Page 75 of His to Save

“Fuck, Pip.” I spear my fingers through my hair, making it stand on end. “You weren’t in the bed and I just… panicked.”

“I’m here.” She places her diary down on the desk and joins me in the bed. “I’m okay.”

As soon as she’s within reach, I tug her body into mine so that she’s basically sprawled out on top of me with my arms wrapped snugly around her waist.

“Are you?” I keep my tone light, not wanting to upset her after how last night ended.

She nods, rubbing her cheek against my chest. “I am.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Sighing, she rolls off me and into an upright position. “There’s not much to talk about.”

I heft myself up, resting my back against the headboard. “I think there is, but only if you’re comfortable with it.”

She twines our fingers together before continuing. “I’ve spent enough time lettinghimcontrol me. I’m done with that. I knew he was still out there, but hearing the news talk about him made it real, if that makes sense. But I refuse to live my life in fear of him. He’s a monster, and I have to believe he’ll get what he deserves.”

I study her a moment before responding. Her face is open and honest. She truly means what she’s saying. “Okay then.”

“Okay?” Her brows dip as she scrunches her nose. “Just like that?”

The confused look on her face is too damn cute. “Yeah, just like that. I trust you, Nora, so if you say you’re good, then I’m inclined to believe you.”

“You’re a good man, Atlas.” She leans forward and kisses my cheek.

Those words right there, they’re at the top of the list of things I’ll never get tired of hearing her say. “You make me want to be the best.”

“You already are.” This time she kisses my lips, soft and slow. The kind of kiss that’s over too soon and leaves me wanting more. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.” Because if it were up to me, we’d stay right here in my bed, wrapped up in one another, all damn day.

But the sparkle in her hazel eyes tells me she has something in mind. “I think I recall something about you teaching me to drive…”

“Hell yeah, Pip. Let me grab a shower and it’s on.”

“This is hopeless!”Nora pouts, banging her tiny fist against the steering wheel in defeat.

“No, it’s not,” I murmur, hiding my smile behind my hand. “You’re doing great.”

“I’m pretty sure little old grannies drive better than me.”

“Well,” I drawl, “to be fair, they’ve been driving a lot longer than you.”

She growls, and I can’t help it, I laugh. She’s just too damn cute.

“Atlas! It’s not funny.” She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me.

“Okay, but it kind of is.” I lean over and shift my truck into park. “You’ve been behind the wheel for all of two hours, Pip. These things take time, so cut yourself some slack.”

“How long did it take you?” she asks.

“About a week—and I failed my driver’s test the first time I took it.”

“Really?”

“Really, really. In fact, I still suck at parallel parking, so you might have to get Ellis to teach you that.”

The way Nora’s so hard on herself kills me. She’s got the mechanics of driving down; she just needs some finesse.

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