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  “I’m trying to behave—”

  “Well, I’ve got a secret for you, Nash.” My name on her lips sent fire through my veins. Jesus, if she whimpered my name in that sexy little voice again, I might come in my jeans like a fucking teenager. “I don’t like men who behave.”

  Her words hung heavy in the air for a microsecond before my hands were on her body again, sliding up the cotton of her tank top and connecting with silky soft skin. “Good, Tiger, because I was only being nice.” I dragged my teeth down the shell of her ear, my palm wrapping around her neck and squeezing softly. “I want to own this sweet body, Eden. Every last inch of you is begging for my teeth.” I nipped at her lips. “The way you shudder when I touch you here…” I dipped the pad of my thumb under her waistband and traced across her skin. “Do I make you wet, Tiger?”

  “Oh my God, Nash,” she begged. “Everything about you…”

  My cock thickened, pounding painfully, her soft little body writhing against mine. The only thing in my head was that I had to haul her upstairs to my room right fucking now and get lost inside her. Hell, after that, I’d move her into my bedroom because I wanted her curled up next to me every single night. If I were being honest, I’d wanted every single night with her since the night I’d seen her at her graduation party, looking so grown-up and pretty. I’d never stood a chance against Eden.

  I sucked across the hollow of her neck, my lips following an invisible line to paradise as my palms pressed farther up her waist, relishing her creamy, supple, untouched skin, whispering at the cup of her bra. Just the way she whimpered and arched told me no one else had ever touched her like I was right now. Her thighs tightened around mine, head tucked into my neck as she rode the ridge of my hard cock, pressing that beautiful little button between her legs that I couldn’t wait to get my mouth on.

  “I’m gonna make you come so hard you’ll lose your mind, Eden.” I sucked at her ear as my palm covered the heavy swell of her tit, kneading and pinching at the sweet little nipple as my mouth watered.

  “Let’s make that happen, please, Nash.” Christ, just the way she said please like that made me crazy.

  My phone chose that moment to rattle off in my back pocket. I ignored it, too caught up in Eden to even give a shit about anything else. Hell, I’d been waiting to be right here, feeling her pressed against me and on the verge of losing it.

  “Your phone,” she mumbled between kisses.

  “Fuck it.” It went on ringing, and my hands went on exploring. I slipped the edge of her bra cup down, dusting my fingers across her hard nipple and nearly creaming my pants when a ragged sigh fell from her lips. “Got no idea what you do to me.”

  “Then tell me,” she urged, still grinding against me.

  “Mmm…” I bit her lip. “Thought about you all day yesterday, walked around with my cock so hard I coulda pounded posts.” Her eyes widened, cheeks pinking up a pretty shade of crimson. “I jerked off in the shower last night thinking about that pretty white dress you wore on graduation day, the way it swished around your thighs. Christ, I couldn't stop thinking about what you were wearing under that little dress.”

  Her lips connected with mine, kissing and trailing down my chin and across my jaw. “What if I said nothing?” She hummed. “I wanted you to touch me that night, Nash. I wore that dress for you.”

  My cock burned, my phone rattled on, and the most gorgeous girl I’d ever laid eyes on was in my arms right now. “Jesus, Eden.”

  “Answer your phone, Nash.” A sassy grin spread her lips.

  “I can’t even think straight right now.”

  “I know.” Her grin grew wider.

  “You’re a damn minx.” I breathed in her scent. The phone finally stopped ringing in my pocket. I slipped a hand between us, finger rubbing at the bud of her clit beneath her denim shorts. “Your pussy is so wet it’s begging me for a taste.”

  She clamped down on her bottom lip, hips stilling as her thighs spasmed around my waist. Her nails gripped at my shoulders, eyes shuddering closed as soft moans purred past her lips. “Oh my…oh my God.”

  “Holy shit, Tiger,” I whispered, hand sliding between my cock and her damp thighs. “Watching you come is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  My phone chose that moment to start rattling again.

  “Get your phone, cowboy. Someone really wants to talk to you.”

  I groaned then set her on her feet, one hand still around her waist and pinning her between me and the fence. No way in hell was this girl getting away, ever.

  “’Ello?”

  “Nash! How’s my sister doin’, man?”

  Colt.

  Fuck me.

  Chapter 3

  THREE

  Eden

  I woke up the next morning, Nash’s hands still tattooed on my skin. I’d tossed and turned all night thinking about him, his lips, his body against mine. The way he’d touched me, and with just a few words, made me come so hard. The only time I’d ever come that hard, even close to it, was dreaming about his hands on me all those years ago. My hand slipped between my own thighs couldn't have done justice to the real thing, though.

  The way he’d claimed my body, ran his lips and his hands up every inch of my skin was like wearing his brand.

  And then the whole situation had taken a drastic turn for the worse when my brother had called.

  That one little phone call, and suddenly a night that seemed so promising had dissolved into dust.

  Nash and Colt had had a quick phone conversation, during which Colt had talked with me for a few minutes before the phone had begun to break up. He was set to fly out to Germany, and then the Middle East in the morning. I was proud of him. My brother had spent a lot of years wandering aimlessly, always looking for something to fill him, especially after my mom had passed. When he'd joined the military, he'd finally found his calling. Once he realized what his purpose was, he was much happier; I could see it on his face, hear it in his voice.

  So when I’d hung up with Colt, I’d been surprised to find Nash had already stalked off into the house without me.

  I rounded, trailing up after him into the house, before we started wordlessly pulling out plates and utensils for dinner. One silent meal later and I’d returned to my room for the night, alone.

  That phone call was like a cloud hanging over us, and I wasn't sure if Nash had pulled back out of some twisted sense of obligation. But I was a grown woman, able to make her own choices, and I chose Nash. God, did I choose Nash. I’d been dreaming about Nash’s lips pressed to mine since the time I was eleven. Of course, I wanted this. I wanted him.

  He’d even admitted to wanting me, at least back then, and it sure felt like he was interested now. But the cold shoulder he’d suddenly given me last night was irritating to say the least. No way was I going to battle my brother and Nash; he had to start seeing me as the woman I was and not just as his buddy’s little sister.

  The thoughts and the memory of Nash’s hands on my body followed me the whole morning as I put away clothes, picked up the house, and bided my time until Nash came in for lunch.

  I bit down on my bottom lip, digging through the fridge, looking for something to prepare us when a thought came into my head. I grinned, slipping my panties down my thighs quickly and shoving them in the pocket of my dress before I heard Nash’s heavy boot steps on the porch.

  A bright smile lit my lips when the loud creak of the farm door on its hinges alerted me to his presence.

  “Hi.” I spun, a bowl of pasta salad I’d found in the fridge in hand. “Hungry?”

  His eyes shot up and down my body, hovering on the swell of my breasts. Just the heat of his gaze had my nipples pebbling, aching for his fingertips, his teeth, his anything.

  “Starved,” he gritted out, then headed for the kitchen sink where he washed his hands.

  I brushed against his body when I pulled plates down, glasses and silverware next, as I worked around the kitchen. He stood there, his
big body eating up all the space and swallowing the oxygen. Shit, I almost felt faint being in his presence, all the blood in my body rushing between my thighs.

  Nash reached for a loaf of bread before I snagged it from him. “Sit. You’ve been working all morning.”

  His eyes nailed mine, something hard lingering before he nodded and plopped down in a worn kitchen chair. I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth and turned around to the fridge, bending over and digging in the back for a bowl of chicken salad I’d seen earlier. A soft breeze whooshed my dress around my thighs, sending a shiver through me and reminding me how I’d had the stupid, stupid idea of taking my panties off in the hopes of getting his attention.

  What was I thinking? I suddenly felt like that silly little girl. The only thing missing was the pigtails, and I would feel like an eight-year-old, crushing on her older brother’s best friend.

  I scooped a bag of grapes into my arms just as a pair of heavy hands landed on my thighs, shoving my dress over my ass and exposing me.

  “What are you—”

  “Where the fuck are your panties?” His growl sent rockets of arousal straight to my pussy.

  I stood, unsure of what to reply, my only thought how much I loved the way his callused fingers scraped across every nerve, chugging pleasure through my bloodstream like a drug.

  “Is this what you wanted? My attention?” He dipped his thumb through my soaked lips, running up to the clit and swirling.

  I caught my lip in my teeth, holding in a groan when his other hand landed a heavy smack on my ass. “Ow!”

  “You want someone to see this pretty pink pussy of yours, Eden? Is that what you want?” He pressed his thumb between my lips, breaching my entrance in slow strokes. “Answer me.”

  I couldn’t speak with his hands eating up my body, the way his breath washed across my skin, the memory of his rock-hard cock tenting his dusty jeans. Oh God, I wanted him so badly I couldn’t form a single thought.

  “Do you want someone else to see how wet your cunt drips for me?”

  I shook my head, tongue lodged in my throat as his thumb pressed deeper, hooking inside me and thrumming against my body.

  “Just the thought of anyone else seeing this soaked little pussy makes me mad, Eden. Really fucking mad.” He thrust me against him, his cock sandwiched between my ass cheeks as he dragged me across the kitchen, pushing my dress over my shoulders, and leaving me standing there naked and exposed to his gaze.

  His eyes washed up and down my skin, flaring when they landed on my pert little nipples. I’d skipped the bra this morning too. He shook his head once, making a point of licking his lips, grabbing a chair and seating himself in it, eyes intense like a man on a mission. Before I knew what was happening, he was pushing me over his knee.

  His palms spread wide on my back, one holding me down with force just as the other landed on my ass. A crash echoed across the kitchen, and I squealed. Pain and pleasure burst through my system, my pussy gushing with arousal, as another smack landed on my other cheek. God, I loved it, the pain and pleasure mixing, the rush of adrenaline, being bent and at his mercy making me feel so small, so his.

  I loved being his.

  He rubbed away the sting from his hand before landing another smack on the bottom of my ass. Then he moved closer and struck my pussy, dipping a thumb into my cunt and swirling it around my ass before spanking me again. My hips worked back and forth, my body chasing the orgasm I knew only he could give.

  “Look at you riding my hand, your pretty ass in the air for me just like it should be.” His heavy voice tore through my very soul, splintering my reason and replacing it with cold, hard desperation.

  “More, God, more,” I pleaded.

  “God, baby, I think you were put here to torture me.”

  My heart swelled with his words, my mind foggy as he sank a finger inside me, fucking me until I couldn't think, couldn't breathe, could only feel.

  “Fuck my hand, beautiful. Show me how hot this makes you.” His words dragged across my ears just as another slap landed across my pussy, and I came in violent waves. Shaking and whimpering and out of my mind intoxicated with him, I fell under.

  I hadn’t known what to expect coming here to live with Nash, but it wasn’t this. This was so much better, he was so much better.

  I sighed, limbs hanging heavily, when he chuckled softly and hoisted me up in his lap. I wrapped my legs around his waist instantly, my hands in his hair as his lips trailed across my neck. His teeth tracked across my collarbone, his tongue whispering up the line of my throat before landing on my lips.

  “Gotta get back out there, Eden.” There was a soft edge to his voice.

  Jesus, how could he hold me like this, and then be so…cold?

  I nodded, forcing back a lump in my throat before pushing away to get dressed.

  He caught me with his arms then, eyes peering into mine, speaking things he apparently couldn't say with words.

  “Arms up,” he said tenderly, fingers whispering up the underside of my arms as he slid my dress back down over my head and shoulders and tightened the straps.

  I still couldn’t speak.

  I couldn’t form a word, because something about the way he was touching me right now felt less like adulation and more like obligation.

  “Thanks.” I interrupted his fussing and stood, escaping across the kitchen and turning away to look out the window.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat again, prepared to hoist my head in the air and sit right down and enjoy a lunch with him if that’s what it took. But I turned around to find him already halfway out the door, the creaking hinges my only goodbye.

  I gritted my teeth, eyes narrowed as I watched him walk across the dusty yard and down to the horse paddock. Crossing my arms and leaning against the doorjamb, eyes never leaving the broad cut of his shoulders, I murmured, “Gorgeous, complicated, moody wannabe cowboy.”

  He turned then, glancing back to the house, gaze catching mine for a moment. He placed a hand on his cowboy hat and tipped it to me, eyes hanging on mine for long beats. I smiled softly, giving him a wave.

  Nash Campbell. The boy of my dreams, the man of my fantasies, and my brother’s best friend.

  I wasn’t sure if this could be any more complicated, but watching him watching me right now made everything worth it.

  Chapter 4

  FOUR

  Nash

  Days went by as I did my best to stay away from Eden.

  It was fucking torture, seeing her every day in my home, among my stuff, thinking how well she fit in here, how well she fit with me. Eden was it for me. I knew that no other woman would ever do, and I'd figured that out the minute she'd jumped out of her brother's truck in those dusty old boots. She was a vision, so much better than my meager memory could do justice. As if I’d been struck by lightning, I'd known in that instant she was mine, mine in every way.

  By the time the sun set on the first night, I knew she felt it too. I saw it in the way her eyelashes fluttered up at me, a tiny smile teasing her full, lush lips. Dread washed over me knowing we'd have to confront her brother before we got much of anywhere. I was bound to Colt. I refused to dishonor his sister or the promise I gave him to keep her safe. But looking at her now, the devastation of what my life would be without her flooded through me. Dark, lonely, hopeless, an existence filled with relentless nothingness. Being with her was an impossible dream, but as far as I was concerned, she would always be mine.

  But then her brother had fucking called, giving me the “I wouldn't trust anyone with my sister but you” talk, and the guilt got the best of me. I’d grown up with Eden. She was right; I had pulled her pigtails a helluva lotta times, but wasn’t that what pigtails were for? I’d been a little asshole to her, but I’d always thought she was cute as hell too. So to have her brother in my ear, telling me how glad he was that I was around to protect her was like a bucket of cement in my gut.

  Hell if I was the right guy for her. I’d been fooli
ng myself thinking I could be. I was no better than all the jack offs Colt had been trying to keep her away from.

  And then I’d walked in on her making lunch, that petal pink dress brushing across her thighs and playing peekaboo with her pussy.

  I’d lost it, completely lost my mind, and let my cock do the talking.

  She needed punishing, and I was just as mad about someone else seeing what was mine as I was about having her flaunt what I couldn’t have, couldn’t taste, right under my nose. I didn't give a shit if it made sense or not. If I couldn’t have her, nobody could—bottom line.

  I stood out under the covered porch, stars burning up the sky as far as the eye could see. I remembered sitting right out here with Colt and Eden, staring up at these stars, dreaming about our futures. I rubbed at my chest, spinning to pad up the stairs to my bedroom. My cold, lonelier-than-hell bedroom.

  I had the patience of a goddamn saint for not touching Eden in all the days since I’d spanked her over my knee. Things had been set to a low simmer between us, though…long gazes, lingering touches. It was driving me wild, the burn deep inside to take her growing to an all-out inferno.

  I climbed the stairs one torturous step at a time, my cock stretching at the back of my zipper just like it had been all day. And fuck if it didn’t help that Eden had a thing for wearing thin, flimsy dresses, the heavy weight of her tits pulling at those little spaghetti straps. Every time she wore one, I thought about tearing those little straps with my teeth, stripping her naked, and then burying my face between her creamy thighs.

  I passed the door to her room on the way to mine, a dim lamp catching my eye and drawing me to her.

  Like a moth to a flame, that was me.

  I stepped into the room, finding her curled up in bed, a tight tank top and shorts the only thing covering her body from my greedy eyes.

  I nearly groaned out loud when she stood, tits bouncing as she landed on her feet and crossed her arms.