"If not that, then…oh.Aurora, you'renothinglike him. Is that what you're worried about?"
Well, I did keep this secret all this time. A lie of omission is still a lie.
I wrap my arms around myself.
"My father was a deadbeat drug addict who couldn't be counted on for anything. I am no more my father than you are yours," he says, and his fingertips find the outside of my knees, sliding up to rest reassuringly on my thighs. "And the others will feel the same way."
"You don't want to use me, then?"
In the darkest parts of my imagination, it was something I'd wondered. If Ambrose cares for me like he claims to, it might be the simplest route to getting what they want.
"Use you?"
"You could threaten to hurt me, and he might give you whatever you want. He might give you the collection back…"
For a long moment, there's silence in the steam, then his hands slip from my thighs. "Is that why you're here? To test me?"
I squint, trying to see him as he leans back, and his face is lost again in the steam.
"It's a fair question, Atticus."
"Do you think so little of me?"
Now, it's my turn to be silent.
"You might not believe me, but I meant it when I said I would never hurt you again. I will never threaten you. And I will never break your trust. I told you I would do anythingI needed to doto protect you, and I meant it." His words scrape raw. "So, no, Aurora. I will not ever use you in any way you do not want to be used."
His words land heavy in my stomach, and my fingernails bite into my arms.
Atticus takes a shaky breath. "I'm sorry this is how you found out about your birth parents. There's nothing I can do or say to fix that, but…Sev and Eli are here for you."
I flinch.
"Fuck, I am, too," he says on an exhale that pushes hot steam against my belly.
"Youweren't." The words come out before I can stop them.
I clench my teeth, mentally berating myself for still trying to start this fight even though he's not taking the fucking bait. Doesn't he get that I need him to be angry at me?
I don't know how to handle it if he's not.
"I thought I was protecting them, Aurora, I?—"
"That wasn't protection, that wascontrol. That was you playing god."
He recoils, but he doesn't disagree with me, and I wait for him to snap back at me how I can tell that he wants to, but he doesn't.
"No," he says quietly. "That was melosingcontrol. I was fucking terrified, Aurora."
My breath catches at the quiet admission.
"The night before…I didn't think I was capable of feeling things like that. Oftrustingsomeone else besides Sev and Eli ever again. And then you…you walked in and shattered my walls, and I fucking let you."
The tremble in his voice is enough to pierce right through my armor.
"And then when I saw that message, I…"
My throat tightens.
