Page 28 of Midnight Hunt (Wolves of Midnight #4)

27

VIOLET

I couldn’t believe that Griff was kissing me after everything I’d said.

I thought for sure he would see the wounded, insecure shell I’d become and want nothing to do with me. But, by some miracle, he was still here. He was kissing me like I was his last saving grace. Like I was his beginning and end. His world .

“Trust me,” he breathed against my mouth, and I clung to the words for dear life, needing to believe them more than I’d needed to believe anything.

With each passing second, my heat grew more and more intense. It became hard to stand, and when I whimpered, Griff swept me off my feet and into his arms.

“Trust me,” he breathed again, his mouth still hot against mine as he carried me toward the family truck he’d arrived in.

He’d parked it haphazardly on the shoulder, the road dark and deserted this time of night. When he walked past the passenger door and proceeded to open the back door, I knew he didn’t plan to move it anytime soon, which was fine by me. All I cared about was him and the way his touch and words were making me feel.

Loved. He made me feel loved .

I didn’t even have to pretend to believe it this time. He was making me believe it. Each kiss burned away more and more of my doubts and fears, filling me with a certainty that what he said was true. That I could trust in his love. That it wouldn’t break over time. That I couldn’t destroy it.

Tears of abject relief rolled down my cheeks, and he paused to kiss them away, continuing to whisper against my skin, “Trust me. Trust me. Trust me.”

I kissed him back, letting him feel my love for him in return. Tentatively at first, then with growing courage.

Climbing inside the truck, he laid me on the backseat and shut the door. Soon, the cab was filled with the heady scent of arousal and the sounds of our labored breathing. Sweat beaded my forehead and settled between my breasts, making me itch to tear off my dress. Before I could, Griff broke the kiss to utter another, “Trust me.”

Burning with need, I peeled open my eyes to meet his. “I do. I do trust you.”

That was all he needed to hear. Without taking his eyes off me, he slid both hands to my thighs and lifted up my skirt. When it was around my waist, he hooked two fingers into my panties and slowly pulled them down. It became hard to breathe, my eyes glued to his as he continued to tug on my underwear. Lifting one leg, he removed my high-heeled shoe, then did the same with the other. His hands went to my underwear again and slowly resumed their torturous downward path.

I thought I would die. I thought I would die from anticipation.

Seeing my desperation, a slow grin curled Griff’s lips.

“I hate you,” I said in a quivering breath, maintaining eye contact as he scooted backward and knelt on the floor beside me.

“You love me,” he corrected, grinning wider when I whimpered in response.

“Yes, I stupidly love you. I stupidly love everything you’re doing to me, and I don’t want you to stop,” I breathlessly said, whimpering again when he slid the underwear free and tossed them on the floor.

“Then be a good girl and place your legs on my shoulders,” he purred, and that was nearly enough to make me come.

I immediately obeyed him, propping my head up against the door so I could better watch what he was doing. Sliding his hands up my thighs again, he gripped them tightly and slowly lowered his head.

“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” I panted as his face disappeared beneath my skirt. When I felt his warm breath feather over my throbbing pussy, I started to hyperventilate.

He was inches away. Inches . But he paused to quietly groan, “Your scent is everything. I’ll never get enough.”

“Griff, please,” I begged, my legs starting to shake. “Please, I need you. I need—”

His tongue licked my clit, and I loudly cried out as pleasure roared through my body. His fingers were magical, but his tongue . . . Oh, his tongue was wickedly good at making me feel naughty things. I saw stars as he applied just the right amount of pressure to my overly sensitive center, swirling his tongue in a way that had me gasping for breath.

Random stuff flew out of my mouth, most of it singing his praises. When my pleasure started to build, I gripped the seat cushion and door handle for dear life, panting so loudly that it sounded like I was in labor.

He burrowed his face deeper between my thighs, adding even more delicious pressure. My legs squeezed his head in response, but he pried them back open so his tongue had full access to my pussy. Every time he flicked it, I cried out, the sensation driving me closer and closer to orgasm.

“Griff, Griff, Griff,” I started to plead, my body buzzing with so many intense feelings that I was about to burst from the pressure.

In response to my chanting, his tongue went wild, lashing across my clit so rapidly that I fell over the edge in a mindless scream. Wave after wave of pulsating pleasure pounded through my body. I let it sweep me away, closing my eyes in utter rapture. When I finally came down, I opened my eyes to find him watching me with a self-satisfied smile.

“I’ll never grow tired of watching you come,” he said.

“Never?” I panted, still trying to catch my breath.

He paused to watch me some more, then quietly replied, “You’re my past, present, and future, Vi. I don’t want this with you just today. I want this every day. I want forever with you.”

All the air left me in a rush. With my legs still propped on his shoulders, I whispered back, “I want forever with you too.”

He looked at me like I’d just handed him the moon.

“Then let me claim you.”

My heart stopped. “Claim? Like claim claim? As in, you bite my neck and mark me, leaving your scent beneath my skin to let other males know that I’m taken?”

“That you’re mine, yes,” he replied with a small laugh.

Oh. Oh, wow. He was really serious about this.

But was I ready? Could I accept that he actually wanted forever with me?

“I’m scared,” I admitted, allowing myself to become vulnerable once more. “If I screw this up and lose you, I won’t survive.”

He searched my face, then lowered my legs to sit on the seat beside me. “Come here,” he said, and I didn’t hesitate to straddle him as he pulled me onto his lap. Tucking a wisp of hair behind my ear, he said, “I get that you’re scared of losing me. You lost your parents, and your family was forever changed. But you didn’t cause that to happen, Vi. You’re not a failure, you’re not poison, and you’re not worthless. In fact, I never want to hear those words come out of your mouth again. We all mess up, but there’s no way in hell I’ll ever leave you.”

“But what if—”

“No buts,” he interrupted firmly, and I couldn’t help but be aroused by his dominance. “You’re Violet freaking Rivers, and you’re worthy of love. Say it.”

I almost rolled my eyes, but when his stern look intensified, I said, “I’m Violet freaking Rivers, and I’m worthy of love.”

“Good girl. Now, say it again like you mean it.”

“Griff—”

“ Say it.”

“I’m Violet freaking Rivers, and I’m worthy of love!” I shouted, and he grinned a mile wide. Something loosened in my chest, and I found myself grinning back at him. “God, Griff, I’ve been such a freaking mess.”

“A beautiful mess,” he corrected, staring at me with such open adoration that my heart happily fluttered. “You think Arrow took away who you used to be, but I still see that same girl. She’s right here, strong and brave and perfect for me in every way. I’ll never let you go, Violet Jane.”

Tears once again filled my eyes. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening, that this was real . It was terrifying, but I truly believed he meant every single word.

Which was why I said without an ounce of hesitation, “I want you to claim me.”

Joy sparked in his eyes. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve been sure for years. I just didn’t let myself believe that I could have this with you.”

“But you believe it now?”

I laughed, surprised that I could honestly say, “Yeah, I do. I really do. Thanks to you.”

He gave me a cheeky grin. “You’re welcome.”

“This is going straight to your big ego, isn’t it,” I said.

“Of course it is. I’m feeling quite full of myself at the moment.”

“Griff?”

“Hmm?”

“Shut up and claim me already.”

He laughed, even as I felt him harden beneath me. Heat flashed through my body once more, making me wetter than I already was. His pants were going to be ruined after this, but the thought of marking him with my arousal completely turned me on.

Situating myself more fully on top of his growing erection, I swept my hair back to expose the claiming spot between my shoulder and neck. “Mark me good now,” I told him in mock seriousness. “I don’t want anyone getting confused about who I belong to.”

His eyes flashed bright yellow. “Don’t worry, baby. There’ll be no confusion when I’m done with you.”

The roughness of his voice pleasantly scraped over my skin, making me shiver with anticipation. I tipped my head to the side, satisfied when I felt him tremble. He reached up and feathered his fingers over the claim spot almost reverently, then leaned forward and nuzzled the spot.

More anticipation spiked through me, and I arched against him, encouraging him to continue. His trembling increased, and he began to place gentle kisses on the spot. When they grew harder and more urgent, another wave of heat rushed through my body, my anticipation through the roof.

Unable to keep silent a moment longer, I whimpered, “Bite me, Griff. Please, bite me. I want you to. I need you to—”

He sank his canines into my neck, and I stiffened against him with a sharp gasp. The pain was unmistakable, but the knowledge of what he was doing filled me with a heady sense of pleasure. My eyes rolled shut, and I moaned, sliding both hands into his hair to encourage him deeper. His canines elongated, going deeper than I thought possible, and my mouth opened in a silent cry.

As my body flooded with an intoxicating mix of pain and pleasure, fresh arousal saturated the air. With a groan, Griff gripped my hips and ground himself against me. Each thrust brought me higher and higher, intensifying my need for him. Blindly reaching between us, I fumbled to undo his buckle and zipper. When his erection sprang free, I eagerly ran my hand up and down its silky length. He jerked against me with another groan, and I felt the tip swell beneath my fingertips.

Desperate to feel him inside me, I lifted up and positioned him at my slick entrance. Before I could sink on top of him, he abruptly thrust his hips up, impaling himself balls deep inside me. Shocked at how fast he’d filled me, I gasped out his name and struggled to breathe. Before I could fully adjust, he did it again, pushing my hips down at the same time. As he hit an ultra sensitive spot deep inside, euphoria pulsed through me, and I gripped his hair with a loud cry.

“Yes! Do it again. Oh, yes, yes . That’s so good. So good .”

He set a punishing pace, clearly as intoxicated with the moment as I was. He drove into me over and over again, so deeply that I gasped with each thrust.

He was claiming me, all right. Claiming me in every way possible. And I loved it.

The moment was perfect, and I was deliriously excited to have countless moments just like this one in my future. As the pleasurable tension in our bodies reached a breaking point, the air inside the truck thickened and fogged the windows. It was like being inside a sauna—or that steamy car scene in the Titanic movie. Just for the hell of it, I planted a hand on the glass behind Griff’s head and left a wet print.

Moments later, his thrusts grew frantic, and I couldn’t hold on any longer. A scream tore from my lungs, and I spasmed all over his cock, squeezing it to kingdom come. As his own release barrelled through him, he wrenched his canines from my neck and roared, crushing me to him.

The orgasm went on for longer than usual, and I stayed seated on top of him to prolong it even more. When my body continued to blissfully buzz instead of coming down, though, I whimpered, “Griff.”

“I know,” he groaned, breathing heavily. “I—”

He abruptly jerked inside me again, orgasming for a second time. Feeling the hot stream of come jet inside me, I fell over the edge again with a blissful moan. He continued to pant, his body clearly still in the throes of ecstasy, and it was then that I realized something was different.

“Griff.”

“I know, I know. But I can’t . . . I can’t stop it.”

As if to prove his point, his cock swelled impossibly huge, pushing at my walls until they stretched to accommodate him.

“Ah!” I cried out. Not in pain but in pleasure . His engorged length felt almost ribbed now, and it made my pussy spasm with excitement.

“Violet,” he groaned out, letting his head fall back against the seat. “If you keep doing that, I’m gonna come again.”

Finally understanding what was happening, I blurted, “You have a knot. You’re knotting me. Since when do you have a knot?”

“Since right now. Claiming you must have awakened my alpha gene.”

“Your alpha . . .”

Holy crap, Griff was an alpha now? He’d always been more dominant than a beta, but without the ability to knot, he’d never been classified as an alpha. I’d heard of this happening to males, of course. Griff’s brother hadn’t become an alpha until he’d left Midnight Pack and formed his own.

But Griff? An alpha? What was Kolton going to think? As soon as I had the thought, I knew it wouldn’t change anything between them. Griff was loyal to a fault, and he would never challenge my brother for the pack alpha position.

Relaxing a little, I decided to test the knot’s hold on me by wiggling my hips. When it stuck to me like superglue, I blinked in surprise. “Oh, wow. So that’s what it feels like.” Lifting my skirt to peer between us, I asked, “Does it hurt?”

“No, it feels incredible. And every time you—”

I clenched my walls around him, and his knot jerked inside me, announcing his third orgasm. As he let out a loud groan, my own body spasmed with excitement, filling me with bliss.

“Oh,” I gasped out when I could breathe again. “Yeah, that feels amazing.”

“Mmhmm. I can understand why Kolton likes to knot Nora so much now.”

“Can we not talk about my brother’s knot? Like ever? ” I said, trying and failing to scowl when Griff laughed. “He’s gonna be so pissed that the truck smells like sex.”

Griff laughed again, and I couldn’t help but join him. “Good thing the seats are leather.”

“He’ll probably still fumigate it. More than once.”

As he continued to laugh, I leaned forward and snuggled against him, resting my head on his shoulder. He cupped the back of my head with his big hand and held me close, releasing a contented sigh. We stayed like that for a long while, resting in each other’s arms while his knot slowly softened.

Only to go another round the second my heat flared up again, this time without our clothes on.

When I was finally spent and satiated hours later, Griff had knotted me dozens of times. He definitely seemed proud of his newly improved appendage, and I’d made certain to tell him what a good boy he was. It wasn’t until I was safely wrapped in his arms and drifting off to sleep that I realized how quiet Sable had been the entire time.

Speaking through our connection, I told her so, adding, I thought you’d be howling for joy .

I don’t need to , she answered me, then said words I would never forget for as long as I lived. I’m at peace, because your eyes are finally open and you can see what’s been in front of you all along. Your soulmate .