Maddox’s POV
The ride back to the compound was different than the ride out.
Alina held onto me differently now—less like someone gripping for safety and more like someone who actually wanted to be close. Her arms around my waist felt less tentative, more comfortable. When I took a corner a little sharper than necessary, I felt her laugh against my back rather than tense up.
The jacket looked perfect on her. I’d known it would the moment she’d tried it on, but seeing her wear it on the bike with her hair whipping in the wind, the leather molding to her like it had been made specifically for this moment, it did something to my chest that I wasn’t entirely ready to analyze.
We pulled through the compound gates around five-thirty, giving us a comfortable buffer before Ronan’s deadline. I p
