Page 28 of Kodiak

“Brother,” Xavier says as he lounges next to me. “So, I know you said I needed to keep my distance from Demi, but since she’s going to be a guest here, it’d be considered rude if I ignored her.”

“Are you seriously going to go there, Xavier?” I know what he’s up to, and I’m not wholly impressed with his bullshit argument.

“I mean, we can’t have her thinking we’re a bunch of uncouth bikers, can we?” he asks.

“Uncouth? Where’d you learn that word?”

“Word of the day calendar, of course,” he replies, snickering. “I’ve got a whole arsenal of them to use now. This is a good thing,Marcum, especially with your little writer coming. She’ll know we aren’t uneducated assholes.”

“Some of us are,” I retort. “But some of us have higher education, too,” I add.

“Who are you trying to impress?” Xavier asks, his smirk tells me he’s in smartass mode.

“Not you, you’re as dumb as they come,” I joke, slapping his shoulder.

“Whatever, asshole. You have the same amount of smarts as I do,” he teases, slapping me back. “On a serious note, is she your one, Marcum?”

“I don’t know yet. She hasn’t been exposed to all of this,” I announce, opening my arms wide. “She could see the club girls doing what they do best and hit the road running.”

“Nah, brother. I don’t see that happening. As long as the girls keep their distance from you and mind their business it should be fine,” he assures.

I snort before asking, “What world are you living in, Xavier? We both know these bitches will do whatever it takes to get my attention. Every damn one of them is grabby when it comes to me.”

“It’s because you’ve got all the power,” he sing songs. “They want you because you’re the president.”

“What are you, two?” I grumble while he chortles next to me. “Fucker. Plus, we haven’t really spent a lot of time together. She might have habits I can’t handle.”

“Youmight have those too, asshole. I mean, you snore like a lawnmower cutting grass, after all,” he replies.

“I do not snore,” I rebut.

“Sounds like a crew of lumberjacks taking down trees.”

“I don’t sound like a damn lawnmower nor a chainsaw, dickhead,” I argue, shaking my head. “I think you’re hearing yourself.”

“You saying when I’m laying in bed, minding my own business, I’m clearing the woods? You’re so full of shit, brother.”

As I go to add to our banter, I notice Luna’s SUV pull up to the gate. I gave the guard her vehicle details so she wouldn’t be detained. A smile lights up Xavier’s face when he notices where my attention is aimed.

“Showtime,” he snickers, rubbing his hands together.

Great, now he sounds like Beetlejuice. Shaking my head, I stand and walk toward where Luna is currently parking her vehicle, Xavier hot on my heels. Once she turns the car off, I walk to the driver’s door and open it for her, then help her out. I notice Xavier doing the same for Demi and barely hold back from rolling my eyes.

Leaning down, I brush my lips across Luna’s and say, “Hey.”

“Hey, Marcum,” she replies. “Who's that with Demi?”

“My brother by blood, Xavier,” I tell her, placing my hand on her low back to lead her over by the firepit. We have several roaring seeing as the temperature drops at night since we’re not far from the lake.

“He’s handsome, not as sexy as you are though,” she teases, smiling up at me.

“Damn right he’s not,” I playfully growl, bending over and nipping her skin with my teeth. “He may have himself a little crush going on with your girl there.”

“Oh, yeah? A lot of men do,” she states.

“He’s a fan. We’ve been to several of her fights, she’s damn good.” My eyes swivel toward the duo and see that Xavier’s laying it on thick, using all of his best pick up lines on Demi. I internally grin when I note that she’s not falling for a damn one of them. She’s gonna give him a chase. It’ll be good for him. Women are usually an easy claim for him, and I’m glad that this one will knock him off the totem pole he’s placed himself high upon.

“Too bad it didn’t help her,” she whispers, a sad look crossing her face at the reminder of what Demi recently endured.

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