Restless Billionaire (25 page)

 
          
‘It’s
as if I’ve had emotional dyslexia—every time you got a bit closer, I pushed you
away because it threatened every bit of self-defence I’d built up over the
years.’

 
          
He
took something out of his pocket and Aneesa saw a ring, a simple princess-cut
diamond, about half the size of her first engagement ring and already
infinitely more precious. Her throat was clogged with emotion and shock and the
incredible burgeoning hope that perhaps this was real.

 
          
‘I
can’t live without you, Aneesa.’ His eyes were intense. ‘I would die. It’s that
simple. And the thought of having this baby still terrifies me but I know that
if you’re by my side, I might just have a chance of not ruining my child’s
existence completely.

 
          
‘So please—’ with a shaking hand he put the ring on her finger ‘—will
you wear this ring … and be my lover and my best friend, for ever.
I
want to marry you but I know how you feel about the prospect of going through that
again and I wouldn’t do that to you unless you wanted it….’

 
          
Aneesa
tugged Sebastian up until he stood before her. She finally managed to get out
through the rising emotion, ‘I did mean it … last night. I couldn’t hold it in.
I’d been holding it in for so long that I knew it would come out eventually.
That’s why I wanted to come home. I thought you’d end up hating me for
intruding into your life so much. I came to you because I was pregnant, yes,
but I hadn’t stopped thinking about you since that night. I would have wanted
to see you again no matter what….’

 
          
Sebastian
took her face in his hands and kissed her so passionately that she felt dizzy
and then he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom where they’d made
love that first night.
Where their baby had been conceived.

 
          
With
tenderness infusing every moment, they made love again. And afterwards, wrapped
in the circle of Sebastian’s arms, Aneesa said softly, ‘I feel like this is a
dream. I’m afraid I’ll wake up and you’ll be gone.’

 
          
He
pulled her right into him and put his hand over hers on her belly, over their
baby, and said huskily with humour lacing his voice, ‘If
I
can believe, then you definitely can. And
the
baby agrees, can you feel him
?’

 
          
Aneesa
held her breath and there it
was,
the tiniest of
flutters against their joined hands. They seemed to be growing stronger by the
minute, along with her belief that this
was
real, and that with the indestructible force of love between them, anything
would be possible, even a second attempt at marriage.

 
          
As
if Sebastian could hear her thoughts, he spoke close to her ear. ‘We could go
to my island, and get married on the beach. With just my staff as witnesses …’

 
          
Incredible
joy bubbled up inside Aneesa and she turned so that she could look up into
Sebastian’s face. It was completely open, no shadows or secrets lurking in
those blue eyes anymore, and her heart turned over.

 
          
She
smiled. ‘I’d like that.’

 
          
Sebastian
frowned for a second. ‘Would your parents mind?’

 
          
Aneesa
smiled ruefully. ‘I think they would be forever grateful not to have to go
through anything approximating a public wedding again.’

 
          
Sebastian
grinned and kissed her with achingly slow sweetness and then drew back. With a
mischievous glint in his eye he said carefully, ‘You remember when you said you
regretted the fact that you hadn’t asked your aunts and cousins to do your
henna tattoo ritual when you had the chance?’

 
          
She
nodded, feeling a flame start to ignite in her belly.

 
          
‘Well,
if you wanted to give them the chance to do it over again, I wouldn’t mind….’

 
          
Aneesa
looked mock shocked. ‘Sebastian Wolfe, are you telling me that you have
developed a wedding henna tattoo fetish?’

 
          
He
came over her then and she exulted in his solid weight between her legs which
she was already opening to entice him to a more intimate position. Between
kisses, he growled, ‘I have an Aneesa Adani fetish. Just be thankful that I got
the whole unwrapping-the-Indian-princess-on-her-wedding-night out of my system.
Otherwise I’d have you laden down with jewels and in a sari all over again. As
it is I’m willing to settle for a simple white dress, no shoes, our baby bump
and the tattoo….’

 
          
Aneesa
twined her arms around Sebastian’s neck and arched into him. ‘Do you know,’ she
said a little unsteadily, because she felt emotional at the thought of ‘our
baby bump’ and also because Sebastian’s hand was exploring between her legs, ‘that
when I have the tattoo done they’ll write your name within the design and you
won’t be allowed to sleep with me till you find it….’

 
          
‘Well,
then, tell them to make it small and hard to find because I’m going to enjoy
making you beg for mercy and curse their artistic ingenuity.’

 
          
Aneesa
gasped her pleasure out loud when he joined their bodies. And for the next few
minutes, she was happy to forget about anything but this blissful moment which
held within it the promise of all their blissful moments to come.

 
          
Nomadic
Jacob finds his way to a devastated village in Nepal, where for the first time
he feels he can be of use, helping these people rebuild their lives and homes.
For the next two years, Jacob works tirelessly, the intense physical labour
driving away the nightmares that continue to haunt him, but mentally Jacob is
on a knife edge. Finally, exhausted, he collapses and is confined to his bed,
where the demons of his past return, more vivid than ever.

 
          
Neighbouring
monks hear of Jacob’s plight and in return for his hard work at the village
they offer him sanctuary at their monastery. Slowly, they help Jacob recover to
full health, but whilst his body is getting stronger, Jacob’s spirit is weak.
Within the cool walls of the monastery the monks impress on him that control of
the body is nothing without control over the mind. Jacob begins to see that
whilst he can’t change the past, he can control his future and slowly begins to
put the darkness behind him, finding a new peace.

 
          
Share a secret about Sebastian or Aneesa?

 
          
Aneesa
was going to study medicine when she was discovered by a model scout in a
shopping mall with school-friends, so she never followed that career path.

 
          
Who is the biggest, baddest Wolfe?

 
          
Well,
I’d have to say Sebastian of course: all that silent, brooding energy and
tortured demons …! But after Sebastian I’d say it has to be Jacob because he’s
the one overshadowing everyone until the very end.

 
          
Which Wolfe brother did you most fancy?

 
          
Sebastian
of course, again! But after Sebastian I think I fancied Jacob the most as he’s
the one with all the scars and pain. He’s the most elusive and the one I’d be
most curious about: who is he going to settle down with and how will he
overcome his demons?

 
          
Which is Sebastian’s favourite room in
Wolfe Manor?

 
          
I
think his favourite room is his bedroom because he can lock himself away from
all the chaos and turmoil outside.

 
          
How did Sebastian pop the big question?

 
          
He
got down on one knee like any good self-respecting hero and presented her with
a gorgeous ring!

 
          
What do you enjoy most about writing as
part of
a continuity
series; how does it differ from
writing a single title?

 
          
I
like the idea of being given a structure, a storyline within which you can
breathe the characters to life and give it your own twist.

 
          
What do you think makes a great
hero/heroine?

 
          
I
think what makes a great hero is depicting the kind of man who at first
possesses all the qualities that can almost be seen as negative: he’s dominant,
arrogant, utterly self-reliant, rigid and uncompromising, all wrapped up in a
gorgeous face and body of course. But then the chinks in the armour start to
appear, and the human is revealed and then he becomes absolutely irresistible.

 
          
And
what makes a great heroine is that we, the readers, can relate to her. So she
has all the insecurities and fears that we have. And she’s not the most
beautiful woman in the world. But she has something special, and the hero sees
that straight away, whether or not he recognises it. It’s something he reacts
to on a very deep and visceral level, so even when they’re not getting on, he
can’t keep away from her …

 
          
When you are writing, what is a typical
day?

 
          
A
typical, “good” writing day, is one where I get up around 8am, have some
breakfast and a cup of tea, which is essential to the process. Then write until
about lunchtime, have a walk and some lunch, and then get back to work around
3pm, until about 6pm. TV in the evening to relax, or read a book and bed early.