I typed out a quick response.
All good. Sorry for leaving - headache. Loved the party x
As I placed the phone down on the counter again, it began to ring, and Matt’s name appeared on the screen. I swiped to answer and put him on speaker.
“Hey, Matt.”
“Scott,” he replied. “How are you doing?”
I hesitated. The truth was that I felt at peace; a feeling that had evaded me for years. I’d briefly felt it when Gray kissed me, but after last night, the heavy weight I walked around with had vanished and there was a spring in my step.
“I’m doing good,” I told him. “Is this a business call?”
“Completely the opposite, actually. That date we spoke about last night. How are you fixed for today?”
“Today?” My voice didn’t hide the surprise.
“Unless you’re busy.”
“I’m not busy. What did you have in mind?”
“That would be telling,” he teased.
I laughed, the uncomfortable knot easing as I dropped the towel and rubbed moisturiser onto my arms.
“Wear something you can move in,” Matt instructed.
“Gym gear?”
“Perfect. I’ll pick you up at eleven.”
“See you then.”
I hung up and continued to get ready. By the time I walked down the stairs, kitted out in my gym clothes, the clock read ten-fifty.
“Morning, Scott.” A dark voice cut through the silence of the kitchen as I entered the room. “I thought you might sleep in today, and yet here you are, apparently ready to go. Did you not get enough of a workout last night?”
The heat creeped into my cheeks. “Looks like you didn’t work me hard enough.”
I moved past him to make some coffee, but a black tendril gripped me around the waist and spun me around to face Grayson.
“I heard no complaints from you last night, Scott,” he said smoothly.
I bristled at the close proximity. Unless Gray gave me space, this arrangement wouldn’t work.
He smirked at my unease. “And here I was thinking I couldn’t break you.”
Reaching out his hand, Gray brushed the bite mark that’d been revealed as my t-shirt slipped from my shoulder. His palm covered the mark, rough against my smooth skin before a warmth flooded the area. When he removed his arm and aura from around me, I turned my head to see the skin was healed.
“I believe the words you’re looking for are thank you,” Gray prompted.
“Thanks,” I said reluctantly.
“You had much better manners in bed.”
“You were worth my manners then,” I mumbled.
Popping a pod into the coffee machine, I pushed myself up to sit on the counter and waited for it to finish before taking a long sip. It burned on the way down, but I revelled in the taste of the bitter black brew. As I lowered the mug, I glanced over at Gray.
