Page 55 of Midnight Hunt
He no doubt pitied me but was too nice to say so. And that was the problem. He was toonice. Too nice to push me away. Too nice to make me deal with the harsh realities of life on my own. He’d always been there for me no matter what, just like he’d promised me seven years ago.
Only I realized now how selfish I’d been to accept that promise. To accept his help and comfort over and over again without thinking about howhefelt. Without asking if he evenwantedto be with me in that way.
Deep down, though, I’d always wondered. Always assumed he’d chosen to pursue me out of pity. Because he was toonice. Because he was my brother’s best friend. It was almost like he’dexpectedto help me with my heat when the time came. Jagger certainly wasn’t going to do it, and Mason . . .
Well, Griff’s older brother had tried to pursue me, but I’d known he’d only done so to get closer to Kolton. To rise in the pack ranks. And to piss off his brother, of course.
It had been easy to reject him. But Griff, on the other hand . . .
He’d always been my greatest source of comfort. Mysecurityblanket.
Rejecting him was next to impossible, and ending things between us last year had nearly broken me. I’d needed to do it, though. Needed to do it before something terrible happened.
He was nice. Probably the nicest male I’d ever known. But it wasn’t fair of me to take advantage of that. Toexploitit. Eventually, he would have grown to resent me, so I’d left before he could leave me. Before the damage became irreparable.
Letting him go so he could find a female worthy of being his mate had been the most selfless thing I’d ever done. I thought for sure we could both move on yet still remain good friends. As long as he was in my life, I could survive it if he pursued another female.
But as he followed me toward the empty house, it hurt. It still hurt to be this close to him. To keep rejecting him, especially after he’d confessed words I couldn’t get out of my head. Confusing words that didn’t make any sense.
I couldn’t possibly be everything he needed. He deserved so much more than what I’d been willing to give him. He was only saying that to spare my feelings. It was obvious that our wolves were head-over-heels for each other. Whiskey was probably struggling to accept other females in Griff’s life the same way Sable struggled to accept other males. Their feelings often bled into ours, making it hard to differentiate them.
The attraction Griff felt toward me had no doubt originated from those feelings. Even more, he probably never would have offered to help with my heat if it wasn’t for Whiskey and Sable’s connection. But it was clear he didn’t fully see that; otherwise, he wouldn’t have started to pursue me again.
Reid had been right. I needed space from Griff. We were making the same mistakes all over again, and I was terrified of the consequences should it continue. But this past chaotic week had forced us back together, and I couldn’t seem to distance myself from him no matter how hard I tried.
It didn’t help that we were currently traipsing through the woods naked, running on adrenaline highs, and heading toward an empty house together.
Yeah, I was screwed. So screwed.
Still, I ignored him and my racing heart as best I could, focusing on finding a way inside the cabin without breaking anything. The door was locked, of course, and so were all the windows on the first floor. Griff easily hoisted himself up to a second-floor balcony in back, then checked the french doors. As they swung open, he looked over the railing at me with a victorious grin.
I grinned back before I could stop myself. He was just so . . . soGriff. Always finding ways to help. Always brightening even the most bleak situation with his wit and contagious smiles. I definitely wouldn’t have gotten this far without him.
As he disappeared inside the house, a thought formed. I tried to shake it off, but it persisted. Touching my arm, I turned the idea over for a moment longer, then headed around to the front of the house. Griff greeted me at the door, still grinning as he opened it wide for me to enter.
“Any sign of a phone?” I asked, stepping into the foyer.
“No. I think this is a vacation home. The human scents are faint like no one’s been inside for weeks, and the fridge is empty.”
Running a hand through my tangled hair, I sighed in disappointment. “Well, keep looking. We’ll reimburse the owners for our stay after we get home. I’m going to take a shower, but holler if the hunters arrive. I have a bone to pick with them.”
Cracking another smile, he nodded and moved aside so I could brush past. I almost stopped and told him of my idea, then chickened out and hurried toward the stairs. A hot shower was just what I needed to clear my head. It was getting harder and harder to think straight around him.
After a blissfully long shower, though, I still couldn’t get the idea out of my head. I stayed upstairs long enough to blow-dry my hair and slip into a white terry cloth robe, then went in search of Griff. I found him standing at the wide windows in the living room that overlooked the lake.
Still naked.
His back was turned to me, and I allowed my gaze to take him in. Even after two decades of seeing him in various stages of undress, I never failed to appreciate how perfectly sculpted his body was. A sudden urge to caress his skin with my fingertips shivered through me, and I bit back a frustrated curse.
“Take your time,” Griff lightly teased, still facing the windows. “I always enjoy being admired. Why do you think I walk around naked so often?”
“Jagger used to tell me you have a skin condition that doesn’t allow you to wear clothing for long periods of time without breaking into hives.”
Griff barked a laugh. “He’s always been jealous of my cavalier nature. And the fact that my dick is bigger than his.”
I snorted. “Sure you wanna stick with that story? I’ve seen both of your dicks.”
“Why, Violet Jane,” he said, turning toward me with mock surprise. “Are you trying to make me jealous? ‘Cause it’s working.”
