Of course she’s a brat. My brat. My pink-haired, sexy-as-fuck…brat.This woman has put more scratches on me than any barn cat I’ve ever been around. She’s wild. Feral. The exact kind of woman who matches my lifestyle on the back of the bike. I wouldn’t want anyone else but her. There’s something different about Damara compared to any other woman that I’ve been with. It’s exactly what I love about her.
“Do you actually think I’m going to leave you?”
“Yes.”
“I won’t. I won’t even let you get ten fucking feet out of my sight.”
“Because that’s healthy.”
“What’s healthy is keeping you safe. When you have a baby… and when you have proven to me that you won’t dive headfirst into trouble… I’ll relax.”
“Why do I doubt that?”
“Because you’re the type of woman who questions everything.”
“It would be a lot faster if you just called me a bitch.”
“I didn’t,” I respond firmly. “Because I didn’t call you that. You’re strong-willed. It’s not a trait I’m afraid of in vehicles… why should women be any different.”
“Because women have brains.”
“Thank God for that,” I whisper, clasping her hips and pulling her close to me. Doesn’t Damara understand? I want her because she’s a pain in my ass. I want her because she gets my engine going in the way a bike never could. Because she’s awoman. A flesh and blood reminder of my reason for being here on this Earth. It’s not just bikes or desert that stretches out for miles. Life is more than money, or even whiskey.
None of that really matters until you meet the woman you’re meant to be with. The sunsets look a little more like paintings with her around. And whiskey doesn’t burn when it swirls down my throat. And when I wake up in the morning, I get out of bed without that old man groan I got so used to.
There’s no life without Damara. There’s no reason for it. So yeah, I don’t want her out of my fucking sight. Because I spent years not knowing what it felt like to love a woman like this and I don’t want to miss a goddamned second of it. Especially not with a flight risk like this one.
“I love you,” I whisper. “I love you enough to keep you. To hold you. To become a better man if that’s what you want from me.”
Damara’s body presses more firmly against mine as her resistance melts away. She feels what I feel. I’ve always known. I just want to hear her say it. I need her to say it.
“I love you too.”
“Finally.”
“Don’t catch an attitude.”
“I had to work for that.”
“And you’ll work for the next one too,” she says. I shake my head, but then I can’t help myself. I have to kiss her. She lets me, which only makes me kiss her even harder. Damara’s lips are delicious and soft.
“I love you,” I whisper. “I want you to know that. And I want to marry you, except I suspect you won’t like that sort of thing.”
“Marriage?”
Of course she protests.
“I’ll get you the biggest rock you’ve ever seen.”
Damara raises her eyebrows with delight she can’t help but hide. “Just so you know, I follow Gucci Mane’s wife,Keyshia Ka'oir, on Instagram. My standards are high.”
“I don’t know who or what you’re talking about, but if I have to sell an apartment building to get you an engagement ring, I’ll do it. As long as you don’t pawn it and run away.”
“I’ll be too pregnant to run away by the time you sell that building.”
This woman will be testing me my entire life and I find myself strangely excited by the thought of a continuous, neverending challenge.
“So I’m selling a building.”
