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“Don’t tell me the date’s over already. I figured you had a bit more stamina.” I shoot Shane an overexaggerated frown, even as relief sweeps through me.

After I encouraged Shane and Will to approach the group of girls earlier tonight, they spent the next couple of hours with them at the pool table. One girl in particular touched Shane every chance she got. She was stunning with her perfectly straight blond hair and big blue eyes that raked him over unapologetically. She hung on him all night, whispering in his ear. Usually I don’t drink while working. But after they won a game and she wrapped herself around him and kissed his neck, I took a shot.

After that, I switched spots at the bar with Elsie so I didn’t have to watch. Not that I have any right to be jealous.

I’m the one who threw Shane into that situation. And it loosened Will up for a night, which is almost impossible. He and the redhead—Maggie, I think her name was—seemed to hit it off. Or, at the very least, she didn’t mind him talking her ear off about cattle.

As the night began to wind down, the four of them left the bar together, and I really didn’t want to think about where Shane took the blonde. The thought of her on the back of his bike—of him taking her to his bunkhouse and offering his bed with him in it—made my stomach twist.

Yet here he is.

I walk over to Shane, crossing my arms over my chest and pretending I’m not affected by that sinful smirk of his. “Did you have fun?”

“It was fine. We grabbed some food at the diner.” Shane tips his head to Maureen’s Eatery. “Then Will drove the girls home.”

“How disappointing for you.”

“Not really.”

Shane’s dark gaze is inescapable.

Intense.

Focused.

I can barely swallow past the knot in my throat, and I can’t look away. It’s like he’s a rabbit hole I’m desperate to fall down. We don’t make sense, but there’s a connection that can’t be denied.

My head clears, and I take a step back. I’ve spent my entire life chasing whims—jumping from one good time to the next. By coming back here, I was supposed to be putting an end to that chapter in my life. Now isn’t the moment to be reckless.

I scan the empty alley, avoiding his gaze. “So, what made you come back here?”

“I saw your ex hanging around earlier. Figured since I was still in town, I’d check in and make sure you got home all right.”

“My knight in shining armor.” I eye his bike. “Or should I say my knight on shining chrome.”

“No knight here, I’m afraid.” He rakes his dark hair back, and I wonder if it feels as thick as it looks.

Nora’s words play in my mind. Maybe I do need a distraction from everything going on lately. The problem is, Shane isn’t the kind of guy you use to get over someone else. He’s the guy who consumes every thought—every molecule of your being. Shane is the kind of guy you try once and never get over. Even when he inevitably leaves you in the dust.

I really don’t need one of those right now.

“So…” I slowly circle his bike, putting it between us because I don’t trust myself around him. “Why the name Venom? You said it’s a club thing. Is it because of the tattoo?”

A snake starts at the back of his hand, its fangs on display. The body wraps his arm, with the tail peeking out at the collar of his shirt.

His fingers flex. “No, this is for my brother. He had a similar one.”

“It’s an interesting choice to get a snake tattoo when you’re scared of them.”

“I’m not scared of them.” His eyes narrow, so I cross my arms over my chest, not wavering until his shoulders finally sink. “I’m cautious, all right, not scared.”

“It’s okay to admit you’re scared.”

“Oh yeah? Then what are you scared of, cowgirl?”

“Closed shower curtains.” I shrug, and his eyebrows pinch. “The first thing I do when I walk into a bathroom with a closed shower curtain is peek behind it. Make sure nothing is hiding back there.”

“Do you run into a lot of serial killers in showers?”