Page 15 of Unlawful Lies

“I like being your dirty little secret,” he admits in a low undertone. If he wasn’t so close to me then I would have missed his words entirely. As it is, he’s in my space, and the statement becomes a physical caress, slicking along my skin.

“You’re not,” I insist. “You invited yourself if you remember.”

“Sneaking into your compound in the dead of night certainly feels like I’m a secret.”

He follows a step behind me along the trails up toward the second-story house. Not a house, I mentally correct, only four walls in a compound. Has it ever been a home?

I go tense, every one of my nerves awake and attuned to the positions of the guards on the property. We haven’t had an attack in over six months, and that works in our favor tonight. Not that the men patrolling are complacent but they’re not looking for trouble. Not expecting it.

Edward is silent on our way inside, the lights off and only a dull glow from the hallway showing the way forward.

I lock the door behind us and sling the curtains shut to block out the outside world. When I turn around, Edward is there, stealing every atom of oxygen from my lungs with his presence.

Oh, lord.

I swallow hard enough for him to hear. This is a terrible idea.

“You look good enough to eat, little fox,” he whispers. “This dress is the perfect color for you.”

Where he is dark as night, I’m the first peony blooming in spring, the button-up dress coming all the way up to my chin. I thought it would make me demure. Instead, I'm ready to choke.

I point a warning finger at him, digging it into his chest and attempting to step around him without further touching. There’s plenty of space in the living room to avoid him. Yet Edward steps with me and blocks off my path. He cuts off my escape.

Suddenly, my brain fractures. How do I play this? He’s not a toy. What would a girl like me do in this situation with a boy if we were normal?

I stop myself. Edward is no boy, and I’m far from normal. He’s too dangerous for me to drop my guard for even a second. He’s definitely too dangerous for me to focus on the kiss we shared and its effect on me.

Worry has taken its toll on me if my cuticles are an indication.

“We’re not going to be effective if you won’t let me through,” I tell him sweetly.

Edward rubs his chin, and my teeth grind together. “You’re right. I can’t help myself when I’m around you. There is something about you, Nicola…” he trails off. “Something I can’t ignore.”

He’s going to have to help himself, just like I am.

“Think about it later. Right now, we’re trying to search my house to look for a stupid painting.”

It still rankles me to think that Edward wants to start here, but at least I’m on my turf. The roles are not reversed, where he’s the one sneaking me into his house. Talk about unsteady footing.

Finally, I push past him, shoulder-checking him on the way, and his loaded chuckle trails me to the far corners of the room.

It’s too damn late for any of this; my situation is locked and loaded. My head and my heart pound in unison even as alarm bells go off inside of me. Having Edward here is a huge risk, and I have no clue what’s going to happen if someone finds us together.

Without saying a word, we head for the office, the logical first place to check. The chill on my skin is contagious and spreads to every extremity.

“Your father has secrets, little fox,” Edward whispers. “How do you feel about finding some of them out tonight?”

His hand skims my lower back to push me along, get me moving faster. Apparently, I’m too slow for his taste.

A racecar is too slow for him.

“I know my father,” I argue softly, although the tone gives the words a decided lack of punch. “He isn’t capable of doing the things people say he is. He deserves to go to hell and sit on the evil’s lap, but…” Do I tell Edward I think his dad is looking for an excuse to strike?

I worry my lower lip.

“Yes?” he prompts. Knocking me with his pelvis in time with the word.

I gulp again, louder this time. “I think this is all a ploy.” There. Now it’s out in the open.

---