Page 49 of Hold Me Until Morning

I couldn’t be trusted with it.

Couldn’t be trusted with whatever this was.

Because this?

It was dangerous.

Dangerous to my resolve.

Dangerous to my purpose.

Dangerous to who I was and who I wanted to be.

Dangerous to her memory.

And disregarding that memory?

It would destroy me.

And that meant I needed to stay as far away from Cody Cooper as possible.

ELEVEN

CODY

Mack’s was packed like it always was on a Saturday night. The bar swollen to the gills.

The upbeat country band playing on the elevated stage at the very back of the cavernous building drew a slew to the dance floor that sat smack in the middle of the huge space.

Those who weren’t shaking their thing were crowded around the high-top tables that surrounded the dance floor on three sides or were tucked into the secluded tables and low chairs that lined the walls. Others gathered in a horde around the two bars where the bartenders fought to keep up with the demand.

I shouldered my way through the crush of people who were making the best of their Saturday night, laughter and voices elevated, the vibe one of carelessness and letting go. One of chasing down a bit of pleasure.

Smokey vapor caught in the strobes of light that flashed from over the stage, twining and twisting as it climbed toward the soaring, arched ceiling before it disappeared.

I could almost taste the lust as I wound through that haze. Could scent it in the darkened atmosphere.

Any time I was here, which was pretty damned often if I was being honest, my pulse always beat a little faster. Body prepping for what the night might bring.

The thrill of the hunt.

Wondering who I’d end up going home with once last call was made and I stumbled out these doors to give myself over to the craving that never seemed to abate.

I always found a willing partner. A hot body who hungered for the same thing I did.

It was my release.

My gratification.

My living free and to the fullest.

The last couple weeks that feeling had been all off, though. The anticipation scraping with something I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

An edge that blurred into confusion.

What bullshit.

I knew exactly what it was.

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