I Swear I Still Hate Him (Atlas Lawson) novel Chapter 91

Chapter 91

Chapter 91

Emery’s POV

I stared at the board like it had just flipped me off personally. Agin.

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“I can’t believe I just beat the master at chess!” she beamed. “What’s going on? Losing your mojo? Or am I just getting better?” She wiggled her brows.

“Definitely getting better,” I smiled, pushing my queen back into the box while trying not to let on that my real distraction was currently flexing muscles and dripping water in the sun. Yeah, no big deal, just trying really hard not to give Atlas the “please rail me in the garage right now” eyes while his mom talk to me about family bonding.

“I enjoy spending time with you,” Daisy said suddenly, pulling my focus back to her.

I blinked. “Yeah… me too.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, trying to look normal and not like I was mentally climbing her son like a tree.

Her smile widened, soft and sweet, and then she reached across the table and took my hand in both of hers. “Emery,” she started, voice going a little shaky, “you can always talk to me about anything. We’re gonna be family soon.”

My heart did that guilty thump-thump-thump it’d been doing nonstop lately, like it was trying to Morse code an apology to the universe. “Y… yeah,” I managed. “Me too.”

3

She squeezed my hand gently. Then Dad and Atlas came in, both sun-kissed and damp from pool cleaning. My dad looked cheerful. Atlas looked sexy as ever.

Dad leaned down to kiss Daisy on the lips, still awkward as hell to witness, by the way, and then bent to press a kiss to the middle of my forehead. “Hi, sweetie.”

“Hi, Dad.”

Atlas walked up next. That small, knowing smile was there, the one that made my stomach drop and my knees tingle like a damn schoolgirl.

“I see you guys were playing chess,” he said casually, kissing Daisy’s forehead.

“Let me guess, Emmy beat you clean.”

“Ha! I wish,” I snorted, raising an eyebrow at Dad. “Daisy’s got skills. Why do I feel like someone’s been teaching her my secret moves?”

Dad raised both hands in surrender, chuckling. “Guilty. I taught her the knight fork. Sue me.”

“I knew it!” I pointed at him accusingly, grinning despite the he still simmering low in my belly.

Daisy laughed, eyes bright, completely oblivious to the fact that her son had spent the last five minutes mentally undressing me while pretending to care about pool maintenance. I risked offe more glance at Atlas. He met my eyes over his mom’s head. That slow, knowing smirk. The one that said: I can’t wait thave you to myself and do dirty stuff with you.

I gulped, looking away and trying hard to calm my beating hear which was of no use. Yeah, there has to be something wrong with my body.

The taunting. The tension. The constant pull between let’s behage and let’s risk it all.

It had been non-stop. Like this unspoken game of how long cane last before one of us snaps? And spoiler alert: I was this

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10:21 Sat, Jan 3 D. D

Chapter 91

close to snapping.

2))

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When I walked into the living room, he was there, talking with Dad like he wasn’t the same man who had me panting his name nights ago. And then at dinner, he sat right across from me, all casual and smug, catching my eye every chance he got, like he wasn’t purposely brushing his knee against mine under the table….And then there were the moments we actually got to be alone, like right now, when I turned the corner in the hallway and nearly collided with him.

“Hi,” I breathed.

“Hey,” he said back, voice low and rough.

“Why does it feel like I haven’t seen you in forever?” he murmured, stepping closer.

“I know,” I whispered, voice barely there. “I’ve missed you.”

He didn’t say anything. Just flicked his eyes up above my head, then behind him, checking the hall. Before I could even ask what he was looking for, his hand wrapped around mine, warm, sure, and he tugged me into the nearest closet.

“Atlas, what are…”

ง

The words died the second my back hit the door. He had me pinned, lips crashing into mine like he’d been starving for this exact moment. I groaned into his mouth. God, I’d missed him. Missed this. Missed the way his body pressed me against the wood, the way his hands gripped my waist like he was afraid I’d disappear.

His tongue swept along the seam of my lips, gentle but demanding, and I opened for him instantly. The kiss turned hot, messy, beautiful in all the right ways. I wanted to beg him to rip my clothes off right there. To lift me, slide inside me, make me forget my own name.

But then he pulled back….just enough, forehead dropping to rest against mine. His breath came out in heavy, ragged pants, like he was fighting every instinct to keep going.

“What if we went back to school?” I blurted, breathless. “Said we had an emergency or something…”

Not my finest moment, but the man kissed like he was born to ruin brain cells.

He chuckled, low and sexy. That little shake of his head. That smirk.

“As much as I love that idea…” he murmured, “I think it’ll make our parents suspicious. And… you forgot you’ve got a guest coming, remember?”

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