Chapter Six

Atlas

"H e's not thinking clearly," I mutter to the raven perched on my windowsill. It watches me, cocking its head from side to side as I pour liquid from one vial into another. This blend is my favorite—equal parts hemlock and nightshade extract. It's like a fucking aphrodisiac.

I take a tiny swig and clench my jaw as it singes the back of my throat. The sweet sting trickles through my veins like honey, slow and deliberate as it merges with my blood. "Riot's so blinded by his hate; he can't see the blessing that's been dropped in our laps. That spicy little firecracker. Mmm…"

The poison surges and wraps around my veins, twisting and turning my insides. I take off my T-shirt and jeans and lie down naked on my bed. Black satin sheets caress my back, cool against my heated skin.

The raven flies away but I keep talking to it as if my voice will carry through the wind. "Her blood could give us so much more…"

I'm burning up. The more I think about her pretty mouth wrapped around my fingers, the more I want to cum inside her. I want to play with her. I fist my hard cock and slide my hand up and down. "Fuck…"

My bedroom door creaks open and Valentin struts in. "You talking to the ravens again, Atlas?"

"Mmm," I moan. "They like the sound of my voice." I slide my hands up, pinching the tip gently as the poison swirls inside my balls.

Valentin smirks as he sniffs the vial. "That cunt got you all worked up, didn't she?"

Another moan escapes me as I stroke faster.

He walks to the edge of the bed with the vial and takes a sip, his eyes blazing with need. "Close your eyes… Imagine she's here right now."

Oh, fuck. I shut my lids and let out a shuddering breath as Valentin pushes my hands away. "What would you tell her to do?"

"I'd tell her to wrap her lips around my cock," I stammer.

Valentin snickers. "Like this?"

I moan and jerk my hips as his soft lips work their way down my shaft. "Mmm, yeah just like that."

His tongue lashes over my balls, and I shiver as my blood rushes forward. He pulls up and scrapes his teeth against my tip. I grab a handful of his black hair and urge him back down.

He chuckles. "That's it. Show me how you're gonna make her choke on your huge cock. Let her drink some of your poisonous cum."

I yank him down until my cock hits the back of his throat. "Fuck," I cry out.

Valentin presses his tongue flat to the back of my shaft as I thrust in and out of his mouth. Every cell is on fire. I feel the poison and blood swirl together like a violent storm. It sends tremors like tiny electric shocks through my swollen cock.

He chuckles as I bury myself so deep down in his throat I can hear his breath quicken through his nose.

I let out a deep growl and fist his hair tight in my palm as my cum shoots forward and fills his mouth. "Fuck. Fuck. Yeah. Oh my fucking…" My words are lost as I grunt out the rest of my thoughts.

He cups my balls as he swallows every drop, rubbing them back and forth. I roll my hips into it, savoring the softness of his fingers.

"Mmm. You did so good. I can't wait to watch you fuck her mouth like that."

I open my eyes and grin, deliriously satisfied. "Only if I keep getting to practice with you first."

He leans down and licks the sigil on my abdomen. The new one that Riot carved into me before the party the other night. "Promise me you won't forget that she's just our toy. Nothing more. We get to benefit from Riot's vendetta but when he's through with her, so are we."

I nod. She could be so much more .

"Atlas, promise me. Say it."

I scoot off the bed, grab a towel, and clean off my dick before putting my jeans back on. "I promise. For now ."

He sighs. "I heard you earlier with the raven. Don't let Riot hear you talk like that."

I pocket the rest of the vial and go to my closet. "Yeah, whatever, Val." I feel like I'm about to lose it. My hands tremble as I push through my designer clothes, searching for my favorite black cashmere sweater. The comedown from the poison always hits me harder after I cum. "Riot is fooling himself if he thinks he'll be satisfied with Maureen Blackwell just being our toy. She's his firecracker from Wickford Hollow."

Valentin reaches past me and grabs the sweater I'm looking for. "That was before he knew her last name. The fact that he felt something for her in that bathroom makes him even angrier."

I shrug. "Whatever."

He places a hand on my shoulder. "Careful, Atlas. Remember what my father taught us about girls like her?"

How could I forget? I spent every summer with Valentin and his family at their country estate. I learned quickly that his father, Laurent Erebus, is a scary motherfucker.

"If they don't comply, then they must be silenced," I repeat his father's cryptic words through gritted teeth.

"Thatta, boy." He pats me on the back so hard, it would have made a smaller man topple forward. But I'm six-foot-four and two-hundred pounds of solid muscle. Not a fucking ounce of body fat on me. So I don't budge an inch.

I hear the flapping of wings just as the raven flies back onto my window ledge and squawks. The lingering poison in my veins surges. I pull on my sweater before pocketing a few more vials of some of the other special blends I made earlier.

"You heading over to Swallow with me?" I ask, hoping he isn't. He and Riot are my best friends but sometimes I need a fucking break from the brooding.

He winks. "I'll meet you there. Gotta handle a couple of things first."

"You mean jerk off in your car," I tease.

He feigns a look of horror. "I'm offended. Mary Shelley is not just a car. And you know I would never soil the interior with my cum… I'm going to jerk off next to my baby."

I burst out laughing. "You're a fucking freak, bro."

Valentin palms my dick through my pants. "As are you. That's why we're friends with benefits."

I grab my leather jacket and head for the door. "Nah, we're only friends cause our parents made us."

Valentin snickers. "You can go fuck yourself next time."

I shoot him a grin. "I'm too pretty to fuck alone. Make sure you lock up before you leave."

There are only two people I trust to be in my room when I'm not here—Riot and Valentin.

He gives me a half-ass salute before I turn to leave. Fucking Valentin. He's one of the smartest people I know. Loyal to the bone. He would do anything for me and Riot. But his father's ferociousness simmers through him. He lacks empathy and compassion for everyone. Even us. It's just who he is.

I'm greeted by a few initiates as I trot down the stairs, but I barely look up. Nocturnus House is like a game to them. A club that everyone wants to belong to. For me, Riot, and Valentin, it's so much more. I have zero interest in making small talk with any of these wannabe frat boys. I fly past them and out the front door, heading in the direction of the campus bar.

There's only one person who I want to get to know this year. Maureen Blackwell . Fuck, when I had my fingers down her throat, I expected her to choke. But that hot little firecracker took it so fucking well. I'm getting hard just thinking about it.

I want to make her scream and cum and squirt all over the fucking place. She's just as much mine and Valentin's now as she is Riot's. That sweet little pussy of hers has no fucking idea what the hell she's in for. But she will real soon.

Swallow is already buzzing with students by the time I get there. A huge grin spreads across my face as I glance through the floor-to-ceiling windows and spot our little firecracker inside. Once a party girl, always a party girl.

I go in to get a closer look and damn… She's dressed to fucking kill . Perched at the bar in a short black mini-skirt, fishnet stockings, stiletto heels, and a black off-the-shoulder crop top, she stirs her whiskey old fashioned with one of her pointy black fingernails. Her dark brown hair is down across her shoulders and practically begging to be wrapped around my wrist.

I start forward then stop as soon as I see who she's with. Villette Crane . She's not exactly an enemy but she isn't a friend either. The Cranes are neutral in the ongoing feud between the Graves and the Blackwells. But if Villette is cozying up to Maureen… Riot is going to lose his shit. He'll behave but only to avoid another brawl with her brother Bones. That motherfucker is a lunatic. And that's saying a lot coming from me. We could handle him if we had to, but Villette isn't worth the blood and sweat.

I scan the room for Riot but don't see him. Fuck it. I could give a rat's ass about the feud or the Cranes. I wanna go play with our new toy.

Maureen's eyes widen when she spots me walking toward her. I notice her crossed thighs clench on the bar stool. That's right, Firecracker. I knew you fucking liked my fingers in your mouth.

I wedge myself in between her and Villette and lean over the bar to order a drink. Villette rolls her eyes and moves back as if I have some contagious disease. But Maureen freezes, the vein in her neck pulsing. She smells of whiskey and vanilla, and I want to drink her like that fucking cocktail she's holding.

I lean in close and invade her space, blocking Villette from her view. Her breath hitches as she follows my gaze traveling slowly down the length of her body. "Not that girl anymore, aye?"

"Fuck off, Atlas." Even as she tilts her chin up, her lower lip quivers. She's trying so hard to play it cool, but I see right through the act.

"Oh, I'm not complaining. Far from it." I thread a finger through an opening in her fishnets. "I think you look good enough to eat."

Her throat bobs as she swats my hand away. "I'm not on the menu."

"Well, you should be." I don't need to touch her wrist to know her pulse is racing. I can see it in her dilated eyes. In the way her chest rises and falls in little bursts.

"I thought I told you to fuck off," she snaps.

"But I'm so hungry," I whisper in her ear. A tremor shoots through my cock as I hear her suck in another sharp breath.

"Hey, psycho Ken, my friend told you to leave her alone. Twice . Now back it up and give her some room. Fuck." Villette elbow-shoves me to the side, and I let her. Satisfied that our little firecracker is riled up and sweating from every crevice.

I grab my drink off the bar. "Relax, little Crane. Just having some fun with the new freshman."

When I turn back to Maureen, the look on her face is murderous. Her jaw ticks as she fixates on me, refusing to break eye contact. The longer she stares, the angrier she looks. And it excites the fucking hell out of me.

"What's wrong, Firecracker? Not used to only having one man's attention on you? Hmm?" She stiffens and sits up straighter. I laugh and take a sip of my drink before prodding her some more. "Don't worry. Riot and Val are on their way. Then we can all order a piece of you."

Villette opens her mouth to retort but is cut off by Maureen flying off the bar stool. In one swift move, she pulls a knife from her skirt and presses it to my throat.

Fuck.

I'm so turned on now I can barely breathe. "Don't threaten me with a good time, baby girl."

" Then don't make me slit your fucking throat ," she growls.

If I was capable of love, then this would be it. "Fuck, you really are a firecracker," I murmur.

Her gaze darts from my lips to my eyes. "That's the thing about firecrackers… we explode."