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His gaze runs over me, the lust clear to see, but I know it's just Cruz. He does the same with all the other women. I don't think he's popular with the ladies at all. "Come on, Esme, we'll have fun. We can go to my room. Reap can join if you'd prefer."
"I don't share and Gray's the only man I want, but thank you for the offer," I tell him, scooting away from him.
"Alright, alright, I get it. But tell me, what's Esme short for?"
"Here," Seri says, handing me a glass. "Drink up. And Cruz, her name is Esmerelda," she tells him.
"Seriously?" Mayhem asks. "The fuck is wrong with the names?"
"Hey," I say, outraged. "What's wrong with my name?"
Seri places a drink in front of Cruz while smiling at me. I press my lips together. I guess she's chosen tonight to try out the newest prank.
I feel the air in the room change and glance over to the door to see Gray striding toward me. My stomach flips and butterflies swarm it as my heart races. He watches me with every step that he takes.
"You good, Es?" he asks as he pulls Cruz up from his seat and moves him out of the way. "Find your own damn woman."
"I'm good," I assure him. I want him to know that I'm comfortable here with his brothers, with his family.
"You hear this shit?" Mayhem grunts. "Her name's Esmerelda. What's with all the names? No one has a normal one among them."
"Shut it," Gray growls. "Like you're one to talk. Your woman's called Effiemia, brother. Never heard of that 'cept for your woman."
"You took my seat," Cruz whines as he sinks onto the seat beside Grayson. "Me and Es were gettin' to know one another."
"Ain't ever happenin', Cruz. My woman's too damn sweet for your brand of bullshit," Gray snarls as he slides his arm around my shoulders. "You sure you're good?"
I nod. "I am, honestly."
"Christ," I hear Cruz growl, and turn to see him clutching his stomach. "What the hell was in that drink?" He hurriedly gets up from his seat, knocking the chair over in his haste to rush out of the room. He groans as he runs toward the bathroom.
"What the hell just happened?" Mayhem asks.
"That's Cruz's payback. He should really leave me the hell alone."
Mayhem grins. "What did you do?"
"I put laxatives in his drink. It was Esme's idea. She has the best ideas." Seri beams as she nudges me. "The hair dye was Esme's idea too."
"Yes, but you got the wrong one," I say. She was supposed to get the wash-out hair dye, but instead got the permanent one. Now Cruz has a pinkish beard.
I feel Grayson's chuckle against my side and lean into him. "Fuckin' love that, honey. Cruz gets a little over the top and needs to be reigned in."
I grin at him. "What's the plan for this evening?" I ask. I'm hungry, but I don't want to be rude and take time away from his brothers.
"I've got one of the prospects gettin' us dinner. Once it arrives, we're goin' to bed," he says thickly.
Shivers run through my body. God, I love the sound of that. I can't wait!
CHAPTER22
REAPER
She's tipsy, and her smile hasn't left her face all night. The bruise on her temple has darkened as the night has gone on, and every time my gaze moves to it, fury burns inside of me. I should have made that asshole suffer more. It's fucked up that Esme is going to feel the guilt of that asshole dying. She's already feeling as though it's her fault. We are not responsible for other people's actions. I'll make sure she knows that. I won’t let her carry on thinking she's at all at fault for what went down.
"You good, honey?" I ask once we're in our room. The plan of having dinner went out the window when everyone joined us and Eda ordered everyone food. With Esme happy and content, I didn't press the issue to carry on our night alone.
She looks up at me, her eyes bright with happiness. "I'm good, Gray. I promise." Since I returned from burning that asshole, the fear has slowly started to ebb away from her eyes. I have no doubt that in her knowing he's dead, it means she doesn't have to worry about him coming for her again. The pain he caused her will stay, but she can be relieved that he won't do it again.
