Chapter 18
Eighteen
Zee
Am I stupid for sending my strong, hot prof home when there’s a deranged masked stalker in my house?
Some would say yes.
There’s a shake in my step when Kon speeds away, leaving me to approach the dark house alone.
I didn’t tell him about the light. I didn’t tell him I have a stalker. Up until this moment, I thought it was him.
I felt it. Something was off.
It’s not that I needed it to be Kon, but there was a safety in knowing it was someone familiar.
My phone vibrates in my hand as I stand on the porch.
Looking at the name lighting up the screen, my mouth twists, my phone nearly dead.
“What do you want?” I answer.
“Did you do it?”
It's Houston, one of Drey's friends.
“Put more words on that.” Taking a few steps back, I search for the shadow in the upstairs window again.
“Drey. He’s dead."
The world tilts, muffling.
My grip tightens on the phone. “Wh—Houston, I—”
"Was it you, Zee? You’re fuckin’ dead, you know that.”
Blinking, my mind flashes back to the last time I saw Drey. His soft dick in my face. His threats. His boot on my neck. Then my mind drifts to Sugar Skull. In my bed. Covered in dirt.
My chest tightens.
Not dirt. Blood.
“We’re not playing, Zee. We’re coming for you.”
I steady my shaky legs, approaching the door again.
“It wasn’t me.” But I know who.
I end the call, the ground wobbling as I make my way into the dark house.
Dead. He’s dead.
This is all your fault.
A faint scent of cologne lingers in the air, mingling with the scent of old wood.
“Did you do it?”
Reaching into my tote, I pull out my lighter.
Flicking the fork, the flame lights the empty space in front of me.
“Stop being a fucking coward and say it.”
My heart pounds as I scan the room for that figure.
That mask.
The light catches something by the staircase.
Tall. Broad.
My body stills.
Him.
My eyes move to the kitchen, a knife smeared with peanut butter still on the cutting board.
Then my eyes move back to him, the shadow still pointed at me. Unmoving.
He takes a step forward.
My eyes move back to the knife.
Creak!
My eyes snap back to him.
Heat curls in my stomach as he inches closer, the flame illuminating that Sugar Skull mask.
My grip on the fork tightens as he brings a gloved hand to the bottom of his mask and lifts it.
Those thick lips curl into a circle.
Then he lets out a puff of air.
Woosh!
The flame goes out.
Crickets sound in the distance.
Then I lunge for it.
He’s quicker, grabbing my ankle.
I trip, my body slamming to the floor.
The moonlight guides me as I drag my sweaty legs across the floor, crawling to the kitchen.
He gets to the kitchen first, grabbing the knife.
I lunge for a drawer.
He slams it closed the minute I pull it open.
My body slams against the counter.
“Stop.” His hand comes around my throat, keeping me in place.
“Who the fuck are you?" My fists pound against his chest, but he doesn’t let go.
I kick, high, my foot landing against his ribs.
Something clatters to the floor.
A familiar melody fills the room.
A song from VEIL.
Something shines from the floor, my eyes following it.
A phone sits face up. His.
My eyes follow the light to his face, illuminated by the screen.
My stomach twists.
The phone on the ground continues to play VEIL's biggest track as my eyes narrow on his.
Wait.
Holy shit—
His grip on my neck tightens as he crouches for the phone.
And that gives me enough space to run.
I'm only halfway across the kitchen when he grabs my ankle again, pulling me back.
I kick until it hits something.
He groans, his grip slipping as I scramble to the living room.
He’s up again, knocking furniture over as he storms towards me.
He grabs hold of my shirt.
I slip it off, the buttons clattering to the ground.
I only get a foot towards the living room window before he grabs my hair. A sting rips through my skull.
Reaching for a book off the shelf, I throw it behind me.
Then another.
And another.
I go down the line, grabbing whatever I can off the shelf. My father’s plaque. A golden ornament.
My hand lands on a heavy glass object next.
I reel my arm back, my grip tightening.
“Don’t!”
I freeze.
Sugar Skull spreads his hands in front of him, tempering me.
"Zee, don't."
My eyes move to what’s in my hand.
It’s the caterpillar Kon told me to bring home. I placed it on the shelf to keep an eye on her. I didn’t mean to use her as a weapon.
“Please,” he says, that voice clearer.
He pulls off his gloves, dropping them to the floor as he steps closer.
My eyes shift to his hand as he steps into the moonlight, that long scar on display.
He’s almost in front of me when his eyes meet mine. Round and dark. Like a rottweiler and… holy fucking shit.
It all comes crashing into my pounding chest.
Hard.
“Atlas?”
Sugar Skull
Shit
Fuck.
The moonlight shines between us, my eyes on the caterpillar in her grasp.
What the fuck is she doing with the Zephora Bristle Moth?
That thing is small, furry and pretty, but it’s poisonous beyond belief. One small bite can take you to the ER, and there’s slim chance a human can survive it.
So what the fuck is Zee doing with it?
My muscles tighten, my body getting to the answer before my brain does.
Konstantin.
I move closer. “Zee, put it down.”
She’s frozen, her hand shaky. Too shaky with that insect in her grasp.
“Holy shit, it is you,” she says, her voice as trembly as her hand.
“Be calm.”
Her eyes follow my hand as I take the jar out of her grasp, placing it back on the shelf. She doesn’t run. She doesn’t scream. She doesn’t treat me like a monster.
But she’s far from calm.
“Calm? Stay calm?” Her voice is hushed, but it’s rising by the second. “When it’s been you this entire time?”
“Didn’t seem to mind when you thought it was Kon.”
What the fuck, dude?
“Are you serious?” she laughs, then that spiral storms in. “It’s been you this entire time, and you’re worried about Kon taking me on a date?”
“So it was a date?” My eyes squeeze shut, hearing my words. I sound like a fucking teenager when I have a decade on this girl.
What the fuck is she doing to me?
“What’s your plan here, Atlas? To keep me thinking it was Kon while you continued to get your fill?”
My jaw clenches harder, the pain spiralling to my head. “Did you want it to be him, Zee? Is that why you’re so mad?”
“What the fuck do you want from me, Atlas? You killed people, didn’t you?” She’s grilling me harder than she ever grilled Kon when she thought it was him. “You killed Drey. Liv. Reggie.”
“I will do whatever the fuck it takes to keep you safe, Zee. Don’t you fucking get that?”
“Safe? You’re trying to kill me!” Her eyes land on mine with cold harshness.
It’s not the way she looked at Kon earlier, like she liked his darkness.
What about the darkness in me? Why’s that different?
“I’m protecting you. Kon was using you.”
“You’re jealous.”
“You’re naive.”
“Am I? You killed my fucking father, and instead of putting you into the ground, I’ve been fucking you.”
“I haven’t fucked you. Not yet.”
I should go.
I shouldn’t stay.
I know that.
And still, I take another step towards her.
Then another.
Her eyes fall to my lips, blinking.
She doesn’t move when I take another step, pinning her between the shelves and my body.
Then I stop thinking all at once.
My mouth finds hers.
And there’s no coming back.
She sinks into it, her body softening as her arms wrap around me.
My body comes alive, my cock standing to attention when she presses herself into me.
“What are you doing?” she asks, her voice a breathy whisper like she’s fighting with herself. Her hands wander my body, like she’s putting two people together. Atlas and Sugar Skull. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“I won’t hurt you, Zee.” My hands come under her soft thighs, pulling her legs around me. I press her back against the shelf, her warm thighs against my body. “I meant what I said. You’re mine. You’ve been mine for a long time.”
My mouth slams into hers again, her tongue moving with mine. She still tastes like wine, acidic and sweet. I kiss her harder, determined to erase every bit of that date from her mind.
She sighs as I kiss lower and lower until I’m on my knees, pulling her legs on my shoulders.
“Atlas,” she sighs.
Fuck.
Hearing my name, my real name, on her tongue spreads the fire in my abs. The smell of her makes me groan, her pussy pressed to my lips.
I don’t take another second.
My tongue pushes between her slit, another sigh leaving her. "God, I missed your mouth."
Her words make me plunge my tongue deeper inside her, indulging in her sweetness. She pulls at my hair, rocking against my face as she lets out a long moan that fills the house.
It’s a sound I’ll never tire of. One that makes me devour her more. One that makes me bury my tongue so deep inside her, it’s all I can taste. Sweet. Delicious.
Mine.
I’ve craved it since the moment I tasted her, and I still can’t get enough.
I'm gentle as I take her legs off my shoulders, standing us both up. Pushing my joggers to the floor, Zee lets out that gasp that drives me insane.
Her eyes fall to my cock, her words caught again, but I know that look in her eyes. I’ve seen it before. And the way she bites her lip, her eyes wide, tells me she’s battling with herself.
Pulling my sweater over my head, I toss it to the floor. The way Zee’s eyes rake my body would make any man weak. But I can handle her.
“Do you see how bad I want you, Zee?” My hand comes to my cock, gripping it like I did in the bath. “Do you see how badly I’ve always wanted you?”
“Why do you look so fucking good when you do that?"
“Are you surprised? You’ve wanted me since I found you in this house.” Moving closer to her, she watches as I stroke myself.
"When you made me touch myself?"
I take another step closer, my grip tightening, remembering that night. "When I made you come from my words.”
When I’m in front of Zee, she reaches for me, pulling back, then reaching again. “I-I-fuck. I need to feel you.”
“Can you handle me?”
I drop my hand.
She replaces it with hers.
Her soft hand around my cock makes my toes curl, and now I’m unsure if I can handle it.
“Fuck, Zee.” She grips it harder, stroking me as I brace myself against the shelf. “Spit on it.”
She doesn’t hesitate, a glob of spit landing in her hand before she wraps it around me again.
My head lands against hers, my hips thrusting into her hand as she strokes me faster.
“Do you want this, Zee?” My voice comes out deep and growly in a way only she can pull from me. “I fucking need this. I need you.”
With a shaky breath, Zee meets my eyes. “Then prove it.”
I don’t wait another second.
Pulling her legs around me, I part her lips with the head of my cock. The tip alone stretches her sweet little centre and makes my entire body tremble, but I don’t let her see it. I want her to know I got this. I got her. But with the way she feels, I’m as good as gone.
“Fuck, Atlas,” she moans, her hand coming to my chest. “I-I don’t think—”
“Breathe,” My forehead falls against hers, those sparkling jewels on me. “You can take it.”
“You’re so fucking big,” she gasps as I slowly push myself further.
“Zee, you’re made for me, you can handle it. Breathe.”
“Fuck,” she gasps, her legs trembling.
My hand comes to her chin, stroking her soft skin. “Count with me. One…”
She listens, her voice a shaky mess as I thrust a little further. Pulling out a bit, I give her a chance to breathe. But not for long.
“Two.”I push in further, and she hisses, her warmth around my shaft. “Breathe, Zee.”
“Fuck, fuck…”
“Three.” With a long, deep thrust, her arms wrap tight around me, her head falling back as the room peels away.
“Holy fuck,” she sighs, opening up for me as I settle inside her. "You feel incredible."
“You feel like I know you would.” It’s hard to keep my composure as I kiss down her neck.
I move my hips a little faster, our skin slapping together as she accepts me.
All of me. Again and again and again. “You're made for me.” Each thrust feels like heaven.
Each thrust feels like the world could end right now, and I'll be happy.
Each thrust makes my abs clench, my toes curl.
I need this to last. It's too good not to. “Hang on.”
Keeping her legs around me, I lift her off the floor, carrying her over to the sofa. The one I met her on.
This time, there’s so much more than my voice making her cry out with pleasure. My cock is the reason she's gripping the velvet cushion.
It’s a sound I’ll treasure. One I’ll never forget.
The way she wraps her legs around me feels like it always should. Like no one else exists.
“You’re almost there, Zee,” I groan, feeling her walls tighten around my pulsing cock. “Don’t fight it.”
Her nails dig into my skin, and I love each bit of burning heat her scratches bring. I’ll wear her marks like medals. They’ll adorn me like jewels.
“Come for me, Zee. I’ve waited a lifetime to feel you.”
“Oh my god, I-I’m—fuck!”
My mouth wraps around her swollen nipple, my teeth sinking into it enough to feel her clamp down on my cock.
And that makes me lose it.
“Fuck, Zee!” My groans fill the room, nothing in the air except our heated breaths and the smell of her. The smell of us.
I can live in this forever.
“Fuck!” Before I can pull out, she wraps her legs around me, keeping me close and deep. “I’m going to fucking come, Zee, you feel too fucking good.”
“Do it,” she urges. “Please, Atlas.”
Ever been on heroin?
I haven’t, but I imagine this is what it feels like.
Nothing feels as good as releasing myself into Zee Zafar, and now that I’ve done it, things won’t be the same.