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“Now why would you assume that?”
“Because you volunteered to bear my child,” he replies. “It’s an educated guess, but I’m assuming you have an adventurous spirit.”
I stand next to him, feeling electricity on my skin as I do. It’s almost instinctual for me to reach out to him and grab his hand—we definitely feel like a couple—but I know better than that.
“I can’t wait to see what you have in store for me,” I say.
He laughs, throwing his head back, his superman curl falling over his eye. Then his expression settles as he looks down at me, his gaze sliding from my shoulders to my breasts. I’m wearing a flimsy white dress, the fabric thin enough for him to be able to see my nipples underneath. They harden as he wets his lips, his eyes flashing green for a split second.
“Don’t distract me,” he says.
“All I’m doing is standing near you.”
“You know the effect you have on me, Penn,” he says. “I can see it in your eyes.”
“And in the way I come for you?” I ask, taking a step toward him until I’m so close to his shield that I can feel it poking at me, like an electrified fence I’m standing too close to.
I let my gaze slide down toward that cocky grin, to his sharp teeth and his serpent tongue. Before I can answer him, he steps backward.
“Careful,” he says, “or you’re going to get shocked.”
I smile. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
He chuckles low in his throat. “Come with me.”
He turns and I can’t help but follow as he leads me through my room and out into the corridor.
One guard walks in front of us and one behind us. His entourage feels downsized here, probably a function of how comfortable he is in the mountains. “My mom likes you,” he says, pride tinting his voice.
It’s a compliment. It shouldn’t feel like a gutpunch.
“I like her,” I say. “She’s great.”
“Good,” he says. He’s leading me to the backdoor of the villa, toward a cobblestone path I haven’t seen before. In the distance, I can see a large fence wrapped around the lake, the water so clear the sunlight makes it look like it’s sparkling when it hits it.
Once we finally get to the edge of the water, Atlas stops as his guards still behind him. “Dip your toes in,” he says.
“What?”
“Kick your shoes off and dip your toes in.”
I raise my eyebrows, but I do what he tells me. As soon as I do, I’m surprised at how perfect the water is. It feels like it adjusts to my body temperature on my skin.
“This is my favorite spot here,” he says. “The water is perfect, and when you dive in, it’s so clear that you can see the bottom of the lake. I researched it; I don’t think it should sting your eyes.”
“What?”
“If you keep your eyes open, you might be able to see adottu.”
“Adottu?”
“It’s like a…fish, I guess? Except they’re bioluminescent,” he replies. “And they travel in schools, so you can see them illuminate everything. All you have to do is stay still when you see them because they get spooked easily.”
“Do you do this often?”
He nods, peeling off his shirt, and I stare at the muscles rippling on his back. When he jumps in, splashing me with the water as he does, the water lights up around him. I blanch a little. The two body guards don’t seem to have the same issues, standing on each side of me and looking down at Atlas.
“Don’t worry,” he says. “The water isn’t electrified.”
