Page 26 of Mountain Beast

I tuck a stray curl behind my ear, nervously fidgeting with it before dropping my hand. “You caught that, huh?”

“That this is a date, and that I’m your boyfriend?” His large hands land on my waist and pull me into his chest. “Yeah, kind of hard to miss.”

“Sorry, I know we haven’t discussed⁠—”

“Autumn?”

I pause. “Yeah?”

“Shut up.” His lips slam over mine with a groan, and instinctively, my arms wrap around his neck, my legs hugging his thick waist as he hefts me off the ground.

“You’re so rude,” I huff, breaking the kiss for a moment before diving back in.

“And you talk too much.”

“Like I said, rude.”

Too bad his attitude turns me on.

I’m not sure when it stopped being annoying and started becoming foreplay between us. When my need to be bad as a form of freedom morphed into feeling free to be myself with him—good girl or not.

Maybe when he calmly talked me through my tattoo.

Or when he shared his vulnerability about women and how they’ve treated him in the past.

Either way, when Briggs pins me to the wall, grinding between my thighs before managing to bury his cock deep in my pussy, I forget about the hows and whys and focus on the possibility of what if.

What if this is real?

What if that myth about soul mates and heart sparks crossed county lines from Suitor’s Crossing to High Ridge?

What if Briggs and I are meant to be, no matter how rocky our start?

God, I like the sound of that.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

BRIGGS

“The two of you are together,” Cormac drawls, his narrowed gaze bouncing between me and Autumn, where we decided to accept the dinner invitation at Rocking M. I assumed there might be some questions since Autumn talked to Davie about us, so his unspoken question isn’t a surprise.

“Yes.” No hesitation. Firm and confident.

“How?”

I roll my eyes as Autumn squeezes my hand on her thigh beneath the table. “Well, when a man and a woman⁠—”

Connor coughs into his fist to cover a laugh while Cormac scoffs. “You know what I mean, asshole. I thought the two of you didn’t like each other.”

“We didn’t really know each other,” Autumn cuts in. “I only knew what I heard through the High Ridge gossip mill, and Briggs’s opinions about women were colored by past experiences. Once we cleared the air, being together just made sense.”

Cormac doesn’t look convinced. “That’s what’s confusing. Why would you even talk long enough to ‘clear the air’? When did you even meet to start talking? The rage park?”

“The Suitor’s Crossing street dance,” I say. It’s the truth, even if the evening was filled with less talking and more of Autumn on her knees sucking my cock.

He doesn’t question that part any further, which is best, since Autumn and I agreed not to share our auspicious beginning as friends with benefits.

“Man, I’ve got to hand it to you. After being such a dick about Davie, I’m glad your subsequent apology and promise to do better actually made a difference.”