Page 15 of Saved By The Mountain Man

“What’s that, Vixen?”

“A man to go on a Sunday bike ride with me. A man to lean over me, show me what to fix on my bike. A man to take my handwhile we sit side by side and just let me be. A man who can quiet all the voices in my head.

“A man, Demon, just like you.”

***** Vixen*****

I could never understand why this man didn’t see himself like I did. But it was evident that my words struck something in him.

And I loved that.

I don’t know if he ever had anyone in his corner, but I could say that I would never give up on him.

I just needed him to be on board with seeing that too.

I know I was young; I wasn’t stupid. But it was never a problem for me. Though, I wasn’t sure if he was hung up on it.

A lot of men in the gang had women younger than them. The only difference? Most weren’t together for love; it was some type of agreement or something.

I wanted the feelings, the sticky, over-the-top, feel with it all your heart emotions. Not just something on paper. Which was why I know my dad would never agree with me being with Demon. Not that I cared.

After all the shit that happened ages ago, I was always okay with defying my dad, at least, to some degree. Hence the whole first kiss.

“You’re different, Brandi.”

“Damn right I am. But different isn’t bad, Hugh. I know I’m younger, I know what others think, what they claim I should want. I never wanted a wedding, or at least the big ass deal. I’d be okay just spending the days with you, never having a license to make it official. In my heart, I’d know the truth.”

“Your dad wouldn’t want that.”

“My dad can go screw himself. You think I’ve listened to that man.” I snorted, shaking my head. “The only reason I go see him is so that he doesn’t send someone out to bug mom and me. She’s happy in her life, so I go to shut him up.

“I spend my days on my phone or my laptop. And all he ever gets is just a few days, if even that. And when he does, it’s only for a few hours. You never picked up on that?”

I watched as he thought it over and then shook his head.

“Honestly, Brandi, I kept my distance when you were there, so I wasn’t hurting by seeing you.”

In some twisted way, that was really sweet. I mean, I would have loved him around more, but then, that could have been dangerous for both of us. I didn’t go down much to visit because I was worried about what would have happened. But I also think if I had ever seen him with another woman, I might have gone ballistic. And who knows what I could have done with him in a corner or on the makeshift dance floor they had.

Yeah, maybe it was better he wasn’t there.

“I guess I can understand that.”

“It was the greatest kind of torment to be around you and not touch you.”

“Come on Hugh, you can’t say something like that and not expect me to be giddy over it!”

“I like that it makes you happy. But you also have to understand my view. Brandi, you’re fifteen years younger. You could have had some young buck. I could never understand what you would want with an older man. I never even gave myself a hope, because at the end of the day, your dad would have killed me.

“And he almost did. Had I not been found, well, we wouldn’t be talking.”

I twisted my lip and nodded. I got it. Back then, it seemed almost impossible to do anything with this man. Which justproved how tight control my dad had on things, including my life. That was if he wanted it.

But it wasn’t like that anymore. Demon was out of the gang, and I was working on my way to not dealing with the man. Since I was never inducted, I could walk away without issues. Sure, my dad would be pissed, but I swear, I don’t think he cared. I think he just liked the power.

“I know it sounds stupid, but it wasn’t something I thought of.” I carefully turned to face him, wanting him to understand exactly what I was saying and the depth of emotion behind it.

“Not stupid.”

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