Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Werewolf
I’d fucked up.
Big.
The second my mouth crashed down on hers, I knew it. The second I tasted her, I was lost. And the second I heard that soft, desperate sound slip from her throat, I was done for.
And then I’d pulled away. Because if I hadn’t, I would’ve taken it further, too far, too fast, with no way back.
Now the memory of it burned through me like fire I couldn’t put out.
Her lips were swollen from the kiss. Her hands clutched my cut like she never wanted to let go. The way she arched into me.
It haunted me.
It wrecked me.
And it made me want more.
And God help me, I wanted her, too.
-
At the garage the next day, I worked harder than usual. My hands tore through engines like they were therapy, and the noise of metal clattered loud enough to drown out thought.
But not enough.
Nothing could drown out her.
Every time I bent over a bike, I remembered the way she’d bent toward me. Every time a tool slipped in my hand, I remembered her grip on my chest like she could anchor me even when I didn’t want to be anchored.
“Wolf.”
Tremor’s voice snapped me back. He stood a few feet away and watched me with that hawk’s stare that always cut too deep.
“You’re slipping,” he said flatly.
My jaw clenched. “I’m working.”
“You’re distracted.”
I wiped my hands on a rag, stepping closer. “You got something you want to say, brother?”
He didn’t flinch. “Yeah. Whatever it is between you and that girl, it’s gonna cost us.”
The words landed sharp.
I leaned in, my voice a low growl. “You let me worry about her.”
“She shouldn’t be anywhere near the club.”
“She’s mine.” The words came too fast and hard, before I could choke them back.
And Tremor saw it. The truth. The slip.
His smirk was humorless. “Then you better be ready to bleed for her.”
He walked away and left me with nothing but the echo of his warning and the weight of the truth I couldn’t deny.
I already was.
By evening, I couldn’t take it anymore.
I found myself outside her building again like a dog on a leash. Like I had no choice.
Her light was on.
I should’ve left. Should’ve walked away before I made this worse.
Instead, I climbed the stairs and knocked.
She opened the door a moment later with her hair messy from where she’d been running her hands through it.
“Really?” she asked. “You here to kiss me and then tell me you hate me?”
I shoved my hands into my pockets and leaned against the doorframe like I had every right to be there. “Yes. That’s why I’m here.”
Her brow furrowed. “That makes zero sense.”
I dragged a hand down my face. “It means I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t want to be here. But I do.”
Her lips parted and her breath caught. For a moment, the fire in her eyes softened. Then it blazed hotter. “Then stop pretending. You kissed me, Wolf. You can’t take that back.”
My chest burned. “I know.”
The silence stretched, thick with everything we weren’t saying.
Finally, she stepped closer and tilted her chin up. “So what now?”
My body screamed to answer. To grab her, push her against the wall, and kiss her until we forgot our names. To make her mine in every way that counted.
But my head screamed louder.
“What now is you let me handle this.”
Her eyes flashed. “Handle it? You mean bury it like the rest of your secrets?”
I growled low. “You don’t get it, Demi. Every time you open your mouth, you make yourself a bigger target. And I can’t, I won’t, watch someone else I care about get put in the ground.”
Her breath hitched. “Someone else.”
The words hung there.
I turned away and ran a hand through my hair. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“You shouldn’t have kissed me either,” she said softly. “But you did.”
I froze.
She stepped closer, so close her warmth pressed against my back. “And I’m not sorry.”
The world narrowed.
I spun, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her flush against me before I could stop myself. Her eyes widened. Her breath shook and her lips parted.
My voice came out rough and jagged. “You drive me insane.”
“Good,” she whispered.
My grip tightened and my resolve frayed. I leaned down until our mouths were a breath apart. Her scent filled my lungs, and her pulse raced under my fingers.
Every part of me wanted to close the distance.
But I forced myself back.
With a curse, I released her and shoved away before I burned us both down.
“This is going to get us both killed,” I muttered.
“Maybe,” she said with fire in her eyes. “But at least it’ll be the truth.”
I left before I could answer. Before I could kiss her again. Before I could admit that she was right.
Because wanting her was the most dangerous truth I’d ever known.
And I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep it buried.