“She’s mine.”The words echoed in her head, over and over, threading through the hum of the engine, the rush of air, the tight grip of her arms around him.
The way he’d said it, he seemed so certain, so possessive.It sent heat curling low in her stomach, confusing and electric and impossible to ignore.
Jade tightened her hold around him as the bike cut through the night, her cheek brushing lightly against his back.She could feel the tension in him now, coiled tight beneath the leather, not the calm, controlled stillness he usually carried.
He seemed unsettled, restless even, and it made something in her pulse faster.
Neither of them spoke, not that they could over the engine.Still, even if they could, Jade knew they wouldn’t.There was too much sitting between them.Too much waiting to be said.
By the time they pulled up in front of her apartment building, Jade’s heart was beating too fast for no good reason, or maybe for every reason.Wolf cut the engine, and silence rushed in again, thick and heavy.
Jade slid off the bike slowly, her hands lingering for just a second too long against his back before she pulled away.Wolf was already moving, grabbing the spare helmet, stepping closer.Routine, except nothing about tonight felt routine.
He lifted the helmet off her head, his fingers brushing against her hair, careful in a way that didn’t match the man who’d just thrown punches across the clubhouse floor.
Jade swallowed.
“Thanks,” she said quietly.
Wolf gave a short nod.Then, without a word, he stepped toward the building.Wolf was merely walking her in, like always.Jade followed, her thoughts a tangled mess.The stairs loomed ahead, with the familiar worn steps.
She stopped before the first step.Jade needed to get something off her chest.
“Wolf,” Jade said.
He paused and turned.The streetlight caught his face just enough to show the faint bruise forming along his jaw.A reminder of what had happened, of what he’d done.
Jade’s chest tightened.
“What happened earlier...”she started, then trailed off.
She wasn’t even sure how to finish that sentence.What was she asking?Why did you fight for me?Why did you say that?Did you mean it?
She expected him to brush it off, tell her to forget it, maybe say it didn’t mean anything.
“What of it?”he asked instead.Oh, good, he wasn’t going to pretend that it never happened.
Jade exhaled slowly, her frustration bubbling up now, mixing with everything else that had been building for days.
“I don’t understand you,” she said.
Wolf said nothing, but he didn’t tear his gaze from her.
“You offer me a ride every night,” she went on, her voice tightening.“You kiss me and then you stop.Like that’s all there is.I thought you weren’t really interested.”
The words felt heavier than she expected.It felt more honest.
“But then tonight,” she continued, shaking her head slightly, “you practically told everyone in that clubhouse that I belong to you.”
Her gaze locked onto his, searching.
“So what is it?”she demanded softly.“Which one is real?”
Silence stretched between them.Wolf inhaled slowly, like he was weighing something.
“I want you,” he said finally.Heck, he even looked a little surprised by the admission.
Jade’s breath caught.
