Chapter 9

Atlas

"That doesn't make any fucking sense, Atlas," she says, and I know why she's saying it. I do. In her place, I might have said the exact same thing, but she also doesn't have the context, the history, the life I have. And I don't know how to help her understand that. So instead, I shove both hands into my hair and slump onto the couch with a frustrated groan.

She stands there a few more seconds as if waiting for me to explain, but I'm stuck.

She sighs. "I'm going to go pack my stuff."

I listen to her footsteps as she leaves, and even though I'd like to call her back, I don't. I don't know what to say.

"All clear?" my middle brother asks a few minutes later.

"Fuck off, Sammy," I tell him. I love him, but damn if he isn't fucking annoying most days. He's the epitome of varied extremes, all bright light and joking, frenetic energy or dark, brooding angst rolled up in ball of fuck off. I guess the perfect mash-up of all my brothers in one.

He chuckles, and I hear him flop into a chair somewhere close. When I look up, he's got one of those annoying grins on his face.

"What?"

"Royally fucked that."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious. Also, I don't think you're one to talk."

He chuckles. "Maybe that's the point—talking isn't going to prove anything here."

"And what are you suggesting?"

"Go fuck her brains out."

I straighten and glance at the stairs. As much as I want to do that, it doesn't solve the problem. "You know that isn't an option."

"Why not?"

"Because she deserves a choice in the matter. She didn't grow up in this life. You know?"

He nods. "Yeah. You're right. But...."

I hear the low hum of my other brothers' voices talking in the kitchen. "But what?"

He sighs and leans forward. "You're at a crossroads. She needs to get to her sister." He pauses. "Look, if I could do things differently… I should have. You know. You don't have to die on this hill."

"We can help with her sister. Do it for her."

"Right. Except, we're as much strangers to the sister as whoever has her. You think her sister's going to be like, ‘Okay. Let me trade one group of fucks for another?'" Samson raises his voice into a feminine lilt as if he's Ivy's sister.

He's right.

"So your calix leaves here unbonded and protected by us but vulnerable, or she leaves here bonded, protected, hidden, and able to get her sister."

"But what if she figures out she doesn't really even like me? What if we've bonded and she still leaves?"

Samson's grin fades. I've touched a very deep nerve for him, but he shakes it off, for me, and says, "Who the fuck are you?" he asks and looks around the room. "Where did my brother Atlas go?"

I chuckle.

"You're fucking Atlas Black. She'll fall in love with you because you will that shit. Besides, you've got the bond on your side, remember. Toss in a touch of heroism when you help her save her sister. And when she sees your fucking wings, she's going to blow her load."

I can't help but smile, and then laugh quietly.

Samson nods his head at the stairs and wiggles his eyebrows.

He's right.

I can't die on this hill.

She wants a one-time fuck to save her sister. Fine.

With a deep breath I stand. "Get out," I tell my brothers, both out loud to Samson and through the family link.

Samson laughs as he leaves the room. "Come on. Let's give them some space." I hear my brothers grumble.

They trudge out of the house as I hop down the stairs. When I reach her closed door, I stop a moment, and take a deep breath. It's time for action, not words. With that decision in my head and heart, I knock.

Ivy flings the door open, eyes blazing, and her mouth open to snap something at me. I step into her, grasp the back of her neck, and slam my mouth into hers before she can speak. With my foot, I kick the door closed behind me.

"If this is what you want… no more words," I growl into her mouth and drive my tongue inside.

She's shocked and tense, but then relaxes, her hands grabbing hold of the front of my t-shirt. She whines then moans around the onslaught of my tongue, tilting her head to draw me in. "Atlas?"

"No words," I repeat and lean back. "Okay?"

I wait for her because she has the right to say no. And now she knows what she needs to, the consequences of what this means.

She nods. "Yes. Yes." Then she meets my kiss with equal fervor. "I'm on the pill. Are you clean?"

"Yes." I grab the bottom of her shirt, slide my hands up over her belly, my palms catching on her lace-covered tits, then around to her back as I draw the fabric up and over her head. Her bra is fucking black today. I palm her over the fabric, and she arches into my touch. It's followed by my shirt. We fumble with our pants, stripping out of them until I'm naked before her, and she's still wearing that lacy black confection I want to eat off her body.

"Fuck, Atlas," she says, sliding her hands down my chest, over my abs, which tense under her touch, then she wraps her hand around my cock. "This is impressive."

"It's going to be fucking impressive when I'm balls deep in you in a few minutes," I growl out and groan as she tugs on it, drawing her hand from the base to the tip. She slides it over my head, finding it slick with moisture and does it again, and my tongue claims her again, walking her backward until she's on her back, legs spread, and I'm on my knees between them.

Her eyes appreciate me, as I grab hold of my cock, stroking as I appreciate her. Her perky tits, which I know are a perfect handful now. Her skin is smooth, her stomach soft, her splayed thighs nicely rounded, and that pussy I saw the night before, although hidden by her lacy panties, I'm pretty sure is slick and ready. My eyes travel back to meet hers, and I realize I've miscalculated things as she licks her bottom lip. I'd planned to come in and claim her. Fuck her quick, like the one-time thing she wanted, but it's the wrong move. She needs me to worship her, to make her understand why I'm endgame.

I fall forward onto my hands, one on each side of her head, and she rises to meet me, my kiss more reverent this time, slow and deliberate. My tongue skims the seam of her lips, and she moans, sliding her hands down my back, grabbing hold of my ass to draw me into the center of her waiting web. But I resist, sliding my tongue from her mouth across her jaw, down her neck, where I stop to give attention to her tits. I lick the edge of her bra and close my mouth over the peaked nipple under the fabric, grabbing hold gently with my teeth, my hand mimicking my mouth on the other side. There's a tease in it, the promise of how it will feel to be fully connected. I slide my tongue under the edge of fabric, and she whimpers, grabbing the back of my head.

She likes her tits played with. I file it away.

Then I'm traveling her body once more, one hand still enjoying the feel of that lace-covered nipple against my palm, my tongue making a trail across her belly to her bellybutton, as my other hand slides to her hip and squeezes.

She moans.

I glance up, and she's watching me with those green eyes, dark with lust now.

I smile at her and with both my hands spread her wider and just look.

She mewls, moving her hips, seeking sensation, but still I wait, prolonging the inevitable, but increasing the suspense. Then I slide my hands up over her inner thighs to frame her pussy and use my thumbs to caress her over her panties. She's fucking soaked, and it's nearly my undoing, but I'm committed to making her understand that this isn't a one-time thing.

"Oh god. Atlas," she moans, her head flopping back against the bed. "Please."

"Please what?" I ask, slipping a thumb under the elastic of her panties and graze her wet heat with a barely-there touch.

She gasps, a sharp intake of breath. "I need…"

"Need what?" I ask, sliding the pad of my thumb over her clit. "Tell me."

"You," she gasps again, rocking her hips. "I need you."

"Remember that, beautiful," I say and drop my head between her legs, running my tongue against the edge of her panties. I hook the lace with a finger and pull the elastic to the side, revealing the treasure underneath, then hover without touch, just my breath and the promise of what's coming. It's enough to have her squirming.

She grabs my head and lifts her hips.

I resist being pulled in, chuckling, but stick my tongue out and lick what she's offered.

"Fuck," she gasps. "Please. Atlas."

Grabbing her hands, I guide them over her head. "Don't move them," I tell her, then dip my head back between her thighs, but this time, I don't wait. I give her what she wants, the slide of my tongue up her seam to her clit.

She cries out and bucks against my face.

With a lack of restraint I don't expect, I eat her up, eventually pulling her panties from her body for complete access. I fuck her with my tongue, diving as deep as I can, tasting her luscious syrup and finding I'm struggling to keep my mind focused because there's a riot inside my body. She's making noise that makes me feel wild, and I want to bury my cock inside her, as the warm power pulsing between us enhances everything.

Only, I want to ruin her for anyone else—show her how it can be between us—so I force myself to take the time. To slow down. By the time I am done with her, I need her to remember who she belongs to. Me. With my tongue, lips, and the gentle graze of my teeth on her clit, I anchor her hips with my arm to keep her where I want her. Mine. Alternating between fucking her with my tongue and spreading her open for access to her clit. Mine. Mine. Mine. Over and over, she comes undone under me.

"Atlas!" She shouts my name. "Fuck! Oh please. I'm coming!" and she arches off the bed.

My blood boils with need.

I swipe at my mouth with my forearm, rise onto my knees and sit back on my heels, grasp her hips and yank her toward me. She's still gasping and writhing with her orgasm, a complete mess of pleasure, and I bring the head of my cock against her clit.

She gasps at the sensation.

With a quick adjustment, I guide my cock through her dripping center and notch my head at her opening, pushing myself inside.

"Fuck," I grit out, her pussy tight as that orgasm still pulses inside her.

"Atlas," she gasps, and I can see she wants to grab hold of me, but she obeys me, keeping her hands where I've asked her to.

"Good girl," I purr and power thrums louder in my ears. "You feel that?" I grunt as I push in a little further, her tightness adjusting around me. I swear, chanting it. "That's so good. You feel so fucking good," I grit out between my clenched jaw and push in a little deeper.

"It's everywhere," she cries. "You're everywhere."

I push in all the way.

"Yes," she cries out. "Yes."

My cock pulses and I pull out before driving back in, everything tightening inside me, collecting at the base of my spine. "You feel so fucking good, Ivy," I say, repeating the rhythm. In. Out. In. Out. In, her pussy clenching around my cock. "Oh fuck," I chant as I climb toward my own orgasm, and I want her to have another, so with my thumb I flick her clit.

Suddenly, the incitare explodes inside me, around me, and I can feel a fire raging through my veins. I swear and drop forward over her.

Her eyes fly open. "Oh my god," she says and arches her back. "What the fuck is that?"

"It's us," I say and rock into her, moving, finding the rhythm again. "You. Me." I grip her hip with one hand. "Play with your clit," I tell her, because I can't freaking concentrate anymore. She feels like perfection gripped tight around me, and the slick slide of our heat mounts, climbing, as the bond is achieved. It burns across my skin, a blissful heat that I've never felt in all my life, not with any other partner, and now I will never experience again unless it's with Ivy. It's the way of the sereph. It's the claiming of one another. I am hers, and she is mine.

She reaches between us and touches herself.

It's so fucking hot. Damn, the sight of me sliding in and out of her, our bodies joined this way, and her touching herself, I'm a fucking lost cause. Forget what it's done to her, I am fucking ruined for anyone else.

"Atlas. Oh god, Atlas. I'm going to…" And then she's mewling and writhing under me once more.

The power of her orgasm grips my cock, races up my spine, and I drive into her again as my own orgasm races through my body. And with a roar, I lean back, thrusting into her one more time as the final piece is put in place to complete me, and my latent wings—no longer waiting—rip from my body as I come.