“Me or anyone else who is a member or an old lady. You need anything, just ask him or one of the other prospects. We have a few.”
“I don’t see why I’d be asking them. I’m not a member or an old lady as you call it. What the hell is an old lady anyway? I’m getting the idea that a prospect is someone who wants to join the club. Do you haze them or something?”
“A prospect is a prospective member. They get sponsored by an actual member and they work to earn their patch for at least a year, sometimes more. Jake, Alex, and Tate are almost due to be patched. Mitch is new, so he’s gonna be doing it for a while. I guess some of it could be seen as hazing, though we don’t beat or humiliate anyone. His sister is Madisen, one of the old ladies. You’ve met her. She didn’t know about him until just a few months ago. She thought she was an only child then found out her dad had another kid with another woman. Mitch came looking for her a few months back and decided to stay. As for the old lady thing, it’s a term used by bikers for their wife or significant girlfriend. It’s meant as a sign of respect and shows they have been claimed and their entire club will defend them. It has nothing to do with their age. It’s not derogatory. To bikers, an old lady is more binding than an actual wife, though my brothers all marry their old ladies too. And you will be one.”
“I’ll be one?” I asked him in shock.
“Baby, you stay with me, then that means you’re my old lady, my biker wife. You’re damn right, they will do whatever you ask. And I’ll defend you to the death. That’s what you’re signing up for if you stay with me. I’m gonna do everything in my power to make sure you do.” He glanced at me with a serious look on his face. I sat back to process what he’d just said.
He really did seem to want to make this work between us, whatever it was. If I understood him right, he intended to make me an old lady. That thought didn’t turn me off. It made me feel warm. Then a thought popped into my head and it was dashed like someone had thrown ice water on me.
“Donovan, what about other people?”
“Other people? What other people, baby?”
“You know, you see other people or me seeing someone else. Does that still happen even if you’ve claimed me as your old lady?” I didn’t like the idea that he’d be with other women while he was with me.
He abruptly pulled the truck over to the side of the road and stopped. He put it in park and turned to look at me. He had a fierce look on his face. I worked hard not to shrink away from him.
“There will never be anyone but us. Do you understand me? I don’t share, Ilara. If a man touches you, I will kill him. And I won’t be with anyone but you. Period. Got it?” His voice was low and gruff.
“Donovan, I never meant to imply I wanted to be with anyone else. Hell, I don’t even know if I can be with you like that yet. I’ve never believed in cheating. However, you hear things about bikers and the women that flock to them. I even heard that you keep them around to have sex with all of you? I don’t share either. It’s a deal breaker for me,” I told him firmly.
He sighed. “Okay, I’d hoped to talk about this later, but let’s get it out of the way. Yes, there are women who stay around the clubhouse. They’re called club bunnies. They’re there to have sex with the guys. They’re not exclusive to any of us. They can sleep with anyone at any time.” My gut rolled hearing him say that.
He continued, “However, in this club, when a guy claims an old lady, we don’t cheat on her with anyone, especially not the bunnies. They will be around. I won’t lie, you’ll see them at times, but they won’t be with me. I don’t cheat either.”
“But you’ve been with all these bunnies at the clubhouse, right? What about at other clubs? I expect they have them. Have you slept with them or is it that they only sleep with the guys in their club?”
He groaned. “Yeah, each club has bunnies and they don’t just sleep with them when they get together with other clubs. Listen, I can’t change who I was with before you, Ilara. I can only tell you that I won’t be with them anymore.”
“Donovan, I’m not trying to make you feel bad. Whoever you were with before me isn’t my concern as long as it doesn’t happen if we’re together. Just like whoever I’ve been with in the past isn’t your concern. I won’t lie and say it’s not going to be tough to see them and know you have been with them, but I’ll learn to deal with it if we’re together.”
He undid his seatbelt and slid over. I glanced in the back to find Hope sound asleep. That kid could sleep like the dead. He took my face in his hand and turned it toward him. He looked deeply into my eyes. “We’re going to do this, Ilara. It’s just a matter of how soon. I know it’s not easy to see them. The other old ladies have the same issue. I would be fucking pissed to have to see the men you were with before me. I don’t want that reminder around. I understand, but I can’t change it. I’ve been with the bunnies and that’s it. None of them were anything but sex, which is what they do and agree to do. None of them are forced to do it. Just please, don’t think I want them. I don’t. I want you.”
He lowered his head and took my mouth. His tongue teased my lips until I opened them and let him inside. His tongue teased mine to play with his. His lips moved to press hard into mine, then his teeth nipped my bottom lip. We kissed for I don’t know how long before he stopped. He pulled back and gazed at me. “Do you understand now?”
I nodded. “I understand.”
He sat back in his seat and put on his seatbelt. “Good, now let’s go shopping.”