Harper’s [POV]
We walk to the gazebo, following the stone path lit by small lights along the ground.
I don’t know why I’m following him. This is delaying the inevitable.
I’m wasting valuable time, and it doesn’t help that I’m not feeling well. Or that I’m still embarrassingly turned on, alternating between miserable and horny.
Is there a way to be both things at once?
Hopefully, the medicine Charlotte gave me will help.
But I need to stop making a habit of taking whatever pills someone gives me.
Logic isn’t my strong suit at the moment.
That will need to change.
“This is pointless,” I murmur, even as I continue to follow. “Nothing you say will make me stay longer, Grey.”
The scents of the garden swirl around me, and I want to weep at how beautiful it is at night.
It’s magical.
Briefly, I wonder what would happen if I ran along the path, past the gazebo and greenhouse, and stayed in the woods forever.
Michael wouldn’t find me there.
I shake the fantasy away.
He stays silent as we walk the wooden steps up the gazebo, and he sits next to me as I wince from the headache.
“Fuck,” he mutters. “I shouldn’t have made you walk all that way. Forgive me, I wasn’t thinking.”
“Hopefully the meds help,” I murmur. “Or else I have a shitty journey ahead.”
The moon is out tonight, bright and brilliant, and it casts an ethereal glow over Grey’s sharp features.
He’s dangerous and breathtaking.
“I have a proposition for you,” he says slowly, his voice low.
I make a face. “Nothing you can say will keep me here.”
“Not even if we offered you a job?”
What?
“A job?” I ask incredulously. “What do you mean?”
“Beau needs help with the garden,” he says. “And it’s obvious how much you love it.”
“You want to offer me a job,” I deadpan. “Here.”
A flicker of hope builds in my chest, and a part of me screams with joy.
But his offer doesn’t make sense.
“Yes,” he confirms. “At the Aurora Inn.”
“You’re joking,” I say in disbelief.
He frowns and narrows his eyes. “I don’t make a habit of joking, Harper.”
The grumpy Alpha is back.
“That’s obvious,” I mutter, and he raises an eyebrow.
“You may not feel well,” he says. “But your smart mouth can still get you in trouble.”
My mouth falls open. “What”
“James, Beau, Charlotte, and I have discussed it,” he continues as if he didn’t just chastise me. “We would like you to stay here. Work with us.”
My head is spinning, a thousand questions and rebuttals forming in my mind.
“I don’t know how to garden,” I say.
“Beau will teach you.”
“I don’t have a place to stay.”
“You can continue to stay in the Princess Suite.”
“What?” This is insane. “That suite has to cost at least a thousand a night,” I argue.
He’s undeterred, and he leans forward, his gaze intense. “We never reserve it. So, we’re not losing money.”
“Why don’t you let people stay there?” I demand. “Why would a room like that stay empty? It’s stunning.”
“We’ll pay you in cash,” Grey adds. ignoring my questions. “Under the table.”
This is a dream come true. It’s everything I could want, but there’s something off about this.
Who would offer something like that?
“It’s too much,” I breathe. “What you’re offering…I can’t accept it.”
Grey’s expression softens.
“Charlotte said one of the first things you asked about was the garden,” Grey says gently. “No one has passion like that, besides Beau.”
Accept his offer!
“He has gardeners, though.”
“Do you have to be so stubborn?” Grey groans.
“Yes, because I don’t understand why!” I say. “Why would you offer all this to me? You don’tknowme. This seems like…charity. Something I can’t pay you back for.”
Grey growls, and instead of fear, my body aches with desire.
A question looms in my mind.
Is that why they want me here? Do they want me as their…toy?
Oh, God.
Could I do it? Could I stay here, and let them use my body if it could help me forget about Michael.
But Grey looks pained as he speaks. “Do you know about our history?” he asks quietly.
“Beau told me a bit,” I murmur. “About foster care.”
Grey sighs. “We had nothing,” he says. “For a long time. We were in and out of homes, albeit at different times. I’m a few years older than Beau and James, so I aged out before they did. But, I relied on the kindness of strangers for a long fucking time after that. A long time.”
Something nags at me.
I wish I could remember my upbringing, but memory fails me, and all I can do is listen to Grey. His powerful demeanor is still there, but vulnerability shines in his eyes.
My guard lowers.
“What happened to you…” He trails off and sighs, running a hand through his hair. “You’ve been dealt a shitty hand and I want to help. We all want to help because we’ve been there.”
His kindness overwhelms me, and tears fill my eyes.
“You’re sick, and you just left a terrible situation. Let us help you.”
Alpha cares for us!
Now, where the hell did that thought come from?
Before I can answer him, a violent cramp stabs my womb, and I double over. I almost lose my balance, but Grey catches me, his strong arms enveloping me. I lean my head against his chest, inhaling his rich, intoxicating scent.
When he holds me, it feels like coming home.
I never felt like this with Michael.
“Good things are allowed to happen to you,” he whispers, as his hand caresses my cheek. “Say yes to me.”
Oh, how I want to.
His touch is a soothing balm, and I can’t help but nuzzle closer into him.
He’s offering everything I could want. And the longer I’m in his arms, the harder it is to say no.
My cunt clenches with need, and I shift awkwardly in his embrace, whimpering.
“Sorry,” I choke out. “It’s just…when I’m around you…”
“I know,” he murmurs. “I feel it too.”
“I’m a Beta,” I argue weekly. “I can’t…”
“You can,” he murmurs. “Fuck, I know you can, Harper. Say yes to me. Say it…”
I move with a purpose, positioning myself so I’m on his lap. My body burns with desire as I situate myself, my ass dangerously close to his crotch.
“It can’t be just because of this,” I whisper, even as I grind on his lap, delirious. He lets out a grunt, and he wraps his arms around my waist, hoisting me so I straddle him. “Promise me it’s not because of… how this feels…”
Alarm bells, once again, shriek in my brain.
But he feels so good. He smells so good.
The cramps subside and my headache dissipates as he works me on him, his erection pressing through his trousers.
I’m going to come, just like this morning, with James.
Stop stop stop! My inner voice screams.
This will only lead to heartache when they find their Omega.
When they kick me out once they’ve decided they’re done with me.
“No, it’s because you’re fucking perfect,” he growls, and I realize I spoke my thoughts out loud. “Because we’ve been fucking waiting for you, and we need you here”
I fall over the edge, bouncing on his lap, my cries echoing throughout the garden.
He hisses in my ear. “Good girl, that’s right, come all over me,” he growls. “Give it to me, fuck…”
It’s never felt like this with Michael.
I never want it to stop.
I could be safe with him. Alpha could take care of me…
The orgasm isn’t enough. Instead of relief, the ache grows and sweat drips down my back.
It’s as if I have a fever.
“We should stop,” I gasp out, even as my thighs shake. “I don’t want to get you sick…”
But he pulls me down, and his lips meet mine.
It’s a possessive kiss, harsh but sweet, gentle but deep.
It steals my breath away.
He teases my mouth open with his tongue, and I practically melt against his arms.
Grey is…an exceptional kisser.
Wow.
Wow.
“There,” he whispers as he pulls away. “If you’re sick, I get sick. I truly don’t give a fuck.”
My lips meet his again, and one hand moves up, trailing up the front of my shirt.
My nipples ache and I jolt at his touch.
“So sensitive,” he murmurs, his fingertips tracing over my clothed nipple. “Fuck.”
I whimper as he circles my sensitive bud with ease, the sensation traveling to my clit.
“If it’s too much, we can stop,” he promises me with a groan. “But I’m content to make you come like this all night. As long as you behave.”
As long as I…what?
“What if I don’t like to behave?” I whisper, my cunt fluttering with anticipation.
It feels like playing with fire as I challenge him. Since the beginning, Grey has been a bossy, grumpy ass, and I’m ready to give that energy right back to him.
His hand pinches my nipple, and I yelp. “You don’t want to try it tonight,” he whispers. “Or your ass will be so sore you can’t walk tomorrow.”
What?
“So, you’re going to spank me?” I whisper. I try to sound indignant, but the idea is tempting.
Too tempting.
“You have no idea how badly I want to paint that pretty ass red,” he growls in my ear, and I moan. “You don’t want to see me lose control, Harper. Not tonight.”
I believe him.
So instead, I initiate a kiss, rocking back and forth on his clothed cock.
“I think I can be a good girl tonight,” I whisper.
He sits back and smiles. A true, heartfelt grin that makes his eyes light up and my heart stutter.
I kiss him again, and this time, his hands grab my ass, massaging my cheeks.
Oh.
So, Grey’s an ass man.
I like it.
We stay like that, kissing and grinding, until I’m spent, collapsing against him. The whole time, his pants stay on, and he just works me through orgasm after orgasm.
My eyes eventually close, and all I can hear are crickets chirping in the garden and Grey’s gentle breathing in my ear.
Eventually, he lifts me into his arms, carrying me down the gazebo and back into the inn.
It isn’t until he’s placing me in bed that I speak again.
“Hey, Grey?”
“Hmm?”
“I think I’ll take you up on your offer.”
There’s a chuckle, then the door closes.
Wilson jumps on my stomach, settling down on top of the blankets, and I pass out.