Page 80 of Besties
“Once, long ago, I told myself I wanted to give you the world. This trip? It’s the first of many I hope to take with you as we see the sites—and make a trip to the Phallological Museum, because your mom recommended it—and explore shops and stores, delve into caves, raft the whitewater rivers. There are so many things I want to do with you. Max Henry, would you do me the honor of agreeing to stand by my side always?”
Everything went fuzzy, probably because of the tears that were filling my eyes. I glanced at Mom, who gave me the biggest smile, even though she had her own tears sliding down her cheeks.
“Max? You’re not saying anything.”
My mind was snapped out of the thoughts I was having, and I returned my gaze to Richie. “You ask the stupidest questions,” I chided. “Nothing would make me happier than to marry you.”
He held out a hand and I took it, holding on for dear life.
He grinned at me. “No, honey. I meant you need to help me up. My leg fell asleep.”
Everyone laughed as I pulled Richie to his feet, then stared up into his eyes.
“I promise, I’ll always do my best to make you happy,” he whispered in my ear.
The thing is, he’d been making me happy for more than two decades. He’d been my foundation, my rock, my… well, everything. Richie was and forever would be my nerd, but now he’d also be my husband. And that left me with one thing left to say.
“Richie?”
“Yeah?”
“I need a hug.”
He pulled me into his arms, tucking me into that body I loved so much, and I knew to my very depths he would never let me go.
And after all these years, I knew the two of us would finally be happy.
Broken Warrior Preview
by K.C. Wells & Parker Williams
Characters from CrossBow Protectionappear in Besties. We wanted to show you those books, if you haven’t already read them. Here is the first part of Broken Warrior and the sequel, Broken Wheels which is coming later this year. We hope you enjoy!
Prologue
Six years ago
Gary Cross woke up with a strange knot in his gut, a feeling of impending danger that had only grown worse as the day progressed. That sense of doom seemed totally incongruous when faced with a cloudless azure sky.
Fuck, it’s hot.
It wasalwaysfucking hot.
Gary swiped a hand over his drenched brow. The relentless sun beat down, roasting everything in sight, including him. The ocean of sand absorbed its heat, then reflected it back, intensifying the sensation of standing in a pit of fire.
Some things in the Iraqi desert never changed, including the sand that insinuated itself into crevices Gary would never tell his mother about.
“Are you listening to me, Cross?”
He turned to find his lover—his partner, hell, his fuckinglife—glaring at him. God, Eric was so fucking sexy, with his honey-blond hair, eyes that were a deeper blue than the sky, thick muscles that ran the length of his body…
And let’s not forget those hands.
Those fuckingmagnificenthands.
They worked so many different types of magic. They could be rough when he and Eric were sparring, or gentle when they loosened Gary up to take Eric’s cock that was every bit as thick as the man himself.
“What?”
