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CHAPTER 4
The next day, Cassandra looked at herself in the mirror of the ladies' toilet at work. Nervously, and hating herself for feeling nervous, she smoothed her already smooth hair. She’d tied it back in its usual style for work and now tucked it firmly behind her ears.
She leaned close to check her make-up. She’d had to put slightly more on than usual today to cover the circles under her eyes. She’d arrived home late last night, and had then stayed up researching as much information about Sébastien Monfort as she could.
The fact that she hadn’t had to stay up long said it all. He rarely gave interviews. In fact, the last one had been at least two years previously.
He was the CEO of Banque Monfort and had reached that exa
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“I don’t appreciate being manipulated into this kind of situation, Monsieur Monfort.” Sébastien looked at Cassandra’s tight-lipped profile from across the other side of the car and had to subdue the urge to show her exactly how much she might appreciate being manipulated. He knew she felt the simmering tension between them too. At one point during the interview earlier, when she’d had the temerity to dig so deep, way too deep into his life, their eyes had stayed locked together for long seconds and he’d read the latent desire in those amber depths even if Cassandra tried to deny it. “I prefer to think of it as a gentle nudging.” She cast a glimpse at him and made some kind of inarticulate sound. “There was nothing gentle about it. Your unspoken threat was very clear, Monsieur Monfo
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN CHAPTER 6
Cassandra fell silent as she thought of her parents. She was acutely aware of their increasing frailty, and especially her father, who had had a quadruple bypass the previous year. With her older siblings busy with families and their own problems, the care and concern of their parents largely fell to her. Not that she minded, of course. But she was aware nevertheless that they worried about her, that they wanted to see her settled like the others. Especially after what happened to Brian. They’d finished their meal, and the plates had been cleared. She took a quick sip of coffee and avoided Sébastien’s laser-like gaze. It was as if he could see right through her head to her thoughts. She hoped the coffee would diminish the effect of the wine, which had been like liquid nectar.
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN CHAPTER 7
By the time Cassandra was standing in her tiny kitchen the next morning drinking her usual cup of tea, she felt much more in control. She only had to look around her small house to feel on firmer ground. This was reality. This was all she’d been able to afford after Brian had died. Her mouth tightened. Contrary to what everyone believed, she hadn’t been left a millionairess after her football-star husband had died in the accident. She was still picking up the pieces emotionally and financially from her five years of marriage. And, while her emotional scars might heal one day, the financial ones would be keeping her in this tiny cottage and working hard for every cent for a very long time. The truth was that Brian had left astronomical debts behind him and, because their divorce hadn’t come
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN CHAPTER 8
The shock was rapidly wearing off by the time Cassandra had stepped back into her house, followed by a tall, stunning and magnificent Sébastien Monfort. She crossed her arms and rounded on him with a scowl on her face. Once again, he was demonstrating that ability to suck in the space around him and make everything seem small and inadequate. She tried to block out the fact that he was quite simply the most gorgeous man who’d ever stood feet away from her and looked at her with an intensity that bordered on being indecent.“That…Um… That phone call was a conversation that shouldn’t have had to happen. And, just so you know, it was all your fault.” He inclined his head slightly and smiled slightly. He looked huge in her tiny living room.“I apologize, but, as
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN CHAPTER 9
Happy that she’d justified her actions to herself, and not willing to pay attention to the buzz of something in her blood when she heard the strains of her favorite blues CD coming from the sound system, she found it soothing rather than scary.“I hope you don’t mind?” Cassandra looked over to where Sébastien was bent down at the system, the material of his trousers and shirt straining over taut, hard muscles in his thighs and back. She shook her head, her mouth feeling very dry.“No… no… Cass, stop…” she whispered almost imperceptibly and took another quick sip of wine. The dinner was extremely pleasant and by the time Cassandra was taking his cleared plate from him, and apologizing again that their dinner had been on
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN CHAPTER 10
He saw the cards that had accompanied the flowers neatly lined up to show the sentence they’d spelled out. Something forceful struck him then. He’d never gone to such trouble before. Women always said yes… It was always that easy to have every woman he’d wanted. Only recently his experiences with women had always proved somewhat unsatisfactory. And now merely kissing Cassandra was making him feel like a randy teenager again, like a schoolboy on his first crush. And it was wonderful, unsettling, and somehow bothering all tied up into one cool package. Cassandra welcomed the distance as she watched Sébastien put his coat on, accentuating his shoulders, his broad back. Those wonderful shoulders that she’d just been clutching with complete abandon, because if she hadn&rsquo
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Trapped in that intimate space, Cassandra felt as if her entire body was on fire. Suddenly her shirt and tie were ridiculously restrictive. It was impossible for her to look at Sébastien. She was afraid that one glimpse would take her breath away forever. Silence thickened, but it wasn’t all that awkward. As they approached the city, Sébastien started pointing out landmarks in a neutral, deep voice. Just that alone had an effect on her body, the fine hairs standing up all over her skin. Yet it was also calming as if he was trying to soothe her. She still hadn’t looked directly at him, but then she felt his hand, warm and very real on her chin and jaw, turning her head towards him. Her eyes were huge, staring at him with a mixture of fear and trepidation.“Thank you,&rd
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN CHAPTER 12
When Cassandra reached her room, she was panting. She went straight into her own bathroom and looked in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes over-bright. Her body was too sensitive, and an ache throbbed down low in her belly and between her legs. She dropped her head, hands gripping the edge of the sink. What was going on with her? Why was she so restless? She did the right thing by leaving Sébastien alone in the living room. Cassandra went back out into the bedroom and fooled herself into believing that she was doing what she wanted by unpacking her clothes and taking out her toiletries. A silk dress slithered out of her trembling hands to the ground. After mumbling with discontent, Cassandra picked it up. She’d pulled
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