Page 112 of Bad Cowboy, Tennessee

“What has it brought me other than trouble?” I said. “If it weren’t for that, none of this would have happened. I wouldn’t have online stalkers who I can’t tell if they’re just normal-creepy or dangerous-creepy.”

“No amount of creepy is ‘normal,’ sweetheart?—”

“I wouldn’t have to change everything about my life,” I said, my voice wavering as it got louder. “The stupid security cameras. You, always being inconvenienced, following me around or worrying about my safety. Life was easier when I just lived in a small town andstayedin that small town, working and going home. Why wasn’t that enough? Why did everything have to change?”

He put a hand on my back, running his palm up and down my spine. “You’re so tired. You really do need sleep.”

“The most complicated thing I used to think about was how to be the best bartender at the Hard Spot. That’s simple. Easy. One bar, local customers. I used to always joke about there being a ghost cat there, because it was the only intrigue I had during most weeks. But there was never any little ghost cat haunting the bar. I was… reaching. Making stories where thereweren’tany.”

“I think there are plenty of stories at the Hard Spot.”

I let out a frustrated sigh, leaning back on the thick glass windows behind me. “Well, I don’t need any more, now. I just want things to slow down. All thechangecan just fucking take a pause, please and thank you.”

“You want to know something?” Draven asked.

I turned to look at him, a fresh anger hitting my veins.

He looked so fucking good, and I just wanted to kiss him.

“Yes. I want to know something,” I told him.

“Dominic has a young daughter.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Really?”

Draven nodded. “You won’t hear him talk about it much, but yes.”

“A daughter,” I said.

“A handful of years ago, his whole life changed forever, too. He doesn’t get to see her as much as he’d like, right now, but he’s endlessly working on how to fix it. The baby was a surprise to him and his girlfriend at the time, and their relationship ended pretty soon after.”

“Would Dominic be okay with you telling me all of this?”

“Absolutely. Dom was adopted by another wealthy family in this area. He was on a certain track in life, but everything seemed to come to a halt when he had his daughter. He didn’t want change, either. He was terrified.”

“I can’t picture him terrified,” I said. “He’s kind of like you.”

The corner of Draven’s mouth came up in a slight smile. “Likeme?”

“You two are like two marble statues in human form. You seem impervious to emotions, other than desire or confidence or power.”

“Powerisn’t an emotion.”

“Sure seemed like it was when you fucked my mouth for the first time,” I muttered.

He rested his palm on my thigh now, squeezing me there.

“The point is that Dom struggled with change for over a year. And then something justswitchedinside him. He realized that change wasn’t going anywhere. And he was going to ride it like a wave rather than drowning under the current.”

I sighed, rubbing at my eyes. “I don’t think I’m anywhere nearsurfing it like a wave. I don’t know if that’s possible for me.”

“Sure didn’t seem like that when you first throated my cock.”

He’d tossed back my own statement at me. I looked back up at him.

“I want to strangle you,” I told him.

“See?” he teased. “You wouldn’t have said something like that before all of this happened.”

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