“We keep it about sex.”He says it like he’s suggesting switching brands of laundry detergent.
“Sex?”
He shrugs one broad shoulder, setting Grayce on his hip like his body was built just for that purpose.“You already said the relationship part won’t work.But last night worked, didn’t it?”His eyes cut to mine, unflinching.“Hell, more than worked.The dirty things you said lead me to believe it was as amazing for you as it was for me.”
A flash of heat shoots through my body, low and traitorous.He’s right.It wasn’t amazing—it was life altering.My body still hums with echoes of it.But hearing him strip it down to just sex stings like salt in a wound I didn’t know I had.
And yet, I brought that on myself.
“So, you’re saying we just… have sex?”
He gives me a steady look.“I’m saying I heard you and I accept your limitations.You don’t want a relationship.You want lines and boundaries so you feel safe.Fine.I’ll work with that.I’ll take the one thing we both know we’re damn good at together and leave the rest alone.”
I open my mouth.Close it.
My brain whirls through the possibilities he’s laying out before me.I don’t know whether to be furious or flattered.The sex was beyond amazing.The idea of more, without the threat of entanglement, sets my skin buzzing.But the casual way he frames it?Like he’s boxed me into something I swore I’d never let happen again?That confuses me more than anything.
“You really think that can work?”My voice comes out sharper than I intend.
He shifts Grayce to his other hip, calm as can be.“Why not?We both get what we want.You don’t have to risk the emotional mess of a relationship.I don’t have to pretend I don’t want you.And we both walk away satisfied, no guilt, no pressure.”
I stare at him, stunned.Part of me wants to argue, to call it reckless, to accuse him of reducing me to a body.But the part that hasn’t been able to stop thinking about the way he touched me, how he knew exactly what I needed, whispersyes.
Atlas smiles faintly, as if he knows what battle is happening in my head.“Think about it, Maddie.You’ve already admitted you can’t do the whole hearts-and-flowers thing.Fine.So don’t.Let yourself have this.”
I truly can’t tell if he’s manipulating me or rescuing me from myself.
Maybe both.
Maybe it doesn’t matter.
I blow out a shaky breath, my pulse thundering in my ears.“You’re serious.”
“As a playoff game,” he says easily.
The idea is insane.Way too dangerous and everything I should run from.
And yet, “Okay,” I whisper.
His eyes heat, victory and desire flashing in equal measure.“Okay,” he echoes, voice seductive.
I’m not sure if I’ve just made the best decision of my life or the one that’ll ruin me completely.
But the one thing I know for sure is that I can’t give him up.And havingthisis better than having nothing.
CHAPTER 20
Atlas
Grayce announces ourarrival with a shriek that ricochets off the glass storefront door like a puck clanging off the top crossbar of the net.
Heads turn and a bell chimes overhead, delicate and pretty, and it feels like we’ve skated into a different rink, one where everything is soft, small and costs triple what you think.
The boutique smells like cotton candy.A chalkboard sign by the door reads Welcome, Tiny Humans in looping script.Racks bloom in every direction—petal-pink dresses like cupcakes, tiny denim jackets with sherpa collars, a wall of miniature shoes that look like someone shrunk down grown-up styles with a ray gun.There’s even a display of absurdly small hockey jerseys emblazoned with Titans’ logos, but Grayce already has three of them.
Maddie leans over the stroller to tug Grayce’s floppy bow straight, murmuring, “Too much?”and then answering herself, “Nah.Own it,” before she catches me grinning.“What?”she asks.
“Nothing.”I steer the stroller around a table stacked with knit blankets that probably come with a mortgage.“Just enjoying how seriously you consult the headband.”
