Jade stood slow, stepping around the pile of stuffed animals.She wobbled when she straightened.My hand found the small of her back without thinking.Warmth settled under my palm.Muscles eased.
Marci tipped her chin toward the door.“Sleep.Tomorrow we drag you into more chaos.”
“Can’t wait,” Jade muttered.
Cold bit when we crossed the yard.Stars scattered sharp and bright overhead.Frost clung to the grass, crunching under our boots.Jade stayed close to my side, not touching, but close enough our steps synced.
The house door shut behind us with a solidthud.I locked up, checked the window, then turned around.
She stood in the middle of the room, hands tucked into her hoodie pockets, eyes meeting mine as though waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?”
“For today.”Her gaze flicked to the floor, then back up.“For not ditching me once you got patched in.”
I let out a rough huff.“You seriously thought I’d bail?”
“I’ve watched men change after promotions,” she said.“Priorities shift.Your patch came through.You could’ve decided I brought too much trouble.”
I moved closer.“Patch or no patch, I chose you.The leather on my back won’t change my mind.”
Her attention drifted to my cut.Her fingers rose, brushed the name plate stitched over my chest.My pulse kicked hard.
“You look good in it.”Color crept into her cheeks.She didn’t pull away.Palm stayed flat against my chest, feeling the rise and fall.“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“With what?”
I watched her hand wave between us, a small motion carrying the weight of worlds.“With everything.You.Your club.With some armed asshole deciding I belong on my back or in a body bag because of problems my brother created.”
My hand covered hers.“You don’t have to know everything.Take the next step.We handle the rest.”
“We,” she repeated.
“Yeah.”
Silence settled, thick but not uncomfortable.Her eyes stayed on mine, fear still there, but something softer edged in around it.
“In the bathroom earlier” -- she hesitated -- “you almost kissed me.”
Air lodged in my chest.“Yeah.”
“Stopped because of General?Because of Atilla?”
“I stopped because you were coming down from a panic spiral,” I said.“And because I wasn’t going to turn comfort into pressure.”
“So not because you didn’t want to.”
“Fuck no.”
Her breath caught.“Good.”
I traced my thumb over her knuckles.“You sure about us, Jade?The patch already connects us.My heart follows soon enough.”
She swallowed, throat working.“I’m scared of a lot of things.Roth.His people.My brother’s mess.Dragging you deeper.But you?You don’t scare me.”
Our bodies brushed when I stepped closer.“You don’t scare me either.”
