Page 173 of Chandelier Sin
“Thank you for what you did.” I said the rest with soulful eyes.
“I’d have done it for anybody.”
I tried to read the truth in his eyes, that I was merely a damsel and nothing special, a woman who’d ended up in a predicament and he’ddone the right thingby entering that dungeon and again risking everything.
He didn’t say it, didn’t mention that our time in that dark chamber was as unique and mesmerizing for me as it was for him.
“You gave up your Board seat for me?” I watched his reaction.
“Yeah, well, good luck to Merrill for trying to access the sixth floor. When he’s there, we all know what happens.”
“You survived,” I said, unsure if any of his motives included me.
“Any regrets?” He meant for what we’d done, fucking in front of a crowd.
Because we stood here now like strangers.
“I’m not here to see you, Atticus. Out of my way.”
He blocked me. “Why are you here?”
“Take a guess.”
“Because of what I discussed with the High Chancellor on the sixth floor? Did he tell you?”
“If this is how you treat your friends.”
He placed a hand on my chest and pressed me against the wall. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“In the dungeon. You could have gotten us both killed.”
“Yet we’re still here. A lot of it is bluster.”
I gave a frustrated huff and pushed him away. “You wish it was.”
I was both relieved and glad to see him alive. Being here was about keeping him that way.
Atticus studied my face. “Were there repercussions to our session?”
“No,” I answered quickly. “Aemon believed I’d been punished enough.”
He arched a seductive brow.
“Right, the great Atticus Sinclair fucked me senseless and taught me the ultimate lesson. Bravo.”
“Well, if you put it like that.”
“Jewel mentioned you offered to pull out of buying Pendulum.”
“What else did she say?”
“You’re betraying your friends. Is it true?”
He tilted his head with a mixture of humor and curiosity. “Do you believe it?”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure—he was a hard man to read.
“It seems I crashed a party,” I said, avoiding his question.
