The moment I walked into the kitchen, I saw Courtney leaning over while looking in the refrigerator, and I stopped dead in my tracks.

Damn, that girl has a nice ass.

She started moving it back and forth as she began humming some song. My dick jumped, making it clear he was definitely down for a marathon tonight. I leaned back against the doorjamb and watched as she wiggled around while Lulu and Midnight just sat there, waiting. Then, she started singing “Oops! I Did It Again,” and I noticed she was listening to her iPod.

I stepped around the corner and stood in the living room as I listened to her. My cheeks were beginning to hurt from smiling so big. I peeked around the corner and saw she had a pickle in her hand while she was now dancing with the dogs running around her. I let out a laugh, and Midnight came running over.

Courtney spun around and saw me. She kept singing as she began moving toward me. When she walked up to me, she started grinding her hips against me as she continued singing.

Good God. It would have helped if she had a terrible voice, but she actually had a beautiful voice.

I grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to me. She raised her eyebrows when she felt my erection, and she let out a giggle.

“Ready so soon, huh?” she said as she pulled out her earbuds.

“You sure you want to go for a ride? I could easily take you right here on this kitchen island.”

She looked over her shoulder and then back up into my eyes. She bit down on her lower lip. “I’d rather make love on your kitchen island at the cabin.”

I sucked in a breath of air and smiled. “I love you, Court. I hope you know that I will do everything in my power to never hurt you—ever.”

Her smile faded for a quick second before she flashed it back at me. “Let’s go riding.”

I grabbed her hand. “Come on, mutts. Y’all want to go?”

“Oh, Reed, they won’t run away, will they?” Courtney asked.

I grinned. “No, baby. I always take them when I ride. They love it.”

She let out a sigh and started skipping out of the house with both dogs and me in tow.

I watched as she and the dogs made their way over to the ranch truck. She pulled the tailgate down, and the dogs jumped into the bed of the truck. She shut it and turned back as she smiled.

I walked up to her and held up the blanket. “Will this work?” I leaned down and gently kissed her.

“Oh, yes, that will be perfect,” she whispered against my lips.

As we rode along, the light of the moon lit our pathway. I glanced over, and my breath caught as I saw Courtney with her head thrown back and a smile on her face.

“Damn…it’s so cool out, and that breeze feels amazing. I’ve always wanted to ride at night!” Courtney said with a giggle. She snapped her head forward and then looked at me. “What?” she asked.

I slowly shook my head and smiled. “I just don’t want this to be a dream. If it is, I don’t ever want to wake up.”

She started laughing. “I feel the same way.” Her smile faded, and she brought Tink to a stop. “Do you think we could stop here and…talk for a bit?”

The seriousness in her voice scared the shit out of me. “Sure.” I jumped off my horse and grabbed the blanket as I looked around for somewhere to sit.

“Just let Tink roam?” Courtney asked.

“Yeah, Tink and Rascal are good horses. They won’t wander far, and the dogs will end up just lying near us.”

I looked over her shoulder and saw a giant elm tree. I walked over and laid out the blanket. My heart was racing. I could hear it in Courtney’s voice that she was nervous about something.

Please don’t let this just be a fling for her. Please, God, don’t let her say this all ends tonight.

We both sat down on the blanket, and Courtney pulled her knees up to her chest as she finally looked at me.

She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Reed, I need to tell you about Noah.”

Noah…the guy she was dreaming about. I took a deep breath in and said, “Okay. Who’s Noah?”

The moment I saw the moonlight hit the tear rolling down her face, I died inside.

Whoever he is, I plan on hurting him.

Hearing Noah’s name coming from Reed’s lips killed me. I’d never told anyone—no one—about what happened with Noah. Reed was different though. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Reed. I knew I loved him more than life itself, and I didn’t want to keep anything from him.

I quickly wiped the tears away and took in a deep breath. “Noah is my brother’s best friend. He’s two years older than me, and he was my high school crush.”

I stopped and looked at Reed. His eyes were fixed on mine, and I’d never had anyone give me such devoted attention before in my life.

“When I was sixteen, he asked me to go to his senior prom. Needless to say, I was overjoyed, and I said yes. I was just happy that he’d finally noticed me,” I said with a weak smile.

I swallowed hard as my mind went back to that night. I closed my eyes, and when I felt Reed take my hand, I jumped.

I shook my head and opened my eyes. “Noah always stayed at our house when his parents would go out of town, which was often. His dad worked for the government, doing something. I never did understand what he did. Anyway, Noah was staying with us for the weekend, and I was so excited because that meant I got to see him all weekend. I was still jazzed from him asking me to the prom. That same night, he came into my bedroom in the middle of the night.”

Reed’s grasp on my hand tightened.

I closed my eyes and prayed that I could get through this without crying. Opening my eyes, I took in another deep breath and slowly let it out. “I asked him why he was in my room, and he said he was there to…to…make me his,” I barely said.

“No,” Reed whispered.

“I told him to leave, and if my father or brother caught him in my room, they would be mad. Noah put his hand over my mouth and pushed me onto my back. He…he, um…” I stopped for a second to regain my composure.

“He told me if I said anything, he would hurt my brother, and Tyler would lose his football scholarship. So, I promised to be quiet. Then, he started touching me. He slid my panties down, and I grabbed his hands as I asked him to stop. I told him that I didn’t want this, and he just kept telling me that I did, that he saw the way I looked at him, so he knew I wanted him.” I began shaking my head. “I didn’t, Reed. I didn’t want my first time to be like that, so I begged him to stop. I said that I didn’t care what he did to my brother, but then Noah…he…”