Prologue
Micah
“Why the hell did you decide on coming back to this shit town?”
“It’s perfect!”
Alex’s eyes lit up with excitement as we strolled along the streets of the quaint town of Crescent Springs. The town was a place we both had avoided for years. We hadn’t been back in a long time, and good riddance. I had gotten Alex out of this hell hole years ago, we’d never looked back, and now she wanted in. She must be crazy.
“If someone finds out you are here, all hell will break loose.”
“No one will know, as long as you and Liam take care of things.”
“What if I said I don’t want to be here? What if I told you this plan will fail.”
“Just because you hate this town does not mean it’s not the most perfect place.”
I rolled my eyes at her. She truly was delusional. This town was located in the buckle of the bible belt and if Edge were ever found out it would be destroyed by the mass of bible thumpers this town had. Edge was a product of Mistress Alondrea’s rebellious nature. Alexis Justice was her counterpart.
I had met Alexis when we were in college, we were both Freshman at the time, and we instantly took a liking to one another. When I met her, she was carefree, didn’t give a shit about speaking her mind. She was bright, and funny, and probably one of the most gorgeous women I’d ever met. I still think that to this day. The University we’d attended was located only a few states away, I had nowhere to go so I followed her home, but when we came back to these parts I could tell it discerned her. She was constantly worried that people would talk about our relationship, worried about what her family would say. This town forced her to hide and recoil from everything that made her who she was. All the judgmental assholes that surrounded her wanted to manipulate her into portraying herself as someone she wasn’t.
After a few weeks of being here I knew I couldn’t be happy in this fucking town. I was a city boy and being here was an impulse move, but at that time, I loved her. I still do, just not in the way you may think. Our romance was not a conventional one, to say the least, and we knew it. Alexis and I had gone through a long journey together before moving to Crescent Springs and eventually my goddess learned the ropes and Mistress Alondrea was born. She became a confidant woman, a Dominatrix in all her right, and she had a good heart and pure spirit. Unfortunately, our tastes in the sensual collided and our relationship molded into that of a solid friendship. As much as I loved her, she would never satisfy my needs, nor I hers, and we had come to an understanding. Either way, it worked out for us. We were young, and we loved rebelling against society. This town, though, I saw it consume so many people, and I couldn’t let that happen, so I stole her away.
We took what knowledge we’d obtained and used it to our advantage. With her business degree and my marketing skills, Edge was created. An underground BDSM club where people who indulged in the lifestyle could find a place to call their own. It was also a place for those who were willing to enter, to learn in a safe environment. One free of judgement, a community of good people who had similar tastes and preferences in sinful eroticism.
In the last fifteen years, I had dedicated my life to Edge. I became so involved in its creation, that it became a part of me. But in all that time, I had forgotten what I had been searching for. Lately, that feeling was slowly creeping back, and at times I would sit back and wonder if I could ever find myself again. There was a moment in this town where I thought, maybe… just maybe, I could find happiness here. But that moment was shut down instantly, and the woman that initiated it had disappeared. I never thought of her again.
A few months ago, I met Aracely and I thought she would be the one for me. A perfect submissive. She was sweet and gentle, but she was also broken and in need of something else in her life, something I was not able to offer. She was the one who awakened that feeling I had forgotten so long ago. The yearning for someone to have by my side. I never did approve of Eric Halthorn, but the heart wants what it wants. At times, when I watched them up on stage, I longed for what they had. It was a long lonely life with Edge at the core of it. If anyone was to be with me, then they needed to accept all of me, Edge included.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I found the perfect spot!” Alexis grinned at me as we slid into her red BMW convertible. At forty-four she was absolutely stunning and looked incredibly young for her age. She had this blue-black mane of hair that travelled down her back, big Irish green eyes that looked innocent but held so much naughtiness. Long legs, sultry curves, plump tits, and a killer smile filled the package. If only she would kneel for me, then all would be right in the world. But she wouldn’t, and that story had long passed. It was time to look into the future and live in this moment, but we were in for a helluva time. When she’d get excited, like she was now, she’d get this childlike glimmer in her eye and I knew she’d made up her mind and it would be nearly impossible to change it.
Thirty minutes later she parked in front of an old abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. The place looked worn down and it would take a shitload of money and time to get this place up and running again. It was a waste if you thought about it. We’d probably be run out in a matter of months, maybe even weeks.
Opening her arms, she stood before me, a bright smile on her face. I took my sunglasses off and squinted at her. “What do you think?”
I looked up at the structure and sighed. “I think money.”
She pouted and swatted at my arm. “Don’t you think it’s perfect?”
I looked back on the road we came on and shook my head. “I think it’s too close to town.”
“Going the opposite way. I bet you no one even drives around these parts. It’s the back roads.”
“I think we need to be more discreet.”
“We’ve always been discreet, Micah. Have a little faith.” She folded her arms and began to tap her foot. Her fighting stance. I smirked and thought, how cute.
“So discreet we’ve been run out of the last three towns.”
She waved a hand in the air dismissively. She was in complete denial of the fact that we couldn’t stay in one place for long because what we did was not meant for these faint bible thumping hearts. “The last three were flukes. This time we’ll get permits, it will be private property, they won’t be able to move us.”
I rolled my eyes and slid my sunglasses back into place. “No, they’ll just make our lives a living hell.”
“That’s only if they find us out.”
“We’re going to go broke if we continue like this.”
She came up to me giving me one of her wicked smiles that almost always convinced me. “People like sex and sinful acts, Micah. You and I both know this. This club has a reputation and we cannot stray too far from the clientele we have already made. Besides, we have Eric now. And new members will have to go through a thorough background check before entering. It will perfect.”
After Halthorn and Aracely came into our lives we put him to work. He had contacts and we knew he had ways of checking backgrounds on people. If they didn’t meet the criteria they wouldn’t get in, period.