On the Edge (2 page)

As I take a sip of coke, my eyes dart around the crappy diner where I wait for Drew. Only my brother would pick a hole-in-the-wall, shit shack. After all, he’s into all kinds of shady things. I’m thankful that when I called him, he dropped everything to come meet me. He could hear in my voice how upset I am. I didn’t want to go into detail over the phone, so I asked him to meet me wherever he wanted.

I’m pissed off, and our dear mother is of no help in the situation. In fact, she’s part of the damn problem. She always picks the biggest assholes to date, and the latest one has already moved in with us. I’ve tried to keep my distance from him, but Mom left for a weeklong business trip this morning, and of course, Jim, the asshole, decided to start slinking up on me now that she’s gone. Yeah, not happening, buddy. I was out that door as fast as my ass could carry me.

I’m a senior and set on getting the hell out of this town, one way or another. I want a fresh start where I don’t have to deal with my bitch of a mother who cares more about her boyfriend than her kids, and my brother who is always busy with stuff. I don’t want to know what the stuff is, but I’m not stupid either. I know my brother is involved in the criminal world and the Knight family, even though Knight’s Construction legitimately pays him. I hear what people on the streets say about gunrunning, gambling, and lord only knows what else he’s done.

The bell above the door rings, and when I look up, Drew is entering the diner. His 6’3” frame makes him look as if he could take you down with one swing of his muscular arm. We share the same hair color, but he keeps his cut short and spikes it up all over. Our brilliant, emerald green eyes leave little doubt that we’re related.

Drew scans the restaurant and, when he sees me, he heads straight in my direction. Two guys I’ve never seen before flank him on either side. One guy is so humongous that he couldn’t hide if he wanted. I mean Hulk huge. His hard, scary face gives the impression that he would show no mercy if you crossed him. In fact, some of the diners warily look at him as he walks by them. The other guy catches my attention for a whole different reason. I’ve seen some good-looking guys in my eighteen years, but damn, the eyes on this guy just draw me in like a fucking magnet. They are the most striking shade of Mediterranean Sea blue, and I can’t get past them to look at the rest of him. I need to stop staring before I embarrass myself.

Drew slides in next to me while Pretty Eyes and Hulk sit across from us.

”So, what’s going on, Kat?” Drew asks, with no preamble.

“Well, let’s see. Mom left on a trip today, her new boyfriend is living with us, and when I got home from school today, he tried to put the moves on me.”

My brother stiffens and, from the looks that cross the other guys’ faces, they don’t much like what I have to say, either, and they don’t even know me.

“So, what happened?” Drew manages to ask me through clenched teeth.

“So, I may have punched him in the face, kneed him in the balls, grabbed my keys, and got the fuck in Mom’s car.” I fiddle with the napkin holder on the table while I talk.

The three guys exchange a shocked look, then Hulk smirks at me, Pretty Eyes’ lips turn up in a faint smile, and my brother full-out laughs. Seems all three of these guys find my actions amusing.

When he finally pulls himself together, Drew turns towards me. “So, what do you need from me?”

“I need somewhere to stay until Mom gets home. I’m sure as hell
not
staying in that house with him, and I don’t want to go to a hotel for a whole week.”

“Done, but first, I want to pay the asshole a little visit.” This visit won’t be the ‘let’s sit down and have a beer together” kind. “You’re gonna pack your shit and come stay at my place until the bitch gets home.”

There’s no love lost between my mother and brother. Since she’s always been more concerned about her love life than her children, it’s always been just the two of us. Shit, we aren’t even sure we share the same dad.

“So, are you going to introduce me to the two guys sitting across from me, or should I just go with the names I’ve made up in my head?” I ask my brother.

“That’s Pete, right there,” he nods his head towards Hulk, “and this is Cole.”

I turn towards Pretty Eyes and smile. Then it hits me.

“Cole Knight?” I question.

Surprise registers across Cole’s face at my recognition. My brother shakes his head in the affirmative.

I find myself intrigued. My brother works for this guy's family. I soak in more details about Cole while staring at him. His dark hair sticks up in a sexy messy way that makes a girl swoon, and his small bit of facial hair is just enough to rub me the right way. Tattoos peek out from beneath his shirt, and I wonder just what is hiding under there. I want to lick those tattoos without even knowing what they are.

I shake my head, trying to clear my dirty thoughts. This guy is 23 and as badass as they come. I can’t go there with someone like him if I want out of this fucking town. I have heard so many stories about Cole. He likes women, weed, and beating the shit out of people, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Drew decides that since they walked to the diner from wherever they had been, we will all travel in my mom’s car back to my house. I end up in the back seat with Pretty Eyes, and struggle not to move in closer to him. Something about him draws me in and makes my pussy clench and become dripping wet just from being close to him. I need to get away from this guy before I do something stupid. Images of me straddling him run rampant through my mind, and I don’t even care that my brother is in the driver’s seat.

When we pull up at my house, the guys get out of the car and follow me up the walkway. I open the front door, and Jim shouts out at me. “Hey, Kitty Kat! You smarten up and change your mind?”

Tremors travel throughout my body. The man totally creeps me out. At Jim’s words, Drew and his friends growl in anger. Unaware that I have company, Jim walks around the corner, but stops short when he sees the three guys behind me.

“Who the fuck are these guys?” Jim yells at me.

Drew steps in front of me as a set of arms wrap around my waist and pull me back. Hulk steps up next to Drew.

“I'm her fucking brother, shithead, and I take it you're the fucker who tried to put the moves on my little sister?”

Jim registers the threat in Drew’s voice, and his face pales at my brother’s words.

“Kat, go upstairs with Cole and pack your shit! Pete and I are gonna have a little chat with Jimmy boy here.”

Drew doesn’t turn to look at me, and Cole gently guides me towards the stairs. As if floating on a cloud, my brain doesn’t register what is happening around me.

When we reach the top of the stairs, Cole whispers, “Where’s your room, Kitten?”

His voice brings me out of my haze. With his body pressed right up against my back, his heat radiates through me and heads straight to my throbbing pussy. I want to turn around, fuse my mouth to his, wrap my legs around his waist, and devour him, but I’m frozen in place. As if sensing what I’m feeling, Cole turns me so that we’re face to face. I look up into those gorgeous blue eyes, and my brain goes fuzzy. I can’t breathe right. His eyes darken, and at that moment, I realize that we’re in a shitload of trouble because he’s just as attracted to me as I am to him. This is so not good.

I shake my head to clear the fogginess from my brain, turn around, and head towards my room. Cole closes the door behind us. I pull a suitcase out of the closet and start tossing my clothes in it while Cole sits down on my bed to watch me. The desire burning in his eyes distracts me from what I need to be doing.

“Fucking stop looking at me like that, asshole!” I yell in a low tone so that they don’t hear me downstairs. “I can’t hook up with you, no matter what my body is saying to me. My brother would fucking flip.”

“Your brother won't say shit. He answers to me, not the other way around. When I want something, I go for it, and Kitten, I want you, so I
will
have you.”

“Stop calling me Kitten. My name is Kat. K.A.T. Kat. Got it?”

“Well, you're Kitten to me, and that’s what I'm going to call you.”

I go back to packing my bag. Cole checks out my underwear as I toss it in my suitcase. I roll my eyes, but don’t say anything else to him because this sexual tension in the room is getting to me. Since we’re quiet, the elevated voices and sounds of the fight drift upstairs into my room. Something tells me that Drew and Hulk’s fists are talking more than their mouths are. I can’t say that I'm sorry Jim is getting his ass handed to him. I wish I could be the one to do it, but I wouldn’t be able to beat a man twice my size.

When all the clothes I’ll need are packed, I make my way to the bathroom for my toiletries and cosmetics. I certainly can’t live without that shit for a week.

My thoughts travel to Cole, the arrogant bastard who’s made himself at home in my room. I can’t even explain what draws me to him. He is the opposite of everything I’ve ever wanted in a guy. I’ve always said that I would never be with a controlling man like the ones my mother always chooses. I like being in charge of myself, and don’t want to give it up for anyone. With Cole, I have to, but somehow it seems different with him. This bastard is being groomed to run the Knight Family business, so he doesn’t take shit from anyone. If I’m truthful, that is part of what attracts me to him. I think I
need
him. He can even me out, put up with my attitude, yet keep me in check at the same time.

The look he gives me is intense, almost as if he knows who I am. At the same time, I feel as if he’s my other half. It sounds crazy because I’m only fucking eighteen. It’s probably nothing more than lust and hormones, but it seems like so much more right now.

I finish in the bathroom and walk back into my room where the sight of Cole lying comfortably on my bed stops me. He smirks at me. I take in his lean, toned body and, once again, find myself wanting to jump him and scream for him to fuck my brains out.

I start to grab my bags, but Cole jumps up and takes the suitcase from me.

“I got it, Kitten.” Jesus, even his smile can stop traffic. “Let’s head out. Things are quiet downstairs for now.”

When we make our way back downstairs, Jim is laid out on the sofa in the living room while Hulk and my brother sit there watching him. Jim looks as though it may be a few days before he recovers from the beating. Drew looks up when we walk in the room.

“Got everything you need, Kat?” Drew calmly asks me.

I nod, not finding any words and too overwhelmed with all the emotions swirling through me.

Drew turns back to Jim. “Now, don’t forget, Jimmy, you will be gone when my mom comes back next week. And if I find out you’ve come near my mom or sister again? Know that I will kill you.”

Well, ok, who knew my bro could scare the piss out of people. I think now is a good time to get going.

“Right, then off we go. Come on, Drew and Hulk,” I squeak out. My erratic emotions are messing with my head, and I just want to get the hell out of here.

When we get out to the car, Cole places my bag in the trunk. I’ve never been to Drew’s place because he doesn’t want me to be around the shit he does. He’s breaking his own rules to keep me safe from that asshole.

I’m so lost in my own thoughts that I fail to hear the three guys talking until Cole says, “She can share my bed.”

“That’s my fucking little sister, man. She’s still in high school, for Christ’s sake.”

“I’m eighteen,” I blurt.
Yeah, don’t think that was helpful
. Cole gives me a knowing look. Then it hits me. “Wait, you live together?”

A big, shit-eating grin covers Cole’s face. “Yes, Kitten, the three of us share a house.”

Well, fuck me sideways. I’m in big trouble now. How will I avoid Cole for a whole damn week if he lives there, too? It’s not possible.
Fuck! Maybe I should check into a hotel
. Yeah, that’s a good idea. Who am I kidding? Drew wouldn’t go for that shit, but damn, I can’t be in the same house as Cole. He’s already declared that he wants me and that I can share his bed with him. Um, hell no. I can’t be involved in this shit.

I don’t know what to do. This is new territory for me. I have
never
had a guy turn me inside out like this. I usually can take ‘em or leave ‘em. I'm no virgin, but I’ve never been with a guy who makes my body hum by just standing next to me. I’m so in over my head here. I have no doubt Cole is experienced. His lifestyle and good looks almost guarantee that he is going to rock my world. I haven’t figured out yet if that’s a good or bad thing.

Times like this, I wish I had a mother that I could go to or even a girlfriend who has my back. Nope, the only girl I talk with at school won’t be the one I can talk with about this shit. Number one reason is that Cole is her older brother. Also, we don’t actually talk outside of school. These feelings are going to send me to the loony bin.

When the car stops, we’re parked in the driveway of a nice home, nothing fancy, but not a dump either. This is where my brother lives? A fucking middle-class neighborhood? Are you fucking kidding me right now? I step out the car, knowing that when I walk in this house, my life from this point forward will never be the same.