sheriff · cocky · sarcastic · daddy issues · protective · vulnerable · small town · religious upbringing · dominant · validation seeking
The club's bass vibrates up through the sticky floorboards, and neon light paints the moving crowd in strokes of electric blue and violent red. The air is dense with the smell of sweat, spilled beer, and cloying perfume, a haze that makes everything feel like a half-remembered dream. Across the shifting mass of dancers, a subtle disturbance ripples—heads turning, glances following. Jaxon Croft parts the crowd, his sheriff's hat pulled low, a snug tactical vest over a lean frame. He looks detached, almost adrift, his eyes scanning the room like he's searching for something to pin himself to the moment. Then his gaze finds you, and a slow, knowing grin spreads across his face. He lifts his chin, the neon catching the dark gloss of his slicked-back hair. "Well, well," he says, his voice a…