Page 130 of On Edge

Then he picks me up in his arms and jumps, taking me with him.

We’re falling. The wind screams past my ears as his name tears from my throat. We hit the water hard, and the cold crushes me instantly, then I sink into blackness.

I can’t move or breathe.

I can’t do anything.

Instead, I descend, feeling my lungs burn. My life, as sheltered as it was, flashes before my eyes.This is how he murders me,is the last thought I have before it all becomes dark, and the water wraps around me like strong arms welcoming me home.

29

TROY

I’ve killed her.

That morbid thought stays with me when she doesn’t surface after me. The water is pitch black, but I find her somehow and haul her up. Then I swim her to shore, her cold, lifeless body weightless in the water until I drag her out of it. But she’s alive when I give her mouth-to-mouth.

She splutters up dirty lake water, her chest rising, barely. No time to waste calling for help.

I need to get her inside.

As I carry her into the house and take her straight to the sitting room, I consider putting her in a hot bath, but the water takes forever to heat up in this house. Luckily, when I get there, the fire is still lit, though it’s not supposed to be. Kathy has taken to ignoring my orders, which, for once, I’m grateful for.

I wrap Sage in towels and place her next to the hearth, and then focus on getting the fire going, fumbling with the wood and the twists of newspaper. My fingers are stiff, and my hands are shaking. Once the flames are catching, making me wince with every damn crack of timber, I return my attention to Sage.

She’s barely looking at me, shivering with blue lips and deathly pale skin. I rub her arms through the blanket, but it’s obvious she needs to get dry and warm.

I should get Kathy.

But as I walk to the door, I know that’s too slow. Getting the housekeeper from the third floor will take time that she might not have.

For Christ’s sake, it wasn’t supposed to hurt her, just scare her and prove to her how ridiculous her accusation is. It didn’t help that I was pissed waking up alone, head pounding, without my damn key. I thought she could swim! And why did she fight me when I tried to bloody well save her?

I stalk over to where she’s huddled and crouch down, making her look at me. “Sage. I need to take off your…clothes. Do I have your permission?”My voice is harsher than I intend it to be.

She stares back and eventually nods.

At least she’s not wearing much. If she had been wearing that wool dress, it might have dragged her down further. Mercy would be helpful right about now, too, but the razor was lost when Sage tried to cut me with it. I settle for taking her underwear off the old-fashioned way, unhooking her bra, and easing her out of her wet pants. I take note of her injuries: scraped knees and cut palms from running away from me.

This is all my fault.

But I just saw red.

I let the monster out, and this is what happens.

It doesn’t take long until she’s dry, then I grab some fresh blankets from the ottoman next to the couch and wrap them around her. Under the glow of the fire, she looks white as a sheet, and she’s mumbling, not making much sense.

“Nell w-was…d-down there. I have t-to…g-go back.” Her lower lip trembles. Fuck, she’s not warming up. The fire isn’t hot enough yet, and it’s only warming one side of her.

“Shhhhhh. I’ve got you.” I make a split decision to drag off my own wet clothes, throw on the spare running shirt and joggers I keep in my office, and huddle under the blankets with her. Then I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight.

I’m not cold, far from it.

My blood is boiling, my skin is fire, being so close to open flames…

And toher.

Slowly, Sage stops shaking, but I keep staring at the fire. For once, the heat and the flames don’t bother me as much; not when there’s a beautiful woman, naked, pressed against me, so damn close I dare not move. I’m so fucking hard. All I can think about is the feel of her silky soft skin, and the thorny scent of wild lavender clinging to her.