Prologue
TUCKER
* * *
I was in lust, in love, in over my fucking head, pussy whipped even, by the owner of the Seed and Feed. Oh yeah. Every luscious, high maintenance inch of her. And that saucy mouth, well, I had something to keep it quiet. Ava was everything I’d always wanted but never knew. Not until the night we had our weekly Duke dinner at Cassidy’s, and then wham. A fucking two-by-four to the heart. Being BFFs my big brother’s girl had Ava joining us. It had been almost impossible to keep my hands off her. I’d thought her all prissy in her blinged-out jeans, high heels, blonde hair perfectly styled and lips painted a fuck-me red. But when she turned fierce to protect Kaitlyn from the little fucker, Roger, holy hell. My dick went instantly hard for the tiger. I’d hooked her about the waist and held her back, felt every soft curve of her, even with her claws out. And those claws? I wanted them scratching me. I wanted her wild as I watched Colton take her, as we claimed her together. Because one thing I’d learned that night, between one heartbeat and the next… she belonged to us. She just didn’t know it yet. She would though. We’d make sure of it.
1
TUCKER
* * *
“Nobody smiles like that when ordering pig feed,” I grumbled, elbowing Colton in the ribs. We were in the Raines Seed and Feed, standing beside the scarred wood table that used to hold old copies of agricultural magazines, but now held a fancy coffee machine, one of the many additions made by the new owner since she bought the place last winter. Ava Carter.
He looked up from the sugar he was pouring in his coffee. He pulled his cup from the fancy machine that used the little pods. The first time I’d seen it, I’d thought it a little ridiculous for a small town ag store, especially situated between the salt licks and deworming solution. But now, well, it was a great addition. Keeping her customers caffeinated was pretty fucking smart.
But I didn’t give a shit about coffee. Not today. I had all my attention on the fucker who was leaning his hip against the checkout counter and flirting with Ava.
Our Ava.
I knew that guy’s look; I’d used it before myself. Roscoe Barnes was laying on the charm. The cowboy reached across the counter and put his hand on top of hers as she filled out one of the delivery forms.
Colton stood straighter, put his to-go cup down, all but forgotten. “That right there’s a way a man can lose some fingers.”
Ava pulled her hand away, shifted so she was out of reach, but continued with her paperwork—and didn’t punch Roscoe in the nose.
“Yeah, too bad cutting them off is against the law,” I replied. “I’m sure the sheriff will agree that breaking them is fine when he’s touching our woman.”
Colton offered a small growl in response. Yeah, no one touched our girl. No one but us.
And we hadn’t even done all that much with Ava Carter. Yet.
We stopped into her store every day, one of us or both of us together like this morning, to check on her. To buy something we didn’t really need. To make sure no man crossed the line like Roscoe was right now. To let her know we were around, that we weren’t going anywhere. Ever.
The first time I ever laid eyes on Ava, the woman we would marry, was a month ago at Cassidy’s. Kaitlyn Leary had been bothered by a guy she’d dated. Roger Beirstad. The little fucker had stopped by our table and talked trash about my older brother’s woman. And since Ava was Kaitlyn’s BFF, she had been ready to rip Roger’s eyes out.
Fuck, I loved a feisty woman.
I’d had the good fortune of holding Ava back while Duke and Jed took care of Kaitlyn. With my arm about Ava’s narrow waist and her pulled back against me, I’d felt how soft she was. Every fucking inch of her. My forearm had been tucked beneath lush tits and her delectable ass had been pulled tight against my dick. I’d gone instantly hard and the thick pipe had settled between her cheeks, right where it wanted to be. She hadn’t pushed me away. In fact, she’d wiggled those wide hips and looked at me over her shoulder, wide-eyed and… interested.
I’d bet the ranch she’d been wet for me. Oh yeah, it had been perfect except we’d been in a room full of people and we’d had our clothes on. She’d known right then and there I wanted her. Knew my dick rose for her. That I had her in my sights.
I’d told Colton all about her and the next day, he’d skipped out on morning chores at the ranch and headed right to the Seed and Feed. One look and he’d agreed. Ava Carter would be our woman.
All this time, we’d been waiting for her. And the kicker was, she’d been in town for months—months—and we hadn’t even known she was The One. We’d heard about the city slicker woman who’d bought the store, but hadn’t expected Ava. Hell no. Time we could have been eating her pussy had been wasted.
I licked my lips, eager for the taste of her. I now got hard from the scent of strawberries—it had to have been her shampoo that night—because she’d smelled good enough to eat. I just knew she was sweet all over and we’d find out. We’d get between those thick thighs with our mouths, our fingers, our dicks and she’d be screaming our names. That’s right. Everyone in town would hear her and know the truth.
Her pussy belonged to me and Colton.
While she might smell and taste sweet, her temperament was anything but. She was a little wildcat, my tiger. I loved it when she showed her claws. I was eager to have all that energy, all that wildness taking my dick for a ride. I wasn’t called T-Bone because I ran a cattle ranch. Hell, no. My dick was one hundred percent, grade-A, prime meat and she was going to love it. Every single inch.