HONORED: The Mountain Man's Babies Read online

  The last thing I expected to find when I finally showed up here at the base of the mountain where Jax lives was a woman like her.

  She doesn’t match this mountain vibe. She’s not rugged like she was born here, or jaded like she left the city but keeps looking back—like the waitress.

  No, this woman across from me, with her hand in mine, looks like she blew in from a world I’ve never been to. A world where a greasy mechanic sure as hell wouldn’t belong. She’s soft brush strokes to my steel engine but for some reason, I can’t seem to let go.

  She runs her thumb over the callouses on my palm and her fingers are like pinpricks of pleasure, hinting that they know the right places to touch to make a grown man cave.

  Hell, she’s given me nothing but her name and already I’m willing to give her the whole damn world. She may be sitting in a booth, but I can see her curves, her full breasts, and immediately know she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

  “Honor? Nice name, it’s different,” I say, picking up my fork and taking a bite of the pie the waitress has dropped off.

  “Thanks,” she says. “So is Hawk.” She takes a bite of her pie. There’s whipped cream on her fork and I swear to God it gets me hard as fuck just thinking about her mouth being filled with that sweet cream.

  She smiles at me, but the smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. And when I look in them, I see pale blue pools of water; there’s a depth to them. Eyes I could swim in.

  Eyes that tell me she’s been through hell and back, but she hasn’t drowned.

  I understand that. After my ma died—killing the other driver in her recklessness—I was torn up inside. My ma’s choices ended the life of another. It was paralyzing, realizing that it can all end in an instant.

  In theory, I wanted that realization to propel me into being a better man, but in fact, all I’ve been is the vigilante for my friends’ justice. Picking fights they could have owned themselves. Fighting, but not for the things that matter.

  One look at Honor and I want to fight for her in ways I don’t even understand.

  I want to protect this woman who looks like she’s seen better days.

  “You come here often?” I ask, not even cringing at my line because I swear to God, I had no good reason to stop at this diner on my way to my cousin’s place—but I couldn’t help myself. I was drawn here. Craving something I couldn’t even put my finger on.

  At least not until I saw her.

  Now I know exactly what I wanted.

  Want.

  Her.

  “It’s my first time,” she says, picking up her coffee.

  “Just driving through?” I ask.

  She shakes her head. “No, I’ll be here a bit.”

  I nod, the idea of staying around this mountain suddenly not seeming so bad.

  “Me, too.”

  She smiles then, her cheeks turning pink and I realize that I am having the same reaction on her as she’s having on me.

  “Does it feel like...” I start but she cuts me off.

  “Like we’ve met? Or at least... know one another?”

  “Yeah,” I say slowly, looking at her with more discernment. “But I know we haven’t met before. I’m sure of it.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  I grin. “There’s no way in hell I’d forget you.”

  She laughs, soft and sweet like a cherry blossom in bloom. The summer wind blowing her delicate fragrance over my hardened heart. Instantly, I’ve softened to her, and by the way she licks her lips and sighs with longing, I know she’s a flower ready to bloom.

  I may not have all my shit together—but I can certainly help part her petals and show her how a garden grows.

  “So, what is a pretty thing like you doing at a diner all alone?” I ask, hating the stupid line, but also needing to know. Needing to know her.

  She offers me an innocent shrug. “I needed a night off, I guess. Life can be hard, ya know? Really stressful?”

  I nod, my jaw tensing, hating that this woman’s life is ever hard. Looking down at her cherry pie I smile. “So, you’re telling me you’re a stress eater?”

  She laughs at that, smiling like she needs more smiles in her life.

  “You’re beautiful when you laugh, you know that?”

  She lifts the fork to her mouth. “I bet you use that line on all the girls.”

  I shake my head. “Naw, just the ones I want to get to know better.”

  Her face flushes then, a rosy blush filling her cheeks.

  “Am I embarrassing you? Coming on too strong?”

  She squares her shoulders then, lifting her chin as if made of more determination than I pegged her for. And even though she looks like a wildflower, a woman used to growing wherever she can manage, she’s rooted in something. She knows who she is.

  I want to know her too.

  “I’m not embarrassed.” She twists her lips, as if trying to conceal a smile. “Honestly, I like it. It feels good to hear a compliment like that, even if I’m not the only girl you say that to.”

  “I’m not bullshitting you, Honor. You are beautiful.”

  She wipes her mouth with her napkin, then presses her lips together, a smile peeking out. “Thank you.”

  I take her hand in mine, lacing my fingers with hers. “You’re welcome.”

  We stare at one another for a beat too long. Or a beat just long enough. A beat to know this night has just begun.

  “You wanna get out of here?” I ask, pulling out my wallet and throwing a twenty on the table.

  I don’t wait for her to answer because this girl is already on her feet.

  She was ready to go before I ever sat down.

  Is this what love at first fucking sight is? Because damn, I swear I’ve spent my life in the dark and am suddenly blinded by the truth. The truth of her. Us.

  I can’t look away, even if I wanted to.

  But I don’t.

  I want to see her for what she is.

  And tonight, she is mine.

  In the parking lot, I point to my truck. “Wanna go for a ride?”

  She nods, then hesitates, the first time I’ve seen her take a second guess about this. About me.

  “How about we just drive down to the bluff a mile down the road? There’s a nice lookout I saw when I was driving through.”

  She nods again but her eyes flit around the parking lot and I try to follow her gaze. “I can’t be long. Just an hour. Okay?”

  I smile at her, the setting sun framing her face like she’s been sent from heaven just for me. Glowing and pure and a sweet fucking dream. “Anything you want, angel.”

  She shakes her head as if she’s embarrassed. For a second, I think I’ve gone too far with my words, but as I open the door to my truck for her, and she glides onto the bench seat, she looks up at me with those pale blue eyes and they tell me she isn’t embarrassed at all.

  She’s relishing this.

  Wordlessly, we drive to the bluff, the parking lot empty, and I’m about to put the truck in park when she shakes her head. “No,” she tells me. “Down there.”

  She points to another parking spot, nestled in the trees, more discreet.

  I look over at her, my cock a fucking rock at this point, and damn, I wasn’t thinking I’d take this innocent angel so soon; thought she’d want to take her time, get to know me, but she insists.

  “Please Hawk, down there, where it’s more... private.”

  I give her a sidelong glance, loving the way she so easily tells me what she wants.

  “You don’t need to tell me twice,” I tell her, putting the truck in reverse and driving to the spot tucked away, far from anyone who may be driving past, line of sight.

  I park the truck then, with the setting sun in front of us and the mountain range behind us. The only thing right here, right now, is us.

  “You always this sure of what you want?” I ask as she unbuckles and turns to face me.

  “Not always,” she says almost too fain
t to hear.

  “But now?” I ask, reaching for her, cupping her cheek in my hand, not wanting to take away this angel’s innocence before she is ready. She looks like a virgin; untouched and pure. “Now you know?”

  “I know what I want, Hawk. For the first time in my life, it’s all beginning to make sense.”

  Her words don’t scare me—and hell, in the past they sure as fuck would have had me running from a girl who spoke with such clarity.

  But not now. Not Honor.

  Her words are a balm to my restless soul, effortlessly easing me into the idea of being a different sort of man.

  I kiss her then, partly because I want to. But mostly because I need to. And I know she needs it too. Needs me.

  I kiss her. And don’t stop there.

  6

  His lips touch mine and my heart beats fast, my body hot and willing.

  I may be a sister-wife, and have a man who calls himself my husband—but I’m not married. Polygamy is illegal, and Luke had already married True when I was forced into the church—the one he formed—and sealed to him as his wife.

  I laid with him, had children with him, but he has never once been my partner... my lover. My spouse. He is the man I lived with and the man I ran from. But legally, we are not bound by anything beyond our flesh and blood.

  Certainly, not bound by the bonds of holy matrimony.

  Which is why when Hawk kisses me, I kiss him back.

  “Your lips are like honey,” he tells me, pulling back and looking into my eyes. His words are so sugary, not at all matching the way he appears on the surface. Hardened and tough. “So damn sweet.”

  I shake my head. “Kiss me again,” I tell him, my body already demanding more.

  He does, his lips press against mine, and my mouth parts, inviting him in. His tongue finds mine, and my skin pricks with pleasure. His hands run down my back, pulling me closer to him, and I sink into his hold.

  My dress is short and as I lean toward him, it inches up past my thighs. I’ve never been so exposed, but with Hawk, it feels right. The moment I saw him I felt safe and seen.

  I felt like for the first time in forever, I was in the right place at the right time.

  So, I’m taking this moment without looking ahead because I don’t know what the future will hold. My babies will need me and I’ll need to be strong every day.

  Which is why right now I’m going to let myself be weak at the knees.

  I’m going to let myself be his.

  “Oh, angel,” he whispers, kissing my ear, my neck, my nose. “You are fucking unreal.” His hands run over my butt, over my exposed leg. “I want you so badly.”

  “Good,” I tell him, breathing in his rugged scent of gasoline and fresh air and leather. He smells like a man who knows what to do with me. “Because I want you, too.”

  He pulls me to him like I don’t weigh a thing and I straddle him, feeling his hardness beneath me. I close my eyes, savoring this sensation. A man wanting me so desperately. Not using me today and his other “wife” tomorrow, his next “wife” the day after that. No. Hawk isn’t asking for anything other than what this moment can offer us both.

  His hands rest on my butt, he licks his lips. “You sure, baby? If it’s your first time...”

  I shake my head. I may be inexperienced in many things... but I am not a virgin. I am a mother of three.

  I love my children more than life itself and will be fiercely loyal to them until the day I die—but Luke took things from me I can never get back. And when I look at Hawk, a man I’ve known less than one hour, who holds me like he won’t let me go... it’s like he found me at the exact right moment. The moment I needed him.

  “It’s not my first time,” I tell him. “But I wish it were.”

  He exhales, and I think the idea of taking my virginity was a hold up for him. But then his eyes darken, the smoky gray turns nearly black.

  “Did someone hurt you?” he asks.

  “Before. Yes.”

  His hold on me tightens protectively. “I’ll fucking kill them.”

  I shake my head. “Tonight, I don’t want to think about the past... or the future. I just want to be here. With you.”

  Hawk pulls me to him, wrapping his arms around me, and kissing the top of my head. I feel tears well up in my eyes and I let my face nuzzle in his chest. There is something magical happening here... I just met this man, yet he’s cradling me in his arms like he was made to take care of me. And deep in the cracks of my broken heart, I want him to.

  “Let me make love to you,” he says, drawing my face back to his with the crook of his finger. “Let me make the wrongs right.”

  He opens the door of the truck, and he carries me out of the cab. He lays down a blanket in the bed, and I won’t ask why he has one at the ready. It doesn’t matter... just like all the things I’m keeping back don’t matter either. Not right now. Right now, all that matters is this.

  Us. Taking what is ours.

  Standing in the bed of the truck, he offers me his hand. The sun has set, and in the darkness, no one can see the two of us. No one sees as he helps me up, as we stand before one another, our bodies pulsing with desire.

  No one sees as he tells me to lift my arms to the sky, as he lifts the hem of my dress and pulls it over my head. My hands instinctively cover my belly. Stretch marks streak it, but in the dark, he can’t see them, so I let him move them away. I let him run his hands over my bare skin, and when he unbuckles his pants, steps out of them, and pulls his white t-shirt over his head, my hands know where they belong.

  Running over the ladder of muscles on his abdomen, his skin hot and sweaty, he pulls me to him, hard. As if our exposed bodies need to be covered by one another.

  He cups my face in his hand, kissing me, this time with a fierceness I hadn’t felt in the cab. As if his masculine potency has been unleashed, standing under the moon with a near-naked woman in his arms. I whimper beneath him, wanting more, wanting it all.

  “Lie down, angel,” he tells me. “I need to touch you.”

  I do as he asks, lying on the wool blanket, my eyes looking up at the stars. Making a wish.

  I wish I may, I wish I might. Have this wish I wish tonight.

  That this moment will stay in my memory for always. That it will never be taken from me. That I will always feel as I do now. Like I am enough.

  “What is it?” he asks, his hands on the waistband of my panties, ready to pull them down and take all of me. “Don’t cry, baby.”

  “They’re not sad tears,” I tell him, my throat dry and my chest heaving and just so utterly grateful to have a night where I feel like someone beautiful. I didn’t know how badly I needed it.

  “No more tears tonight.” He leans down, his mouth inches from mine. “But I am going to have you crying out pretty damn soon.”

  I laugh softly, never having been this close to a man who spoke with this level of authority.

  “Promise?” I ask.

  “It’s a goddamned guarantee.” Then Hawk slips off my panties, runs his hand between my thighs, and groans.

  “What is it?” I ask, very aware of my body. “Is something wrong?”

  “No, baby. You’re just so fucking wet.” His fingers press against me and I inhale sharply. He feels me, and groans again. Which causes me to smile. He wants this too. “I want you so badly.”

  “Then take me, now,” I tell him, reaching under his boxers, feeling his hard, velvety length. My body reacts to feeling him, my core alive and sopping wet. I know his fingers are soaked as he strokes me gently, touching my folds with tender intention. “Make me cry out,” I tell him. “Erase my bad memories and give me a new one.”

  “Oh, baby, I’ll give you more than one good memory tonight. I plan on giving you several.”

  7

  Her pussy is warm and ready, and my cock is fucking on fire.

  “Fill me up,” she begs after my fingers have fucked her nice and slow. This angel under me is a godsend and
if I believed in signs I’d say I fucking found one. I debated this decision, coming here to work at Jaxon’s request, wondering if I should have just stayed put and looked for more mechanic work—but after an hour on this mountain I know I’m right where I belong.

  With Honor.

  Now.

  And fucking forever.

  She doesn’t know all that yet, but I plan on showing her. I’m not letting this innocent angel go. No way in hell. We’re just getting started.

  I roll on a condom, wishing I weren’t, but I need to do everything in my power to treat this woman like she deserves. With respect and integrity.

  “I need you so badly,” I tell her, easing myself inside of her. “I want to fill you up until your pussy explodes.”

  She giggles beneath me. “Your words are so dirty, Hawk,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck, looking into my eyes.

  “You like it filthy, don’t you?” My cock loves her narrow cunt, and I fill her up so fucking fast.

  “I’ve never had a man speak like that to me... but it sounds good on your lips. But I think...” she says, moaning as my cock presses inside of her, “I think anything would sound good coming from you.”

  “I won’t just talk dirty then,” I tell her, running my hand over her large tits, still covered in a bra. “I’ll talk filthy-sweet to you, how does that sound?” I pump inside of her, her legs wrapping around me, rocking with me. Her wet little pussy tight around my cock.

  “That sounds good,” she pants, her eyes closed as I fuck her under the dark sky and bright stars. She pants as I fuck her for the first time, swearing to a god I’ve never believed in that I won’t do anything to fuck up this moment for Honor. Not now, not ever.

  “Oh, Hawk,” she moans, clawing at my back. “Don’t stop.”

  “I’m not gonna stop, you pretty little angel; I’m gonna fuck you until your pussy whimpers; until you scream my name; until you’re ruined for all other men.”

  She moans louder as I rock against her. I fill her up and she begs for more. I fuck her harder, imagining all the ways I am going to take her in the days and weeks and months to come.