Page 49 of Reckless Games

“Adam.” I’d like to think it’s my name taking her breath away, even if I know it’s actually the sight ahead of her.

She releases my hand and walks around me into the room. The sun is setting, and at dusk, a warm glow cascades off the snow and strikes her features. Lake stands in front of the windows basking in the glow, like an angel I should have left where I found her.

Instead, I circle the room until I’m directly behind her, wrapping her in my arms like it could be enough to keep her here. Our time is running out, and even if we spend every free moment of my day together, it’s not enough.

I’m so far from working her out of my system that the mere thought I ever could is a sick joke.

“It’s beautiful.” She tips her head back against my shoulder, looking up at me.

Doesn’t matter how many filthy things I do to her, the innocence that bleeds from her expression doesn’t dull.

“Not as beautiful as you.”

She shakes her head and laughs.

I’m not joking, but she’ll never look at herself the way I see her. Absolute perfection that doesn’t need altering. The fact that her ex made her feel like less of herself for wanting different things than him tempts me to track him down just to make him regret ever making Lake feel like less.

She shouldn’t have to give up a fraction of herself for a man. Even if that man is me. Which is why on New Year’s, I’ll let her go, even if I’m never going to recover.

Lake is the vault my heart is trapped in.

“This manor used to belong to my mom’s family,” I say, sharing a piece I don’t usually share with anyone.

At least with her, I know she’ll keep these secrets safe.

Lake looks up at me at my comment, confusion painting her beautiful face. Probably surprised I’m sharing things with her unprompted since I’ve been hesitant to do this so far.

“After she died, my father didn’t want anything to do with it. So when I was eighteen, he signed the deed over to me.”

“I’m sorry.” Lake spins in my arms, and I guide her to the couch, where she sits facing me. “I didn’t know you lost your mom.”

I nod. It’s not something I’ve talked about since it happened. Not even when Dad forced me into therapy after the incident.

Lake must sense the darkness brewing, because she stays silent, watching whatever emotion crosses my face.

“My brothers were little, so I don’t think they remember as much as I do. But I was fifteen, and I’m the one who found her.”

“Found her?” The words hit like a gavel.

Her eyebrows pinch as her voice turns to a whisper.

“She was murdered.” Somehow twenty years later it still feels almost impossible to say out loud. “My dad made a number of enemies building his empire, and she paid the price.”

Lake swallows hard, her grip on my hands tightening. “Is that why you don’t let anyone in?”

“Probably.”

It’s the best guess, and likely what my therapist would have told me if I’d given her a chance. After Mom died, I haven’t let anyone close.

Not until Lakeyn.

“I’m sorry, Adam. That’s terrible.” Her thumbs brush the backs of my hands.

And even if I normally hate when people say they’re sorry about my mom’s death, I don’t mind it from Lake. From her, it’s genuine.

“I forgot what it was like to see past the anger and revenge.” I reach up and cup her jaw. “You’re the first thing I’ve felt in years. And from the first moment I saw you, I couldn’t let go of the girl who made me feel alive, no matter how sick it made me.”

A tear puddles at her lashes, running a beautiful river down her cheek that catches on my hand.

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