Page 47 of Over the Edge

“I do not—“ she started.

He cut her off lightly. “I’ve been with you day and night for a year and observed you under the most extreme duress. Hell, I just watched you do the hardest thing you’ll ever do. I’m your swim buddy. I know you better than you know yourself.”

“Then by that logic, I know you better than you know yourself,” she retorted.

“Possibly.”

“Congratulations,” she mumbled.

“For what?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “For successfully distracting me.”

“See? You knew what I was doing, there.” A pause. Then he added, “But I doubt you know everything about me.”

“Wanna bet?” she retorted. “You considered ditching the fight, exposing your back to the bad guys, and coming to protect me where I was hiding because you were worried that I would get hurt.”

“Well...hell.”

“I rest my case,” she declared.

He studied her for long enough that she had to suppress an urge to fidget. Then he surprised her by saying quietly, “Just when I think I know everything about you, you go and surprise me.”

“Because I’m predictable?”

“Because you’re not.”

“Is that good or bad?” she asked cautiously.

“As a SEAL, that’s fantastic. As long as your teammates are clued in to what you’re going to do. In our personal relationship…let’s just say you keep me off balance more often than not.”

Personal relationship, huh? It was one thing to fantasize about being with him. It was another altogether to be faced with the reality. In training, he was quietly intense. Demanding. She had no reason to believe he would be different in a relationship.

Or in bed.

Double gulp.

He murmured, “What do you need right now? We have about an hour before we have to leave for tonight’s dog and pony show.”

Whatdidshe need?’ “I honestly don’t know.” Flummoxed, she looked down at her hands clasped in her lap. And that was when she spied her fingernails, their tips black in the faint moonlight. Oh, God. That was blood.

Abruptly horrified, she scrubbed at the stains.

“Stop,” Trevor said sharply.

She looked up at him, appalled.

“Don’t move,” he ordered. “Let me take care of it.”

“But—“

“Anna. I’ll always catch you when you fall. I’ve got you.”

CHAPTERTEN

She believed him.

He’d never let her down before, and he wouldn’t now.

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