Helga had taken the night watch, and he and Peyton were able to curl up together in a motel room, snuggling close. There was little light, except for what flickered in through the curtained window from the campfire, but they were both mentally and physically exhausted from the ordeal and had immediately passed out in each other’s arms.Peyton was curled against him, her small body melting into his. He absently brushed her hair with his hand, fingering the smooth strands. How he’d wanted this, and for so long. Now here she was. All his. At last.The moment should have been perfect. But he couldn’t relax. Not with the itching. Low in his belly first, then crawling up and down each limb.It had been easy to make a promise to himself to give up the drugs when he was bargaining for his life and trying to appease the girl of his dreams; it was a lot harder to act on that promise in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep. No more pills. Not just tonight, but not ever again. The rest of his life spilled out in front of him, and it suddenly seemed very bleak.He tried to tell himself that his love for Peyton was enough.
