Jokerman Read Online Free Page A

arms were already around her, his hands splaying across her back, roving. She twined her own arms round his neck, her mouth seeking his, hard. Hoisting her thighs up around him, she pressed her pelvis against his.
    Somehow she tore her face away and pressed her lips against his ear. ‘Now. Here. I want you.’
    ‘No,’ he murmured.
    ‘I want it. You want it.’
    ‘But we can’t.’
    Gently but firmly he gripped her hair and lifted her head back so he could look into her eyes. She saw his pupils, dilated with desire, crowding out the dark blue irises.
    ‘It’s too risky. This is already too risky.’
    ‘You’re a soldier,’ she mocked. ‘Risks are what you take.’
    ‘None of them were ever as big as this.’
    She felt him tense, his eyes flicking away. A moment later she heard the door to the restroom open and two chattering women’s voices enter.
    Emma was relieved the doors to the cubicles didn’t have large gaps beneath them, so that James’s feet wouldn’t be visible.
    They kept very still, while the women’s conversation continued even as they positioned themselves in adjoining cubicles. The toilet sounds, shockingly near, made Emma glance sharply into James’s eyes. He was biting his lip, trying not to laugh, and Emma felt her own face contort. Desperately she forced it under control.
    At last the women finished their business, washed their hands and left. Emma released a soft laugh that was more like a sob. James shook his head.
    ‘Jesus,’ he muttered. ‘One of these days...’
    He released her. She clung to his neck but he was already pushing her away.
    ‘Monday,’ he said. ‘I’m off in the evening.’
    ‘It’s too long to wait,’ she said.
    ‘We’ll have to.’ He tipped his head to the door of the cubicle. ‘Go on. You first.’
    She gave him a last, lingering kiss, searing his lips with hers, and slipped out. When she’d checked the coast was clear, she rapped on the cubicle door and strode away.
    He emerged into the corridor a few seconds later and they continued their journey towards the underground garage where her car was waiting, the chauffeur already behind the wheel. Apart from a brief nod of thanks, she didn’t interact with James again. Didn’t look back as the car pulled away.
    In the back of the car she took out a small compact and checked herself in the mirror. Lipstick a little smeared. She’d have to be more careful in future.
    She studied her face. Not bad for thirty-seven. Not bad at all. Her skin tone was still fresh, and the lines were minimal, apart from the tiniest wisps radiating from the corners of her eyes when she smiled.
    No, she didn’t mind looking at her face at all. Except her eyes. Emma had difficulty gazing into her eyes for any length of time, because of what she saw there.
    A woman who was cheating on her husband. With one of the most trusted bodyguards of the Director of MI5.
    She forced herself to study her reflection for a few seconds more, then put the mirror away.
    Through the window, the great sweep of the Thames drew Emma’s eye northwards. The magnificence of the view crowded out the stab of guilt she’d felt when… well, when she’d remembered what she was, and what she was doing.
    Four days. Then she and James would be together, for a few stolen hours.
    Until then, it was business as usual. Taking the kids to karate and ballet classes, joshing with Ulyana, their live-in nanny, and maintaining the fiction that she had much in common with the woman, joining the other members of the Residents’ Association to plan their strategy when they confronted the council about the proposed new supermarket in the area.
    Living in harmony with Brian. Dependable, affable Brian, who’d never done a single thing to hurt her. And whom she was now deceiving in the most clichéd way.
    Emma closed her eyes, leant back in the seat, and gave herself over to thoughts of her next meeting with James.

Five
     
    By the time Purkiss unlocked the door to his