Housebound with the Blackridge Heirs novel Chapter 18

**Change Begins With You — Jayden Collins**
**Chapter 18**

Mtan

Every time I blinked, the memory rushed back, vivid and overwhelming—the sensation of his mouth pressed against mine, the way his hands had perfectly encircled my waist, and the warmth that lingered long after I had left him standing there, lost in his thoughts.

I tried to convince myself that I was merely flustered, that it was simply the novelty of being kissed like that for the first time. But deep down, I understood that this was far more complicated than just a fleeting moment of excitement.

I was the ignition. The spark that had ignited a fire between us, as if it had been waiting for that precise instant to blaze to life. And what struck me as odd was that when it happened, Caden hadn’t looked shocked at all. Instead, there was a glimmer of relief in his eyes, perhaps even happiness? It was as if he had been anticipating that kiss, or maybe even yearning for it.

Sitting behind my laptop in the internship office, I feigned concentration on a document that had remained unchanged for what felt like an eternity. My finger subconsciously traced the outline of my bottom lip, where his kiss had left its mark. The memory clung stubbornly, sweet yet haunting.

I shook my head vigorously, forcing my gaze back to the screen. This was utterly ridiculous.

I had work to accomplish, and the last thing I needed was to spiral into daydreams about a guy who could easily flatten me during training and still wear that infuriating smirk.

Yet, despite my best efforts to redirect my thoughts, they kept drifting back to that kiss and the unexpected comfort I had felt in his embrace. It was as if there was a piece of us that fit together in a way that defied logic, yet somehow, it made perfect sense.

In a bid to distract myself, I opened a new tab and typed in “largest wolf breeds.” It was a topic I had been curious about for days, and now seemed like the perfect opportunity to delve into it.

Google inundated my screen with images of gray wolves, Arctic wolves, and even dire wolf fossils. My heart raced as I scrolled through the results, absorbing the information.

“The largest recorded wolf stood approximately 3.2 feet at the shoulder…”

Three feet? Was that really it? Just three?

I frowned, skepticism creeping in.

That creature I had seen with Leo was definitely not three feet tall. It had to be at least five, if not more! I was certain of it. There was no room for doubt.

Unless… unless I had been hallucinating.

Perhaps I had exaggerated the wolf’s height in my mind. Fear had a way of distorting reality, didn’t it? It made things appear larger, closer, or far more dangerous than they truly were.

But I could still hear the sound it made—the deep, menacing growl and the way the ground trembled beneath me as it charged. I could still picture those golden eyes, filled with a chilling sense of death.

No wolf should possess eyes like that.

“Maya.”

I jolted back to reality, startled. Jamille loomed over my desk, one perfectly manicured hand resting on the divider, the other perched on her hip. She wore an amused expression, which was never a good omen.

“You planning to work today, or are you too busy daydreaming about your little rescue mission?”

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I stammered, “I am working!”

“Really?” she replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Because this looks less like a policy review and more like a scene from a romance novel.”

“Don’t explain,” she added sweetly, but her words were anything but kind. “Explaining just makes it sad.”

Her voice carried through the office, drawing the attention of my colleagues. I wished I could sink into my chair and disappear entirely.

“Maybe you should focus less on fairy tales and more on the internship you’re lucky to still have,” she added, her gaze piercing.

“Jamille,” a calm yet firm voice interrupted from the doorway.

It was Miss Vale. I couldn’t quite decide if I should feel anxious or relieved.

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