I can feel him. The hair on my arms stands up and my skin pebbles.
I can feel him.
He’s a force that only my body seeks. I turn and grab a hold of the end of the table.
Edge stands in front of me. I swear to God it’s as though someone took a sharp object and inserted it into my heart.
“Sweet Mary and Jesus,” Doug mutters. I place my hand on his to silence him. My eyes devour Edge as though I’ve been starved for years and offered a piece of meat.
He’s gotten taller, bigger.
Fuck.
My brain screams danger over and over as he moves closer. I have to move. He’s going to invade my space so that it’s just the two of us. We’ll be wrapped up like a Christmas present and I’ll be caught.
Ensnared.
His addictive smell of cinnamon and smoke fills my lungs. And for an insane minute, I wonder if this is one of my nightmares or daydreams.
I blink. His face is so different. He’s matured, and with his deep auburn hair and his strong chiseled chin, he’s almost striking. As if on automatic, I lick my lips—they seem to need his mouth.
Gone are his freckles. Jesus… gone is the boy. What stands in front of me is a man. With turquoise eyes that look like something you never want to mess with.
Edge was good. He had a strength that made him fearless, but this man is not that. This man is a force and fucking scary. What has happened to him?
His full lips curl into a grin, but it makes me shiver instead of reassuring me.
I have to pull myself out of shock and make sure he knows he can’t intimidate me. I need to tell him off. That disrespectful stare alone should make me slap him.
The eyes, baby. Always watch a person’s eyes—they’ll tell you everything. My brain is chaotic, the music and lights adding a sense of the unknown. It’s impossible to get my mind around the old Edge and the one who stands before me.
My chin goes up as I try to match his coldness. Because he’s not looking at me with love or even lust. He doesn’t even have a glimmer of excitement at seeing me. He’s nothing but dead calm. His well-defined chest, covered in a tight, dark shirt, is steady and moves up and down slowly. Unlike me. God, I think I might have a panic attack.
How? He can’t be this unaffected by my presence. I can’t faint, I can’t, I keep chanting in my head.
I take another deep breath and my cheeks burn. This time, there’s a spark of something in his eyes. It’s not what I secretly want or thought I would always have. Holy fuck, he hates me.
My hands go to my neck. As if that can protect me from his energy.
Danger.
I open my mouth to say something. But he’s not looking at my face—his eyes are trailing up and down my body, stripping me of my dress. His blue eyes aim at my breasts, and goddamnit, my nipples get hard.
A small hiss comes as I take in rapid gasps. The tiny silver straps that are fastened around the back of my neck feel as though they’re going to disintegrate beneath his stare.
“How long have you been out?” My voice sounds like it belongs to a different person.
I’m not sure why that’s the first thing I say to him or what I expect him to say back. Maybe explain why? Fucking why?
His eyes travel away from my breasts up to my lips. I may start wheezing. My heart is pounding; I feel it in my temples as I wait for his moment of truth, some explanation as to why and how we’ve gotten to this point.
“You cut your hair.”EDGE
Eighteen years oldI saw her the moment we stepped foot in the VIP area. Like a rabid dog smelling a bitch in heat, I find her.
I stay back in the dark. The crowd lets me blend in as my eyes feast on her petite form. She’s more stunning than ever. Her body has curves and her breasts are making my cock hard. I take a minute to watch her, she’s with some skinny rocker punk. Not what I would ever think Dolly would be into. I hope he’s a friend and nothing more. I don’t want to kill him.
“My hair?”
Her enraged voice pulls me back to the now. I react fast enough to stop her claws from getting any skin. I grab her wrist and jerk her body against my chest.
“Don’t you dare,” I growl into her ear.
“My hair?” She leans back and screams. “That’s all you have to say to me?”
“Let go of her. We’re leaving.” The dark-haired punk sounds outraged as he reaches to take her away from me and everything in my brain goes silent. I turn and stare.