Edge of Chaos (Love on the Edge #1) by Molly E. Lee Read Free Book Online Page A

in front of me. “It’s hard to remember anything before him.”
    “That must get difficult. Not experiencing anything outside of him,” Dash said, his words terribly close to the ones my mother had lectured me with last week.
    “Yep.” I nearly launched into the University of Tulsa fiasco. Maybe I’d had too much to drink, or maybe it was just Dash, but talking to him made me want to confess all my life’s wrong turns and have him tell me they were just detours. I tried to sharpen my fuzzy focus and grinned at Diana’s perfect timing as I took my fourth beer from her. “Thanks, this is helping loads.”
    She eyed Dash. “She isn’t driving is she?”
    “No. I’ll get her home.”
    My eyelids were heavy, and it took me forever to lock on to him. “Where’d your tiny friend go?” I asked, happy to change the subject from my relationship to his.
    He chuckled, the throaty rumble quickly becoming a sound that soothed my insides. “She already left. Never stays here long. Isn’t really her scene.”
    “I get that,” I said. “You’re so nice. To her . . . you’re so nice to her.”
    “How do you figure?”
    “Just a thing a girl can tell.”
    “A thing a girl can tell when she isn’t used to it,” he said, his voice growing softer.
    “You could say that.”
    Two more beers later and the crowded bar was on a permanent tilt. The floor swayed underneath my feet as I walked toward the exit, but luckily I had the strength of Dash to lean on. In the back of my mind I knew I’d regret this all tomorrow and be terribly embarrassed, but those things were hard to focus on—especially with the edges of my vision blurring.
    I heard Dash say, “Whoa,” before I blacked out completely.

GRAVEL FILLED MY head—tiny pebbles that rolled around and caused sharp pains to burst throughout my brain. The smell of hot coffee hit me, and in the back of my mind I figured Justin had come over with it as a peace offering for acting like such a jerk last night. He had a spare key and could easily have let himself in.
    The thought triggered my curiosity. I let go of the heavy blanket of sleep, and peeled apart my eyelids.
    I saw blond hair instead of black.
    The guy leaned over my nightstand only inches away. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. Sleep totally forgotten, I leaped up and hurled a right hook at his face.
    He caught my fist a second before it hit him square in the nose.
    “Whoa! Easy, woman!” he yelled and let go of my fist, backing up a few feet.
    His voice and a clear picture of his face had me instantly sighing in relief.
    “Dash?”
    He held his hands up in the air as if I pointed a loaded gun at him. I glanced down. I still had my work clothes on from last night. I couldn’t remember how I’d gotten home.
    Looking at Dash I made an easy guess.
    My relief was followed quickly by sheer embarrassment. My very unsexy beige bra hung off my bedroom doorknob, and I had other equally unappealing clothes strung across my floor, plus an array of stuffed animals with their insides spewing out of their eye sockets and earholes, courtesy of Hail.
    Between classes, work, and Justin, cleaning was always the last thing on my mind. Of course, if I’d known Dash Lexington would be standing in my bedroom right now, I might’ve made an attempt.
    I relaxed my attack stance—which had to look absolutely ridiculous standing barefoot on my queen bed—and hopped to the floor. Had he taken off my shoes and socks?
    Blood rushed to my cheeks, and I swallowed the lump in my throat.
    “Sorry,” I said.
    Dash smiled and dropped his hands. He eyed a tall white paper cup on my nightstand. “Coffee. Figured you’d need it. Hope you like it black.”
    “Only way I drink it,” I said, scooping up the cup and taking a careful sip. The richness soothed the pulsing ache between my eyes.
    “Me, too.” He put his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight.
    I took another drink, swallowing hard. “Can you give me a minute to