Tragic Bonds (The Bonds That Tie #5)(43)

She props one of her fists on to her hip and shoots him a grumpy look of her own, one that I'm sure would be more effective if she wasn't completely naked and soaped up. There's no way that Atlas is reacting to the sight of her any differently than I am, and, honestly, all I want to do right now is fling open that shower door and do a replay of last night.

Jesus, get a hold of yourself, Ardern.

Neither of them notice me losing my shit. Oli just snaps at Atlas, “I know the same way that I always knew that the shadow creatures wouldn't hurt me. I can feel it.”

Atlas nods at her with just a hint of sarcasm that is definitely going to get him into trouble, but I let him dig his own grave, standing there quietly enjoying the view and the privilege of being able to see it. The way that she's relaxed around both of us in here together is exactly what Atlas had been aiming for last night, to break down the last of the barriers that she had, the last vestiges of shyness in her about this Bonded Group so that we no longer have to tiptoe around her. I'm sure that Nox will still be a problem, but I never expected anything different. I doubt soul-bonding has been enough to change him.

“I’m sure you're the one who told North and Gryphon that they needed to learn how to trust my bond. Well, this is part of that as well. My bond says that I am safe with the dragon, so I'm safe.”

Atlas groans and rubs a hand over his face. “The same bond that we just found out might want you dead to take over your vessel? I'm sorry, but I am not so quick to trust what it's saying if it thinks that we're just going to stand by and let it take over fully.”

Oli shakes her head as she cuts off the water, opening the shower door and grabbing a towel. I feel pissed off at that small piece of fabric for just as long as it takes her to start to dry off, bending down to reach her legs, and I’m once again struck down at the sight of her perfect ass.

“I trust it, Atlas. It's always been honest to me, even when the truth hurt and damaged the relationship between us. If it says to trust the creatures, all of them, then I'm going to. Besides, the dragon just wanted a cuddle.”

Atlas turns to send me a savage look, but I’m both unwilling to get into this argument with them and utterly unable to as Oli starts to pull on her Tac gear, her body twisting and flexing in a way that has me needing a cold shower.

He rolls his eyes at me and steps towards her once more. “I’m not going to apologize for worrying about you, especially now that everyone else seems to have forgotten how much danger there is still in the unknown.”

Oli pulls the shirt over her head and then steps towards him, bridging the last of the gap as she winds her arms around his waist. “I'm sure everybody else will freak out about it as well, but the way I see it, we have more weapons on our side now. The fact that my bond brought out a dragon in Gabe isn't a bad thing, and we need everything we can get our hands on to deal with Davies and the rest of the Resistance.”

She doesn't say it, but we're all thinking about his family, the other people that we're going to have to deal with.

Atlas is completely aware of this fact, of the threat that his family is to us all, but it still feels like an asshole move to point out that we're going to have to deal with them just as much as we're going to have to deal with Davies.

Oli pulls away from Atlas to finish getting ready, tucking her shirt in and pulling her hair into a messy ponytail. I finally regain control of my legs and stalk forward to climb into the shower, still completely unabashed about being stark naked in front of them both. Oli sneaks me a sidelong look with just a hint of pink on her cheeks.

“If you wait for me, I'll come to training with you,” I call out as I soap up my chest, smug as fuck at the way that her eyes linger on my movements.

“I’m not going straight to training,” Oli says before her eyes flick back up to mine. “North slept in his office last night, and I'm going to go see him.”

Well, fuck.

Atlas and I both exchange a look. It hasn't been a secret that North has been acting completely out of character since Nox's death and resurrection.

I do not envy my Bond having to go and sort that situation out.

I'm not worried about her in the least, more that it could really go one of two ways. Either North is going to have a complete breakdown over everything that happened, or the two of them are going to have screaming, angry, rough sex in the office. Okay, maybe I am a little bit jealous about that part because even after spending the night with her and worshiping every inch of her perfection, I still haven't had enough.

I don't think I'll ever have enough.

“Give me a minute then, Bonded. I'll walk you over there.”





Chapter Thirteen





Oli



Gabe walks me to North’s offices, but I make him leave me in the elevator so that I can go up to see North by myself. Gryphon had checked in with me when he and Nox arrived back at the house just before Gabe, Atlas, and I had gone to sleep. He'd been the one to break it to me that North was sleeping in his office again.

North’s words down in the cells when he’d walked away from me still echo in my head. I don't want him to think that I am trying to ambush him now with Gabe, so I send my Shifter Bonded home with a kiss.

I still can't believe I had jumped into his head overnight and met his dragon.