Alpha CEO

“I see. That’s quite an interesting fairy tale.”

“My house will be the best part, Julian.”

Now that piqued his attention. “Your house?”

“Mmm-hmm…”

“You’ve thought about your house?”

“Of course. I’m a girl—I think about everything.”

“Fair.” He nodded. “Tell me about this house?”

“Well, it will have a huge iron gate that no one can get through unless they have the code. The estate will be private, surrounded by tall trees and beautiful landscaping. My house will be in the middle of the property, and it will be breathtaking. There will be marble floors, huge bay windows where the sun can come through in every square inch of the place. I want a grand angled staircase right when you walk in. A massive foyer. It will have the works.”

“That’s quite a floor plan. You’ve given this a lot of thought. Where did this dream come from?”

“We live in Texas. I think that answers for itself.”

He laughed. “I like your dream.”

“I didn’t get to the best part yet?”

“You’ll have a sex room?”

“Only if you want one.” I giggled. “But I was talking about a massive carport where you store all your classic cars.”

“Oh, I’m in your dream too?”

“Of course.”

The expression on his face turned serious, and I quickly played it off like it wasn’t a big deal when it was. I didn’t want to scare him off, and Julian scared easily with anything that involved me.

“It’s just a silly dream, Julian. You don’t have to read that much into it.”

He didn’t say anything for what felt like forever, until he finally revealed, “I think we should just stay in the here and now and not think too far ahead, Autumn. Especially when it comes to me in your future.”

I flinched, quickly looking out the window. It was pointless to hide my emotions from him because he could sense my disappointment.

“Yeah, whatever you want.”

“You know what I want?”

“Hmm…”

He gripped onto my inner thigh. “To hear that contagious laugh.”

“Don’t you dare—”

He squeezed, sending me reeling into a fit of laughter. Almost making me pee my pants.

“Please!”

“Begging me isn’t going to help your disposition, kid. You know how much I love it when you beg me.”

“Oh my God! Stop!”

He squeezed harder.

“You’re going to crash the car!”

“If I can finger fuck you while I’m driving a sports car, I can certainly tickle you.”

“Julian!”

“I love it when you scream my name.” Finally, he stopped and pulled his hand away. “Now, be a good girl and tell me more about your dreams.”

“I thought you didn’t want to hear about my future?”

“I never said I didn’t want to hear about it. I just don’t want you to include me in them.”

“You’re my brother’s best friend, and my parents consider you a second son—you’re going to be in my future whether you want to or not.”

“Is that all I am?”

I shrugged again, and neither one of us spoke for the rest of the drive. Once we parked in the open field, I opened the door, but he grabbed my hand and held me in place, and I looked over at him.

“I don’t like it when you get quiet on me, kid.”

“You weren’t talking either.”

I could see it in his eyes, he wanted to say something, and I eagerly waited for his response. Julian never gave me hope for the future. He knew I was head over heels in love with him. However, he never expressed his feelings for me, through actions or words. He never gave me an inch, and I stupidly waited for a centimeter.

Gripping onto the back of my neck, he kissed my lips. “I know your dreams will come true.”

“Really?”

He nodded.

“How?”

Silence.

He simply pecked my mouth and exited the car. I was shocked as shit when he reached for my hand as we were walking toward the entrance of the car show. Julian never gave me any public affection, and I didn’t know if he’d noticed that he was. Instead of making a big deal out of it, I internally squealed.

Maybe it was because we were hours away from home, and no one would know us here, but either way, it didn’t matter. I cherished this moment and lived in the present with him.

Silently praying, my future consisted of only him.

—Julian—

Hearing her say she envisioned me in her dreams wasn’t a surprise. It was the fact that I wanted what she was saying more than anything, but I refused to give her false hope. All we had were these stolen moments where no one could see us, and I didn’t fear losing the only family I’d ever known.

Being thrown around like I was nothing more than garbage for all my adolescence made it hard to live in anything other than the present. Despite being on my own and that life far behind me, it was difficult to think of a future other than financial stability. Coming from nothing gave you another perspective on life. I valued each day for what it was, and not knowing what tomorrow would bring was the only way I’d survived for so long.