CHAPTER ONE
EDEN
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to youuuuu—”
“Fern,” I hiss, grabbing her hand as we weave through the dark car park, “shhh! You’ll wake the guys and then they’ll know what time wereallygot home.”
“Sorry,” she whispers, then immediately sings softer, “Happy birthday dear Edennnn—”
The security light snaps on, blinding us both. I throw an arm over my eyes. Fern ducks, as if that’s going to help, and as the clubhouse door swings open, she loses her balance and lands on her arse, giggling.
“Four hours ago!” Kade bellows.
Oh, shit. He sounds furious.
Fern lifts her wrist, squinting at her watch like she’s working out long division. “That would’ve been one a.m.” She grins up at him proudly.
Kade doesnotgrin back.
He fills the doorway, all muscles and tension, his arms folding over his chest in that way that makes every vein stand out. Intimidating? Sure. Scary? Not to me. I know exactly how this will go. Give him ten minutes, and he’ll have me pinned against our bedroom wall, muttering about how reckless I am while he fucks the attitude out of me.
I catch my bottom lip between my teeth to hide the way that thought makes me shiver.
“That,” he growls, “would have been when the others came home. Where the hell have you been for four hours?”
I grab Fern’s hand and haul her upright. “We were having a good time,” I say, shrugging like this is absolutely not a big deal.
“A good time?” Diesel echoes, appearing behind Kade. Kade moves aside just enough for him to storm out. “A good time withwho?”
Fern rolls her eyes. She’s never been scared of her old man. “Relax, D. We just know how to party. It’s not our fault the others are boring.”
“I tried to call,” Diesel snaps.
She touches his arm, and he jerks it away, stomping inside. She tosses me an apologetic smile, then kisses my cheek. “Love you, girl. Best night ever. Happy birthday.”
“Love you too.” She disappears through the doorway after him.
I turn to Kade. “Are we going to stand out here all night?”
“Depends,” he mutters, eyes still dark, his jaw tight enough to crack.
I arch a brow and drag my fingertips slowly across his chest. “You fancy a little exposure?” His clenched expression falters—melts in a way that tells me I’ve got him. I grin. “Then follow me,big boy.” I throw him a cheeky wink and saunter around the back of the club, feeling his heat and his hunger right behind me.
I met Kade three years ago. Back then, I didn’t know a damn thing about club life—only that he walked into my world like a storm I didn’t want to outrun. His father was still President at the time, a hard man with a presence that filled every room, but not long after I showed up, his health dropped fast. Six months later, he was gone.
Six months.
That’s all it took for everything to change. For the club to shift.For Kade to look at me like he’d already made up his mind.
He asked me to be his old lady the night after the funeral, telling me life was too short to waste time pretending we weren’t already tied together. And I didn’t hesitate—not for a heartbeat.
That was over two years ago. And I’ve been at his side ever since, through every storm that’s followed.
“My ol’ lady is thirty,” he drawls behind me, pretending to sound horrified. “Should I start shopping for a younger model? Maggie swears everything starts falling apart from here.”
I snort because if Maggie said it, the guys would absolutely think it’s law.
Maggie’s the mother hen of the whole damn club—loud, nosy, loyal, and respected in a way only a woman who’s survived thirty-something years in biker life can be. She was married to one of the originals back when the club still had blood under its nails. He got killed in those dark-circle days, long before the clean-up.
