“You’re amazing,” I whispered, my eyes rolling back as he hit me with another deep, punishing thrust. “You feel… God, Hudson. I can’t get enough of you.”
“Same page, babygirl. Same page.” He brought his mouth back to my breast, kissing and licking, sucking my nipple until I cried out from the overwhelming sensations. Then, his beard tickling my chest, he slid his mouth to the other one, teasing me until I was trembling beneath him, begging him for more.
My words spurred him on, driving him to a frenzied pace as he gave meexactlywhat I craved. What I needed. A chance to lose myself in this intense pleasure, safe in a perfect little bubble where nothing could hurt us.
Hudson’s lips brushed my ear, his breath ragged as he whispered all the sweet and naughty things that left me gasping and wet, my muscles coiling tight, my body begging for the blissful release I knew was coming.
His wings burst free again, and this time I begged him not to hide them away. I loved his wings, loved how he shivered when I touched them. And with every stroke of his perfect cock, with every kiss of those soft lips, with every commanding touch of his hands on my skin, I lost track of which parts of him were the man and which were the monster. It didn’t matter, though. I’d already fallen for him—man, gargoyle, warrior, the whole impossibly strong, incredibly sweet, and absolutelyfilthypackage.
He’d said I was his, and that was true. But he was mine, too. And I needed him to understand that.
“You’re mine,” I whispered, pressing a hand to his cheek. “Mine.”
“Haley,” he moaned, but whatever he’d meant to say next faded into soft murmurs until eventually the words stopped making sense altogether, both of us swept up in the moment as we brought each other closer and closer to that sweet oblivion.
Hudson shifted on top of me, rearranging my legs until they draped over his shoulders, his cock hitting me even deeper. I gasped at the feel of him, the heat, the intensity as both of us began to unravel. Pinning my wrists to the bed, he bit my shoulder, my neck, stealing the last of my breath with another kiss as he fucked me harder, owning me, absolutelywreckingme until…
“Hudson!” Heat exploded between my thighs, the orgasm ravaging my body, consuming me in an inferno so intense it made the room spin. Hudson’s grip tightened on my wrists, and he slammed into me one last time. A loud crack was all the warning we had before the bed buckled beneath us and my fearsome gargoyle came inside me, letting loose a wild, feral growl that echoed off the walls and made me shiver.
With a final shudder, Hudson sighed and collapsed on top of me, smothering me with his hot, hard body, his hair falling into my mouth as our chests rose and fell together and our heartbeats answered each other’s thundering calls.
* * *
A chill swept through the now-broken window, ushering in the sounds of an approaching thunderstorm.
Hudson finally pulled back, and I sucked in a deep breath of cool night air.
He swept the hair from my eyes and kissed the tip of my nose, a wide grin stretching across his face.
“Okay, okay,” I teased. “Mission accomplished. Complaints to management officially rescinded.”
A quick wink. A soft, slow kiss. And then he put those wings away and rolled onto his hip, just watching me in the moonlight, no more words necessary.
Outside, the storm drew closer, the rain beginning to plink down on the castle rooftop, the air heavy with the electric charge of the not-so-distant lightning. But here in our suite, safe in Hudson’s arms, knowing Jax was taking care of Elian, I felt a sense of peace wash through me. A deep knowing that bolstered me despite everything we’d been through tonight. Everything still to come.
This was my family. And this was our home. No, not because I felt drawn to the place. Not because I felt its magick calling to me, the pull growing stronger with each passing day. Both of those things were true, but that’s not what made Midnight feel like home.
It was home because I was withthem. My men. My monsters. My heart. And as long as we were here together, that alone made Midnight a place worth fighting for.
After a quick break to clean up, we returned to our bed, now little more than a mattress on the floor, and snuggled in close. We continued to gaze into each other’s eyes, and I trailed my fingertips up and down his arm, tracing the lines and swirls of his tattoos. Every one of them told a story, and even though I wanted to know them, I sensed that he was out of words for now.
So I just settled in and enjoyed the silence. The perfection of a moment that seemed to last forever. Looking into those deep brown eyes, I felt like I was falling into him, like I could lose myself. But I knew without question Hudson would never let that happen. He was there to catch me. To anchor me. To protect me, just like he’d promised.
As the thunder rumbled closer, Hudson’s lids began to grow heavy, and so did mine. Certain we couldn’t fight off sleep much longer, I finally turned over, and he pulled me in close, his chest warm and solid against my back, his breath hot on my neck as I drifted into serenity.
* * *
I didn’t know how much time had passed from the time I fell asleep in my gargoyle’s warm embrace until a shuffling noise pulled me back to consciousness, but it must’ve been a few hours at least, judging from the stiffness in my muscles. The storm had come and gone, and when I cocked my head to listen, I heard it again—footsteps passing just beyond our room. Seconds later, the door to the bathroom clicked shut.
Elian. He was moving slowly, still weakened from his ordeal, but I knew the cadence of his steps like I knew my own.
I held my breath, waiting for the telltale sound of running water—a toilet flushing, a sink running, even a shower—but it never came.
There was only one sound now. Soft and muffled, barely discernible at first.
And when I finally figured out what it was, it tore a hole in my chest big enough for my heart to fall right through.
Weeping. Elian was weeping.
