Page 33 of Single Mom’s Mountain Men (Mountain Men Reverse Harem #1)

Wes

A s Patty laughs behind me, a bird soars in my chest.

She’s having fun , the thought hits me with wonder.

I don’t know what I expected asking Patty to come bike riding with me, but I didn’t expect her to loosen up this quickly and get into it.

I actually thought she would be terrified at first, which is why I’ve been going slow and taking the bends nice and gently without gooning around like I usually do.

Heck, I’m even going slower than Charlie usually does, being extra careful because I don’t want to hurt her accidentally or ruin this experience for her.

Oh, what Charlie would say if he could see me now.

So it took having a woman like Patty on your bike for you to finally take your life seriously?

Yes. That’s exactly what it took. I've never taken any other woman riding before. Maybe because instinctively, it's always felt like an intimate experience, something I would only share with that one person who owns my heart and soul.

And it turns out that person is Patty.

And as she continues to laugh behind me and hold her hands out to the sky, holding on just by the grip of her thighs, I just wish I could see her face.

I want to know the expression that accompanies that happy sound of relief like she’s finally letting herself breathe for the first time.

I want to kiss her grinning lips and taste her joy myself.

I just want her, and I want to make her happy for an eternity.

You know what that means right? A silky voice echoes in my mind. That means entanglements, stability, and all the things you've avoided for your whole life.

Except the idea of spending my life with one woman no longer seems as scary and restrictive as it once did. Instead, it feels natural, like a comforting conclusion of one stage of life and advance into another.

That's how you know it's love , my father once told me when I asked how he fell in love with my mother.

When you find the right woman and you no longer want to tomcat around, when all you want to do is build a house for her and your children, and work every day to see her happy, that's how you know.

As we continue to climb she laughs again and this time I join in with a chuckle.

"Having fun?" I ask, and I feel her nod against my back. The air flutters her hair all around my face and her scent envelops me. With her hands back tight around my waist, I feel surrounded by her, my heart bursting with a brand new emotion I’ve never experienced before.

Love .

The realization doesn't hit like thunder, but more like a gentle wave. It sparks to life like a tiny flame that was smoldering for a while, finally given the breath it needs to come alive. I approach the mountain with a tinge of regret, not wanting the ride to end .

But as I slow my bike to a stop, Patty finally heaves a breathless, "Wow."

Her arms loosen from around my waist and I let her dismount from the bike first before I follow. She stares out at the sunrise with a wistful expression on her face, the delight still radiating from her.

I stare, taken with her expression, her face glowing in the sun.

That's when I realize. In all the time she’s been with us, this is the first time I’ve seen her totally relaxed, without that subtle air of watchfulness about her.

Usually, there’s a slight tension even when she jokes around with us, the sense that she’s not entirely settled.

That has bothered me for the longest time.

The only time she doesn’t seem like that is when she’s in the throes of sex.

And now, as she opens her arms to hug the sunrays, she feels light and breezy and free.

I stare at her face and the feeling solidifies inside me.

I love her.

"This is beautiful," she says, finally distracting me from my perusal. She spins around to beam at me. "Do you guys always come here?"

"Sometimes." My voice is thick with emotion as I walk to stand next to her. "Sometimes we ride down the bend towards Benson Creek. But the creek is all dried up around this time so there’s really nothing to see there."

She nods and faces the sunrise again. "I get it now, I think. I get why you guys always go out riding. It’s freeing."

"It is. And I’m glad you like it, beautiful." I catch a strand of her hair as she turns to face me, resisting the urge to kiss her there and then.

She blushes at the endearment, and her eyes drop. I catch her chin bringing her gaze back up to mine .

"You are beautiful, you know?" I insist. "Did that asshole convince you that you’re not?"

She slowly shakes her head. "It’s just that…I mean I know I’m not bad looking but beautiful is a very specific word that I wouldn’t use…"

"You have hair like sunshine," I start, stepping closer to her, leaning down so our noses can brush against each other.

"And the most adorable freckles on your nose. Your eyes are like the sea and you also have quite possibly the most seductive lips in the universe. Why on earth would you think that you’re not gorgeous? "

Her eyes meet mine, her face flushing a little and then I can’t hold back anymore. I lean down and capture her lips. Her hands grip my shoulder, and I feel her sigh, her body relaxing into mine as I sip from her.

Desire furiously rushes through my body. I want to take her right here and now, underneath the sunrise. Her soft pale flesh would look beautiful with the golden hour, and her eyes would glow even brighter. I want to see it more than I want my next breath.

Charlie would want to see it too.

The thought gives me pause because since when did Charlie play a role in my lustful thoughts?

Maybe I’m getting too used to our threesome but I can’t deny that our deal worked out better than I imagined. I love watching Charlie pleasure Patty, almost as much as I love pleasuring her myself. And now doing it without him feels weird.

We really must be as fucked up as everyone thinks we are.

I smile and pull away and Patty blinks at me. I cup her cheek and she stares at me with a smile of her own tickling her lip.

"What?" I ask .

"You have a gorgeous smile."

And now it was my time to blush. I’ve been called gorgeous before by many women but none of them were Patty and none of them had quite this effect on me.

"Now who’s blowing smoke up my ass."

"I’m serious." She giggles. "Have you ever thought of being a model?"

"Not really. If you haven’t noticed, there aren’t a ton of modeling agencies here."

"Yeah, but there might be if you were to go to a major city. Like New York for instance."

"I’m not a city boy."

"How will you know if you’ve never been there?"

I think about it and shrug. "Fair point. But I just don’t think I would be.

As much as I like to complain about Gasten, I like most things about living in Montana.

I get to ride my bike up the mountains as much as I want and the roads are never crowded.

I think I would lose my mind if I had to sit in traffic every day.

There aren’t too many people here, but I know pretty much everyone and that's comforting.

And if I want to meet new people I just go to Medla.

Or Colorado." I shrug. "Maybe one day, we'll take a road trip there, but for now, I'm happy where I am. "

She eyes me grinning softly. "If you could do anything in the world, what would you do?"

I blink. No one has ever asked me before. My parents assumed I would follow in my brother's footsteps and looking back I never did dissuade them of that notion. Mitch also assumed that I would want to take over the business with him once our folks died.

And now that I have time to think about it...only one thing pops into my mind .

"Probably run a bar," I admit. "I think that would be fun.’

Her smile widens. "Somehow I knew you would say that."

That’s because you seem to know me. I run my thumb across her bottom lip waiting to kiss her again, when I hear a rumble of motorbikes.

They’re louder than my brother’s bikes so I immediately stiffen, before spinning around.

Three large, loud V8 Choppers entered the plains, and seated on top of them were men I unfortunately recognize.

Robbie's men.

They were part of the same crew of bikers my brothers and I beat up in Cockrey’s bar that time. They still like to hang out at Cockrey's and so far, we'd avoided each other. But they've never caught me alone before.

And while I'm not scared for myself – I could take three of them with my eyes closed – I am concerned about Patty's safety.

They come rumbling up to a stop and I can feel her fear as her hand sneaks into mine. I squeeze her hand for comfort. The assholes have blocked off the path of leaving and they know it from the way the leader grins at me.

"If it isn't Wes Norris," their leader says, dismounting from his bike. "I heard you were mouthing off about me."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Then you must not have heard well. Because I don't talk about you at all. I don't even know your name, bud."

His face tightens and he approaches me. "Oh really?"

"Really." Then I can't resist adding. "Why? Did you all miss me? Was I on y'all mind a lot?"

He sneers. "We ain't gay. Unlike you and your brothers."

I laugh at that. "Right. Of course you inbreds like to project." I stare at his companions still sitting on their bikes. "Do you speak for them because they only know a few words a-piece?"

They snarl. The goons don't like being called stupid either.

"Wes," Patty whispers urgently. "We should go."

"Get your bikes out of the way," I say. "We need to leave."

"And if we say no?"

The others step off their bikes and stand behind their leader.

I smile. "Really? You folks really want to embarrass yourself again?"

"You got a big mouth for someone who's alone here. Outmanned."

"Yet, somehow you're still the one outgunned."

He sneers. "We'll see about outgunned."

His fist shoots out to me quickly and I duck, pulling Patty out of the way. I hear her squeak of surprise as I drive my heel into the leader's belly button and he bends over with an "Oof!" before slamming my foot into the side of his head, knocking him out cold.

The other two goons run for me, and I have to let go of Patty to take care of them.

I made quick work of it, breaking the first one's nose and kicking him hard enough to dislocate his knee.

As he falls, his bellow mimics a higher, more shrill sound.

I spin around and watch in horror as the second goon flings her to the floor, hard.

"Patty!" The sound that bursts from me is pure rage as I charge at him. He only has a second to look at me in fear, before I knock him out cold with one punc h

I wish I could do more, grind him into the ground, but he's the least of my worries right now.

Because Patty is looking up at me in pain.

Oh God. She's hurt.