Page 26 of Pregnant After One Forbidden Night

CHAPTER EIGHT

THEBEDROOM SEBASTIANhad given her was incredibly beautiful.

Large rectangular paneled windows offered a stunning panoramic view from where she sat in the center of a massive bed. The bed itself, covered in stark white plush downy bedding, jutted out from a wood-slatted wall that supported it, appearing to float in the air.

In addition to the bed, a number of various-sized flat and cubed shelves were arranged tastefully along the slats. They boasted vibrant potted plants, decorative sculptures and books. There were no photos but, though she’d looked, she hadn’t really expected to find any. She did not picture Sebastian as the family photo type.

Sliding her legs out of the bed, Jenna slowly stood.

Blessedly, her stomach remained where it was supposed to be.

Between her pregnancy and the effect Sebastian had on her system, she was grateful for any moment she felt steady. She felt like herself for this moment, and she would take it. Her baby and her onetime lover both seemed happy to engage in a constant battle for supremacy inside her consciousness, and the opportunity to anchor down and hold on to herself, even briefly, was a deep relief.

They had yet to discuss the details of their arrangement, but it was obvious to Jenna that reining in the out-of-control flares of attraction between them would be of paramount importance.

Giving in to those urges, that lunacy, really, had wreaked enough havoc in their lives. And more than that, she couldn’t afford the risk of losing herself in him again.

Digging inside her old academy duffel bag, she grabbed the first dress that came to hand—a bright red loose-fitting linen maxi dress with three-quarter-length sleeves that her mother had made for her years ago.

It was voluminous and airy, intended to be worn at the end of summer when the family could spend entire days in the heat, preparing and storing their annual harvest.

With the right layering, she could wear it through a chill morning, the heat of the afternoon and into the coolness of the evening comfortably. It was practical, as well as lovely and durable, just like everything her mother made.

After dressing, she headed through the door Sebastian had indicated was the bathroom.

Like the bedroom, the bathroom boasted large landscape-view windows that looked out over the incredible rust-colored cliff sides that surrounded the building, but when it came to focal pieces, the bathroom put even the bedroom to shame.

A gorgeous wooden tub—huge, square and deep, and a smooth, creamy honey color that a high-end hair salon would have been proud of—was raised in the center of the room. The inner lining of the tub was made from what looked like smooth gray stone, the same material from which the sinks appeared to have been made. Rather than a traditional faucet, the tub could be filled via a large wooden spigot, controlled by a pull chain with a matching wooden handle.

Jenna had seen many examples of astounding luxury over her life as a royal guard, but this bathroom was by far the best marriage of wealth and design that she had ever encountered.

Bringing herself to leave the bathroom to find Sebastian was hard, especially after discovering the shower alcove with its scandalous full-length cliff window—a complete outdoor shower experience without ever leaving the house. In exchange, all you had to do was bare your naked self to the entirety of the natural world.

She could not help but suck in a slow breath, in awe at the audacity and appeal of the space.

Without having to be told, it was clear to her that Sebastian had designed the house. It was just like him—breathtakingly audacious.

The man was an absolute hedonist.

As if the thought brought him to life, she caught a whisper of his scent in the air. Backtracking the way she had come, forcibly ignoring the artistry and details of the walls, she looked for him in the room he’d labeled his office the night before.

Upon entry, she gasped aloud.

Inside, the sprawling space overlooked the Soleil River. Cherry-stained built-in bookshelves spanned the length of the wall to her left at the doorway, but it was the desk that stole her breath.

It was centered in an entirely glass-walled space that was cantilevered out boldly over the river’s deep ravine, seemingly with no support beneath its gleaming hardwood floor. The desk itself was large and heavy, parked with authority on the gorgeous rug that lay in the center of the hardwood. To preside as duke in situ here was to be king of the sky—to conquer the raging elements, to survey and command all that the light touched and more.

It was awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time.

The rest of the office, the part that behaved like a normal room, was dominated by gleaming cherry woods and smooth leather. The contrast, everything right and proper that one might imagine in a traditional office on the one hand, and terrifyingly futuristic on the other, somehow screamed both conflict and triumph, and Jenna wondered what battle it was that Sebastian was fighting through the space.

With a start, she realized she’d been standing there at the entryway gazing in astonishment at an empty room.

She’d never been interested in decorating or design, but it was impossible not to be while inside Redcliff. It was the most incredible home she’d ever entered, a masterful work of art that revealed Sebastian’s signature style, his passion and sensuousness, with every brushstroke.

Leaving the room, she went in the opposite direction, retracing last night’s steps down the long skywalk that was even more enchanting in its integration with the outside world by daylight than it had been the night before. Between what felt like the miles of windows and the vibrant tropical potted plants, the walk felt more like a summer stroll than a passage to the front door.

She followed the way down the long hall until she stepped out into the large open living area that they had passed through the night before. Empty of Sebastian too, this room, while impeccably decorated and obviously to the highest taste, was almost disappointing in its normalcy. Even with its elegance, it was just a place to watch television, nothing like the bathroom and bedroom and office she’d seen.

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