Page 84 of Her Wolf

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Bailey cracked open his sixth beer of the evening. It was weird; whenever he turned around, a waiter came by with a tray of his favorite brand and paused to offer him one.

Then again, it was a popular brand.

Five minutes, Finn had said. It had been less than two, but he already felt edgy. Maybe it was the crush of people around him, although he’d never had an issue with crowds before.

Either way, he had to get back to Cora. He took a long sip from his beer as he walked towards the crowd on the dance floor. Shouldering his way inside took some effort, but eventually he’d made it far enough in he should have been able to see Cora and Ana.

His stomach tightened when he didn’t see her at first. His casual saunter through the crowd gained momentum, until he was shoving people aside, his heart beating furiously.

And then Cora popped up out of nowhere, like she’d been crouching on the floor. He was still about three yards away from her, but relief made his fingertips prickle.

“Fucking hell,” he muttered to himself as he again headed for her.

Where was Ana? Shit, had the girl gone and left Cora alone?

But no…Cora wasn’t alone.

As he came closer, he saw a man standing in front of her, his back to Bailey. Cora was talking to him, gesturing furiously.

A brave cocktail girl made her way up to Cora, and held out a bottle of tequila. Cora made a shooing gesture toward the man in front of her, and then tipped her head back so the waitress could pour a shot into her mouth.

It looked like the last shot too; when someone beside Cora asked for a drink, the waitress shrugged and wriggled the bottle.

What the hell?

When he glanced back at Cora, it looked like she was dancing with the stranger. Not like she and Bailey had—Cora flush against him so he could feel every curve of her body—but a foot away from each other.

This brought him to a stand. He’d been gone less than a minute, and she was already dancing with someone else?

Confusion surged up inside him, but he stamped it down with ruthless determination.

Why the hell was he surprised? She’d made it damn clear that despite loving him she was happy to make him share her with two other men. And he’d been okay with that. Fuck, he’d been ecstatic that she’d ever consider him as anything more than a hired gun.

But this?

Dancing with a stranger? What was next?

Bailey’s hands bunched into fists. People bumped into him as the music grew frenzied, but he hardly noticed.

As much as he wanted to walk away, to leave her there with her new friend and never look back…he knew he couldn’t.

He’d be happy to have just a sliver of her, if it meant he could be with her. It was fucking ridiculous—he was a grown man—but it didn’t make it any less true.

His heart ached for her love, even if that love was just a fragment of the whole.

Fuck, maybe it was all he deserved after his betrayal. But that wouldn’t stop him kicking the living shit out of the guy who thought he could try and make a move on her.

He surged forward, but a crackle from his radio made him pause. He hurriedly unclipped it, raising it to his ear.

His imagination?

How much time had passed?

“Mike, this is Bravo, come in!”

The DJ decided it was the perfect time to drop the bass.

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