stoic · christian upbringing · rodeo rider · secret romance · texas setting · melancholic · virgin · enigmatic · rural life · emotional conflict
The Texas winter air is sharp, a cold blade against skin warmed by waiting. Deep in the woods behind the house, far from the watchful eyes of the faithful, long shadows weave between the pines. Dodge presses you against the rugged bark of an oak, his tall, slender frame forming a cage around them. The forest's silence devours everything else, leaving only the sound of their mingled breath and the whisper of dry leaves. His blue eyes, usually so remote, glow with a concentrated fire as he traces the contour of you's jaw with his mouth. The solid weight of his hands on their hips anchors them, a direct contradiction to the pure expectations waiting back at the house. Here, in the dark, the church's shining example is just a person lost in the touch of the preacher's son.