AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nod, encouraging her to go on.
"In the beginning, I saw how hard it was for you to deal with the crowds and the noise. You tried to hide it, but it was there in a tightness around your eyes. The way you never wanted to socialize outside of work because you needed time to regroup away from people."
That isn't the only reason I hold myself distant from Willow and the others, but it is part of it.
"You don't think I'm being forced to sell?" I ask, to make sure.
Atlas and his brothers don't need that kind of gossip spreading about them.
"Nah. The more I think about it, the more this move makes sense for you. Besides, that overgrown boyfriend of yours is way too protective to let anybody push you into doing anything you don't want to."
"I'm not exactly a shrinking violet," I argue. "I can stand up for myself."
"Absolutely. Still, it doesn't hurt to have someone like him gaga over you."
"How is everyone doing with the transition?" I ask.
Willow shrugs. "Helios is a cool guy. A little scary sometimes, but I feel like that's a common family gene."
I can't help laughing. "Agreed."
"As long as you're happy, Lucia, we're all doing great. Helios said they want to open more Nuovi Inizis around Portland. They'll be looking for management and I'm keen."
The Hades Brotherhood are going to open other clubs under the Nuovi Inizi name? Not Zesti? I remember Atlas said they wanted to make their own way, but building on what I started is still a very cool thing for them to do.
Warmth expands inside my chest.
Why didn't Atlas tell me? Not that we talk about a whole lot lately. He's busy training new mafia guys. There are a lot more members of the Hades Brotherhood hanging around the club than I even realized were living in Portland.
"I'm glad you're happy about the transition. It's the right thing for me," I tell Willow. "But I didn't want to leave you all in the lurch."
"You so haven't. Helios made it clear that no employee you hired gets fired unless they screw up. Even though they've got their own people, they're finding places for all of us here, or in the new clubs."
"That's good to know." And something I wish Atlas had told me.
He's drawn back into the shell I didn't even know he had until our fight. He's so careful with me, but there's a barrier between us and I'm not sure how to take it down. I've only realized in the last couple of days that I want to.
Very much.
After my chat with Willow, Atlas finds me and tells me it's time for lunch. Today, he has grilled chicken salad and breadsticks ready for me when we get upstairs.
After we finish eating, he herds me toward the bedroom like he has every day for the past two weeks. Atlas expects me to nap, which is ridiculous. I'm not a child, but somehow, I always fall asleep and wake up feeling better. I don't get as tired at night while the club is open either.
I have a feeling that as soon as Helios is fully trained on closing, Atlas will suggest I go to bed earlier. By suggest I mean, carry me up the stairs if I don't go of my own volition.
Like the caveman he is.
I walk into the bedroom and stop short, my breath seizing in my chest.
Crimson leather cuffs sit in the center of my bed with a sleep mask in the same color beside them. My heartbeat stutters.
There is a message here, not just in the presence of the cuffs and blindfold, but in the color of them. Atlas had to have bought them special and he knows what crimson symbolizes to me. Courage.
Atlas is asking me to be brave. To take a risk. On him. On us. He stands so close behind me that I can feel the heat of his body. My thighs clench. My nipples ache. My lips part for kisses that haven't been offered, or welcome, in two long weeks.
Big hands cup my shoulders, their warmth seeping into me. "It is time for you to remember that you trust me,agape mou."
"What does that mean?Agape mou?" I ask him, finally ready to know.
