EMILY couldn’t really relax, of course. She just pretended to so that Sebastian would leave her alone. After a while, she turned her head and shoulders to face the passenger window so that he couldn’t see when she opened her eyes.
By then, they were on the freeway. The southern Sydney suburbs had been left behind and they were speeding along the multi-lane highway which cut its path through national forests.
Thick bushland edged the road on either side.
Not the most distracting of views.
Emily hadn’t been down to the south coast in years. She and Mark had always headed north when they’d wanted to go somewhere for the day, or a weekend. But she’d had a boyfriend once who lived in Campbelltown, and he’d often taken her down to Austinmere, a cute little beach on the south coast which had a sea pool. He’d also taken her to Thirlmere, which was more of a surfer’s beach. She’d never actually been to Wollongong, which was the largest of the south coast towns. A city, really.
Once they were on the freeway, there were two ways of reaching their destination. You could get off the highway and go down the Bulli Pass, then follow the road south along the coastline to North Wollongong.
That was considered the tourist route, providing spectacular views.
The Bulli pass, however, was a formidable descent, with lots of hairpin bends.
Alternately, you could keep on the Princes Highway till you reached Wollongong proper. This was a faster route, with a more gradual descent from the hills to the coast, but less interesting.
When the sign for the Bulli Pass exit came up, Sebastian stayed in the centre lane, clearly going for the faster route. Fifteen minutes later, the bushland receded and Wollongong came into view below.
Emily actually spotted their hotel as they made their way down the escarpment, the tall white building standing out from its surroundings, the last rays of the setting sun just catching the upper floor windows. But she didn’t realise it was the Norfolk till Sebastian turned his car into the circular driveway which led up to its equally impressive entrance.
‘Wow,’ Emily said, sitting upright in her seat. It was the first word she’d spoken since Sebastian had ordered her not to.
His sidewards glance carried a self-satisfied smile. ‘You approve?’
‘It’s stunning.’ And very expensive, by the look of it.
Emily knew her hotels. And this one would rival the very best in Sydney.
A parking valet pounced immediately they alighted, as well as a porter to take their two small bags. Sebastian cupped her elbow and led her through the revolving glass doors into the hotel proper, Emily doing her best to act as if this was what she did most weekends—stayed in five-star hotels with one of Australia’s wealthiest and most eligible men.
The lobby was enormous, with marble floors, vaulted ceilings and some serious chandeliers which would not have looked out of place in a European palace.
The blonde behind the reception desk nearly fell over herself attending to Sebastian, Emily mentally shaking her head over the girl’s gushing manner. During the time she’d worked the desk at the Regency, they’d had presidents, pop stars and even a sheikh or two staying there and she hadn’t gone gaga over any of them.
The blonde even had the hide to cast an askance glance Emily’s way when Sebastian was busy signing in, as though she could not understand what on earth he was doing with such an ordinary-looking girlfriend.
Emily squared her shoulders and speared the receptionist with dagger-like eyes until the girl flushed and looked away. By the time Sebastian led Emily over to the lift wells, she had her dander up, which was much better than succumbing to the butterflies gathering in the pit of her stomach.
‘Do women always act like that when you’re around?’ she asked when he let go of her arm to press the up button on the wall.
His shrug was dismissive. ‘In the main.’
‘No wonder you’re arrogant.’
Sebastian’s eyes turned dark and thoughtful. ‘Are you deliberately trying to provoke me, Emily?’
Was she?
Guilt consumed Emily once she realised she’d been trying to sabotage tonight one last time. Possibly because of fear.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘That was rude of me.’
‘Yes, it was.’
‘I’m not usually rude.’
‘I know. So why were you just now?’
‘I guess it’s because I’m nervous,’ she confessed.
‘Nervous?’ he repeated, as though unfamiliar with such a condition.
‘It’s so silly,’ she blurted out. ‘It’s not as though I’m a virgin.’
‘Maybe not,’ he said, his eyes soft on her. ‘But it will be your first time in a long time. And your first time with me.’
‘Yes,’ she whispered through parched lips.
The lift doors opened and a couple came out, putting a stop to their intimate conversation. But not to Emily’s rapidly escalating heartbeat.
When Sebastian took hold of her hand an electric current raced up her arm. Apprehension gave way to anticipation, doubt replaced by the most overwhelming need, not to be made love to, but to be totally ravished. Her head turned and her eyes locked with his.
‘Don’t be gentle with me,’ she heard herself say.
He stared at her for a long moment, then nodded. ‘Your wish is my command.’
‘But I’m not usually like this,’ she said shakily.
‘You don’t have to make excuses to me,’ he replied darkly as he ushered her into the lift, then used his key card to gain access to their floor. ‘I am well acquainted with the perversities of the flesh.’
Neither of them said anything during the brief ride upwards. Neither did they touch each other.
By the time the lift stopped and the doors opened, Emily felt close to fainting. When she swayed on her high heels, Sebastian scooped her up into his arms and carried her from the lift.
No one was in the waiting area to stare at them. Neither did they encounter anyone walking along the hotel corridor.
Not that Emily would have cared. Not with Sebastian’s arms around her. She wrapped her own arms around his neck, her handbag hanging down his back.
When he reached their door, he moved his hold from behind her knees to just underneath her bottom, taking her full weight with that one arm whilst he used the hand which had been around her waist to open the door. Once inside, he kicked the door shut before carrying her past their bags—which had preceded them—striding through the spacious lounge room straight into the luxuriously appointed bedroom, which had a sitting area of its own and a king-sized bed covered by a cream lambswool spread.
Emily was not surprised that he’d booked what was probably one of the most expensive suites in the hotel. Men like Sebastian always travelled in style.
But she was taken aback by what she knew were not customary accoutrements, unless one asked for them. Patrons of such a suite could expect a complimentary bottle of champagne on arrival. But not a magnum, or chocolate-dipped strawberries, presented exquisitely on a delicate crystal plate.
‘No,’ he said brusquely when he spotted the direction of her eyes. ‘None of that till later.
‘I won’t be long. But before I go…’ Cupping the back of her head, he planted a brutal kiss on her mouth, ravaging her orally for several seconds before wrenching his mouth away. ‘You could hurry things along by getting undressed,’ he told her gruffly, before spinning on his heel and stalking off into the adjoining en suite bathroom.
Emily stared after him, her heart thudding loudly in her chest.
She supposed she was getting what she’d asked for. But, for some weird and wonderful reason, she no longer wanted rough sex.
But she could hardly complain now. He would think she was crazy, going hot and cold on him all the time.
Not that she’d gone cold. She hadn’t; her body was on fire.
But she wanted Sebastian to make love to her. Her stomach flipped over. If he came out and found that she hadn’t even started undressing, he might think she’d changed her mind again.
Exhaling a shaky sigh, Emily placed her handbag on the seat of a nearby chair before removing her suede jacket and draping it over the back. Despite the pleasant temperature in the room, she suddenly broke out into goose-bumps and was standing there, rubbing her upper arms with her hands, when Sebastian emerged from the bathroom.
Their eyes met, Emily’s gaze pleading with him not to do what she’d asked earlier. She needed him to be gentle with her. To be tender and romantic. She needed to pretend.
No woman had ever looked at Sebastian the way Emily was looking at him at this moment.
His bed-partners of choice in recent years had invariably been beautiful and provocative creatures, confident in their bodies and their sexual know-how. He’d never been attracted to shrinking violets, or blushing virgins.
Not that Emily was either of these things. He’d discovered for himself last night, and again today, that his seemingly reserved housekeeper could be as bold as the best of them.
She was, however, extremely vulnerable at this time in her life; it shone through in her worried, wide-eyed gaze.
He supposed it could not be easy to go to bed with a man after a break of four years. Or to strip off in front of him the way Lana would have done.
Sebastian decided that a change of tack was called for.
‘There’s a couple of complimentary robes in the bathroom,’ he said straight away. ‘Why don’t you get undressed in there and put one on?’
Her relief was touchingly transparent as she swept up her handbag and hurried into the bathroom.
She was sweet, yet so damned sexy.
Sebastian hummed as he swiftly opened the magnum of champagne, poured two glasses and carried them over to the bedside table. After that, he returned to the living room, where he extracted some condoms from his overnight bag. Back in the bedroom, he put the foil packets into a bedside drawer.
Better to be safe than sorry but, with a bit of luck, by morning, Emily might be swayed into accepting his proposal and the use of protection could be dispensed with.
Of course, he’d have to impress her tonight if that was to happen.
Sebastian had no doubt he could deliver, sexually. He had every confidence in his bedroom know-how. The problem would lie with Emily’s emotions. She was far more complex than he’d imagined. Far less pragmatic. And far more sensitive.
Sebastian didn’t have any personal experience with soft, sensitive women.
The bathroom door opened quietly, Emily emerging wrapped from neck to ankle in a voluminous white towelling robe. Her face looked almost as white as she walked slowly back to the bed.
‘Oh,’ she said, her pale skin brightening once she sighted the glasses by the bed. ‘You opened the champagne.’
Good move, Sebastian.
‘It seemed mean not to,’ he replied smoothly. ‘And not very romantic. Now, why don’t you slip out of that robe and pop into bed, beautiful?’
When she hesitated, he reached to undo the sash at her waist, watching her eyes whilst he parted the robe and pushed it back off her shoulders.
Sebastian thought he knew what to expect from her body. He’d seen her naked in the pool, hadn’t he? He already knew she was full-breasted and much slimmer than her loose-fitting clothes had indicated.
He almost didn’t glance downwards as the robe fell from her shoulders, not wanting to embarrass her at this stage.
But when her eyes dropped away from his, he automatically looked down.
Sebastian was a connoisseur of female beauty, nothing attracting him more than a woman who looked like a woman. He did not agree with the fashionable idea that a woman could never be too thin. Neither did he like females who sported pumped-up or sinewy muscles.
Emily had everything Sebastian liked and which rarely came in one package. Magnificent breasts. A tiny waist which he could put his hands around. Great child-bearing hips which balanced her bust. And long shapely legs with slender ankles and small feet.
She possessed an hour-glass figure at its best, further complimented with a gently rounded stomach and the kind of soft clear skin which would feel great to touch.
By comparison, Lana had no mystery about her. She was a whore, Sebastian had finally come to realise. A heartless, gold-digging whore.
But not this lovely creature standing nervously before him. She couldn’t be bought. That much was already obvious.
Which made Sebastian want her all the more, not just for tonight, but for the rest of his life.
So he’d better make sure he did this right.
‘You are beyond beautiful, Emily,’ he said softly. ‘Come here…’ He moved away from her to drag back the woollen spread and the crisp white bed-linen. ‘Cover that far too tempting body up while I get myself undressed.’