CHAPTER 10

VENUS

The introductions went weirdly well. Like better than I could have expected.

I'd forewarned mum that I'd be coming home with a guest. My mum would kill me if she didn't have time to prepare the house a little before I brought someone home and I didn't want to start off the introductions with her in a bad mood.

She'd agreed to letting a Knight stay at the house straight away, though I hadn't mentioned who exactly had come down early.

Celeste was watching some trash TV when we entered, a rare moment of her actually unwinding, which she seemed to only really do with reality dating shows, loving the way her brain could just switch off. It was one of the things we loved doing together.

I had given her a warning text too and her only reply to the fact that I was bringing Griffin to the house was:

the hot hunter came for you?!

omggggg

Opening the door to my family home in my small town with Griffin Gray tailing me was an extremely odd occurrence. It felt so surreal that he was here. In my old life. That was my current life.Again.

It was just … odd.

I looked back at him with a nervous smile as I stepped out of the doorway, letting him in.

"Welcome to Casa Stone." I waved my arm out, showing off the entryway that opened into the lounge on the left and mum"s study on the right.

His eyes held mine a moment, something glistening in them as his lip twitched before he swept over the space, taking in the staircase in front of us and the hall beyond it that led to the kitchen and dining area.

"Yep," he nodded his head.

"Yep, what?"

"This is basically how I pictured it."

"You pictured it?"

"Of course I did, Supernova." He smiled to himself. "It's very you."

"What does that even mean?"

He didn't bother replying, instead choosing to smile down at me.

A throat cleared and Celeste stood in the doorway of the lounge looking more than a little amused as she waited for me to introduce her, a knowing and cheeky smirk on her face.

"Griff, this is my sister, Celeste." I gestured towards her. "Celeste, this is Griff." He looked at me again at the casual introduction and use of his nickname, something like satisfaction on his face.

Then he turned to my sister and flashed her one of his flirty smiles that he'd don whenever he was in the company of a beautiful female. The one that instantly made them blush and fawn over him. And it worked a charm on her too. Though Celeste wasn't really the fawning type, but her answering smile and the way she took him in was enough.

She shot wide eyes in my direction, a silent message for me to decode: "Wow."

Griffin's husky timbre broke our eye contact and commanded her attention. "Cel," he smiled wider, "pleasure to meet you."

Her brows rose at the nickname and she held back a smile. He went in for the hug, dwarfing her small body the way he did mine.

"Pleasure is all mine," she managed to get out when she pulled away from him.

At that moment, my mother walked down the hall from the kitchen, taking in the large male in her entryway.

Probably expecting Kit, she looked surprised for a moment but then greeted him with a warm expression. Griff crossed over to her, meeting her by the stairs with his hand already extended.

"Mumma Stone," he drawled, "you're as beautiful as your daughters. It's not every day I get to be in the presence of a Knight legend. I've heard so much about you from my mother and your lovely daughter." He shook her hand as she lapped up the compliment. "I'm Griffin Gray."

"Ahh, so you're Griffin," she stated—but directed her smile at me.Turning back to him she added, "Flattery will get you everywhere. The last time I saw you, you would have been a young boy, running around the compound with swords." A half smile graced her lips at the memory.

"Sounds about right," Griff chuckled, rubbing his neck.

Was he nervous?

"Not much has changed," I deadpanned.

His smile grew. And so did mum's.

"Well, welcome to Saint Claire, and our home," she said sweetly. "I didn't hear anything from your mum about you coming early?" She'd been talking to Thea about the arrangements and plans for days now.

"I'm afraid Thea wasn't exactly privy to that knowledge when you would have last spoken to her."

"I see," mum replied, amusement clear on her face at his rebellion. "Well, you're more than welcome to stay here."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to be an inconvenience. I assured Venus I'd be more than fine to stay at whatever hotel has any occupancy." To my surprise, Griffin was completely respectful and polite to my mother. He still had that hint of trouble and mischief to him, but the charm seemed to outweigh the rest.

"Don't be silly, you'll stay here. I already have the guest bedroom set up for you. We'll deal with the other arrangements for the rest of the Knights when they arrive, but I can't have Thea's son staying anywhere else, now can I?" Mum insisted.

With Griffin faced away from us and his attention on my mother, Celeste caught my eye. She gestured towards him and then mouthed, "Damn, Vee. He's so hot," proceeding to pretendto fan herself. I gave her an incredulous look and gestured for her to stop before he turned around and saw. We didn't need another Stone woman inflating his ego.

"Thank you for the hospitality," he nodded in surrender to mum. Then turned back to me when he said "There's just something about Stone women. I do love being in your presence." He winked at me, which Celeste caught and then mimicked.

"It'll be quite nice to have a man around here, I might get you to fix a few things as a prerequisite of you staying," mum threatened light-heartedly.

"It would be rude of me not to offer my services to ladies in need," he grinned at my mother and she laughed.

"Well, Griffin, I'm sure you're tired from the drive. Why don't you get settled in your room and rest for a bit. Vee will show you to it. I'll prepare dinner later and we can get acquainted more then." She gestured upstairs and I started up them.

"I'd love nothing more," he drawled before following me with his bag draped over his shoulder.

When we were almost at the top of the stairs I heard Celeste blurt out to mum, "I definitely need to visit this academy." Mum snorted in response and I looked back at Griff in time to see that devilish smirk take up half his face.

So much for not inflating his ego.

Standing a few steps ahead of him, he took me in from his lower vantage point and bit his lip. For a moment all my attention went to that mouth of his and my body tingled furiously until I pulled myself together and gave him a look that said ‘don't let it get to your head' before returning my ascent.

He chuckled and even that sound made me feel things that I had to ignore.

Having him back—having him in my house—was going to be ridiculously difficult.

I was going to need mum and Celeste to be buffers as much as possible and I was weirdly grateful that he was such a charmer because it meant they'd have no problem being that for me.

I knocked on the door. When I didn't hear an answer, I cracked it open ever so slightly to peek in, expecting to see Griff fast asleep in bed. But when I saw the freshly changed sheets empty and unruffled, my brows rose and curiosity got the better of me.

After he settled in earlier, we joined Celeste in her reality TV marathon for a few hours. Griffin lazing on the couch with a cushion in his arms, laughing and commenting on the inauthenticity of the dating show with my sister was something I never expected to see. I'd half watched and half texted Billie and Kit.

Mum and Celeste took the reins at dinner. But even though I hardly spoke, it didn't mean that Griffin's attention wasn't on me every chance he got. He snuck looks in my direction whenever the conversation allowed it. I had the feeling he was almost making sure that I was actually there. That he was here. That we were, I don't know, together? If that even made sense.

I could have been completely off but that was the vibe I was getting.

And honestly, if that was what he was doing, I didn't blame him because I could still hardly believe it myself. That this was real, and he was here having dinner with my mum and sister, chatting about unusual topics for a dinner table like weapons and alchemy as well as some weirdly normal topics like Love Island and economic theories. It was so extremely strange. And yet, a part of me absolutely relished how normal this felt.

I tried not to dwell on it. I still didn't know what any of this meant and I was wary of everything. So I attempted to treat him like any other guest.

After dinner, I'd left him to his own devices and retreated to the safety of my room. Only it had been a few hours now and I couldn't help but feel bad for leaving him alone in a strange and unknown house.

I'd come to check up on him and maybe have another conversation that needed to be had, now that the shock had slightly dissipated. Slightly.

"Griff?" I called, opening the door wider and letting myself in.

There was no response.

The gentle sway of the thin white curtains caught my attention, drawing me to the open window. I padded to it, peering outside. The guest bedroom on the second floor that was Griffin's temporary residence looked out towards the street and the large oak tree in our front yard. My first instinct was to look down, but he wasn't anywhere on the lawn, so I turned my gaze upwards.

"Griff?" I called again.

"Up here, Supernova." A second later, his head popped over the side of the roof and he peered down at me with that signature wicked grin.

"How the hell did you get up there?"

There was a slight lip of roof tiles outside this window, barely large enough to stand on. My sister and I had found ways to climb down the windows in our rooms to occasionally sneak out at night, using trees and the pergola in the backyard. Not once had we ever considered climbing up.

But where there was a will, there was a way with Griffin Gray.

He laughed. "Step out onto the ledge and then climb up that trellis on your right there." He nodded towards a conveniently located wooden frame covered in winding vines that decorated the front of our house. "Then pull yourself up. The angle of the ledge is a bit questionable, so be careful there and hold onto the window frame until you reach the plants," he warned.

Considering the danger he was about to put me in, his voice seemed calm and unconcerned, like this was a piece of cake. I guess compared to the agility course at the compound, it was nothing. But at least that had a net that would catch me.

"Don't worry, Supernova. I won't let you fall." He winked as if reading my mind and then held out his hand.

And just like that, I was ready to take the challenge.

The distance between us wasn't large, the positioning of the roof meaning he was only a few feet above me. With his long limbs, his hand easily reached my own outstretched one as I stepped out of the window and onto the ledge. The streetlights were spread far and wide, casting a distant glow, but overall the sky was dark with just a slither of the waxing crescent moon peeking down at us. In just over a week—eleven days to be exact—it would be the next full moon and I didn't want to think too long about what that meant.

Griff continued to grip my hand in his as I shuffled the few steps to the trellis, ready and waiting to catch me if I fell and haul me up. Within moments, I grabbed onto the wood as if my life depended on it and heard the dark chuckle that came out of the daredevil above me.

Not all of us could be as fearless as him.

"Shut it," I snapped.

"I'm shutting it," he said with a laugh, his eyes lit with amusement. I wondered how many people got to see the fun, light-hearted side of him. His friends yes, but not many others at the academy. They always got the bored, stoic captain.

I pulled at the wood, testing its strength. When it didn't immediately shake or threaten to pull off the cladding from which it was securely attached, I began climbing, satisfied that poor workmanship and lack of judgement on my side wasn't going to be the death of me today.

When I got to the gutter of the roof, Griffin's beautiful silver gaze—illuminated by the soft light of the moon—met mine. His arms gripped my ribs, right under my boobs, but he didn't explore further as he pulled. I heaved myself over the edge.

I would have shat myself when I went over if it weren't for his strong hold steadying me.

Once I had my bearings and the adrenaline settled ever so slightly, I looked at Griff. His irresistible half-smile had me smiling right back.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," I whispered under my breath.

Satisfied that I was stable, he let go of me and lowered himself down, lying on the roof tiles with his hands behind his head and looking ever so comfortable as he stared up at the blanket of stars twinkling above our heads. I had a feeling this was how he'd killed a decent amount of time before my interruption. He didn't seem bothered by my company though as I carefully, and ever so slowly, settled beside him, closer than necessary so I could use his body to keep myself anchored to the roof.

"I have never seen stars like this," he mused, awe filling his tone.

"Never?" I questioned. This was so normal to me, and part of the reason I had always loved Saint Claire. Although, I had never thought to view them from here.

"No. I've always lived in cities."

The stars in the city were not invisible but they definitely had nothing on the ones here. With so little light pollution and so much nature surrounding us, the sky here resembled a painting. It truly was like nothing I'd ever seen before.

While the ones at the compound paled in comparison, they still gave me the sense of serenity that these ones did, so I didn't mind. But I couldn't imagine what it would feel like to be able to see this sky for the first time again.

"It's incredible," he breathed out. "I could stare at it forever. I don't know how you even dealt with the pathetic excuse for a night sky back in the city. Not after experiencing this."

"It wasn't so bad," I admitted honestly.

"Please, the only thing that wasn't bad was the company," he chuckled, peeling his eyes away from our view long enough to glance at me.

"The company was okay," I teased, elbowing him in the gut and then quickly repositioning myself so I didn't fall. "Didn't you ever get to see a clear sky when you were out on patrol or on a job?"

"Nah, it was always still within the boroughs. I've never come out far enough to get a sky like this, clear of all the pollution. I mean, there's plenty of spots that have decent views for stargazing, and the locations themselves provide a unique experience, but this … I didn't even know that all the blank spaces were filled with stars. There's not a single spot left empty."

Turning towards him and seeing the awe on his face—getting to experience this first with him—it tugged on something deep within me. I wanted to grab his hand, or play with his hair, or trace the shape of his sharp jawline. Anything to be closer to him.

I refrained, and before I could do or say anything else, he interrupted my thoughts, his hands still tucked behind his head as he gazed up.

"‘Between seas, galaxies and moons, I was lucky. I stepped on the same land. I dreamed under the same stars as you.'"

His hushed words lifted to the sky above us in that seductive voice of his, almost like he was seeing them written up there. "I read that in a poem once. Feels pretty accurate. Here we are, sitting under those stars together. Some might call that fate, Supernova," he added casually, like he wasn't just quoting poetry to me.

With my gaze locked on the side of his angelic profile glowing in the light and my heart fluttering a million miles a minute, all I wanted to do was bring my body closer to his. To crawl on top of him and feel the irresistible heat that pulsed through him.

The guy made cheesy sayings his thing and somehow it worked on me. Every. Single. Time.

It pulled on those stupid, romantic heartstrings of mine. And I wanted to give in. To say ‘yes' and get a chance at another electrifying taste of him—of those beckoning lips that had been mine to claim only days ago. But not anymore.

I thought of the current fucked up situation I was in. Torn between two boys who cared about me. Two boys I didn't want to hurt.

What would River think if he saw Griff and I now? How much would I break his heart? I couldn't do that to him. I couldn't give Griffin more of myself. Not until I figured this out.

And already just having Griff stay with us was a disadvantage to Riv.

I truly didn't know what I was going to do. I needed to keep them both at a safe distance until I could sort through the thoughts and emotions churning in my head. This wasn't exactly what one would call safe.

There was just so much going on right now. So much that felt more important than which guy I wanted to give my heart to. And I was scared, so damn scared of losing the other if I made a decision.

So right now, I would stick to my word and take my time. We had a freaking war on our hands anyway, there wasn't time for this right now, not until we had a plan at the very least.

Forcing myself to act on my thoughts, I pulled my gaze from his beautiful face.

But he came for me. He was here now. Choosing me.

The inner voice in my head whispered a gentle reminder.

Fuck. This was going to be so hard.

Carefully, I raised my body up until I was seated. Griff turned to me, eyebrow cocked in silent question.

"I better get to bed. You know I'm no good when I'm sleepless and grumpy," I answered.

"Ain't that the truth," he chuckled. But he looked at me with concern still. "Are you okay, Supernova?"

"I didn't get a chance to apologise earlier."

"For what?"

"For leaving the way I did. We may not have had a label, but I shut down when I heard about the rogues in Saint Claire. When I realised what that meant. And I know I hurt you. I'm sorry."

He deflected. "Forgiveness comes at a cost. Is make-up sex on the table?"

"Griff," I warned.

He laughed but then nodded. "I forgive you. I forgave you as soon as I decided to come. I didn't exactly act … rationally, when you said you wanted to leave."

"Thank you, for coming for me." The words left my mouth before I could think too long about them. "I know I didn't get to say that earlier either." I furrowed my brows, not sure how to say the next part. "I still need time though. Okay, Griff? I know you came for me. But you also told me to go. You let me believe that things would never be serious. I know I have a lot of decisions to make. With everything that's happened, and happening, I just need some time."

"No one's rushing you, baby. I know what I want. I'm not going anywhere." Those beautiful, irresistible eyes winked at me. "If you need to figure it out on your own, I'll let you. I'm not saying I'll leave you alone, that's just not in my nature, as you know very well. But I'll be patient … somewhat. I'll show you what the right answer is." And there was that devilish smirk that got me every time.

As per usual, he ruined the sweet sentiment with his imperious nature.

I snorted in response.

"I'll keep showing up for you," he added. Casually. As if it was just common fucking sense. A given.

That shut me up. Shut me up and had me feeling all the emotions. All I could do was bite my lip as I nodded.

Without another word, I moved towards the edge of the roof, lowering my leg over and down until I felt the crevice of the trellis, the perfect size for my foot to lodge into.

"Do you need a hand to get down?" He offered, his body halfway up now and angled towards me.

I gave him my own wicked smile. "I've got it. I am a Knight after all."

Those lips of his tilted up into a full-blown grin. "That you are, Cosmo. That you are."

And with that, I lowered myself down, disappearing from view—surprisingly with even more ease than I thought possible after only doing it once.

I was proud of myself.

And I went to bed proud of myself.