Chapter 1

One

Harper

I slowly ease my hand down my body as my eyes come to rest on Boone's. His lashes are lowered and every smooth angle of his large, muscled body is gloriously bare to me.

All for me.

He's standing over me, and his arousal, long and rigid, juts out. With his eyes focused on mine, I can read the silent need between us. My breath slows. I reach for him like I do every night and moan a throaty sound of awe when my fingers wrap around the hot, silky length of his shaft.

He's on fire, burning for me as I do for him.

Hot cum drips from the crown of his arousal and I slowly ease up from my bed, the sheet pooling around my waist to reveal my heavy breasts and tight nipples.

"Boone, I can't, I don't know if I can go on," I whisper into the fading darkness of my room.

"You don't have to, not tonight, baby. Not every again."

My eyes shutter closed at the empty promises. Why are they empty? Because I recognize this dream for what it is and like every time, I silently wish that this time, dear God, may this time be real and not only a dream. But it isn't no matter how much I need this. I need him so much the silent ache inside me has consumed my life.

Fierce eyes darker than midnight track my other hand as I slip it beneath the sheets. Lust fills those dark eyes and pulls his lips into a tight, firm line. Harsh breaths tear from me as I spread my legs. My face reddens in the darkness. Being this bold doesn't come naturally to me, but I can't hold on any longer. I gasp softly when I find the swollen nub between my wet folds and begin to stroke my clit with gentle movements. I rock my hips as I work us both, wishing he would finally take my virginity.

The only warning I have is the twitch in his jaw before he reaches down and yanks the sheet from the bed to reveal just how wet I am for my godfather's brother.

"Fuck me, Harper. Do you know how beautiful you are?" His rough, growly words are the same each night and make me so wet I can feel my girl cum slip into the crease of my ass and soak the sheets.

The hungry, fierce look in his eyes has my hands moving fast, my hips bucking wildly.

His gaze zeroes in on my throbbing clit, and I know what I want to happen next. He's breathing as heavy as I am and his attention latches onto my hand as I work him from base to tip, each stroke wetting my fingers with his sticky milk.

I look on as he moves his massive body into bed beside me, slipping an arm around me to pull me next to him. Heat consumes me and my overheated skin feels the slightest of touches.

I arch against the hand caressing a hot trail from my neck to the crease of my thighs. As if he controls my body, my legs fall back open for him. Every nerve ending in my body sizzles with need. The anticipation of his touch on my virgin pussy has my whole body shaking.

It's really going to happen. Maybe this isn't a dream.

His body, hot and hard, presses my legs wider when he pushes them open to fit his wide shoulders. I want to throw him on the bed and fully seat his hard, dripping cock inside me but I know what he wants first. He wants to claim my virgin juices with his tongue, and I am powerless to deny him the second his wet tongue strokes over my clit.

Rough fingers spread my pouty lips wide so he can have easier access to the treasure he wants. His lips roam over my bare folds before he sinks the tip of a finger into my soaked slit.

"Boone," I gasp.

"I've waited too long; I'm starving for you. I'm sorry."

No more words. His mouth is on me and I can feel the heat of my orgasm rushing through me. I arch my hips higher, greedy for more of him. All of him. A low rumble of a laugh vibrates against my clit and it's nearly my undoing. My fingers bury into the sheets.

Too fast. Too hot. I feel like the fire in him is spreading to me, intent on consuming me.

"So hungry. Are you aching for me to fuck you, little girl?"

"Yes," I plea, pressing the palms of my hands into my eyes. "Boone, please."

He seems to ponder my words for a second. "I won't let you go until you're satisfied, baby. Until I've licked and sucked every drop of sweet cum from your body. Then, and only then, will I give you mine in return." His voice caresses over me with dark promises of things to come.

His head lowers and the hot tip of his tongue circles my clit, torturing me into giving him exactly what he is after. My body happily obliges.

My hips arch into his mouth and curious fingers drag hot juices everywhere he touches. Hands on either side of my ass cheeks spread me wider.

His eyes are pitch black when he raises his head. "Watch me, baby girl. Watch me eat this ass and pussy like the treasure it is."

Heat blooms through my whole body the second his hot tongue drags over my forbidden entrance and not stopping until my clit is between his lips. I shudder. Fingers trace the rim of my asshole as another sinks into the heated entrance of my pussy.

I jerk with a gasp on my lips and lock eyes with him when the tip of his thumb dips breaching my back entrance. He pushes deeper, retreating slowly, so torturously slow. With each stroke, I become wetter and more on edge with need. With deliberate movements he works both my holes, and the girl cum dripping from my channel is enough to wet both of us and the bed.

My head falls back, and God, those fingers of his have me withering, ready to lose my control. Not that I ever had any to begin with around the man I shouldn't want.

I clutch at the sheets. "Boone, I'm...you're going to make me...oh, yes, Boone!"

My fingers tighten and the heat of my release builds. I hold on, driving my pussy against his mouth, needing more. It's never enough. His fingers thrust deep and my pussy grips them. I'm so so close. I feel so hot, needy...and alive.

A hot tongue replaces his fingers. "Oh, God, yes, Boone!"

My eyes fly open to the sound of my phone going off, and just like that any chances of getting off dies along with my dreams.

"Argh!" I growl. Embers of my release fizzle out, leaving me deflated and cold inside, yet my hard nipples and shuddering body have yet to get the full memo. Heavy breathing fills my empty room, and I fight to gain control.

My heart aches and sinks as the two-ton weight of my reality crashes into me. I never get the ending I'm after, not even in my dreams.

"Just like all the other times," I groan into my pillow.

I'm alone. Empty room. Empty bed and empty, aching heart.

I reach for my phone and find a message on the screen from my best friend wishing me a happy eighteenth birthday.

"Nothing happy about it," I mutter and toss the phone on the bed beside me.

I close my eyes tight and focus on the thumping of my heart, the pulse of need still throbbing against my clit. Boone is my everything, my fantasy and dream, yet I can't have him. I doubt he even knows how much I long to be the woman in his arms and in his bed.

It all started three years ago. My fifteenth birthday is when I saw Boone as a man and not just someone I could count on to always have my back. My heart gives a pitiful thump. I had fallen off a wild mare he was teaching me to break in. A few minutes in and I was bucked off into a pile of nearby hay. Nothing wounded but my pride.

Boone had been right there, checking me over. At six foot and a couple of inches to my five-three frame, I naturally did what any alpha-loving female did. I swooned when he tipped my chin up and smiled down at me. "You ok, baby girl?" he'd asked. Those dark eyes of his caressed every inch of my young face before he placed a tender kiss on the top of my head and gruffly told me to call it a day.

That night is when the first wet dream featuring the roughened cowboy hit me.

Like the idiot that I am, I fell in love with a man I can't have. Foolish or not, I saw something deep in his eyes spark to life before dying out. I felt that same spark in the way he brushed a thumb over my cheek, too.

His features hardened the longer I stared back at him before walking back to the house covered in hay and with an ache I had yet to understand.

I scowl at my thoughts. There's something obviously wrong with me. How perverted does that make me? Filthy is what I am if I'm honest. No matter how decadent and sinful the feelings are running through me. He has never touched me in the ways I dream about, but my body and mind seem to forget that little detail. As the years have gone by, I've caught him stealing glances here and there, but no more. I half think it's my wild imagination cooking up something not even there.

Since turning fifteen all I can think about—dream about—is him. My godfather's brother. The man society says I can't have. He and his family saved me from a miserable life and here I am lusting after one of them. What does that say about me?

But each time I slide my naked body between my crisp cotton sheets at night, I dream; crave to feel his strong hands working me into a feverish need. His mouth devouring my screams of pleasure.

"Harper, bacon is ready! I can't save your portion much longer!"

I grab my pillow and let out a frustrated scream. Feeling not even the slightest bit better I kick off the knotted sheets around my feet and force myself to head to the shower. Ten minutes later I twine my hair into a quick braid around the shoulder, snag a pair of shorts and tank top and slide down the stairs to find all three Urban brothers huddled up in front of the bacon platter, a mug of coffee in hand.

"Morning, y'all."

Boone's attention pulls to me the second I step into the kitchen and there's not an inch of me his gaze doesn't touch before pulling to my eyes.

Yeah, there's no way I'm not going to react to that. My pulse thunders through me like a summer storm over the Texas landscape.

His handsome face is pulled tight with a grim expression. He's leaned up against the counter, his long, powerful legs crossed at the ankle. His brothers, Austin and Hunter, are beside him, their backs to me. All have thick thatches of jet-black hair, but only Boone wears it long enough to run fingers through. All three are the hot bachelors of our mid-sized Texas town. Not so big you feel crowded but small enough to where everyone knows your business.

Austin, the oldest Urban brother is the first to speak up, though I can feel Boone's gaze track my progress deeper into the kitchen.

Austin holds his arms out and I slip into them for a quick morning hug. I've had the same routine since I was fourteen and the Urban family took me and loved me as their own. "Morning, sweet thing. Sleep well?"

The Urban brothers had gone to school with my mom and dad—high school sweethearts who married before the ink on their high school diplomas could dry. Nine months later I was born and Austin was picked to be my godfather.

Everything was perfect until my father was caught skimming off his client's high-rolling accounts, including the Urbans. Worse yet, my mother was in on it. Both are still serving time for their white-collar crimes with fifteen years left on the clock. It's safe to say, without the Urbans I'd be a lost foster case. It says something about the men and their family that they would take in a girl of the family stealing from them. On top of all that it's hard carrying the Grayson name in a town this small and up until about a year ago I couldn't wait to get out.

I sneak a look at Boone. Maybe I have some of my mother's underhandedness, after all, though I've sworn to myself I'm nothing like either of my parents. Because for the life of me I've tried to come up with every excuse, pull every trick and do anything in my power to stay right where I am at. Including lying about not wanting to go to college. I want to–I just don't want to leave Boone. So, I guess I'm not so sure about anything.

I give my usual answer to Austin's caring question, working my voice into my usual carefree bubbliness. "Sure did. Until someone screamed bacon at me. The sun is barely up, for God's sake, people."

A smug look comes over Hunter's face, the youngest of the Urban crew, who mirrors Boone's crossed leg lean against the counter. They've got it down to an art. First the lean, then the hooking of the ankle. When Boone does it, my eyes are always drawn to the large bulge of his jeans.

Standing side by side, Austin comes in at a couple of inches shorter and not as broad around the shoulders, but that is where the differences fork. All three have the same jawline and piercing dark eyes. Only when Boone is looking at me, I can feel the pull on my soul.

All are poured into their favorite pair of Levi's with various styles of button-down shirts neatly tucked at the waist.

Boone's is all black and snugly fitted around thick forearms and thicker biceps. How they wear long sleeves in the summer is beyond me. Something about sunburns. Me? I like the sun touching me everywhere.

"Figured bacon would get you goin' faster, sleepyhead. It's gettin' late and we still have a ton of prep work to do for this evening."

"You guys. I told you there's no need for any big party." I push them aside, careful not to touch Boone as I angle my body through the small gaps between the men to get to the bacon. Given they are all unmarried, I think they like spoiling me and none of them take no for an answer no matter what I say.

"Like we would let such a special day go unnoticed!" Austin taps me on the nose and presses a mug of coffee into my hands. "Hey, did we hear you scream a few minutes ago?"

My brain pinwheels. There's a moment of silence as all three men stare at me.

I swallow the hard lump of shock lodged in my throat. Oh God! I instantly blush and catch Boone's eye over the rim of my mug. Why is it every time I look at him I feel like he's reading my deepest, darkest secrets?

I throw off a nonchalant shrug, or at least hope I do. "Um, yeah I just stubbed my toe on the dresser again. I swear one day I'm going to heave it out the window." Not a total lie. I did hit my toe. But only because I tripped over my knotted sheets because of one dark-eyed man to my left.

Before I can duck my head and find some hole to crawl in, Austin twines his thick arms around me and plants a big kiss on my cheek. He's tanned from being out in the hayfields and training horses under the springtime sunshine that contrasts his white shirt. "By the way, happy birthday!"

"You're gettin' old!" Hunter chimes in, stealing me away to do a quick dance around the kitchen table Beauty and the Beast style.

A few turns and Hunter swirls me to a laughing stop in front of Boone, who looks like the Grim Reaper pissed in his coffee. Black brows are pinched together and his full lips look even thinner with how he's got them meshed together.

"Older, huh? You know what that means?" he asks gruffly, an amused look crossing his expression. I narrow my eyes slightly.

"What are you up to, Boone Urban?"

For the first time in a long while, a grin peels his lips back and my heart soars.

He raises a large hand in defense, and a warmth comes over him like he has a secret and it's burning his lips not to spill it. I raise a brow. If I didn't know any better, I would say the faint smirk the smile fades into says he is up to something.

"You'll see after the party. Promise."

Unease settles in my limbs. Me going off to college has been a big discussion since I graduated this past spring. Especially from Boone. My heart thuds. Please don't let the surprise be my luggage at the door and a plane ticket in his hand.

"What's that supposed to mean. C'mon! Don't tease me and make me wait!"

Boone's jaw twitches in time with the second hand on the clock hanging over his head. And for some odd reason it feels like my time here, with him, all of them, is limited.

"Pleeease," I draw out, batting my lashes playfully.

Normally Boone is an easygoing guy, but right now every muscle in his body is engaged. "It just means bigger presents," he teases coolly. "You'll have that to chew on for the rest of the day."

He straightens and pulls me in for a quick hug. His delicious warmth hotter than the Texas summer heat, the intoxicating smell of his cologne—everything about him—cocoons me in a bubble I never want to leave. A hint of sweet hay, fresh air, pine...all of it is Boone and I draw in a heavy lungful.

I smile and look up into his eyes; his trailing over my face to finally land on my lips. Just like that, I swear I see something fierce flash in his eyes. It lasts for all of a second before his eyes fade to their usual black. "Happy birthday, baby girl." He runs the backside of his knuckles across my cheek. A gentle stroke that carries the weight of my world in it.

He towers over me and it takes a lot not to lean fully into him, wrap my arms completely around his neck instead of resting on his chest, and take those perfect lips. Just put myself out there in a kiss, ramifications be damned. Instead, I smile. "Thank you, Boone."

With a nod, he reaches behind me and snags his hat off the wall. "Gonna head to town for a few errands. Be good, sweetheart."

He steps away from me, and I reluctantly let my arms fall to my sides.

"Will we see you at the party?" I ask, turning to watch him head for the back door.

Briefly, so briefly, a hint of a smile lifts his lips. "Wouldn't miss our birthday dance for the world."

Another reason I fell in love with him a little more each year. The same year my naughty wet dreams started was the year he also took me out on the dance floor for the first time. Never missed a year since.

I watch as he tops off his mug and then turns for the door without a backward glance. Damn him. My heart sinks. I've grown tired of the same cold shoulder for the last six months. Barely a word to me. I enter a room and he dodges out the nearest door. Forget working with him and the horses we used to train together. He no longer needs my help apparently. I can't help but wonder why he's grown more distant the older I get, but the one thing I know for damn sure is that my heart can't take it anymore.

"Don't mind him, baby girl, he's got a lot on his mind lately is all with it being foaling season." Austin wraps me in his arms for a quick hug.

I am slowly dying for a man who prefers I didn't exist. Why do I even bother? My heart screams for me to go after him and hound him until he breaks and fesses up to the emotions in his eyes... the longing I see behind those dark lashes. But common sense and knowledge of the opposite sex tells me I'd be a fool to push a man as stubborn as Boone Urban.

Then again, no one ever got what they wanted by twiddling their thumbs and wishing on flowers.

Good thing I'm a girl of action and not the wishing type or my heart would be in a million jagged pieces on the floor.