Page 55 of Kiss Me Honey Hone

And danced like the whole world was watching. Every roll of his hips, every sway of his shoulders, every deliberate gyration steeped in a confidence he hadn’t realised he’d lost. And though eyes lingered and whispers followed, none of it mattered. This was for him.Onlyhim.

Heat clung to his skin, beads of sweat tracing paths down his neck and back and the press of bodies around him, faceless and nameless, added to the intoxicating rush. The pulsing bass reverberated in his chest, drowning out every thought but the beat. He closed his eyes, surrendering to the rhythm, and for the first time in weeks, the knot of tension that had taken root inside him loosened.

Thiswas why he danced. Why he loved it. Because here, beneath the lights and the music, he found freedom. The kindthat stripped away the weight of everything else. The kind that gave him back the control he so desperately craved. Every movement reminded him he was alive, that there was something in him no one could take.

And for now, that was enough.

When Aaron opened his eyes, the music’s rhythm thrumming in his chest, he caught Mel and Lottie in the throng, wrapped up in each other, arms entwined, eyes locked with a kind of unspoken connection that made the world around them vanish. Despite everything swirling inside him, it made him smile. A fleeting, bittersweet curve of his lips. How great would that feel? To dance with someone while falling in love?

He twisted on the spot, sweeping his gaze over the sea of bodies, lights flashing across moving forms. Stupidly, idiotically, he caught himself searching. For a man. Fortheman. The one he shouldn’t have been thinking about. And the memory clawed its way back, sharp and relentless. The first time. The pull, the heat, the intensity of Kenny watching him across the crowded floor at Inferno, capturing him and putting him under his spell when it had meant to be the other way around. But that was before he’d known how Kenny would drag him into this maelstrom of misery, confusion, and tormenting vulnerability. All because of one thing—one thing that had built him up and torn him down in equal measure.

It had to be love, didn’t it? What he was feeling. This horrendousache.

The thought seared through him like acid. Love. Unwanted. Uninvited. That’s what had done this to him. Stripped him of his armour he’d spent years building. Stalking Kenny had meant to be a game. A shadowy indulgence to feed his darker cravings. And that one reckless, lust-soaked night in Inferno had supposed to have been nothing more than a tease. A taunt to satisfy his need for control. But now, here he was, eyes scanning the crowd for a trace of him. For a ghost of what they’d shared. He knewbetter. He knew what love had already cost him. Yet still, it pulled him under, merciless and unrelenting.

He thought about crying.

Would anyone notice? Everyone was too wrapped up in their own lives to care how he was unravelling right there on the dancefloor. People had died because others hadn’t noticed, so what would it matter if he shed a tear?

But therewassomeone watching him. There, on the edge of the dance floor.

Taylor.

Their eyes locked, and Aaron’s pulse shot through him like a live wire.Of courseTaylor would be here. This washisnight. He ran the society that made money from these events. The unofficialkingof LGBT nights, standing over the crowd like it was his own private yacht party and everyone else was just along for the ride. Insufferablyvain, Taylor looked every bit the golden boy he always did. But his expression was different this time. Less polished arrogance, more raw emotion as surprise flickered across his face, chased by a flash of anger, and, beneath it all, a shadow of something darker. Despair.

For the first time, Taylor didn’t look untouchable. He looked like he was drowning.

Good.

Without thinking, Aaron turned back into the throng of dancers, jaw tightening as he refused to let Taylor see even a hint of hesitation. Or for him to think Aaron’s anguish was about him. He shouldn’t beallowedto drug him, or even know that one of his friends had, and not expectconsequences. So he set eyes on the nearest man, a tall guy with dark curls and a loose button-down already damp from the heat of the room, and grabbed him by the waist, pulling him closer.

The guy responded instantly, hands finding Aaron’s hips and they moved together. Aaron let his body take over, grinding provocatively, every shift and roll designed to draw attention. Hetipped his head back, eyes fluttering shut as he let the music guide him, Taylor’s stare burning into him.

After a while, he noticed the bloke’s lips curve into the shape of a kiss, leaning in as if it was inevitable. But as the space between them closed,Kennyflashed through Aaron’s mind. Uninvited, yet always there. This time, though, it wasn’t desire that followed the memory, it was a warning.

“A kiss is disarming,”Kenny’s voice echoed in his head.“It’s vulnerable. You never expect death to come from something so… intimate.”

Intimacy.That’s what he had with Kenny. Real, raw, and terrifying in its depth. He didn’t even need his kiss to feel it. Because it was in every glance, every breath they shared. And,fuck,he wanted that back.

The thought hit him harder than it should’ve, cutting through the alcohol-fuelled haze and the thrum of music. So Aaron shoved the bloke away, the heat of the moment dissolving into frustration. His heart pounded, not from lust, but from something far more dangerous.Need.

He pushed his way through the crowd, leaving the kiss, the stranger, and his own emptiness behind. Now he’d even lostthis. The chance to dance and fuck with strangers, leaving Kenny as the only thing that could ever fill his hollow void.

But Kenny didn’t want him.

chapter fourteen

Careless Whispers

Kenny arrived at the university early on Monday, the campus shrouded in the quiet of dawn. He might as well not have gone home over the weekend, considering how much of it he’d spent working. But despite his efforts, he was drowning in neglected tasks. Overdue feedback for PhD students, administrative reports, and an ever-growing pile of reading. If he wanted to secure a professorship next year, he was going about it all wrong. Not just because of his disorganisation, but because of his preoccupation. Or if he had to call it what it was, his utter infatuation, obsession with and attraction toAaron fucking Jones.

He still hadn’t heard from him, and Kenny considered giving up. If Aaron didn’t attend this morning’s lecture, Kenny would have no choice but to escalate the situation. Administration would issue a written warning for his poor attendance, a consequence Kenny hated but couldn’t avoid. How else was he supposed to get Aaron to realise that hiding away wasn’t the answer?

He unlocked his office, dumped his bag on the floor, and set up his laptop. While it took its sweet arse time to join the university system, Kenny left to make some coffee in the kitchenettedown the hall where he found Gail, the faculty’s senior administrator, pouring milk into a bowl of cereal.

“Dr Lyons.” She smiled. “Good weekend?”

“Spent most of it working.” Kenny switched on the kettle, reaching for a jar of instant coffee.

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