Page 66 of My French Love Affair

Once she realised there was no use fighting it, that Ialwayswin.

And I wouldn’t stop. Not until I ruined her for anyone else.

Not until she wasmine.

The release slams into me like a punch to the gut, pleasure ripping through me so hard that a deep groan rumbles low in my chest, my body stiffening against the tiled wall.

The water pounds over me as I brace myself, steadying my breath, my heart still hammering, pulse still racing, body still thrumming with the aftershocks.

I should feel better now. Lighter.

But I don’t. If anything, I feelworse.

This isn’t me. I don’t let my focus slip like this. I don’t get caught up in distractions.

And Poppy is nothing if not a distraction.

I push off the wall, shutting off the water and dragging a towel around my waist as I step out of the shower.

The cool air in the suite does nothing to settle me. It’s beyond frustrating.

I need to pull myself together.

Tomorrow, I’ll be back to normal. Back to focus. Back towinning.

And Poppy?

She won’t cross my mind again.

I’ll make sure of it.

Chapter Twenty

Poppy

Iwake up to the sound of aggressive rustling and the distant clinking of coffee cups.

I groan, cracking one eye open, fully prepared to tell whoever is moving around to shut up - but then I remember where I am.

Monaco.

And then, after a few more seconds, the rest of it comes flooding back - particularly the events of last night.

Jacques’ ridiculous mansion. The dancing. The drinking.

The utter humiliation of discovering that the man I had been verbally sparring with for the last twenty-four hours is, in fact, a Formula One driver.

I groan again, louder this time, rolling onto my stomach and pressing my face into the pillow.

Nope. I’m not dealing with this today.

Unfortunately, the universe has other plans.

“Rise and shine, my loves!” Leah says in a sing-song voice, appearing out of nowhere with a suspicious amount of energy for someone who has been missing in action for mostof this trip.

Jas groans from the other bed, and I crack my eye open just in time to witness her blindly reaching for a pillow and chucking it in Leah’s general direction.

“Get out.”

---