Her hands rose.Her fingertips sank into the thickness of his hair.“I don’t have to use any sneaky tactics.You’ll reveal everything to me no matter what.”
“And why would I do that?”It was interesting that she thought he’d just go straight to being an open book with her.Interesting.Naïve.Perhaps a shade past delusional.
But she just blinked those amazing eyes of hers.“Well, because, in your very soul, haven’t you always wanted someone to see the real you?Toknowthe real you?”
The real him would terrify most people.
“I’m that someone,” she said.
She shouldn’t be touching him.Shouldn’t be tempting him.“Run away.”A rasp.One he had not meant to make.But some part of him, a faint glimmer of what could have been goodness, wanted him to protect this woman.
Protect her from myself.
“Run away while you can,” he added roughly.Because if he had her…
Atlas already knew he would not let her go.
Love at first sight didn’t exist for monsters.Not a thing.Mostly because love wasn’t a real thing.But obsession was, and he already knew she was going to be his greatest obsession.
She’d stripped to match him.
She’d shared her scars.
“Why would I run away from you?”Lily asked as her head tilted to the right.“I’ve been working to get you alone for the last month.”But her fingers slid out of his hair.Dropped back to her side.“You are taking me home with you?”
“If you weren’t sporting a bruise around your wrist, I’d be handcuffing you to my side.”True story.
“Handcuffing me seems rather excessive.”
“I’m an excessive kind of person.”
“Obsessive?”she asked, sweetly.“Sorry, did you sayexcessiveorobsessive?”
Lily knew exactly what he’d said.Atlas took a step back.“The bastard who took us wasn’t caught.”
She reached for the new sweatshirt.Yanked it over her head.It fell to mid-thigh luckily, covering up his temptation.
“Not a perfect fit,” she noted, “but super soft.I’ll be sure to thank Desmond.”
He had the feeling she knew plenty about his head of security.Excessive or obsessive?Ah, but he was betting she could be quite obsessive, too.Although she might prefer the termthorough.
She tugged on the sweatpants.They fit her perfectly.Her feet shoved into the tennis shoes Desmond had also brought in the bag.
He yanked on his shirt, too.His body ached, and he was pretty sure the skin along his ribs was about a dozen different colors.The bastard who’d taken him had played damn hard.
“Be careful with that head of yours,” she chided.“You were hit with a tire iron.You’re lucky you didn’t die right then and there.”She bit her lower lip.“Maybe Dr.Owen had the right idea about you staying longer for observation.”
She’d talked plenty with the cops who’d come rushing to the scene.Those cops had all known Benedict, and they’d been furious, worried, desperate.
The firefighters hadn’t let anyone get close to the cabin.And even the bomb squad had come rushing to the scene—eventually.
Lily had given a statement to the cops even as the EMTs had examined her.She’d told them about seeing Atlas get attacked, about calling Benedict for help, leaving her phone turned on as she ran to help Atlas…
Then getting knocked out by the attacker, too.
They’d eventually been dragged into the cabin.Dragged, carried—he had no clue.According to her tale, Lily had woken up when they were near the basement door, just as the perp had cuffed them together.
Then Lily and Atlas had taken their joint tumble down the stairs.
