The Cowboy's Claim (Granite Falls, Texas #2)

Prologue

BAYLOR

My teeth sink into my bottom lip as I watch her from across the bonfire. It’s burning brightly tonight, the fire and her. I don’t know who invited her or why she’s here, but she’s watching me as intently as I am watching her.

This is trouble.

She is trouble.

She knows it just as much as I do.

She’s been trouble.

Emily is someone my father always warned me away from. Not her specifically, but who she is and what she wants from us, from our family.

A woman who only wants one thing—the Cooper last name.

She doesn’t give a fuck which one of us she gets as long as the last name is attached and becomes hers. A fast-ass woman who would give me everything I wanted for a night, then take advantage and fuck me over in the daylight.

Nothing about her should entice me. Nothing should excite or interest me. I see through her, and yet, at the same time, she intrigues me. She’s already fucked my brother, more than once, I’m sure, to get him to catch feelings, more likely in an attempt to trap him in some way.

It didn’t work.

He was already in love with Maisie, attached to her before he even realized it himself.

We all saw it, knew it was meant to be, even if he hadn’t noticed it yet or rather refused to allow it to penetrate.

To be fair, I’m pretty sure he fell in love with Maisie when they were children. It’s only ever been Maisie for him.

Ignoring the fact that Emily’s been with my brother—and knowing she only wants one thing—I don’t think any of it truly matters because Emily does anyway… entice me, that is.

All of her.

From the coy look on her face to the way her eyes dance, she sees more than she lets on. And I want to know more about what she’s thinking.

Jackson walks up to her, and I know that he’s going to try to fuck her behind the barn; that’s his usual MO. I won’t let him, not her. My feet begin to move toward her, and thankfully, her eyes stay glued to mine, even if Jackson is leaning in close while talking to her.

She only sees me. Maybe she only sees that I’m a Cooper. And I don’t think I care either. She doesn’t give a fuck about what Jackson has to say. She wants me. Only me. Which is good, because she’s the one I want to fuck right now.

Lifting the bottle of beer to my lips, I take a pull as I approach, my gaze focused on hers. Her eyes stay glued to mine. Jackson is speaking, but I have no idea what the fuck he’s talking about. I don’t care either.

“What do you think, Baylor?” he asks.

I have not a single fucking clue what he’s talking about, and I’m not going to respond to him about it, either. I choose to ignore him completely and instead hold my hand out for her, palm facing upward.

Emily Brown.

Rumored to be one of the fastest girls in town, and yet, she seems almost demure as she slips her fingers into mine.

Gone is the sex kitten she typically portrays herself to be.

The wild girl with a group of other girls but somehow is always the center of everyone’s attention.

Her eyes never leave mine. It’s probably just a game, but I don’t care…

The theme of tonight—I don’t give a fuck.

I wrap my fingers around hers, tugging her body against mine.

She stumbles, placing her palms against my chest as she tilts her head back slightly. Her shorter blond hair, her blue eyes, every part of her looks sexy as fuck. But not as sexy as her ass… as her lips.

“You wanna get out of here?” I ask.

Her lips twitch into a smirk then part as her eyes search my own.

I watch as she leans forward slightly. She rises onto her toes, and I feel her lips touch mine, but she doesn’t deepen the kiss.

It’s just a touch, almost a whisper of a touch, really.

It’s sexier than anything else she could do right now.

“Where would we go?” she whispers against my lips.

“Anywhere,” I murmur.

Jackson barks something, but then he thankfully vanishes somewhere. I don’t really give a shit where. He is annoying as fuck, but the only person I can focus on right now is Emily.

Just her.

Nobody else.

Taking a step backward, I tighten my fingers around her hand, gently tugging her forward as I turn and walk around the side of the house, toward the back door. Thankfully, it’s unlocked and most of the party is still outside.

“Baylor,” she whispers.

I hum, walking up the back porch steps, gently pulling her up with me. Her feet move behind me, and only when I’m inside my bedroom, which, thank fuck, is not all the way on the second floor near any of my brothers, do I stop.

I’m the only one with a bedroom and bathroom downstairs, and I’m glad because most nights I stumble into the house drunk off my ass. I’m not sure I could even make it up the stairs if I had to.

Tonight, I can’t make it up the stairs, but it’s for a different reason. Not only is my cock rock hard, but I’m also not sure I can keep my hands and my mouth off Emily Brown long enough to climb them.

EMILY

He closes the bedroom door behind us, my heart racing as he does. I’ve never actually been inside this house before, and I’m here. I’m really here. I can’t believe this is happening, that this is real.

When we were all at the bar together, Baylor flirted with me, but it led nowhere. It was to distract me from Beckett, who was clearly focused on Maisie, even though he’d asked me out that night.

I thought we were going to hook up, and I wanted it more than anything, but nothing happened. Well, nothing much. There was some touching, a little kissing, and then he sent me on my way home.

But right now, I’m standing in the Cooper house. In Baylor Cooper’s bedroom. He’s staring at me from just a few feet away. He’s staring at me, and he looks… hungry. I open my mouth, then snap my lips shut. I don’t need to ruin this for myself.

This is my chance.

Finally.

He takes half a step toward me. He’s close enough to reach out and touch me, but he doesn’t. Instead, his lips twitch into a smirk, and his eyes sparkle as they roam over every part of me.

I hope he likes what he sees. I’ve put a lot of effort into ensuring that men like what they see when they look at me.

Maybe it’s just because I want to be noticed by them all, every man in town, or maybe it’s because I want the Cooper boys to notice me.

They’re really the only ones I care about seeing me.

“This is just for tonight,” he states.

Blinking once, I swallow the lump in my throat. Those words feel… painful, like a slap in the face or a slice to the stomach. But he doesn’t mean them to be unkind. He’s letting me know, warning me about what he wants and what he doesn’t want, without saying anything hurtful.

In other words, Emily Brown, do not get your hopes up.

God. If only I could tell my heart that. Because I’m afraid that the moment his lips touch mine, that’s exactly what I’ll do—let my hopes rise sky high.