Chapter Seven
Seven
Atlas
I didn’t even think twice. I just grabbed Tegan’s hand and let her lead me to the dance floor. A pop song with a catchy beat pulsed through the speakers, and I swear half the town of Briar Glenn was out there dancing.
“I have no idea what I’m doing,” I shouted over the music. I swayed on my feet awkwardly, trying to find my rhythm. I didn’t dance, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her no.
“Just start moving your body to the beat,” Tegan said, rolling her shoulders and shimmying her hips. On anyone else it would have looked innocent enough, but with her soft curves and rhythmic movements, it was seductive.
I stood there rooted to the spot, the only one on the dance floor who wasn’t dancing, because I was absolutely mesmerized by her.
“Here,” she said, gently pulling me closer.
There was still a respectable amount of space between us—enough for that whole “pretend there’s a balloon between you” thing they enforced at prom—but I still wasn’t getting the motions right.
Tegan reached up, placing her hand on my shoulder, making me rock with her to the beat of the music. “This okay?” she asked.
I appreciated that she was checking in with me, but it was more than okay. I liked her touching me. I wanted her to be closer. I wanted to feel her body rubbing against mine.
I grabbed her hip, splaying my fingers on her lower back right above her ass, tugging her to me until our bodies were pressed together. I could feel her breath skitter in her chest, and I leaned in to whisper in her ear, “This okay?”
She glanced up at me, those green eyes wide and almost hungry. She nodded, a slow smile playing on her lips.
“Good,” I purred, my lips grazing the shell of her ear.
I straightened up, moving my body in sync with hers, feeling her breasts brush against me. I wanted to slide my hand lower and cup her ass, but I stopped myself.
What was this woman doing to me?
We danced like that for a few songs, our bodies grinding against each other without a care in the world. Tegan was so comfortable with herself. Confident. It was hot.
Jade would have never danced with me like that. We would have sat at the table while she played on her phone.
Tegan tugged my tie, pulling me down toward her. “Do you want to take a break?” she asked. Her chest was heaving and her skin was slick and shiny with sweat.
More than once while we were dancing I’d had to shift my pelvis away from her, absolutely afraid of rubbing my half boner against her like some sort of creep. I couldn’t help it when it came to her.
Fuck, I needed to put some distance between us.
I stepped back and nodded, letting Tegan lead me back to our table.
“That’s the most fun I’ve had in a while,” I said, collapsing in my seat.
“I told you it would be fun!”
“You did.” I reached for my glass, but it was empty. And so was the pitcher on the table. “Shoot.”
“Oh, I need a drink, too.”
“Allow me—” I said, but she was already getting up.
“You just relax.” She leaned over, grabbing the pitcher, putting her breasts right in my face. I wasn’t sure if it was accidental or on purpose, but it certainly didn’t help the whole boner situation. She gave my shoulder a little shake. “You deserve it after showing me all your moves.”
I laughed, knowing I’d probably embarrassed myself, but I was too happy to care. Running into Tegan again was exactly what I’d hoped for. Getting the chance to dance with her was just a bonus.
“Beer? Wine? Champagne?” she asked.
“Water, please. I don’t drink. Did enough of that in college to last a lifetime.”
She smiled then, so goddamn bright and beautiful. “Me, neither. Water it is, then.”
Before I could offer to go with her, she started to walk away. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, mesmerized by the sway of her hips and the slow jiggle of her ass with each of her steps.
On the way to the bar, she was stopped by a few people. It was like she was the sun and they were pulled in by her.
I was being pulled in, too.
“What are you doing, Atlas?” I asked myself, tipping my head back and taking a deep breath.
I’d just met the girl and here I was pining over her like she was some long-lost love. It was too soon.
Too soon since I’d met her and too soon since my breakup with Jade.
Before I knew it, Tegan was back, setting a pitcher full of ice water in front of me. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.” I filled a cup for her, then one for me.
“You’re welcome.” She took a long drink, and I watched her throat bob as she swallowed. When she set her cup back down, there was a smudge on the glass from her lips, and what I would have given to have her mouth on me like that.
Her brows pinched together, an adorable little furrow forming between them. “Everything okay?”
“Mhm.” I loosened my tie and unbuttoned my shirt collar. “Just feeling a little warm, is all.” It wasn’t an outright lie. I was hot—but I was also hot for her.
The way she bit her lip while looking at me only made it worse. “Why don’t we step outside and get some fresh air? There’s a beautiful garden around back.”
Me and her, alone in a beautiful garden?
She didn’t need to ask me twice.
“That sounds great.”
I followed behind her as she made her way across the room.
More people stopped her to chat, and she happily introduced me to each and every one of them.
Once we were out of earshot, she’d give me a little anecdote about them, a story from when she was a kid or something she’d heard through the town gossip mill.
It was obvious she’d lived here for a long time and was well loved by the people in town.
When we reached the exit, I held the door open for her and we stepped outside.
Tegan led the way to the garden, with me following behind her.
In fact, I’d been following her around all evening, but I wasn’t mad about it one bit.
The wedding would be over before I knew it, and I hadn’t even asked for her number yet.
“Thank you for introducing me to everyone back there,” I said.
“It’s no problem,” she said over her shoulder, still leading me down the path.
“You know, I was hoping I’d run into you tonight.”
“Were you?” she asked.
“Mhm.”
“And why is that?” she asked coyly.
“Who doesn’t want to see a friendly face among a sea of strangers?” I was too scared to tell her the truth.
“Darn,” she said, sounding genuinely sad. “I was hoping you were going to say you just wanted to see me again.”
I swallowed hard, trying to work up the nerve for what I was about to ask. “And what would you have thought if I said that?”
She stopped, turning to face me. “Maybe I wanted to see you again, too.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but I was at a loss for words. This woman was stirring up feelings in me. Feelings my wagging tail was giving away.
She smirked before turning around again, leading us down a tree-lined path that led to an open courtyard.
A fountain burbled in the center, surrounded by bare bushes with tiny unopened buds.
The garden wasn’t much to look at now, but in a few weeks it would be alive with the colors and scents of spring.
Tegan sat on a bench near the fountain, shuddering when her butt touched the cool concrete.
It was the middle of April, but the Northeast was late to get the memo. At night there was a noticeable nip in the air.
“It’s beautiful.” She stared up at the night sky and I stared at her, admiring the way she seemed to glow under the moonlight.
“Sure is,” I said mindlessly.
Tonight was a waning crescent, the faintest sliver of silver hanging in the sky, but what I’d give to see her under the rays of the full moon.
As a wolven, the thought shook me up a little bit.
We were different under the full moon. Wild and feral, running through the woods with our packs, or with our mates, and in my case—alone.
I wasn’t sure if I could trust myself to keep my composure around her during the full moon.
The thought hit me like a ton of bricks. Why was I even thinking about that?
“Atlas?” Tegan’s voice pulled me out of my stupor.
I cleared my throat. “Yes?”
“I asked you if you like living here.”
“Oh yeah. I do. I liked it from the moment I first visited. It has a small-town feel, but there are enough businesses in town and cities to visit nearby. It reminds me a lot of where I grew up, actually.”
“And where was that?” she asked.
“Pinewood. A tiny town in upstate New York.”
“Hmm. Never heard of it.”
“I would have been shocked if you had. There’s not a lot going on there.
When I was a teenager, I was in such a rush to get away from it, but after going to college and a few years working in the city, I was ready to get back to the pace of small-town life again—if that makes sense.
” I conveniently left out the parts about Jade, and how everything fell apart after my move here.
That wasn’t something I needed to share with someone I’d just met, especially not someone I was interested in.
She nodded. “It makes total sense.”
“What about you?” I asked.
“My family has been here for generations. It’s all I’ve ever known.”
A slight breeze blew by, rustling the leaves of the trees around us, making her shudder again.
“Tegan, you’re freezing,” I said, noticing the goose bumps pebbling her bare skin. In our rush to get out of the reception hall, she’d forgotten her coat.
“I’m—”
Before she could tell me she was fine, I was already taking off my jacket. I draped it around her shoulders and it practically swallowed her whole.
She pulled it tighter, snuggling into it. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” I shimmied closer in the hopes that some of my body heat would radiate into her.
Or maybe I just wanted to be close to her.
I’m sure it was because Briar Glenn was a small town, but it was twice now that we’d run into each other. It felt like more than just a coincidence. Or maybe I was just trying to convince myself that was the case.
“Tell me the truth. Did you really want to see me again?” I asked because I needed to know how she felt. I wanted confirmation that whatever this was between us, she felt it, too.
Tegan looked up at me through her lashes, making my chest feel tight. “Yes,” she whispered.
I leaned in closer, until I felt her breath flutter against the tip of my nose, and—
A loud voice boomed through the garden, shattering the moment. “Tegan!” It was a man’s voice.
“You have got to be kidding me,” she huffed, peering through the trees toward the venue.
I leaned over her, following her line of sight. A guy paced back and forth on the terrace, the glow of the reception hall catching his fiery red hair.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“My idiot brother.” Tegan sighed. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.” She grabbed my hand, gently dragging me along with her. She was surprisingly strong for how small she was.
When we stepped onto the terrace, her brother stared at our joined hands. His gaze shifted upward, his eyes narrowing on me.
“Why don’t you come back inside? Aren’t you getting cold out here?” he asked, addressing her and ignoring me completely.
“We were just fine. Right?” She stared up at me, giving my hand a little squeeze.
My eyes snapped between her and her brother, taking in her hopeful expression and his heated gaze. Fuck, it was awkward.
“I, uh, I should get going,” I said, slipping my hand out of Tegan’s grip. “I have an early morning at the gym tomorrow.”
“Oh, um, okay.” From the tone of her voice, she was obviously upset, but I couldn’t stand another awkward moment of whatever this was.
She passed me my jacket, wrapping her bare arms around herself. “I’ll see you around.”
I nodded. “You know where to find me.”
Her brother stood there silent as a sentry, glaring at me so intensely, it made my skin crawl.
What was with this guy?
“Have a good night,” Tegan said half-heartedly.
“You, too.” I gave her a little wave before I turned to walk away.
I heard her brother ask, “What were you doing out there?”
“That’s not really any of your business, now, is it?” Her reply was full of sass.
“You’re my sister,” he snapped. “Of course it’s my business.”
I stopped in my tracks, listening to the two of them bicker as they walked inside. One thing was for sure—even if Tegan was interested in me, her brother definitely didn’t approve.
Not that it mattered anyway. We were two people who were swept up in the moment. That was it. That’s all it would ever be.