Page 1 of Atlas
Chapter One
Atlas
I sigh heavily and roll onto my side, watching as Nita dresses. “Are you coming back later?” I ask.
“What for?” She straightens the skirt I’d pushed up round her waist.
“Axel’s barbecue,” I remind her, though I know she knows. It’s all the old ladies have talked about all week.
“It’s a club thing,” she says with a shrug as she slips her suit jacket on.
I eye her as she picks up her handbag and searches through it. “You’re part of this club.”
She smirks, arching a brow in my direction. “We’ve talked about this.” She holds up a small mirror from her bag and reapplies her lipstick.
“I hate that colour on you,” I mutter, and she laughs.
“You think I don’t know that?” She rubs her lips together and drops the stick back into her bag, clipping it closed. “I wear it for that reason.”
“The other old ladies will want you there,” I try. Rolling onto my back, I place my hands behind my head. “You’re practically one of them.”
“Atlas,” she says on a sigh, “do we have to do this every time we hook up?” She rounds the bed to where I lay and stares down at me. “It works like this. Why change what works?”
“It’ll still work when you’re my old lady.”
She grins, leaning down so her lips are almost touching mine. “I have to get to work.”
“What’s new?” I mutter, staring up at the ceiling.
“Don’t be like that.” Her lips brush mine. “I had a great lunch,” she whispers, smiling.
I will myself to stay strong, but when her tongue sweeps into my mouth, I groan out loud and pull her down over me. She laughs harder as I roll and brace myself above her. “You’re impossible,” I murmur, slamming my mouth over hers in a bruising kiss. My cock instantly reacts to her . . . again. She sighs softly, running her fingers through my hair.
“I’d love to stay for another round, but I really need to go.”
I could keep her here, she’s usually easily swayed, but her work is important to her, and I know she’ll be pissed if I keep her any longer. I drop face down beside her and rest my head on my arms. “Fine. Go.”
“Enjoy the barbecue.” I want to retort that it’s impossible because she won’t be there, but I remain quiet. The pushier I get, the further she runs. “And go for Cali. I think she likes you.”
I bristle at her encouragement to fuck a club whore. I can never work out if she’s being serious, in which case, it means she doesn’t give a shit about meor us. Or if she says this crap to guard her heart. Maybe reassuring me it’s okay to fuck around means she’ll handle it better if I do. But it doesn’t matter how much I prove myself—she still keeps me at arm’s length, like she’s just waiting for me to prove her right.
“I’m not gonna go,” I say, pushing up from the bed.
She pauses in the doorway, chewing on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully as her eyes run over my naked body. “Why?”
“I’m gonna grab some food and chill up here.”
“It’s your President’s birthday, you have to be there.”
I grab a shirt and pull it on. “All Axel will be thinking about is getting Lexi alone,” I say with a smirk. “Have a good afternoon at work.” I pull my jeans on. “Text me when you get home tonight.” It’s the same request I always make because she refuses to let me take her home.An independent pain in my ass.
“It’ll be a late one,” she says casually.
It has the desired effect because I immediately look her in the eye. “Oh yeah?” I ask, my mind racing with thoughts about what she might be doing to keep her out late. “Well, I can always swing by and pick you up?”
“I’m a big girl.” And she spins on her heel and heads out.
I groan out loud in frustration. We’ve been doing this hook-up dance for almost a year, and I’m as close now as the day I first put my dick in her. She tells me fuck all about her life, her past, even her family remain a mystery.
