“I’m not ignoring you, Lainey, I’m working. I realize this is your day off.”
“Don’t!” Lainey sighed. She didn’t want to be fighting with Eve, so, she decided to try a different approach. “I’ve been calling you,” she said. “I guess you must know that.”
“I received your messages,” Eve admitted.
“And, you couldn’t call me back?” Lainey asked, exasperated. “I’ve been worried about you.”
“Nothing to worry about,” Eve assured her. “I’m fine. I didn’t call because I didn’t want to interrupt anything.”
Lainey stood up and grabbed the pen out of Eve’s hand. “If you want to make me feel like shit – make me feel guilty for making love to my husband - then you are damn well going to look at me while you do it!”
Eve stood herself. “I don’t want to make you feel guilty!” she cried. “I didn’t call you because I don’t want to hear you apologize. I don’t want to hear the pain and confusion you’re going through because of me!”
Lainey was taken aback by Eve’s outburst. Never once had she thought about how hard this was on Eve as well. “Eve...”
“No,” Eve interrupted and sank back down in her chair. “It’s true, so don’t try and deny it. I knew you were unhappy with the way your marriage was going. I knew this would happen – this guilt and regret you have and yet I still seduced you.” Her voice was filled with self-loathing.
“I don’t regret anything, Eve,” Lainey told her gently. “And, you didn’t seduce me. I knew what I was getting into, and I wanted it. I wanted you. I can’t help feeling guilty, I’m married for crying out loud, but I don’t regret anything that’s happened between us.”
Eve looked into Lainey’s eyes. “I’ve put you in the position of having to choose between your husband and me, and that’s not fair to you.”
“I put myself in that position, Eve. I’m not sorry I did.”
Eve remained silent for a moment. “Tell me, Lainey,” she said. “When you were making love to your husband – No! Look at me. Look me in the eye and tell me the truth. When you were making love to Jack the other night were you happy? Did you think of me even once?” And then, when Lainey did not answer, “You don’t have to say a word. I know the answers.”
“Damn it, Eve!” Lainey exclaimed. “It’s not as black and white as that. Nothing is that easy. Yes, I’m happy that Jack is paying more attention to me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want or need you anymore. I’m so incredibly confused. I never expected I could be in love with two different people...”
Eve’s jaw dropped. “What?” The single word was barely a whisper.
Lainey saw the pure shock in Eve’s face. She hadn’t meant to say it, but now that it was out, she couldn’t deny that it was true. “I’ve tried to talk myself out of it, to tell myself that what I was feeling wasn’t being in love,” she said slowly. “I’ve tried to believe that it was just the excitement that you bring to my life. But it all comes back to one thing. I’m in love with my husband, Eve. But I’m also in love with you.”
Eve sat in stunned silence. Every thought in her brain, every clever saying, fled her.
“Say something, Eve,” Lainey begged her. “Please, say something, anything, just speak to me.”
“Come home with me.”
“What?”
“Come home with me,” Eve repeated. “Right now. There’s something I want to do. Not that,” she said with a little smile when Lainey blushed. “Something else. Will you come home with me? Now.”
Lainey stood in Eve’s bedroom, alone. The drive from the gallery to Eve’s apartment had been made in complete silence. Now Lainey was here, not knowing why, and Eve had left her by herself to go through the hidden door into her studio.
She climbed the steps to the bed and ran her hand lovingly across the comforter. She knew what it was like to be in this bed, to make love with Eve in this bed, and yet, her pulse still raced at the thought of Eve lying there. Sitting down, she put her head in her hands. What in the hell was she going to do about the mess she was in? How could she have let herself fall in love with two people, and how long could this double life go on before she just couldn’t handle the guilt anymore? No matter who she was with, she felt guilty for betraying one of them. She knew she owed her loyalty to Jack. She had made a vow to him on their wedding day, and that’s what she should be holding to. But, when she was here, sitting on Eve’s bed, smelling that unmistakably unique scent that was purely Eve’s, she couldn’t bear to think that she would never be in this bed again.
Eve watched Lainey from the doorway, torn by conflicting emotions. She felt need, desire – and something deeper than she could admit to. And witnessing the weariness in Lainey made her feel shame, as well.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to make you wait so long.”
Lainey’s eyes widened as she saw that Eve was setting up an easel and canvas at the foot of the bed. “What are you doing?”
Eve didn’t answer right away. Ever since she had laid eyes on Lainey, she had wanted to capture that classic beauty, that touch of virtue coupled with the sexuality that was the core of Lainey.
This was the time to do it, Eve thought, before she lost the chance along with everything else she cared about.
“Eve?” Lainey joined her at the foot of the bed, and watched Eve. She’s so beautiful, Lainey thought as she observed how expertly Eve worked with the equipment, remembering just how much an expert Eve was with her hands.
Eve placed a fingertip on Lainey’s lips. “Let me paint you,” she whispered. “Please?” Keeping her eyes on Lainey’s, she reached down to unbutton her shirt. “You’re shaking. Do you want me to stop?”
“No,” Lainey answered softly. She didn’t ever want Eve to stop.
And, Eve didn’t. She continued to unbutton Lainey’s shirt before slipping it slowly off her shoulders. She had told herself that she would be professional about this, and not let her emotions get in the way. But, with Lainey standing here in front of her, she wasn’t sure if that was going to be possible. Closing her eyes, she reached around Lainey to unfasten her bra, and let it follow the shirt to the floor. Eve didn’t open her eyes until Lainey was standing naked before her. Then she stepped back and took in the amazing sight. “You’re so beautiful.” Eve smiled when Lainey blushed. “Will you lay down for me?”
“Lay down?” Lainey couldn’t believe how unbelievably nervous she was. It was ridiculous, really. Eve has seen her body before. Hell, Eve has done unimaginable things to her body before, but there was something extraordinarily intimate about what was happening now.
“Here against the pillow,” Eve said. “Good. Now, bend your right leg for me, leave the left one straight.”
Although she found herself violently aroused, Eve tried to let the artist in her take over. When Lainey did as she was told, Eve placed her hand gently on Lainey’s bent knee and pushed it into the position she craved. Her hand lingered on Lainey’s soft skin for a breathless moment. Then clearing her throat, she walked away. Once she was safely behind her canvas, she sat on the stool and looked over at Lainey.
“Place one hand over your head,” she told her. “Yes, like that. The other one, place on your hip. Lower. Mmm, perfect.” Absolutely perfect. Eve picked up her palette, and began mixing her paints. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes. A little cold.”
“You’re just nervous. It gives a nice effect, though,” she teased.
“Well, in that case.” Lainey tweaked her nipples. “All for artistic value.”
When Eve laughed, Lainey placed one hand over her heart. The sound of it was magical. Deep, throaty...sexy, and all too rare. Her eyes lit up with amusement, making the wonderful shade of gray brighter. There was a small dimple in Eve’s right cheek that Lainey hadn’t noticed before.
“That’s the first genuine laugh I’ve heard from you since I’ve been with you today,” she said, and then, as Eve’s smile faded, “Talk t
o me.”
“You moved,” was Eve’s only response.
Lainey sighed and returned to the position Eve had placed her in. “I’m sorry about the other night,” she said.
“Don’t be. I shouldn’t have called you. I didn’t take the time change into consideration, and, to be honest, I didn’t think about Jack. I’m the one who should apologize.”
“Why did you call, Eve?” Lainey asked as Eve began to paint.
“Bring your chin down a little. That’s right. To answer your question, I was upset. I made the mistake of looking at a photo that I never wanted to see.”
Lainey frowned. “A photo of what?”
“Me,” Eve replied as her brush captured all of those beautiful curves.
“I don’t understand.”
“She watched,” Eve told Lainey. “Madame Bussiere was more of a pervert than I ever expected. It was all a show to her. Not only did she watch, she took photos.”
“Oh my God.”
“I found this out when I went to find out who was talking about my past. When I called you, I had just looked at one of the photos.” Her laugh was humorless. “As though I needed a photo to remind me of the things that happened to me.”
“I’m so sorry.” Lainey hadn’t thought she could feel any worse than she already did for not being there that night for Eve. But she was wrong. Now she felt as though she had let Eve down during her most vulnerable moment. “Oh, Eve,” she said. “Is that how someone knows? Is she using these photos against you?”
Eve shook her head. “No. She’s a pervert who admitted to taking the photos for her own pleasure. I have the negatives, and she knows that if she lies to me she’ll be sorry.”
“Then who is doing this to you?”
“My father.”
“What! But how does he know?”
“He knows because he’s the one who told Madame Bussiere to use me that way.” Eve sighed. She was sorry now that she had told Lainey about the photos. She didn’t want to be thinking about this now. All she wanted now was to lose herself in painting her. “It’s a long story, and one I don’t want to get into now, but he’s the one that’s behind everything.”
Lainey was having a hard time comprehending what Eve was telling her. She just couldn’t understand how a father could do such horrific things to his daughter. But, she didn’t want to make Eve talk about it if she didn’t want to, so Lainey changed the subject.
“Tell me about the paintings you brought back,” she asked. Eve looked up at her, and the sadness in her eyes brought tears to Lainey’s eyes. She wanted to go to Eve, to hold her in her arms.
“Don’t move.” Eve stopped Lainey’s movements with the soft words. “You still want to know everything, don’t you?” she asked with a hint of reluctance in telling her everything. “I told you they were payment for services rendered, and that’s the truth. I visited one of the men – a very prominent and important man who had - used me. After a little persuasion, he signed over the paintings that were in his possession.”
“Persuasion? Did you threaten him, Eve?”
Eve held Lainey’s eyes for a moment, then turned back to the painting. “The photos came in handy,” she said simply. “It’s amazing what someone will do to keep their reputation – and family – safe.” Eve studied the strokes of paint on the canvas. It was taking shape, she thought. The painting was going to be a priceless addition to Eve’s collection when she finished. “Relax, honey. You’re tensing up.”
“How can you be so calm?”
“It’s all a façade,” Eve confessed. “There’s something else you need to know, something that you’re probably going to hear about anyway. Two FBI agents and five other men in Paris have been killed.”
Lainey’s felt her heart skip. “Why would I hear about that?”
“Because I’m going to be a suspect.”
“What? Why?” Lainey was too alarmed to sit still anymore.
“Lainey, please don’t move.”
“You’re telling me that you’re going to be a suspect in multiple murders, and you expect me to just lie here while you paint me? What’s going on, Eve?” she asked as she pulled a blanket over her naked body.
Eve sighed and laid her brush and palette down. She walked over and sat down next to Lainey. “Everyone who was murdered was tied to my father. To me.”
“But you didn’t have anything to do with it,” Lainey demanded. “Did you?”
“The five men in Paris raped me,” Eve told her. “The two FBI agents worked for my father. I didn’t kill them. But, after I got what I wanted from that ‘prominent’ man in Paris, I gave him a list of people I knew were tied to my father, and told him to take care of them.”
“Jesus.”
Lainey made a move to get up, but Eve stopped her. “I didn’t tell him to kill them, Lainey, but I don’t live in a fantasy world. I knew it would be a possibility.”
“I don’t want to hear anymore!” Lainey told her, then swore violently. “Eve, wait.”
Lainey rose, oblivious to the fact that she was still naked, and took Eve in her arms. “I’m sorry. No, don’t pull away from me. Things like this have never happened in my life, so I don’t know how to react. It’s like a bad dream, or a movie – like it’s not even real.”
She guided Eve back to the bed and sat with her. How in the hell was she supposed to respond to everything Eve was telling her? How was she going to make it right?
“I don’t know what I would do if I were in your position,” she went on. “Maybe I would do the same thing. God, I hate it that you have to go through this, and that there’s nothing I can do to help you.”
“It’s not your fight,” Eve said quietly. Lainey may have been unaware of her nudity, but Eve wasn’t. “I shouldn’t have even involved you, or told you any of this, Lainey. You shouldn’t be here.”
“But I am here, and there’s no turning back from anything that either of us has said or done.” Lainey told her. “I don’t know how to help you. Hell, I don’t even know how to help myself. But I’m here.”
Not for long, Eve thought silently. It was difficult trying not to be selfish where Lainey was concerned, especially when Lainey was sitting on Eve’s bed completely naked. She should be letting Lainey go, getting her out of harm’s reach, and that’s exactly what she was going to do.
“I want to finish this painting,” she said abruptly.
“Soon,” Lainey said, and pulled Eve to her. She had detected the distance in Eve’s eyes, could feel her slipping away, and it scared her.
“Lainey, I didn’t bring you here for this.”
“I know.” Lainey was amazed by how steady her fingers were as she unbuttoned Eve’s shirt. “You want me relaxed. So, relax me. Then you can paint me as much as you want.” She fell back slowly on the bed, bringing Eve down on top of her. “Make love to me,” Lainey whispered in Eve’s ear.
No matter how much Eve told herself this shouldn’t happen, she couldn’t stop it. One last time, she told herself. Just one. Then she would set Lainey free. Eve hoped that was true. It had to be. For Lainey’s sake. But now, Eve would savor these last moments with Lainey, a luxury she would never have with Adam. Closing her mind to everything else except the woman beneath her, she poured every bit of her heart and soul into being with her now.
Eve lay alone in her bed, studying the finished painting of Lainey. Her beautiful subject had left moments before, on her way back to her husband, her family, and Eve hadn’t moved from her position on the bed since. Now, all she had to keep her company was the painting and her memories. Each brought her a great amount of pain. Reaching over, Eve turned off the light and was instantly surrounded by a darkness and emptiness that eerily mirrored what she felt inside.
Lainey took a deep breath before opening the front door of her home, the home she shared with Jack and their sons. Every night it became increasingly difficult for her to pretend that everything was normal with her mixed emotions pressuring her to make the d
ecisions she didn’t want to make. She could still feel Eve’s hands on her, hear Eve’s breathing and soft moans in her ear, and feel their bodies entwined. Driving home, those feelings made her conscious of the warmth she felt inside. But, here and now, coming home to her husband, that warmth turned into immeasurable guilt.
Lainey laid her keys on the hall table and found herself hoping that Jack and the kids would be asleep by now so that she wouldn’t have to tell them more lies. Instead she found all three of them wrestling on the floor of the living room. She stood in the doorway for a moment, just watching them. A single tear slid down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away. She had no right to feel sorry for herself. All of this guilt was the result of choices she had made.
“I can’t do this anymore.” Lainey didn’t realize she had said the words out loud until she saw Jack look up her questioningly. Before either of them could say anything, Darren was out of his father’s arms and leaping up into hers.
“Hi, Mommy! We waited up for you.” Darren planted a loud kiss on Lainey’s cheek. “Were you at Eve’s?”
The pain in her heart worsened, but she smiled at her youngest son. “Eve sends her love,” she told him, “and she told me to tell both of you that she hopes to see you soon.” Lainey looked over at Kevin and smiled warmly at him. “Don’t I get a hug from you, too?”
Kevin bounded up from the floor and ran to her. “How much longer will you have to work late?” he asked as he hugged her.
Tears threatened again. “I thought you liked taking care of yourself,” she told him, brushing his cheek with her lips.
“I do.” He shrugged, a little embarrassed. “It’s just that I miss you.”
“Oh, honey. I miss you, too. Both of you. I’ll try not to work so much, okay?”
“Okay, Mom. Maybe Eve can come here. That way you work and we can see Eve, too,” Kevin suggested.
“Maybe.” It was the most noncommittal answer Lainey could give him, and still give him hope.
Something About Eve (An Eve Sumptor Book 1) Page 40