On the Edge (The Grange Complex Book 1)

Dexter

Victoria's threats didn't scare me, I had no idea what she thought she could achieve by blackmailing me. She didn't need money; she wanted to feel important again, and to undermine me. I was supposed to meet with one of my clients earlier on, but after the unexpected visit from Victoria, I couldn't focus. I was so uncomfortable when I saw Sasha with some loser that I had managed to sleep in and that fucking meeting had completely fallen out of my head. The guy was probably raging. This investment was important to me, but now my whole day was fucked and I needed to take the edge off my bad mood. When I closed my front door I had an urge to knock on Sasha's door, but I was sure that she wouldn't want to listen to what I had to say, besides I was still pissed off with her about last night. Fucking fiancée? Who did she think she was, accusing me of being a fucking pussy?

I had told her that I didn't do relationships, but she thought that she was a clever beast. I'd never had to explain myself to anyone, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon. I could fuck whoever I pleased. I banged her and it was time to move to the next one, but deep in my stomach I knew that she wasn't like the others. Sex with her brought me back to the living world.

The problem was that since that row in my apartment, I couldn't stop thinking about her pussy and her sassy mouth. It was like one time wasn't enough. When I had her in my arms begging me to fuck her harder, it was fucking bliss. I had never listened to anyone else's needs before and we did end up fucking eventually, but I went easy on her, devouring her pussy very slowly.

When I got into my car, the text messages began to come through. It was probably the client from earlier on. Too bad I didn't give a fuck.

It had been days since I visited Mum. She was still angry with me. A couple of weeks ago I missed a family dinner, so I lost the status of favourite son. She didn't believe my bullshit anymore, but I wasn't prepared to sit through the whole meal and listen to how everyone was concerned about me.

Mum ran the house, cooked for my brother and hadn't looked at another man since Pap died. She insisted that she still had to work. I paid off her mortgage and took care of all her bills, but she still refused to quit her job at the school, saying that it was because she needed to get out of the house once in a while.

The house that I grew up in was situated in south Gyle. My younger brother, Connor, still lived at home, playing his stupid video games all day long. I just didn't get it. What was wrong with him? He seemed determined to become a loser. He was fucking twenty, not fifteen, and I was fed up with trying to get him to do anything with himself.

"Dexter, is anything wrong? What are you doing here?"

"There is absolutely nothing wrong, Mum. You said you wanted to see me more often, so here I am," I said, trying to sound like I was perfectly fine. Victoria was the reason I was pissed off, but right now Sasha was the bigger problem.

My mother was a short, petite woman with brown hair and kind eyes. Even now, her looking at me like that made me uneasy, bringing up unspoken subjects that weren't worth talking about. Like the fact that I didn't have a girlfriend.

I grew up in this house, but after Pap's death, every time I walked through the door I felt haunted. Every corner hid a memory and even after so many years, the house affected me in certain ways, inflicting emotions and feelings that I tried to push away. My father killed himself in the attic. I was the one that found him. I had stood in the door, watching as he swayed back and forth.

"Do you want something to eat? I have a cottage pie," Mum asked, snapping me back to reality.

"Okay, Mum, I'll have some."

I sat in the kitchen while she started moving around, preparing food for me. We used to talk like that all the time. I did miss her cooking. I missed my old simple life, when I didn't have many responsibilities. "How are you feeling? Still waking up early?" she asked innocently. Once I had made the mistake of telling her about my sleeping pattern; since then she kept bringing it up every time we were alone, asking me to see someone. That wasn't happening and I didn't need to see a specialist.

"Not since Joey passed away," I replied, lying through my teeth. I scrolled through my phone, deleting all the messages from Victoria. She could go and fuck herself; she had nothing on me.

"He was a good man, Dex, so I know it must be hard for you having no one next door now."

I didn't have to pretend in front of Mum. She knew that I didn't get on with many people and never had many friends. Joey was an exception to that; we were very close and his death took a toll on me. We used to talk about politics, women and whatever the hell was going on in the world. It had been three months and since then, I've been on a slow descent into destruction.

"There's a girl that just moved in next door. Sasha, his niece," I muttered as Mum put a plate of her awesome pie in front of me. My tone was indifferent, but Sasha's name stirred something in me, pulling me away from the gloom. I needed to have her in my bed again.

"A girl so you met her? Is she nice?" Mum began her interrogation. I was twenty-eight and since Pap passed away, I hadn't brought any women home. I started stuffing my face with the pie, distracting myself from Sasha's moans that I could hear in my head. Fuck, this was getting out of control. She was no one; just a woman I'd fucked.

"Annoying. Blonde, not my type."

"So you talked to her then?"

"Yes, we talked, but she isn't like Joey, Mum. The apartment is on the market, and when she sells it, she'll be gone," I explained.

"This Joey-his death was unexpected and it was such a shock for you. Maybe you should see someone, Dexter. When your father died you slipped away and I don't—"

"God damn, Mum, this isn't the same! I'm fine; talking to a shrink won't help me. Stop pressing me."

"I kept telling your father to go and see someone. He never did, and then it was too late. I keep blaming myself because I wasn't more persuasive. I'm worried about you and Jack and Connor. You more than anyone, because you just lost someone close to you again."

I didn't know what to say to her. Pap was weak; there was nothing that she could have done. The stress and problems had been eating him for years. I was determined not to become like him. All right, so she was right. I had been smoking, drinking and taking more pills since Joey's death, but I wasn't planning to take my own fucking life because of him. That wasn't how I dealt with grief.

Mum was concerned and I didn't want to worry her more than she had to. I took her hand and squeezed it. "That girl, Sasha-maybe she will become a friend, who knows. She is helping me a bit, so please don't stress, Ma. You couldn't have helped Pap. He's gone, so stop blaming yourself."

"All right, I'm sorry," she said and sat down next to me. I had to tell her something, anything, to stop her worrying about me. "I can pack you some of that to take with you if you like?"

"No, I'm good. I have to go, it's just a flying visit," I said and smiled. That lightened up her mood a bit and I felt better. Deep down, I knew that I was lying to her. Me and Sasha, we would never be friends. I wanted to possess her again-this time body and soul. I wanted her to ditch other guys for me. I knew that she was going to be gone soon.

Sasha

Eventually, I had to go back. The agency rang asking me to cover a shift in another hospital and I agreed. Dexter's car wasn't there when I arrived back at the apartment. I changed, picked up some stuff for tonight and had a quick bite to eat. Alistair didn't call or text and I honestly wasn't expecting him to. We had fun, but I couldn't take my mind off Dexter and the fact that he lied to me.

I reached the hospital by half six and put my head down, working hard, forgetting about everything that had gone on today. There was no point thinking about it. He took the act of fucking like bunnies to the next level. I simply couldn't get that kind of night out of my head.

The kids on the ward were great; they kept me on my toes, so the night passed quickly. I left at six, exhausted and with a blister on the sole of my foot. Stupid me; I wore new shoes to work and now my foot was in agony. It was useful enough to know Dexter's parking space. He was in and I didn't want to hide. Fortunately for me, I got into my apartment without any kind of interruption. For the first time since I'd moved here, I went to bed with a headache. It bothered me that Dexter was so quiet; normally he made a lot of noise this early in the morning.

I swallowed painkillers and after an hour I finally drifted. The nightmares about that night when Kirk lost his temper flared up again, and at some point I woke up screaming. My heart pounded as I looked around disorientated, and my t-shirt was drenched with sweat. It'd been a while since I'd dreamed about him. When I glanced at the clock, I realised that it was time to get up. I had slept straight through a long eight hours.

The bedroom was a mess, but I wasn't in the mood to do anything about it. The estate agent had yet to call about another viewing. It had been what, almost four weeks and I still didn't have a buyer.

I decided to skip the shower and head to the pool. I put on my blue bikini, planning to stay in the sauna for a bit. My life was still under control. Soon I was going to forget about Dexter and his filthy mouth. It was just a matter of time.

Duncan kept staring at my boobs when I signed in to use the facilities. I had pole-dancing training tomorrow, so I skipped the gym and headed to the pool.

The pool and sauna were completely empty. I guessed that it was the time of day when everyone was at work. It was great to get in and just relax in the water. This week I was planning to start over again, maybe put some adverts online and wait for a buyer.

I had my goggles, so I started doing a few laps underwater. The pool was small, but lengthy enough for a workout. When I reached the other side I grabbed the edge and broke the surface of the pool. Someone's feet were right in front of me. Gasping for breath, I took my goggles off and my heart kicked me right in my chest.

Fucking Dexter was standing on the edge of the pool looking down on me, wearing red shorts. As usual, my eyes couldn't help but wander over his smooth well-muscled chest and sculptured legs. Damn, why did he have to be here now? Any other day he worked out at six in the morning. This was just my luck.

"Hello, Barbie. Enjoying your swim?" he asked. It was a good thing that I was in the water; otherwise I might have melted into the floor. The memories of our night together suddenly clouded my mind and I couldn't work my mouth again.

I didn't answer him; I just turned around and began swimming in the opposite direction, hoping that he might just leave.

He didn't. Instead, he got into the pool and swam towards me. I didn't want to do this. We fucked; he cheated on his fiancée; that was the end of story.

"Ignoring me, are we? Let me remind you how much your pussy loved my tongue, shall I? I'm ready for another round."

I splashed him. I couldn't help myself; I was so angry all of a sudden. It took me less than thirty seconds to get wound up. It looked like he wasn't that bothered about Alistair after all.

"Fuck off and get back to your fiancée, fuckface," I snapped. I had no make-up on and I must have looked pretty rough. He was unbelievable, still talking about sex with me when he was committed to someone else.

"Shut the fuck up, Barbie. I wasn't planning to explain myself to you, but I guess now I have to, because you're so unbelievably stupid."

My jaw was hanging open. No, he didn't... He didn't just call me stupid. We were both standing by the edge of the pool. I was considering drowning him. It was a shame that he was so hot. "Yes, Dexter, I'm stupid because I fucking slept with you!" I shouted, splashing him again, but this time he grabbed my wrists, holding me in place.

"Once I can tolerate, but the fucking second time you might want to be careful or I will cut your hands off," he hissed. The heat from his touch sent a wave of surging warmth down between my legs. I was in the water, but I could still feel it.

"Get off me," I shouted, trying to pull away, but his grip was firm. When he brought me closer to his chest I wasn't sure if I remembered how to breathe.

"I didn't want to insult your intelligence, but how stupid can you be, thinking that I had a fucking fiancée? Victoria is a slut that has been spreading shitty rumours about us since I ate her pussy for breakfast. Yeah, I fucked her, but then I got bored, so I swapped her for someone else. End of story."☐☐☐☐☐