CHAPTER 11

VENUS

Walking down stairs the next morning, I was greeted to the odd yet weirdly satisfying sight of Griffin sitting at the breakfast table with my mum. They were casually and quite cordially having breakfast while Celeste was making herself a cup of coffee.

Guess this was a thing now.

"Can you make that two?" I called to my sister.

She rolled her eyes, "Good morning to you, too."

Despite her tone, she was smiling, and I proceeded to hip bump her. "Morning, Cel," I chirped.

The unexpected movement caused her to spill her coffee which earned me a warning glare.

"Do you want coffee or not?" She grumbled.

"I'm beginning to see that it's a common Stone trait to not be a morning person," Griffin snickered before taking a bite of the sausage that was pierced onto his fork.

"He catches on fast," my mother brightly observed.

I gave him an irritated look which he responded to with a quiet chuckle.

"Good morning, Supernova." He grinned at me.

"Morning, Griff. Made yourself at home I see." I eyed his plate and steaming cup of coffee beside my mothers. She just observed us in silence, looking intrigued as she probably attempted to piece together our dynamic.

"Su casa es mi casa." His raspy voice made the words sound even sexier which I blatantly tried to ignore.

"Apparently," I muttered under my breath.

"I, for one, could get used to someone else cooking me breakfast," mum stated. "Since none of my girls ever bother."

"That is a tragedy, Mama Stone," Griffin replied, the ass-kissing laid on thick as he took in my mother. She was hot for a mum and looked incredible for her age. Despite her injured leg, she kept herself in good shape. People often confused us for sisters, which was a testament to her youthful appearance. She blushed at the nickname—like mother like daughter—and looked pleased at his declaration. He was definitely winning her over. Which was the last thing I would have expected from Griffin Gray. Who knew he'd be good with parents? I guess they weren't immune to his charm and charisma either.

"Here," Celeste handed me my coffee. "At least I make coffee," she directed to mum as she took the seat across from Griff, leaving the one beside him empty for me to slid in.

"So," Griff turned to me, "what's the plan for today?"

"Well, I obviously didn't expect to have you here, but the pack has a few meetings that I was going to sit in on. They were going to let me know what they'd found out so far from Amelia."

"Hold on. Amelia as in the girl that died?" He raised his brow.

"Yeah. So, it turns out she didn't die. She transitioned. She's a rogue now but she's been working as a spy for Riv."

Celeste spat out her coffee. "I'm sorry, what?"

"That's risky but smart," mum offered, her face contemplative.

"I'll give it to the bastard, that's quite a good play." He looked at me again, his expression softening. "I'm glad your friend's alive," he offered.

"Thanks Griff. Me too." It was still so unbelievable.

"So, I'm assuming the pack is going to be cooperative about the Knights working with them?" His tone was dripping in condescension.

"Well, that's the plan. I think starting with a manageable number will ease them into it."

"I'm obviously joining," he proclaimed.

"I didn't expect you to willingly sit out," I countered.

"You know me too well, Cosmo." He gave me a wicked smile which I forced myself to look away from.

"Mum, have you heard anything from Thea?" I asked instead.

She turned to me, her game face on. "I'm organising some accommodation for the task force that she'll be sending down. I'm guessing with Griff here now, he'll be leading it?" She looked at him in question and he nodded. "Good. Once the wolves are a bit more comfortable, I'll get involved more and act as a liaison between Saint Claire and the compound. I'll call her this afternoon and get any more details that I can."

"Sounds good," I agreed. "Do they know who they're sending?"

"You already know that Kit, Billie and Carter will not stand being excluded from this one." It was Griff that replied, casually setting down his mug. "They're dying to come down. I called Kit on the way here. I hadn't pre-warned them of my plan to ah … head down … so she wasn't the most pleased with me for coming without her. She demanded that Thea send her down and said she's coming whether or not it's sanctioned."

I cracked a smile at Griff's words and Kit's fieriness. We'd been texting non-stop, although she failed to inform me that a certain someone was planning a visit. I guess she was doing her best to help her oldest friend in his attempt to surprise me or whatever. She was always rooting for us. Which was sweet. Not to mention she was a sucker for the theatrics.

But I still gave both her and Billie an earful about it in the chat—even though the surprise factor of Griffin coming was extremely romantic.

Nevertheless, I was beyond excited to see them again. Including Carter.

The thought of having all my favourite people in the same place made me both utterly nervous and positively thrilled. I didn't know how they would mesh together, but we'd deal with that when it happened. Out of all of them, it was Griff I would have been most worried about and honestly, that had already gone as bad as it possibly could. It was only up from here. I hoped.

"Alright, we better get moving then." I stood, gathering up my plate and my half-full mug. I had picked on a few things even though my appetite was somewhat stifled by all the nerves. Griff got up at the same time.

"I'll get th—" he began to say, but as he reached to take my plate from me and I simultaneously moved, the sudden shrill clang of porcelain sounded as we bumped into each other, causing my remaining coffee to spill all over me. It was warm and wet and it went everywhere, my t-shirt of choice this morning thoroughly soaked through. Luckily, my jeans remained unscathed.

"Shit. Let me."

He made to wipe my shirt but I stepped aside.

"It's fine, Griff. I'll just go change." Celeste and my mother watched us with intrigue, the former holding back a laugh.

"If that was me who spilled your coffee and ruined your top, I'd be dead." Celeste's tone was nothing but humorous and she watched on in mocking delight, sipping from her own mug with smug satisfaction.

"Oh, shut it." I shot daggers her way and then dared a glance at the culprit. He gave me a wry smile, ever the confident male, even in a situation like this in a room of almost strangers.

"I can make you another cup?" He offered.

"It's fine, really. I'll have one at the pack house. They have better coffee anyway." I shrugged off.

Why were drinks always spilling on me around this guy?

Hey!" Mum chimed, clearly offended.

"Sorry mum. But they have this unnecessarily expensive machine. Our coffee just doesn't compete."

She rolled her eyes—just like a true Stone woman.

Checking the table and floor, I found that all of the coffee had somehow only landed on me, leaving nothing else to clean. My top was drenched and the material was almost see-through.

Why were drinks always spilling on me around this guy?

I started towards the stairs and Griff took my now empty dishes to deposit in the sink. I heard mum scold him for trying to wash up after already cooking us breakfast and then his footsteps echoed mine as he followed me to my room.

Shuffling into my walk-in closet, I stripped off the t-shirt that had the stain on it. Griffin waited somewhere near my bed, taking in all the stuff that made up my room, from the posters and art to the décor and navy sheets, and the piles of books I had laying around.

The lighter colour of my top was already staining. "This is why I hate wearing neutrals," I grumbled, searching through the draws for something else to wear while simultaneously making a mess of all my neatly packed clothes. Every so often I repacked them all and every so often, when I was in a rush like today, I went and did this all over again, leaving them in heaps until the next time I could be bothered to restart the cycle.

"It smells gross," I noticed with a grimace.

Griffin's frame appeared in the doorway of my closet, a silent chuckle spread across his face. "I'm sure it doesn't. It's just coffee, Cosmo."

Before I could protest, his hand was on my wrist, pulling it and the top towards his face. His expression soured and a laugh tumbled out of me. It was only then that I realised I was just in my bra, halfway through the process of dressing.

I blushed as he noticed the same thing, his eyes dipping to the intricate white lace before returning to my face with a heated look. His hand still held my wrist between us and with his other one he ever so slowly removed the clothing from my grip, tossing it to the floor and leaving my palm empty. He held eye contact as he pressed his palm to mine, opening my hand up so they were touching. I dropped my eyes to them as he laced his fingers with mine, the gesture weirdly intimate and sweet.

The heat of his gaze was too much, so I kept my focus on our interconnected fingers.

He wasn't having that.

With his other hand, he softly yet firmly grabbed my chin, redirecting my face so I was looking at him again. His eyes didn't just hold heat, they held emotion. They were burning with it, silver and grey like molten ore swirling together with tenderness and passion and intensity, all at the same time.

He dropped our hands lower, still in their tight embrace, and stepped closer, bringing his head towards mine. And so torturously slowly he brought his lips closer, pressing them to my cheek but grazing the side of my mouth in the process, like he did that first time under the stairs in the Chill—that first taste of him I ever got.

My heart beat thunderously fast, like a thousand horses were stampeding in my chest. That intoxicating scent of him—his intoxicating presence—filled my senses until there was nothing else I could think of but him.

He pulled back and I felt the loss of his touch all too clearly.

Giving me a serious expression, he squeezed my hand.

I didn't know what to say or do in response to the solemn look on his angelic face.

"Once again, you've found a way to get my clothes off," I mocked, trying to ease the tension.

His eyes brightened slightly and he smirked.

"Just the way I like you."

And just like that, he was back out to play.

Just the way I liked him.

I flashed him a playful smile.

He grinned back—only for a moment, before it faltered and his face became tense once more.

There was a swollen pause between us.

"I miss you, Supernova." He swallowed and then looked away for a moment as he mumbled the next bit under his breath, "And not how you think." His gaze returned to mine, holding me captive. "Although of course I miss that too. But I miss you."

His finger gently rubbed mine and then he let go of my hand and took a step back. Like he realised this wasn't exactly giving me space.

It didn't stop his gaze from roaming my body though, the corner of his mouth tilting up.

"Do you know how hard it is to refrain from kissing the fuck out of you when you make that cute little crumpled look every time you're confused or frustrated? Not to mention the effort it took to not crawl into this fucking bed last night."

He smirked at the little intake of breath that came out of me, and then finished with, "I just miss you."

"I miss you too, Griff." I told him truthfully. The words barely a whisper.

"I needed you to know." He bent to pick up a new top from my mess and handed it to me. "I know you need time."

He turned to leave but threw over his shoulder with a grin, "I'm up for the challenge."

I just stared after him, not knowing what to say or do.

"I'll meet you in the car," he called as he left my room.

When I was alone, I put on the cropped charcoal-coloured band tee he'd handed me and then touched my mouth, still standing in the middle of my closet.

I didn"t know why that little kiss always branded me, the imprint of his lips burning into my skin where they touched.

By the time I'd gotten to the car, there was no trace of the romantically tormented Griffin that had been present in that conversation.

Nor the cheeky one that graced me with his presence at the end.

Just the warrior, asking questions about the pack, the area and everything else he needed to know to add to his mental catalogue.