21. CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 21

Atlas

I woke up to the sound of running water and blinked open my eyes, reaching across the bed for Chyler, but the spot next to me was empty.

When I left the office last night, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do once I was face-to-face with her. If I was going to fight her or fuck her. I managed to pick the lock on her door, and when I noticed that she wasn’t home yet, I went to her bedroom and waited in the dark. It had been almost an hour between the time I arrived at her apartment and she showed up. The entire time spent waiting was a war of deciding between giving her up or making her mine forever.

I was infuriated when I grabbed her throat and slammed her back against the wall. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I wanted her to know just how furious I was with what she had done. I wanted her to fear me, just for a single second .

Hearing her voice crack at my confession of loving her is what broke me. That was the moment I knew that I couldn’t give her up and let her go, that I needed her to be mine, and that I would fight for her. I fell for Chyler the first time I tasted her on my tongue; when I fell to my knees before her and devoured her whole.

There was never a chance of turning back for me.

She consumed me in all aspects.

I love her. I would destroy anyone and anything that came between us. I would burn this city to the ground if she asked me to.

No one at the CIA knows who she is. I didn’t utter a word to any of the guys about what happened in that hallway, and I was planning to keep it that way. There were no cameras in that hall, which made it easier to dismiss the fact that I let her escape.

Running a hand down my face, I looked down to see my knuckles were bruised and still covered with flecks of dried blood. Checking my side, the bandage I placed on the cut that her knife made was still holding well, the spot tender to the touch but not getting any worse. I sighed and thought back to the moment that I realized it was her in that hall. When I saw her beautiful bright hazel eyes, with that striking dark ring that surrounded the color. I remember feeling my heart squeeze in my chest as if it would burst from the pressure. I knew it was her once I saw those eyes, but I was hoping it wasn’t; I kept telling myself that it wasn’t possible for it to be her. That she wasn’t the vicious monster I had been chasing for weeks.

It was still storming outside, and I sat up to see that the bathroom door was slightly ajar, steam billowing out from the crack. I pulled myself from the bed and moved to the bathroom, stepping inside and sliding into the shower behind Chyler. She startled when I wrapped my hands around her waist, but then relaxed and leaned back, resting her head on my shoulder. The water was running down her beautiful body, and I dragged a hand up to caress her breast, kissing down her neck that she had so effortlessly exposed to me.

“Morning.” She hummed, placing her hand on the one that I had wrapped around her waist and threading her fingers through mine.

“Morning, sweet thing.” I released her breast and gripped her chin between my fingers, pulling her mouth to mine.

She parted her lips, letting me slide my tongue along hers as she moaned. I could feel my cock hardening at the taste of her and the sounds she made.

Turning her to face me, I picked her up by her thighs. She wrapped her legs around my waist, and I pressed her against the cold tile wall, sinking into her until our hips were flush against each other.

I groaned, burying my face in the crook of her neck as I moved in and out of her, fucking her against the shower wall. Shower aside, she was already wet for me and felt so fucking good as her walls hugged my cock perfectly.

“You take me so well. I could never get tired of being inside of you. I want to live between your beautiful legs.” I tugged lightly on her ear with my teeth, then bit down on her neck.

She tilted her head, moaning my name and giving me better access to her. I picked up the pace and began pounding into her harder, digging my fingers into her thighs hard enough to bruise. I could feel my balls start to tighten with the increasing pleasure. I was close to coming, but I wanted her to come with me. I pressed her harder into the wall for support and released a hand from her thigh, repositioning it to stroke her clit with my thumb. I could feel her walls begin to spasm around my cock and knew I had her right on the edge.

“Let me feel you squeeze me. Come with me like the good girl you are.” She dug her nails into my back, and I thrust harder into her as she came, her climax squeezing my cock like a vice. I pulled back and slammed one last time into her, going as deep as I possibly could, when my release burst from inside of me, and I collapsed against her on the wall.

Resting my forehead against the cool tile, I pulled out of her, dropping her legs to the floor of the shower. She sagged against me, and I held her tightly in my arms, my cum dripping down her thighs. I turned my head and kissed her deeply, pulling her under the water and cleaning her up. She looked up at me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I hissed when her arm pressed against the tender, healing cut on my side. She looked down at the bandage and abruptly pulled her arm away.

“Shit, Atlas… Did I—” She panicked, her eyes going wide.

“It’s fine. It’s just a scratch.” I cut her off and pulled her back into me, pressing my forehead to hers.

“What are we going to do, Atlas?” She whispered, and I closed my eyes with a long sigh .

“We are going to pretend that last night never happened.” I shrugged; I didn’t want to think about what happened anymore. I didn’t want to think about how I would have to go back into that office and pretend that I didn’t know exactly who we were looking for, where she was, and that I was in love with her.

I wasn’t going to give her up to anyone. She was mine. I was going to keep her.

“I was going to quit…” She spoke softly, and I opened my eyes to find hers. “I had decided after you left the coffee shop for work yesterday that I was going to finish this assignment and then quit it all. That I was done being… whatever I am... All I want is you.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. The fact that she was willing to give up her life for me. I knew her words meant that she couldn’t quit until her job was done—which meant allowing her to kill Atwater. I wanted to help her so she could just be mine; no more complications. I wanted to run away with her, give her the life she deserved. But by helping her to kill Atwater, I would be sabotaging the CIA.

What the fuck was I going to do…

I turned off the shower, pulled a towel off the wall hook, and wrapped it around her.

“We’ll figure something out. I’m not going to let anything happen to you… Even if it means shifting the attention of the CIA from you.” I blew out a breath and grabbed the second towel that was sitting on the vanity, wrapping it around my waist before following Chyler out of the bathroom .

After getting dressed, I walked into the living room and dropped on the couch. She followed shortly after me, drying her hair with the towel and tossing it onto the kitchen counter. She strode over to where I was sitting, and I angled myself on the couch, pulling her between my legs and pulling the blanket off the back to cover us. She pressed her back to my chest and snuggled herself into me. I pressed a kiss to the back of her head and ran my hand through the strands of her damp hair.

“You can’t turn on the CIA, Atlas.” She spoke, running her hand along the side of my leg. She was right, but that didn’t mean I had to agree with the statement. I spent so many years looking for someone like her. To give it all up now would not even be an option to consider. I would do anything to keep her, even if it meant turning just a little bit darker.

“I can, and I will…” I nuzzled my nose into her hair. “Nothing will keep me from having you all to myself.”

She spun around in my arms and sat up on her knees between my legs. Bringing her hands up to cup my cheeks, she stared deeply into my eyes.

“I don’t want to lose you, Atlas. Last night… Last night, I—”

“Last night never happened. Last night doesn’t change anything between us.” I cut her off; her eyes were starting to glisten, and I removed her hands from my cheeks, pressing a kiss to each palm. I loved her, and she loved me. That was all that mattered now.

Her phone rang, and right away, she jumped off the couch and ran to her room to answer it. I sat up, watching her talk to whoever was on the other end as she leaned against the door frame. She ran her hand through her hair and sighed.

“Yes, I’m fine. I told you I was just exhausted.”

I wish I could hear who she was talking to on the other end. I assumed it was someone who was involved in last night’s events. Someone she worked with. She probably won’t tell me who that person is, and I wouldn’t blame her.

“Alright, what time do you want to meet and where?” She asked, looking over at me, her eyes not leaving mine during her entire conversation. “I’ll be there. Bye.”

Chyler ended her call and placed her phone on the kitchen counter, returning to the couch and crawling on top of me, resting her head on my chest.

“As I am sure you could guess, I have to finish my work tonight. One more job, and I am free.” I couldn’t tell if she was genuinely trusting me with that information or if she was just too tired to bother hiding anything more from me.

I wrapped my arms around her, holding onto her tightly. I knew what her words meant: that they had successfully detained Atwater, and she was going to take care of him tonight. I wanted to be there for her, but I also told Derek that I would meet him back in the office today. I suppose distracting the guys at the office would help her in a way.

What the fuck am I thinking? I thought back to what I told her at The Landing after we fucked for the first time. “I know I look like the good guy—but if you want a villain, I will be that for you.” I didn’t know how much truth those heated words would hold now. I was going to become the villain of our story, just like her.

Pressing my lips to her head, I mumbled into her hair.

“I have to get back to the office today. I told Derek I would meet him there to review what happened with Michael August.”

She inhaled a deep breath and lifted her head to face me.

“What are you going to do?” She asked.

I had no idea. I was still trying to devise a plan that would work for both of us. The only thing I did know was that I was not going to hand her over to the CIA. There was no chance in hell.

“I don’t know yet, but don’t worry. I’m going to keep you safe, Chyler. I promise you that.” I squeezed my arms around her a little tighter.

I meant every word. Even though I knew she could clearly take care of herself, I wouldn’t let anyone else get their hands on her. She was safe with me. She was mine.