Maybe he could temporarily move on to Lilliane. She wouldn’t mind being his mate rebound. In fact, she was pretty sure that’s all she wanted.
ELEVEN
ATLAS
By the time Lilliane went up to bed, Atlas was out of his mind with lust. With desire. With a need to kiss her again. He thought making the biggest ice cream concoction would save them from talking too much.
Instead, he had to watch as his mate, the beautiful Lilliane, licked her spoon over and over. It didn’t help that she was still dressed in his sweatshirt. It made him fantasize about a whole lifetime of nights just like this one.
He paced his new bedroom as he imagined Lilliane snuggling into his pillow. He couldn’t calm down enough to be tired. He probably needed a good run in the woods, but there was no way in hell he would leave Lilliane alone and without some kind of guard. Not with her vampire stalker still out there in the world.
Atlas took a shower, jerked off to take the edge off, and slid on a pair of PJs. He hoped going through the motions would make him sleepy, but he just tossed and turned until the clock on the bedside table read 12:34.
He glared at it, but a sob made him jump out of bed.
He was at Lilliane’s door before she could sob again. He should’ve knocked. He didn’t. He barged into the bedroom and lay on the bed beside her.
“Hey,” he said softly, rubbing her arm. “Lilliane, trouble, you’re having another nightmare.”
Her eyes flew open, letting free some tears. She blinked at him once before closing her eyes again. “Shit. I woke you up again.”
“I’d have to be asleep to be woken.” He pushed her hair over her shoulder and gave her a smile. “You wanna talk about the dream?”
“Nope. That asshole takes up too much of my brain space already.”
He nodded. The second he laid eyes on Victor, the vampire would die. Atlas vowed that as he took in the sadness in his mate’s eyes. “Do you want to go to the living room?”
She shook her head. “No. I should really try to get more sleep. It won’t come. It’ll be a huge waste of time, but I gotta try, don’t I?”
Atlas continued to rub her back. With every stroke, she relaxed a bit more. “I’m gonna suggest something … I could sleep in here … with you. You fell asleep last night on the couch. Maybe it was the TV.”
“It wasn’t. It was definitely you.” She avoided his gaze as she spoke. Almost like she didn’t want to tell him what she wanted of him. If she only knew …
“Should I stay then?”
Lilliane rubbed her eyes and sighed.
“Lilliane?” he pressed.
“Does it make me a huge loser if I say yes?”
“Not at all. Scoot over.” He lay beside her, making sure not to touch her. “Just close your eyes, trouble. I’m gonna chase the monsters away. Sleep.”
She smiled at him from his pillow. “You’re a good man, Atlas Silvers. A really good man.”
He could’ve argued with her. Just telling her what she was to him would’ve done the trick. But he didn’t tell her. He returned her smile and closed his eyes.
If this was all he would get from his mate, then he would take it. Gratefully.
* * *
Atlas wokeas a ray of sunlit hit his face. He frowned and blinked his eyes open. For one second, he was confused about the warm body pressed against him.
Then he remembered Lilliane’s nightmare and his offer to stay with her.
During the night, they had found each other in the middle of the bed. Their feet were intertwined, and Lilliane’s head was on his bare chest, her hand right over his heart. One of his arms held her tightly to his side at her waist. They couldn’t be any closer.
It was pure bliss.
