Page 11 of A Mountain to Climb

Holding out my hand for hers, she grabs mine and we start our walk back. “Can I say something that makes me sound like a nutcase?”

“I don’t think much would surprise me, so throw it at me.”

“Would it be weird if I said I like your hair up in that bun thing better? Damn, woman, what you’re doing to me.”

“You like my hair up?” She reaches up and toys with a piece that isn’t fully secured with the rest.

I stop us just before we step onto the back patio and spin her to face me. “I like your hair no matter how you wear it. I just happen to have inappropriate thoughts seeing it up like that. The access it gives me to more of your skin . . .” I trace a finger down her neck, from her ear to collarbone, causing her whole body to shiver as goosebumps pop up on her arms.

“Whoa, okay. I’ll give it some consideration.” She lifts up on her tiptoes and kisses me before heading inside.

It’s time to face the music with Connor and try to explain why I want this woman to be in our lives after only a few hours. I’d wish myself luck, if it worked like that.

CHAPTER EIGHT

BLUE

“Damn it, woman. Why won’t you just agree to be my Old Lady?” Mountain has been all up in my face today. He’s trying to convince me that three days is enough time for me to be his woman.

“It’s way too late. I’m tired and wanna go to bed. And mostly because it’s only been a few days.” Three days!

“Who fucking cares how long it’s been?” His voice is getting louder every time he responds to my rebuttals.

“I do, you idiot! I agreed to stay here yesterday and you’re already asking to make us official.” I’m trying to keep my voice down because Connor is down the hall in his room.

“Damn right, I am! I need you to be mine. That’s how things work around here. When we want something, we do whatever we need to get it!” This comes out in a roar.

I deflate just a bit. “What about Connor?”

That causes him to tilt his head to the side and squint his eyes. “What about him?”

“He hates me.”

Mountain grabs one of my hands, lacing our fingers together. I learned very quickly that when he wants me to really listen to him, he holds my hand. I think it’s sweet—a little cunning, but sweet. “He doesn’t hate you. He’s ten years old and doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground.”

“I don’t want to start with him having a problem with us.” I really don’t. This relationship would implode fast if Mountain’s torn in different directions.

“I talked to him this morning. I talked and he listened. He talked and said ‘fuck’ a few times, so I grounded him for the weekend. It’s okay now, he knows how I’m feeling about you.” So that’s why Connor went straight to his room after dinner. He was quiet at the table and quickly asked to be excused. He’s hiding from his Pops.

How do I get Mountain to understand that I don’t know if I’m cut out for this life? I’ve met all the guys, and a few of the Old Ladies, but how the club runs on a daily basis is still a mystery. “I don’t know anything about club life. I don’t know what you do or how things work around here. This can’t all be legal.”

“You’re right when you say you don’t know everything, and I won’t lie to you, there will be some things you’ll never know about. The business we do is only to be known by the Brothers. It sounds chauvinistic, but that’s the way things are done around here. I’m the President, and as my Old Lady, you’ll be privy to whatever I tell you. But it doesn’t go past you and me. You don’t tell anything to anyone, not even the Brothers.” He stops, taking a deep breath.

“That’s a lot.”

“It is, but you don’t have to figure it out all at once. I didn’t. The five of us original guys learned what we know one day at a time.”

That makes me relax a little. If he wants me to be his lady, I would have years to learn as we go along.

“One last thing, and this is a big one. If I tell you to do something, I need you to not question me about it, you have to just listen and do it. I can’t have my woman talking back to me in front of the Brothers. I need them to respect to me, and if you don’t, that undermines my authority in this club.”

“What if I don’t like what you tell me to do?” I’m not going to rob a bank for this man, no matter how much I’m falling in love with him. Love? Where’d that come from?

He joins our hands and raises them to kiss my knuckles. “You wait until we’re alone and behind a closed door, then you yell at me all you want. I’ll listen to your issues, then try to nicely tell you why I did what I did. We’ll figure it out together.”

“Why does it sound so fair and unfair at the same time?” All this newness is coming at me so fast, my head might spin off my shoulders.

“Apparently, that’s the life of an Old Lady in a motorcycle club. I didn’t grow up in the lifestyle, but the people I know who did say that it’s the ultimate test of a true relationship. Only the true and strong will thrive. And I think that could be us.”

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