They both tensed when Elliot slowed down the car. Shadow was confused until he looked through the window to see the tall walls of the clubhouse. It was as if they’d encroached on the car, not the other way around.
The warmth of Gray’s fingertips brought him back to reality. Their lips met in a soothing kiss, almost as if Gray sensed his discomfort. “Then we’ll do that,” he whispered so close to Shadow their mouths were still touching as he spoke.
“Should I… keep this on the down low?” Elliot asked, driving into the garage.
Gray exhaled, wiping sweat off his forehead and glancing to the front seat. “Yeah. This is… private,” he said before resting his cheek on Shadow’s shoulder again. His gaze kept wandering up and meeting Shadow’s, but it remained unusually unfocused.
“I know it’s hard. It gets easier, I promise.”
Gray was finally realizing what Shadow had known all along—they were meant to be one, yet had been parted, sliced in two. Neither of them could ever feel complete without the other. As a human, he was prone to thinking of himself as separate from the world around him, so the connection they now shared must have come as a shock. As hard as it was now, Shadow would be at his side along the way.
Gray hugged him even tighter, and as he shifted to finally leave the car, his erection became prominent under the denim of his pants. “I feel like I’m drunk.”
He scowled when Elliot opened the door for him with a deep frown and asked, “Is everything fine?”
Gray snapped even before Elliot finished his question. “Yes, I’m fine. Just had… a lot more alcohol than usual. Jesus, why tonight?”
Elliot rolled his eyes. “Your eyes look like you’ve powdered your nose.”
Shadow slid across the hood of the car to join Gray as soon as possible. “His nose is normal.”
Gray frowned at Elliot and took Shadow’s hand. “I’m not on drugs. What the hell?” he mumbled and stepped closer to Shadow, bumping their hips again. It was as if their bodies were finally slotting into place.
Shadow couldn’t wait to push his cock into Gray’s body. Would it be tight and squeeze him as firmly as Gray’s hand? Would they come at the same time? Would Gray be unable to get enough and want to stay in bed for days?
Since Elliot wasn’t invited to the meeting, Gray led the way, clutching Shadow’s waist as they rushed down the endlessly long corridor toward the new common room. When they were close enough to hear voices, Gray gave a loud sigh and peeled himself from Shadow. Keeping distance wasn’t as difficult for Shadow as it used to be a month back, but Gray’s discomfort was so painfully obvious that the itch to help him became all the stronger.
When they entered, Beast was sitting on the leather sofa, comforted by Laurent, who held his hand on Beast’s arm, right above a large white bandage. Shadow hadn’t seen this much of Beast’s skin before, and couldn’t help but wonder about all the symbols and writing permanently inked over the scarred flesh. He’d once asked Gray about the tattoo on Gray’s solar plexus, and he’d been told it was a ‘yin and yang’, but Gray had refused to tell Shadow more about it.
Knight got up at the sight of new arrivals, while Joker just lifted his eyebrows without his usual smile.
“You took goddamn long,” Knight said, pacing in front of Beast with his hands constantly clenching and unclenching. Shadow couldn’t remember ever seeing him this agitated.
“We came as fast as we could,” Gray said, squaring his shoulders and shifting his body under the weight of so many pairs of eyes. The long silence that followed became slightly uncomfortable, and Shadow could sense the odd atmosphere, despite his limited experience dealing with humans.
Joker spoke next. “Did you… dye your hair?”
Knight blinked and gestured toward Gray. “Right. I was thinking the same thing.”
Gray looked at Shadow and shrugged, his features tense from the discomfort of having to stay focused when all his newly-awakened body wanted was just a few inches away. “What are you talking about? Beast, what happened? Are you okay?”
But now that someone pointed out the change in Gray’s hair. Shadow noticed it too. It was subtle, as the brightness of the strands remained similar, but the silvery shade he’d gotten used to was no more, replaced by a yellowish color that reminded Shadow of wheat in the rain.
Beast ignored the physical change in Gray. “The bullet only grazed me. But we’ve been ambushed, and the cargo is gone. What a fucking cockup.”
Laurent stood and started pacing. His eyes were red and swollen, his breath coming in shallow pants. The moment his gaze briefly locked with Shadow’s, it was obvious that regardless of how many jewels have been taken, all he cared about was his partner’s injury. And Shadow understood exactly how he felt. Just imagining Gray wounded, in pain, made his own eyes water, so he turned to Gray and stroked his hair, gently pulling on the dark blond strands.