Page 97 of Gray
Body, soul… and heart.
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“The world’s fucking mad out there, Hawk,” Storm’s voice came through the phone. “Monsters tearing people to shreds, demons possessing humans, and something called a thirst trap on TikTok.”
I snorted at the last one. “You doing good though?”
“Oh yeah. Definitely. I joined up with a group of hunters down in Rio. Took out some djinn the day before last.”
“Good.” I put a hand on the porch railing and stared at the sea behind the mansion. The sun inched toward the horizon, taking the warmth of the spring day with it. The remaining light shone on the water, making it look like tiny crystals on the surface. “I talked to Scar earlier. She and her husband ran into some vamps last night. They killed three, but the rest escaped.”
“Can’t kill them all. But I tell you what, we’d kill a lot less if not for our new gear and weapons. Alastair is a goddamn godsend.”
“I’m sure he’d be happy to hear that.” As if Pride needed an even bigger head. He was already too arrogant.
The door slid open behind me, and Gray padded onto the porch, wearing skinny jeans and a blue shirt with “Naps R Fun” printed across the front. His Converse were pink. Something I’d learned about Gray? The boy not only loved sugar, but he loved shoes too. His walk-in closet had basically every pair of Converse ever made, as well as custom-ordered pairs.
“Who you talkin’ to?” he asked, bouncing up beside me. “Scarlett?”
“Storm,” I told him.
“Oh! The Tom Hiddleston look-alike. Gimme.” Gray grabbed the phone from me. “Hello? Yeah, this is Gray. I’m doing good! Just woke from a nap.” He walked over to the steps, putting a hand on his hip. “I’m keeping Mason super busy, don’t you worry about that.”
He really could make friends with anyone. I smiled as I watched him walk back and forth across the porch, hogging my phone call.
“Okay, I gotta go now.” Gray hopped up to sit on the railing. “It was fun talkin’ to you. If you go anywhere fun, send me lots of pics. Okay. Here’s Mason.”
I accepted the phone from him and put it back to my ear. “Still there?”
“Your boyfriend is a goddamn cinnamon roll, Hawk. How did you end up with someone that sweet? Like seriously.”
“Because he’s lucky,” Gray said with a grin, lightly kicking his legs as they dangled from the railing. His “super hearing”—as he’d called it—let him eavesdrop. The cute brat.
“Yeah, I am,” I murmured into his hair as I stepped up behind him. Then, I said to Storm, “Call if you need anything.”
“Will do.”
After I disconnected the call, I slipped my phone into my back pocket and wrapped Gray in both my arms. He started to hum and slowly rock from side to side as we watched the sun sink below the mountains. My cheeks hurt as I smiled wider and dropped my face to the back of his neck.
I enjoyed having sex with Gray—fuck how I enjoyed it—but it was in those moments, with him being his adorable self as I held him close, that helped put those broken pieces of my heart back together.
“Kinda weird to think about.”
“What is?” I asked. Gray sometimes said things in response to his own thoughts without actually clarifying. “I can’t read your mind like your brothers can.”
“Thank the gods for that. Otherwise you would’ve known that the first time I saw you, I wanted to climb you like a tree and gobble up your nuts like a squirrel.”
I choked on a laugh.
“I’ll never get tired of that sound.” Gray slumped against me, head tilting to rest on mine. “It makes me happy.” His heart beat faster, and his breath quickened right along with it. “I love you, you know. We haven’t been together long, but—”
“I love you too.”
He turned to sit sideways on the railing, facing me. His brown eyes looked so hopeful. “You do? Really?”
“More than anything,” I said with a nod. Given how much of a mess I was on the inside with the confession, my voice stayed fairly steady. “So are you going to tell me what’s weird?”
His nose crinkled as he grinned. “Nah, I think I’ll leave you hanging.”
