Page 110 of Hot Knot Summer
He chuckles. “How’s the writing going, sweetheart?”
I gesture to my laptop, trying to ignore how the endearment makes my heart flutter. “Better than it has in months. I think being up here helps. Something about the isolation, the quiet… it’s like my brain finally has space to breathe again.”
“I’m glad.” There’s something almost tender in those dark eyes. “You looked so defeated when you first got here. Seeing you like this, passionate about your work again, alive, is incredible.”
My chest tightens. “You really noticed that?”
He opens his mouth to answer, then stops, his gaze shifting to stare past me toward the windows. “Hold that thought. Look.” I turn in my chair, but he’s already moving, stepping back outside onto the balcony that wraps around the watchtower. “Come here,” he calls softly.
I follow him outside. The wood balcony is warm under my bare feet, and the morning air carries the scent of pine and wildflowers. Atlas is standing at the railing, his body tense withstillness.
“What are we looking at?” I whisper, moving to stand beside him.
He points toward the treeline below. A doe and her fawn are grazing peacefully in the clearing, the baby all legs and spots, staying close to its mother as they move through the tall grass with careful, graceful steps. The morning light makes their coats gleam like burnished copper.
“They’re beautiful,” I breathe, not wanting to startle them.
“They come here most mornings,” Atlas murmurs, his voice low and intimate. “This is their safe space.”
Something about the way he says it makes me look at him instead of the deer. “Is that what this place is for you? A safe space?”
“Yes.” His arm comes around my waist, pulling me against his solid warmth. “But lately, safe spaces include wherever you are.”
My body melts into his without hesitation, fitting against him like we were designed for this. I tilt my head back to gaze up at him, and the sweet smile on his face leaves me swooning. There’s something raw there, vulnerable beneath his Alpha confidence.
“Atlas,” I whisper.
Then he’s kissing me, and every coherent thought evaporates.
This kiss is soft and loving. His lips are warm and sure against mine, tasting like coffee and honey, and I’m addicted. The cool morning breeze whispers around us, carrying the scent of pine and earth, and forthe first time in longer than I can remember, I feel completely free.
Like I could float away on this feeling and never come back down.
When we break apart, I’m dizzy and breathless, my hands fisted in his shirt.
“You came here to distract me,” I accuse, though my voice is husky with want.
His grin is pure sin. “Is it working?”
“You know it is.” I try to step back, but his arm tightens around my waist. “But if we stay here, I know where this will lead… with me bent over my desk with my laptop crashed on the floor.”
His pupils dilate. “Now, there’s a thought.”
“Down, boy.” I press my hand against his chest, feeling his heart thundering beneath my palm. “Some of us have deadlines.”
He laughs, and my knees weaken. It’s rich and uninhibited, the kind of sound that has me wanting to spend my life trying to hear it again.
“Well, speaking of distractions… I want to take you out.”
“Oh?” I cross my arms, which makes his gaze drop to my cleavage for a split second before snapping back to my face. “What’s the occasion? Did I win the lottery? Get nominated for a Pulitzer? Finally master the art of not burning toast?”
“Do I need an occasion to want to spend time with my gorgeous Omega?”
The possessive pronoun makes heat spike throughme, but I’m not about to let him off that easy. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Chief, but it won’t answer my question. Spill it.”
His hands find my hips, and his thumbs rub small circles through my sweater, making it hard to think straight.
“Levi and River are getting ready to go join the police for a thorough investigation on the burned cabin. Figured you could use a distraction, and I may have planned something special.”
