Page 38 of Gray

“I’ll take you to bed,” I said, resting my cheek against the side of his head. An ache hit my heart. One thing he’d been right about earlier? My urge to protect him. “Where’s your room?”

“Far away.”

I lightly chuckled and left the guest bedroom. Did I know where I was going? No. But it shouldn’t be too hard to find it.

I could’ve tucked him intomybed, but several reasons stopped me. One, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept with someone beside me. That took a level of trust I didn’t have. Not to mention my tendency to thrash around in my sleep and scream myself awake.

And the second reason? His brothers would murder me. Plain and simple. They were like a swarm of mother hens, and Gray was their sleepy little chick.

Speak of the devil…

I ran into one of those brothers in the hallway. Not Galen, Raiden, or the pompous one who had a major stick up his ass. He was the pretty blond one who stood about the same height as me. Muscled but not bulky, more lean. He looked like he belonged on the runway. Fuck if I could remember his name.

“Gray’s room is that way,” he said, tipping his head to the left. “Second door.”

“Thanks.”

His eyes changed color, going from a light hazel to a deep brown. A familiar brown. “Damn. Gray fell asleep right before the good part, didn’t he? Not the first time it’s happened to him. You have to learn how to time it right.”

Heat spread to my cheeks.

“Interesting,” he said, regarding me with a deep curiosity. “I’m not sensing any lust from you. You definitely find me attractive, but there’s no desire to act on it. You must really like my brother.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” He smiled. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”

That was… odd.

I smoothed a hand up and down Gray’s back as I continued down the hall. My other arm was tucked under his ass as his legs hung down at my sides. His puffs of air as he slept tickled the base of my throat. Reaching the door, I smiled. I would’ve been able to tell it was Gray’s room without his brother’s help.

A sloth sticker was on the door withSleepy Denin colorful letters above it.

I entered the room. The light-blue and cream color scheme, as well as the plethora of stuffed animals and anime plushies, suited his personality. Glow in the dark stars lit up the ceiling above his bed, and a moon lamp sat on the nightstand. Something else on the nightstand snagged my attention.

It looked like… well, a dick statue with T-Rex legs and a tail. Probably the weirdest thing I’d ever seen.

His comforter was pink with rainbows. I pulled back the blanket, revealing blue sheets and a pillowcase with some silver-haired anime dude’s face on it. I didn’t have the faintest clue who it was since the only anime I’d ever watched wasDragon Ball Zlike a million years ago.

Gray nuzzled my neck as I laid him down. “Mason?”

“Yeah?”

He managed to open his eyes for the briefest of moments before they shut again. He pointed to the bedside lamp. Understanding his meaning, I leaned over and turned it on. The moon glowed purple, then faded to blue. It was one of those color-changing lamps.

Was he afraid of the dark?

“S-Sorry,” he croaked, sinking deeper into the pillow.

“Don’t be.” I brushed his bangs aside before withdrawing my hand.

What the hell was wrong with me? I had told myself I wouldn’t do this with Gray. I wouldn’t touch his soft hair or kiss him. I wouldn’t drag him into my fucked-up mess of a life.

“I’ll… make it… up to you la…” He started snoring before he could finish the last word.

“Good night,” I whispered, touching his cheek. Because I couldn’t fight the urge.Goddammit.

Before I could talk myself out of it—or do something stupid like lie in bed beside him—I left the room and softly closed the door. And who should I find when I turned around? The bastard who’d given me nothing but attitude since the first moment we’d met.