was hoping you'd be a little more enthusiastic about sharing a bed with me but we can work on that."
I scoff at him and shove at his chest a little. "It’s not that, I just... I still feel bad about mooching off of you by being here. I don't know what to do about finding a job. North can track me, if I even get close to the edges of campus, he calls me and scolds me."
Atlas clutches dramatically at his chest where I pushed him and stalks past me to the fridge, pulling us each out a bottle of water. "There's shit you can do online, that way you can stay here and North won't ever know about it. Money and secrecy, it's a win-win."
I perch on the couch, still a little uncomfortable. "What, like a cam-girl? I guess I could get my tits out. Do you think I have a voice for sex work?"
I’m joking, there's no way I'd ever have the confidence to do that kind of thing, but the glare Atlas shoots me is kind of awesome. I haven't had any sort of possessive actions from any of my Bonds like this so having him care about my tits... is pretty great.
"Over my dead fucking body, Fallows. Never, and certainly not before I've even gotten to see them."
I giggle and wiggle my eyebrows at him. "Play your cards right and I might get them out later."
Again, I'm joking. I've known him in the flesh for about ten hours, but the look he gives me melts my panties right off of my body. "I'm playing to win, Oli. This is one hand I refuse to lose."
Fuck, and I’m pretty sure he will too because I’m struggling to keep my cool right now and he’s not even trying to seduce me. I’m not going to be able to handle anything he throws at me right now. He notices all of my brain-melting and grins lasciviously even as he flicks the TV on and changes the subject.
It’s awkward at first to just sit around with him and hang out but he’s the perfect gentleman, never pushing me or questioning me, and I spread out on the floor in front of the TV with all of my textbooks to work on my next assignment to hand over to North. It’s become my obsession, but I will prove that man wrong even if it kills me.
When we both finally head for bed, there’s an awkward moment when I want to be embarrassed about the old, oversized cotton tee I have for pajamas and the silky boxer shorts, but I'm not exactly a lingerie kind of girl. Atlas's eyes trace over me appreciatively anyway, as if I was only standing here in lace, and I find myself getting addicted to the heat in his gaze.
"Is it cool with you if I sleep in just my boxers? It's too hot for a shirt," he mumbles as I pull back the covers and climb in.
I shrug. "Whatever is comfortable for you."
I don’t mention Gryphon and his penchant to do the same. There’s an ache in my chest over the thought of him showing up to my dorm room tonight to find it empty so I flick him a quick text to tell him where I am instead. I already know he won’t answer, but at least I’ve tried.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The sound of a door being kicked in wakes me.
Atlas rolls over me, bracing himself as he goes so he doesn’t hurt me, and then leaps out of the bed on my side, standing between the bed and whoever the fuck has just arrived. It’s all a little too smooth for me, he’s definitely had training and I’m jealous of how quickly his brain has come online because I’m still trying to figure out what the fuck is happening right now.
“Who the fuck— are you kidding me? What the fuck is your problem, Draven?”
My eyes finally adjust to the light streaming into the room from the kitchen and I find that it really is North here, storming into the apartment with an entire fucking TacTeam because I dared to break his stupid rules… by sleeping in Atlas’ apartment, two blocks away from the dorms.
It’s probably because of the two am wake up, but I suddenly want to burst into tears of rage and hopelessness. Atlas squares up on him, staring around at the men all dressed in their riot gear like he’s going to take them