"You're afraid history will repeat itself?"
That's something I would typically fear and overthink. Not Atlas. He's the sensible one. The calm to my storm. The strong one. But I suppose even the strongest people have their own fears and demons to battle.
"Promise me, Shaye." He demands, a seriousness washing over him. "I can't lose you."
I offer him a warm smile, hoping to ease his anxiety. "You won't be able to get rid of me." I wish I could promise he won't lose me, but I can't. I don't have a death wish, and I don't want history having the opportunity to repeat itself, but if I've learned anything over the past few months, it's not making promises you can't keep.
"I'm sorry," he whispers, running his fingers through his hair.
"Why are you apologizing?" I frown. "You are allowed to have feelings, Atlas. You've comforted me more times than I can even count at this point."
"Thank you for being here for me."
"There's nowhere else I would rather be."
He smirks and I can see him shoving his fears into the recesses of his mind. I'm sure there's more we can unpack but whether I like it or not, he's compartmentalizing and moving on for the evening. "Let me get myself washed up and I can take you out – "
I wave him off. "How about we stay home tonight?"
He arches a brow and shakes his head. "No. I promised you a nice dinner and – "
"We can go another night." I raise up on my knees and kiss him gently. "We've both had a long day. Let's relax."
"We still need to eat, Shaye," he teases at my lack of planning.
"We can try our hand in the kitchen."
He barks out a laugh, and it fills me with so much joy to hear. "Us? Cook?"
"I believe in us," I force myself to say which draws a huff from him. "I think we should take advantage of having the house to ourselves for a while. Nyx and Ronan will be atPrue's –one last hurrah as bachelors – and Finn and Eris will be at the shop until closing time."
"All right," he bobs his head, pulling me up to sit in his lap. "So, the new plan is we will try to make ourselves food and not burn the house down."
"Right. That's the most important part," I tease, massaging the back of his neck.
"What else do you want to do tonight?" He closes the gap between us, kissing the spot where my jaw and ear meet.
"Maybe a nice warm bath will help you relax," I suggest, a flirtatious gleam in my eye.
"Will you also be in this relaxing warm bath?" His breath tickles my neck, easily wrenching a smile from me.
Although I still sense his anxiety, he needs this. He needs this time to get lost in the moment and ease his mind of suffering. I can be his shield, I can be his distraction, and maybe I can be the peace to his torment.
"I think that can be arranged."
Atlas kisses me and palms my ass. "What are we waiting for?"
Twenty - Two
Nyx
Just as I feared it would be,Prue'sis nothing short of a nightmare. It doesn't matter how many drinks I down, how many women I dance with, or how fun the atmosphere is, I can't get into it. All I want to do is leave and go home but Ronan has other plans.
With a stupid grin, he drags two girls to our private booth and has them plop in beside us. He's supposed to be in search of a wife, instead he teases his hope of one of them cheering me up. But there is no need to cheer me up. I'm not sad. I just…don't want to be here. I used to considerPrue'sa second home. Now, I feel like a stranger, an imposter.
What the fuck is going on?
The girls are sexy. I mean, jaw-dropping tempting. And for as much as Finn and Eris mock me, I haven't slept with either one of them. Maybe I'm tired, but I'm not interested in feigning interest for a night of frivolity.
