Page 1 of Keep Me Close

1

Knox

The bass thumps through the floor of VYCE, vibrating up the leather couch and straight into my bones. Sweaty bodies press together on the dance floor below, writhing in time with the music. Lights flash red, blue, then white, the space nothing but motion and noise.

VIP is supposed to be exclusive.

Tonight, it’s just ordinary.

When the hell did going out start to feel so boring?

I tip my beer back and scan the club again, waiting for something to spark my interest or grab my attention.

Nothing does.

This used to be enough. Loud music, a few drinks, and a willing distraction whose name I won’t remember in the morning. It was easy. Predictable. A means to an end.

Somewhere along the way, that changed.

Cooper Callahan lounges on the couch to my left, legs stretched out, nursing a drink he hasn’t touched in ten minutes. Jax Wilder is to my right, already buzzed and grinning like he’s having the time of his life.

I exhale heavily.

Most of my other friends are domesticated now. Maybe they’re not all wifed up, but it’s close enough. Steele and River are engaged. Oliver’s having a baby. And Laiken, of all people, ended up married to Oliver’s little sister.

I still can’t wrap my head around that one.

And here I am, sitting in a nightclub surrounded by half-naked strangers, bored out of my damn skull.

That’s when I feel a shift on the cushion beside me as a warm weight settles without permission. I glance over and find a woman with long auburn hair spilling over one shoulder in loose waves, and green eyes that are bright even in the dim lighting. She’s wearing a black dress that clings in all the right places, and her bare thigh is pressed firmly against mine.

Her smile is slow and filled with confidence.

“I’ve been watching you all night,” she murmurs, leaning in close enough for her lips to brush my ear. “And couldn’t help but notice that you don’t look like you’re having much fun.”

Her hand trails over my knee.

“I love hockey,” she adds when I remain silent. “I thought maybe we could go somewhere a little more private.”

It’s tempting.

The woman is gorgeous. She’s exactly the kind of distraction I came here to find.

Except…

My chest tightens as I continue staring.

The color of her hair. The curve of her smile. The shape of her body. They’re not exact but close enough to remind me of Cheyenne.

Even the thought of her name is like a gut punch.

The music fades for half a second as an image flashes through my mind of her standing across the room at a family gathering and staring at me like she already knew exactly who I was.

I shove the thought away before it can burrow deeper beneath my skin.

Abso-fucking-lutely not.

I don’t screw stand-ins. I have rules. The first one is that I don’t touch women I can’t walk away from in the morning.