My body goes rock solid—such is the jolt of shock I feel with his words. “Um …” I hum, but I don’t say anything else.
“Where are you driving?”
“I have no idea. I imagined just driving around until everyone cleared out at the shelter and taking you back to your vehicle,” I explain.
“I left my keys above the visor and called a prospect to come and get it,” Hunter informs me.
“How were you planning on getting home?” I huff.
“I thought you’d take me. If not and this blew up in my face, I’d call the prospect and cancel.”
“Good you had a plan,” I mutter. “I suppose I’m heading to the clubhouse, then.”
“How about, you pull over to the side of the road and let me out?”
“Seriously?” I ask, thinking maybe he’s nuts. I just didn’t see the signs until after I fell in love and spent the night with him. It would explain how he changed so much overnight. I determine this while steadfastly ignoring the fact that it’s insane to fall in love with someone you don’t know and therefore have no idea who they really are.
On that note, I pull over to the side of the road and put it in park. He gets out without another word. I look over my shoulder, expecting to see him standing there. I use the window crank to let my window down slightly and frown when he’s not there. I jerk and look on my other side as my passenger side door opens. Hunter slides inside, closing the door with a grin. “That’s better,” he responds.
“What are you doing?” I ask, trying to ignore the fact that I’m feeling more than a little panicked.
“Getting out of the backseat. For the record, I don’t have anything against them. I’m fine if you’re in the backseat with me. I would just rather not be there alone.”
“So, now I’m taking you back to the clubhouse?” I ask, and I can feel my forehead creasing with a mixture of unease and confusion.
“Only if you want to spend some time there with me. Then, we can go by and pick Ty up later, maybe grab a bite to eat if you’re hungry—or dessert if you’re not.”
“You want me to go back to the clubhouse with you—a place that doesn’t exactly hold fond memories for me. Then, you expect me to go out with you and your son for food?”
“Some of the memories at the clubhouse are good, Harper.Verygood,” he practically purrs.
“Not so much after how it ended for me. Now, at this point, if you don’t want me using my gun on you just to make me feel better, you might want to rein your crap in,Evans.”
“Point made. I want to be honest here. I’ve missed you, Harper. I’ve missed the hell out of you since you walked away. I just really want to spend time with you. I want to get to know you—like I should have done that first night.”
“It’s not me that made that impossible, Hunter,” I murmur, looking outside the window instead of at him. I’m not sure what I’m feeling or what I want to say. I’m having trouble breathing—let alone thinking.
“I want to tell you something, but I don’t want to piss you off. I think you know from our track record that doing this is not exactly my strong suit,” he says with a sigh.
“Just tell me and get it over with. That way if I don’t like it, I can just shoot you or kick you out of my car,” I grumble.
“That night, I truly thought you were just a girl looking to get a foot in the club. We get that a lot at our parties. I saw you at once and I knew I wanted you. Straight up, no bullshit, I knew I was going to go after you. Then, things went down the way they did. I loved every minute of it, Harper. I swear to fuck that night was the best I’ve ever had—but it didn’t scream that what we shared was with a woman I’d want to bring home to my son. It screamed a night I shared with a party girl who was looking to get lucky at a biker club and see what we had to offer. I’ve seen that a lot. It may have colored my views—I can admit that. Yet, that’s where my head was. I knew I needed to get to my parents to spend breakfast with my son and then do some shit for my club. I had a busy day ahead. For me, there’s a time to party and there’s a time to be about family and work. That’s just the way it is. If I had even a hint that you were more than just a woman looking to spread her wings and walk on the wild side, it would have played out differently. I know men who have taken old ladies that were club candy before and that’s fine. They’re happy. A couple are monogamous, some still party with more than just them. I don’t judge. It’s not my place. I can only speak for me. I know that when I meet the woman I want to introduce to my son, I want to work for it. I want it to be about more than sex.”
I roll my eyes. What he’s saying does kind of piss me off and makes me want to slap him. It’s also making me uncomfortable. “Sure,” I mutter.
“Honest to God, sweetheart. Everything about you appeals to me. It did that night. It’s just that with my history, I have to think of my son. I’m not a kid anymore. When I get serious about a woman, I know the type of woman I want. Now, I fucked that up. I wanted more of you, but I did not know that you are all that you are. The minute I did, the regret was instant. I need you to believe that. I ran after you to get your number because I wanted more of you. You don’t know me, but I don’t do that when itcomes to women I sleep with for fun. They come to me and sometimes I bite, sometimes I don’t.” He pauses for a minute then lets out a sigh. “If you hold onto that steering wheel any harder, it’s going to snap in two,” he chastises quietly.
“I’m just wondering if you actually believe the shit you’re trying to shovel me,” I hiss.
“You can’t deny I ran after you, Harper. Everything I’ve said is true.”
“Maybe in your mind.”
“It is,” he insists.
“Whatever. Do you know what I recall the most?” I ask, my brain replaying that morning over and over in my mind.
“What’s that?”
