Chapter One

Chapter One

San Francisco
Monday, January 16
15:15:47

“What does it matter what she looks like?” Caleb Edge said into the phone, hoping like hell the dark, primal lust drumming through his veins didn’t bleed into his voice. He frowned absently at his control’s odd question as he shifted the compact sat phone between chin and shoulder, and the binocs left an inch for a better view.

A San Francisco street and a shitload of swirling fog separated the two apartment windows. The lights over there were on. The lights here weren’t.

Desire tightened his body and clogged his throat. His heart, which was normally as steady as a rock, still pounded uncomfortably sixty seconds after he’d lifted the binoculars to his eyes and taken his first look at her.

Bam! Caleb felt as though someone had punched him in the solar plexus, grabbed his heart, and squeezed. Hard.

That’s what Heather Shaw looked like.

Not that he’d share his physical reaction with his control, Lark Orela. She was like a frigging dog with a bone if she thought her people weren’t focused. Unfortunately he was plenty focused.

“Earth to Edge?”

“She looks . . . I don’t know.” Classy. Beautiful. “Deluxe, expensive,” he told Lark smoothly. His heart was racing, he assured himself, because his goddamned knee hurt like hell. He leaned a little more of his weight on the shoulder he had propped against the wall.

Heather had pushed the sleeves of the soft-looking purple sweater up her creamy forearms while she wo