The Affair (The Evolution of Sin 1)

“We met on the plane coming down.” I flushed remembering it. “Planes make me nervous, to say the least, and I was making a fool of myself. Sinclair was nice enough to keep Misery company.”

She looked me up and down clinically, with a critical eye that only women possess. “I would say he was only too happy to help.”

“Trust me, it’s the makeup.” I laughed.

Katarina pursed her lips, a habit that she and her brother shared. “Beautiful and bashful. I can see the appeal.”

“Oh stop embarrassing her, Kat.” Cage Tracy’s familiar French melody had me turning around to face him.

He looked dashing in white silk shirt that contrasted with his developing tan and impenetrable black hair but it was his smile that made him so disarming and I could tell from Katarina’s startled little gasp, that she thought so too. The murmur of voices around us spiked slightly at his arrival, but he was still relatively obscure enough that no one bothered him for autographs and I realized it was his ungodly beauty that drew their attention more than his fame.

Cage gave me a warm kiss on the cheek. “Though she does have a point, you look absolutely edible tonight, Elle.”

I swatted his compliment out of the air but the feel of the toy between my legs was a constant reminder of just how desirable Sinclair found me. “You are such a tease.”

“Me?” He faked horror. “How dare you? Kat, vouch for my character please.”

“I certainly will. Cage only ever acts like a bad boy if someone leads him astray, isn’t that right?”

I looked over my shoulder as the statuesque blonde who had spoken came up beside Cage and took his arm. She was very beautiful but in a sharp, almost menacing way like something from a Grimm fairytale. Her blonde hair was almost white it was so pale and her frosty eyes found mine instantly, regarding me with cool reserve.

“You must be, Elle.” She presented her hand to me as if it were a gift.

I was usually pretty easy going with people but there was something about the studied haughtier of this woman that set my teeth on edge. I didn’t take her hand but I did smile at her, thinly. “I must be.”

Cage guffawed despite her withering look his way. “And this is Margot Silver, Sinclair’s executive assistant.”

She looked too glamorous by far to be someone’s assistant but I let that slide. Katarina cast a furrowed glance at Margot’s slim arm resting possessively on Cage.

“Margot, maybe you would like to look at Diego Rivera’s works with me while we get to know each other better?” I asked, my voice carefully devoid of anything but sugar sweetness.

Her pale eyes widened slightly but she bared her teeth in something like a smile. “Of course.”

I winked at Katarina as we walked away and Cage turned to regale her with a funny story. She seemed surprised but quickly blushed and mouthed “thank you” over his shoulder. I didn’t know what chance the sweet girl had with the rock star, but I was willing to do my part to foster the flames.

“So, Margot.” I smiled demurely at her as we came to a stop out of hearing distance from the others. “Why don’t you say what you have to say?”

Her large eyes widened and my candor exposed a moment of vulnerability. It took her a second to bare her fangs. “Sinclair has a long term partner.”

She waited for me to react but I only blinked at her and crossed my arms. If she had expected Sinclair to lie to me then she didn’t know him as well as she thought.

“Listen.” She sighed sharply and adjusted her stance on her ridiculously high and absurdly lovely heels. “Despite what you may think, I’m not warning you off to be a bitch. I’m doing it because Sinclair, for all his coolness, is still a man and any man’s weakness is a beautiful woman. He’s had a rough life and the last few years have been good to him, he doesn’t need some random strumpet messing that up for him.”

Okay, even though I objected to her use of the word ‘strumpet’, I had to admire her nettle and loyalty. Sinclair deserved people like this in his life and even though Margot Silver was far too beautiful and cold for me to genuinely like, I tipped my hat to her.

“I appreciate that.” I dropped my defensive pose and ran a hand through my hair in frustration. “But I have no designs on Sinclair other than as a friend. Not that it’s any of your business.”

“A friend?” She snorted. “Sure.”

Fair enough.

“Our friendship will end when the vacation does,” I amended.

Margot stared at me for a long minute, seemingly taking note of everything from the color of my hair to the shape of my fingernails. “See that it does. Under other circumstances, we could have been friends.”

I inclined my head even though I didn’t really share her feelings. It wasn’t her fault, I thought as she walked away, that she had touched on those icky feelings within me, on the idea that I was being a whore, a home wrecker.

As I made my way back over to Cage and Katarina, I gasped. The egg inside me began to vibrate, jolting my dozing nerve endings with a burst of electricity.