Cupping her face with my hand, I said, “You do this to me.”
I could feel it from her, the sense of pride she had in knowing how she could make me lose it entirely without doing much.
“You need to calm down,” Quentin told me, straightening the tie at my neck.
She placed a hand on my chest, and I took a deep breath, trying to clear my head but struggling to do so.
“Promise me,” I muttered.
“What?”
“Promise me, I can have you later.”
This was stepping slightly out of our spoken agreement. Sex just happened between us. There were never plans or promises. One of us craved it and sought the other. This time, I was asking for her specifically. No spur of the moment but asking her to let me come to her after the festivities were over.
“Okay,” she said eventually. “Okay. I promise.”
The knowledge that she’d be mine later calmed me down enough that I regained control. Looking in the mirror, I ran a hand through my hair, smoothing it down again.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re presentable enough,” Quentin said, grabbing my arm. “Let’s get out of here.”
She led us out of the room, and the boutique was filled with beings that inhabited Elysia. She made a beeline for the door, and I caught the owner’s eye on the way out.
“Third dress on the left,” I instructed before leaving.
Gray’s home was a flurry of people when we arrived, and he excused himself to help with the preparations for the evening.
I made my way to my room and took a cold shower, which was much needed after the stop at the boutique. The dress had been forgotten, so maybe I wouldn’t need to attend tonight.
Drying my hair, I changed into pyjamas for comfort. I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes for a moment and when I opened them again, I realised I must have fallen asleep. I was snug under the covers, and on the pillow next to me, laid a box. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes before looking at it again. There was a note pinned to it with Gray’s swirling font.
If you need a hand, you know I’m always happy to help.
He must have come in when he’d finished setting up.
I pulled the box onto my lap and lifted the lid, sucking in a breath.
“Can’t say he doesn’t have good taste,” I mumbled.
Pulling the dress out of the box, tissue paper fell around me on the bed. I didn’t even notice this dress on the rail, but Gray must have and had it delivered. An electric blue strapless mermaid dress with gold detailing along the bodice. Like everything else here, it was painstakingly beautiful.
Getting out of bed, I got ready. By the time I was done, I could hear the voices of people downstairs and music carried itself up to the room.
My heels clicked down the hallway as I made my way to the stairs and onto the ground floor. The entire house seemed to be packed with people and I made my way through them without a worry, thanks to Gray’s ward.
I’d no idea where he was as I wandered through the rooms slowly, searching for him. There were definitely more guests than I’d expected, but Gray’s family was royalty, so people were eager to celebrate.
When I opened the door to a room, I was surprised to see Hunter in there with a woman on his lap that clearly wasn’t Larkin. They paid me no attention as they continued to run their hands over each other.
I left the room quickly and ended up outside on the grounds. I wasn’t sure if I was meant to have seen that, and I needed some space to breathe.
“What’s spooked you, Quentin Scott?”
When I turned around, Archer walked steadily towards me.
“I… Nothing. I just needed some air. It’s busy in there.”
Archer shot me a look before holding a champagne flute out. I took it from him as he looked me up and down and I sipped from the glass.
