“You wanna dance?” I asked Jeff.

“Lead the way.” He smiled and in another life it may have made me swoon. However, tonight was not the night to think about what ‘could be’. It was about letting my hair down and having fun. I was determined to enjoy my night.

I slipped my hand into Jeff’s and we walked through the dense bar to the dance floor. Jeff’s arm came around my waist and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“You look stunning tonight,” he complimented. It was genuine. Jeff was incapable of saying something like that with an agenda. He meant it. I was wearing a tight black dress that stopped mid thigh and dipped low to reveal my back. It clung to my breasts, exposing my cleavage, and showed off my curvy hips. I’d straightened my hair and let it hang down to the center of my spine.

“You look pretty sharp yourself, Stud.”

He laughed and I enjoyed the rich sound. He did in fact look delicious in his dark jeans and black button down shirt. He was taller than most of the other guys here and to anyone who didn’t know him, he would’ve looked intimidating. But I knew him and beneath that tough exterior was the heart of a man who deserved more than I could give. I touched the bruise on Jeff’s face and he winced. “Does it hurt?” I asked, sincerely concerned. Jeff looked a little rough after Brody had punched him but he’d refused to let me come here alone.

“Not so bad,” he replied.

“I’m sorry Brody hit you,” I said, looking up into Jeff’s green eyes.

His hand left my waist and he brushed my lips with his thumb. I held my breath and our gazes locked. “Don’t apologize,” his voice was husky, “if I’d had someone like you, and seen you with another man, I would’ve done the same thing. He still cares about you. I don’t blame him.”

I opened my mouth to say something but then snapped it shut again. I had no response to what he’d said and there was no way I was about to tell him I still cared about Brody too. I felt bad enough already, knowing that I couldn’t return Jeff’s feelings, no matter how badly I’d wished I could. A new, slower song started playing and I looked around the dance floor, my eyes fell on Brody and Sienna, dancing a few feet away from us. Their bodies were pressed up against each other and her height brought them almost nose-to-nose. She pressed her lips to his and I felt sick. I hated seeing them together but what right did I have to feel jealous? I had no claim to Brody and yet I felt fiercely possessive of him. Then there was the fact that I was ogling him while dancing with another man. God, what was wrong with me?

Jeff cleared his throat and I realized we’d stopped dancing. I looked up and found him regarding me. Guilt reared its head and the only way I could think of squashing it was to get another drink. Jeff and I made our way back to the table without exchanging a word or a glance and found Huntley and Grayson talking quietly between themselves. They looked so in love and if I hadn’t adored them so much it would’ve been sickening to watch. Instead, I looked at them wistfully and wished that I had what they did.

A waitress stopped by and I ordered another drink, feeling the need to let go surfacing. I didn’t want to think about anything tonight. I just wanted to let go for one night and forget that I was a complete mess inside. I found Brody and Sienna again, only this time Brody was watching me. His gaze was hot and determined and it angered me. The music had changed to a heavy RnB song and Sienna had made the most of the opportunity to bump and grind up against Brody, touching him in ways that could be considered public indecency. She obviously didn’t notice him fucking me with his eyes.

I slammed another drink back, squeezing my eyes shut when my head started swimming. I’d started to go numb, my mind going blank. The glass the hit the table and everyone jumped, staring at me. I didn’t care. Not right then anyway. Mission accomplished, I thought. I sent Brody a polite “fuck you” with my eyes, a message only he would be able to see, and spun on my heel before making way through the crowd to get to the bathroom. I waited in line and a few minutes later, someone grabbed my arm. “What the - “

My words disappeared when I looked up and saw that it was Brody who’d grabbed my arm. He started dragging me further down the hall, past the men’s bathroom and towards the storeroom. “What are you doing?” I asked, trying to pry my arm free. His grip was too strong and the alcohol I had consumed had made my ability to fight him weaken. He opened the door to the storeroom and dragged me behind him before shutting the door.

“Brody, what - ” His lips crashed into mine before I could finish my sentence. They were hot and wet and so familiar. I pulled away, shaking my head. Those lips had been kissing another woman only minutes before and now he was kissing me? Yeah, I don’t think – all coherent thought left my brain when Brody lifted me up and pushed my tight, black dress past my hips. He held my thighs and pressed his erection between my legs. He hadn’t said a single word since he’s dragged me into the smelly storeroom and while the lighting was bad, I could see his intentions written on his face. I’d lost my self-restraint about one minute ago and when he ground his erection against my wet thong a second time, I surrendered. Our lips collided in a heated, passionate kiss and his hands moved up while mine pushed through his hair. There was no other sound aside from our heavy breathing and it had a heady affect on me. My blood boiled and I was so turned on it was painful. I heard the rip of my underwear, the pull of a zipper and the tearing of a condom wrapper. Brody lifted me higher and started sucking on my neck as he pushed his hard cock into me. I bit my lip to stop from screaming out and gasped audibly when he was buried inside me to the hilt. It had been a year since I’d last had sex and while it took me a moment to adjust to Brody’s size, I reveled in the way he filled me up, the way we fitted each other so perfectly you’d think we were made for each other.

Brody sighed, and bit my neck as his hips started moving. I held on tighter and he started pumping into me until the sound of skin slapping on skin filled the room. It wasn’t making love. It was fucking. Hot, uninhibited, forget-your-own-name fucking. It had been so long since we’d been like this but before I could overanalyze it, my orgasm attacked without warning. Brody kissed me, suppressing my scream and pushed into me hard and fast while he chased his own orgasm. When he grunted and shook in my arms, my head collapsed on his shoulders. My chest heaved and I fought to catch my breath. Brody’s head came up and he looked at me, not saying anything. My post-orgasm bliss was cut short when an uneasy feeling settled over me. Brody lowered me to the floor, still remaining silent, and I righted my dress. He pulled off the condom, rolled it up in some toilet paper from one of the shelves, and tucked it into his pocket. He leaned in close and instead of kissing me on the lips he pressed a kiss to my forehead. I swear I heard him murmur “I’ll always be yours” but I couldn’t be sure because just as quickly as he’d fucked me into oblivion, he’d left and shut the door, leaving me alone. What the hell had just happened and why had I done that? I didn’t just fuck people in storerooms. But then again, it wasn’t just a person. It was Brody. I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and realized that I’d behaved like a total whore. Even worse, Brody had treated me that way, like I was a meaningless screw, while he was with someone else. Oh God, what have I done? I needed to get away. Now.