It was Ember’s Day. Gray’s day. His birthday, to be exact. Affectionately referred to as Ember’s Day because people symbolically burned things as an homage to the destruction he was in charge of.
He’d invited me to dinner with a few of the others and I’d eagerly agreed but was already running late.
“I’m sorry!” I called, bursting through the front door of my home with a large box in hand.
I went straight through to the kitchen and put it on the table.
“I swear I lost track of time. Give me ten minutes.”
When I rushed back into the living room, Gray stood by the sofa, and I stopped in my tracks. He was dressed head-to-toe in black. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, top two buttons undone, and trousers hugging the curve of his ass and making my brain short-circuit.
Fuck. This man never had a bad day.
“You scrub up well,” I managed, hoping it came out casually.
“As if you didn’t know that already,” Gray said, straightening up.
The shine dropped instantly. “Cocky piece of shit.”
I moved past him to get ready. It took me twenty minutes. Not the ten I’d promised.
The pink dress I’d planned to wear had a mysterious stain I couldn’t remove and had been replaced by a black satin number instead. The fabric skimmed along my curves and thin straps criss-crossed along my bare back. I grabbed a leather jacket before leaving the room.
“Okay, I swear I’m ready now!” I said, tottering back into the living room in my heels.
Gray was lounging on the sofa as I stepped in front of him, rummaging through my small black clutch.
“Gray,” I said, looking up and blushing deeply.
“What is it, Scott?” He rose from the sofa swiftly and moved towards me.
The blue of his eyes had switched to black, and I could see the way the fabric of his trousers was strained around his dick.
“You need to gain a little control.”
The wisps of his aura flexed towards me, and he took a deep breath.
“I can change,” I said, rooted to the spot.
“No,” he gritted out from between his teeth. “No, that won’t be necessary.”
He did his best to regain control, but the smirk was plastered on his face.
“Come on,” he said. “We’re already running late.”
Pulling me against his body, he used his aura to take us to a secluded area, a street away from the restaurant.
“Are you sure the others won’t mind me being there?” I asked.
“You’re my guest. Plus, you get on with Erik, Sloan, and Ig. I’m sure you’ll like Elva now that you know I’m not marrying her.”
I pushed Gray, and he slipped an arm around my waist as we walked into the building. I didn’t stop or correct him.
When we got to the table, Elva stood up to greet us. Gray let go of me to hug her, and she kissed both of his cheeks. She reached out for me, but Gray stood like a wall between us.
“You don’t have a cuff. I don’t think we need that right now,” Gray told her, slightly viciously.
“I’m sorry.” Elva sounded disappointed.
