Water’s Edge (A Series of Sharp Edges #1)

19. Mattie

CHAPTER NINETEEN

mattie

T he room spins around me, and I blink furiously to stabilize myself. I go through the motions of my shift, pouring drinks and cleaning glasses. Tally’s chatter is a constant static in the background, mixing in with the nonstop news reports playing on every television. Every reporter calls for the monster who left body parts strewn about the Blackwater river to be caught.

A hand rests on my shoulder, jolting me out of my spiral. “Sugar, I’m headin’ out. We should walk to our cars together, with there being a murderer on the loose and all.” Tally shakes her head and fishes for her keys in her oversized purse.

“Hmmm,” I mumble, but I nod my head. It’s me. I’m the murderer. I’m the fucking murderer, Tally. She grabs my hand and stares at me for a second before leading me out of the bar.

“Night, Wiley,” she calls, waving her hand out behind her just before the back door closes. With each robotic step to the car, my heart pounds louder. Cold sweat rolls down my back. “You alright, sugar?” Tally turns to me one last time before we get into our cars.

“Oh, yeah Tally. I’m just a little tore up about everything that’s goin’ on.” I sigh. It’s not a complete lie. I try to hide the high-pitched panic bleeding into my voice.

Tally’s eyes soften, and she smiles. “At least you got a sheriff warming your bed. I’d be worried about you living way out there like you do.”

I’m torn between laughing hysterically and crying. Instead, I pull my lips back in a smile and get in my car. I fire up the Pinto and grip the steering wheel, staring out into the darkness of the night. Once the spots clear from my vision and I manage to take a breath, I peel out of the parking lot and head home.

Concealed by the cloudy night, my cabin sits in darkness until the headlights hit it. There’s no surprise waiting for me on the porch tonight, no squad cars with flashing lights ready to haul me away. Relief floods me, and then the tears come. I stumble out of the car, wiping my face, but only make it halfway to the door before my knees buckle. My melancholy wail echoes around me, piercing through the night’s silence. Each kill flashes through my mind as I try to piece together which mistake will be my undoing. The tears stream hot and fast as I try to get breaths in between sobs and hiccups.

I don’t realize I’ve curled into the fetal position on the ground until I feel arms around me hoisting me up. A familiar scent envelops me, and I give in instead of struggling to break free. I bury my face in his chest, calming slightly with each inhale. The vial resting against my skin pulses with each heartbeat, and the strangeness of it draws me back into the moment. I peer up to see two icy pools staring back at me. My stranger came for me.

He sets me gently on my bed before curling up behind me. His finger traces gently down my arm, and his hot breath fans against my neck. “Why is your face leaking, Mattie?” And the moment is gone.

“Shouldn’t you know?” I sneer, shifting to face him. “You’re my stalker, after all.” I’m too exhausted to stay angry, and I roll to my back, staring up at the ceiling.

His chest rumbles, and he lets out a chuckle. “I’ve been around a long time, but I still can’t read human minds. Was it something the blonde one said?”

“So you were fucking watching me?” I growl. The accusation hangs in the air a moment before he nods. I turn my head to him.

His grin spreads across his face without shame. “Guilty.”

I huff and face the ceiling again. A sob lodges in my throat, but I push past it. “Tally said the sheriff came to the bar looking for me. Then, all the TVs played the newscasts on loop today, talking about how some depraved maniac left body parts littered along the Blackwater river.”

“And you’re upset because you’re the depraved maniac.” His words aren’t a question, and it’s my turn to let an accusation hang between us.

“I’m not a maniac,” I whisper. I bite down on my bottom lip, straining to keep my emotions from becoming a tidal wave that will swallow us both. “The men I kill deserve it.” My voice wavers. “I’m making the world safer for women who aren’t damaged yet, like me.” I thought saying it out loud would lighten my burden, but the heaviness of speaking my truth sits on my chest like a boulder.

“Little bug, you don’t have to tell me about the wretchedness of humans. So many of their souls are a stain on this Earth.” My stranger’s arms wrap around me, pulling me against him. A shiver rattles through me, and I’m on the verge of crumbling again. “Nothing’s going to hurt you again, not unless I’m the one making you come undone.”

His words are firm, and I want to believe him with every bone in my body, but trust is not my strength. A hiccup escapes me, and my cheeks flood with heat. I’m not used to this much vulnerability, my mask fully removed. “You’re mine, and no minuscule human being can take you from me,” he speaks again, confirming his promise to me.

Memories flitter across my consciousness, like there’s a piece of this puzzle I’m missing. “What’s your name?” I ask.

“You’ll remember when the time is right,” he says, brushing wet strands of hair from my face. I wish I had the energy to argue, because what the hell is that supposed to mean? I already know his name. What else am I not remembering? “All you need to know is that I’ll take care of it. Humans are easy enough to lead astray.”

I sigh and let myself get lost for a moment in the pressure of his body against mine. Small sparks of hope ignite in me before fading once more. I’m not good at asking for help. I’ve never had anyone to even ask for help from. If I’ve made my bed to lie in, at least he’s here to lie next to me—for now, before he disappears yet again.

His warm lips press against my neck, and his hand wanders up to my breasts. I inhale, releasing a moan as he grabs a handful and rubs his thumb over my nipple. A tingling spreads across my chest, and I grind my ass into him. His cock, already rock hard, presses into me. My stranger rolls me to my back and shifts his weight over me. My legs spread for him on their own, like my body was made for his.

His mouth slams to mine, and we’re a flurry of tongues and teeth. I greedily take his moans with each roll of his hips against mine. A familiar pressure begins to build in my core, and I’m desperate to have all of him. Desire and sadness mix inside me until they’re indistinguishable. I need him more than I’ve ever needed anything or anyone before him.

He lifts his head, and his arctic blue eyes rake over my body, but he pauses as he meets my eyes again. “We can’t,” he growls, squeezing his eyes shut. His body rolls off mine, and he gets off the bed. I immediately feel his absence as the warmth drains from my body.

“What?” I ask. The word chokes me. I don’t have the energy to put up a fight right now. My body is exhausted, and my mind is reeling from the constant rush of emotions today. Loneliness swarms over me.

“We can’t,” he says again, spitting the words at me. He rubs his face with his hands and murmurs something I can’t make out. I turn my head away, willing the tears forming to not come. I’ve already cried more than I have in years today, and I’m not going to give anyone, especially him, any more. My mind scolds me for thinking I could have this one thing, for thinking he would stay this time.

“Mattie, look at me.” The words sound far away. “Look at me.” His voice is louder now, but I still can’t bring myself to look at him. His hand grabs under my chin and snaps my head to him. My lips pull back, and I steel my gaze, staring into him instead of at him. My chest rises and falls with each heaving breath as anger finally snakes its way through my veins.

His eyes flicker between each of mine like he’s looking for something in them. “My little bug,” he whispers. “I can feel the darkness in you grow every time my skin touches yours. I can’t have it devour you before I figure out how to save you.”

I try to shake my head, but the resistance from his hand keeps it locked in place. I don’t understand. I don’t fucking understand anything about this situation I’ve found myself in with him. “Please. Explain it to me, because I don’t understand and I can’t fucking lose you again.”

He leans down and whispers into my ear, nuzzling and nipping at my earlobe. A warm fuzziness starts to spread through me, tingling through my body like each limb is falling asleep one at a time. “Sleep, Mattie. I’m going to do nothing but worship you once this is over, and I want you well rested.”

My body relaxes with his words, like he pulled a warm, heavy blanket over me. I try to struggle against it, but he kisses the top of my head, and my eyes grow heavy. Before I drift off to the place we all go to when we sleep, I hear him whisper again. “I will eat every soul on this miserable plane of existence before I let anyone have yours.”