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MATT

S eriously, how many Hunters were there in the world and why was the Hunter Chloe dreaming about the one I worked with?

I hadn’t thought anything of it when she’d moaned his name at night. I knew she didn’t have a boyfriend, but I didn’t know who this Hunter guy was to her. Only that this imagined guy made her hot and bothered. And I was the one who got to take the pleasure of it when she woke up.

Now I knew he was real.

I couldn’t fucking believe the Chloe Hunter was going on and on about since September was my Chloe. Except she wasn’t my Chloe. We were having a good time while she was in town just like always, but lately… I’d realized I wanted something more.

I watched Hunter unload his tack from his trailer. He and Kyle were talking with Liam, and I could see him glance toward the big house every few minutes.

My face ignited, heat rolled from the top of my head to my chest, and my heart started to race. The pounding in my ears drowned out everything else.

He could wait all he wanted, but Chloe was with me. I was the one who had the right to be waiting for her to return. I should be the first to hear her news about her meeting and how it went. She’d been sleeping in my bed for days now… and on and off for the last few years.

Jealousy had a hard grip on me. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t her boyfriend. I still had boyfriend-status expectations. I needed to let her know how I felt sooner rather than later. I’d been taking my time, knowing she had to finish school before I approached her about wanting more. I was letting us progress casually, wanting to be sure about us before we jumped into a relationship.

My time had run out.

“Why do you look like you want to hurt someone?” Caleb and Andrew casually leaned against the side of the barn, one on each side of me.

“I can’t even tell who he’s staring at.” Of course the two of them would find me. It wasn’t like I was hiding or anything, and they were my friends.

“Do you think Thomas would hate me if I kicked Hunter’s ass?” I hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but now I had the twins’ undivided attention. They turned to face me, stepping in front of me to block my view.

“What happened?” Caleb asked.

“Explain,” Andrew demanded.

“It seems that Chloe and Hunter have history.” I didn’t have a lot of details, and I certainly wasn’t going to tell them Chloe had orgasmic dreams about him.

“Our Chloe? Practically our baby sister Chloe? What kind of history?” Caleb asked, his forehead creasing.

“Wait, is she the one Hunter keeps talking about?” Andrew was putting two and two together faster than his brother.

“I thought you and Chloe were… you know.” Caleb crossed his arms.

“We are, and we aren’t.” This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have with them. I barely knew what was going on myself. Chloe and I got together every time she came to town; this was the longest time she’d been staying since we started seeing each other. This time, she was living on the ranch, so I got to see her all the time. It felt right. It felt natural.

More than once, I had thought about asking Chloe to be more than casual. It wasn’t like we weren’t talking and texting most days anyway and having the occasional fun, steamy video call.

She came to visit as often as she could, but it was nearly impossible for me to visit her while she was at school. She was staying in the dorms on campus, and her class schedule was crazy.

I was proud of her. We’d talked often enough about how she felt overshadowed by her family and wanted to make a name for herself. She got a full ride to college, and she was so close to finishing her degree.

Hunter and Kyle wanted a Cosland relationship, where I was just fine having a woman to myself. I didn’t want my woman’s attention divided. I wanted to be the only one she thought about.

Was it selfish? I didn’t think so.

Chloe felt right.

My heart nearly stopped. Yes, I’d thought about her that way before, but this was the first time panic didn’t barrel in when thinking about long term. Only the lightness in my chest at the realization that I finally knew what I wanted.

I wanted Chloe to be mine. Only mine.

“I wish I could read your mind. Your face is all shit just got real . Whatever it is, it’s gonna be good.” Andrew smirked. The fucker.

“Just thinking about how disappointed Hunter will be when he doesn’t get the girl.” The corner of my mouth twitched upward.

“Oooh, damn. Don’t forget he’s also a friend.” Caleb clapped me on the shoulder.

I huffed. “He’ll still be a friend if he learns to stop messing with my woman.”

“She’s your woman now?” Andrew barked. “You might want to get your thoughts straight before you go after Hunter or see Chloe. Because you know we will kick your ass if you hurt her.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I waved my hand at him. It wasn’t the first time they’d said that to me, and it wouldn’t be the last. I was more afraid of Jessie than I was of them following through on the threat.

I pushed my way through the body blockade. It wasn’t like I was going to hunt Hunter down and rip his head off or anything. I just needed to make sure he understood how things were.

Except I didn’t know how things were. Was Chloe even interested in Hunter? Would she want a relationship with Kyle as well? Where did that leave me?

Hunter’s trailer was the farthest away. I could hear the heavy boots of Andrew and Caleb following me. They thought something was going to happen, but I would prove them wrong. I could control myself. I just needed to have a word with Hunter.

I ran my hand along the side of the trailer until I reached the tack compartment. All three men were inside, piling their arms with equipment.

The first to notice me was Liam.

“Did you need something, Matt?” Liam asked, causing Hunter and Kyle to turn around.

Well shit.

This didn’t have anything to do with Liam, and I didn’t want him to be stuck in the middle, so I headed for another issue—one that didn’t voice my insecurities to the entire ranch.

“Don’t forget to clean out the trailer. It’s dirty as fuck in there.” I hit my fist on the side of it. Not the best, but it would do in a pinch.

Hunter, Kyle, and Liam’s eyebrows shot up. I wasn’t usually like this, but it wasn’t every day that someone was trying to steal my girl right out from under me.

“Sure thing, dude.” Kyle straightened with his hands full. “Just finishing clearing the gear out first, then we’ll be all over it.”

I felt some of the tension ease from my chest. It was hard to be mad around Kyle. He was so innocent in everything. I knew he didn’t want people to think that about him, but confidence wasn’t one of his strong suits.

“Good,” I said and walked away. I was pretty sure Liam and Hunter’s jaws were still on the floor.

Shaking it off, I went into the feed room and started restocking. Then I did inventory to eat up more time, glancing at my phone every ten minutes to see if Chloe had texted. After a few hours and complete radio silence, I decided to find her.

I headed for the barn door, typing out a text to Chloe, hoping she would reply to this one, and ran straight into a solid form, knocking them back a few steps. We both let out an ompf . I reached out and grabbed for their elbow and realized it was just the person I was looking for.

“Shit, Greene. Sorry. I was just texting you.”

“Well, you know what they say. Don’t text and walk at the same time,” she chuckled, straightening herself.

“So how did it go?” I led her over to my horse, Willow, where she was waiting patiently for Chloe’s attention. The last few days, we’d both given her treats together.

“Great. We went over a few more details and added more things to our lists. I’m going to go to town next week to help sort out a few others.” She stroked Willow’s nose.

“What kinds of things? Do you need me to go with you?” I didn’t know why I volunteered. Chloe was fully capable on her own, but the sudden need to be with her all the time hit me square in the chest. And if I was with her, Hunter wouldn’t be.

“I’m not sure.” She glanced at her watch. “I hate that we don't have a lot of time to talk. Our meeting went over and…” She paused. “Then I ran into Hunter. Matt, I need you to know something. Hunter and I met in New York, and we really hit it off. I never thought I’d see him again. He invited me to dinner tomorrow night, and I thought it would be fair to let you know about him. I really need to talk to him and figure out how we left things.”

She couldn’t hide the guilt that tinged her gaze, and a possessive anger surged, swirling in my chest.

I narrowed my eyes. Was she lying about her dinner plans with the girls tonight? Was she going to be with Hunter behind my back? I hated that I was starting to second-guess her, but I couldn’t stop those thoughts.

Her mouth dropped open in shock. “Are you jealous?”

“Do I need to be?” Of course I was jealous. She was going to run off with another man when I was right in front of her.

Chloe reached out and touched my shoulder. “I need to hurry, or I’ll be even later for dinner with the girls. We can talk more tomorrow.” Her reassuring smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

The tightness in my chest eased only a little. I didn’t want her having dinner with the girls either. I wanted to monopolize her entire free time while she was here. Especially now that I knew the Hunter she dreamed about was real.

“Do you still have time tomorrow to help me study?” I brushed her hair behind her ear. When she leaned into my touch, it eased my jealously the slightest bit.

“Of course. Do you still have time to take me out to survey some locations?” She stared up at me through her long eyelashes.

“Wouldn’t miss it, Greene.”

Chloe stood on her tiptoes and lightly pressed her lips to mine. I could feel the apology in them. In my heart, I knew she didn’t mean to be so late. We didn’t have time to talk before she left. I threaded my fingers in her hair and deepened the kiss. I wanted her to feel my apology as well.

“Go have fun with the girls. Text me if you need anything. I know how wild their nights can get.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be too crazy. Two of them are moms now.” Chloe brushed my hair from my forehead. “You need a haircut soon.”

“Maybe I’ll hitch a ride with you into town and get it done while you sort things out next week.”

“Sounds like a plan.” She gave me another quick kiss.

“Go before I drag you upstairs,” I said, then lunged playfully at her. She squeaked and skipped out the door.

I didn’t know what had gotten into me. Jealously wasn’t my thing. Neither was unnecessary anger. Chloe was under my skin and weaved into my heart. I wanted her to be only mine. I had to hope she wanted the same.