Passionate Protection

And he never even mentioned their child. Dr Bartolo had confirmed that she was indeed pregnant, but Sebastian had simply compressed his mouth and looked grimly distant when, falteringly, she told him that her condition was confirmed.

Perhaps now was the time to leave, she thought miserably, before the decision was forced on her. Oh, she knew Sebastian would disguise it in the guise of sending her home for a 'holiday', but they both knew that she would not be coming back. There was simply no point.

Many of her things were still in Sebastian's room, and now would be a good time to retrieve them. She was busily engaged in removing clothes from cupboards and they were on the bed in neat piles when the door was suddenly flung open. She straightened, her heart pounding, half longing and half fearing to see Sebastian. Only it wasn't Sebastian, it was Pilar, her face contorted with a rage that made fear curl unpleasantly along Jessica's spine.

'You here!' she hissed malevolently. 'I thought I told you that Sebastian didn't want you, but then the maid tells me you are in his room!'

Jessica was just about to tell her that she was simply removing her clothes when a sudden spurt of anger—and the memory of what Sebastian had told her—moved her to say lightly, 'I am his wife, Pilar. I have a perfect right to share his room, if I want to.'

'He doesn't want you,' Pilar spat positively. 'Jesu Maria, you must know that! Sebastian is a man above all else, he would not deny himself your bed and body as he has been doing these last weeks if he desired you!'

Jessica knew that it was true, but something compelled her to stand her ground and say calmly, 'If Sebastian has been denying himself, it is for my sake, and the sake of our child,' she added softly. 'Sebastian knows that I have…'

'You are to have his child?'

The bitter hatred in Pilar's eyes appalled Jessica, who realised how unwise she had been to fan the flames of the other woman's resentment. Far better to have simply told the truth. Now she was alone in the room with what she was convinced was a badly deranged woman, who was advancing on her like a panther on its prey, scarlet-tipped fingers curled into talons, as though they would like to tear into her flesh and destroy the life growing within it.

'All these years I have waited for him to turn to me,' Pilar said softly, 'all these years of waiting and watching, knowing he must eventually marry for the sake of his name, and then, just when I think he will be mine, you come along… Well, he will be mine,' she snapped venomously. 'Manuela thought she could take him from me, and was punished for it, and I shall not let you and the brat you carry come between me and what is rightfully mine!'

She was mad—she had to be, Jessica thought shakily as she stared at the wild eyes and twisted features. But she was also dangerous, and Jessica could almost feel those fingers on her throat, gripping it, depriving her of breath.

She backed into the comer, realising too late that it was the wrong thing to do. Pilar was stalking her like a cat with its prey, a rictus smile twisting the full lips. She lunged, her hands reaching for Jessica's throat, her wildly exultant laughter filling the room.

The door was suddenly flung open and Sebastian was standing there, his jacket thrown carelessly over one shoulder, his shirt unbuttoned at the neck, tiredness lying in the shadows and hollows of his face. His expression changed as he took in the scene, alertness replacing his earlier exhaustion.

&n

bsp; 'Pilar—Dios, what are you about?' He gripped her arms, dragging her away from Jessica and opening the door, as he called to someone outside.

Dr Bartolo came hurrying in, his expression one of shock as he looked at Pilar and saw the murderous intent in her eyes.

'Allow me to deal with this, my friend,' he said sorrowfully to Sebastian. 'I have been afraid for a long time that…' He broke off as Jessica felt herself succumbing to the eddying whirls of blackness trying to suck her down.

'I'm all right,' Jessica managed to assure him. 'Just a little faint. I…'

'She wanted to take you from me, Sebastian!' Pilar cried bitterly. 'I told her you were mine. I…'

'Pilar, you must come with me,' Dr Bartolo said firmly. 'She needs specialised treatment,' he murmured in an aside to Sebastian. 'Her behaviour has troubled me for a long time, but there is a clinic I know of where they are used to cases of this kind. She has allowed her feelings for you to become obsessive.'

Pilar allowed herself to be led out of the room, and Jessica fought off the attack of faintness that had threatened her. Her legs felt weak and shaky, but when Sebastian moved towards her she fended him off, her expression unknowingly one of sharp horror.

'I am sorry about that,' he said flatly. He had his back to her, and walked across the door leading out into the courtyard. 'I should have warned you about Pilar, but she had seemed so much improved… She has already suffered two breakdowns; on each occasion she convinced herself that she was deeply in love with the victim of her obsession. I am sorry that you had to be involved.'

He turned round, his eyes going to the neat pile of clothes, his expression changing, darkening. 'What is this?'

'My clothes,' Jessica told him quietly. 'I was just getting them when Pilar came in. I suppose finding me here in your room was the last straw.'

'If you wish your clothes moved from my room to yours one of the maids can do it,' he told her brusquely. 'There is no need for you…'

'To invade your privacy?' Jessica suggested shakily. 'You needn't worry about it happening again. I'm removing my clothes, because I'm also removing myself from your life. I'm going home.'

'No!' The denial was grittily abrasive. 'Por Dios,' Sebastian suddenly added hoarsely, crossing the room and taking her roughly in his arms. 'I can endure no more—I will not permit you to go! You are carrying my child, and I will not allow you to go.'

'But you wanted me to go,' Jessica reminded him shakily, wondering if he could feel the unsteady thud of her heart, and the quick race of her pulse. His arms felt like a haven—heaven itself, and she never wanted to leave them. She could see the faint beginnings of a beard growing along his jaw, and wanted to touch it. He smelled of the outdoors and fresh sweat, and the combination was unbearably erotic to her heightened senses.

'Because I feared something like this would happen.'

Within the circle of his arms, she raised her hand to push her hair back off her forehead, the brief gesture emphasising the gentle thrust of her breasts. Sebastian's eyes flared hotly as he studied the soft mounds, then with a savage imprecation he drew her against the hard pulsating length of him, letting her feel his arousal, his mouth moving blindly over her skin, touching and tasting, until he buried it hotly in hers, kissing her with an intensity that sapped her willpower and made her cling helplessly to him, offering herself up to whatever it was he wanted from her.