She was the only one who made my heart race, who made me want more out of life. She was the one I breathed for, whom I would fight to the death for. Calissa was the one I’d been in love with for so long I didn’t know anything else aside from that.

And she didn’t even know any of this.

I tipped my beer back as I stared at her. My dick was hard, and every possessive bone in my body wanted to go up to her, toss her over my shoulder, and take her back to my room. It wasn’t just sex I wanted, though. I wanted Calissa as only mine.

I wanted my baby inside of her, wanted to watch her grow big because she was pregnant … because of me.

And some guy was currently talking to her, no doubt trying to get in her pants, make her his.

This low, almost primal and animalistic growl left me at that very thought. I finished off my beer and lifted it for the waitress to come and take.

The sports bar where Calissa worked was busy for this time of night and day of the week. I didn’t get seated in her section and should have demanded it, but I’d accepted where they placed me because at least I got a good view of her, could watch her, protect her, if need be.

The tension slowly eased from me when she waved off the guy speaking to her. He walked away and I loosened my grip on the edge of the table, not realizing I’d been holding it so tightly.

Being twelve years older than Calissa, I always stayed away from her, knowing it was for the best. But something in me changed, this need to be a father, to have Calissa as the mother of my children, rode me hard. It took control of me.

Maybe it was the fact I was in my thirties now? Maybe it was the fact my biological clock was ticking. Or maybe I was just so in love with Calissa, so obsessed with her that I wanted to make her mine by putting my baby inside of her?

She leaned against the bar, presumably waiting for an order of drinks. I couldn’t stop myself from looking at her, seeing how her shorts molded to her ass. They were too short, fucking Daisy Dukes. I didn’t like that. The possessive side of me wanted to drape a blanket over her, keep her locked away so no other guy could see what she looked like. It was irrational, but was my reality. I have been that way for years.

I’d known Calissa since she was a teenager, and hung out with my little sister, Megs, both of them getting into trouble constantly. But I can’t deny that Megs was a bad influence, probably pressuring Calissa into doing half the shit they did. It wasn’t until Calissa’s eighteenth birthday, when the girls had celebrated it together, that I saw Calissa as a woman.

I don’t know why that one night was the pivotal moment, making me see her as not just my sister’s best friend but as mine. Now, a year later, I was done waiting, done trying to talk myself out of going after her. What was the point when she was all I thought about, the only person I wanted?

Hell, I hadn’t even been with a woman since well before Calissa came into my life, since before she moved to town and became best friends with Megs.

At first, my celibacy was for personal reasons, feelings of not wanting to give myself over just for the sexual gratification of a few hours. I focused on school, then on work, on building my business, Brasher Security, and making it the best it could be, not just in town, but statewide. But then that celibacy turned into a promise to myself, one to Calissa.

I stayed celibate because I wanted her, only her. Hell, no other woman did it for me. There was no thinking about other females, looking at other women. Shit, I barely even spoke to other women anymore, not unless it was necessary. The only one I wanted was the one I probably didn’t even deserve. But that wouldn’t stop me from going after her, from claiming her. That wouldn’t stop me from making her my woman, my wife, the mother of my children.

Call it barbaric, primal or even cocky. I didn’t give a shit what it was called. It was the truth. My truth.

I followed her with my gaze, watched as she grabbed the bottles off the bar and gave them to another table behind her. Then she went into the back room, disappearing from my sight. I stared at the man who was speaking with her, a smug grin on his face as he said something to one of the guys he was with. I found myself moving over to the bar where he was at, not realizing I was even doing it until I stood just a foot from him.

“Dude, how much you wanna bet I can get in her pants tonight?” The arrogant little bastard said to one of his friends. I clenched my jaw, my teeth clashing together, my hands curling into tight fists at my side. “How much do you want to bet she’ll put out when I offer to buy her a drink and flash her my Rolex?” He started laughing obnoxiously. “Yeah, bet she’s easy when she sees money.”

I found myself turning and facing him, drilling holes into his head with my gaze, imagining my fist doing damage to his pretty-boy face. He looked out of place at the bar, with his button-up shirt tucked into his khakis, and his brown leather belt cinching it all together. His blond hair was swept to the side, his bastard appearance letting me know he probably pulled this on plenty of other females.

Not now, not today, and most certainly not with my woman.

The asshole glanced over and looked at me, his eyes narrowing, his gaze taking me in. It was clear he could see I was a threat by the way he straightened and glanced away, his throat working when he swallowed. But I still kept my focus on him, my annoyance over what he said about Calissa pissing me off.

He looked at me again and his friends did the same. If he were smart he wouldn’t say anything, just walk away. But I could tell he wanted to be the big man in front of his buddies. I felt my muscles tighten in anticipation. Good, I wanted this.

“You got something on your mind, friend?” He had balls of steel where his friends were concerned, maybe thinking if it came down to it they’d jump in and help. Hell, I’d take all three of them.

“Yeah, matter of fact, I do.” I turned so I was facing him fully, one of my forearms braced on the smooth countertop at the bar. “And I’m not your fucking friend. Let’s clear that up right now.” His eyes widened for a moment, but when he glanced at his buddies he tried to act like he wasn’t about to piss his pants. He had nothing on me, not when I was six foot three and packing two-hundred-and-fifty pounds of muscle. He could try and act like he could take me, but he and I both knew I’d lay his ass flat on the ground.

“I think you got the wrong guy,” he said, trying to backpedal.

“I heard what you were saying.” My blood started to pump harder and faster through my veins as I recalled exactly what he’d said. I was growing even more enraged thinking about it.

“What I said?” He looked genuinely confused.

I gritted my teeth. “Talking obscene shit to the women at the bar. You think that’s acceptable behavior? You think you won’t get your ass beat for saying shitty things like that?” I was itching for a fight now, thinking about the shit he’d said about Calissa, what he’d probably said to her face. Hell, I felt my hands curl into fists at my side, as if they had a mind of their own.

I moved a step closer to him and his friends moved one back. Good, at least they were smart.

“Tex?” The sound of Calissa’s voice behind me had me stilling, but I kept my focus on the prick. “What’s going on?” She sounded concerned, so I forced myself to relax and turn to face her. She looked up at me with wide eyes, her gaze bouncing between me and the little preppy asshole behind me. “You guys should probably go,” she ended up saying, but kept her focus on me.

I heard them moving behind me, and only when the sound of the front doors opening and closing resonated did I actually relax enough to look like I wasn’t about to kill someone.

“What the hell was that?” she asked, not sounding pissed, but still concerned. “You know, if you start shit in here Bo will kick you out and ban you from coming back.” Bo, her fuckwad of a boss. I’d gone to school with the bastard, kicked his ass for being a womanizer, and knew he was nothing but a slimy fucker who watered down his liquor.

“I’m here to make sure you’re okay.”

She rolled her eyes at me, fucking rolled her eyes as if I wasn’t on the verge of going outside and slamming my fist into that asshole’s face. I wanted to grab her, haul her over my knee, and spank her perfect little ass.

“Fuck him, fuck this bar, and especially fuck that asshole who thought he could disrespect you.” Yeah, I was going all primal right now, but when it came to Calissa, there was nothing else that mattered.