Chapter 20
Twenty
Zee
The cool air isn’t enough to fight the burn on my face as I move towards the forest across the street.
A car whizzes by, forcing me back a step.
I must look insane in an oversized sweater and bare feet, but I can’t be in there. Not now.
It's all too much.
“Zee!”
Atlas's voice echoes in the distance. It's the loudest I've heard him.
After checking for another car, I rush across the road.
The knot in my stomach tightens.
We have something in common. We’re both monsters.
Murderers.
Can I be so sure he didn't kill my father?
If not him, then who?
My feet move further into the forest as my mind spirals, the earthy smell of mud and grass overtaking me.
A monster wouldn’t shower me with gifts the first night we sleep together. A monster doesn’t look at me the way Atlas does. A monster doesn’t vow to keep me safe.
Unless he’s using you.
Was I stupid to tell him about my past?
Was I stupid to let him into my life?
“I will do whatever the fuck it takes to keep you safe, Zee.”
What is he keeping me safe from?
Who is he keeping me safe from? If not himself?
Breathe, Zee.
I close my eyes and take another deep breath, listening for the sounds around me.
The wind rustles leaves.
A crow caws in the distance.
Shifting on my feet, more leaves crunch beneath me.
Some tension shifts in my chest as I open my eyes. The forest grows big and dark around me.
Twigs and rocks push into the bottoms of my feet, the feeling coming back to my skin.
My hands come to my arms as a chill pushes through the fabric of his sweater, goosebumps rising beneath it.
Turning around, I listen for cars from the nearby road, but I don’t hear them anymore. Squinting, I can’t see a break between the trees either.
Crunch!
A sound behind me makes me turn, the setting sun casting more shadows into the distance.
“Atlas?”
I try to listen for his voice, but all I hear is an owl.
My head whips around, trees and darkness looming on both sides.
How far have I walked?
How deep does this forest go?
Snap!
My head whips to the sound of a cracking twig in the distance.
This is getting creepy.
Listening for the road again, a whisper comes from between the trees ahead of me.
The end of my name.
“Eee,” whistles in the wind.
My feet move before I register.
I don’t know if I’m getting further or closer to the road as the moon peeks out between clouds.
I quicken my pace, my arm scratching against branches. The pain under my feet stings the quicker I move.
It’s not until I get to a large, towering tree splitting my path that I see it.
A figure in the distance.
A tingling rush spreads through my body, my eyes zeroing in on the broad shadow.
“Atlas?”
It doesn’t respond.
“Sugar Skull?"
The shadow takes another step forward, and something inside me fires off.
Without another thought, I take off down the unblocked path.
My body bumps into the trunk of a tree as I take a sharp turn, the sun dipping further.
Snap!
Thud, thud, thud!
Steps sound from behind me, the pace matching mine.
When I speed up, the thuds behind me do too. When I slow, they do as well.
Glancing behind me, nothing's there. Just the dark crowd of trees.
I move behind a large trunk, my hands pressed against the cold, rough bark as I scan the area for that shadow.
“You’re loud when you’re scared.”
A voice comes from behind me.
His voice.
A breath of relief escapes me, my shoulders falling.
A smile curls my lips as heat spreads across my neck.
“Keep up, Sir.” With a step to the side, I take off again, the cool air brushing against my heated cheeks.
His chuckle comes from a distance.
“You can’t run, Zee.”
What started as fear turns into something else.
A game.
It’s easy to ignore the stings on my feet as I move further into a landscape I don’t know. But with Atlas behind me, I don’t care.
I can feel him, excitement rolling in my stomach.
“I will always find you.”
My back hits another large tree when I’m out of breath.
A grip lands on my wrist.
A gasp leaves me as my chest slams against his. He steps forward, forcing me back against the tree trunk.
“Don’t be stupid, Zee." Atlas lands his warm forehead against mine. He hasn't even broken a sweat. “I’m with you. Stick with me. You won’t get hurt.”
“Stick with my stalker?”
“I’m more than that. You know it.” His finger comes to my chin, lifting my head to meet his hooded gaze. “Don’t you?”
His other hand creeps up my thigh, heat spreading down my legs. He brings his lips close to mine, and those butterflies intensify, but they land by my ear instead.
"You scared, Zee?"
“Of you?” I snort.
He flips me around, my chest pressed against the rough bark.
Atlas chuckles in a way that’s so far from him. It’s wild blending my stalker’s voice with my boss’s. He’s much freer with his words when his mask is off, but it doesn’t make them any less menacing. Tantalizing.
Something tightens around my body, digging into the fabric of his sweater. It presses me harder against the tree.
Rope.
His lips hover against my cheek as he wraps more rope around me. One hand lingers on me as he does, a hand that feels stable, steadier than my shaking breaths.
“You can’t say my name when we’re out of the house," Atlas speaks into my ear, tugging the rope so it tightens around my arms. Tingles fire up my skin, my toes curling into the dirt. “You’re going to have to think of something else to scream when I remind you, you can’t get away from me.
” His knee parts my thighs. “Do you understand?” He presses his knee into me, heat curling in my core. “I asked you a question.”
“Y-yes.” I stutter.
No one has this effect on me. No one but him.
“Yes, who?” he growls.
“Sir,” I sigh, my nipples hardening against the fabric, begging for soothing.
“Good girl. I bet chasing you in the forest makes you wet for me, doesn't it?" He removes his thigh, cold wind rushing between them before his fingers part my folds.
“It-it does.” A warm tingle washes over me as he pulls my ass towards him, sticking it out.
"You're soaking.” My nails dig into my palm when he pushes two fingers deep inside me. He curls them, pressing the tips against my spot as he thrusts. “Let me help."
"Atlas," I gasp.
“You can't walk out on me."
It’s hard to focus on my words, but I find them. “Don't give me a reason to."
He stops, his mouth finding my ear again. "What was that?"
One hand slides over my ass, his fingers still inside me as he swirls over my clit.
A whimper leaves me.
I'm so fucking weak.
"You want me to show you what happens when you don't listen to my rules?" He thrusts his fingers again, hitting that spot and … oh fuck. "They're for your own good, Zee. Understand?"
I can’t help but buck against him, his fingers sliding further. “Make me understand."
His thrusts stop. “Not unless you use your manners."
Fuckk me. “Please, sir.”
His fingers fall from my folds, replacing them with the thick head of his cock.
He pushes it further, parting my slit as his hand falls to my waist. "Good girl."
“Fuck!” He sinks himself inside me, a long groan leaving him as my mouth falls open against the bark.
There’s nowhere for me to go. Nowhere for me to run except to be his.
“You take me so well, Zee.” His hips slap into my ass, bouncing right back off before he’s pulling himself in again.
My toes curl deeper into the dirt, the bark catching my heavy breaths.
“I’ve never felt anything like this," he groans. "I swear to fucking god I’ll never get enough of you.”
Atlas pounds into me like a madman, every thrust as deep and hard as the last.
A cry leaves me before he stuffs something into my mouth.
Leather.
His glove.
It muffles my moans as he plunges into me again and again.
“Count with me, Zee,” he says, pulling out as my legs tremble. His hand sinks into my curls, tugging my head back, his lips against my neck. “I want to see how many thrusts it takes for you to understand.”
He plunges inside me with one hard thrust, pressing my tits harder against the tree. “One.”
Fuck… his length throbs deep inside me before he pulls out, teasing me with his tip. He slides it between my slick slit, making me scratch against the bark. “Please, just—”
"Two." My thighs quiver when he enters me again, burying himself deep with another single thrust.
“Oh my god…” I can hardly stand with his cock pulsing against that spot. Each pulse brings me closer. Each throb makes more stars sparkle in my eyes.
“You can handle more than that, can’t you?
” he chuckles, then he drives into me again, drool dripping around the leather in my mouth.
It muffles my moans as he takes me higher and higher.
“Three.” Another hard thrust makes sparkles erupt on my cheeks.
Another makes my entire face go numb, the floor shaking beneath me. “Five. Six.…”
The glove muffles another cry as everything leaves my body.
Tension.
Fear.
Anxiety.
It all slips away.
He feels it too, his cock throbbing against my walls. He grips my hips, his nails sinking into my skin.
“Fuck, Zee, you make it hard to last,” he groans, his pace quickening as he releases his all.
I relish it, moaning loud as he fills me, his groans echoing around us.
His thrust slow as his lips meet my skin again. “That was about ten.”
When he pulls the glove from my mouth, I still can't speak.
“Are you okay, Angel?” He kisses along my spine as he unties my body. He's gentle and slow, the contrast making a tremble spread through me again.
The tension on the rope releases, my knees buckling before he wraps me in his arms.
I'm weightless, a doll as my head falls against his chest, his heart pounding in my ear.
He pulls me to his body, his lips on my head. “You’re safe. I'm here.”
A literal fuckfest.
That’s what I’d call the last seventy-two hours.
After Atlas carried me all the way back to the house and into the bathroom, he put me in the tub before bathing me. He washed the dirt and mud off my skin, then he devoured me all over again.
I’m still baffled and beaming into the next morning. Even when I find scratches from the tree bark on my skin. Even when I spot a bruise from the rope he tied around me.
They're all reminders of how he claims me.
I’ve never felt more at home in my father’s house than I do now. Having Atlas around takes the anxiety out of waiting. Expecting.
There’s something twisted about him. About us. There’s something that thrills me to find him waiting around a corner. Or turning off the lights in the house before his hands roam my body.
Mo: wait, youre fucking another prof?
Zee: the better one. the other guy was a mistake
I’m not lying. Kon’s fun. But Atlas is stable. Reassuring.
That’s a batshit thing to say about a stalker.
If I’m delusional, this is the best delusion I’ve ever had.
But when I walk onto campus this morning, that delusion slaps me right in the face.
Something is off.
I can feel it.
The campus is quiet. Too quiet.
There's a buzz, but it isn't the one I'm used to.
Students gather in clusters, eyes on their phones. A group of girls huddle under a tree. One of them cries while the others look too scared to care.
They watch me as I pass, their conversation quieting.
Two police officers stand in front of Smith’s, where I met Liv.
They're looking for something.
Or someone.
Scurrying by, I hope it’s not me.
I text Atlas, hoping he might have an answer.
Zee: is it just me or is campus weird?
He doesn’t answer.
Two students pass me.
“I can’t believe she’s gone,” one says, the other looking as pale as cheap bread. “Both of them.”
“In the same week,” the other says.
Heat climbs up my neck.
Are they talking about Liv and Reggie?
Or did I miss something else?
“Hey!” When the two girls walk next to me, I shoot my shot. “What happened? Who’s gone?”
I expect them to ignore me or to tell me to get lost. Instead, they pause, looking at each other.
Then one leans in close, glancing around before she speaks. “They found Alaina dead in her dorm.”