, then Sebastian was planning on being unavoidably busy for the day.

Suddenly he knew the best solution to distract him from unwelcome thoughts of Aneesa and his family: he would take a new lover. He didn't need to be reminded that he hadn't slept with anyone since Mumbai and in his own head vehemently denied that it was because she'd ruined him for anyone else.


That was a ridiculous thought. Bitterness gripped him—he was his father's son. He carried William Wolfe's warped genes and his father had never found peace with one woman. So why would Sebastian suddenly buck the trend? Or, worse, feel inclined to?

He picked up his phone again and made a call to a very persistent socialite he'd met at a party some weeks before. He hadn't been interested then, but suddenly he was very interested. Almost desperate, in fact.

*

 

 

Aneesa sat nervously in Sebastian's London office, in awe of the plush understated luxury and the mile-high view which took in the London Eye in the near distance. Her belly was tied in knots and she felt a semi-hysterical giggle rising up to think of what else was in her belly: a baby. Sebastian's baby.

But then the reality of what faced her made her sober up again fast. The irony of getting pregnant on her non- wedding night, and to another man, hadn't been lost on her.

She'd known for some time now and, in that time, had developed an indelible bond with the tiny being inside her.

There was no question, but she was having this baby, no matter what the fallout, and she'd known well that her career most likely wouldn't survive this. The equanimity she'd felt when faced with that prospect told her that she'd definitely started to move on from the Bollywood world.

And in the past two weeks her suspicions had been proved right and events had led her here, to Sebastian's office in London. She'd tried the hotel in Mumbai first, but they'd told her that Sebastian had no immediate plans to come back to India. Aneesa had quashed the suspicion that that was because of her. Surely he couldn't want to avoid her that badly? Even now that thought made her feel ill inside. And then … with everything that had happened at  home,  she'd  had  no  real choice but to leave India, so she'd taken the opportunity to


come to England and tell Sebastian face to face.

A noise outside and the familiarly  deep  rumble  of  a voice made her heart stop. A clammy sweat broke out over her skin. The door opened and she sat frozen on the couch as she watched the tall and achingly familiar figure of Sebastian stride in.

He didn't see her at first as her seat was partially hidden behind the door but as it swung shut she gathered all her courage and stood.

‘Sebastian.'

That distinctively husky voice, the beguiling hint of an accent, had Sebastian whirling round, half terrified his dreams were haunting him by day now. And when he saw her, he reeled.

Aneesa gripped her hands tight together. Sebastian looked as if she'd just driven a stake through his belly. For an awful heart-stopping moment she thought he didn't even recognise her. But before she could say anything he issued a curt, ‘How did you get in this time? Did you materialise through another service elevator?'

Hurt lanced her and Aneesa fought not to quail at the clear evidence of his hostile reaction to seeing her. ‘No.' She flushed. ‘The security guard downstairs recognised me and when I explained I was looking for you he took me up here to wait. There was no one outside so he brought me straight in.'

She didn't want to go into the way the Indian guard had balked at the notion of someone like her waiting for Sebastian anywhere other than his office. Aneesa had surmised grimly that the news of her infamy hadn't reached as far as England yet. Blistering energy crackled off Sebastian for a long moment and Aneesa had to consciously not let her eyes drop and take in that gorgeous body, but even peripherally she could see the way his exquisite suit hugged his powerful frame. Heat washed through her and her belly tightened.

Abruptly Sebastian relaxed visibly and ran a hand through his hair which Aneesa noticed had grown longer since she had last seen him. She could see now that he looked


slightly weary, with faint lines around his mouth and eyes that she hadn't noticed before. And it looked as though he'd lost weight.

‘I'm sorry, there was no need for me to be so rude. It's just … a bit of a shock to see you here. That's all.' Even now Sebastian had to wonder if he was going mad—was he imagining this? Had he inherited his mother's mental instability?

Immediately Aneesa felt obliged to rush and explain. ‘I know we agreed that it would be one night  only,  that  we'd never see each other again …'

She drove down the hurt again at his reaction and steeled herself. Her life was about taking responsibility now and she had to keep going. ‘But I've come to tell you something.'

He looked at her, head back. Aneesa's heart was racing.

He wasn't making this easy for her at all. She took a deep breath and then said in a rush before she could lose her nerve, ‘I've come to let you know that I'm pregnant … with your baby.'

Sebastian blinked. Aneesa didn't disappear. She was still there, in front of him, flesh and blood. In tight jeans and a T-shirt, a soft figure-hugging leather jacket. Her hair down and her face pale and devoid of make-up. Almond-shaped eyes huge. And utterly, utterly beautiful. For a second he'd thought she was about to say that she'd come because she hadn't been able to forget about him, and even amidst the shock he felt a bubbling up of something which felt suspiciously like joy.

And then what she had said impacted on him, like a delayed reaction.

His eyes narrowed, he cracked out, ‘Pregnant? You're pregnant, and it's mine?'

Aneesa looked hesitant. Unsure. And Sebastian had to drive down the immediate need to reassure her. This was too huge. Well-ingrained cynicism surged. He asked again when Aneesa didn't respond immediately. ‘Is it mine?'

‘Well, of course it's yours … you're the only …' She faltered. ‘I've not been with anyone else.'