Chapter 19

“Yeah,” I breathed against his wet skin, my hands sliding up his broad shoulders for balance. “Just... completely wrecked.”

A low, satisfied rumble echoed deep in his chest. Ryder turned off the faucet, cutting the heavy spray and leaving only the sound of our ragged breathing in the warm, steam-filled room. He reached over the glass enclosure, grabbing a thick charcoal towel to wrap around my shoulders before using another to dry himself off with quick, efficient movements.

Back in his bedroom, I didn’t even care that I didn’t have a fresh change of clothes. I pulled on my dark jeans, but instead of my damp knit sweater, Ryder tossed me a heavy, charcoal-grey cotton hoodie from his closet. It swallowed my frame entirely, the hem hitting mid-thigh and the sleeves burying my hands, carrying his dark pine-and-leather scent so strongly it felt like a physical embrace.

Ryder pulled on a fresh pair of dark jeans, a fitted black t-shirt that stretched over his broad chest, and his heavy leather jacket. Watching him strap his watch onto his wrist, the lethal Enforcer returned in full force, erasing any trace of the gentle man who had just held me under the water.

“Let’s go, little wolf,” he said, his dark eyes sweeping over me with blatant approval as I folded the oversized sleeves back over my wrists. “I’m dropping you right at the door.”

The ride down the winding mountain road was fast and biting. I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my face into the leather of his jacket while the engine’s vibration hummed through my veins. The bright morning sun carved through the autumn trees, casting long shadows across the pavement as we descended back toward campus.

When he pulled the motorcycle onto the cobblestone path directly outside the Arts building, heads immediately turned. Students milling around the quad stopped to stare—some whispering, others eyeing the massive, dangerous guy on the matte-black bike.

Ryder killed the engine, swinging his long leg over the saddle before reaching up to unbuckle my helmet. His fingers brushed against my jawline, lingering deliberately.

“Ryder, people are looking,” I murmured, my cheeks warming under the sudden scrutiny.

“Let them look,” he growled softly, pulling the helmet off my head and tossing it onto the handlebars. He stepped into my space, his broad frame completely blocking me from the rest of the quad. He reached out, grabbing the lapels of my borrowed hoodie and tugging me forward until my chest slammed against his.

Before I could utter another word, his mouth claimed mine in a deep, bruising kiss right there in the open sunlight. It was dark, possessive, and completely uncompromising—a public statement to every wolf and human on campus that I belonged to him. My fingers instinctively tangled into his leather jacket, my core melting into the heat of his mouth as he pushed his tongue deep, taking his sweet time while my head spun.

When he finally pulled back, leaving my lips swollen and my pulse hammering, his dark eyes were blazing with a fierce, satisfied light.

“Text me the minute you step out of class,” he commanded, his thumb dragging over my cheekbone, pressing one last hard kiss to the sensitive spot on my neck. “And keep my sweater on. I want everyone in that room to know who you go home to.”

“Go before you make me late, Black,” I rasped, though my legs felt like lead as I took a step back toward the heavy wooden doors of the building.

“See you soon, Haven,” he rumbled, a slow, dangerous smirk tugging at his lips as he swung back onto his bike.

I turned and walked up the steps, my heart thumping wildly against my ribs, carrying the warmth of his scent straight into the cold halls of the university.