Chapter 1
Lilly
My fingers flick off the lights in the hall, hands pulling the door closed behind me. He’ll be there soon with any luck. I got a text a while back from him to tell me the plane had been delayed and that he was on route, he’d be about an hour late. I was just leaving for the cabin when it came in, so I sat and waited here a bit longer. I can’t wait anymore. Why should I? I thought staying here would give me less time alone out in those woods, but I’m so hungry for him, and I’ve denied myself long enough.
I’ve tried giving it all up, but just a few times a year I need someone who knows exactly what he’s doing. And they’re non-toxic. Clean. Which is more than can be said for some of the locals round here. It’s not like I’m a complete hussy. They’re thorough, too. Health checks and paperwork show they’re regularly passed as safe to do their work. This small town full of married men and ineligible bachelors I’m in is draining on a woman’s libido. Okay, so I get a reprieve every now and then when I travel to the city, and I make the very most of that, but living with my mom and dad at the age of twenty six is not helping me out in the man zone.
I walk to the car, crossing over the ridiculous stepping stones mom had put in last week. At least I’ve got money to get a place with at some point. The job pays damn well, even if it has brought me back to this town I grew up in, but I did not go through medical school to live at home with my parents. Thank god they’ve gone out for the night, because that’s given me chance to just leave a note saying I’m staying with a friend. The interrogation would have been horrendous if they’d been here.
Another thing to not love about being at home again.
I check my watch and open the car door, ready to make my way over to the lakeside cabin I’ve booked for the weekend. Heath Randers is meeting me there. That’s his name. Not that I’ll get him all weekend, but the thought would be nice if it was ever achievable. It’s not, unfortunately. And I so wish it was. Perhaps then I could lose this professional attitude I’ve come to apply to myself permanently. Enjoy life and relax in the rather lewd thoughts I have most of the day.
The engine starts and I’m out on the road as quick as I can, speeding the corners to get there. It’s not far away, but something about doing the things Heath gets me to do in my mom and dad’s house just seems repulsive. He’s something out of this world, and the only one I’ve used so far. The service offers all kinds, but his profile stood out last year when I saw him. Tall, broad, muscular. Something about his eyes, as well. They seemed nasty behind a preppy outlook. And he is nasty. Very. It starts out sweet enough, pleasant words from an educated man, but then he starts getting his bag of toys out, and what those toys can do? My god. I almost fainted last time. That was the first time.
This is the second time.
The sky is black as coal as I keep driving through the country side, roads winding deeper into the woods. I squint a little, trying to get a good view without streetlamps to help me, and slow as the ground becomes bumpy underneath the tyres. It’s eerie out here. Nothing but the dim light of the moon to light my way deeper into these trees. Thankfully, the lake comes into view after a few minutes, the expanse of it riding out to the east into yet more darkness. I crawl the edge of it, finally beginning to see some glimmer of light in the distance, and smile.
Thank god I’ve made it alive without launching myself into the inky waters.
The wheels pull to a stop as arrive and park, and I sweep the outside area looking for where his car might be. It still isn’t here that I can see. No matter, he’ll turn up soon enough. The service prides itself on never letting anyone down. I was told about it by a colleague in med school. A rich colleague. She said it was the best thing she’d ever spent money on. And then told me that a man called Bolton Bradley was exceptionally good. I looked him over first, but, like I said, Heath stood out from all the rest, including the other thirty I perused that night.
I get out and head up the rickety old path, carrying my overnight bag with me, and dig in my pockets for the keys to get in. A crack sounds out somewhere, enough to have me spinning on myself before I reach the porch. There’s nothing that I can see. Nothing but that eerie stillness and the sound of water gently lapping the shore.
“Heath?” I call out, quietly, nerves rattling me.
No more noise comes, though, so I turn and head for the cabin again.
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