I won’t ever marry Atlas.But I will fuck him before we are done.
It wasthe chirping of birds that woke her.Her eyes opened, slowly, awareness trickling back to her.Her gaze darted around, eventually falling on the bedside clock.But when she saw those glowing digits, shock rocked through her.Nearly four p.m.Wow.Her brain still felt foggy, her body heavy, and it took her a moment—a few moments—to process where she was.And what was happening.
I’m in the guest room.Atlas’s guest room.I hid the diary under the mattress.I’m safe here.
She sat up, frowning.She knew the time because the digits glowed, but the blackout curtains prevented light from filling the room.Her hand flew out to hit the lamp on the nightstand.The lamp’s illumination spilled on at her touch, and she spotted the high-end bags waiting at the foot of the bed.A pang of unease slid through her.She’d slept so deeply that she hadn’t heard anyone enter the room to drop off those bags?
She brushed aside the unease.Got out of bed.She showered in the huge guest bath, enjoying the blasts from the double shower heads.A toiletry supply had been included with her new purchases.Toothpaste.Shampoo.Conditioner.Body lotion.Makeup.Even her favorite brand and shade of lipstick.
Atlas’s way of saying he knew everything about her.Or, at least, a sign showing he knew far too much.
She dressed in new underwear—a black bra and matching, silky panties.Black pants, flats, and a pale blue top.The top had long sleeves, and those sleeves hid the bruising on her wrist.Bruising that was now dark and vivid.Because she still seemed a little too pale and the circles under her eyes hadn’t vanished, she used the makeup quickly like the shield it was, even sliding on a quick swipe of the soft red lipstick.Her mother had always told her that a bit of red lipstick could be a woman’s best friend.
Then again, poison had actually been her mother’s best friend for years so…
Lily left the guest room.She approached the room next door, lifted her hand, and rapped quickly on the closed door.“Atlas?”His door had been open before.
“Down here, sweets.”
She jerked at the call, then made her way to the balcony that overlooked the lower floor.Because Atlas’s voice had come from below her.
He quirked a brow as he stared up at her.“Sleeping Beauty finally decided to wake up, huh?Good for you.”He peered at his watch.“The Feds will be here soon so you woke up just in time.I’m sure they will be bringing local cops with them.My lawyer is gonna join the party, kind of a nonnegotiable.Theodora would be pissed if I talked to the Feds without her present.”
Well, she certainly didn’t want Theodora pissed.
“Just so you know, the authorities want to interview us both, but we arenotgoing to be separated for that interview.”
Her hands curled around the balcony’s railing.“Another nonnegotiable point for you?”
“Absolutely.”His head tilted as he focused on her once again.“If they push on that point, I’ll just explain that I can’t be parted from the love of my life.I’m too distraught over how close we both came to dying.”
The wood was smooth and hard beneath her grip.“The love of your life?”She’d never been called that before.Probably never would be again.
“I’ll inform them that we’d been dating.Casually, of course, before last night.”
“Casually.”A nod.She should not have this conversation while she was upstairs and he was downstairs, so Lily let go of the balcony railing and began to head down to him.“When you casually date someone,” she inquired, “do you always have security toss them out of your building?”Was that part of his courting ritual?
“Occasionally.”He moved to position his body at the foot of the stairs.He wore black pants.A crisp, white shirt that he’d rolled up to the elbows.He’d left the top two—maybe three—buttons undone on the shirt.No shadows under his eyes.His blue eyes appeared extra electric.His skin tan, golden, not pale.His hair was combed back, thick and lustrous, and his chiseled jaw had been cleanly shaven.There was no sign of tiredness or pain or—well, any issues at all.No one would ever have looked at him and thought the man had been kidnapped and nearly murdered the night before.
Her steps faltered as she gazed into his eyes.His stare had heated even more as she approached him, and there was no denying the lust she could see staring back at her.
“Pleasant dreams?”he asked politely.
“I don’t remember them.”Total lie.She remembered them perfectly.She’d woken from one nightmare with her heart racing and sweat covering her body.Lily had leapt from the bed and rushed to his still open doorway.My second visit to his room.She’d peeked inside, terrified that he’d be just as he had been in her nightmare.
Dead.Covered in so much blood.And his stomach slashed open?—
But he’d been sleeping.His breathing slow and steady, so she’d slipped out of his room without a word and gone back to sleep.
That was the second time I checked on him.I didn’t want to wake him that time.I ran away.I?—
“Really?”One dark eyebrow quirked.“Not even the nightmare that sent you running to me?”
Her breath caught.“You were awake?”
An incline of his head.“The floorboard right outside my door creaks.I heard you when you stepped on it.”
He must have very good hearing.
