"...thank you."
"Mm."
I don't step back. He doesn't either. The bond between us has been pulsing steady-bright since he came down the stairs and now it's gone soft and warm in a way I haven't felt from him before.
He'spleased.
He's pleased and he isn't hiding it and he's letting me feel it.
I have, factually, never metthisMax.
Bane clears his throat behind me.
"Atlas."
"Mm."
"Step aside."
I look at him over my shoulder.
He's in the parlor doorway with his arms crossed. Zero's pushed off the couch and come up beside him. Hands in his pockets. Head tipped the same angle as Bane's.
"He's not yours yet," Zero says. "The night's yours. Right now he's still ours."
The old reflex goes up in me.
Mine. Step off.
I let it pass.
I look at Max—pink at the throat, eyes flicking between his brothers and me, the bond between us going hot and pleased—and I step to the side of the foyer and lean against the wall.
"Be quick."
"We will be very fucking slow," Zero says, already moving past me.
Bane goes first.
He walks straight to Max. Cups his jaw with both hands. Looks at him for a long moment, the way Bane looks at things he's making sure are real.
"You look beautiful."
"Bane—"
"I want you to hear it. Beautiful. Say it."
"I'm not going to—"
"Say it."
"Bane, oh mygod—"
"Say it."
Max rolls his eyes and I have to hide my smile.
"...I look beautiful."
