I brushed a curl from her cheek, my knuckles grazing her skin with slow, deliberate reverence.
“That’s because I can’t,” I told her.
Something in her expression softened, deepened, unraveling into something tender and devastating. Her hand lifted, resting lightly over my heart, and my pulse stumbled under her palm.
“Atlas…” she whispered.
Not a question.
Not a warning.
Just my name, spoken with such quiet emotion it almost brought me to my knees.
I guided her into the bath first, my hands steady at her waist as she stepped in. Water lapped against her skin, steam curling around her shoulders, and when she sank down into the heat, her eyes fluttered closed. A soft sound escaped her, a sigh that hit somewhere deep inside me.
I followed her in.
The water wrapped around us, warm and soothing, but it was her presence that stole my breath.
She drifted closer instinctively, her knees brushing mine under the water. I lifted one arm along the rim of the tub behind her, not touching, not quite, but close enough that she leaned into the warmth.
Her head found my shoulder, slow and natural, as if her body decided before she did.
And gods…
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
The quiet settled around us.
Not tense.
Not heavy.
Sacred.
Her hand lifted, trailing lazily through the water, fingertips brushing my thigh beneath the surface, accidental, maybe, but enough to send a low, heated ripple through my chest.
I turned my head toward her, voice low.
“Are you sore?”
A blush climbed her cheeks. “A little.”
I exhaled a quiet laugh. “Come here.”
She shifted toward me, and I reached up, brushing my thumb along the curve of her shoulder, kneading gently. Her breath hitched again — but this time, not from pain.
“Is that better?” I murmured.
Her eyes fluttered. “Yes.”
My hands continued their slow exploration, tracing the tension from her muscles with deliberate care. But something shifted in the air between us — a charge that made my fingers linger just a fraction longer on her skin.
I worked my way down her spine, thumbs pressing into the small of her back, and she let out a soft sound that went straight through me.
Control.
I needed control.
