“But I shouldn’t,” Wolf added.
And just like that, frustration surged up, hot and sharp and impossible to hold back anymore.
“Don’t I get a say in that?”she shot back.
“This job is only temporary to you,” Wolf started, his tone shifting back toward control, toward logic.“And this life, it’s not for—”
Jade didn’t let him finish.She stepped forward and kissed him.
It wasn’t soft or hesitant.It was everything she’d been holding back for days.All her frustration and confusion, all of it crashing together in one reckless, undeniable moment.For a split second, Wolf stilled.Then he raised his hand, sliding into her hair, gripping just enough to hold her there as he kissed her back, harder and deeper than before.
There was undeniable hunger in his eyes, and it felt like something in him had snapped.Jade gasped softly against his mouth, her hands fisting into his jacket as the kiss deepened, turned urgent, heated in a way that made her head spin.
This wasn’t like the other times, because it wasn’t controlled.Jade preferred this much more, liked seeing this new and wild side of Wolf.
Wolf put his hand to her waist, pulling her closer, eliminating the last inch of space between them.Jade pressed into him instinctively, her body reacting before her mind could catch up.Heat flared through her, sharp and consuming.
She felt it everywhere, in the way he held her.The way he kissed her like he’d been holding back too long.When they finally broke apart, both of them were breathing harder.
They were closer than they should have been, closer than they’d ever been.Jade didn’t step back, because she didn’t want to.She wanted to see where this led.Her pulse pounded in her ears as she searched his face, something wild and uncertain and electric building between them.
“Do you want to stop?”Wolf asked her.
Jade immediately shook her head.“No, far from it.”
“Good,” Wolf said.“I don’t want to either.”
“Do you want to come upstairs?”she asked, feeling bold and reckless.
Jade felt like she, they, were standing on the edge of something.That if they pursued this path, everything would change.Wolf used his thumb to brush the edge of her cheek.It was a small, almost absent movement, but it grounded her more than anything else.
“Yes,” he said, tone filled with certainty.
Something in her chest cracked open at that.A wave of relief filled her, and on the heels of that emotion, anticipation.Wolf leaned in again, his forehead brushing hers for just a moment before his lips found hers again, slower this time, but no less intense.
Jade tightened her fingers in his jacket as she turned, pulling him with her toward the stairs, toward the dim hallway that led to her apartment.Toward something neither of them could take back.
****
Jade slowed outsideMrs.Rochford’s door.She tightened her hand slightly around Wolf’s as the reality of what she was doing settled in.It suddenly occurred to her that she wasn’t just bringing a man home, but also to Jane.
The hallway felt too narrow all of a sudden, the overhead light too bright, like it was exposing something she hadn’t fully thought through.
Wolf didn’t say anything or pull away.He just stood there beside her, solid and steady, like he wasn’t affected at all.Jade exhaled quietly and knocked.A moment later, the door opened.Mrs.Rochford blinked in mild surprise before her expression softened at the sight of Jade.
“There you are,” she said, shifting Jane slightly on her hip.
Jade’s chest loosened instantly at the sight of her daughter.
“Hey, baby,” she murmured, stepping forward, her whole body easing as she reached out.
Jane let out a happy little sound, arms lifting toward her, and Jade took her, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek.Relief flooded through her, warm and immediate.Then, Mrs.Rochford shifted to Wolf, and her warmth disappeared.
Jade cleared her throat.“Mrs.Rochford, this is,” she hesitated, suddenly unsure how to define him, “Wolf, and Wolf, this is Mrs.Rochford.She watches Jane for me.”
Mrs.Rochford pressed her lips into a thin line, her eyes sharp with quiet disapproval as she took him in.Jade knew what she saw, the leather jacket, the presence, everything about him that screamed trouble.
Jade braced herself for judgement, but Wolf surprised her.
