Chapter 17

Atlas

After dinner, Venus went back to her office to answer the countless messages she was receiving from both the Enforcers and Kyrene's team. Having quickly knocked out my own tasks—in no small part thanks to Pythus picking up most of the slack—I dove headfirst into the ancient folktales Acamon forwarded to me. It wasn't an exhaustive list, but he promised to continue digging for anything else he might find.

Some of those stories were truly fascinating, giving me a glimpse of what core values and philosophies were promoted at the time. Their evolution was evident in each iteration of a given tale. Where in the original someone might have been a good or gray character, they became a villain in a subsequent version, before turning into a hero in a third one. Each time, the story changed to the point where the original message was either completely lost, altered, or flat out reversed.

The challenge was that the original text in the old tongue was tricky to properly interpret. Some terms used back then had either become obsolete or held a completely different meaning at the time that I couldn't be certain I was translating appropriately.

I was so lost in my work that the sound of my office's door opening startled me. I lifted my head to peer at Venus walking in. She was stretching her neck and rolling her shoulders.

"Tired?" I asked sympathetically as I rose to my feet to go greet her.

"Sore from spending so much time at my computer. My posture has really gone to hell lately," she said piteously.

"That's because you need a proper chair with a back rest," I grumbled severely while gently massaging her shoulders. "I'm going to make you one tomorrow regardless of your claims that you don't need it. I should have done it from the first day."

"You don't have to do that," she argued again, but this time with far less conviction than before.

"The matter is settled. You're getting one tomorrow," I said in a tone that brooked no argument. "You are wound up so tightly, your muscles feel like stone," I added disapprovingly. "Strip and go lie down in our bed. I'm going to give you a proper massage."

Although she made a face at me for what she called ‘bossing her around' I didn't miss the excited glimmer in her eyes. This would be my second time giving her a massage. Truth be told, even though I was doing this for her, I'd lie by saying I didn't enjoy the experience as much as she did. Any excuse to touch my woman was a win.

"Fine, you bully," she mumbled with fake annoyance.

I smiled and watched her saunter out of my office.

In our bed…

It did wonderful things to me to be able to say that and for it to be reality. My mind still reeled at how my life completely changed overnight. I kept waiting for the moment it would blow up in my face. Sometimes, I woke up at night and touched Venus's hair or face for reassurance that I hadn't dreamt it all up, that this wasn't some wild fantasy that I would soon awaken from.

I closed my computer, did a quick round of the house, locking things up, then grabbed the massage kit Linsea sent me. She had included a massage table with the oils. In fact, we used it the first time. However, now that our relationship had reached a different level, I preferred to do it in our bed. After all, it would be a lot more comfortable for the less than relaxing way I intended to finish off our little session.

A delicious flame lit up in the pit of my stomach as I eagerly made my way to my bedroom, which she now shared with me. As soon as I opened the door, a bolt of lust exploded at the apex of my thighs when I took in the view that greeted me.

Fully naked, her curly hair splayed around her beautiful face, my mate lay on her back with her legs slightly tilted to the side, one hand on her stomach, and the other playing with a lock of hair near her nape. My mouth watered as I stared at the dark areolas of her breasts and the perky little buds begging to be licked and nipped.

Promethean females didn't have prominent breasts like humans. Although theirs were also rounded, they were barely bigger than a male's. Like us, our females didn't wear shirts or upper clothes. Breasts were not considered sexual body parts here. They were merely another part of our anatomy with its functions.

It had felt odd the first time Venus removed her dress and underwear. According to her, they were of average size by human standards. To me, they were massive. Seeing how she responded to me fondling them had taken me aback. Initially, I gave them plenty of attention merely to please her. But now, I'd grown quite addicted. Their softness, the way they perfectly fit inside my palms, and how the nipples hardened beneath my touch prove to be quite the turn on. And their texture on my tongue…

Blood instantly rushed to my rod. I silently willed it to behave. There would be time later for it to get the attention it craved. For now, I wanted my hands all over my woman, to feel the silkiness of her skin, watch it cover itself in those ridiculous little bumps as she shivered with delight, and hear those sweet moans and voluptuous sighs that drove me insane with desire.

Her body was pure perfection. It still boggled my mind that I had not found her attractive the first time I laid eyes on her. The absence of scales, fur, antennae, and obviously wings had skewed my expectations as to the definition of beauty. But in spite of our anatomical differences, everything about my Venus was harmonious and titillating. From her endless, slender legs, to the scrumptious flaring of her hips, narrow waist and generous breasts, every part of her demanded to be caressed and worshiped. Even her dainty toes made me want to nip at them—which I might have done once or twice while polishing them for her.

But it was her face that mesmerized me the most. Those lovely pitch-black eyes, so expressive and framed by the longest natural eyelashes I'd ever seen hypnotized me. That cute scaleless nose of hers always had my index finger itching to playfully tap it. But it was its softness whenever Venus affectionately rubbed it against mine that had me melting from the inside out. And that mouth… those plump and juicy lips that I couldn't stop devouring were a real drug for me. Thinking of how greedily she used them on me had me nearly come undone. The inferno of her mouth swallowing me was an addiction I never wanted to recover from.

A sinfully sensuous smile settled on her face, and the pink tip of her tongue peeked out to lick the center of her upper lip. My rod jerked in response behind my tarp. She shifted in the bed as she turned onto her stomach, undulating her body in a less-than-innocent fashion. Naturally, my gaze zeroed in on the plump globes of her behind. They were round, soft, and just the right amount of firm. She wiggled them briefly, pretending to adjust her position. But one glance at her face confirmed she was looking at me over her shoulder, spying on my reaction.

The wretched female was trying to turn me on and succeeding spectacularly.

My palms twitched with the urge to reach for her behind. I simply couldn't decide if it was to give her a good spanking or to give each cheek a proper squeeze. Then again, they were begging to be bitten.

But when it came to temptation, two could play that game. I wasn't the Razus of the Black Guard for nothing. When it came to self-control, I had her beat. And soon, I would have her begging for the release only I could give her.

Standing by the side of the bed, I opened the bottle of massage oil. Its fresh scent wafted to me. Not too fruity, not too spicy, it was bright and faintly citrusy with a hint of vanilla. It was subtle enough not to mask Venus's natural delectable scent. It quickly absorbed into the skin, helping relax the muscles, leaving the skin smooth instead of sticky or tacky. But the best part? The oil was edible. This meant we could peacefully transition from the massage into something spicier without worry.

I knelt on the bed next to her, poured some oil in my hand, and rubbed it between my palms to warm it. As soon as I began to massage her trapezius and shoulders, Venus emitted a grateful sigh that instantly put a smile on my face. I loved her pleasure in all its forms, and especially when I was the one giving it to her.

Despite the provocative pose she'd initially taken, Venus was genuinely all knotted up with tension. All naughty thoughts flew out of my mind as I worked each muscle until it relaxed. I moved down her back, massaged the muscles of her behind with clinical professionalism, then pursued my way along her legs, ending with a full-on foot massage then finished off with kneading her arms. By the time I was done, my mate's body was languid. She looked a little groggy when I turned her onto her back.

By the Lights, she was so beautiful… And all mine.

This time, I started with her face and head, making her even groggier. My mate loved getting her scalp massaged and scratched. I lingered there longer than planned to enjoy the purring sound she made while her eyes fluttered.

When I finally moved down to her neck, Venus's relaxed stance gradually shifted. While I continued to give her a proper massage, I made sure to give extra attention to all her erogenous zones, like that sensitive spot below her right ear. She looked at me with hooded eyes when my hands ventured towards her chest.

Where I had shown restraints massaging her behind, I did no such thing when I reached her breasts. There was nothing clinical in the way I fondled them. My mate's lips parted as I cupped each breast and flicked my thumb over the nipples until they hardened. Eyes locked with hers, I traced the dark circles of her areolas multiple times with my thumbs.

Only once my antennae picked up the scent of her arousal did I relent and proceeded with giving her stomach—and in particular her ticklish belly button—some attention. She called it an outie, because it poked outside instead of being recessed. This time, I didn't resist temptation. Leaning forward, I gave it a little nip. Venus chuckled and her entire body jerked in response.

I lifted my head to peer at her with a mischievous smile.

Our gazes connected, and a powerful silent communication passed between us. In that instant, I realized that I was slowly but surely falling in love with my woman. And despite the insecurities that continued to plague me, I believed she, too, was developing deep feelings for me.

Giving up all pretenses of pursuing the massage, I lowered my head and began to kiss and caress her stomach. My movements were slow and tender as I aimed to express the powerful emotions and endless affection she stirred in me. My hands and mouth freely roamed over upper body. Not a centimeter of skin escaped my attentions.

By the gods, I would never tire of the delicious shivers that coursed through her whenever I touched her just so, the voluptuous sound of her sighs in my ears, and the sweet saltiness of her skin that even the massage oil couldn't mask.

And that musk…

The scent of my mate's arousal was the most intoxicating aphrodisiac. It made my mouth water, my skin burn with the fever of heat, and my rod throb with unfulfilled desire. With a will of its own, my right hand slipped between her thighs even as my tongue was busy teasing her nipple.

Finding my mate soaking wet for me sent a bolt of lust exploding in my loins. By the Lights, how I wanted her! I sank two fingers inside her, while my thumb settled on her little nub. Venus's breath hitched, and she involuntarily arched her back.

Once again, I lifted my head to look at her. Blood rushed to my groin at the sight of the lascivious expression on her face. Eyes hooded, the tip of her tongue peeking out, Venus was staring at me as if she wanted me to ravage her.

How I wanted to do just that.

She lifted her pelvis in counterpoint to the movement of my fingers dipping in and out of her. By the way she ground her sex on my hand, my female needed more to push her over the edge. Naturally, I was more than happy to give her just that.

I kissed a path down her flat stomach. Her abdominal muscles quivered in anticipation, and her breath came out in short, shaky bursts. She didn't resist when I spread her legs wider to settle between them. The scent of her musk was driving me insane with lust. My rod throbbed painfully, and my claspers twitched, willing me to climb on top of her instead and make her mine while they kept her in place.

Clamping down on my selfish desires, I gave her clitoris one last rub with my thumb, then closed my mouth around it. Venus cried out, and her right hand slipped into my hair, fisting it. Once more, she gyrated against my face as I sucked on her little nub. The tartness of her essence exploded on my taste buds and set my loins on fire. The sound of her moans as I made love to her with my fingers and my mouth further fanned the flames.

I closed my free hand around the base of my rod and squeezed it almost painfully to silence the throbbing—not that it helped in the least. The fever of heat came back with a vengeance, demanding that I take my mate, fill her with my seed, and mark her with my scent so that no other would dare approach what was mine.

The human body was a wonder. Everything about it was soft. Her pelvic area was not only devoid of the scales Prometheans possessed, but it was also hairless. As the few illustrations I had dared look at on biology websites displayed pubic hair for both human genders, I expected to find between her thighs a smattering of the same soft curls on her head. It saddened me to discover she had them removed by laser. Still, it didn't lessen my enjoyment of her silky folds glistening with her essence.

Her inner walls—just as smooth, wet, and warm—were greedily clenching around my fingers moving in and out of her at increasing speeds. I couldn't help but wonder how they would feel around my rod as I lost myself inside her. For days now since our first kiss, I ached to fully be one with my mate. We had done everything else since, and our bodies had very few mysteries left for us. More than once, I felt as if she wanted me to go all the way, but then lost some of her boldness. I couldn't tell if it was because she wasn't ready to cross that line, or because she wanted me to request we do.

Tonight, I intended to do just that.

As Venus's moans grew louder and her gyrations intensified, heralding the imminence of her climax, I crooked my fingers inside her to rub the little bundle of nerves that systematically had her screaming my name in no time.

And in no time, she did.

I couldn't wait to see what the nubs covering the tip of my rod would do to that sensitive spot once we coupled.

Venus threw her head back and cried out while a violent spasm rocked her body. Her hand in my hair tightened almost savagely. The powerful sting resonated directly in my rod. I clenched my teeth, not out of pain, but to rein myself in. The urge to jump on top of her and ram myself in clawed at me with a fierceness that left me reeling.

Refusing to lose that battle, I focused on my woman's pleasure, keeping her flying high with my hand and mouth on her sex. I only relented after her grip on my hair loosened and her body's trembling ebbed.

I lifted my head to peer at her. The way she gazed upon me destroyed me. Venus wasn't in love, but that glimmer in her eyes was a first taste of how she would look at me once she was. There was nothing I wouldn't do for that day to come sooner than later.

She tugged on my arms to make me get on top of her. I complied, then claimed her lips in a tender kiss. As our tongues mingled, Venus caressed my back on each side of my wings, Instead of moving back up, her palms continued their downward journey before settling on my behind. To my shock, she pressed me down against her and lifted her pelvis to rub it against mine.

I froze. My head jerked up, breaking the kiss, and I locked eyes with her.

"Make me yours," she whispered against my lips.

I stared at her while the fire burning in the pit of my stomach spread throughout my body, like liquid flames coursing through my veins.

"You accept me, Venus? All of me?" I whispered, my throat constricted by emotion, and my voice made deeper by the burning desire consuming me from within.

"Yes, Atlas. I want all of you. I want to be one with you," she replied with fervor, her eyes flicking between mine.

"You are mine, Venus. Now and forever," I said before crushing her lips in a possessive kiss.

She responded in kind, her arms tightening their embrace around me. Of their own free will, my claspers extruded and circled around her thighs. Venus gasped against my mouth but didn't balk. They didn't tighten their grip just yet. Until I was fully sheathed, they would simply remain at the ready.

I rubbed my length against her slit, coating it with some of her essence, then broke the kiss. My entire body shook with desire, but my need to protect her superseded everything else. As much as the past few days of intimacy with Venus had helped me rein in my urges when interacting with her, I dreaded my inexperience and current heat would get the best of me.

With infinite care, I started pushing myself inside my woman. Barely a couple of centimeters in, her body began to resist my invasion. I clenched my teeth and buried my face in her neck. My skin burned with the fever of heat. My claws extruded, and I sank them in the soft mattress to avoid hurting my mate. I focused on my breathing and on the soothing feel of Venus's hands caressing my back. Words weren't necessary for my woman to understand what inner battle was raging within me. I should be the one reassuring her, making her feel safe, instead of her helping me shackle the feral beast inside me.

In that instant, I realized that had we gone all the way before, I likely would have lost this battle. And Venus had known…

By Kiaris's Light, my woman truly was perfection. In such a short time, she'd learn to know me better than anyone else, probably more even than I knew myself.

With controlled and shallow movements, I gradually inserted myself in her searing warmth. My loins were ablaze. Each careful thrust threatened to make me come undone. And then her body yielded to me.

A bestial growl tore out of me as I suddenly found myself fully sheathed. Venus gasped, and her blunt nails dug into the small of my back, sending another lightning bolt in my groin. I remained still, fighting to silence the volcano threatening to erupt deep within. After a while, my mate's inner walls contracted greedily around my length, demanding I begin to move, which further battered my already frayed control.

I finally realized that forbidding myself from moving wasn't helping but only increasing the torture. Bracing, I started slowly rocking in and out of my woman. I nearly spilled my seed at the first stroke. By the Lights! I would die with pleasure. Each thrust felt like a lightning bolt striking my nether region then sending electric tendrils outwards that lit up each of my nerve endings.

The endless string of moans tumbling out of me sounded like feral growls to my own ears. Venus's voluptuous sighs mingled with mine as she writhed beneath me. Her grip tightened on my behind, and she lifted her pelvis to meet me thrust for thrust. Her enthusiastic response spurred me into increasing the pace.

And yet, I needed more… much more.

Slipping my left arm under her knee, I lifted her leg to open her wider. My left clasper loosened its grip, while the right one tightened its hold around her other thigh. I ground my pelvis against hers. By the way her body jerked and the strangled cry that escaped her, the motion had perfectly stimulated her clitoris, sending a jolt of pleasure through her. I started taking her deeper, harder, faster. In no time, I was pounding into her.

The thin coat of perspiration covering her dark skin glistened under the soft light of the room. I covered her neck and face with kisses as the inferno within threatened to make me burst into combustion.

I was lost in a sea of ecstasy, pleasure too much to bear driving me to the edge of madness. I couldn't seem to get close enough to my woman. The harder I took her, the hungrier I became for her. My mouth, hands, and every centimeter of my skin didn't suffice to feel all of her. Judging by the sound of her voluptuous moans, the almost desperate way she touched and kissed me, Venus seemed as overwhelmed by sensations as I was.

She spoke words I didn't understand, not that it mattered. Her tone told me all I needed to know. I could only assume bliss was overriding her translation implant, making her speak in her native language or Universal instead of Sylvan, the Promethean language, as she normally did with the loveliest accent.

Venus suddenly arching her back and emitting a shout halfway between pleasure and pain, cast such musings right out of my mind. I hadn't seen her orgasm sneak up on her. Eyes tightly closed, lips parted, my mate was clawing at my back as she flew on the wings of bliss. I cried out and felt myself spill a few drops. Something broke inside of me, and I abandoned all caution.

My claspers extended fully, wrapped halfway around my woman's thighs, and locked her into position. Unless she tore them right off me, Venus wasn't going anywhere. Lost in a world of sensations, I unleashed my passion on her. The tight grip of her inner walls caressing me with each stroke wrested one blissful moan after the other out of me—although rabid grunts would likely be more accurate. The slapping sound of flesh meeting flesh mingled with my growls and my mate's drawn-out moans.

She felt so incredibly good, I never wanted this to end. Liquid lava swirled in my loins, begging for release. Although she just came down from her second orgasm, I could sense Venus cresting again. As much as I wanted to wreck her all night long, I wouldn't be able to last much longer. But I refused to fall apart without taking her along for the ride. I shifted the angle of my thrusts until a violent spasm jerked her body, confirming I'd struck her sweet spot. A strangled cry rose from her throat, and she once more dug her nails into my back in that way I loved so much.

After a few more powerful strokes, Venus shouted my name, swept away by rapture. Her inner walls clamped down almost painfully around my length, and I roared my own climax. I clasped my hands on her hips in a bruising hold as my seed erupted deep inside her. A blinding white light exploded before my eyes. The room spun around me as I continued to pump in and out of my woman, my movements erratic as a devastating orgasm engulfed me.

The eyespots of my wings felt ablaze. I vaguely realized I had deployed my wings and unconsciously drafted an impressive amount of magical energy, ready to be blasted out. I dispelled it, distraught by the thought of the damage I might have caused had I fired lightning in the throes of passion.

I claimed Venus's lips in a hungry kiss, our labored breath intermingling as my seed shot out of me in a blissful flow until the last drop was spent. I collapsed on top of her before rolling onto my back while simultaneously pulling her on top of me. Anyway, she had no choice but to follow as my claspers kept her tightly attached to me.

Although my rod gradually softened, I remained buried deep inside my woman. She laid her head on top of my fur, listening to the thundering of my heart and holding me with a possessiveness that rivaled my own.

"I'm keeping you, Atlas. You're mine, now and always," she whispered against my chest.

My left arm tightened around her, and my right hand caressed her hair while a powerful emotion I didn't dare name yet filled my chest with warmth.

"As long as I draw breath, I am yours, my Venus."