Chapter 1

Harper

The warm wind blew my hair as I rode toward a new landscape, the country so far out of my comfort zone, but what choice did I have? New York was home. It was comfortable. I could get lost in the middle of a huge crowd where no one knew my past or the mistakes I'd made.

Having come from the west coast and growing up on the water, the northeast was perfect. It was nothing like home. It kept the memories at bay.

"I hope this is what I need. Seems counterintuitive." I let out a long sigh, talking out loud to myself. It had been a hell of a month, one I wouldn't forget for a long time, if ever.

So many mistakes. All of them my fault.

My mother's voice echoed in my head, "You ride the wrong jet to the moon, and it's your own damn fault when you get stuck."

Power. Greed. Money.

They were my gods after losing so much in my younger life. They were consistent and created a clear path to achieving temporary fame and substantial pleasure. So much pleasure, but the wrong kind. I didn't know another one.

My poor sister had taken the high road after the accident, turning into a philanthropist in her medical practice. There wasn't anyone she wouldn't help, and most of the time, she did it for nickels and dimes. She belonged in a small town in the heart of Kentucky where people were good enough not to take full advantage of a giving stranger.

Three years.

I hadn't seen Nora in three years. It was better that way. We were both intellects and usually ended up fighting over what we couldn't control. Love, life, death, lust. Neither of us was content in our lives, but it wasn't for trying.

My marriage with Peter was over before it begun.

He was a sweetheart, a caring, loving man with too much of a willingness to hand over his balls. He was safe and a comfort I needed after leaving California, but it was damned from the start.

I'd always been aggressive, straight forward and a dominant force to deal with. None of the men in my past measured up, but maybe my measuring stick was too long. It was based on the type of man my father was.

Strong. Daring. Bold as fuck.

Tears burned my eyes as I jerked the wheel and headed down the long dirt road that would leave to my sister's white picket fence. We pretended to be happy, but we were both dying inside. Nora just hid it behind her family practice, giving medicine her love, devotion and time.

I'd tried, but every time a new patient came in for counseling, I became more and more jaded. People had problems. So the fuck what? We all did.

It was a horrible outlook for someone called to save lives through counseling. I wanted to feel needed, important, and being a private counselor for the rich and famous was my ticket to all the above. Too bad it took more than a listening ear and set of steps to find fulfillment. There had to be more to it than the clinical bullshit I'd swallowed in my early twenties.

Having lost my first patient to suicide the last week left me wanting to run. Run anywhere. Anywhere that I could get lost. Nora didn't know of my failure, nor would she. It was my horrible little secret and maybe if I ran fast enough or hard enough... it would all disappear in the rear-view mirror.

I came up from my thoughts and slammed on the breaks, almost passing up Nora's driveway. I let out a soft growl and turned left, saying a soft prayer as I parked the car.

Two weeks. I'd taken a two-week absence to get away from everything, but had I done the right thing? My sister was invasive, caring, so fucking smart.

The front door opened, and I resigned myself to being stuck.

I got out and forced a smile on my face. "Hey, you."

"Sis." Her smile widened as she half-jogged across the yard.

Not wanting to look like an insensitive ass, I moved in front of the car and pulled her into a tight hug. "How are you? You look just like mom, I swear."

She laughed and moved back, a soft smile playing on her lips. She was beautiful. Feminine. Everything I didn't feel like most of the time. Her long blond hair was pulled up in a messy bun, her blue eyes striking. Just like momma's had always been.

"And you look like daddy." She reached up and touched the side of my face. "You haven't been sleeping."

"Oh, Lord. Don't start analyzing me. I'm here for a break from the norm." I turned and walked to the back of the car as the sound of a motorcycle caught my attention. I hadn't been on the back of one since I was a kid. Now in my early thirties, there's no way in hell I would ride one. It felt silly. Childish.

"Hey." Nora moved up and wagged her eyebrows. "So the guy next door is someone you're going to want to check out."

"Oh yeah?" I tucked a strand of my long brown hair behind my ear and glanced down the road, not quite yet able to make out the guy riding our way. "You got a bad boy biker living next door to you out here in the country?"

"Yeah, but as you can see... he's loaded." She lifted her hand and motioned for me to check out his property.

A huge white mansion sat on a long piece of property, purple and white flowers running up the length of the driveway. The trees were well-groomed and landscape gorgeous even for the middle of March.

"Wow. How the hell did I miss that?" I pulled out my bag and moved so that my sister could get the other one. The humming of the motorcycle grew louder and louder.

"No clue. Lost in thought?" My sister lugged the bigger of the two bags up beside me and stopped. "The older brother is Luke and the younger, Jeremy. He's a cock and a half."

"In a good way?" I glanced over at my sister, teasing her, which she hated.

"Really? Gross. I see enough penises in my practice." She shook her head and turned as the biker pulled into the driveway beside Nora's. He lifted his hand and pulled off his helmet.

"I hate that word," I mumbled as my heart thudded hard in my chest. Wow was all I could think, but I sure as hell wasn't saying it. The guy was close enough to read my lips.

His thick forearms were covered in tattoos and dirt, his face dusted with a short beard that framed the most perfect lips I'd seen. My body reacted violently, leaving me wanting to pant.

Stop it. Good grief.

"Nora. How are you?" He lifted up a little and ran his dirty fingers through a mop of light brown hair as he smiled.

My sister's voice was steady, strong. She didn't find him attractive. Not on a physical-fuck-you-all-night level. Always the intellect first.

"I'm good, Luke. This is my older sister, Harper." She reached over and touched my back, rubbing softly. "She'll be staying for a few weeks."

His smile widened, and I wanted so badly to walk toward him. I needed to know the color of his eyes. Every cell in my body screamed for contact, to be awakened by him. When was the last time I wanted carnality? I couldn't remember a time before that moment.

What the hell was wrong with me.

"Nice to meet you, Harper. Don't mind my little brother. You'll see him around here soon, I'm sure. He's the prick that gave my family name the taint it has. Steer clear of him, and you'll be alright." He winked at me, waved at Nora and drove down the long dusty road that leads to his mansion.

"He's rich?" I glanced over at my sister, who was smiling a little too hard. "He's way to calm and humble from what I can tell."

"Yeah. They're loaded, but you wouldn't know it by the way he acts."

"He's beautiful." I picked up my bag and walked toward the door. "Does he ever ride that bike without his shirt on?"

She snorted and moved up the stairs beside me. "He does a lot of things shirtless. But just remember, you're only here for two weeks."

"Well, unlike you, I don't see naked men every day." I wagged my eyebrows and tried to slow the frantic fluttering in my chest and between my thighs. I hadn't been that turned on since college.

"I'm telling you now, the naked men I get to see aren't the ones you'd be panting after."

"I'm not panting." I moved in as she closed the door.

"No? Listen." She pursed her lips as the soft sound of someone gasping for air filled up the living room. It was me.

I was in trouble. Big trouble. Two weeks wouldn't be nearly enough for the thoughts racing through my head. So many things to experience and so little time.

"Is he single?"

She laughed. "No clue. Ask him."

I planned to.