Page 40 of An Unholy Affair
And now they’re quoting The Holy Grail?Kieran had just pushed Simon to second place on Jack’s shit list.Get a grip!
Eveline laughed. ‘Kieran, this is Jack. He, er…’ Her smile disappeared. ‘I’m helping him with arrangements for his father’s funeral.’
Kieran’s face fell, and he extended his hand. ‘Mate, I’m sorry.’
Jack shook it.
‘And Jack, this is Kieran, a good friend who runs the AA meetings here.’
Jack nodded, not knowing what to say without it coming out as a feral growl. He’d never been possessive over a woman before, and Eveline was as far away from beinghiswoman as Mother Teresa.You’re losing your mind.
‘Well, it’s all set up now, so we’ll leave you to it?’ Eveline said to Kieran.
‘Yeah, sure,’ he replied. ‘I’ll make sure we put everything away after so you don’t have to.’
‘Thank you.’
Jack was itching to leave, feeling seconds away from shapeshifting into a bear and carrying Eveline back to his den. He had an overwhelming urge to protect and look after her.
She glanced at his face and blinked, as if seeing the battle raging inside.
‘Okay then,’ she said brightly. ‘Let’s go back to the rectory for a cup of tea.’
9
‘God, Eveline, don’t do that!’
She was moving towards the stubborn back door of the rectory as if to shoulder it open.
Her forehead furrowed as she glanced at him. ‘But this is my good side.’
Jack held a hand to his head to stop his internal volcano from venting. ‘Eveline. The action still involves the rest of your body. Please, let me.’
She stepped back, a little smile on her face.
He depressed the handle and pushed.
It didn’t budge.
‘Is it locked?’
Despite how tired she seemed, her smile was cheeky. ‘No…’
He gave it a hard shove. Nothing. How knackeredwasthis thing?
‘Apart from brute force, am I missing a trick?’
She nodded. ‘You have to kick the bottom corner with your foot at the same time. To be fair, it’s not usually this bad. We’ve just had a lot of rain over the last couple of days and easterly winds, so it’s swelled more than normal.’
Jack glanced at the bottom edge, where a patch of paint was missing. Eveline was going to open this despite one arm being completely immobile?
Frustration formed into a point of fury. Throwing his shoulder at the door, he gave it a boot. It flew open, crashing against the inside wall. The force caused a picture to jump off its hook to the floor with a smash.
‘Fuck’s sake!’ He sighed. ‘Eveline, I’m sorry. Stay there. I’ll pick up the glass.’
‘I can help,’ she said, moving up behind him.
Turning, he straightened, blocking her path. She stared at him, her eyes wide, her pupils dilating, colour filling her pale cheeks. She was so close he could feel her breath on his lips. Desire roared through him, with panicked helplessness following on behind. He didn’t want to feel this way about her. It wasn’t just an overwhelming physical attraction. It was a primal need to take care of her and return some of the love she spilled out to everyone with no apparent thought of herself.
