“Yes,” he assured her without hesitation. “I thought I was broken too, that I’d never trust women, but I had it all wrong. I wasn’t broken at all. I was just waiting for you. It’s always been yours; even before we met, it belonged to you.”

“You like it dirty; I do too. Be filthy; beg me for it. Be a complete cock whore.""You like being forced to just lay there and wait for me. I like it too. You look so good all open and ready for my cock. Just being still and obedient like a good little cock whore.”

“He's not a monster, he's a teddy bear," Eve said defiantly. "He's my teddy bear. I don't want you to hurt him. I want you to fix him.""There's nothing to fix," Danny said. "Paul's not broken.”

“Are you going to cry when you hand your Evie Girl over to me? You never cry for me. I think I’d like to see it.”

“Your ass belongs to me. I’ve suffered for it. I’ve loved you forever. I deserve it,” Danny went on, his voice a low mixture of anger and desire. “I don’t ever want you getting from another man what you can get from me. You hear me, Paul Guy, it’s mine.”

“How’d this happen?” Melody asked in a stunned whisper. She never expected to fall in love and certainly not this swiftly or with this much finality. “We just met.” “I don’t believe that,” Clay argued as he turned her palm over in his and traced the lines of it with the pad of his finger. “I’m pretty sure we’ve known each other forever. Seeing you the first time was like coming home, and there ain’t been anything to happen since that’s disabused me of the notion.” “Yeah,” Melody agreed, the bright skyline blurring to a sea of vibrant color. She remembered seeing Clay in Hal’s Diner the first time. Alone and eating his turkey, she’d been compelled to reach out to him. “Do you really believe in soul mates?” “I do now.”

“These country chicks, I’m not even kidding you, they’re fucking hard-core. They’ll kill your ass and make it look like an accident. You drag the lakes around here and I promise you, there’s dumb assholes who tried to get laid by the wrong chicks floating at the bottom of it—concrete boots—and I think your girlfriend’s distributing them. Sadistic bitch.”