Saving You Losing Me

Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

ATOM

I don’t need to see Clara to know where she is. I can feel her. She’s the blood running through my veins, the beat of my aching heart and the vision in my dreams. She has been since I first caught sight of her among her gaggle of friends. Not far away physically, but we are oceans apart in other ways.

Even then, I knew we were one another’s destiny. I’m not sure why, but fate decided to cross our paths and now we are on the verge of something that will be amazing.

She has moved from crouching low under the window and I smile, loving how she has embraced the game with no fear.

She has a courage I recognized when I watched her from afar. Our lives are different, but none of that matters when you share a connection that I understood from the beginning. She, on the other hand, is just figuring it out.

I check my wristwatch.

Twenty minutes left .

A bolt of electricity shoots through my veins as I haul my ass through the open window. I’m guessing she took the stairs.

It’s what I would do.

I don’t hurry, there is no need for that. I can smell her excitement. It’s leading me straight to her and so I move toward the staircase with mounting anticipation.

Not long now.

When she made the decision to come here, she may as well have gifted me her soul. Those words sealed her fate and mine. I’m not certain what I would have done if she had refused. It’s an interesting possibility that I have never considered before. I’m guessing we would still be here anyway because I’m not a man who takes no for an answer.

The guys think I lost my mind to even entertain the thought that a lady like Clara would look at me twice. That’s why I’m the president of The Dark Angels. I set my sights high and make it happen. No isn’t an option; just how long it will take.

Fifteen minutes, I’m guessing.

The tread of my boots on the rickety staircase is the only sound I make, and I could be accompanied by a brass band for all the difference it would make to that little lady.

I am not hiding my intentions. I’ve made them crystal clear and now I’m going to get my girl and claim my reward.

“Time’s up beautiful. It’s fight or flight.”

I stand in the doorway to the room at the far end of the hall and a shocked gasp alerts me that I was right. She’s not even attempting to hide as she stands by the partially clad window, the boards having fallen off through rot and decay.

“What now?”

Her voice shakes, and yet there’s a defiant edge to it that interests me.

“Will you fight or flight, or just surrender? The choice is yours.”

“What if I tell you I’m a virgin?”

Her voice shakes and it squeezes against my heart.

“You tell me, darlin’.”

“I am.”

“Do you want to be a virgin, or should I help you with that?”

“You speak as if it’s nothing.”

“It’s everything , baby. That is why you have choices.”

“Do I?”

“Of course.”

I shrug as I move deeper into the room, and she doesn’t even flinch.

“That kiss.”

“What about it?”

She bites her lower lip. “I liked it.”

“You were meant to.”

“I have a question.”

“Only one?”

I continue to advance.

“Why me? Is it for the kicks, the unattainable perhaps?”

“You devalue yourself, darlin”.

My voice lowers. “It was always you, princess. I told you that. But you were a girl, not a woman. So, I waited.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

There is no scorn in her voice, merely curiosity, and I laugh softly. “I’m not saying I’ve been an angel. Even dark angels have needs.”

“So much for waiting.” A small laugh accompanies her words, and I step a little closer.

“When you ride as a club, it holds a certain fascination for the chicks. They want a piece of the action and to be required.”

“Required? How romantic.”

She rolls her eyes and yet her amused smile tells me she’s not horrified, which I admire.

“But–”

I step forward and grasp her hand, dragging it to my chest and as I press her soft fingers against my heart, I whisper gruffly, “But I have never been inside a single one of them.”

Her eyes widen in shock.

“You’re lying. Are you seriously telling me you’re a–”

“Virgin.”

I cock my brow. “In no other way than that, princess. I told you. I was saving that pleasure for you.”

“But–” She steps a little closer. “How? I mean–”

She gazes up into my eyes and I almost blow my stack because the moonlight casts a shadow across her face that takes my breath away. She is so beautiful. She always was and as her eyes shine and her hard gaze softens, I have an irresistible urge to kiss her.

“Everything but, princess. The final act has been reserved for you.”

“Atom!” Her eyes shine with diamonds that sparkle as the tears fall and she reaches up and drags my head toward hers and lightly touches my lips. This time she controls the kiss and as she bites down gently on my lower lip I close my eyes. Her tongue edges inside and wraps around mine and her soft moan against my lips is like an angel beckoning me to my downfall.

I kiss her back, but she is in control here and her hands slip under my t-shirt and her nails glide against my inked skin.

I am in no hurry but our time has run out and as the alarm on my phone sounds, she springs back.

“What’s that?”

“Decision time.”

I grasp her head and pull her roughly to me and whisper against her lips, “What’s it to be, princess? Do we step into the unknown together or I take you home and we carry on with our lives?”

“Is that my choice, not–?”

She appears confused and I stroke her face lightly and smile. “If you thought I wanted our first time to be in a derelict house up against decaying walls, then think again baby. You deserve the best, and I want to make it count. The purpose of this was to claim your heart, not your body, because if I have that, the rest follows in good time.”

“How will this work, Atom?”

I sense the doubts creeping in and say fiercely, “I have nothing to offer you but my heart. I’m offering it to you in a condemned house because I am a condemned man if you refuse to take it.”

I stroke her face softly and whisper, “I live a hard life that is full of danger and adversity. I can’t give you money, material things or maintain the life you are living, but I can give your life meaning. It’s your choice and I will accept your decision.”

Before she can utter one word in response, her cell rings out loud in the silence, destroying the moment, and she pulls away, her eyes wide with fear.

“Fuck! It’s my mom. What do I tell her?”

“I can’t help you with that.”

I move away, my heart beating rapidly as I wait for her decision and as she answers the call, she says loudly, “Mom. I’m sorry, I won’t be long.”

There’s a short silence before she says quickly, “I had a few errands to run. I’ll be around thirty minutes.”

She cuts the call and groans.

“I was expected home after my shift. My parents are throwing a huge party for me tonight and mom was pissed enough that I worked at all.”

I fight back my disappointment.

“Why do you work at Joe’s? I never really understood why?”

An impish smile lights her expression and she grins. “Because you go there.”

A slow easy smile breaks out across my face and she nods, her own smile revealing her perfect white teeth.

“My answer is yes.”

“As in?”

I cock my head on one side and she moves closer and pinches my chin between her manicured fingers and whispers, “I want to be your girl, Atom. I want to be part of your world and I want it to be you. I still don’t believe you saved yourself for me, but it’s a nice thought, anyway. So–”

She brushes her lips against mine.

“Consider the game over. You won and you can claim your prize after my party tonight.”

I say nothing and she whispers, “I’ll sneak out and meet you on the corner of our street at two am. It’s up to you where we go from there.”

As I stare at the woman in front of me now, everything is right with my world. I knew she was the woman for me and so it begins.