An Innocent, a Seduction, a Secret

She felt reckless. She stepped up to him, toe to toe. She grabbed his hand and held it over her thumping heart. ‘Is that tangible enough for you? My heart is yours, Sebastio, whether you want it or not.’

He emitted a foreign word that sounded like a curse and curled a hand behind Edie’s neck. His mouth crashed down on hers before she had time to prepare.

Who was she kidding? She’d never have time to prepare for Sebastio.

She was engulfed in heat and want and need. It was so acute she let out a little moan.

Sebastio tore his mouth off hers and stepped back. Edie almost fell forward, totally disorientated for a moment.

‘You’re wrong,’ he said harshly. ‘That’s the only tangible thing I’m interested in.’

Edie didn’t trust herself to speak. She’d already said enough. So when Sebastio turned on his heel and walked out she was almost relieved, because she needed privacy to absorb the bleak reality that there truly was no way she could reach Sebastio.

* * *

Sebastio was in one of London’s most exclusive hotels: The Chatsfield. Its darkness and exclusivity had enticed him. He had no desire to speak with anyone and sent off stay away vibes from his seat in the shadows at the corner of the bar.

His blood was still humming with an overload of adrenaline and arousal. He’d had to walk out of his apartment because one touch of Edie’s mouth against his and he’d almost lost it.

He took a long drink of the whisky in front of him in the heavy crystal glass. He put it down with a clatter that made the barman look at him for a moment. Sebastio was oblivious.

The only thing that had stopped him from taking her there and then had been her audacious claim.

I love you, Sebastio.

Edie was lying. She had to be. How could she love him? She had played the long game and he’d been an utter fool. Blinded by her naive innocence and her fresh-faced beauty.

She was just angling for more. Marriage.

She’d left everything behind in Buenos Aires. Including the diamond necklace. The first piece of jewellery he’d actually picked out himself for a woman.

She’d left it all behind because she was intent on making him believe she was different. Genuine.

Sebastio noted the tremor in his hand as he lifted the glass again. When she’d held his hand over her heart and said that it belonged to him he’d felt a very weak part of himself crack for a moment... So he’d kissed her, in a bid to remind them both of the only thing there was between them. Desire.

He’d told her too much. He’d given her the key to strike right at the heart of him. She knew his weaknesses and vulnerabilities almost better than he did. And, exactly as his mother had done, and as his first lover had warned him women would do, she was intent on using that knowledge for her own gain.

So why didn’t he feel better at that assertion? Why was it that all he could see in his mind’s eye was the expression on her face just before he’d walked out... Stricken.

* * *

When Edie woke the next morning she felt groggy and disorientated. She’d slept for hours. But before she even left the bedroom she sensed the apartment was empty. She explored tentatively and everything was quiet. She didn’t even know if Sebastio had come back last night.

Then she saw a piece of paper on the table in the main reception room and recognised the arrogant slash of his writing.

Edie,

I have to go to Paris until tomorrow. In the meantime please think about where you want to live and I will set you up.

There will be no shortage of financial support throughout your pregnancy, and we will discuss what happens when the baby is born.

As for anything more, our relationship will not be about that. So please save yourself the effort of trying to convince me otherwise.

Call Matteo if you need anything. He’s staying in the city for a few days and he knows the situation.

SR

The note fell out of Edie’s hand to the ground. It was as if he was afraid there’d been some ambiguity about his parting words yesterday. There certainly wasn’t now. Maybe in the future some other woman would crack open his heart. But it wouldn’t be her. No matter how much heat was between them.