Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
MAX
“I like you without the mask on,” I whispered long minutes later, face tucked into Atlas’ chest. It felt almost silly to say now, but I wanted him to know.
“Yeah?” His voice was raw, and he cradled me closer.
We lay side by side with my leg thrown over his hip to ease the weight of his knot still locked inside me. My skin tingled where we touched, like I was refamiliarizing myself with the way we fit together.
Atlas’ eyes were clear and alert, more so than they’d been in days, and there was a softness about him that I’d never seen before.
Combined with his unmasked face, it almost felt like we were meeting for the first time. Floating on the high of his pheromones soothing me, I smiled. “Yeah. I more than like it, actually. I love it.”
He raked his fingers through my hair and spoke softly. “I should’ve let you see me before. I never meant to hurt you. I thought—” he cut himself off and swallowed. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I’m sorry.”
Suddenly shy, I buried my face back in his chest. “I’m sorry, too, for what I said back at my apartment. I didn’t mean those things.”
His fingers never faltered in their steady rhythm. “Your zero to sixty is impressive. And here I thought I’d have to protect you from anyone who tried to hurt you, but you already know how to go straight for the jugular.”
I cringed and made to shift away, but he held fast. “Max. Look at me.”
Dragging my gaze to his, I grew misty-eyed at the overwhelming jumble of emotions he no longer hid from me.
“I fucked up. I kept things from you that I should’ve disclosed. Don’t feel bad for showing me your claws when I deserved much worse.”
I was shaking my head back and forth before he even finished. “No, you don’t deserve to be spoken to like that. You’re nothing like—” I swallowed. “Like your father, or the monsters you hunt. It’s not true, and I hate that I said that. I’m sorry.”
He kissed my forehead. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I won't hold things back from you anymore.”
I breathed a deep sigh, soothed by the overwhelming peace of exorcising our hurts and coming back together. “And I’ll stop jumping to conclusions if you do.”
A coy smile stretched across his lips. It was a newer expression, and I catalogued it among the ones I’d already memorized. “Maybe we could try couples therapy.”
I snorted. “I can’t imagine what Owen would have to say about the way we—”
Fast as a whip, Atlas rolled us and ground his hips down into mine, pushing a pleasure-laced gasp from me.
“Go ahead,” he said, eyes flashing. “Say that man’s name again while I’m inside of you. See what happens.”
I grinned. “All I’m saying is I think Owen would have a field day if I told him—ah! At—Atlas!”
That big, scary Masked Man I loved so much it hurt blew a raspberry on my cheek.
“What was that?” he asked, rocking his hips into mine. “I couldn’t hear you.”
He blew another right over the place he bit me.
I squirmed, screeching in laughter. “Stop it! This is—hey!”
Another landed on my collarbone. I couldn’t stop my giggles when he began to tickle me, which was even more unfair because we were literally tied together, so I couldn’t escape. “Help! Somebody help me! This—is—torture!”
“There’s no one around to hear you scream, sweet boy,” he growled, attempting to sound low and threatening. It would’ve worked had his eyes not betrayed his devotion. “You know who you fell into bed with.”
“A frightening creature,” I sighed, out of breath. “Good thing I’ve already read those romances and know how this ends.”
He nipped at my earlobe, and I descended into laughter again. Finally relenting, he settled over me.
“You could barely walk half an hour ago,” I grumbled, tugging him down so he lay on top of me. I wanted to be delightfully squished. “You scared me.”
His face softened. “I’m sorry. How about I make it up to you?”
I raised an eyebrow. “What exactly do you have in mind?”
The grin he gave me would’ve sent me running down the hall, had I been able to move. “A few things, actually.”
His mouth descended onto mine, and I didn’t think about much of anything else for a while after that.
Later, much, much later, Atlas carried me outside to watch the sun set.
“I’ve never really used these before,” he said, setting me down next to one of those fancy Adirondack chairs. “Didn’t see the point.”
Four chairs sat around a fire pit, which Atlas cleaned out before lighting. We chose the two seats that faced the water, taking in the spectacular view.
From the western side, you could see the bay spill out into Lake Superior proper, stretching endlessly. A whole flock of waterfowl flushed from the brush below, their wings catching in the last rays of daylight as they skimmed the surface before landing farther out on the water.
The lights in the house across the lake, Mr. Marino’s house, were on, but my apartment sat quiet and dark. Gwen had texted that she’d keep Jeffrey company until I settled back in, wherever that was.
“Do you think Mr. Marino still wants me to cook for him, now that we’re together?” I asked.
Atlas smirked. “You really need to start calling him Saint.”
I scrunched my nose. “The guy just doesn’t give first name vibes, ya know?”
He chuckled softly. “I know. Sometimes I think that’s my fault. I couldn’t help but explode my emotions all over the place as a kid. I think he had to bottle up a lot to keep us both afloat.”
Threading my fingers through his, I squeezed his hand. “He smiles when Enzo is around.”
Atlas’ eyes crinkled. “You’d have to be crazy not to. But to answer your question, he specifically told me to not mess things up with his cook. I think he’d be very disappointed to not have you around anymore. But do you want to? What about your other dreams? Cooking for dinner parties and stuff?”
I shrugged. “I’m not anxious to start. I like the stability of working for Mr.—I mean, Saint—and I’d miss Enzo.
Plus…” I peered at him. “I want to help you with your targets. The way Gwen does,” I clarified when his eyes grew comically wide in panic.
“I’ll leave the action to you. But I want to be a part of it. ”
Atlas blew out a breath. “You know it's not obligatory, right? I don’t need you to participate in that part of my life if you don’t want to.”
“I know. But I’m not the same person I was before we met, Atlas, and I don’t resent that anymore. I want this.”
He nodded shyly. “I’d like that.”
“Besides,” I said. “I’d want to save up more before I branched out, anyway. Starting my own business is terrifying.”
Atlas raised an eyebrow. “You know money isn’t a problem, right?”
My mouth opened and closed. Honestly, with everything that’d happened, I hadn’t even considered all the implications of Atlas being Saint’s brother, including the obvious wealth.
The gorgeous house he lived in spoke volumes alone. It was smaller and cozier, certainly, but well built and in a prime location. “Wait, how rich are you? Like, just as wealthy as Saint?”
He waved a hand. “I don’t pay much attention beyond the finances for the clinic and aquarium. Saint handles everything else. But… yes. I do have money. More than either of us will ever need. Whatever your dreams are, we can make them happen.”
I wasn’t sure what to do with that information, but the way he smiled at me, warm devotion written all over his face, buoyed me.
Wait. “Aquarium? You own that, too?”
A boyish smile stretched his face. “No, but I am a donor. I sponsored the new exhibits you mentioned a few days ago. I wanted to tell you right then.” He squeezed my hand again. “And I’d love nothing more than to show it to you. It’ll be our first real date. No murder involved.”
I snorted. This man thought he was only meant for darkness, and yet, he was the light that kept me company on my loneliest nights.
And now he wanted to take me on a date to the aquarium.
“I’d love that,” I said, misty-eyed.
Just then, lights flickered to life on a boat pulled up to Mr. Marino’s private dock.
It was difficult to see clearly in the waning dusk, but two distinct silhouettes moved around on the deck, carrying several large bags.
One of them appeared to be Saint, but I couldn’t place the other. It had to be Gwen, though, right?
And what was in all of those bags?
Then it dawned on me. “Oh my God,” I said, turning a bit queasy. “Is that… Joey? In the bags? In all the bags?”
Atlas grumbled. “I don’t usually care for the cleanup, but I would’ve liked to be involved in this one.”
“Was dismemberment necessary?” I asked, regretting my greasy lunch more and more by the second.
I definitely wouldn’t be involved in that aspect of helping Atlas.
With a smirk, he sat forward like he was watching a sporting match.
“My brother quit hunting with me when Enzo was born. I always respected that, but I’m glad to see him back in the game.
If you think I’m scary, he’s ruthless. I think it has to do with how we grew up, but there are certain things he can just shut off.
” He snapped his fingers. “The dude is efficient and meticulous when it comes to body disposal. You should see his basement.”
My brow creased. “I have seen his basement. There’s nothing weird about it.
” It was mostly a giant movie room, with reclining loungers, a wet bar, and a wall-sized projector screen.
While it certainly wasn’t normal compared to most people’s basements, it didn’t look like it belonged to a guy who chopped people up.
Atlas shook his head. “No. There’s a basement under the basement. I’ll show you next time we’re over there. It’ll be fun.”
He was like a kid at Christmas. I laughed. “And what about you? Do you have a basement in your basement?”
“No, but I do have a whole room of fish tanks. Freshwater, saltwater, brackish. I’ve got it all. But there’s plenty of room for whatever you want to bring when you move in, I promise.”
“Oh, I’m moving in, am I? When did we decide that?” I asked, just because I’d said we were going to fight about something after he stopped dying, but I couldn’t remember what.