Unlawful Escort (Unlawful Series book 1) (23 page)

She cupped his cheek; if only her love could heal him, she thought
heartbrokenly. But she’d learnt that you didn’t get something simply because you wanted it badly enough. He turned his lips into her palm and closed his eyes. Heat spread from her arm to her body as he kissed her palm and when he snaked an arm around her waist to pull her to his solid chest she closed her eyes in surrender.

He groaned as his lips met hers; his mouth gently teasing hers as he carried her to bed. His
tender possession was exactly what she needed to chase away the horrors of the night before. And her sense of unease melted away as he stroked her body reverently while whispering how beautiful she was and cajoling her to touch him. Their leisurely lovemaking ended on a cataclysmic pinnacle that had them both moaning in fervent bliss. 

They had dinner afterwards followed by a night of passionate lovemaking
and as they lay in the dark; languid from pleasure, he bared his soul to her. And so it went as the days drifted by into two weeks; each night, in the afterglow of their passion, he shared bits and pieces of himself.

He told her of his relationship with Elizabeth
and how their fathers had spoke of a union between them to merge their empires, since they were mere children. Her heart broke for him as she sensed his hurt as he spoke of Elizabeth’s betrayal with the Frenchman and how worried they’d all been when she’d disappeared. She attempted to tell him the truth of her identity but each time she tried, she’d be interrupted and their conversation would drift into another direction.

And soon she forgot
. Forgot the pain of the past in the bliss of the moment as Sebastian lavished her with attention. Forgot to repossess the heart that he’d insisted he could never accept as she furnished him with all the love that was within her that she knew he so desperately needed. And most of all; she forgot to prepare herself for the end that they both knew was, most certainly, to come.

SEBASTIAN PACED THE LIVING ROOM OF HIS PENTHOUSE
as her
phone went straight to voicemail for the third time. He couldn’t help being a tad worried, especially after her debacle with Elizabeth a mere two weeks ago. He’d been in meetings all morning and as they paused for lunch; he’d had the sudden urge to see her. Entirely strange and out of character for him, he knew, but when it came to her everything he did was strange and out of character, he decided.

He was about to phone the bodyguard he’d hired to follow her at a respectable distance for safety when she burst through the door; Brandon in tow. Her hair was wind tousled; her cheeks flushed with excitement and her eyes sparkled with happiness as she laughed at something Brandon had said. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree as she and she squealed with plea
sure and barreled into his arms and reality hit him like a solid fist to his jaw.

“Brandon just took me on a tour of his restaurant”, she gushed, “
and it’s spectacular”.

Brandon smiled; clapping him on the shoulder
, “thought I’d give her some ideas for the café”.

“Sound
s like it was fun”, he tried to smile but his face felt like a frozen pond in the peak of winter.

“Yea”, Brandon murmured, glancing at his watch, “but I
’ve gotta go. I’ll see you guys later”, he smiled before quitting the room.

He unwound his arms from around her and strode to the glass walls; shoving his hands into his pocket as he gazed across the city
. She saw the rigidity of his stance and fear knotted her insides and her palms felt clammy despite the freezing January temperature.

“Sebastian is something wrong?” her voice was laced with anxiety.

Today was a good day, she decided chirpily, coercing the tension from her body. She’d received the call on the way over from Brandon’s restaurant that the hospital had received a donor for Joshua and she couldn’t wait to tell Sebastian. He was silent for a moment and the sinking feeling in her stomach intensified.

“I’m releasing you of all your contractual obligations”, he said flatly, “you’re free to go”.

“Contract…” she croaked as her heart stilled in her breast.

He felt her anguish all the way to his soul but it was for the best. She didn’t belong to the cold word that was his; the barrenness would ultimately suck the life from her. She would get over him eventually and find someone more deserving of her love that would cherish her and they would marry and have kids and grow old together, he
placated himself. Yet the notion pierced his heart like a jagged knife.

“If this is about Brandon…”- she began fervently, edging closer.

“Just go”, he ordered and everything died inside her.

She stood, frozen, so close she could feel the heat emanating from his body. He turned suddenly’ his brown eyes lifeless and he looked as if he’d aged ten years since he’d released her a moment ago. Her body acquired a will of its own as she moved mechanically towards him. His eyes followed her as if he didn’t possess the will to move, as she fused her lips to his for one last kiss
, she promised herself.

Her lips glided over his, as if to remember his sweetness even though she knew such a thing was unwarranted as he was already branded on her soul. And just as her body tingled with the flames of their never dying passion she tore her mouth from his and dashed to the elevator.

She sat stiffly in the cab to the hospital; staring into nothingness, her mind blank. Unable to contain her anguish any longer, she locked herself in the nearest bathroom as she got to the hospital and cried until she had no tears left and her breath left her lips in tight gasps.

CHAPTER FORTY THREE

THE NEXT TWO WEEKS PROGRESSED IN
a slow and painful
haze for Paige infused with anxiety.
She’d been forced to set aside her heartbreak to attend to the matter of Joshua’s surgery; all the while hoping and praying that it would be a success. She hadn’t left his side that night as they prepped him for surgery. And as she paced the halls for the prolonged duration of his surgery; her heart in her throat, the Doctor’s words echoing through her brain; ‘hope for the best and expect the worst’.

She couldn’t begin to explain the emotions that poured through her as he’d opened his eyes after the surgery. And in that moment; she’d remembered Sebastian and she wished that he’d been there to share in the spectacular moment. His presence would’ve made her happiness whole but she forcefully banished the thought from her mind
. Chastising herself for her silliness, she resolved to put the past four months behind her and forget she’d ever met Sebastian Bradley.

She stumbled through the days like a zombie; Joshua’s need for her, her only will to go on and as Doctor Walsh warned that recuperation was as treacherous as the surgery itself. She came to the hospital at daybreak and left at dawn; her sole aim
to make it through the next minute, hour, day without the numbing pain inside her heart.

A week passed and as a new one approached; with it came
another plaguing notion; her period was late. And as she vividly recalled; she and Sebastian hadn’t used any form of protection in the weeks following her scenario with Elizabeth. She knew neither of them had any Sexually Transmitted Diseases as Sebastian had insisted on them getting tested after they’d returned from Long Island. She’d been so dazed with happiness and consumed with passion that she hadn’t given much thought to conception.

She censured
herself for being careless as she knew firsthand how difficult it was to raise a child singlehandedly. Even if abortion didn’t freak her out; she didn’t think she could develop the nerve to throw away the precious life that she believed was a monument of her love for Sebastian. Persuading herself that she was being absurd in that she couldn’t possibly be pregnant; she focused what little energy she could muster on assuring Joshua’s recovery.

PAIGE JAMMED HER FATHER’S OLD
Chevy to a halt
in the Hospital’s Parking Lot before quitting the pickup and slamming the door shut. She glanced at her watch as she dashed into the hospital building; ten thirty, she was fifteen minutes late for Joshua’s appointment. Her grandparents had phoned this morning that they would be visiting the following week and despite her subtle attempts to hang up; they’d prolonged the conversation. And no matter how many times she gave them her cell number; they insisted on calling the landline.

Joshua was doing well; two weeks subsequent to his surgery
and the doctors were positive he’d be alright. She couldn’t wait for him to be released; the house was unbearable lonely despite the few hours that she spent their each night. She plastered a smile unto her lips as she drew close to Joshua’s room as she knew that her sadness affected him deeply.

She shoved open the door and froze in her tracks as she saw Sebastian standing by Joshua’s bed
as magnificent as ever; dressed in an immaculately tailored charcoal suit. A spark of excitement ran through her at the superbly masculine sight of him and she had to force herself not stand and drool over his hunky body.

“Paige
! Paige! Look who came to visit”, Joshua said excitedly.

“Good morning Paige”, his lips curled into a smile but his beautiful brown eyes were filled with gloom.

He had no right to seek her out, Paige fumed, he’d made his desire for her to leave clear enough and she’d done so, therefore he had no reason to be there.

She spared a warm smile for Joshua before turning to Sebastian.

“Can I speak to you outside for a second?” she asked through clenched teeth.

“Sure”, he patted Joshua fondly on the shoulder and she bristled, “I’ll soon be back champ.”

“Ok, Just don’t take as long as you did the last time”, Joshua said and he smiled.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded as soon as they got to the waiting area.

She blinked in shocked when he averted his eyes to his feet; red-faced with discomfort.

“I miss you”, he murmured so softly that she thought she’d heard incorrectly until his eyes averted to hers and she saw the agony
that was in her heart reflected in their molten brown depths.

She wouldn’t do this to herself again, she
decided, turning to leave.

“I have to go. J
osh is late for his appointment.”

“Wait”, she wasn’t sure if it was the urgency in voice but she paused, “I have someone I think you’d be interested to meet”.

She frowned as he made a swift call, “Sebastian, if this is one of your silly mind games…” her mouth fell open in shock as she came face to face with an exact replica of herself.

“Paige
, this is your twin; Gabby”, he murmured as a thousand possibilities flashed through her mind and the floor seemed to shift upwards to meet her face before the world went black.

PAIGE REVIVED SOME TIME
later in a hospital bed; an intravenous fluid attached to her arm and Sebastian’s anxious face hovering above hers.

He
stroked her hair tenderly; his arm gripping hers with an almost bruising force, “you had me scared there for awhile”.

Her eyes misted with tears and she wrenched away from his grasp as the memory of what had transpired earlier came rushing back to her.
The fact that she had a twin sister could only mean one thing as she knew her father, or the man she’d thought was her father, she corrected bitterly, would never give away his child.

“How could you do this to me?” she sobbed,
brokenly, “Get out!”

It was all Sebastian’s fault
, she resolved. Why did he always think he had the right to dig into people’s lives?

“Paige don’t do this, please
”, he pleaded.

“Get out”, she screamed
and the door burst open as a Doctor came in.

Why was he always at the centre of her misery? She wondered
miserably as the tears ran, unchecked down her cheeks.

“Mr. Bradley, please go”, the Doctor urged,
gently, “Ms. Sinclair is in a very delicate condition at the moment and stress will only make it worst”.

“Paige, please
, at least let me explain…”-

“I don’t want to hear your stupid explanation”, she screamed, “go away!”

He glanced from her to the doctor; a pained expression on his face as he backed from the room and she sobbed harder.

“Ms. Sinclair, you need to calm down. If not I’ll be forced to give you a sedative.”

“No, that won’t be necessary”, she assured the Doctor; dashing the tears from her cheeks and taking deep breaths in a bid to calm her frayed nerves.

“Ok. I’m Doctor Whitethorn”, he said, flipping through her charts, “let’s see…”

“I’m pregnant, aren’t I?”

He glanced up suddenly, his brows knitting into a frown, “no, you’re not”, he pronounced and she burst into tears
and the Doctor sighed in frustration.

She hadn’t realized that she’d been harboring the notion of carrying
his child until that moment when she felt a profound sense of loss at the knowledge that she wasn’t pregnant. The doctor explained that her stress levels were high and they were awaiting her blood test results before he could give her more information. He left with a terse instruction for her to rest and a nurse would be with her shortly.