Her concerns are valid. If she were at almost any other club across the country, she would likely be right on target in her thinking. However, these are the Beasts and she is safe here, even unbranded.
“You’ll be okay, babe. You have my word. No harm will come to you here. My brothers will know exactly who you belong to.”
“Belong?”
I hum. “Yeah.”
She doesn’t respond, but I can tell that one word has affected her. Deciding that the conversation is now over, I open my door and jump out. Walking around to the bed of the truck, I grab ahold of her heavy as fuck bag and grunt as I lift it from the back.
She’s standing at the passenger door, her back against it when I round the truck. Her eyes are wide as she stares ahead at the clubhouse door. She obviously thinks that the men here are going to rape her, use her, and abuse her. I mean, hell, I guess they could. It’s not like we’re the nicest guys on earth or that we’ve never done any of those things.
“C’mon,” I gently demand, holding my hand out, palm up for her.
She looks down at my hand, then lifts her gaze to meet mine. There is a war waging inside of her head, but she pushes the doubts away as she takes a step toward me, then another as she slips her hand in mine.
Together we make our way into the clubhouse, shifting my hand from hers, I slide it around her hips. Gripping her tightly, I look around. There aren’t many people here. Pinkie is in the corner on her knees for Worm. Wolfe is at the bar, Esther pressed against his side. Dragon is sitting next to him, laughing at something that he says.
I almost shout to the group, but I decide against it. Instead, I just guide Leighton toward the bedroom. Her body is stiff and stays that way until we slip into my room. Releasing her, I make my way toward the bed and dump her bag in the middle.
“Now you’re the one who’s angry with me,” she whispers from across the room.
We’re silent, neither of us speaking first, both of us just watching the other person. I shake my head, her eyes stay focused on mine, but I don’t make a move.
“Not angry,” I murmur.
She arches a brow, inhaling a deep breath before she releases it and takes a step toward me. “Yeah?” she asks softly.
“Yeah,” I grunt as she closes the distance between us.
I watch as she lifts her hand and presses it against the center of my chest. Her palm is warm, firm as she presses it against my body. Dipping my chin, I catch her gaze and hold it. She licks her lips as she looks up at me.
“I don’t want you to leave. You can tell me that I’m being stupid, silly, clingy. I don’t care, I don’t want to be alone here.”
Watching her, I don’t say anything in response to her words immediately. I want to tell her that she’s not stupid, she’s not clingy either, that I want to take her with me. I don’t say any of that. I probably make a colossal mistake, but I wouldn’t be Mountain if I didn’t fuck everything up.
I wouldn’t be Wilder Lopez if I didn’t hurt a woman.
“You better get used to it, babe. I’m not on your time, you’re on mine. This is what I do, this is who I am. Just ‘cause I’ve been with you for a couple days, don’t get some kind of false sense of who I am deep down, Leighton.”
“Yeah?” she asks, squaring her shoulders slightly. “Who are you, then?”
Lifting my hand, I wrap my fingers around her wrist and tug her closer to me. She falls forward, her body pressing against my chest as she tips her head back so that she can look up into my eyes.
“I’m not a fuckin’ nice guy. I’m not a savior. I won’t be faithful, I won’t be perfect. What I will be is absolutely fucking real with you. What I won’t be is a liar. You ask me if I fucked someone, I’ll tell you the truth of it. You want a man who tells you that you don’t look fat in a pair of jeans even if you do? You got the wrong guy for that shit.”
She blinks, her lip curling before she shakes her head once and lets out a snort of laughter. “You’re typical, Mountain.”
“Yeah?”
She nods her head. “Just like every man I have ever seen before. Scared of what could be out there, adamant that you are indeed some magical beast who isn’t controlled by anyone, least of all your own feelings. That’s fine. I’ve never been in a real relationship before, nobody has ever been faithful to me and I’ve never seen anyone be faithful to another person, ever.”
I watch her, unsure of how I feel about her words. Not because I magically want to change for her, I’m in my forties, I’m not going to become a different person any time soon. The way she speaks, with certainty. It makes my heart jump in my chest.
Maybe I could prove her words wrong, maybe I could prove my own wrong. I’ve never been one to conform, not in any way, shape, or form. If I’m just like the rest of my brothers, isn’t that just another sense of conforming? Though, now most of them are faithful to their wives, completely devoted to their families, even the threesome of our group.
I shouldn’t give a fuck what other people do. All I should worry about is my damn self, and her—Leighton.
LEIGHTON
Mountain doesn’t say anything. He holds me against his chest, his jaw clenched and grinding back and forth as he stares down at me. I lick my lips, wishing I could know exactly what he’s thinking. He shakes his head once as if to empty his head of the thoughts that are rolling around in there.
“Mountain,” I breathe.
He shakes his head again, then dips his chin and touches his mouth to mine. “How about we just learn about one another, do what makes us happy, and not worry about other people?” I chance asking.
“How do you do that?”
He smiles against my lips. “How about we forget what other people have done to us, worry about what we do to one another. Make our own rules.”
“I don’t think that’s going to work,” I exhale.
“Might be surprised, babe. This is a different world. You stepped over the threshold of this building and you stepped into a place with its own set of rules. They aren’t like the rest of society.”
“You think I haven’t been in a world made up of its own rules?” I ask.
He chuckles, his breath fanning over my face. “Yeah, you have. How about you just play in this one for a while without being worried about every little thing? These men will take care of you because you’re here with me. You don’t need to worry anymore. Not about anything.”
“Okay,” I breathe. “Okay.”
I say the words, but they lack conviction. I am worried. I’ll probably always be worried. Not for any reason but my own selfish sense of security. I know that I can survive in the world on my own, but I also know exactly how hard it is.
He tilts his head to the side, his mouth slams down against mine and he gives me a hard kiss. It’s painful, but I love it. My belly dips and I have to press my thighs together. I want more, so much more from him. He’s still a stranger, but he’s my stranger.
A loud pounding on the door causes him to pull away from me. His hand drops from my wrist, and I want nothing more than to pull him close to me again and smother him, keep him right where he is, right here with me.