Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
HADLEY
My fingers twist together in a nervous knot, the fabric of my sweater bunching up in my palms as we walk across the gravel lot toward the Rebel Kings clubhouse.
My stomach is performing aggressive, tumbling acrobatics.
Walking into a motorcycle club headquarters to brief the President and his inner circle is not exactly on the standard career-path checklist for a data entry clerk.
Before we reach the heavy wooden door, Wolf stops. He sees the trembling of my hands, and without a word, he covers both of my hands with one of his large, calloused palms. The steady, radiating warmth of his hand acts like an anchor in a storm.
He steps in close, leaning down so his lips brush against the sensitive shell of my ear. "Hey," he whispers, his voice low and firm. "You are safe. I would never let anything happen to you. Look at me."
I nod, taking a shaky breath, and turn my head to meet his gaze. Our noses brush. The air between us shifts, heavy and electric, and he leans in. His lips graze softly against mine, a feather-light promise of things to come…
And then, with a loud click, the clubhouse door swings wide open.
A giant man steps out onto the porch, folding a pair of massive, tattooed arms across his broad chest as he looks us over.
"Just an employee, eh?" The man flashes a good-natured, teasing smirk, despite his utterly imposing frame.
Wolf rolls his eyes, immediately tucking me firmly against his side and wrapping a heavy hand around my hip to anchor me right where he wants me. "My employee," Wolf corrects, tightening his hold.
The man chuckles, a deep, rumbling sound. "Technically, that makes her my employee, then."
Wolf lets out a low, warning growl.
The giant throws his head back and barks out a laugh. “Relax, I’m just giving you shit.” He steps forward, offering me his hand. "Stryker. President of the Rebel Kings."
Before I can shake his hand, Wolf practically swats it down.
Stryker's amusement vanishes, replaced by a sharp, warning glare. Fearing an all-out turf war between the two biggest, scariest men I’ve ever met, I immediately jab Wolf hard in the ribs with my elbow.
"Ah, what was that for?" Wolf mutters, wincing.
“You’re being rude to the President!” I whisper-shout. Stepping around him, I hold out my hand to Stryker with a polite, shaky smile. "I'm Hadley. Nice to meet you."
Stryker glances sideways at Wolf, a flicker of a grin hitting his mouth, before giving me a respectful nod. "Hadley."
The President leads the way inside, with Wolf and I trailing behind. “You’ve got a sharp elbow,” Wolf says, covering his ribs and pouting dramatically. “Gotta get that registered as a weapon.”
“I’m no doctor, but I think you’re going to be fine,” I tell him with a playful eyeroll.
Wolf grins at me, throwing his arm over my shoulders and pulling me close. “You can play doctor with me all you want, beautiful.”
I turn my head to look at him, my eyes narrowing as my cheeks heat up with the implication. “Impersonating a doctor is a crime,” I answer with a smirk on my lips.
“Then maybe you can kiss it better.” Wolf’s tone is gravelly, his hand slowly moving from my shoulder to the small of my back.
My eyes widen at his request, but I can’t help the soft giggle that escapes.
Wolf smiles at me as if he just won a prize.
“Mission accomplished,” he murmurs, kissing my temple.
“You were so tense, but now you’re a little more relaxed, right? ”
I’m about to answer when Stryker interrupts. “Back room’s this way.” His dark eyes narrow at Wolf, though the formidable President can’t hide his smirk. His face says it all: I told you so.
Once we’re in the back room, or the “church” room, as I’ve been informed, Wolf introduces me to the core group.
Sitting around a large table are Phoenix, Viper, Onyx, and Stryker.
The intense, evaluating stares of five hardened club officers focus entirely on me, making me squirm under their collective weight.
Sensing my immediate panic, Wolf steps up, taking control of the room.
He explains to the others how our recent findings point to an active smuggling pipeline running contraband right through their legitimate front.
He lays out what I uncovered: the glitch showing identical tracking numbers assigned to different freight runs with huge weight disparities.
As the men lean over the projected computer screen, talking over one another with sharp, tactical precision, I slowly slip out of my chair and step backward.
I take in the dynamic between the five officers, acutely aware of how out of place I am.
They are important men making high-stakes, dangerous decisions.
A tiny, painful ache blooms in my chest. Even when I’m working my fingers to the bone, paying bills, and keeping my family afloat, a part of me still feels like a little kid pretending to be an adult.
I never really got a childhood; I was always the responsible one, the dependable one forced to find solutions to impossible problems. Standing here among these heavyweights, I feel small.
Unnoticed in the heated debate, I slip out the side door, wandering across the gravel lot toward the familiar, comforting shadows of the warehouse. Maybe I can get some work in and be productive in my own way while Wolf handles the bigger problems.
"Hadley!"
I freeze right as I my hand rests on the doorknob. Turning around, I see Wolf storming across the lot toward me, a terrifying flash of raw panic and fury blazing in his green eyes.
I instinctively step back, backing up against the cold metal wall of the warehouse, trying to tuck myself into the shadows like I could somehow vanish.
But Wolf sees right through it. He marches straight up to me, his broad chest heaving, and presses me firmly against the wall, caging me in with his solid, immovable body.
"Where the hell are you going?" he demands, his voice trembling slightly around the edges. "Why did you leave? What are you doing out here alone?"
Looking closer at his face, the fierce anger abruptly shatters. I realize he isn't angry at me. He’s… He’s terrified. He was worried sick. That is a very real, very raw emotion that resonates deep within my being.
"I'm sorry," I whisper, my voice dropping. "I just... I felt overwhelmed. I felt like a little kid pretending to matter, like I'm totally helpless. I just wanted to go do something useful, like work." I offer a self-deprecating shrug, trying to mask the sting of my own inadequacy.
Wolf doesn't let me get away with it. He lets out a long, ragged breath, physically forcing the tension out of his massive shoulders, softening his expression entirely for my benefit. Closing his eyes, Wolf inhales deeply, like he’s soaking up my scent and everything about me.
Is he really this concerned about my well-being?
"You are anything but silly or childish," he says softly, his thumb reaching out to stroke my cheek.
I lean into his touch, the rough pad of his finger sending sparks up and down my spine.
"You uncovered a massive break in a case we've been hunting for weeks.
That is the exact opposite of helplessness, Hadley. "
He leans down, his gaze dropping to my lips. "As far as doing something useful..."
He kisses me, full, deep, and unhurried, wrapping me in a cocoon of desire that makes me feel entirely cherished. When we finally break apart, my lungs are burning for air.
He rests his forehead against mine, his voice a husky purr. "You can do one thing for me."
Still breathless and dizzy, I whisper, "What?"
"Let me taste you."
I lean in for another kiss, my head spinning with the knowledge that this man truly cares for me.
Our tongues tangle, and while I’m still new to this, I can tell Wolf likes my enthusiasm.
Each time the tip of my tongue drags along his, a low, beastly growl claws its way up from his chest and the hand at my waist tightens possessively.
“As addicted as I am to your kisses, I was wondering if there’s something else you’d let me taste.”
“Um… My neck?” I guess, my brows furrowing in confusion. I tilt my chin up, giving Wolf better access.
He chuckles darkly, the sound reverberating through my chest and landing between my thighs, slick with need.
Wolf nips the sensitive spot between my neck and shoulder, then flicks his tongue over the same place, finishing with a soft kiss.
He lavishes my neck and collarbone with attention, his hands slipping under the hem of my shirt.
“Will you let me kiss you lower?” Wolf asks, his dark eyes flashing up at me from where he’s positioned between my breasts. His hand slides down my curves, lower, lower, lower, until his knuckles brush over the spot I’m hurting for him the most.
My eyes widen as the heavy, intimate meaning of his words hits me square in the chest. I swallow hard, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. In a sudden, uncharacteristic burst of bold courage, I reach up and run my fingers deep through his long, soft hair.
Wolf groans, squeezing his eyes shut as he surrenders to the friction of my touch. He loves how I respond to him. I can feel it in the way his muscles tense.
"Please," I whisper, my voice thick with a sudden, aching hunger. "Please taste me, Wolf. I ache for you."
He doesn't hesitate. He groans a raw, guttural sound, dropping to his knees and pinning me against the warehouse wall with his large, rough hands.
“Love hearing you beg for me,” he grumbles before loosening his grip on my hips. His hands slide down my legs and beneath the hem of my skirt. I don’t usually wear dresses or skirts, but God, I’m glad I chose to wear one today.
I shudder out a breath when his calloused fingers trail up, up, up the inside of one thigh and down the other, tightening my hold on his hair. Wolf growls and hooks his thumbs into the waistband of my panties, pulling them down and off of me in one swift move.
“Fuck,” he groans, his eyes fixated on my most private area. Wolf gazes up at me, a pained, pleading look in his eyes. He’s silently asking permission one last time.
I bite my lip and roll my hips, letting him know how much I want his touch, his tongue, and whatever else he’s willing to give me.
Wolf hikes up my skirt around my hips, the cool air hitting my exposed pussy, followed by his hot breath.
Closing his eyes, Wolf inhales deeply, as if he’s already addicted to my scent.
When he opens his eyes again, his dark pupils are blown wide and staring directly into my soul. He’s a man possessed, and he’s done holding back.
Wolf dips his head back down between my thighs, slowly, so slowly, dragging his tongue through my soaking wet slit. I whine and twist beneath him when his warm, wet tongue glides over my clit. He grunts in approval, swirling the tip around my pulsing, raw bundle of nerves.
“Need more,” I breathe out, not caring how desperate I sound.
Wolf guides one of my legs over his shoulder, opening me up even more for him. This time, he doesn’t hesitate or take it slow. His thumbs part my lips, and then he’s lavishing me with his wicked tongue.
My big sexy biker laps at me in long strokes, pausing to suck on my clit before moving back down and drinking my arousal straight from the source. He pushes just the tip of his tongue into my pulsing hole, making my inner muscles clench around the invasion.
A wanton moan escapes my lips, and then my knee trembles, tilting me off balance. Wolf doesn’t miss a beat. He hoists my other leg over his shoulder, pinning my hips to the wall while he growls into my cunt.
“Yes!” I cry out, my chest heaving as he licks my clit over and over, his tongue moving rapidly across the very spot that aches for him. “Don’t stop. Feels… so… good,” I gasp.
His hands tighten around my hips as he gorges himself on me, humming and scraping his teeth over my bundle of nerves. My back bows against the wall and I fist his hair, needing to hold on to something.
A tingling pressure blooms in my lower belly and spreads to my chest. I hold my breath, locking up my muscles and trembling almost violently against Wolf’s mouth.
“Let go,” Wolf snarls against my pussy, the command absolute as it trickles through my veins.
“Ah, ah… Oh, fuck… I’m…” My body convulses as a wave of ecstasy breaks over me, pushing all the air from my lungs while I scream Wolf’s name.
I cling to his shoulders, my whole body trembling as I slowly drift back down from the peak, instantly mortified.
"Oh god," I whisper, burying my flushed face in my hands. "Do you think... Do you think anyone heard me?"
Wolf carefully removes my legs from his shoulders and puts my skirt back in place.
He stands back up, a slow, incredibly wicked smirk spreading across his face.
The tall, muscled, tattooed biker brushes his thumb over his lips and chin, wiping away my juices before sucking them off his digit.
My eyes widen, but Wolf just winks as he presses his hard body against mine, trapping me against the wall.
"I fuckin’ hope so," he murmurs against my ear. "Everyone around here needs to know exactly who you belong to, and that only I can make you feel like this."
“Territorial?” I tease, though I’m still breathless from my incredible orgasm.
“Very,” he rasps before resting his head on my shoulder. Wolf’s hands slide around my back, pulling me into his chest. I curl up against him, letting myself soak up this tender moment after such an intense experience. “Are you okay, Hadley?”
“Very,” I sigh, making Wolf chuckle. His fingers stroke up and down my spine while he gently rocks us back and forth. I’ve never felt so thoroughly relaxed, safe, and cared for.