Page 70 of Close to the Edge

“The window is one-way glass so no one can see inside. Even at night you’ll be able to see the lake. That should help a little.” Shit, I sounded like a damn realtor.

She turned, wary eyes catching mine. “Help with what?”

I shrugged. “Not everyone likes being stuck in the middle of nowhere. The lake will give you something to look at.”

“I’m okay with it,” she replied, although her sleek white throat moved in a nervous swallow. I dragged my gaze away from the smooth landscape of her skin. Giving in to those insane yearnings was what had landed us here.

“Good. Security-wise, the outer doors are made of solid oak. It would take a very large ax or a sizeable explosive device to breach it. The woods for half a mile radius are part of the property. There are a few booby traps to prevent intruders.”

She frowned. “What kinds of traps?”

“Very effective ones,” I gritted out, partly to reassure her, partly to reassure myself.

She flinched; then her lips pursed.

I dragged my hands down my face and walked over to her. Every cell in my body was dying to touch her. But I’d already let too muchpersonalget in the way.

It was time to revert to Caleb Steele, Stone-Cold Fixer.

Jaw set, I moved toward the French doors. “I need to go through the cabin’s security with you. Familiarize yourself with the property.”

“Why are you being so cold?”

Her soft, bewildered words were like a punch to the gut. I steeled myself against it before turning to face her.

“You wanted to know what happened to my shoulder? I got involved with a client. Kirsten was an actress, one of my first clients. She’d made a couple of wrong choices in the past. The studio she was working with was threatening to fire her over some revealing pictures. She begged me to help. She was beautiful and I was young, foolish and...into her.” Lily’s gaze dropped and a look I couldn’t fathom crossed her face. “When she needed a car, I gave her mine. When she needed a place to stay, I asked her to move in with me.” My bitter laughter seared my throat. “Hell, I believed we were in arelationship. Right up until I found her banging the director. Even then I thought she was the victim. I punched his lights out and caused general mayhem that ensured my fledgling career tanked before it’d taken off properly. And Kirsten’s response? She went off her head because I’d just ruined her chances for another movie and decided she didn’t want me in her life after all so she tried to fucking shoot me.”

Lily blanched. “Oh, my God!”

I shrugged despite the fury of bitterness and anger dueling inside me. “Luckily, she was a very lousy shot. Anyway, if it hadn’t been for Ross’s father, I’d still be fixing problems for gangsters back in Trenton Gardens. He gave me a piece of advice, one I’d already figured out the hard way—never get involved with a client.”

A horrified little sound escaped her throat, scraping on my nerve endings. “S-so you think this is my fault?” she whispered.

I opened my mouth to sayhell, no, but then stopped. She was partly to blame. She’d gotten under my skin with her soft sympathy and her flashes of innocence and her incredible inner strength in the face of adversity and her gloriously tight body. Even now, she continued to drive me insane with her jaw-dropping beauty.

“I think my point has been proven conclusively that shit happens when you break the rules,” I said. “Besides, you were on a mission of your own, weren’t you?”

She gasped and her eyes darkened in pain. I turned away. My point was made. And I still had a stalker to catch.

“Security tour. Now.” I crossed to the French doors on the other side of the living room and stepped out onto the porch, not looking back to see if she was following.

The sky was a clear blue, and the cool air was drifting in from the lake. It was all so fucking idyllic.

When I heard her behind me, I went down wooden stairs leading to a sloping garden. A staggered limestone feature tumbled water into the rock pond one level lower and stopped next to a covered hot tub. I bypassed it, trying not to think of Lily immersed in the swirling bubbles, completely naked, with the setting sun gleaming on her glorious skin.

A few hours ago I would’ve said,forget the fucking tour, let’s go to bed.But my sex-addled brain had put her in danger.

We skirted the garden and the high stone walls to stop at the side gate. “This leads down to the lake. And a boat for a quick getaway if you need to. The code is 40998061.”

Fear sparked through the shadowed swirls in her eyes. I forced myself not to react to it.

After a few beats she placed her thumb against the panel, and the gate sprang open. The scent of pine and earth grew as we stepped onto the uneven path and walked in silence to the jetty. “Have you driven a boat before?”

“No.”

“The keys are hidden beneath the sixth slab...right here.” I tried to ignore the feel of her silky skin as I caught her arm and pointed to the wooden plank. “It’s screwed in but loose enough to pry apart in a hurry if you need to.”

The boat was a few years old but was kept in good condition and fully fueled at all times.

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