Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
HADLEY
The rhythmic, heavy thwack of an axe splitting wood echoes through the glass of the living room window, a steady, comforting heartbeat to my quiet afternoon.
I’m curled up on the plush sofa in Wolf’s cabin, my laptop balanced on my knees as I work remotely, clearing out the last of the backlog from the warehouse.
A week has passed since the chaos with the syndicate, and the dust is finally starting to settle.
At least for now. Out in the backyard, Wolf is chopping firewood to build us a fire for the evening, looking entirely too distracting with the crisp coastal breeze ruffling his long hair.
My phone suddenly vibrates against the coffee table, pulling my eyes away from the window. The screen flashes with my sister’s name.
"Hey, Corinne!" I answer, smiling instantly.
"Hey, Hads!" Corinne replies. Her voice is bright, pitched a little too high and a little too cheerful. At twenty years old, my sister has nearly mastered the art of pretending everything is perfectly fine, but I know her better than that. I can recognize her "brave face" voice anywhere.
"Okay, drop the act," I say gently, setting my laptop aside. "What’s wrong?"
A heavy, shaky sigh crackles through the speaker, and the facade immediately crumbles. "I got the letters today," she whispers, her voice thick with unshed tears. "I didn't get into any of the photography scholarship programs. None of them."
My heart drops into my stomach. "Oh, Cor. I'm so sorry."
"They said the applicant pool was just too competitive this year," she continues, sniffing quietly. "But I know what it really is. Taking two years off between high school and college derailed my momentum."
My chest aches for her. It was necessary to have her working at the time; we needed the extra income she could bring in from the diner just to keep the lights on.
But it feels painfully unfair that her life might be permanently altered by a sacrifice she made for our family.
Without a scholarship, there is simply no money for college.
It’s the exact reason I had to get my degree by taking night classes at an extreme discount while working as a janitor scrubbing floors in the university's science department.
"We'll figure it out," I console her softly. "You are incredibly talented, Cor. A piece of paper doesn't change your eye behind a camera."
She sniffles again. "I know. It just... it feels like I'm stuck here forever, you know?” A beat of silence passes between us. I do know. I’ve felt that pain for years. “Anyway,” Corinne continues. “Enough about my miserable life. Tell me what's going on with you. You've been so secretive lately."
I bite my lip, a warm, irrepressible flush creeping up my neck. I haven't told her everything about the MC or the danger we faced, but I haven't been able to hide the shift in my tone either. "I... well. There's a guy."
"I knew it!" Corinne gasps, the sadness in her voice instantly replaced by eager sisterly gossip. "Tell me everything. Who is he?"
"His name is Wolf," I say, and just saying his name out loud makes my heart flutter.
I spill the beans, telling her about how fiercely protective he is, how safe he makes me feel, and how, beneath his gruff exterior, he is the most caring, perfect man I've ever met.
"I love him. I've never felt like this before. "
"Oh, Hads," Corinne whispers, and I can hear the genuine, happy tears welling up in her voice. "I am so incredibly happy for you. Out of everyone in the entire world, you deserve to be taken care of. You deserve your happily ever after."
We share a quiet, beautiful moment of sisterly love across the phone line.
But beneath the warmth, a sharp, bitter pang of survivor's guilt pierces my chest. I know exactly what Corinne is feeling right now.
The suffocating, helpless sensation of being trapped in your hometown, living the exact same day over and over, working yourself to death just to barely pay the bills.
Suddenly, a wild, brilliant idea bursts into my head.
"You should move here," I blurt out before I can even think it through.
"What?" Corinne stammers. "Move to the Pacific Northwest? Hadley, I can't just leave Mom and the boys—"
"Why not?" I press, the excitement bubbling up in my throat.
"Leo is eleven now, and Sam is thirteen!
They are more than capable of doing their own chores and walking themselves to school and soccer practice.
Mom can handle the house. You can move here, work at King's Logistics with me, and send money back home to help.
We have a built-in family here, Corinne. You can actually start your life."
"I... I don't know," she hesitates, though I can hear the desperate, hopeful spark catching in her voice. "It's so sudden."
"It's perfect," I insist. The more I say it out loud, the more I realize it's exactly what she needs. "You won't be alone. You'll be with me."
We spend the next ten minutes rapidly spinning out plans, both of us giggling with the sheer, unadulterated excitement of a fresh start.
The heavy oak front door swings open, bringing with it a rush of cold air and the rich, earthy scent of woodsmoke and pine. Wolf steps inside, carrying an armful of split logs, his cheeks slightly flushed from the cold.
"Wolf just walked in," I tell Corinne, unable to wipe the grin off my face. "I need to go, but start packing. We'll talk tonight!"
I hang up and toss my phone onto the cushion. Wolf kicks the door shut, depositing the logs by the stone fireplace before turning to look at me, a single, curious eyebrow raised.
"Who was that?" he asks, crossing the room to join me.
"My sister, Corinne," I explain, suddenly feeling a spike of nervous energy.
"She, um... she didn't get her photography scholarships.
She's been feeling really stuck back home, and...
" I wince, pulling my knees to my chest. "I jumped the gun.
I offered her a job at the warehouse and told her she could move here without asking you first. I'm so sorry, Wolf.
I shouldn't have made promises without your permission. "
Wolf’s brow furrows. He sits down heavily on the couch beside me, ignoring the sawdust on his jeans, and gently cups my cheek with his large, calloused hand.
"Hadley," he says, his voice a low, steady rumble that unravels my anxiety. "You don’t ever need my permission to do anything. Understand? I'm just damn happy I finally have something to offer."
My eyes widen. "You... you're okay with it?"
"Of course your sister can have a job," he says easily, his thumb brushing over my cheekbone. "We can move her into one of the empty apartments out back of the clubhouse, too. That way she’s on club property, and she'll always be protected by the Rebel Kings."
My throat tightens so fast it hurts. He didn't even hesitate. He didn't just agree to let her come; he instantly brought her under his umbrella of protection, treating my family like his own.
I throw my arms around his massive neck, burying my face in his shoulder. "Thank you. Thank you so much, Wolf."
He wraps his strong arms securely around my waist, pulling me effortlessly onto his lap. He buries his nose in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply before pressing a hot, lingering kiss against my pulse point.
"I love how thoughtful you are," he whispers against my skin, sending a heavy shiver straight down my spine. "I admire the way you take care of the people you love. But you can let me help take care of them now."
I pull back just enough to look into those deep, gorgeous green eyes. "You're my family too, Wolf."
A fierce, possessive fire flares in his gaze. "You're goddamn right I am," he growls.
He tangles his hand in my hair, tilting my head back, and kisses me senseless. I pull away suddenly, turning my head to sneeze. Wolf chuckles and wipes away a bit of sawdust from my cheek and nose.
“Sorry,” he says with a grin. “But that was pretty fuckin’ cute.” He kisses the tip of my nose, then hauls both of us off the couch. “Come on, love. I think we need a shower, don’t you?”
I nod my head and he has me up in his arms again before I even realize what’s happening. In record time, Wolf strips us out of our clothes and ushers me into the steaming hot shower.
I feel the weight of his gaze all over my body as he takes in every naked inch. “Fucking gorgeous,” he murmurs. Wolf runs the back of his knuckles over my breasts, my pebbled nipples, and down my torso until they land on my hips.
I gasp as he grips me tightly and presses me into his chiseled body so I can feel his hard cock against my stomach. He takes my lips then, in a slow, drugging kiss. My hands wind around the back of his head, and I pull him even closer.
“I need inside of you, baby,” he groans. “I’ve missed this perfect pussy.”
I chuckle softly. “It hasn’t even been a full day since we’ve had sex!”
“Don’t care. It’s been too long,” he grits out.
I giggle at his seemingly desperate need and then moan when he pushes me up against the wall and grips my ass, rolling my hips into his erection. Wolf's fingers tease my entrance and then glide up my slit, checking my readiness. Of course, I'm ready for him. I'm always ready for him.
“So goddamn wet for me. Gonna fuck you now, sweetheart,” he growls.
With that, he lifts me up in his arms and pins me to the wall with his thick dick hitting home inside my throbbing cunt.
He fucks me hard and fast, grunting with each thrust of his hips.
I lean forward and bite his lips before kissing him wildly.
I didn’t realize how much I needed him like this, needed to feel him deep inside of me again.
“Yes, Wolf, God, don’t stop,” I moan.
He’s relentless as he pounds into me, nailing me to the wall with each rough stroke, breaking me apart so perfectly. I feel every ridge of his cock as it splits me open and glides along my tight channel. My fingernails bite into the flesh on his shoulders, making him roar and fuck me harder.
My orgasm slams into me by surprise, knocking the air right out of my lungs as I convulse in his arms and open my mouth in a silent scream. Fire rips through my veins, leaving every nerve raw and exposed.
Before I even have the chance to come down, Wolf pulls out of me and sets me down on the ground, spinning me around so I have to brace myself on the wall with my ass sticking out towards him.
“Fuck yes, so perfect, Hadley. Jesus, so goddamn thick and juicy and mine,” he growls before sliding into me from behind.
He’s almost gentle, teasing me, rubbing my clit, building me up touch by touch. His hot breath rolls against my neck as his hands tighten around my hips, keeping a slow, steady rhythm.
I moan and buck against him when his hands slide up my hips, following the curve of my waist until they cup my breasts.
I gasp when he pinches my nipples. Reaching one hand up, I grab his hair as he kisses me over my shoulder.
I run my hand down his cheek and cup it there, feeling his coarse beard against the palm of my hand as he works his cock in and out, deeper, deeper, so fucking deep, grinding into me and sparking a desperate need to come again.
My body burns for release, my skin scorching, my lungs breathing fire.
“Don’t stop,” I plead, rocking back into him and meeting him thrust for thrust.
“Never,” he growls, picking up speed.
Our skin slaps together as he builds us up with every stroke of his fat cock. Wolf curls his body over mine and places his hands on either side of mine against the shower wall. His muscles bunch and tense against my back and ass, and something about that makes my pussy clench and gush.
“Oh God, Wolf, I’m… I’m…”
“Let go, love, let go of every-fucking-thing and come for me.”
I hold my breath as every muscle in my body stretches tight against my skin.
All at once, every ounce of tension is released from my body as my pussy spasms around him again and again.
Wolf pistons in and out of me, keeping me at my peak longer than I’ve ever experienced before.
I cry and sob and beg for mercy as sharp pleasure bordering on pain stabs at my nerves and prickles over my skin.
I feel Wolf unleash a torrent of cum deep inside of me. It splashes down my legs, mixing with my own juices from multiple orgasms.
“Christ, I’m coming so fucking hard,” he grunts as his cock jerks inside of me and empties another round of his release.
Wolf pulls out of me and spins me around, guiding me to lean against the wall as he kneels before me.
“Oh my God, Wolf, I can’t…”
He just growls and lifts my right leg over his shoulder before licking up our combined juices.
God, it’s so hot the way he’s drinking down both of our releases like a feral animal.
When his tongue swipes against my clit, my body twitches so hard he has to grip my hips to keep me steady. He never lets up, though.
Wolf sucks my clit with such a singular intensity I start to feel lightheaded and tingly all over.
He growls into my throbbing, raw pussy and nibbles at my clit, causing a great pull deep in my belly.
Again and again, he lavishes attention on my swollen ball of nerves until I come violently against his mouth.
Wolf shakes and grips my hips even harder, as if he’s on the edge again already.
“Fuck, you’re squirting all over me, love. Jesus, I can’t…” He drops one hand to his cock and pumps it twice before shooting his cum down the drain.
When we’re finally wrung completely dry, I slide down the wall into Wolf’s waiting arms. He tucks me into his chest and rocks me back and forth.