The soft rustle of fabric filled the room as I stood before the full-length mirror, a dozen outfit options strewn across the bed behind me. Normally, dressing for outing was my favorite kind of challenge effortless, playful, an art. But this wasn't just any outing- no it was a date, something I never experienced.
And it was with him: Atlas, my Atlas. My soulmate and mate.
Even thinking about it sent a thrill down my spine. I had seen this moment long before it happened, multiple times and multiple versions. But it always have something common like our eyes meeting through the rain, the unmistakable spark of bond locking into place. But no vision, no future, no possibility could have ever prepared me for the real thing. He was more than everything I ever desired. Caring, funny, handsome and willing to do things I like even if he doesn't himself like them.
"Ugh," I groaned, tossing another dress aside. "Too sweet and formal. Too… virginal." I can't wear something like that. I already lack experience and assets he's atracted to. I need something that screams sexy and mature with lots of experience.
I couldn't help but squeeze my modest chest. "Would he really eat them like he does to Rose and big-sis Renée?"
"Talking to yourself now?" Suddenly Rosalie's amused voice came from the hallway as the door creaked open.
I stopped pressing my boobs and twirl with a smile to her. "Took you long enough."
Rosalie stepped into the room, radiant even in one of Atlas's oversized shirts and a pair of shorts that hung low on her hips. Her golden hair was slightly tousled, her lips still a little puffy, and her skin glowing more than usual.
My smile widened. "You look like you had fun."
She rolled her eyes and plopped down on the bed. "Fun is an understatement. I'm sore and exhausted. I can barely walk after talking his member in fact I can positively say I'm completely and utterly ruined for any other man that isn't Atlas. But go on, pretend you didn't already know every detail."
I laughed, walking over to her and nudging her with my foot. "Humor me anyway. I want to hear it from you, not just my visions."
Rosalie leaned back on her elbows, sighing dreamily. "It was… intense. He's not just passionate, Alice, he's attentive like he knows your body better than you do. And the way he talks, he makes you feel like you're the only woman in the world. But don't fall for his innocent acts he's a beast when lets his control go and starts doing."
Her words sparked a low ache of anticipation inside me, one I had been holding at bay for days. I sat beside her, clutching one of the dresses. "So… you met big-sis Renée was she really okay with this? With all of us sharing him? What about you? did you changed your mind after becoming his?
Rosalie gave me a long look. "No I didn't. You're my sister, Alice. I love you and I don't mind sharing him with someone who already owns part of my heart. And as for Renée? She said was fine with us and I too don't mind her.
I hugged her tightly, resting my head on her shoulder. I felt increadibly happy hearing her words and what big sis Renée said. I didn't say anything but my mind churns with thoughts about our future.
"Don't ruin it with tears," she warned, smirking. "Now go back to being your fabulous self and let's find the perfect dress. We need to blow that man's mind before you blow something else."
"Rose!" I gasped at her before pulling back with a grin. " Help me find perfect dress for it"
For the next half hour, we tore through my closet like two madwomen. Rosalie vetoed the blue dress I liked, saying it made me look too "church nice." We settled on a short black number with an open back and elegant halter neck that hugged my curves like it had been stitched by a designer who personally had me in mind when making.
With a swipe of my signature eyeliner and soft nude lipstick, I checked myself one last time.
"Perfect," Rosalie said, eyeing me approvingly. "He won't survive the night."
I gave her a wicked smile. "That's the idea."
As if on cue, I saw it, his car pulling into the driveway, the roar of the engine low and powerful. I turned to Rosalie, heart fluttering like it was the first date of my life.
"Showtime," I whispered, and headed downstairs.
The moment I stepped out the front door, my eyes found him.
Atlas stood beside the sleek black BMW similar to the one he'd gifted Bella, leaning casually against it, arms crossed. The moonlight caught in his hair, painting silver streaks through the rich dark locks. He wore a fitted dark button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and charcoal slacks that clung to his long frame just enough to remind me he was sculpted like a god.
His neon eyes, sharp and warm and utterly possessive locked onto me as he smiled.
Time didn't just slow down at that moment. It crashed until he fixed it with his hungry eyes.
"You're staring," I said, walking toward him with deliberate sway in my hips, one hand brushing my curls behind my ear.
"You're making it impossible not to," he said, stepping forward and offering his hand like a gentleman from another era. "You look devastating, Alice."
"Only devastating?" I teased, placing my hand in his.
His fingers curled around mine. "Irrevocably."
I let out a pleased hum. "That's better."
He opened the car door for me, and I slid into the passenger seat. Rosalie had told me he was old-fashioned- not in a bad way but like always opening doors, pulling out chairs, paying attention way. And he does it not out of condescension or because it is gentlemanly to do so but reverence. Like we were treasures to be treasured.
And he made me feel like one.
We didn't drive far, just out past the sleepy lanes of Forks and onto the winding road toward Port Angeles. The soft hum of the engine filled the silence between us, but it wasn't awkward. It was alive with tension, thick with things unspoken and promises not yet acted upon.
I rested my hand on his arm, fingers dancing along the strong line of his wrist. "So, tell me. What were you thinking when you first saw me standing in the trees?"
He glanced at me, a smirk playing on his lips. "That I was in trouble."
I arched a brow. "And why's that?"
"Because the moment I saw you, I knew," he said simply. "My breath was taken away and my life would be filled infinite positive energy that would never dim. I knew you were mine just as I was yours"
A slow smile spread across my face at his cheesy words, but they still didn't failed to make my pulse flutter not out of anticipation. "I already knew we'd have this night, you know. I saw it the moment I met you."
"I don't doubt it. But seeing it and feeling it… are different things, aren't they?"
I nodded, my throat dry. "Yes. They are."
He hummed a chuckle as the car came to a stop. Its seems without me realising we came to our destination.
Atlas didn't take me to a restaurant. No candlelit booth or polished silverware.
Instead, he brought me to a secluded lookout high above the city, where you could see the lights of Port Angeles twinkling like stars caught beneath glass. He opened the trunk and pulled out a sleek black picnic basket, complete with a thermal flask and neatly packed food containers. He slowly unpacked revealing many human food alongside what felt like wine made from animal blood, perfect for my vampiric taste. He thought of everything that just made my unbeating heart flutter.
We sat together on a thick blanket, my bare leg brushing his, the air filled with the salt tang of the nearby sea.
"You know," I said softly, "I always imagined the man I'd end up with would be… sharp, complex and unfolding like a puzzle."
He poured me some more wine and asked with a crooked smile. "And now?"
"Now I realize I needed someone who wasn't a puzzle. I needed someone who could see all the pieces of me, the bads, the goods, the dark, the light. He see's all my flaws and still just say: you're mine anyway." I answered looking at him.
He didn't reply immediately instead he cupped my chin and tilted my face toward him.
"I do see you, Alice. All of you and I love what I'm seeing. I'm not going anywhere."
I- I couldn't reply to his words, just kept staring at his impossible eyes as brushed his lips against mine.
He leaned back a bit, his eyes- those gorgeos shining orbs asking for permission. I didn't answer but simly brought my lips to his.
The kiss wasn't rushed.
It started soft. Questioning. A brush of lips that made my breath catch. His fingers wove through my hair, tugging gently as he deepened it. I climbed onto his lap without thinking, straddling him as our mouths found rhythm urgent and desperate.
His hands slid beneath the hem of my dress, gripping my hips before slipping to my ass and moulding them. My body trembled with want when I felt him stop. His hands left my dress so did his lips. His forehead pressed against mine.
"We'll stop here," he whispered, voice hoarse, "if you want to."
I looked at him- my Atlas, my equal, my husband as a smile made my face.
"Later tonight, let's just first enjoy this moment."
And under the starlit sky, with only the whisper of waves below, we did.
We drank, talked, flirted and shared our deepest desire until it was deep in night when we decided to head home- Atlas's home that very soon will be mine too.
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