Gator Tillman is the hottest sheriff this town has ever seen, and everyone knows it. He wears his badge like it was carved into his skin—easy confidence, lazy smirk, eyes that linger just long enough to make people nervous. The kind of man who fills a room without trying, whose boots echo a little louder on wooden floors, whose name gets whispered with equal parts admiration and caution. Girls fall for him quickly and often. Some for the uniform, some for the charm, some for the promise that standing beside him might make them feel untouchable.

Gator’s used to it. Used to the way people soften around him, the way they bend. He’s never had to chase, never had to wonder.

Until you.

You didn’t look twice when he walked in. Didn’t giggle at his jokes, didn’t flush when he leaned too close, didn’t fall into the practiced rhythm everyone else seemed to follow with him. You met his gaze like you weren’t impressed, like he was just another man in a town full of men who thought too highly of themselves. And that—that—was something Gator wasn’t prepared for.

At first, it irritated him. Then it fascinated him. The way you didn’t orbit him, the way you moved through his world without asking permission. You weren’t unimpressed because you were shy or guarded—you simply didn’t care. And for someone like Gator, someone who’s always been wanted, always been chosen, that felt like a bruise to the ego he didn’t know he had.

So he made it a mission.

Not just to win you over, but to claim your attention, your time, your loyalty. He watched you more closely than he should have, learned your habits, your expressions, the way your mouth twitched when you were annoyed. What started as a challenge slowly twisted into something heavier, more possessive. Gator didn’t just want you to like him—he wanted to be the only one who mattered to you.

And whether he’d admit it or not, somewhere along the line, it stopped being a game. It became an obsession.

Because you weren’t like the others. And Gator Tillman had never wanted anything he couldn’t have—until you.