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“‘Cause she loves him.”
That answer wasn’t good enough. Not even close. “A woman can love a man and not be a possession.”
His lips turned down at the ends. “Ain’t like that.”
“No? Then explain.”
“It’s just the way it is.”
Fallon shook her head. “That’s not an answer. That’s a cop-out.”
His head jerked back. “You know what? You’re right. It ain’t a fuckin’ answer. I don’t need to explain it, and I’m d-done with this fuckin’ conversation.” His chair scraped along the floor as he shoved it back from the table and surged to his feet. “Let’s go.”
She stared up at him. His face was stony and his jaw tight. “I only want to understand, Whip.”
“You don’t need to. You’re only here ‘cause your damn bike needs repair. That’s it. You woulda kept ridin’ through if that didn’t happen. You’re only here for a few days, you’re not stayin’.”
“While all of that’s correct, that doesn’t mean I’m not interested. Please, sit down.”
“No. We’re goin’. You wanna stay, then you find your own way back.”
Shit. She could find a way back to the motel on her own. That wasn’t the problem. “Whip…”
His jaw shifted and he jabbed a finger in her direction. “You don’t gotta like the way we live, but it’s our way and we don’t need anyone’s approval. We got strong fuckin’ women in our club. None of them do what they d-don’t wanna do. Not fuckin’ one. Syn wasn’t forced to accept that… that collar, she chose to. She wouldn’t have accepted it if she didn’t love or trust D—“ He grimaced. “Dodge. It’s that fuckin’ simple.”
She met his hard and intense eyes. “You protect your club.” The way he defended his club’s way of life was hard to ignore. It was hard to ignore his passion on the subject.
“We p—“ a muscle in his jaw popped, “protect our family.”
“And the Fury is your family.”
“Yeah. They are.” He swiped his baseball cap off the table and jammed it backwards onto his head. The same way he wore it when he rode his bike. “Know where your mind was headed ‘cause of wh—“ he blew out a breath, “what happened to you at your job. You mentioned misogyny and this ain’t it, whether you believe it or not. My brothers respect their women and will do anythin’ to protect them and their kids. It ain’t no wishy-washy relationship b-bullshit where a man treats a woman like shit. Like she’s less than him. Their relationships are real. Solid. Are they p-possessive? Hell yeah. Are they fuckin’ loyal? Fuck yeah they are. It’s a commitment that sticks.”
Fallon had basically spent all day with the man and never heard him stutter once, but now he’d done it multiple times. Did he have a stutter that only came out when he was angry?
Every time he did it, he seemed to get even angrier. Like it was her fault he was doing it. While she hoped that wasn’t true, it very well might be.
Shit.
She finished off the last swallow of her vodka tonic and pushed her chair back. “I don’t have to agree with how other people live their lives.” Before she could rise, he offered his hand to assist her, surprising her. Did she need it? No. But she planted her hand in his anyway because apparently, men did that in his club. They were the type to be in charge. The “head” of the household. Even the “breadwinner.” All of it typical alpha-male mentality.
Did they treat women as second-class citizens? She hoped not.
He said all the Fury women were strong. She saw it in Reilly. She wasn’t sure about Syn or Shay because she’d only spent a few minutes with each. But those were the only three she’d met, so she wasn’t able to judge.
Truthfully, that was what she’d be doing… Judging. She wasn’t here to judge anyone.
She needed to smooth things over with Whip. She wasn’t ready for their night to end. She liked him.
Much more than she expected.
Was she planning on inviting him to join her in her room? Yes. But she wasn’t sure if she screwed up that opportunity. She sure hoped not.
“If the women are fine with the way things are in your club, then I have to be fine with it, too. It’s not my life and I’m just a visitor in yours. I’m sorry if I offended you in any way but I was truly only interested in learning about a lifestyle I’ve never been around.”
He hadn’t let go of her hand since she stood, so she squeezed it. In return, he took a visible breath and his jaw loosened, his eyes softened and his fingers relaxed in hers. Basically, his raised hackles had lowered.
He also pulled her closer. To the point where the toes of their boots were touching.
