Chapter 19 Wren
Wren
THE SONGBIRD
My pulse is still thundering in my ears, my mind reeling from the emotional whiplash of the last five minutes. I just watched Kage wrap his hands around a man's throat like it was nothing. No hesitation, no warning, just pure, ruthless violence. And now he’s looking at me as if I’m next.
I wouldn’t mind those hands around my neck one bit…
“Get on the fucking bike, Wren.” He walks towards his bike and gets on, staring at me expectantly, daring me to deny his demands. He reaches behind his seat and holds out a helmet that looks too small to be his. He’s clearly thought this through.
I should say no. Maybe I should run, or scream bloody fucking murder.
But the words don’t come. He’s too tall, too muscular, too goddamn dangerous.
And yet, my body moves as if it’s not mine, and honestly, I can’t say that I blame her.
This man has a pull on me like nothing else. I’m officially addicted.
I walk towards him and stop just next to his bike. His eyes follow me, watching to see if I'll bolt before gently setting the helmet on my head and adjusting the straps.
“Fuck, you look so fucking hot in that, baby. I wish you were about to ride me instead of the bike, though.” He gives me one of his sexy little smirks, trying to break the tension.
“You’re fucking insufferable.” I roll my eyes, not able to contain the laugh that bubbles out of me.
“So I've been told.”
Following behind him, I swing my leg over the bike before I can stop it. My hands hover awkwardly in the air. I don’t know where to put them. On his shoulders? On the seat? What do I fucking do?
“Hold on,” he says, that voice still rough and edged with violence. I freeze, but then his hands find mine and wrap them around his waist, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Holy shit.
He’s solid beneath my palms, all tension and muscle.
I swear I hear him exhale softly like he’s relieved.
Like having my arms wrapped around him like this is the only thing stopping him from releasing the beast within.
The engine roars to life, and before I even get to second guess what I’m doing, we’re moving.
The wind lashes against my skin like it’s trying to tear some sense into me, but it’s already too late for that. There’s no room for logic on the back of a motorcycle while wrapped around a man like Kage.
He’s gripping the handlebars, practically crushing them. His back is taut, muscles coiled with an anger that hasn’t left him yet. He rides like a demon, and yet somehow, this is the safest I’ve felt in a long time.
My arms are trembling but I wrap them tighter around his leather clad torso as the bike roars beneath us. Every downshift sends a tremor through my body, vibrating between my thighs, awakening the same feeling from the night before.
I press closer, my cheek resting against his back, needing the anchor of his body even though it feels like I'm unraveling against him.
The leather between us does nothing to dull the heat.
If anything it sharpens it. My fingers slide under the bottom of his shirt, seeking the warmth of his skin, and when I find it I swear he shudders.
He doesn’t speak but the way his hand slides down from the throttle, slowly and deliberately gripping my thigh, says everything. I haven’t been paying attention to where we’ve been going, but the moment I realize where we are, anger courses through me.
Why are we back in Chinatown?
He’s not just driving aimlessly, he’s taking me home. Just how he took me home last night. What in the actual fuck? How the fuck does he know where I live? Has he been following me this whole time?
The two motorcycles. Oh my god. It was them.
We pull into the back lot of Sun Hong Kong, parking right next to the building.
He kills the engine, the sudden silence louder than the wind ever was.
I swing my leg off, legs trembling and my hand still tingling from gripping him too tight for so long.
He turns to face me, arms resting on the handlebars, his eyes simmering.
I yank the helmet off, my hair a fucking disaster. “How the hell do you know where I live?” I snap, completely breathless.
Kage doesn’t flinch. He grins, slow and smug. I just walked into his trap.
“Maybe I pay attention,” he says casually. “Maybe I have my ways.”
I stare at him like I’m waiting for him to say he’s joking, but clearly he’s not. He’s fucking serious.
“That’s not creepy at all.”
He chuckles. “You say that now, but if some asshole ever touches you again, you’ll be real fucking glad I’ve got your address memorized, little bird. Why do you live in an apartment on top of a restaurant anyways?”
I grind my teeth, annoyance evident on my face. “Because it’s cheap, and Chen doesn’t give a shit what time I come and go. Plus, he lets me help out downstairs when I need extra cash. I like it here.”
Something flashes in his eyes and my lips part. I want to yell or throw something at his stupidly beautiful face. He gets off the bike in one fluid motion, stalking towards me the way a predator stalks its prey. I step back without meaning to, and his smile only grows.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I whisper.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re gonna kiss me just to shut me up.”
His gaze drops to my mouth. “Maybe I am.”
My back hits the building behind me, the concrete solid against my spine. He braces one hand next to my head, the other curling around my jaw, thumb brushing over my lips.
“You should thank me,” he murmurs. His voice sounds like whiskey soaked in honey. “I’ve saved you, what is it? Three times now? Dick was seconds away from losing more than just his breath.”
“And what would you like me to say?” I ask, my voice barely audible.
He leans in, his lips grazing against my ear.
“Thank you, Kage,” he growls. “for keeping me safe, even though I try my damndest to put myself in the worst possible situations.”
My breath stutters, my thighs clenching together. My body betrays me in every damn way possible. I hate him for it but I don’t stop him when his mouth crashes against mine. I welcome him.
His mouth is downright sinful. Harsh, demanding, hungry. There’s nothing gentle about the way he kisses me. It’s all punishment, he’s trying to erase Rich's touch from my skin with every brutal press of his lips. And fuck me, it’s working.
I moan before I can stop it, my hands clutching his jacket, needing something to anchor me the moment the two tips of his tongue wrap around mine.
He pulls back an inch, breathing hard, his eyes locked on mine like he wants to devour me whole.
His fingers are still on my jaw, thumb tracing the edge of my bottom lip that is now swollen and wet from his kiss.
“Inside,” he says. Not a suggestion. A fucking order.
I blink, trying so hard to catch my breath. “Wait. Kage, I have to work—”
He cuts me off with a low growl. “You think I give a single fuck about your schedule right now?” His voice drips with that possessive fury again.
“I just caught some prick trying to put his hands on you and now you’re just standing in front of me, looking like this—” he gestures to my tight little running outfit with one hand as he grabs my ass with the other. “You think I’m gonna walk away?”
My chest rises and falls so fast, it feels like my ribs might crack. I should scream at him for knowing where I live, for dragging me here like I belonged to him. But instead, I find myself whispering, “I don’t need saving.”
His lips curve, slow and wicked. “No, little bird. You need something else.” And then he kisses me again. This time, slower. Deeper. I melt into him, my traitorous body aching to be touched by him. I hate how much I want him, but I love the way he makes me forget who I am.
His hands find my waist, sliding under the hem of my shirt, fingers digging into my skin like he owns it, because he does.
I let out a gasp and he swallows it, pressing me tighter into him.
I slip my hand between us, running my fingers down his abs and over the front of his jeans.
Cupping his erection, I moan into his mouth, begging for more.
He pulls away slowly, but not before pulling my bottom lip between his teeth and sucking.
“I could make you forget everything,” he whispers against my lips. “Your name. Your shift. Your rules. I could fuck the past right out of your bloodstream, Wren.”
God help me…I want that. I want all of that. I want to disappear into him. Lose the noise in his mouth and drown the ache with his hands. But I also know, if I let him inside tonight, he won’t just ruin me. He’ll brand me. Forever.
My fingers curl into his jacket, my forehead resting against his chest as I try to breathe and think. But his scent is all over me. Leather, smoke, cedar. And something that smells like mine.
“Go inside,” he says again, lower now. Almost gentle. “Get ready for work. I’ll be waiting.”
Waiting. He’s giving me the out. He’s letting me choose. But we both know I already have. I slip from his grasp without looking back. My legs feel like they don’t belong to me as I unlock the back door, step inside, and shut it behind me.
The second it clicks closed, I collapse against it, heart racing, lips tingling, and thighs aching. I don’t even care that I’m sitting on the dirty ass floor of the back room. And even as I try to catch my breath, one thought echoes louder than the rest.
He’s not going anywhere. And I don’t want him to.