12. CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 12

Chyler

Waking to strong arms wrapped around my waist, I blinked my eyes open to see that I was in Atlas’s bedroom. A soft, warm breath caressing the back of my next. Thoughts of last night flooded my mind, and I felt myself getting hot under the blankets. I remember passing out from exhaustion after coming down from the pleasure spiral he sent me through. The man knew what he was doing, and I couldn’t get enough of it. He fucked like a god.

Atlas shifted, pulling me tighter against him, and I could feel his cock begin to harden against my back. A deep groan rumbled through his chest, and I couldn’t help the urge to press my lower back into him, to tease him.

“Do that again, and I won’t let you leave this bed.” The gentle rumble of his sleepy voice was all I needed to roll my hips up against him once more .

“Maybe I don’t want to leave your bed ever again.” I giggled and bit my lip, rolling myself in his arms to face him, bringing my leg over his hip.

He opened his eyes and kissed me softly on the nose, pressing his forehead against mine.

“As much as I’d love for us to stay in this bed all day—without sleeping, I have to go into the office.”

“What am I going to do without you all day.” I released a sarcastic sigh and trailed my fingers down his bicep.

Last night, I made the decision to let him in and stop fighting whatever this was between us. The jealous rage that consumed me at the bar told me all I needed to know about my true feelings for Atlas and what I would do for him— poor Brodie .

Getting rid of her was the first step in accepting that I wanted him and only him. He was like a drug, and I was addicted. Sex with him was mind-blowing. I have had my share of sexual partners over the years, but none of them compared to him and the earth-shattering orgasms he sent through my body.

“Dinner tonight?” He ran his knuckles down the side of my cheek.

“Are you asking me on a date while I’m already naked in your bed?” I chuckled.

He raised a dark brow and lifted the blankets to look down at my body with an amused grin.

“Yes, I am, because even though I am pretty confident in this,” he pulled me closer so my breasts pressed against his chest. “I still want to take my sweet thing out on a proper date—not coffee, not lunch; dinner.”

I raised my hand and threaded my fingers through his hair, enjoying his soft strands against my skin. I looked into his beautiful heterochromatic eyes and nodded before pressing my lips softly to his. Sure, why not? I already dove off the deep end last night by crawling across his living room floor.

He met me with the most passionate kiss. Shivers trailed down my spine, and my skin began to buzz. This wasn’t just a normal kiss that we had shared before; this was something more. It had feelings and meaning to it. And it made me realize that I would do anything to keep him.

His hand rested on my thigh, pulling it higher up so my already wet core was pressing against his hard and thick length. He ground his hips into me as we kissed. Deep down, I was begging for him to move ever so slightly so he could enter and fill me completely.

An alarm went off over his shoulder, and he pulled away from me, reaching for his phone. I groaned at the loss of him pressed against me, the cool air that flowed between the gap extinguishing my desire for more.

He cursed and tossed his phone across the bed, pulling me into him one more time. Burying his face in the crook of my neck and inhaling deeply.

“Dinner. You pick the restaurant, and I’ll meet you there at six.” He said.

“What if I want to just get takeout and stay here, in your bed?” I hummed, pressing light kisses to his shoulder .

“Nice try, but no. Let me know where you want to go by four.” He kissed my cheek and then pulled away, getting out of bed and walking into his closet. I laid there for a moment longer just to admire his ass—ets . They were flawless. I loved the way his back muscles rippled with his movements.

Blowing out a breath, I rolled out of his bed and began pulling on my underwear and clothes from last night. I grabbed my phone from my shorts and noticed a couple of missed calls and text messages from Madison and Austin. I raised a brow and opened the message chain from Madison first.

Madison: What the fuck did you do last night?

Madison: Check your messages and ANSWER ME!

Madison: Chyler Tate, I swear to god if you don’t call me in the morning, so help me!

That's not what I was expecting from Madison, seeing as I didn’t see her after I left her place last night. Next, I quickly opened the message from Austin.

Austin: Give me a call when you get this. We need to talk. There was an incident after you left.

Fuck. Brodie. Even dead, she was a problem for me.

I am pretty confident that Austin doesn’t know it was me, but I also knew that he called Madison, probably trying to get a hold of me, and she covered for my ass. I owed her one, but I also knew she was expecting an explanation for my unprovoked behavior against Brodie. This will have to be the first item on my agenda for the day. Go to Madison’s.

Atlas came out of his closet wearing black slacks, a black leather belt, and a light grey dress shirt, and all of my attention went from my phone to him.

“Dressed for dinner already?” I bit my lip and tilted my head, eyes roving his delicious figure up and down. This was mine, all mine.

He chuckled, “No, but I have a couple of meetings today, and the usual jeans and t-shirt aren’t acceptable for them.” He stepped towards me, rolling the cuff of his shirt up to his elbow. He did the same with the other just as he stopped within breathing space of me.

I angled my head to look up at him and wrapped my hand around the back of his neck, pulling his mouth to mine. His hands gripped my hips, pulling me against him, and he groaned into the kiss. I couldn’t help but let out a soft moan as his tongue dipped into my mouth and tangled with mine.

If I didn’t have to sort out the mess I had created last night, I would rip his clothes back off of him and force him back into bed. Screw work today; if I had to tie him down to keep him from leaving, I would. I wanted him so badly I could already feel my underwear soaking through at his touch.

I slid one of his hands from my hip and pushed it under the waistband of my shorts so he could feel just how wet I was for him. He let out a deep growl and pressed my back against the wall, sliding my underwear aside and dipping his finger into me. I couldn’t help but suck in a breath at the sensation. He undid me in the best way.

More. More. More.

Wrapping a leg around his hip, I ground myself into his hand, riding it.

“You like when I fuck you with my fingers, don’t you?” He purred into my mouth, biting on my bottom lip and tugging as he slipped a second finger inside me, curling them both into my sweet spot. I couldn’t help the moans that escaped my throat. He had me in the palm of his hand, and I was molten for him.

Pumping his fingers in and out, he pressed the heel of his palm into my clit, and I ground myself harder against it, searching for more of that delicious, inviting friction. He moved his mouth to my neck and tugged on my earlobe.

“That’s it, my sweet thing. Fuck my hand, just how you like it.”

A whimper escaped my lips as I tilted my head, giving him better access. He began kissing and sucking on my neck while his fingers fucked me in the most perfect of ways. He slid in a third finger, and I felt my climax reaching its peak; my body began to tense, and I curled my fists in his shirt to hold on .

“Come for me. I want you thinking about this until dinner because you’re going to be my dessert tonight.” His words were my undoing.

I pulled hard on his shirt as my climax ripped through me, my walls tightening around his fingers, refusing to let them go. He continued to pump them into me as my release spilled into his palm, coaxing out every last drop of pleasure.

I was panting, and my legs were shaking as he wrapped his arm around my waist to support me before slowly removing his hand from my shorts.

“You’re so beautiful. I could watch you come all day.” He ran a knuckle along my jaw and kissed me deeply.

Once I was stable and my legs stopped shaking, he released me, and I buttoned up my denim shorts, picking up my phone—which I dropped when things started getting heated between us. He adjusted his shirt; the fabric lightly crinkled where my grip had creased it. I moved past him, completely sated, making my way to the door of his apartment, and he followed me with his hand resting on my lower back.

We exited his apartment together, and with one last lingering, deep kiss, we parted ways. The only thing on my mind was his hand between my thighs.

Madison was pissed. No, that’s not the right word for it; she was infuriated with me and how I handled Brodie last night. I saw nothing wrong with my actions; she had it coming. I am sure there were plenty of other women just dying to take her out.

Over the years, Madison has dealt with my bullshit, and—on occasion—she has cleaned up the messes I had left behind. Of course, in the past, I would have never done something over a man, let alone jealousy. I was never a jealous person; I was always more than content with what I had, and I didn’t need anything more—until Atlas came into my life.

“You have absolutely lost your mind, Chyler.” She scolded me like I was her child.

“Oh c’mon, she was asking for it, Mads. Do you even know her reputation at Austin’s?”

“Her reputation isn’t the problem here; you strangled her—no, let me rephrase that—you strangled the fuck out of her and killed her.” She yelled, pressing the palm of her hand to her forehead. I knew it would piss her off even more, but I couldn’t help to shrug at her words.

“I don’t regret my actions, so if you are expecting an apology out of me, you won’t get one. She had it coming, and I gave it to her.” I crossed my arms, confident that I was not the only woman who was glad she was gone. How many relationships had she destroyed over the years? If anything, I was doing the world a service.

Madison pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a hissing sound.

“See, this is the problem with you; this is what I’ve been telling Charl— ”

“Telling her what? That I’m uncontrollable? Impulsive? A monster?” I cut her off. I know what I am. I’m not proud of it, but at least I have accepted it.

“That you need a break from assignments before you go on a murderous bender one of these days. You don’t see reason before action anymore. It’s like you just live with that fucked up switch in your head always set to off.” Low blow, Madison…

“This was a one-off. I’m not murd—”

“It only takes one slip, and you will lose control completely. Alexis and I have watched you with all of those recent targets. We know what you are capable of when you turn yourself off.” I tried to argue with her, but she cut me off.

“If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t turn myself off when I handled Brodie.” A lie. But she didn’t need to know that. I enjoyed every second of choking her out in that restroom.

“See, that’s the problem. That. Right. There . You don’t even feel guilty for what you’ve done. It’s like she was nothing.”

“She w as nothing. I’m fine, Mads. Stop talking to me like I’m a child.” I growled, my temper rising under the surface.

“I will when you stop acting like one. I’m getting sick of your shit, Chy. I tell you to find a man to ground you, and instead of accepting your feelings for Atlas—granted, it was only one night and a coffee—you avoided him for weeks and then murdered the bitch who tried to hook up with him. What part of that is normal?” She threw her hands up in the air before slamming them back down on her hips .

She had a point, but I didn’t answer. Instead, I sat down on her couch and grabbed a pillow, hugging it tightly to my chest. We had been screaming at each other for what felt like hours. Neither of us was going to give in to the other. She sat down next to me with a sigh and placed her hand on my arm.

“Chyler, what the hell is going on with you?” Her tone softened, and I blew out a sigh.

“I don’t know. I’ve never let anyone in before, and he’s just—” I paused, trying to find the words I was searching for. “There’s something about him that has consumed me whole. My heart squeezes when I am around him like it’s going to burst at the seams. I can’t breathe when he is near me.”

Madison bit her cheek as she examined me, showing pity in her eyes. I had become obsessed with him, and she could see it.

“I want to say that’s love for you, but I don’t know if we can even consider it that right now. You’ve really only just started seeing each other.”

She was right. I couldn’t consider the feelings I had for him as love just yet, but whatever they were, they were strong. Stronger than simple lust and desire for him, which was clearly there. I couldn’t stop thinking about him since I left his apartment. I could still smell him on my clothes—which reminded me that I needed to go home and change. As soon as I left Atlas, I went straight to Madison’s to try and clear up what happened last night. Then we got into a screaming match.

“Good afternoon, ladies.” Alexis’s voice chimed in as she entered the room. “Hope I am not interrupting anything, but I’ve got big news.” She smiled playfully and sat down on the couch across from Madison and me.

“Please tell me this ‘big news’ has something to do with Roman.” I groaned, not wanting to talk about what I did last night anymore.

“Actually! It is.” Her excitement was spilling out of her with every word.

“Oh, thank god.” I collapse my face into the pillow I was holding.

“Let’s hear it, Lex.” Madison urged her to continue.

“Alright, so Michael August. The man who Tyler said was a lab director working closely with Roman. Well, he’s finally wrapping up his business in Paris and will be back here by the end of the month. They are expecting him to be in the Minneapolis lab to inspect the completed inventory of Ataraxia.” This was definitely ‘big news’. The break in the assignment that we have been waiting for.

“That gives us… what? A week to plan? We still haven’t set up a new work site.” Madison questioned, and I lifted my head from the pillow.

“Ah, that is also part of my news; I found an old abandoned manufacturing plant in St. Paul that we can use. It hasn’t been occupied in over 20 years, so there are no cameras or any kind of security system that could possibly be used to track us there.” Alexis was very proud of that find.

“Great. Does Charlotte know all of this?” I asked .

“I spoke with her yesterday when I finalized all of our plans and the manufacturing plant. She knows we are ready; all we are doing now is waiting for Michael to touch down at MSP.” She nodded.

“Anything else we need to know?” Madison added.

Alexis hummed, “Not that I can think of. It will be business as usual, and if he talks, we will have Roman.”

“I’ll get him to talk.” A smug smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. I was going to have fun getting Roman’s location out of Michael. Finally, someone worth questioning—and torturing. Someone who actually had the information we needed.

Madison elbowed me, bringing my attention back from my thoughts.

“Are you going to be able to handle this, Chy?” She asked, and I knew what she was referring to. She thinks that I am just itching to go on a murder spree, but that is not my problem. I am just becoming possessive over a man I barely know and have no moral limit on what I would do for him. Okay, so I have a small problem.

“I will be fine.” I stood up and dropped the pillow on the couch behind me. “I have to go get ready for my date tonight.”

Alexis’s eyes widened, “Oh, a date? Do tell? Is this the guy from The Landing?” She looked over to Madison for confirmation, and before I could answer, Madison had already started.

“Yes, and she is already completely wrapped up in him.” She smirked.

“You told me to give him a chance, and I did. Don’t blame me if I end up falling in love with the man.” And part of me believed that I was. I was slowly falling in love with him .

“Oh, I won’t. But I better be your Maid of Honor at your wedding.” At least she finally dropped the whole ‘Brodie’ thing. Moving away from her sour mood.

I held my hand up to her, “Alright, I’m going to stop you right there because you are going too far now. Love, I can handle, but marriage? Let’s… put a hold on that idea. At least for the next few years.”

“Whatever you say. Enjoy your dinner tonight. Where are you going to anyway?”

I still need to tell Atlas where I want to go… Shit.

“Actually, I haven’t even thought of a place yet. Got any suggestions?” I looked at both of them.

“There’s an incredible French restaurant downtown that I think would be perfect. It’s called Noisette .” Alexis chimed in. She always knew the good, upscale restaurants. The men she favored would take her out for dinner at places we could never afford.

“ Noisette it is then.” I smiled and turned to leave, speaking over my shoulder on the way out, “And Mads… I’ll lock it up from here on out, alright? No more messes.”

She hummed and nodded, “You do that. Love ya, girl.”

I blew her a kiss and left her townhouse, heading back to my apartment to get ready for my first dinner with Atlas.