I lead him to the sink so I can disinfect his bruised and bloodied fists.
A single knuckle down is when he yanks my hand up to his face, honing in on the Band-Aid there.
“What happened?” He sounds like he’s ready to kill someone else next.
Fuck. The snakes. I’m not a fan of those fuckers. Guess the feeling’s mutual. But now I feel bad for what I did.
“A snake bit me,” I admit in a low voice, while pulling his hand down to continue cleaning it.
“Awhatbit you?”
“I thought you were playing me. I got sad, but then chose to get mad instead and... I filled your bed with snakes.” I bat my lashes, like that would make my words fly under the radar. And there it is, that look again as he goes speechless. “I’m sorry! I’ll get rid of them.” He still says nothing. “Are you mad at me?”
“Mad at you?!” Atlas snorts out a laugh. “Honey, I’m in a bit ofa pickle here. I hear what you’re saying, but all I can think of is I’m the luckiest man alive to have bumped into you.”
He feels it too. It’s not a simple attraction, nor is it lust. It’s so much more that makes us fit in every way. Sick, twisted, fucked-up—that’s us. But that’s exactly why we get each other better than anyone else ever could. He’s my half. Not the better one. We’re both bad in a way, and a good half could never fit with us.
“Technically, I bumped into you, but you were rude, and there was no way I was going to apologize when you were like that.”
I’m all done cleaning up his knuckles when he cages me in his arms, kissing me in a way that can make my heart crawl out of my throat and kiss him itself—an all-consuming, forget-about-the-world-because-it’s-just-us kiss. And I do forget everything else with him. No more games. Or more like I don’t know if it ever was just games. All I gave him was real. All but my name and the reason I entered his life. I’ll have to find a different path for my vengeance, because hurting him is no longer a scenario I’m willing to let unfold.
I pull him closer while he unzips my dress without permission. Atlas only pauses when I shoot him the I-know-what-you’re-doing look, before it pools at my feet.
Taking his hand into mine, I lead the way. It took everything in me to deny myself two nights in a row, but tonight I take those steps for my bed with anything but restraint.
“Did it choke and die?” Atlas’s voice travels from behind me.
“What?” I half turn, still not stopping in my tracks.
“The snake. Did it choke and die when it bit you?”
I chuckle.
“I’m sure if you check under your sheets, you’ll find one dead snake amongst the rest. You’re the only one immune to my poison. You bite me.”
Facing him, I get on the edge of the bed.
“I bite you.” I pull him closer. “And you haven’t choked and died.”
I let myself indulge in the sight of the deep V of his abs for abrief moment before pulling the towel away with a fling of my hand, and his dick is more than happy to see me. My mouth waters as the memory of him down my throat resurfaces.
“What? The ‘naked in bed’ rule goes both ways.”
“For what it’s worth,”—he follows me on the bed, inching closer to me—“I’m far from immune. My fate is worse than death, having you inside every corner of my mind, unable to escape the thoughts of you even for a second.”
A coy expression hides the elation surging inside me. I am in his head, like I wanted. But he’s in mine, just as much.
His hand reaches for me, but I use all the force I can muster to push him off, making him land on his ass, back against the headboard. Before he can blink, I’m straddling him, but he seems more than pleased with that outcome.
Atlas reaches for my panties, and they bite into my skin for a brief second before they are gone. I look down, then back up, only to find him smirking.
“I’m not fucking you tonight,” I state in a firm tone.
“You’re not?”
He pretends to try to put my ripped panties back on.
“Oh, well! I tried.”
