I close my eyes, taking a breath to steady myself. When I open them, Ivy's watching me and expecting me to say something.
"Yeah," I call to Judge. "Be right there."
I stand, putting necessary distance between us. "Stay in the room until I come get you. We don't know when the Vipers might show up, and I need to know you're safe."
She nods. "Okay."
I want to say something else. Want to address what just happened, what that kiss meant. But I don't have the words.
So, I just leave, pulling the door closed behind me. Judge is waiting in the hallway, and the smirk on his face tells me he saw more than I'd like.
"Don't," I warn as we start down the stairs.
"Didn't say anything." But the amusement in his voice is clear.
"Judge—"
"Look, brother, I'm not going to give you shit about it." He stops, turning to face me. "You've spent three years building this club, protecting everyone else, putting yourself last. If you want something good for yourself, there's nothing wrong with that."
"She's too young. Too vulnerable. I'm supposed to be protecting her."
"And you are." Judge's expression is serious now. "But that doesn't mean you can't also care about her. Doesn't mean you have to be alone forever because you think it's what you deserve."
"It's not about what I deserve—"
"Isn't it?" He cuts me off. "You've been punishing yourself for three years for not stopping Demon, for not saving the good men who died. Maybe it's time to stop. Maybe it's time to let yourself have something, even if the timing isn't perfect."
I don't have an answer for that.
"Come on," Judge says, already moving down the stairs. "Brick's waiting. We've got the perimeter secured, cameras up, defensive positions mapped. Time to make sure we're ready for whatever's coming."
I follow him, forcing myself back into president mode. But I can still feel the ghost of that kiss, still see the look in Ivy's eyes.
Judge is right. The timing is terrible. The age gap is real. The circumstances are complicated.
But for that one perfect moment, none of it mattered.
And I'm not sure I can go back to pretending it doesn't exist.
Chapter 8 - Ivy
The door closes behind Phoenix, and I'm left sitting on the edge of the bed, my heart racing like I've just run a marathon.
I press my fingers against my lips, feeling the ghost of his kiss still lingering there.
Incredible. That's the only word for it.
No man has ever kissed me like that. Cole never kissed me like that. His kisses were demands, taking what he wanted without caring if I wanted it too. They were about ownership, about marking territory, about reminding me who I belonged to.
Phoenix kissed me like it mattered. Like my enjoyment was as important as his. Like the kiss had feeling behind it instead of just being something he wanted from me.
I fall back onto the bed, arms sprawled over my head, staring at the ceiling.
"You're an idiot, Ivy," I mutter to myself.
I must have a thing for trouble. I ran away from one biker only to end up almost falling for another when a war is about to break out. When men might die. When everything could go wrong in a hundred different ways.
The timing couldn't be worse.
