Page 52 of Harvest Brew With the Mountain Man
“She knows my heart. She knows me. All of me,” I press, and it takes him a moment before he locks on to what I’m saying. “Everything,” I say, quietly. “And she accepts me. Helps me heal that part I was convinced didn’t deserve to be loved the way your sister loves me.”
His eyes flick to Camille.
“Would you really trust anyone else to love me well? The way I deserve?” she asks him.
Groaning, Styx drops his head and rubs his forehead. I exhale, seeing my best friend again, not the MC Enforcer.
“This shit’s weird for me,” he rasps.
“To be fair, it just happened. We’re all adjusting to this new normal,” I tell him. “But rest assured, this is it. She’s it for me, man.”
Styx steps toe-to-toe with me and gets one last brotherly threat out of his system.
“If you were anyone else, I’d etch your name on your dick with a dull knife and pin your balls to your asshole.”
“Jesus, Drew,” Camille hisses, exasperated.
“If my intentions were fucked in anyway, I’d cut it off for you and wrap a bow around it.” I tilt my head. “What’s your fixation with dick’s tonight. You keep a trophy case of all the ones you threaten to cut off?”
We stare off until rain clouds part from my best friend’s eyes. He breaks first, then we both suddenly burst into laughter, punching each other in the arm.
“Fucker,” Styx lovingly calls me.
“Seriously. Only men could want to kill each other one moment, then pat each other’s back in the same breath,” Camille crosses her arms, watching.
“And you,” he points at her. “Hold off the PDA shit in front of me. I don’t want to see my best friend’s tongue down my sister’s throat.”
“Grow up, Drew-Bear,” I smile, hugging him tight. “I’m glad you aren’t bleeding from some hole.”
He laughs, squeezing me. “You have a way with words, Cami. Love you,” he tells me quietly.
“Love you too.”
Styx leaves shortly after, informing us that tonight will have tensions high until we know what Black Feral’s next move is. He assures us Camille is safe, and her relief at not having a protection deal anymore is comical.
“Goodbye,” she dramatically waves as the MC drives off. “Farewell. Au revoir. Grateful,” she calls out as they get farther, “But won’t miss ya!”
Now that Styx’s out of sight, I pull my woman in for an overdue, after battle kiss. She melts into it, holding my face. Ending the kiss, I press a kiss on her forehead and stay there.
“How about,” I begin, speaking against her skin, “you stick around here? You know, until you figure out what you want to do?”
She leans back and searches my eyes. “Can you handle that? Me in your space twenty-four seven?” she grins.
Little does she know, I plan to one day make that arrangement permanent.
“I mean,” I adjust us, placing my arm around her shoulders, and steer us toward the house, “you’ll have to learn to make West’s famous friend bologna sandwich, rub my feet when I’ve spent all night slinging drinks.”
“Oh,” she scoffs a laugh, “ is that right?”
Her expression dissolves from humor. “Hero?”
“Hm?”
“I love you…but your sandwich isn’t famous and no one named it after you.”
I abruptly stop our descent up the stairs and look down in offense. “You take that back, Nyx.”
She bites her lip, fighting a smile. “How about this, we add it to the menu at the bar and make it Eden Ridge famous?”
