Page 150 of An Unholy Affair
‘Antoinette, what an unexpected pleasure.’
Jack glanced around the corridor as she approached. They were alone. Antoinette was unsteady on her feet—a fact he might not have noticed if he’d been drinking. She reached for him and he kissed her cheeks.
‘Jasper, my darling, what are you doing here? Are you alone?’
‘I’m with a client.’
‘In England? Mon Dieu! Is she as grey as the weather and as dull as the food?’
His jaw clenched. He’d been so desperate to get to Eveline, but now he was praying she took her time.
‘Or is shewildlike the Duchess of Somerset?’ Antoinette continued, running the tip of a manicured finger down the front of his dress shirt. ‘Or me?’
Words were lost under memories of the last time he’d been with Antoinette—her nails raking his back as he pounded into her. Then images came to him of Eveline—her writhing with pleasure beneath him. His sick, twisted mind kept throwing him snapshots of the two women, until his head was light and he couldn’t breathe.
‘You’re thinking about me, non?’ Antoinette purred. She came closer and leaned in, her lips right by his ear. ‘I’ve missed you, Jasper. When are you coming—’ She broke off, looking behind him.
He stiffened.
‘Alors, this must be her.’ Antoinette pulled away, a smirk on her lips.
Jack turned, his head pounding.
Eveline.
Despite the heat in her face, she looked as though she’d seen a ghost. Her lips were parted, her eyes wide as they flicked between him and Antoinette.
This was his fate. This was the destiny his life choices had led to. No matter how understanding Eveline could be about his work in the abstract sense, the reality was a different matter. Eveline was staring at Antoinette’s designer dress, the jewels around her neck, her tanned and toned body, as if comparing the two of them and finding herself lacking. Self-loathing and disgust turned Jack’s stomach.
‘Eveline,’ he said, keeping his hands by his sides in case she recoiled if he reached for her. ‘This is Antoinette Lavigne… Antoinette, Eveline Shaw.’
He may have been rooted to the spot, but Antoinette was not. She crossed to Eveline, kissing her on both cheeks.
‘Enchanté, chéri.’
‘H-hello,’ she stammered.
‘Aren’t you a beauty?’ Antoinette murmured. ‘And so young and fresh. What a treat for Jasper.’
Eveline flinched at the sound of his fake name.
‘Antoinette,’ he began, his voice rough as he forced it through his constricted throat. ‘Eveline is my—’ He cleared his throat.
‘Girlfriend,’ said Eveline. ‘I’m his girlfriend.’
Antoinette arched an eyebrow. ‘Aren’t we all, chéri. At least for a night or two.’ She turned her attention back to him. ‘I was your girlfriend, what… Three weeks ago?’ Her gaze travelled lasciviously down his chest to his crotch. ‘C’était incroyable, as it always is.’ She smiled at Eveline and lowered her voice. ‘His cock… Magnifique, n’est-ce pas?’
Eveline was trembling, sweat breaking out across her brow.
‘Antoinette—’ he began.
‘Chéri, are you well?’ she asked Eveline, her perfectly shaped eyebrows drawing together with concern. ‘Please, don’t feel threatened. I’m not going to steal Jasper away. He’s yours for tonight. Unless…’
His heart was pounding so fast in his head he almost didn’t hear Eveline’s reply.
‘Unless what?’ she whispered.
Antoinette ran her finger down the outside of Eveline’s arm. ‘I have a room upstairs.’
