Chapter Eleven
Veda
I couldn’t sleep, and it wasn’t just the nightmare replay of Blaine’s execution, or the blood that seemed to stick to my hands no matter how many times I washed.
The pain in my palm and the bruises along my side faded to background noise compared to the relentless, gnawing worry that chewed through my chest. I tried closing my eyes, letting exhaustion drag me under, but every time I started to drift, my brain would cough up another image of Griffin.
Sometimes he was breathing, sometimes his brothers brought him to me broken and bleeding.
I rolled over, pulling the covers to my chin, and stared at the faint green glow bleeding around the blackout curtain. The longer I lay there, the more the restlessness clawed at me, until I finally sat up on the side of the bed. Fuck.
I dressed in borrowed sweats, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and canvas shoes with no laces, my hair pulled back in a rough knot.
I moved down the hallway, down the stairs, and outside into the dark, predawn hours.
I passed Knight as I entered the courtyard, and he pointed me toward the garage without a word.
Once I reached the garage, I slipped inside, letting my eyes adjust to the dim lighting.
I saw him almost immediately, sitting on the battered workbench, one boot on the floor, the other propped on a cinder block.
He’d just finished cleaning a pistol, laying it on a table in front of him, the lines of his face hard and expressionless.
There were other men in the garage, moving with the same grim focus, but none of them paid me any attention.
If they noticed me at all, they didn’t acknowledge me.
He didn’t look up when I approached, but I thought he heard me, instead reached for a clip and filled it before laying it beside the gun.
When he lifted his head and caught me staring, he tilted his head to the side, as if confused or maybe curious.
For a long second neither of us spoke. The only sound was a dull impact from someone dropping a tool across the way.
“You should be sleeping,” he said, his voice gentle.
I shrugged. “Could say the same for you.”
He gave me a half smile. “Never sleep before a run.” He raked his gaze over me, taking in my appearance. I had no idea what he saw, but I suspected he could see my anxiety and fear. “Nightmares?”
“Not really.” That was kind of a lie. “Mostly just… everything.”
He grunted.
I moved closer to Griffin, closing the distance between us.
My heart thumped with a fury that was equal parts terror and…
lust? I wanted Griffin, yes, but what I felt for him was stronger than simple lust. I supposed I needed to figure out exactly how much of myself I was willing to give him.
And I was afraid that sum would be more than I’d be comfortable with.
“You gonna be careful out there?”
He smiled, just barely. “Always am. Besides, I think we’ve already been through this.”
“I thought I wanted to be alone tonight.”
“What do you want, Veda?” His voice was so soft it almost blended into the sounds of the garage.
I shrugged. “To feel like I have some control. I’m not sure how I’m going to sit on the sidelines through this.”
Griffin’s expression softened, his full attention on me. “And you think being alone does that for you?”
I hesitated, the tightness in my chest easing as I looked into his eyes.
“Maybe,” I admitted. “Or maybe I just don’t want to watch someone else I care about walk into danger.
I was fully prepared to do this alone. I still am.
” I shook my head, looking away from him.
“But I’m not certain I’m willing to risk the lives of good people.
Especially when I’m not in the thick of it with them. ”
He reached out, his hand warm against my arm.
“Veda, look at me.” I met his gaze, and he continued, “You’re not responsible for us, for me.
We make our own choices, same as you. Knuckles decided your sister’s life was worth sending his brothers into battle.
I decided I’d help you no matter what the quest.” He gave me a crooked grin.
“Griffin?” I stepped closer, until there was barely a foot between us, until I could smell the sweat and the grease and the clean scent of his shampoo. I brought my hand up to rest on the side of his face. “Thank you,” I whispered. “For everything.”
Griffin gave me a searching look, as if trying to read between the lines. He stood slowly, tilting his head as he looked at me. He gently snagged my hand and pulled me closer, into his embrace, but he didn’t move in for a kiss.
“You never have to thank me. Not for this.”
I cleared my throat and stuck my chin up. “Well, that’s good, then.” I narrowed my gaze at him. “If you don’t come back without so much as a scratch, I will be thoroughly pissed off. Might even fucking kill you.” Then I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down for a kiss.
When I let him go, he growled at me and a shot of lust hit me in the gut. Without thinking, I shoved him backward into the supply closet next to where he worked. He let me, grinning now, the kind of feral grin that set my body on fire.
The closet was barely big enough for both of us. Shelves of various engine fluids and rags crowded the walls and shelves. I kicked the door shut behind us and shoved him against the wall. Something hit the floor as we kissed and tore at each other’s clothes. Neither of us gave a fuck.
I bunched my hands in the hem of his shirt, yanking it up to reveal the hard lines of his stomach and the tattoos swirling up his side.
“I want you to fuck me,” I said. “And I want you to make it fucking good.” I bit his bottom lip before sucking it into my mouth and swirling my tongue over the small hurt.
He grunted before answering. “Yes, ma’am.”
His hands landed on my waist and he lifted me, setting me onto a small counter. He pinned me with his hips and I wrapped my legs around him.
He kissed me, hot and hungry. He growled, grinding against me, and I could feel his cock, hard through the denim, pressing between my legs.
I shoved my hand between us, found his zipper, and yanked it down. “I want you inside me. Right fucking now.”
He hesitated, just for a second, then kissed me again, deeper, almost punishing. His hand snaked under my sweats, found my pussy already slick, and he groaned, “Christ, you’re wet for me.”
“I am,” I admitted, nipping at his throat. “And I want you to fuck the shit out of me before you have to go.”
With another feral grunt, Griffin pulled my sweats over my hips.
I used his shoulders to brace myself as I lifted myself enough for him to whip the pants from my legs.
He shoved my underwear aside, lined himself up, and slid inside me in one rough thrust that knocked the air from my lungs.
I gasped, clinging to his shoulders, and arched into him.
He buried his face in my neck, breathing hard, trying to hold still so I could adjust, but I didn’t want gentle.
I didn’t want soft. “Harder,” I growled, and he answered, thrusting in again, faster, setting a brutal pace that rattled the shelves around us.
I dug my nails into his back, let the pain anchor me in the moment, and rode every pulse of pleasure like it might be the last. “Fuck me hard, Griffin. Fuck me!”
Griffin filled my existence. He wrapped one arm tightly around my back while he hooked the other arm under my leg to grip my ass and hold me open for him.
He sucked at my collarbone while pounding his cock into me with a desperation I matched thrust for thrust as best I could.
The world shrank to the inside of that closet, the slap of skin, the sound of my own grunts… I never wanted to let him go.
“Veda,” he said, voice breaking. “Fuckin’ hell…”
“Don’t stop,” I begged, and he didn’t. I felt the orgasm building, wild and reckless, a live wire under my skin.
It hit me all at once, a jolt that shattered everything in its path.
I screamed into his shoulder, my body convulsing around him.
I exploded in a fiery ball of need and lust and fear all coming to detonate like ingredients in a bomb.
I knew Griffin needed to come. I could feel him swelling inside me and, for some stupid fucking reason, I wrapped my legs around him tightly.
“Veda?” He pressed his forehead to mine as he looked into my eyes. “Let me go or you’re gettin’ my load deep inside that tight little pussy.”
I tightened my grip around him, knowing I couldn’t let him pull away. Not now, not when every fiber of my being screamed for me to let him claim me.
“Goddamnit, Veda!” He groaned, a rough, raw sound that vibrated against my skin, and then he thrust deeper.
With a final hard shove, he groaned, his body stiffening as he put his cum inside me, his orgasm ripping through him, triggering another one for me.
Pleasure crashed over me in a powerful wave, so intense it bordered on pain.
For a long minute, neither of us moved. We just breathed, pressed together. He rested his forehead against mine once again.
“Still want to kill me?” he asked, his voice soft and amused.
“Maybe a little less,” I admitted, and he laughed, the sound vibrating through my whole body.
He let me down easy, his hands lingering on my waist. I fixed my underwear and stepped into my sweats. I hadn’t taken my shoes off. He tucked himself back into his jeans, then ran his fingers through my hair, pulling me in for a softer kiss.
“We still have to talk,” I said, breathing hard.
“We will,” he said. “When I get back.”
“We better,” I said, trying not to sound as raw as I felt. “You better. We’re not done. Not even close.”
He cupped my cheek, thumb tracing the curve of my jaw. “Not even close, honey.” He leaned in, brushed his lips against my ear. “I always keep my promises.”