Let the record show that the only reason I did as he’d instructed was because it was late, I was tired, and those two orgasms he’d given me made me want to curl up and slip into a much-earned sleep.
Lying on the couch with the hum of the TV lulling me, I was on my way to doing just that when a sharp knock startled a yelp out of me.
It was only Atlas’s gruff, “It’s me,” that allowed my racing heart to settle back into a normal pace.
Or as normal as it could manage when the beast himself was in my general vicinity. My entire body seemed to malfunction whenever he was around. Most of all, my common sense.
Case in point, when I’d let him strip me down and fuck me on a desk in his family’s bar. As if I needed a reminder of exactly how combustible we were together.
Shoving those thoughts into the furthest recesses of my mind where they belonged, I glanced out the front window to verify it was him—as if I couldn’t recognize him from that low growl alone—and opened the door. He did a quick sweep of me from head to toe before storming inside, filling up far too much of the cottage as his gaze darted around the space.
“Please, come in,” I said dryly, closing the door behind him.
“Pack a bag. We can move the rest of your stuff over tomorrow.”
I could only blink at him for long moments, my thoughts whirring a thousand miles an hour. Because…what thefuck?
“Did you hit your head?” I asked. “Run into a telephone pole while you were gone? Maybe slip on some leaves and crack your forehead on the pavement?”
He scowled at me. “I’m not in the mood for games, trouble.”
“Good. Neither am I. So this game you’re playing where you think I’m going to do whatever you tell me to can end right now.”
“I’m not playing a game,” he bit out.
“And I’m not moving in with you.” I huffed out a laugh and shook my head. “Do you hear yourself? You don’t evenlikeme.”
“That’s the second time you’ve said that, and it’s starting to piss me off.”
“Why? It’s the truth.”
Rather than refute me, he snapped his mouth shut, his jaw ticking as he stared down at me.
“Excellent rebuttal.” I heaved out a sigh and sat on the couch. “What happened? He said he wasn’t going to leave?”
Atlas crossed his arms over his chest and glared out the window. “I couldn’t find him.”
“That’s not a bad thing. It probably just means he left already.”
“What it means is he could be anywhere, and he already knew how to find you in Starlight Cove. It’s not a stretch that he could figure out you livehere. And all you have to keep him out is that flimsy fucking excuse for a lock.”
“I think you’re overreacting.”
“And I don’t think you’re reacting enough.”
“I thought Starlight Cove was supposed to be safe?”
“That was before Pillow Humper came to town.”
I huffed out a laugh, unable to tamp it down. “You’re being ridiculous. Pillow Humper? Really?”
“Don’t tell me the thought didn’t cross your mind.”
I wasn’t going to tell him that, because it absolutely had. Who knew what my ex had done with my pillow in the months since I’d called things off. “I’m not moving in to your house, Atlas. And I’m not going to worry about what Doug may or may not do.”
“Who the fuck is Doug?”
“Pillow Humper, as you like to call him.” I stood, gripped Atlas’s elbow, and tugged him toward the door. “I’m tired. I’m going to go to bed and wake up to news that Pillow Humper is gone. And you’re going to go back to your house and cuddle your kitten, or whatever it is big, grouchy men do to fall asleep. I’ll see you later.”
