It’s not enough for me!
But her rational mind overruled her yearning body. She pressed her thighs together, trying to cool the throbbing need between her legs with cold logic.
He’s right. This can’t go further. What about Danny? How can I let Griff into our lives, knowing that we’re going to lose him? How can I expose Danny to that sort of pain? What kind of a mother would I be? Think of Danny!
Grief filled her chest, heavy and leaden. It was more than just mourning for what-might-have-been. The thought of Griff’s kind, generous soul being snuffed out, lost to the world forever…it was intolerable.
Desperate for any glimmer of hope, she asked, “Is there really no treatment? Nothing that might help you?”
He hesitated, and her heart leapt into her mouth—but then he said, firmly, “No. Nothing.”
And she knew, knew, that he was lying.
“There is!” She jumped to her feet, crossing the distance between them in a single stride. “There is something, and you don’t want to tell me what it is. Why? What are you trying to hide?”
Griff was shaking his head with increasing vehemence. “No. No!” It sounded more like he was shouting at himself than at her. He knotted his fists, his face contorting in sudden pain. “I. Will. Not! No!”
“Griff!” Frightened, Hayley grabbed his head between her palms, forcing him to look at her. “Is it your beasts? Is it one of your episodes? What am I supposed to do?”
His breath hissed between his clenched teeth. With a jolt, Hayley noticed that they’d visibly sharpened, the canines extending down into leonine fangs. His skin prickled under her palms, as if fur or feathers were trying to break through. “My eagle wants—me to tell you—no.”
“Whatever it is, just tell me!” Hayley yelled at him, terrified he was about to start shifting uncontrollably right there in her kitchen. “Do what it wants! Please, Griff!”
Griff grabbed hold of her hands, clinging onto them as if he was lost in a howling storm. His blazing golden eyes locked onto hers. Hayley couldn’t move, couldn’t even breathe, as he focused on her as if she was the only thing in existence, the only thing in the entire world.
Griff drew in a deep, shuddering breath—and relaxed. The spasms shaking his muscles slowed, stopped. “All right,” he said hoarsely. He let go of her hands, scrubbing his palms across his face. “I didn’t want to tell you this. I didn’t want it to influence…bloody hell, this is going to sound like the worst line ever. But there is something that helps.”
“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Overcome with a mixture of relief and anger, Hayley jabbed him in the shoulder, glaring. “Spit it out! What is it?”
He dropped his hands, tilting his head up to meet her eyes. “You,” he said, simply.
Caught off-guard, Hayley gaped at him.
“You…bring me and my beasts into harmony,” Griff continued reluctantly, every word sounding like it was being forced out of him. “It’s like you’re the missing part of us. Just now…you stopped me from starting to shift. And yesterday, I was on the brink of a seizure, but the memory of you brought me back. I’ve never been able to do that before.”
If just the memory of me did that…what else could I do?
“This doesn’t put any sort of obligation on you,” he said forcefully, before she could speak. His expression was fierce, determined. “You mustn’t feel that this means you have to—that is, just the thought of you helps. That’s enough. More than enough. You don’t-”
Hayley gently put a finger on his lips, silencing him. “Does it help more when I’m close to you?”
Griff held very still, as if her touch had frozen him in place. “Aye,” he whispered, his lips barely moving against her hand.
“And this?” Hayley traced a path over his chin and up the strong line of his jaw. The slight, rough drag of stubble caught at her fingertips. She laid her whole palm flat against the side of his face. “Does this help even more?”
Very slightly, never taking his eyes off hers, he nodded.
Hayley leaned in closer, closer, until those golden eyes filled her world, until his warm breath caressed her parted, eager lips. “What about this?”
Fire raced through her blood at the first touch of his mouth against hers. The kiss stayed soft and gentle for barely a moment before Griff’s strong hands seized her upper arms. Hayley gasped against his mouth as he yanked her down to straddle him, her wet, eager core pressing tantalizingly against the hard bulge in his jeans. She rubbed shamelessly against him, unable to help herself, every touch sparking lightning bolts of pleasure through her body.
Once they’d started, there was no question of stopping. Desire swept them both up, as all-consuming as an inferno. His tongue plundered hers, seeking and claiming. His hands roved up over her shoulders, pulling down the soft fabric of her top and exposing her breasts. His mouth still hard on hers, Griff growled deep in his throat, the vibration thrilling through Hayley’s bones. He broke the kiss, ducking his head down, licking and nipping.
Hayley arched against him, her fingers twining through his hair as his mouth found her taut nipple. Even through the fabric of her bra, the sensation was almost more than she could bear. A hot, powerful ache built between her legs. She writhed against him, desperate for release, tormented by the layers of clothing separating them. “Griff—please, I need—”
His mouth captured hers again, silencing her plea. His large hands scooped under her butt, effortlessly lifting her. With one powerful motion, he flipped her up onto the kitchen table, carelessly knocking the empty glasses aside. Before she even knew what was happening, he’d stripped away her leggings and panties.
He spread her legs wide, kneeling down between them. Hayley had a brief, fleeting moment of concern for his bad knee—and then his mouth closed over her, and she was lost to everything except him.