Sleeping Redemption (Feathers of Darkness Duet #1)

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

C oncerned that my house was ready to go up in flames, I ran to the back door. I shoved both my feet into a pair of dark gray slippers that I kept there before yanking the sliding glass door open.

Trekking out into the dipping temperatures of the outdoors, I searched for the source of the smoke. My senses were immediately greeted by a smoky aroma of wood burning and meat cooking. Another frigid gust of wind wafted more of the scent toward me.

Finally locating the source, my eyes settled on Atlas as he stood by a makeshift fire. He had managed to assemble a platform where he had a cast iron grate over the open flames. The sizzling of the steaks joined the symphony of the crackling chunks of wood feeding the fire underneath them.

My hands held onto both of my arms, trying to keep warm after venturing out here in nothing but my sweater, leggings, and the woefully ill-equipped pair of slippers for outdoor use. I stomped over there, trying not to slip on last night’s snowfall that remained in a thin layer on my lawn.

“What are you doing?” I stared at Atlas as he kept watch over the food. “Are you trying to burn down my backyard?”

He chuckled and warmed his hands in front of him, using the heat radiating from the makeshift cooking station he had created. Looking over at me, he grinned and completely ignored my question. “Hungry?”

The biting winter temperatures drew a shiver from me, and I grasped my arms tighter. “Not enough to freeze to death out here.”

Atlas nodded at the sliding door I had left open. “Go inside, it will be done in a few minutes.”

The tightness at the bottom of my stomach reminded me how much I needed to eat something. Without my staff on hand, my only other option was to order subpar takeout.

The tone of my voice softened. “Fine. Just make sure you put the fire out when you’re done.” I backed up a few steps before turning to go back to the house. When I got to the door, I quickly glanced back at him to notice his eyes also stealing a look in my direction.

Brushing it off, I stepped back inside to patiently wait for those mouthwatering steaks to make their way inside. When I got to the kitchen table, I noticed it had already been set. Two place settings were laid out side by side, my favorite bottle of red already opened and poured into both glasses.

I wanted nothing more than to forget Atlassian’s tender side, the way he catered to my needs above his own. Yet, here he was, doing what he had always done. He was making sure I had exactly what I needed.

He will do it again, you know. He’ll die for you.

The voice echoed in my head, prompting a pained expression to fill my face. Determined to chase away the Devil’s words, I lifted one of the glasses of wine and took a long sip. The cherry and oak notes provided a warmth to chase away the chill in my body.

The ribeye steak had been cooked to perfection, reminding me of why I had always left the cooking to Atlas. He used to cook most of the meals we shared together outdoors, always gathering the freshest ingredients and taking great care to prepare a feast worthy of kings and queens.

Conversation at the dinner table had been light, mostly because I had been cramming so much food into my face that all I could do was listen. It left an awkward silence between us during the majority of the meal.

I sat back in my chair, cradling my wine glass before finishing the last mouthful.

“That steak was delicious. I don’t know how you always manage to—” I cut my words off, realizing they treaded into reminiscing about the tragic past we shared.

Atlas gave a knowing smile and allowed my words to fall short as he stood. He gathered my plate and paused at my side, leaning over like he was about to kiss the top of my head but abruptly stopped.

Stepping away, he carried the dirty dishes to the sink, stacking them neatly there. “I’m just glad you enjoyed it. Wouldn’t want Sylas coming back here and claiming that I let you starve.”

I smiled lightly, grateful to hear that Sylas wasn’t just cranky with me but with everyone else as well.

Looking out the window above the kitchen sink, Atlas’s lips curved into a bittersweet smile. It was hard to read what he was thinking about at that moment, but it caused something in him to shift. He moved away from the sink and came to my side, easing my wine glass from my hand and setting it on the table.

Lacing his fingers with mine, he pulled me to my feet and guided me to the sliding back door. “Come with me, I want to see something,” was his only explanation for his actions.

Trusting that he wasn’t going to boot my ass into the cold and lock me out of my home, I followed as he led us both outside. The deep blue of the night sky chased away the artwork of colors I had appreciated earlier as the sun had been setting. His hand clutched to mine, keeping it warm despite the wintry temperature. Another snow shower had begun, filling the air all around us with delicately fluffy snowflakes.

Atlas guided me into the middle of my backyard with him and released my hand once he stood right in front of me. His cobalt eyes were full of something so heartfelt it looked nearly painful.

“What are we doing out here?” I asked, the wine only working so much magic into tricking my body that the alcohol would keep me warm out there.

His hands reached out, settling his palms on each of my cheeks before taking a step closer to me. The snow stuck to both of us as we stood still, each unique flake finding a home on our bodies.

Speaking gently, Atlas’s thumb caressed my cheek, pushing a stray lock of blonde hair to the side. “I just wanted to see you as I remembered you last. The snowflakes on your eyelashes...your nose...your lips.”

Time seemed to be suspended between us in that moment as I got lost in his eyes, recalling how he looked while we hiked up the side of St. Cassius. My lungs stalled in my chest, my heart suffering a deep ache as I remembered the man who was prepared to lay down his life for mine.

“Atlassian,” I whispered.

He brought his head down, pressing his forehead to mine, and it rendered me unable to tell him of the storm of emotions crashing inside me.

Hesitantly, he brushed his lips over mine in the barest of touches. The brief connection between us was just enough to feed the tiny flame inside me that I thought to have been extinguished long ago.

My hands came to rest on his forearms, at war with the idea of tearing his hands from my face or drawing him closer. Atlas must have sensed my conflict and pulled away from me.

“I’m sorry, angel. I didn’t mean?—”

Not letting him finish his apology, I pulled myself up against him, my hand coming to the back of his neck as I pressed my lips to his, latching onto him with an intensity of three lifetimes of separation.

Atlas’s arms dropped, circling my waist and squeezing me to him with a tightness that threatened to break me in half. His mouth fiercely worked over mine, the short stubble around his mouth scratching against me.

A chain reaction of firecrackers felt like they were popping off inside of me, driving me to have all of him and for him to take all of me. My fingers slid up the back of his neck, getting tangled in the small ponytail of burnt-honey locks. With my other hand right on top of his firm chest, his heart stammered away just beneath the surface.

We both stumbled in our steps back toward my house, not wanting to break our connection with one another. Unfurling one arm from around my body, Atlas slid open the door, and we clumsily made our way inside. The back of my heel clipped a skinny stand that had a spider plant set on top of it. Both the stand and the pot fell to the floor, the pot breaking into large pieces and unleashing the soil onto my previously clean kitchen floor.

No longer in the freezing cold, the sudden heat of the inside of the house and the desire raging inside of me had me in a frenzy to get this damn sweater off my body. Releasing my hold on him, I yanked on the sweater, pulling it upward until I was forced to separate my mouth from his.

His eyes were filled with a heavy lust and an even heavier reflection of his love for me as he helped lift the sweater over my head until it got tossed onto the floor, leaving me in my leggings and a crimson satin bra.

Before I could catch my breath, he grabbed my face and brought our mouths together again in a searing kiss, forcing my lips to part and our tongues to tangle with one another. Atlas walked me back until my ass hit the edge of the kitchen table.

Without hesitation, he grabbed me at the waist, lifted me, and set me down on the table. As he laid me onto my back with my legs dangling off the table’s edge, my hands knocked over the almost empty bottle of wine. The bottle tipped and rolled right off the table, falling to the ground and spilling the last of the wine onto the floor.

Standing between my legs, Atlas kissed his way down my throat, each kiss leaving a tingling sensation along my skin as he did. My body melted, already well on its way to responding to each contact he made with me, a pool of arousal already building between my legs.

His hands slid underneath me, popping the clasp on my bra, which he promptly pulled from my body. Laying another hungry kiss on me between my breasts, Atlas murmured against my body. “Kinley, you have never tasted sweeter than you do right now.” His hands tugged at the waist of my leggings, pulling them down my legs as his tender kisses traveled with him down over my stomach.

Atlas gave a quiet growl of approval seeing that I hadn’t worn any panties with my leggings, leaving my body fully exposed for him.

Just before he continued the trail down to my center, he pulled away to remove both my slippers and my leggings. My bright blues watched as my cambion-turned-angel then stood and grabbed the back of his shirt, sliding it off of his upper body to reveal the cut torso underneath. The muscles rippled underneath his skin, somehow looking even more delicious than I remembered. Salvation looked damn good on him.

I sat up, leaning over and grabbing him by his belt. One firm tug and I had him standing between my knees again. “You know damn well, there isn’t a single part of me that’s sweet,” I reminded him while smirking playfully. My fingers worked his belt open before unbuttoning his jeans and sliding the zipper down over the bulge of his cock pressed against it.

He grabbed my hip with one hand while the other took a handful of my long blonde tresses. “I disagree. I know of at least one part of you that tastes just like sun-kissed honey straight from the hive.” His hand slid away from my hip and between my thighs, his fingers stroking over my wet pussy. Atlas’s touch sent jolts of pleasure as he teased my sensitive clit.

Breathing heavier as I moaned out, my hands eagerly pushed both his jeans and the boxer briefs underneath down over his hips. His hard cock sprang forth, its thick and veiny length on full display before me.

Taking his dick in my hand, my thumb spread the bead of precum over the swollen head, stroking down to his base. His groan came from deep in his chest at my touch. In turn, his fingers massaged my clit more firmly, drawing another heated moan out of me. When I stroked him faster, he did the same until we were both getting lost in each other’s pleasures.

I was nearly at my wit’s end, ready to internally combust if he wasn’t buried deep inside me soon. “Fuck, I need you, Atlas,” I whimpered needily.

Hearing the plea in my voice for him, he kicked off his boots and stepped out of his pants and boxers. I damn near knocked him over as I hopped off the table and leapt up onto him, wrapping my legs around his hips and my arms around his neck.

Catching me, both hands grabbed a handful of my ass as he walked me across the kitchen. Stealing a few more possessive kisses from me, he pressed my back to the pantry door. He dragged the head of his cock over my clit, causing me to squirm in anticipation as he pushed at the tight entrance to my pussy.

Kissing over my jawline, each kiss even more desperate than the last, Atlas slowly sank his cock into me, my walls stretching to accept him. He groaned against the spot right below my ear, his hot breath warming my skin as he spoke. “Angel, I can’t tell you how good it feels to have your tight pussy wrapped around me again.”

With our bodies flush against one another—my breasts pressed against his bare chest and his dick fully seated inside of me—the pleasure brewing in my body became muddied with the emotions of the past.

My hands ran over the backs of his shoulders, my fingertips tracing over the top of a new texture on his back. I was all too familiar with the silky scar-like lines carved into his flesh as I had my own set of exit points for my wings.

Atlas held himself deep inside my core, his mouth working its way down to my shoulder before prying one of my arms away from him. His hand remained just below my wrist as he held my arm out to my side, pinning it to the wall at my back. A mischievous glint in his gray eyes, he watched my reaction to every inch closer his mouth got to the inside of my elbow.

“Does my angel still have her sweet spot where it used to be?” His taunting grin bore a hint of curiosity.

My body squirmed against him, but his large form kept me pinned there between him and the pantry door. The beating of my heart escalated as I watched intently. Not once since my time with Atlas had anyone managed to locate the one part of my body that could have me crumbling to my knees.

“No!” The pitch of my voice rose, revealing the lie in my response. I tried to tug my arm from him, but he held it steady.

Calling my bluff, his tongue dragged across the crook of my elbow at a tortuously slow pace. It felt like he was tapping right into the line of ecstasy that sank right into my cunt, pulling it tight. Doing my best to suppress my moan, it still squeaked out of me.

“Something tells me by the way you’re squeezing onto my dick right now that you might be lying to me.” His tongue flicked over the same area at the bend of my elbow, and I felt a series of shivers down my spine, driving more of my arousal to coat him.

“Atlas, please,” I begged, unsure if I wanted mercy from him or ruthless sexual torture.

His hips gave a small thrust into me. “Okay, but only because you were kind enough to say ‘please’.”

I relaxed some, only to be lured into a false sense of relief. As the tension in my body faded, Atlas made his move. His mouth came down to the sensitive part of my elbow, his teeth grazing against the skin as he sucked on the flesh. The flicking of his tongue against the inside of my arm sent a fast and furious flood of pleasure straight through me. My body trembled fiercely as I fought against the overwhelming sensation crashing deep into my center.

Before my body surrendered, I squeezed my eyes shut tight to prevent Atlas from witnessing the black color bleeding over them. Crying out in ecstasy, my entire body shook as I came hard enough to see the goddamn Holy Ghost.

Atlas aggressively kept his mouth to my arm as I crashed into my release. Keeping me breathless, he worked me through my orgasm by pumping his cock into me. At first, the movement was smooth, but as his thirst for pleasure grew, it began to reflect in his rougher thrusts. Once I was sure the darkness had faded from my eyes, I slowly opened them.

Releasing my elbow, he left behind a patch of red. He held onto me by the back of my thighs and passionately kissed me as he carried me out of the kitchen. The next step was the living room where he fell onto the couch with me landing on top of him.

I took control of the movement between our bodies, riding my hips against his. My cunt milked his cock with each roll of my hips.

Atlas’s hands squeezed the round globes of my ass before gliding up to each take a handful of my breasts as they bounced on my chest.

Still in a bit of a haze from my orgasm, I tipped my head back slightly as I moaned out, cursing at the way my body geared up again. “Fuck, Atlas, your fucking cock!”

He came forward, dropping one of his hands to capture my stiff nipple with his mouth. Nipping at it then, he swirled his tongue around its peak. Atlas’s hips met each of my movements with his own thrusts deep into me.

After he had his taste of both of my breasts, his hands grabbed my hips and drove them down onto his dick more forcefully. “That’s it, Kinley, show me how much you love fucking my cock.” He gave a deep groan as pleasure ate away at him.

It wasn’t long before I was blindsided by another fall off the edge of divine pleasure, my cum leaking down over Atlas’s dick and making a mess of both of us.

We moved from the sofa to the papasan chair, leaving a trail of destruction in our path. Items knocked off side tables, paintings on the wall getting knocked crooked, and items getting swiped off shelves in the process of trying to grab onto anything in the throes of pleasure.

There wasn’t a room on the first floor that didn’t get christened during our reunion fucking. We made it halfway up the stairs, with Atlas slamming his cock into me from behind.

“Fuck, angel, are you ready to take my cum?” His voice was strained with his efforts as he began to lose the steady rhythm.

Clutching onto a spindle with one hand and the edge of the step in front of me with the other, I was coated in sweat and cum and my pussy was swollen enough that everything felt a level of sensitivity bordering on pain.

“Atlassian,” I moaned. “Come for me.” My voice was so breathless I was surprised the words came out at all.

Squeezing my hips tighter with his fingers digging into my flesh, Atlas drove his dick into me with such force the head of his cock felt like it was going to spear straight through me. One final movement and his hips became flush up against my ass as he unleashed a feral sound and a rush of his hot seed filled my body. The sensation had my own cum mixing with his as I screamed out with my final release.

The second my ecstasy released its chokehold on me, my body went limp there on the stairs, and Atlas followed as he collapsed on top of me. We both lay there, panting hard, not giving a fuck if we both never moved from the stairs again.

Successfully managing to shield Atlas from seeing my eyes during each release, it was a relief now to finally relax my mind. My actions after his death hadn’t been without their consequences. There was no sense in shattering his memory of who I used to be.

Keeping my eyes closed, I focused on the cool wood of the step my cheek was resting on, and I murmured, “I missed you.”