I found myself smiling at her honesty, at the way she could say something so vulnerable wrapped in humor.“I’m glad I could help, though I’m not really sure what I did other than amuse everyone.Which I’m more than happy to do, of course.”
“These guys aren’t bad,” Ada said softly.“Sure, they all did time, but there’s not a one of them who were violent for no reason, and they all accepted the consequences of their actions to a man.”She glanced up at Oktober, whose attention had been snagged by Knuckles.The two men laughed at something and I wanted to sigh.When Oktober had that carefree, happy expression on his face, there was no defense against his charm.“We’re glad he’s found someone he can be happy with.Even if it’s only the weekend.”
As the group continued their water break, I found myself studying the dynamics more carefully.These people weren’t just a motorcycle club.They were a family.A complex, sometimes dysfunctional family, but a real one.They worried about each other.They celebrated each other’s victories.They showed up for each other in ways that went far beyond club obligation.
Oktober eventually made his way to my side, settling beside me on the boulder.His thigh pressed against mine, and he reached over to tuck a strand of hair that had escaped my bun behind my ear.
“Lavender been running her mouth?”he asked, amusement clear in his voice.
“Extensively,” I confirmed.“Is any of it true?”
“Perhaps some.”He turned to look at the lake, and I could see a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.“You are different, though.I wasn’t exaggerating.”
I leaned my head against his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around me without hesitation.Below us, the lake glittered in the afternoon sun.Around us, the forest whispered with life.And within the circle of this unusual family, I felt a sense of belonging I never expected.
This was his world.These were the people who mattered to him.And somehow, impossibly, I was being welcomed into it.No questions asked.
“Come on,Kätzchen,” Oktober said, standing and offering me his hand.“Let’s head down before the sun gets too low.”
I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet.The descent was easier than the climb.But I barely noticed the physical sensation of the hike.My mind was too busy processing everything I was learning about Oktober and the life he’d chosen.
He was a man who protected people he loved.Who took responsibility.Who showed up.Who found meaning in community rather than individual achievement.And I couldn’t imagine walking away from him.
As we descended from the overlook, nearing the clearing where we would split off and go to our cabin, Oktober stopped me and pulled me into a smaller overlook, just off the trail.The vista wasn’t as majestic as from higher, but the mountain stream emptying into the lake below still gurgled by with amazing beauty.
Oktober pulled me into his arms, kissing me.I surrendered willingly, loving how he cupped the back of my head to hold me still for him.When we broke apart, he was grinning.“You like my family,ja?”
“They’re wonderful and you know it.”I grinned up at him.“I love how close and supportive everyone is of each other.”
The sun was sinking faster now, the sky turning from orange to deep pink to purple.It would be dark in perhaps fifteen minutes.But instead of moving, Oktober pulled me close again, arranging us so I was tucked against his side with my head on his shoulder.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” he said, as if marking the moment, making it significant.“And I’m going to keep kissing you until it’s so dark we can’t see anything at all.”
“Promises, promises,” I teased, but my heart was hammering against my ribs.
He smiled and leaned in, and his mouth found mine in the gathering darkness.This kiss was different from the ones that had come before.It wasn’t urgent or desperate or seeking validation.It was deliberate and deep and full of intention.It tasted like commitment and a claim I knew I couldn’t deny.
I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer.He clung to me just as hard as I did him.He was my anchor.And maybe, in some way, I might be his anchor, too.Everything about this moment felt fragile and precious but not temporary.It felt all too much like the future I desperately wanted for myself.
The kiss deepened as darkness fell around us.Oktober’s tongue stroked against mine, slow and deliberate, and I answered by pulling him closer, by letting myself sink into the feeling of him.I found my way beneath his shirt, splaying my hands across the warm muscle of his back.His skin was smooth except for the raised lines of a couple of scars.
“Mia,” he murmured against my lips, breaking the kiss just long enough to speak my name.“Ich brauche dich.I need you.”
“I know,” I whispered back.“I need you too.”
We kissed until it was fully dark, until the stars above us were the only light remaining.We kissed until my lips felt swollen and my breath came in gasps.We kissed like we were trying to store up enough sensation to last us through the separation that would come on Sunday.
When we finally broke apart, I was breathless and dizzy and completely certain of something for the first time in days.This wasn’t a rebound.This wasn’t a vacation fling that I’d look back on with embarrassment and nostalgia.This was something real, something worth fighting for.
“We should probably head back before the others send out a search party,” Oktober said eventually, though he made no move to actually leave.
“Probably,” I agreed, making no move to get up either.Instead, we sat on a rock by the stream, nestled together beneath the stars, in the darkness.
Eventually, reluctantly, we did get up.Oktober took my hand and led me back through the forest, navigating the darkness carefully.By the time we reached the trail where the others would be, my hair was a mess and my clothes were disheveled, but I didn’t care.
Two more days.And then we’d figure out how to make forever work.
Chapter Eight
