“We both know that isn’t true.” Sloan offered me a soft smile. “You’ll need to ask Aria for help with your birth control,” she explained patiently, but the smile had dropped from her face. “It’s your body and your choice, but I can’t help you with this. Aria is the person you need.” She looked like she wanted to say more, but kept her lips pressed together.
“I told her that.” Gray’s voice sounded from behind me, and I looked over my shoulder. “Why do I never find you in the places I expect you to be?”
“I like to keep you on your toes. Keep your mind sharp in your old age.”
Sloan laughed, and I grinned at her. My smile dropped when I felt his imposing figure behind me. Gray had a talent for making me feel like I was much smaller than I was.
“You should listen to this old man,” he said. “You’ll end up offending someone, asking them to do the opposite of what they were designed for.”
“I didn’t mean to cause any offence. I’m sorry, Sloan.”
“It’s fine. Aria’s not at the facility, so I assume she’ll be at her host’s home. Why don’t you stop by and ask her? If I can do anything else, just let me know.”
Sloan pressed a kiss to my cheek and then reached up to repeat the motion with Gray before disappearing back into her lab.
Gray placed his hands on my hips and turned me around to face him. “Will you ever listen to anything I say?”
“I’m very selective,” I replied, stepping away from his touch. He frowned and my gaze flicked towards the lab, where a few curious stares came in our direction. “People are watching.”
He sighed and threw up a wall of his aura that blocked the glass front of the lab. Gray’s possessive grip returned, and he pulled me flush against his body.
“Stop it,” I muttered, but he cut me off with a kiss, squeezing my ass and I clung to his shirt.
“Let’s see Aria, so I can finally take you home and fuck you.” The words made heat pool between my thighs. “And Quentin,” Gray said, running his nose along my jaw. “There’ll be no quitting tonight.”
His aura wrapped around us and when it dissipated, we were in a living room that I didn’t recognise.Aria stood up instantly from the table she was sitting at and bobbed—almost a curtsey.
“I don’t need formalities, Aria,” Grayson brushed her off.
“Good, because that’s the most you’ll get from me.”
“I’m not here to pick a fight. I need your skills.”
She quirked an eyebrow, and I stepped forward.
“Hi,” I said. Aria was an elite Goddess that I’d yet to speak to personally. “I would really appreciate your help. My birth control—"
“You want me to waste my precious time—"
Gray cut across her. “I’ll remind you who you’re talking to, Aria.”
She stopped and folded her arms across her chest, looking pissed.
“If you can’t help me, just say the word and I’ll find someone else,” I said, sharpness rounding out what should have been a simple request.
A smirk settled on Gray’s face, but Aria narrowed her eyes. “I can help, but I’m not being watched like a hawk,” she replied.
“Tough.” Gray sniffed. “I’m not leaving.”
“Waverly mentioned you followed her around like a dog.”
Surprisingly, Gray didn’t rise to the bait. “She needs an incision. I’m not leaving.”
“Then you can both leave.”
I turned towards him. “I’ll be fine. Wait outside for me.”
He held my gaze before standing down, brushing his lips against mine. “I’ll see you out there.”
