Page 130 of Stargazer

His calm laugh filled my soul. “It’s basically a courtyard. You’ll be fine.” He rose to his feet and held his hand out for me. “I’ve got you.”

I smiled up at him, curious and in awe of this side of him as he pulled me up. I was seeing this softer side more and more each day and I fucking loved it.

He gave me a sexy, slow smile as he gently placed my hands around his neck, grazing my body with his own until they rested delicately on my hips.

And then we danced.

To no music but the sounds of our own heavy breathing and hearts beating; slow dancing in the dark.

I knew we’d done so much more than this but for some reason, I was nervous. His gentle touches, the way he was looking at me—they made me nervous. A good nervous. But nervous, nonetheless.

That tingle of electricity that pulsed through my body made my breath catch in my throat.

He seemed uncharacteristically serious.

And I felt laid bare to him, more than ever before as he held me in the quiet under the inky night sky with a million luminous little bundles of gas twinkling above us. As he looked at me with so much intensity in those molten grey eyes that spoke a thousand words. That spoke of his devotion to me.

Griff nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck and sighed. His lips tickled my sensitive skin.

“I’ve never loved someone before.”

His words were a soft caress against my neck, and I found myself holding my breath.

“But I love you, Venus.”

He pulled back so the smoky grey of his eyes could bore into mine with unadulterated intensity. “You’re the stars to my moon. My whole universe. My cosmos.”

I didn’t bother to fight the prickling tears that threatened to spill. If there was ever a time that was appropriate to cry, I’d say it was when the guy who’d been afraid of commitment, who always seemed so unattainable, told you that he loved you under the landscape of a million stars watching over you.

“I love you too, Griffin.”

As the words left my mouth, I let the waterworks fall freely too.

He didn’t hesitate to kiss them away, leaving a trail of those tiny tingles I was already addicted to in their wake.

Griffin Gray loved me.

CHAPTER 45

VENUS

Now this gothic manner was definitely what I had expected from the Knights. And I told my friends as much.

Griffin’s light laugh lit up his face as he recalled my first impressions of the New York compound.

“Definitely more the type of place that has dungeons and gargoyles, am I right, Supernova?”

“Definitely,” I agreed, my expression simultaneously serious yet in awe at the sight before me.

Aconite Hall was a huge English manor, sprawled on acres of land carved into the woods. The estate, bordered by a grand old-school gate, housed a beautiful stone mansion that looked like something straight out of X-men. Colourful gardens, outdoor gyms and training rings, as well as the famed ‘Glass House’ decorated the vast estate.

Vines of evergreen plants crawled along the dark grey stone of the old English country house, and I tried—and failed—to count all the paned windows I could see from my spot at the bottom of the steps of the manicured lawn. The building loomed over us, and I had to pinch myself to make sure this was real and not some movie or hyper-realistic dream.

Catching me doing just that, Griffin stepped up behind me and chuckled.

“Baby, if you’re dreaming, I’m dreaming with you. And I don’t plan on waking up anytime soon.” He nibbled the shell of my ear, pressing himself into my backside and sliding his hands down my body. “I’ll follow you into whatever dream you jump into next.”

The other members in our unit had already started up the front stairs, making their way to the large, arched doorway.

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