Chapter 14

G rant's head was spinning. He'd barely wrapped his mind around the title he'd earned, and before he heard it announced, he'd met the other half of his soul. Glancing over at Roman, Grant smiled. The man was gorgeous. He was also one of the most revered fallen knights in history. Was the fourth fallen knight ever resurrected disappointed that Fate had paired him with someone who'd yet to work a full day?

"Congratulations," Roman said, his beautiful mouth curling into a grin Grant wanted to trace with his fingertips and tongue.

Ducking his head, Grant stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Thanks."

"Do you want me to stop embarrassing you now?" Roman asked with a chuckle.

Grant blew out a heavy breath. "If one more person compliments me, I might become the first fallen knight to melt into a pile of unrecognizable goo."

"Pretty sure your entire race being proud of you isn't a terminal illness."

"Oh yeah? Did you have to sit through a graduation ceremony? Stand in front of a room full of fallen knights, sentinels, and their families as they clapped and cheered? I bet you've spent the last six and a half centuries avoiding the spotlight. Instead, you've done your job so damn well that everyone speaks of you reverently. So, no teasing me about being embarrassed by praise."

"You got me there," Roman said. He leaned closer, and Grant swore his blood pressure rose as the buttery popcorn scent of his mate flooded his senses. "In fact, I've categorically refused any request to give the Venerable Knights a recognition ceremony or any of the other similar efforts presented to us to acknowledge our service. I don't mind commanding a room, but I like my work to speak for itself. I'm far more comfortable handing out awards than accepting them."

"It's weird, right? I want people to be happy with my efforts but discreetly send me a thank you note or something."

"Hey, guys," Conley called out.

Roman and Grant turned toward the Reverent Knight, who quickly stalked to where they were standing in the hall.

"What's up?" Roman asked.

"Just wanted to let Grant know that your card is programmed for your new apartment. While we tried our damnedest to get you into the same building as Roman, there weren't any openings. But you're right next door."

"It's cool, wow," Grant replied. "I wasn't expecting to be that close, RK."

"We can find another one if you want," Roman said quietly without making eye contact with Grant.

"What? No. I was thinking that we can teleport, so it's not like we can't be together in seconds, right?"

Roman lifted his head, and his smile returned, but his blue eyes were wary. Grant hoped he hadn't upset him. Although Grant hadn't expected to meet his mate—especially before he'd officially graduated—he refused to take Roman for granted. Fate had chosen to give Grant everything he wanted, and he would squander none of her gifts.

"Good point," Roman commented, and his grin brightened, which lifted Grant's spirits.

"Did you want to take your stuff over and check the place out?" Conley asked.

"Uh, yeah, I guess, RK," Grant said.

"You and I are going to work together daily for the rest of our immortal lives," Conley stated as his gold gaze narrowed. "The title thing is going to get old if you keep using it."

"You're still my boss, RK."

"Okay, then I'm ordering you to stop calling me RK."

Grant glanced at Roman. "Do you call him RK?"

"Only when I want to piss him off."

"Which is about never because he adores me," Conley boasted. "Go on, you two. Check out the apartment. Are we going to see you at Redmilla's later?"

"That's up to Grant. We were going to grab dinner."

"What is Redmilla's?" Grant asked.

"Our home away from home," Roman explained. "It's a local bar owned by a bear shifter that is normally full of fallen knights and some sentinels. I'm there several times a week."

"Nice, we could head there after we eat, right?" Grant asked, eager to learn about Roman's life and visit the places he liked to frequent. While Grant refused to live in the shadow of anyone else, he'd be happy to hang out at Redmilla's if he enjoyed the place and company.

"Be prepared. You have to deal with Arvandus if we go," Roman warned. "He's my best friend and, like the rest of us, hangs out there regularly."

"He'll bring SkeL Albrecht, right? Do you think I could talk SkeL Albrecht into helping me out with some additional dagger training? I kinda made it a personal mission to someday force the Lich Sentinel to break a sweat."

"I come with a big extended family, which is now yours," Roman replied. "That family includes a lot of sentinels and free access to the Daray Sentinel Complex. You can walk into any gym in that place at whatever hour of the day suits you and I promise there will always be a couple of sentinels in there training. They will spare with anyone. But yeah, Albie will be there, and I'm sure he'd be amenable to your idea. It took me months and months of training until I was finally able to push Alaric into a sweat. Like you, I was determined to prove I could."

"I'm glad you get it," Grant said, pleased that he was already finding little things in common with the remarkable Venerable Knight with the pretty blue eyes.

"I'll train with you too," Conley promised. "It's such a great stress reliever, I love it. Let me go find Drys and drag him out of here so I can get a burger before we head to Redmilla's. Call me if you need anything for your apartment or if you fucking hate it."

Conley jogged off, and Grant pursed his lips. "I hope he knows deep in his soul that even if I did fucking hate it, I'd never tell him."

Roman's laughter filled Grant with an unexpected warmth. "It's okay, you can complain to me, and it'll be our little secret."

"Thanks. Uh, I guess I should go grab my shit from my dorm."

"Did you want to check out the apartment on your own and meet me afterward for dinner?"

"You should know where I live," Grant said. "Plus, what the fuck do I know about whether an apartment is nice? I've literally been alive for eight weeks, and I've been in a dorm the entire time."

"You aren't going to make me walk to your dorm and carry your shit, are you?"

"Allow the legendary and noble Venerable Knight Calixtus to carry my duffel? Wouldn't dream of it."

Roman's sigh was long and drawn out. "Now you've dropped a gauntlet I can't ignore. If I let you carry it, I'm a diva completely hung up on my own legendary status. Did you pick the dorm closest to the cafeteria?"

"It was the one Arvandus suggested," Grant said, quickly falling into step next to Roman, who'd taken off down the hall.

"Yeah, he does that every year."

"Do you think it's better to be predictable or spontaneous?"

"Why choose?" Roman asked. "Do what suits you. I'm old and set in my ways, so I'm probably more predictable than spontaneous."

"Were you spontaneous as a younger fallen knight?"

Roman's mouth twisted, and he took so long to answer, Grant feared he hated the question. "In my personal life, yes."

Grant assumed Roman was referring to his sex life, and he grinned. "Do you want to tell me about your spontaneous hookups?"

"Absolutely not."

"As a man with no sexual experience, which I now know is your fault, it might be educational for me to learn from a man with centuries of expertise in lovemaking."

Roman waited until they were at Grant's dorm, then he opened the door with his identification card—as he had access to every space in the building—and pointed at the duffel bag sitting on the bed Grant had made that morning. "Go get your shit."

"I thought you were carrying it?"

"I was. But you teased me about my sex life. I'm not sharing any of that with you, so now you can carry it your damn self."

Grant laughed so hard he snorted. "You're really fun to tease."

"It's a good thing I like your laugh or I'd be really pissed right now."

"You're not even mad," Grant said with a roll of his eyes. "Wait. Did RK Conley tell us the address of my apartment?"

Roman dug out his phone. "I'll text him. Stop calling him RK."

"Keep reminding me until I stop."

"You got it. Okay, here's the address, and there's a Dérive station next to it. Meet me there?"

Grant memorized the location in the photo Roman showed him and nodded. "Yep."

Closing his eyes, Grant shimmered to the appropriate Dérive station and was pleased to note that Roman arrived at nearly the same moment. It had yet to fully sink in that Roman was his other half, but Grant had already decided he enjoyed the man's company.

And staring at the gorgeous, perfect planes of his face. Not to mention the fascinating blue eyes that were already giving Grant clues about Roman's feelings. Did Roman always display his emotions openly, or was he allowing himself to be vulnerable because they were mates? Grant couldn't wait to find out everything that made Roman tick.

"You're on the fourth floor," Roman said as they headed out of the Dérive station and turned the corner toward the tall building that gleamed in the bright sun of Sin City.

"Four may be my lucky number."

"Makes sense, Mr. Fourth Venerable Knight."

"Thanks, Mr. Second Venerable Knight."

They went inside into a modern entrance with minimal décor, white-and-black tiled floors, and textured wallpaper. Roman hit the up button on the elevator, and Grant followed him inside. It gave him a second to appreciate the sexy way Roman walked and the firm, pleasing curve of his ass. Fate had been unbelievably kind to Grant.

The moment the elevator stopped on the fourth floor, Grant rushed out, and Roman was barely a step behind him. Grant found the appropriate door and waved his key over the lock. The light turned green, and he pushed the door open. Inside was an apartment furnished in a neutral gray.

"This is pretty," Grant said, walking in and noting that the blue throw pillows on the sofa were several shades lighter than his mate's eyes.

"Yeah, this is great," Roman remarked as he followed Grant through the space.

There was a single bedroom and a decent-sized kitchen Grant supposed he had to learn how to use. Though it lacked a dining table, he imagined the barstools at the small island would do well for eating.

"The bed is big," Grant noted. "That'll come in handy when I strip for you."

Roman laughed. "I'll be the one stripping you. But not today."

"No kidding. I've sweated through my uniform a couple of times since I put it on. No way am I getting naked with you. I'm gross."

"Somehow, I doubt that. Besides, you'd just get sweatier in the bed with me."

"Okay, fair point." An image of rolling across the tidy gray bedspread with Roman filled Grant's mind, and he had to remind himself that it was inappropriate to maul the man he'd met a few hours ago. "So, you live nearby? The building next door, right?"

"Yep, you can see it out of your living room windows," Roman said. "Drystan and Conley live in the same building. It took me forever to save up enough money to buy a condo there, but I wanted a place close to work and a full kitchen to order meals from. I can cook, but I'm not great at it, and it isn't something I enjoy enough to keep at it."

"How long have you lived there?"

"Not long. Several months. Everyone insisted I have a housewarming party. I had it right before you were resurrected and kicking ass at the Ascension Center. There were an extraordinary number of compliments thrown my way for drapes and shit. You would've loved it. I don't think I've ever blushed that much."

"Congratulations, is it a relief to have it done and be in the place you wanted?"

Roman smiled. "Thank you. Yes. I love it."

"Will you show it to me?"

"I think we can squeeze it in between dinner and Redmilla's."

"But you have a full kitchen you can order from, right? So, why don't we eat there?"

Cocking his head to the side, Roman studied Grant's face. He wasn't sure what Roman was looking for, but Grant waited him out. "You would rather go to my condo and order food than let me take you out somewhere and celebrate the title you worked your ass off to attain?"

"Honestly, this day has been overwhelming. Relaxing with a good meal and learning about the man Fate gave me sounds wonderful right now."

"Okay. I'm cool with that. Let me cancel the reservations I made. Did you want to change into jeans or something?"

"Roman, where would I get jeans? I have uniforms and uniforms."

"Whoops. I forgot."

"My plan was to do some shopping tomorrow. It's probably not the most fun idea ever, but want to come with me?"

"I'd love to."

Grant smiled, pleased that he already had more time with Roman ahead of him. "Okay, but you have to help me pick out shit that looks good on me. I've never shopped for anything."

"Your wish is my command, VK."

"Okay, VK. Let me change to a casual uniform, then I need food."

"I'm happy to feed you."

"Want me to accidentally leave the door open so you can watch me strip?"

"That's going to be a no," Roman said. "If you take off your clothes, we aren't eating or even leaving your bed."

Grant flashed Roman a saucy smile and headed to his bedroom. "Fine, but I'm kissing you goodnight."

"Not if I kiss you first."

Pleased with the man in his apartment and the incredible hours they'd already spent together, and eager for the future, Grant slid down the smooth door. Lifting his head toward the sky, he grinned.

"Thanks, Fate," Grant whispered. "I don't know what the fuck I've done to deserve the life you've given me so far, but I don't have any complaints. Wish me luck on this matebond thing and my new title."