Page 71 of Close to the Edge

She hopped down before I could help her, and then took a step away from me. I gritted my teeth against the grating discomfort in my chest and pointed to the ignition. “Twist to the left and hold. Engine should kick in. Then push the lever. Ignore everything else.”

“It looks pretty straightforward.”

“It might not be if you’re panicking,” I bit out.

Her cheeks lost color, but she nodded. “Understood.”

We returned to the house and I took her round the lower level to another door. “Same code as the gate but backward.”

“16089904,” she repeated instantly.

Hell, even scrambling to maintain distance, I couldn’t help but admire her incredible brain.

The large room that doubled up as a games room and gym took up most of the square footage of the cabin. It was also self-contained enough to use as a sleeping place for the odd bodyguard or two when needed.

I bypassed the doors connecting the short hallway to the stairs leading up and headed to the far wall. When she joined me, I pushed on the fourth wooden panel. A five-foot partition sprang open to reveal a small spiral staircase. “This takes you straight up into the kitchen. After you.”

She sprinted up lithely on the balls of her feet. I took the stairs much slower, unable to take my eyes off the ass that’d cradled my cock in the shower this morning.

Her steps slowed as she neared the top.

“Is there a problem?” The question emerged with a tight croak.

I stopped two steps below her, keeping us at eye level. Close enough for me to lean forward and taste the sinfully gorgeous mouth currently pinched with tension. I locked my knees hard and reminded myself that my wayward cock had brought us to this.

“You didn’t bring in your bag from the car. And you’ve just given me a very detailed tour. Why?”

Chains shackled my chest. “Because I’m returning to Palo Alto.”

“You’re leaving.” The statement was final and chilled.

Unaccustomed dread slowly filled my chest.

I’d pushed her into accepting that what happened with us was a mistake, and yet seeing that acceptance in her eyes had lodged a cold, hard ball in my gut.

I braced a hand against the banister as another truth bit me hard. I’d told her totrust me. And had done zero to back it up.

My failures, rehashed just a few short hours ago, slashed me in half.

Bitter laughter seared my throat as patterns were laid bare.

My success rate with jobs that didn’t require emotional expenditure was near perfect. Those I allowed myself to care about were doomed to failure. My mother. Then Kirsten. Now Lily.

And yes...I cared about Lily. Hell, I was damned surecaringwas too mild a word for it.

I gathered every last scrap of emotion, knotted it into a cold ball, and buried it deep. Then I forced a nod, despite my veins beginning to fill with icy water. “I can’t find your stalker stuck here with you. I need to get back, rattle a few cages.”

Her eyes, no longer that gorgeous shade of green I loved, shadowed even further. Then she gathered that admirable strength and nodded. “I see. You better get to it then.”

Something that tasted uncannily like anguish billowed up from my feet to lodge in my throat. No amount of bracing myself could prevent it saturating every corner of my being as I watched her walk to the sofa and snatch up her satchel.

“Lily.” I said her name for the simple, selfish reason that I couldn’t bear the distance between us.

She glanced impatiently at me. “What?”

I pointed to the fridge. “You didn’t have any breakfast. You need to eat something.”

Her gaze swung blankly to the fridge. Then she frowned. “I’m not hungry.”

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