10. Atlas
ATLAS
“It’s that damn journalist again,” Easton grunts over the phone. “She thinks she’s so stealthy, but I can track her every move.”
“And she’s the final name on the hit list?”
“Affirmative.”
“Looks like it’ll be an easy job then, right? You already have her pinned down.”
“What? No, I don’t. Why would you say that?” Easton sounds caught off-guard, which is completely out of character for him.
“... I just meant, it seems like you already know how to find her,” I reply with more than a little interest at his outburst.
“Oh. Right. Yes. Well, no. It’s… messy. She has the leverage, but… I’m working on it.”
“Everything okay?” I ask my boss. He’s distracted and indecisive, two words that I’d never use to describe him previous to this interaction.
“It’s under control,” Easton says. Notably, he didn’t say yes.
I finish the call with Easton, the hum of the secure line fading as I disconnect. The house is finally quiet, the tension of the last few days settling into a steady, manageable rhythm. Aegis has the clean-up handled, and my focus is shifting from survival to the future.
As I walk through my fortress, the silence feels different than it used to be. Less like a safe house and more like a home. I search the rooms, the living area, the kitchen, before I find her.
Kienna is on the back porch, bathed in the soft, golden light of the afternoon.
She’s sitting on the steps, her focus absolute as she weaves a crown of wildflowers she must have gathered from the edge of the property.
The sight catches me off guard; she’s so serene, her movements delicate and purposeful.
It’s a stark, beautiful contrast to the woman who stared down a gun barrel just days ago.
I know she misses her classroom. She talks about the kids sometimes—the chaos of kindergarten, the little wins, the way they see the world.
She’s slated to return next week, and while a part of me wants to lock the doors and keep her right here where I can see her every second of the day, I know who she is.
She’s a nurturer, a light in a world that’s been too dark for too long.
I can’t ask her to trade that for my shadows.
All I can do is provide a safe haven for her to return to after a day of making the world a better place.
I step out onto the porch, my boots making no sound on the wood. She doesn't hear me until I’m standing right behind her, my hands hovering over her shoulders. She looks up, her face blooming into that soft, radiant smile that has become the only thing I care about.
I don't wait for words. I scoop her up bridal style, her small gasp of surprise turning into a delighted laugh as she instinctively clings to my neck. She’s light, vibrant, and entirely mine.
I carry her through the house, the weight of her warm against my chest, feeling more grounded than I have in decades.
"What are you doing?" she breathes, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Taking my woman back to where she belongs," I say, heading straight for the bedroom.
Kienna giggles as I set her down and strip her clothes off in no time. “Someone’s eager.”
“You have no fucking idea,” I growl, ripping my own clothes off. I’m thinking about starting a new house rule where no one wears clothes. Also, no one besides me and Kienna are allowed within five hundred feet of my fortress.
I spread her out on our bed as gently as possible with all the lust coursing through my veins. Kienna smiles up at me, her clear blue eyes pulling me under their spell once more.
I kiss her neck, collarbone, one nipple, and then the other, before trailing my lips down her torso. Nuzzling into her pussy, I breathe in deep, loving the sugary-sweet smell of her arousal. I smooth my hands up and down her thighs before prying them apart and settling between them.
“Oh!” she gasps, the intensity of my need becoming clearer. Kienna wiggles her hips as a blush spreads from her cheeks all the way down to the tops of her perfect tits. She’s wet and needy and perfect and all fucking mine.
I spread her pussy lips apart with my thumbs and growl at the sight of her swollen pink folds.
“Fuck, this pretty little cunt is begging for attention, isn’t it?
” I blow warm air over her sensitive skin and nearly come when her tight little hole pulses, releasing a drop of her cream. That’s my breaking point.
I lap up her sweetness, dragging my tongue through her slit and circling around her throbbing bundle of nerves. Kienna tenses and bows her back off the mattress, moaning loudly. I look up from between her legs and lock eyes with her, smirking at the spark of fire in her gaze.
Then my mouth is back on her pussy, sucking her greedily. I start off slow and gentle, quick flicks of my tongue that leave her whimpering and writhing. Then I up my tempo, becoming more aggressive, lapping at her from bottom to top and sucking her clit into my mouth.
I work her harder and harder, sending her higher and higher, letting her pleasure build until it’s almost unbearable.
She twists and bucks her hips, but I press her back down onto the bed, steadying her while I get my fill.
I shake my head back and forth, eating her ripe little pussy like I’m addicted to her juices. I am. I so fucking am.
“Atlas! Ohmygod, it’s...I’m…”
I growl and scrape my teeth against her clit, throwing her right over the edge. My girl falls into her orgasm, fucking drowning in it as she gasps and claws at the mattress. Kienna pours her release into my eager mouth, and I drink it all down.
She fists my hair, forcing me to meet her gaze.
“More,” she gasps, spreading her legs wider and searing me with her need.
I crawl up her body, licking and nipping at her soft flesh along the way. Kienna wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me down, sealing her lips over mine. I know she taste her orgasm on my tongue, and fuck, my dirty girl moans at her own flavor.
She wraps her legs around my back urging me to fill her up. I drag my aching cock through her folds, coating myself in her juices and rubbing my hardness against her clit.
“Please, please, please…” she whines, wiggling underneath me to position me at her entrance. I push the tip inside of her, groaning when her pussy tries to suck me in deeper.
“Is this what my greedy girl needs?” I rasp, pulling back and barely entering her again.
“Yes!” she exclaims in frustration, digging her heels into my ass and trying to pull me closer to her.
In one swift move, I flip us over so Kienna is straddling me. She gasps and braces herself on my chest while I hold her hips to keep her steady.
“Then take it, love. Take what you need.”
Her eyes flash with heat, but then the nibbles on her bottom lip nervously. “Show me?” she whispers.
Gripping her hips, I lift her up and hover her over my weeping cock. “There’s no wrong way to do this,” I grit out, barely hanging on. “Take it easy, beautiful,” I tell her, pulling her down until I barely breach her dripping entrance.
Kienna curls her fingers into my chest, her nails biting into my skin and making me groan. Fuck, she’s going to make me lose control. I loosen my hold on her, wanting her to take over and show me how much she wants this.
My dirty girl drops down on me, taking my huge fucking cock inside of her all at once.
“Shit!” I growl, closing my eyes and flexing my hips as her cunt squeezes me like a vice. “I said take it easy.”
“I don’t want to take it easy,” she moans, lifting herself up on her knees and then bouncing on my cock over and over. “I want to come.”
Her tits sway in front of me begging for my attention. I pinch her nipples, making her hips stutter as she cries out and throws her head back. Her silky blonde hair tickles my thighs, tearing a snarl from the depths of my being.
Kienna rolls her hips and grinds her cunt down on me, whimpering every time her clit rubs against the base of my shaft.
I slide my hands down her sides, then take her hips in a punishing hold.
I dig my fingers into her soft flesh and she does the same, clawing at my chest while I hold her still and fuck up into her tight little pussy.
“Yes, God yes,” she says, gasping for air.
She moves her hands from my chest to either side of my head, giving my mouth access to her juicy tits. I suck on one, then the other, swirling my tongue around her nipple and biting down lightly, pulling it through my teeth.
Kienna bows her back, shoving my dick deeper inside of her and offering more of herself to me. I greedily nibble her sensitive skin while moving my hands from her hips to her ass, cupping her cheeks and grinding her against me until she trembles and screams out her orgasm.
I fip her onto her back and pin her arms above her head while I fuck her into the mattress, snapping my hips and pounding her pretty little pussy as she continues to come around my cock.
“Such a good girl,” I growl into the side of her neck, biting her there then kissing away the sting.
“Y-yes, your good girl,” she stutters out before slamming her eyes shut and bucking her hips, meeting me savage thrust for savage thrust.
I grunt like an animal each time I hit the end of her, unable to stop. Kienna tilts her head up and pulls my bottom lip through her teeth, lighting a fire deep in my core. I’m already tearing her barely broken-in pussy apart, but that one little move makes me lose my goddamn mind.
I crash my mouth down on hers, kissing her as furiously as I’m fucking her. Kienna’s thighs tremble and her fingers curl into my hand that’s holding both of hers above her head. She stretches out, tensing every muscle, squeezing me so damn tight as I pound into her once, twice, three times…
And then she shatters, her climax breaking her apart into a million pieces.
I swallow down her cries and hold myself deep inside of her, feeling her orgasm ripple around my cock right before I join her in complete ecstasy. My cum shoots out of me in forceful, almost painful bursts, but I keep fucking her, drawing out our pleasure as long as possible.
Finally, I collapse, completely spent and gulping down air into my burning lungs. I roll over, dragging a sweaty, limp Kienna across my chest.
The golden afternoon light fades into twilight, casting long, soft shadows across the room, but I don’t care about the time.
I’m just focused on the weight of her in my arms, the way her breathing has finally evened out against my chest. My arm is draped over her waist, pinning her to me—not because I’m worried she’ll bolt, but because I’ve spent the last week terrified of the world taking her from me.
Every inch of her skin pressed against mine is a reminder that I won.
"You're thinking again," I murmur, my voice sounding rough even to my own ears. I feel the ghost of a smile against my shoulder.
She pulls back just enough to look at me, those wide blue eyes searching mine, stripped of all the fear and panic that defined our first few days together. "I’m thinking that I never expected to find a home in a war zone," she whispers.
The words land hard. I trace the line of her jaw with my thumb, trying to memorize the resilience I see in her.
I’ve spent my life living in the shadows, waiting for the next hit, the next threat, the next failure.
I didn't think I was capable of giving someone a home. But looking at her, I know I’d burn down every shadow in my past just to keep the light in her eyes from dimming.
"We aren't in a war zone anymore," I tell her, my voice low and fierce. I mean it. The Syndicate will soon be dismantled, her father is rotting in a cell, and the threats are gone. "We’re just here. With each other."
I pull her flush against me, my hand splayed across her back to hold her close. She’s going back to her classroom on Monday, and I’ll be back on call, but the dynamics have shifted. She’s my life now.
I watch her eyes flutter shut, her body relaxing into a deep, heavy sleep that she’s finally earned. I don’t close my eyes. I just watch her breathe, knowing that no matter what happens tomorrow, she’s the anchor I didn't know I was looking for. And I'm never letting go.