Chapter Seven
The ride back was different tonight, Jade felt it the second the engine roared to life beneath them.
Usually, the wind and speed stripped everything away, and left her with nothing but the rush, the moment, the steady, grounding presence of Wolf in front of her.
Tonight, though, nothing was stripped away.
“She’s mine.” The words echoed in her head, over and over, threading through the hum of the engine, the rush of air, the tight grip of her arms around him.
The way he’d said it, he seemed so certain, so possessive. It sent heat curling low in her stomach, confusing and electric and impossible to ignore.
Jade tightened her hold around him as the bike cut through the night, her cheek brushing lightly against his back. She could feel the tension in him now, coiled tight beneath the leather, not the calm, controlled stillness he usually carried.
He seemed unsettled, restless even, and it made something in her pulse faster.
Neither of them spoke, not that they could over the engine. Still, even if they could, Jade knew they wouldn’t. There was too much sitting between them. Too much waiting to be said.
By the time they pulled up in front of her apartment building, Jade’s heart was beating too fast for no good reason, or maybe for every reason. Wolf cut the engine, and silence rushed in again, thick and heavy.
Jade slid off the bike slowly, her hands lingering for just a second too long against his back before she pulled away. Wolf was already moving, grabbing the spare helmet, stepping closer. Routine, except nothing about tonight felt routine.
He lifted the helmet off her head, his fingers brushing against her hair, careful in a way that didn’t match the man who’d just thrown punches across the clubhouse floor.
Jade swallowed.
“Thanks,” she said quietly.
Wolf gave a short nod. Then, without a word, he stepped toward the building. Wolf was merely walking her in, like always. Jade followed, her thoughts a tangled mess. The stairs loomed ahead, with the familiar worn steps.
She stopped before the first step. Jade needed to get something off her chest.
“Wolf,” Jade said.
He paused and turned. The streetlight caught his face just enough to show the faint bruise forming along his jaw. A reminder of what had happened, of what he’d done.
Jade’s chest tightened.
“What happened earlier...” she started, then trailed off.
She wasn’t even sure how to finish that sentence. What was she asking? Why did you fight for me? Why did you say that? Did you mean it?
She expected him to brush it off, tell her to forget it, maybe say it didn’t mean anything.
“What of it?” he asked instead. Oh, good, he wasn’t going to pretend that it never happened.
Jade exhaled slowly, her frustration bubbling up now, mixing with everything else that had been building for days.
“I don’t understand you,” she said.
Wolf said nothing, but he didn’t tear his gaze from her.
“You offer me a ride every night,” she went on, her voice tightening. “You kiss me and then you stop. Like that’s all there is. I thought you weren’t really interested.”
The words felt heavier than she expected. It felt more honest.
“But then tonight,” she continued, shaking her head slightly, “you practically told everyone in that clubhouse that I belong to you.”
Her gaze locked onto his, searching.
“So what is it?” she demanded softly. “Which one is real?”
Silence stretched between them. Wolf inhaled slowly, like he was weighing something.
“I want you,” he said finally. Heck, he even looked a little surprised by the admission.
Jade’s breath caught.
“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 outside Mrs. 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.
“Thank you for taking care of Jane,” he said politely.
Jade blinked, caught off guard. Mrs. Rochford did too. It showed, just for a second, before she recovered.
“Well,” Mrs. Rochford said, a little stiffly, “someone has to make sure she’s looked after.”
Jade shifted Jane against her shoulder, smoothing a hand over her back.
“We won’t keep you,” she said quickly.
Mrs. Rochford nodded, but her gaze lingered on Wolf for a moment longer, her look considering.
“Goodnight, Jade,” she said.
“Goodnight.”
Jade turned before the tension could stretch any further, her pulse picking up again as she headed back down the hall. Wolf followed, not saying a word. Somehow, that made it worse, because it gave her space to think. Jade began questioning herself.
By the time she reached her apartment door, her thoughts were a mess. This was happening. She was about to bring him inside. About to cross a line she couldn’t uncross. Jade paused, shifting Jane slightly as she fumbled for her keys. Was this a mistake?
Maybe. Probably, but she needed to know. Jade had to understand what this thing between them was before it disappeared. Before Derek came back, if he ever did, or if Jade were to somehow pay off the debt, and everything snapped back to whatever her life used to be.
Somewhere along the way, Wolf had changed things. She’d started out wary of him. Heck, if Jade had to be honest, she was angry and resented him. He’d been the man who showed up at her door and turned her life upside down.
However, Wolf drove her home and made sure she got here safe every night.
He also seemed to be able to look at her like he really saw her.
Derek and the other men she dated before didn’t like the fire inside her, thought of her defiance and sass as an irritating aspect of her personality.
Wolf was the opposite—he seemed to admire it.
Jade unlocked the door and pushed it open.
“Come in,” she said, stepping inside.
Wolf followed without hesitation. The apartment felt smaller with him in it, more crowded. Jane shifted in her arms, making a small sound.
“I need to feed her,” Jade said, setting her bag down.
“That’s fine,” Wolf replied.
He glanced around briefly, taking in the space again.
“I can hold her,” he added.
Jade hesitated. It wasn’t distrust, not exactly, but Jane wasn’t familiar with Wolf. It took a while for Jane to like strangers. Still, she handed Jane over carefully, watching the way Wolf handled her.
Wolf took her like he knew what he was doing. He wasn’t unsure or awkward. Jane blinked up at him, curious for a second, then reached for his jacket. Jade froze. Then Jane giggled unexpectedly, and it was a bright, happy sound.
Something in Jade’s chest twisted. Wolf looked down at her, something shifting in his expression. He softened.
“Hey, cutie,” he said quietly.
Jade stared. Was this really the same man who had thrown punches across a crowded room? Now he was standing in her kitchen, holding her daughter like it was the most natural thing in the world.
The contrast hit hard. Derek had never been like that. He’d held Jane like she was an obligation. Something temporary. Something he could walk away from ... and had.
Wolf didn’t look like he wanted to walk away from anything. Jade turned to the kitchen before that thought could go any further.
“I’ll make something quick,” she said. “You hungry?”
“I could eat,” Wolf said.
Jade nodded and got to work. It wasn’t much, as Jade hadn’t been able to drop by the grocery store recently. Jade made do with what she had—eggs, some bread, a bit of leftover vegetables.
She moved through it on instinct, muscle memory taking over, even as her attention kept drifting back to the living room, to Wolf and Jane.
She risked a glance. He was sitting on the couch now, Jane perched carefully in his arms as he let her grab onto his fingers, her tiny hands wrapping around them.
He didn’t look uncomfortable, or out of place.
Once dinner was ready, she asked Wolf if he could help her set the table. He complied, Jane still latched onto him. With that done, they ate dinner. It was not awkward as Jade initially thought it would be.
They sat across from each other, Jane between them in her chair, the small space filled with the soft clink of utensils and the occasional babble from Jane.
Wolf didn’t complain about the food. He ate what she made without comment, without complaint. And when Jane got fussy, he reached over without hesitation, distracting her with a low murmur that made her settle almost instantly.
Jade watched him and couldn’t help but try to reconcile this version of him with the one she’d seen at the clubhouse. She wasn’t sure which one was real. Maybe both.
After dinner, Wolf stood, gathering the plates.
“I’ll take care of this,” he said.
Jade blinked. “You don’t have to do that.”
“You did the cooking, let me take care of the dishes,” he pointed out.
The echo of her earlier words.
She hesitated, then nodded. “Okay.”
She picked Jane up instead, pressing a kiss to her hair.
“Bath time,” she murmured.
By the time Jade came back out, the dishes were done, and the lights were dimmed. Wolf stood near the kitchen, drying his hands on a towel. Something about the scene felt domestic, dangerously so.
Jade’s pulse picked up. Jane was asleep, everything else was still. It was just the two of them now. The air felt charged. Wolf looked at her, with the hunger that made her heart race. Jade took a step closer, then another. Her breath caught as the space between them disappeared.
“You still want this?” Wolf asked. She realized he was giving her a way out if she changed her mind.
Jade didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely,” she told him.