Page 32 of Cody

“Cody’s been that way since I’ve known him. I love the guy, we’re all like brothers, but if he doesn’t change his attitude, he’s going to end up a lonely old man.”

I laughed, somehow doubting that. “Maybe he’ll get a dog.” I took a drink of tea. “Maybe something happened to him to turn him so against finding, um, love.” Love wasn’t exactly the word I’d been looking for, but I couldn’t think of anything else.

“Yeah.” Max slowly nodded, his expression clouding over with a memory. “He had a serious girlfriend once when we first enlisted in the Marines. Loved the hell out of her. Always talking about their life together. Something did happen between them, but he never went into it.” He scoffed. “None of us were into discussing the deep shit that went on in our personal lives, but when he stopped talking about Maggie, we all knew it had been bad.”

Maggie. An ex-love. If she’d hurt Cody enough to make him become so flippant towards women, it explained a lot. I scooted my chair back and got up. “Excuse me while I go wash up before we eat.”

I was aware of Cody’s eyes following me as I walked to the restroom and was proud of myself for not looking back. I may have wanted him like crazy, but the practical side of me warned me that being with someone like him could be dangerous to my heart. If I hadn’t been so attracted to him it wouldn’t have been an issue. One and done worked for women too. There was no point in leaving myself open to getting hurt when the man had made it clear that he only wanted women for one thing.

Seeing him on a date with Tina was a stark reminder that he was a player.

I was drying my hands when the restroom door opened and the very man I’d been obsessing over was suddenly there and locking the door behind him. I slowly turned to face him and raised a brow. “This is the ladies’ room, Marine.” I pointed that out just in case.

“I know.” A smirk appeared on his mouth. A mouth I wanted on me again.

I licked my lips, remembering all the things he’d done to me at the brook. How he had made me feel. And then I remembered the words he’d said that day, and howtheyhad made me feel. “What are you doing, Cody?”

He shook his head. “Hell if I know.” He looked undecided, slightly frustrated, and a little angry. And so damned sexy in a pair of black slacks and a gray henley that buttoned halfway down his chest and conformed to his spectacular build. The long sleeves fit tightly to the muscles in his arms, and when he moved my mouth watered. I tried but failed to keep my eyes off his hands.

“Well, if you want to talk, now isn’t the time. I’m here with another man and you’re here with another woman.” I prayed that he couldn’t hear the jealous snark in my tone.

My words woke him up, and his eyes turned hard. “Are you going home with Max?”

Was that the only reason he’d followed me? To find out if I was going home with Max?

He had no right! My brows shot up in disbelief. “Are you going home with Tina?” I countered. He clenched his teeth, and I watched the muscles in his jaw twitch even through his beard. “And does it really matter? We’re not exclusive.” It felt good throwing his words back at him.

“Well then, I guess that means I can fuck you right here against this sink, and fuck Tina later in my bed,” he said shockingly.

The image he planted in my mind of him fucking Tina caused red-hot anger to surface, and it took effort to respond as if I didn’t give a damn. “I guess so.”

My heart began pounding in my chest. Mortifyingly, I felt the burning sting in my eyes that indicated I was going to cry, and I didn’t know why. Suddenly I realized what my inadequate response had given him permission to do. Even though he hadn’t moved, I backed up against the sink.

His lips twitched with humor. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Yeah, you do that, asshole.I was saved when someone began pounding on the door. Cody stared at me for another minute, and then he unlocked the door and left without a word. I released a breath of relief and relaxed. I would have given into him.

The woman entering the bathroom and I exchanged a look before she continued into one of the stalls.

---