Page 82 of Bad Cowboy, Tennessee

It still scared me, wondering what else had happened to him, or what else he’d done.

But for the first time, I felt a crest of a new wave rising inside me.

I trusted him.

I shouldn’t have. But I did.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked gently.

“That I trust you.”

“Max…”

“I know what you’re going to say.That’s a bad idea, Max. Don’t trust someone like me. I don’t care. I trust you, anyway. It might mean I’m naive, but you’re just going to have to live with it.”

He stroked the side of my jaw.

“And that’s why you’re beautiful,” he said. “Inside and out.”

My heart sped up like a goddamn hummingbird. I felt a heat creep up to my cheeks. He was making my brain feel all cross-wired, just like he always did, and I couldn’t even deny how good it felt now.

First I’d been mad at him for not sharing shit with me, but when he’d opened up, I realized that there was an iceberg of trauma inside of him.

But now, up close next to me, it was like all of that silently evaporated into the air.

A stillness had come over the room. Every cell inside me was a little sensor tuned toward his body.

How fucking good his chest looked, this close to me.

The intricate lines of a tattoo I’d never focused on before—a tiny wordless scroll, on one side of his ribcage.

The sound of the crickets was the only thing I could focus on as Draven’s hand moved over my throat.

Gently.

Maddeningly slow.

Then his hand laced around to the back of my neck, his fingers moving through my hair, like I was an animal he was taming, moment by moment.

And it was working. I was so fucked around him.

I loved the way he was towering above me. I responded to his touch, going docile the moment his skin was on mine.

And he knows it, I thought idly.

My pulse ticked up as he gazed down at my lips.

He leaned down.

Just kiss me so I can figure out why the hell I want it so badly.

Without thought, I went in, trying to close the distance between us.

But his resistance was immediate. Just before our lips could connect, his hands came down on my shoulders and he pushed me back onto the bed instead, straddling me, his gaze suddenly fierce.

I let out a breath. His face was still so close to mine. Just above me on the bed, hanging over me like he wastryingto intimidate me or turn me on.

Congratulations, Draven, you have succeeded in both. As usual.

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