Page 82 of Midnight Hunt

“Let me decide what I do and don’t deserve,” he tightly replied.

“I’m worthless.”

He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. “Violet Jane Rivers, you take that back.” When I didn’t say anything, he pressed his forehead to mine and quietly groaned, “You’re breaking my heart, Vi.”

“I know,” I whispered back. “That’s why I need you to let me go.”

26

GRIFF

It hurt to breathe.

Worthless? The love of my life thought she wasworthless?

I couldn’t even fathom the word. Couldn’t understand how we’d reached this point. How she’d come to feel this way about herself.

Had I been missing the signs all along? Had I been so blinded by my love for her that I’d failed to see howlostshe was?

Worthless.

That word could never describe the woman in my arms. She was strong and capable, loyal and kind, bold and fearless. But, apparently, she didn’t feel that way about herself.

“Look at me, Vi,” I repeated, trying to keep the pain out of my voice. Trying to sound calm when I was drowning in panic. “Please, look at me.”

She finally did, and what I saw in her tear-filled eyes would have brought me to my knees if I wasn’t already sitting down.

Defeat. Pure and utter defeat.

“You are not worthless, do you hear me?” I told her, willing my voice not to shake.

She stared at me, her gaze dull and lifeless, then said, “I never should have told you I loved you.”

The words were like a punch straight through my sternum. It felt like my insides were falling out of the gaping hole where my chest had been, but I managed to say, “You don’t love me?”

Her lip quivered, and she cried out, “Idolove you. I love everything about you. I love the way you comfort me and make me laugh. I love your scent and smile and stupid hair. I even love it when you freakingteaseme. You’re kind, caring, attentive, and you’re my best friend in the whole wide world. Even one second apart from you is pure agony. I feel like who I used to be when I’m with you. You make me feelwholeagain.”

Speechless. I wasspeechless. She felt all of that for me?

Her words elated me as much as they confused me. Shelovedme, but . . . “You make it sound like loving me is a bad thing.”

“Itis, because I can’t stay away from you. I’ve tried. God, I’ve tried so hard to just be your friend. But every time you’re there for me, the lines blur, and I can’t push you away.”

“I don’t understand. Why would you want to push me away?”

“Because I’musingyou!” she shouted and choked back a sob as her heat flared up again, leaving her skin hot and sweaty beneath my touch.

“Vi, you need relief,” I said, both for her sake and mine. The scent of her pheromones was heavy in the air, and my body was buzzing with adrenaline, desperate to answer its call. “Let me help you.”

A crazed laugh left her. “See?See?I confess that I’m using you, and you don’t even flinch. I’m bad for you, Griff. I’m needy and clingy, and because you’re sonice, you let me treat you like a . . . like aplaything. Like my own personal security blanket. But that’s messed up. You deserve so much better than that. You deserve someone sweet and innocent like Desirae.”

“But I don’t want Desirae or any other female. I wantyou, Vi. So go ahead and use me. Do whatever you want with me, because I’m yours, and that’s never going to change.”

Her lip quivered some more; then she stubbornly shook her head and whispered, “You’re only saying that because of Whiskey. Because of howhewants you to feel.”

Sudden fury whipped through me. In a flash, I had us both up on our feet. Vi gasped as I yanked her against me, firmly gripping her nape so she had no choice but to face my anger.

“Violet Jane Rivers,” I said in a deathly soft voice, “I’m going to say this once and only once. I amnotArrow. I would never betray you. Never hurt you. Neverleaveyou. What I feel for you is real, not something my familiar is forcing me to feel. So if you want me to let you go, then too bad. I’m not going anywhere. And if you walk away from this again, then you should know that I intend to follow you. I’ll push and push and push until you have no choice but to believe that my love for you isgenuine.”

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