Emmett went rigid. Not the reaction he was expecting.
“You alright?”
He pulled back, turning Emmett in his arms.
Emmett avoided his gaze, and it made something turn sour in his stomach.
“What’s going on? Em?”
“I uh…” Emmett shook his head, mumbling under his breath.
“Emmett.”
His heart tripped at Emmett’s shaky exhale.
“I just maybe… feel more for you than I should,” Emmett said, still keeping his eyes anywhere but at him. Wilder frowned and opened his mouth, but he wasn’t sure what to say because wasn’t that exactly what he wanted? He wasn’t sure what he felt for Emmett, but he sure as hell knew he needed Emmett to feel the same.
“I know it’s temporary. I…” Emmett shook his head and finally looked up at Wilder, a sheen to those blue eyes. “I think maybe we should stop before it ends up hurting too much.”
“Have I said it was temporary?”
He hadn’t. He knew he hadn’t.
He might’ve thought it at first, but… he couldn’t imagine letting Emmett go. Letting someone else take his place in Emmett’s life. The thought of?No. It made something burn hot inside him. Jealousy. Possessiveness. He didn’t care what it was. He just knew that Emmett… Emmett was supposed to be his.
“I know it’s what you do,” Emmett muttered, fingers fiddling with the hem of his shirt.
Wilder shook his head and reached for Emmett, hands cupping the man’s face and bringing his gaze up to meet his.
“Who told you that?”
Emmett squeezed his eyes shut, fingers wrapping around Wilder’s wrists, tugging to make him let go. He didn’t. He held the fuck on.
“Solo told me.”
The words were low, almost inaudible, but fuck if they weren’t loud in his head. Like the roar of an engine.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Emmett
THE ANGER blazing in Wilder’s eyes was unexpected. It was… he didn’t know what it was. Only that it sent his pulse skyrocketing, and not in a good way. He didn’t like that he’d caused it.
“Wilder?”
“He had no right,” Wilder said with a growl in his voice, hands falling from Emmett’s face, ripping free from the hold Emmett had on his wrists when he whirled around and took off down the stairs.
He stared after Wilder with his mouth hanging open. That… was the last reaction he’d expected. What did that even mean? Was he…? Was he mad? At Solo? For telling him or for something else?
He swallowed hard and managed to get his feet moving, hands shaking slightly on the banister as he walked down the stairs. He made it to the first floor just as Wilder flew past him into the hallway. His brows were set in anger, his jaw clenched tight.
He followed Wilder through the front door, unease mixing with uncertainty inside him. He didn’t like the distress coming off Wilder. He didn’t like that he’d caused it. Especially because he didn’t know how to fix it.
He stepped out onto the front porch, noting that a few of the bikers were standing in front of their motorcycles, chattingamicably. His heart jumped into his throat when he saw where Wilder was headed. Who he was headed toward.
“What the fuck, asshole?” Wilder yelled at Solo.
Solo snapped his head up, mouth open as he looked at Wilder with pure confusion. The others scattered before Wilder reached Solo, passing Emmett on their way to the front door as he ran toward Wilder and Solo.
