Page 68 of Their Knotty Pack (Starbrook City Omegaverse #3)

Bethany

H unter directs me to sit in a chair while he wraps up everything, which takes hours.

Georgia approaches me to let me know they gave Maverick the green light to extract Gina from the Hansen Pack House, and she's currently safe and sound, waiting at the police station for…Jeremiah Kane to pick her up?

Totally called it.

I'm busy fielding messages on my phone from the guys, telling me how proud they are of me, but my attention keeps being drawn back to Hunter.

The way all the officers who've shown up, and even Titus and his operatives, look at him with respect and admiration, fills me with pride. This is my alpha.

He's in business mode as the freaking police captain shows up, and Hunter has to tell him all about Carlson and that Sergeant Wilks is his uncle and he didn't know who he could trust.

I watch as the captain reaches out and shakes his hand, and I'm no lip reader, but I'm pretty sure he says, "Good work, detective."

But Hunter doesn't look happy. He doesn't look proud, he doesn't even look relieved that this is all over. In fact…he looks kind of pissed.

Once we'r e free to go, he takes my keys from me without a word, and gets in the driver's seat of my car. It's almost comical to see the huge alpha hunched over in my four door sedan…but I can't bring myself to laugh.

He's silent the entire drive, his jaw tense, and then suddenly, we're on the freeway.

"Where are we going?" I ask, breaking the quiet.

"We had a plan." He ignores my question, his voice hard.

"I know, but—"

"No, Bethany. We. Had. A. Plan. That was the only reason I even felt remotely okay with you doing this. And you made it about thirty seconds before you threw the plan in the trash and went rogue."

"Our plan wouldn't have worked," I argue, needing him to see that I only did what I had to.

"I know." He eyes close for a second, and he huffs a breath out of his nose. We turn off the freeway, and then we're pulling into a parking lot, overlooking the dark ocean. The regrouping after the arrest is what took the most time, and it's close to midnight now. We're the only two here.

He gets out of the car, and I watch as he walks to the hood, leaning against it.

I have no idea what he's doing, but…I guess we're hanging out at the beach.

Huffing a breath, I grab the blanket I keep in the backseat and get out of the car, marching past him.

I kick off my heels, letting my toes sink into the cool sand, and wrap the blanket around my shoulders.

It may be a June night in California, but it's still chilly this time of night, especially by the ocean.

Then I plop down in the sand, staring out into the abyss before me. The roaring of the waves fills my senses, the salty sea air a balm to my soul after the craziness of the night.

The sound of his footsteps in the sand alert me to his presence before he drops down next to me, the moonlight the only thing illuminating his features.

I can hear a text go off on his phone, but he ignores it.

"I am a man who needs planning, and order." He continues to stare out at the ocean. "But just like this operation, you threw that out the window. You came flying into my life, bit one of my packmates, and threw my entire existence into chaos."

My stomach sinks with each word he speaks. Have I just undone however much progress we've made?

Hunter shifts his body, angling to face me.

"But I am coming to find," his voice softens, and his hand comes up to cup my cheek, "that chaos, especially when it comes to you, isn't necessarily a bad thing.

You make me take a step back, and look at things differently.

Without you, I may have been stuck on this case another three years.

Without you and Miles, our pack would have never been complete. "

I stare up at his deep brown eyes as he looks down at me with such…warmth. His phone buzzes again, and he ignores it. Again.

"Bethany…these last few hours have been the most terrifying of my life. It didn't matter that I had armed guards at the ready, or that I knew exactly where you were, or that I was right outside. All I could think about was how I would die if something happened to you."

"Is all of this to tell me that you're never sending me out into the field again?" I ask, tears stinging my eyes. "Because if so, no argument here."

He lets out a sharp laugh. "That, and, through my panic and my mind running through scenarios that involved me whisking you away from the situation without compromising the operation—which, there aren't any, by the way—I realized one very important thing that I'm pretty sure I've actually known for a while, but have been too afraid to admit. "

He huffs a breath, closing his eyes as he swallows. "Are you going to make me ask?" I say weakly, leaning my face into his hand that's still on my cheek.

"Bethany Thomas." His eyes fly open and he leans forward, leaving barely an inch of space between us. "I am insanely, chaotically, irreversibly…in love with you."

And then the space between us disappears, his mouth crashing onto mine as my hands drop the blanket, wrapping around his neck instead. I fall back against the sand, Hunter on top of me, his weight grounding me in an absolutely delicious way—

This time, his phone rings .

Grunting, he pulls away, grabs his phone out of his pocket and answers it with an aggressive, "Kieran. I'm a bit busy here. I—" then he freezes, his eyes darting to my ears. "Shit. Can he turn off the camera feed?"

Oh my gods. Did…did everyone just witness that?

"Got it." Hunter mutters before hanging up the phone and shoving it in his pocket.

Without a word, he carefully removes my earrings, before placing them in his kicked-off shoes, off the side.

Then he yanks off his shirt, partially stuffing it in one of the shoes.

"That should block any noise." Hunter nods once before turning back to me.

But I'm speechless. The moonlight softly illuminates every bump and ridge of his naked torso as he hovers over me.

"Hunter, I—" His eyes are black, as he takes me in, sprawled on the sand. His hands reach for the plunging neckline of my dress, and his arms flex as he rips it open. Right down the middle.

"Anything they touched, goes in the trash." He growls, his eyes roving the swells of my breasts above my bra, and the strings of my black thong.

"I was going to burn the dress anyway," I try to sound nonchalant, but it still comes out a little choked as I pull my arms out of the arm holes and remove it from under me, tossing it far, far away.

He eyes t he offending piece of fabric for a moment before turning back to me, fire in his eyes. "I'm going to replace every touch with my own," he rumbles, before lowering himself so he's hovering over me.

"Please, Hunter." My voice is breathless as I stare into his eyes, and he immediately complies, running his tongue down my neck and into my cleavage. He moans and inhales my scent, before popping one nipple out and licking the stiff peak. My head falls back in pure bliss.

Every move Hunter makes, every flick of his tongue and brush of his lips, it's not just because we're scent-matched, or fated, or anything else. It's because he's choosing me. Loving me.

He takes his time, kissing and nipping and licking down my stomach, until he completely bypasses my aching core and pulls off my thong.

A small sound of protest leaves me, but then he's sitting up, staring at my legs. "Which leg was it?"

My brow furrows as I prop myself up on my elbows. "Which leg was what?"

"You glanced down so fast I didn't get to register which leg it was, all I saw was you smack him away." Hunter's voice is deep, restraint lining every syllable. "So tell me, bluebell, which leg was it that the bastard touched?"

"Right above my left knee," I say quietly, and before I can register what he's doing, he's lowering himself to seal his mouth right over the area where Tucker's unwelcome touch had been hours before.

His teeth press into the flesh, making me gasp, but he doesn't break skin. No, he bites just hard enough to indent the flesh, then licks the sting away. "When I bite you," Hunter growls, "That's where I'm going to do it."

My mouth goes dry as he gives me a little smirk, and then he's pushing my legs up and apart. "Look at this pretty pussy in the moonlight," he murmurs, kissing the inside of my thigh. "So wet and ready for your alpha."

Hearing such filthy words from my usually restrained alpha has me gasping. "Hunter!"

"Should we see if you taste as sweet as you smell, bluebell? I'm hanging on by a thread here, and I want to taste you at least once before I sink into your tight, wet heat." His grin is devious, and then he's leaning forward, moving my thong to the side as buries his face straight into my pussy.

Gods, he really is losing control.

And I fucking love it.

He groans into me as my fingers twine into his hair, my back arching at the pure electric ecstasy filtering through my veins.

"Oh! Oh fuck, Hunter!" I cry out as he starts swirling his tongue around my clit, slides two fingers inside me, and strokes upwards.

I shatter, my walls clenching around his fingers as he licks me through my orgasm, my legs shaking and my cries echoing along the empty beach.

When he pulls back, he stands, unbuttoning his pants and pushing them down. His cock, long, hard and smooth springs free, my mouth waters. He doesn't let me taste him yet though, because then he's hovering over me again, notching himself at my entrance.

"Tell me to stop," he looks into my eyes. "If you don't feel the same way yet, if I'm pushing you, tell me to back off, and I will."

"No," I shake my head, before grabbing his face with my hands. "I love you too. I want you. Take me , Hunter." Something seems to settle inside him at my words, some of his feral edge disappearing at my declaration.

And then his mouth is on mine as he slides all the way into me. His hard length stretches me in the best way. "Gods, bluebell," he pants, his forehead dropping to mine. "I don't know how long I'll last. It's been a while."

"I don't care, Hunter," I press a kiss to the corner of his lips, "I want you, please. However you can give yourself to me."

"How could I deny you anything?" He says with a small smile, nothing but warmth in his eyes now.

And then, he moves.

His hot, throbbing cock, slowly dragging along every single nerve ending inside me, pulses slightly, and I clench harder around him.

"How do you feel so…so good?" He whispers on a groan, kissing any part of my face he can reach. "It's never felt like this for me, Bethany. You are…exquisite."

I kiss him slowly, letting my tongue match the slow pace of his own thrusts as my ankles wrap around his waist.

Having sex with Hunter…it's not the hot and heavy colliding of bodies or even a claiming. It's slow. Deliberate. Full of pent up feelings and emotion.

It's…making love.

"I love you, Hunter," I murmur against his lips.

Then he spins us, so I'm on top of him while he's now on his back on the blanket. My body flush to his, our bare chests pressed against each other as he continues to slowly thrust up into me.

"I love you too, Bethany." He sighs as he lets me move on my own, but his arms stay wrapped around me, holding me in an embrace as I slide myself up and down his shaft. His hips rise up to meet me time and time again.

The orgasm is slow building, but before I know it, it's like a tidal wave crashing over me, and the second he feels me start to tip over the edge, he thrusts his knot inside of me, and I plummet.

What started as a slow free-fall becomes an intense dive as he continues his shallow thrusts, letting his knot rub against me as his own release takes over.

We both collapse back into the sand, me sprawled on Hunter's chest. Breathing heavily, I let out a little giggle as he rubs my back.

I prop my chin on my folded hands that are laid on his chest, looking into his eyes. "Isn't what we just did illegal?"

Hunter huffs a laugh before blindly reaching for his discarded shirt and sliding it over my head. "There, now we're both covered. Me by you, and you by my shirt."

Smiling, I lay my head back on his chest, content to rest my eyes until his knot goes down.