Edge of Love (22 page)

I sighed as I continued to look at
him.

“
Don’t talk to him,”
Cortland said. “Just ignore him. Now isn’t the time to talk about
your relationship. This is obviously a work function.” He moved far
away from me in his seat. Another person could sit between us the
gap was so big.

I crawled over Cortland then rose to
my feet.

“
Scarlet,” Ryan said.
“What are you doing?”

“
I’m going to talk to my
fiancé,” I said as I walked away. Now I was thankful that Janice
dolled me up. When I reached their table, I stood there until Sean
noticed me. When he looked at me, his eyes widened in surprise. The
brunette blatantly glared at me.

“
Hey,” he said.

“
Hey.”

He looked at Ryan and the others. He
gave them a slight nod.

I waited for him to stand up and
embrace me in front of his coworkers. He finally rose to his feet
then stood in front of me. “Is everything okay?”

“
Aren’t you going to
introduce me?” I said in an aggressive voice.

He read my mind. “She’s just a
colleague, Scarlet. You never have to worry about that.”

I glared at him, waiting for him to
introduce me as his future wife.

He grabbed my face and kissed me
deeply, running his fingers over my body. When he pulled away, he
rubbed his nose against mine. “I belong to you, Scar. No one
else.”

He wrapped his arm around my waist
then looked at his colleagues. “This is my fiancé, the love of my
life, Scarlet. Scarlet, this is everyone.”

“
Hello,” I said as I
waved.

They returned my greeting with smiles.
Only the bitchy brunette didn’t return my
acknowledgment.

Sean pulled me away. “You’ve never
been the jealous type. Please don’t start now.”

I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Well, I’m scared, Sean. I’m so sorry about last week. There’s
nothing between me and Cortland. I love you and only you, babe.” He
averted his gaze when I mentioned Cortland. I could tell he was
still hurt. “I’m sorry that I hurt you and I’m sorry that I’m
freaking out about this bitch you’re sitting with, but I’m so
scared. You say you need space and you don’t want to talk to me,
but you are here with that whore—”

“
And the rest of the
staff
. Scarlet, please don’t accuse me of
cheating on you. That isn’t my style. I love you. I know we’re
going through a—hard time, but that will never change. You should
see my desk at work. It’s covered with pictures of you. It’s
practically a shrine.”

“
Really?”

“
Yes, babe,” he said.
“Please don’t act like this.”

“
I’m sorry. I just miss
you.”

“
I miss you too. Just give
me some time.”

“
I hate being apart from
you.”

“
I know. It will be over
soon.”

“
There’s nothing between
Cortland and I. Please tell me you believe me. I need to
know.”

He looked at me. “Babe, I believe you,
but it really doesn’t matter if I do.”

“
What?”

“
Because I still want to
spend the rest of my life with you. I can’t live without you—even
if you have feelings for someone else. I just hope that you don’t
ever cheat on me. And even then, I would still stick around.” He
sighed. “I’m hooked, Scarlet.”

“
Babe, I would never do
that. It’s only you—it’s always been you.”

“
Okay. But I still need my
space.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. I grabbed
his face and kissed him. “Please hurry.”

He rubbed his nose against mine.
“Okay.”

I turned away and walked back to my
table. When I sat down, I saw Sean return to the table and he
continued to watch the game without looking at me. I wish he would
come over here, but it was obvious where he would rather be—without
me.

19

Sean

Scarlet wasn’t totally wrong about
Maria. The girl wanted me and wanted me bad. I’ll admit that I’m
horny since Scarlet and I hadn’t been having sex, and I knew I
would never get caught if I did decide to sleep with Maria, but I
would never do that to the woman I loved. And I wouldn’t want to.
She was everything to me, my whole world. She made Maria look like
a porcupine in comparison, that’s how gorgeous she was.

A part of me was still pissed at
Scarlet, but I would never do that to her. If the situation was
reversed and Scarlet had a coworker that wanted to jump her bones
at the first opportunity, I would be furious too. I don’t know how
she figured it out. Women just had a second sense when it came to
female hormones. But Scarlet had nothing to worry about. Even if we
weren’t together, I couldn’t imagine being with someone else right
now—or ever. I was madly, deeply, irrevocably in love with this
girl. I would rather die than lose her. And even if I ever did
sleep with someone, it would only be a fraction of what I had with
Scarlet. I looked forward to being with her again. I knew it would
be epic after all this time apart.

Scarlet and her family left the bar
before I did. She didn’t say goodbye to me and her brother didn’t
acknowledge me. Cortland stayed as far away from Scarlet as
possible. I wanted to beat the shit out of that asshole, but I held
it back. The opportunity would come eventually. Seeing Scarlet with
him really pissed me off. It made me wonder if she loved him or if
he loved her as well. The idea drove me insane. I couldn’t go back
to Scarlet when I was this angry. All I would do is yell at her and
make her cry. I wanted to work on this relationship, but I couldn’t
do that if I was angry at her all the time. Everything had already
been said. It was time to move on but I couldn’t. For now, distance
was the best thing for our relationship.

Scarlet looked gorgeous in that dress
and I thought about going over there tonight, but I knew I
couldn’t. When I was this upset it wasn’t fair to her. It would be
completely carnal and lustful. There would be no love coming from
me. I would only be using her to get off. I remembered the last
time I had used her in New York—it broke her heart. But when I
thought about being with her, I felt the erection in my pants. This
was going to be harder than I thought.

When the game was over, everyone
walked outside and advanced to their cars. I stood on the sidewalk
and waited for a cab to pull over. Maria walked beside me and I
felt annoyed by her closeness. This woman was beautiful and she
could have any guy she wanted. If she wanted to get laid that bad,
she could just walk into a random bar and find the first guy she
found attractive.

“
I’m cold,” she said as
she ran her hands over her arms.

I knew she wanted me to offer her my
jacket but I didn’t. Only scarlet was allowed to wear my jacket. I
ignored her.

“
Let’s share a
cab.”

I had no idea where she lived so I had
no idea if that was even convenient. “I’m just down the
street.”

“
That’s on my
way.”

The cab pulled over to the curb and I
opened the door for her, letting her get inside. I told the driver
my address then moved closer to the door, away from Maria. She
stared straight ahead and didn’t say anything to me. I was grateful
for the silence.

When the car arrived at my apartment,
I paid the driver her fare as well. I opened the door and got out
and she stepped out as well.

“
What are you doing?” I
asked.

“
Do you have an extra
jacket I could wear?” She smiled at me, giving me her most tempting
look.

It had no effect on me. “No. Tell the
cab driver to turn up the heat.”

“
That isn’t the kinda heat
I had in mind.”

I sighed. “We work together. This is
completely inappropriate.”

“
No one has to know,” she
said. “I’m not looking for a relationship, Sean. I think you’re
handsome and I want to fool around. I won’t tell a
soul.”

“
How many times have I
told you I’m engaged?”

“
And how many times have I
said I don’t care?”

I glared at her for a moment before I
opened the door. “I’m happy in my relationship with Scarlet. I
don’t need anything else from anyone. Please stop acting like this.
You’re making me uncomfortable.”

“
Don’t act like you’re
above that, Sean. I know you want to fuck me.”

I shook my head. “I want to fuck my
fiancé.”

“
It’s okay to be attracted
to two different people.”

I stared at her. “Goodnight, Maria.” I
turned around and walked back to my apartment.

“
Sean!”

I ignored her and walked inside the
apartment, locking the door behind me. I collapsed on the couch and
rested my head between my hands. I didn’t know what to do. Now I
couldn’t work there anymore. I would never sleep with Maria, but it
wasn’t fair to Scarlet. I would be livid if a handsome guy kept
throwing himself at her, saying he wanted to have a secret affair.
I was so frustrated.

I went in the kitchen and grabbed
another beer from the fridge before I sat down on the couch. Now I
had a massive buildup of sexual energy. Seeing Scarlet wear that
dress and hear a beautiful woman practically beg me to sleep with
her made me hot and bothered. I wanted to call Scarlet, but I knew
I shouldn’t. I needed to leave her alone.

I watched television for a while, but
my arousal never dissipated. I tried to go to sleep, but I
couldn’t. I felt like I was on Viagra. I grabbed my cell phone and
called Scarlet. I knew I shouldn’t do this, but I couldn’t help it.
I was going crazy.

Her voice was quiet.
“Hello?”

“
Hey.”

“
Hi.”

I sighed. “What are you
doing?”

“
Lying in bed.”

I said nothing for a moment. “Are you
tired?”

“
Not particularly.
Why?”

I imagined her naked body and I
swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’m just—want to see
you.”

She paused. “Is this a booty
call?”

I laughed. “Yes.”

“
I miss it
too.”

“
Scarlet, this wouldn’t
mean anything. I can’t be there emotionally. I would literally be
using you.”

“
That’s okay with me. I
would rather you use me than someone else.”

“
I would never do
that.”

“
I know.”

“
Are you okay with
that?”

“
Yes,” she said. “Are you
coming over?”

“
I’ll pick you
up.”

“
Why can’t we just do it
here?”

“
We are too
loud.”

She was quiet for a moment.
“Okay.”

“
I’ll be there
soon.”

“
I can just come to
you.”

My voice came out harsh. “Don’t be
stupid. Stay right there.” I hung up the phone and returned it to
my pocket. I grabbed my jacket then left the apartment in a
hurry.

When I arrived at the apartment, I
texted her and told her I was outside. She opened the door a moment
later wearing a pea coat that reached her knees. She wore black
heels.

I was glad that she got dressed up for
me. I still thought she was beautiful when she wore pajamas with
her hair in a messy bun, but I also liked it when she tried to look
her best for me. We walked down the stairs in silence then reached
a cab. We didn’t speak to one another as we drove back to my
apartment. She didn’t touch me or try to be affectionate, which I
was thankful for. I wasn’t ready to act like everything was okay. I
told her exactly what this was. I just wanted to get
laid.

When we reached the apartment, I paid
the cab driver and we walked inside the building. The lights were
off in the house, but I didn’t see the point in turning them on. I
locked the door behind us then walked into the bedroom. When I
turned around, she started kissing me with passion, running her
hands over my body.

I was already aroused, but now I felt
like I was going to explode. The touch of her lips ignited a fire
within me. I imagined being inside her and I felt my body shake. I
had never been more excited for a woman before. I thought Penelope
was the one, but she never was. It was Scarlet. I was already a
sexual person, but she made me feel like a sex addict. I had to
have her all the time. She made me feel secure in my pervertedness
because she was just as slutty as I was—but only for me. She needed
it more than I did.

She ripped off my jacket and then
pulled my shirt over my head. She trailed kisses down my neck and
to my chest, kissing me until she reached my groin. She unbuttoned
my pants then pulled them off. When she pulled down my underwear,
she moaned.

“
You like that, babe?” I
asked.

She kissed the head of my cock.
“Yeah.”

I closed my eyes and
moaned.