Sin and Sinner

48

~Darlina's POV~

I flopped into bed later that night, burying my cheek into my pillow as I was ready to drift off to sleep. The cold side of the pillow pressed against my face and caused me to let out a sigh of content, an arm reaching out to flick off the light on my bedside table.

As I was drifting off to sleep, my bedroom door suddenly creaked open ever so quietly, but not quiet enough for it to go unnoticed by me. I snapped my eyes open and frowned, pushing with one arm to sit up. Atlas' large frame was noticeable even in the darkness and I smiled as his weight pressed into the bed when he laid down beside me, his scent of vanilla and lemon wafting up my nose.

"What are you doing in here so late?" I asked in a whisper, just barely able to make out the distinct features of his face within the darkness as he turned to face me. He scooted closer and I felt his large hand brush against my waist, slipping around to rest at the dip of my spine. "I couldn't sleep." He answered, keeping his voice just as quiet as me. Emmett was definitely asleep by now, being that it was after eleven PM, and neither of us wanted to accidentally wake him up.

Still, I didn't bother to hide it when I let out a giggle at his words. "What am I supposed to do about that?" I asked, smiling.

He huffed and narrowed his eyes at me, yanking my body up against his. "I dunno, but it sure as fuck isn't tease me." He grumbled, sounding grumpy as ever. I smiled to myself and wrapped my arms around him, burying my face into his chest that I quickly realized was bare.

We lapsed into a comfortable silence, nothing needed to be said as we cuddled in my bed, but regardless, Atlas broke the silence after a few minutes. "You're utterly freezing right now, smalls." He noted as he smoothed his hand lower down the length of my spine. I blushed, but was more than happy when he pulled the blanket tighter around me and kissed gently at a spot on the side of my neck in an attempt to keep me warm. "I feel fine, though." I said honestly, able to hear the steady beat of his heart with my head against his chest.

Atlas hummed, burying his face into my hair. "Are you going to sleep in here tonight?" I asked softly, allowing my eyes to flutter shut as I clung to him. "Yes." He affirmed, his fingers combing through the ends of my hair absentmindedly. "I think I sleep better with you beside me." He told me, those words causing my cheeks to burn, flattered at the idea. Did that mean he felt comfortable, and calm with me?

I hugged him tighter, my fingertips wandering over the broad expanse of his muscular back. "You should sleep." I advised him shyly, unsure how to respond to that without making myself sound like an idiot. "We have to work tomorrow." I reminded, earning a hum of acknowledgment from him.

"Fine." He grumbled, acting as if I was asking something he was uncapable of yet I heard him yawn, so I knew he was tired. My lips twitched up as I tried to suppress a smile. "Good night, Atlas." I said quietly, glancing up at him. His eyes were closed peacefully and remained that way, the steady rise and fall of his chest telling me he was already half asleep before I'd even suggested he sleep. "Good night, Lina."

Smiling to myself, I buried my head into his neck, eventually drifting off to sleep myself.

**

Atlas was already gone by the time that I woke up, causing me to frown as I reluctantly pushed myself up with one hand. The side of the bed he'd slept in was now cold, so I was pretty sure that he'd been gone for a little while now.

I slipped out of bed and headed into the bathroom to take a shower, trying to be as quick as possible once I got in so Atlas wouldn't be kept waiting on me like he'd done yesterday morning. Usually I was the one that waited on him when he had been volunteering with me at Dina's, but I was pretty sure that was because he had taken his time to get ready. Now that he had an actual job, he probably felt more obligated to get ready on time.

After I got out of the shower I quickly got dressed and then applied my usual makeup, tying my hair up into a ponytail once I was finished. I spritzed on a bit of perfume and hurried out of my room, finding that Atlas was already in the living room when I entered. "There you are." Atlas said in a mutter, pushing off the wall he was leaning against. "Ready to go?" He asked, following me to the door when I nodded and walked passed him in a hurry. I didn't want to risk making him late.

The two of us took the elevator to the first floor and got in my car, making the relatively quick drive to Jac's first. I had half expected him to just hop out as soon as we arrived, but I was quickly proven wrong when he grabbed my chin and turned my face towards him, causing my eyes to widen in surprise.

"Hey." I said as a blush crept up my cheeks. "You should head inside already..." I said weakly, but didn't push him away or struggle when he pulled me closer. His eyes bore into mine before flicking down to focus on my lips. "What? Don't want a kiss from me, smalls?" He hummed, lifting an eyebrow almost teasingly.

Flustered, I just huffed and continued to stare into his eyes, a heat rising to my cheeks when he finally sealed his mouth over mine in a deep kiss. He gripped my chin tighter as he pulled away, glancing down at my pouted lips before he gave me one last peck upon them and then let go of me. My face was hot with a blush and he chuckled upon seeing the expression on my face, a smile forming on his ruggedly handsome face. "I'll see you tonight, Lina, yeah?" He hummed, brushing his thumb across my bottom lip as I nodded in a dazed manner.

"Y-Yes, yep." I stammered, flushed. "I'll see you after work." I agreed quietly, causing him to chuckle as he opened the car door and climbed out. I shook my head at myself after he was gone, taking a moment to collect myself before I began the drive to Dina's to start my day.

When Atlas and I arrived home after I had picked him from work that night, I was surprised to see Emmett was already home when we entered the apartment together. My eyebrows raised as he came walking out of the kitchen, a sandwich in hand. "Hey, guys." He greeted with a mouth full of food, causing me to scrunch my nose in disgust. "Gross." I mumbled, locking the front door.

"Agreed, man. Fuckin' disgusting." Atlas grunted, kicking his shoes off carelessly by the entry way table. I snickered and wandered over to the two of them, fiddling with the strap of my purse absentmindedly. "Did you get off early today?" I asked Em, tilting my head curiously.

Nodding, he took yet another bite of his sandwich. "Yup." He said, again through a mouthful of food. Clearly, he didn't care about the comments that Atlas and I had just made about him being gross for doing just this exact thing. "How does chicken alfredo sound for dinner?" He asked, glancing back and forth between Atlas and I. I smiled and nodded my head. "Sounds good to me." I chirped, pleased at the idea of food, especially food cooked by Emmett. Atlas, on the other hand, just shrugged. "Don't care. I'll eat pretty much anything after the shit I had to eat in prison." He stated carelessly.

I glanced up at him, almost tempted to slip my hand into his, but refrained as we were in front of Emmy. "Was it really gross?" I asked, our eyes meeting when he looked down at me with a grimace. "Gross is an understatement." He mumbled.

Empathizing with him, I gave him a small smile and then looked back at Emmett, who was eyeing me with a curious look in his eye that made me feel a little bit self conscious. "What?" I asked nervously. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I wondered, frowning. He just gave a shrug, finishing off the last of his sandwich. "No particular reason." He said, and I knew him well enough to know that he was lying just from the slight raise in pitch of his voice. There was definitely a reason.

Still, I just accepted his answer. "Right." I said. "I'm going to go shower before dinner." I told Emmett, which Atlas raised two fingers to. "Same." He muttered, trailing behind me as I headed down the hallway towards my room. As I was entering my room, Atlas swiftly delivered a smack to my butt, causing me to jolt in surprise and whip my head to give him a stunned look. 

He just continued down the hall without so much as a glance, but I noticed the smirk on his lips.