Page 51 of Her Males

Aziel grunts as Gray’s elbow finds him, his warm breath hitting the back of my head, but he doesn’t release either of us. I’m sure Gray learning he’s fucking around with his oldest sister wasn’t in today’s plan.

Valentine looks pleased.

“Your message?” Aziel asks.

She frowns, clearly unhappy with being shut down, before sighing and lifting her hand in a gesture of defeat. “Yeah, I’m not sure what Shay’s on about, but she’s acting unusually unhinged lately. She’s paying me a pretty penny to tell you, and I quote, that she’s ‘telling the truth and you need to believe her.’ I’m not sure what truth she’s talking about, but she said you’d know.”

“Is that everything?” Aziel asks.

She nods.

“Then you can leave.”

Valentine cocks her head to the side, a look of confusion spreading over her face at his dismissal. I ignore it as I continue to fight with his hand, using both of mine to grab on to his fingers and pry them away.

He seems to think it’s some game as he allows me to remove one, holding it away from my body, only to snap it back as I begin to work on the next. He only lets me remove one finger at any given moment, and I resist the urge to stomp on his toes.

“So you only want to be sweet with me when we’re alone,” Valentine says, licking her lips. “Noted.”

She’s gone before Aziel can respond, her body disappearing as quickly as it appeared. Gray snaps into action and yanks me out of Aziel’s arms in the blink of an eye, and I trip over my feet as I’m spun around and pulled into the incubus’s chest.

“What the fuck was she talking about?” Gray asks.

Aziel shakes his head. “Nothing.”

“Didn’t sound like nothing.”

Aziel looks stressed as he runs a hand down his face and leans against the corner of his desk. I don’t like the thought of him with Valentine, and I force myself to ignore the painful tug in my chest as I watch him fumble for a response.

“Drop it, Gray,” he finally says.

“No.”

Aziel’s eyes shift to me before returning to Gray.

“I went to a bar after speaking to Shay and ran into Valentine. I had too much to drink, and we chatted. That’s all,” he says.

“Chatted about what?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because it does.”

Aziel sighs. “Gray.”

Gray sighs, mocking Aziel. “Aziel.”

“Did you touch her?” I whisper, cutting them off.

It’s none of my business, but I know I won’t be able to stop thinking about it until I have an answer.

Aziel looks to the side before directing his attention to the floor. My lip wobbles, and before I can think better of it, I step forward and bring my hand to his cheek.

The pain in my palm doesn’t register immediately, but the way Aziel’s face hardens sure does. His pupils expand as my slap registers, and I flatten against Gray’s chest in panic.

Gray doesn’t move, his body serving only as a wall for me to pin myself against as Aziel stalks forward.

“Don’t test me, Charlotte,” Aziel says through clenched teeth.