The Edge Page 8

  He slowed and she hefted the bat again. “You’re fucking crazy,” he announced as he scrambled to open the door.

  “I’m not the one fucking some whore in his girlfriend’s bedroom.”

  “You weren’t supposed to be home for another two hours.”

  She chucked a dish he’d given her at him. “That’s your excuse, because I came home early? If I see you again, I won’t be responsible for my actions.” She pointed the bat at them. “Get out.”

  There were people out in the hall as she forced the two naked cheater out of her place. She noticed her neighbors looking, eyes wide.

  Damion covered his dick but left the girl all the way exposed. She couldn’t cover anything since her hands were still cuffed behind her back. The nipple clamps and chain sparkled beneath the light.

  Mary hefted the bat once more but didn’t leave her doorway. “I hope you two are very happy together.”

  “What about my music collection and movies?” he demanded.

  “They’ll be outside by morning.” She stepped back inside and slammed the door. Mary caught her reflection as she passed a mirror. Hair in disarray, blood on her scrub top and bags beneath her eyes. Not what passed as a sane person.

  “Arrgh!” she screamed, swinging the bat once more and taking off pictures from where they sat on a small end table.

  Dropping the bat, she propped her hands on her hips and took several deep breaths. She wasn’t upset that she had lost Damion, she was pissed she’d not known he was cheating on her.

  She headed to the kitchen to grab the broom and many plastic bags—there was a lot of bedding to put in the incinerator—when her phone rang. She ignored it and got to work. Three hours later, house purged of anything Damion or his whore, she slumped down on the couch and tipped up the beer in her hand.

  Her phone rang again and she reached for it. “Hello?”

  When she got it, her heart stopped, the beer slid to the floor and spilled as she got the news.

  * * * *

  Ronald Glennon finished rinsing off the fire truck outside the one and only fire station in the town of The Edge. They were having a parade today and as usual they had to have their vehicles spotless. He didn’t mind. Most of the time he fought with machines as he tried to fix them so people could continue farming.

  Handling a hose was easy and something not even he could fuck up. He cracked a smile as he thought about the fun that was going to be had today. Small towns may not be everyone’s thing, but he loved his. Loved how he knew the people here, how he didn’t have to wonder who someone was and what they were doing in his store. He knew the diner’s specials and could tell the day of the week by what Mrs. Lima served. Or perhaps that was the other way around. He could tell what was being served by the day of the week it was. Either way, this slower life was what he wanted.

  He waved at Mr. Johns as he drove by in his older model Crown Vic. About three minutes later the next vehicle drove by. This one he didn’t recognize. A brown Durango. He couldn't make out who the driver was, but they weren’t driving slow like most tourists who came through town. He finished cleaning up and hopped in his truck to head home and eat before the parade began at two.

  As he drove he passed the gas station and noticed that same vehicle. The woman filling up the tank had long black hair and a hat pulled down over her face, and she had a killer figure. He whistled under his breath as he went by. Hot.

  Back at the station before the parade, he drew on his turnout pants. Leaving the suspenders hanging down, he smiled at Lucas, another of the firefighters in town.

  “Where’d you go?”

  “Home for something to eat. I’ve been here all damn morning. Why? Something happen?”

  “Nope, just curious, you know. Did you bring food to share?”

  “I cook here occasionally but no, I didn’t bring you anything, Lucas. I swear, man, you eat all the time. How is it you don’t weigh over five hundred pounds?”

  His friend smoothed his hands down his sides. “I got me the good genes.”

  Ronald snorted and brushed by him. “That means your sister didn’t? I’m afraid you’ll be needing to see the doctor if she hears about that.”

  “So don’t tell her.”

  “Don’t worry, she’s likely to kill the messenger so I won’t be mentioning your delusions to her.”

  They jumped up on the truck as it pulled out of the station. He had a wonderful time, and enjoyed seeing the children get to explore the truck and play with the equipment. They passed out candy and had fun.

  Afterward he went to Dreamer’s Feed & Equipment to get to work on a combine part he had to repair. As it neared closing, he’d begun cleaning up when the bell announcing a customer jingled.

  He ran a hand through his hair and left the back to find out who it was and what they needed. His heart thundered in his chest as he laid eyes on the woman he’d seen at the gas station. She moved up the aisle toward him, hips swaying with a natural rhythm within her blue jeans. Her green shirt barely hid her curvaceous figure. She may not have been rail thin, but she was fit and moved with a grace many didn’t have.

  Her rectangular shades covered her eyes and he wanted to remove them to see their color.

  “May I help you?”

  Her full lips twitched as if she had a private joke and he wasn’t part of it.

  “I surely hope so.”

  Holy fuck, her voice reached out and curled around his cock, stroking it to instant hardness. He crossed his arms and waited.

  “I’m here to pick up an oil pump for the Meyers Farm.”

  He nodded. “Sure thing, let me go grab it for you.”

  Ronald went to where he’d placed the pump and grabbed it off the shelf. Taking a moment to readjust his dick, he then turned and walked back to her. “Here you go.” He placed it on the countertop.

  “Thanks, Ron.”

  His brows converged. “I’m sorry, have we met?”

  A brief smile flickered across her lips. “We have.” She dipped her head and stared at him over the rims of her glasses.

  The intense blue of her eyes told him who it was. Only one family had that incredible shade of blue eyes. The Meyers family. It wasn’t Jenn—her he’d already seen. Which left one other. Mary.

  “Mary.”

  Her smile was a bit larger this time. “That’s me. How have you been?”

  “Busy. I was sorry to hear about your father.”

  The sadness filled her expression again as she nodded. “Thanks. And can you put this on the tab?”

  “Sure thing. Just got back in town today?”

  “I did.” She reached out and picked up the pump.

  He stared at her short nails with clear polish on them. Strong hands, yet feminine. He didn’t want her to go. She’d been behind him in school. He’d been in the same grade as her twin siblings. The two oldest.

  “Are you okay?” He reached out and touched her forearm.

  She covered her mouth with one hand as the tears spilled free and shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. You don’t need a crying woman in here.”

  The door opened again and without thought, he brought her around the counter. “Take a seat in the back, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  One bad thing about small towns was that everyone knew everyone else’s business, whether they wanted it out or not, and he was pretty sure Mary didn’t want others in town to know she’d started to cry. With a thankful smile, she slipped away, leaving him to face Mr. Putnam.

  Chapter Two

  Dabbing at her eyes with some tissue papers, Mary shook her head. “I can’t believe I fell apart like that in front of Ron.” It had just hit her all at once, everything she’d gone through in the past few days. And all it took, apparently, was someone asking her if she was all right to break the dam holding back her tears.

  He’d grown up oh-so nice. A ginger. She loved them. And Ron was built, fit and so easy on the eyes. She wiped her tears again and rested her chin on h
er knees. With her feet propped on the cushion with her, she had her lids shut when she felt someone else in the room with her.

  Ever so slowly, she cracked her eyes open, and stared up at Ron. He stood there holding out a mug. Putting her feet on the floor, she reached for it, grateful for the heat that met her as she took the porcelain.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  He sat beside her, angled his body to hers and stared. “Do you want me to call someone for you?”

  “God no. They have enough to worry about without the baby of the family being unable to handle it all.” She curled her other hand around the mug and inhaled the rich fragrance. Cinnamon apple tea. One of her favorites. Mary took a few quick sips and moaned her appreciation.

  “I’m sure they don’t think that way.”

  “You know, minutes before I got the call about my dad, I’d just walked in my apartment to find my boyfriend—who didn’t live there—fucking some whore in my bed. I picked up a baseball bat and chased them out, naked. Then I get this call and have to come home. Don’t get me wrong, I want to be home with them, but I’m still treated like the baby here. It’s like I don’t live on my own or have a job. Nothing’s changed since I was a kid.” A sob caught in her throat but then it escaped. Followed by five more.

  The tears began again.

  “I can’t speak for your family but I’m sure they don’t mean to treat you that way. And as for the dumbass ex, that’s his loss. I don’t know why any man would cheat on you.”

  He took the tea from her and pulled her tight to his chest. Lord, he smelled delicious. She accepted the silent support and comfort. Christ, how much time had passed since she’d been held like this? Far longer than she could recall.

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  His words were murmured against her ear, bringing with another reminder of something that had been long neglected. Her.

  A self-deprecating laugh escaped and she shook her head. “I don’t think you’d be interested in truly doing that. This has been more than I could have hoped for, so thank you for that.”

  She pushed the heels of her hands against her eyes, willing the damn tears to cease. Ron gripped her wrists and pulled them away, showing her his deep amber eyes that she swore were filled with desire.

  “Name it, Mary.”

  The devil on her shoulder wasn’t giving her any leeway and it stabbed her numerous times with the pitchfork, but she ignored it. Swallowing back the words, she shook her head once more.

  He settled his hand along her cheek and skimmed his thumb along the seam of her mouth. His gaze dropped to her lips before he sighed and pulled it back up to her eyes. The action happened twice more before he leaned closer and used his firm mouth on hers.

  Warmth shot out from where they touched and spiraled to all the parts of her she’d long since believed dead. It was more than basic pleasure and need that hit her. This was raw, decadent craving for the man touching her.

  She dug her nails into her palms in a desperate attempt to keep them to herself instead of flattening her hands against his rock-hard torso. He didn’t force himself into her mouth. He teased her and moved his featherlight touch back and forth across her lips.

  Mary opened and welcomed his tongue as it slipped along hers to delve deep. Drugging, sensuous strokes pushed wave after wave of electrical fire through her veins. A feeling she didn’t want to lose. This was one emotion she enjoyed instead of the deadness that had been inside her since the call.

  She leaned closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, skimming her nails along the nape of his neck before threading her fingers into his hair. A low rumble left him and vibrated its way through her body. Her pussy clenched and she shifted on the seat, desperate to be closer to him.

  Ron picked her up and placed her on his lap as he rested back against the sofa. She ground against the hard length in his jeans as she got as close as she could. He pushed his hands up beneath her shirt, skimming along the planes of her back. His work-roughened skin only added to her need.

  Her belly was in knots as she rocked against him. Body primed and ready, her pussy was wet she knew it wouldn’t take much to push her over the edge. Ron squeezed her ass as he thrust his hips up, bringing an even tighter connection between them.

  “Mary,” he rasped, dragging his mouth off hers and shoving a hand deep into her hair, grasping a fistful.

  “This, please.”

  His amber stare held hers before he kissed her again. “Yes,” he promised.

  Mary closed her eyes as he lifted off her shirt. This, this was what she needed.

  * * * *

  Ron rolled over and fell. “Shit!” He braced for impact and found he was in the back office of the shop. Naked.

  In a flash, memories slammed into him and he remembered Mary and all her beauty back here with him. He’d made long slow love to her until her tears no longer fell and all he saw in her eyes was hunger for him.

  But where was she now? One lamp burned but she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. He dressed with speed and as he shoved into his boots, he made up the couch so it didn’t look like two horny teens had used it for a secret rendezvous.

  He smiled. I’m past being a horny teen but I’m thinking this was a rendezvous.

  Lord help him, but she had been incredible. Passionate and demanding with what she wanted. Nothing at all like the quiet girl he recalled from school. Honestly, what he remembered of her was that she was feisty when she was pushed, but otherwise she held quiet and stayed in the background, often overshadowed by her siblings.

  She’d not been quiet with him. Nor shy. He rolled his shoulders and smirked as the sting from her nails reminded him she’d torn into him when she had come hard. Multiple times.

  Walking through the store, he made sure that everything was okay, locked it all then headed for his vehicle. The oil pump no longer sat where he’d put it, so he figured she had taken it with her. He lived where he’d grown up, his parents having passed and left it to him. He hadn’t felt the urge to leave the town not even when he lost them. This was his home.

  He waved at Davis who rolled by in his patrol car. The man returned the gesture with a smile. Ron checked his watch and found it was nearing midnight.

  When did she leave? Why didn’t she wake me and why didn’t I hear her?

  Hopping in his truck, he thought about his minx in bed before he turned over the engine. It didn’t take him to long to get home and he parked in the driveway. Once inside, he headed straight for a shower and the waiting mattress. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

  He was at the bakery when it opened, needing to get a box of donuts for the store. As he waited for his order to be filled, he stood by the large picture window and stared out over the quiet street of The Edge. His skin prickled and he turned in time to see Mary walk in, followed by her brother, Patrick.

  Yep, it wasn’t a one-time thing for him. He wanted her again.

  They spoke amongst themselves in hushed voices.

  “Good morning, Patrick and Mary.” Mrs. Millie handed him his box.

  “Thank you, Millie,” he said.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Their time for good mornings came and he turned to look at both of them. She held his gaze without any hint of shyness or embarrassment for what they’d done last night. Okay, so he wasn’t upset about that, but she could at least appear happy to see him.

  “Morning, Ron,” Patrick said.

  “Patrick. Mary.”

  She gave him a small nod but didn’t seem able to speak. That bothered him. While Patrick went to put in their order, he sidled up to the woman who’d spent a portion of the night with him.

  She turned those Meyers eyes on him and his heart tripped over a few more times in his chest.

  “You doing any better this morning?” he asked, making sure to keep his voice down so her brother didn’t overhear.

  “I’m fine, thank you.” She glanced away, something else capturing her in
terest.

  Ron frowned. This wasn’t like him. He didn’t vie for a woman’s attention. Either they wanted to speak to him or they didn’t. For all intents and purposes, she didn’t.

  “Good.”

  He forced himself to walk away and let it go. He wasn’t about to have it all over The Edge he was after a girl who wanted nothing to do with him. After all, he had some pride. At the door, he struggled with the need to glance back over his shoulder, another urge he ignored.

  The day was long and hard so when it ended he was more than ready to head home. He showered and had just taken the pizza out of the oven when a knock came on his door. Davis stood there.

  “Hey, man, what’s up?”

  “I was heading out to Perimeter and wanted to know if you’d like to come along for a drink?”

  Perimeter was one of the three bars within The Edge. Clean, good beer, and an eclectic presentation of music played throughout the night.

  “Sure thing, hang on. Come on in.”

  He put his pizza on top of the table, made sure the oven was off and shoved into some tennis shoes. They headed out and he followed Davis’ vehicle. When they pulled in, it was already almost all full.

  He and Davis entered and headed for the bar. Marsha, one of the bartenders there, smiled and took their order. While he and Davis chatted about work, he scanned the area time after time, unsure as to what he was looking for.

  Ron spied Jenn Meyers talking with the owner of Perimeter, Tony. Whatever their conversation was, it wasn’t a good one. Jenn looked less than pleased. He almost went over to see if she was okay when he spied her. Mary.

  She stood there behind her sister, impatience written all over her face until she said something. Whatever it was, Jenn wasn’t happy and snapped at her. Mary retorted then wheeled around and headed to a different part of the bar.

  He noticed a few of the local boys staring at her. “Excuse me, Davis,” he muttered while the man flirted with Sara.

  Eyes locked on Mary, he wove through the patrons until she was right in front of him. “Mary.”