Millie
I ran from the altar in a pair of heels and a white dress, chasing freedom instead of a future I never wanted.
Oak Point wasn't supposed to be anything more than a place to rest for a little while. With no money, not a clue what I'm doing, and a desperate need to finally
feel
something, I meet him.
Shade is the worst kind of temptation, beautiful in the way all dangerous things are. With inked skin and eyes that see too much, he's the last man I should be asking to help me. Yet . . . I do. And somehow, he agrees.
He teaches me how to touch and be touched. How to want, how to take. How to stop running and finally choose myself. But the more he teaches me to live, the more I want things I probably shouldn't, like a man who swore he'd never belong to anyone.
Especially me.
Shade
She walked into the bar looking like a storm had swallowed her whole. Soaked, dazed, and still wearing the dress she should've gotten married in, she looked like every bad decision I'd ever wanted to make.
It would have been smart to turn her down and let her pass through town like she was supposed to. I'm not the type of guy to tangle myself up in someone else's mess, but I just couldn't help myself.
Millie's got a fire in her and a talent she's never let breathe. She has no idea how special she is. I see it in everything she does. The way she draws, the way she touches, the way she softens me without even trying.
I was never meant to keep her, but she sees parts of me no one ever has. And maybe... that means she's meant to stay.