Chapter 9
Atlas
Iwasn’t lying, thewoman was very dangerous. To my sanity mostly. I’d been up pretty much all of the night after taking a long hot shower and pulling her naked body against mine, her damp hair pressed against my chest and her soft breathing making me feel better. She’d been so panicked when she first woke up and it had sent my dragon into overdrive.
Then she had started to rub against me and I knew the fight had been lost the moment she said ‘please.’ I would never say no to her.
Her soft red lips were open slightly as those dark lashes laid against her stunning face. My eyes ran along her elegant shoulders and the bruised bite I’d left right on her soft, tan skin. It made me feel nearly as happy as the one she’d left on my wrist. My dragon finally relaxing a fucking bit because he was no longer paranoid that someone was going to try to take our place in our mate’s life. Now, she was stuck with me.
Most of my life, I’d been somewhat insecure about my place in anyone's life. Except for Marco of course. I’d been eleven when I’d officially met Marco although I’d heard about him from others at the academy. It took only about a day to realize that we worked well together, and still to this day, he was the only person that knew the true extent of what I’d come from. Which was nothing.
I’d never known my family personally. Only a single rumor from the older couple I’d been raised by from eight to ten years old. Not that they’d told me. No, I’d heard them whispering about how my father had apparently been a traitor to the realm. I wanted to believe that wasn’t real but who the fuck knew. The Dreki realm had been in countless wars and conflicts with all of the other realms because dragons by nature were aggressive and possessive.
When Marco had blindly accepted me, I knew I would be loyal to him for life. Well, now I realized there was only one person that could make me question that.
Maya.
I was just glad that she was our flight’s mate. There were instances, especially since phoenixes were essentially extinct, that half a flight would mate with one woman and the other half someone else. It made for a lot of conflict.
With Maya, though, it had been instinctual and you could almost feel how natural the bond was, like our energy and magic had been made to fit together. It was like a clock with her as the center cog and all of us surrounding her and fitting into certain parts of her life. I know she felt as though we’d taken her in but the truth was that she’d made us a family. We’d been brothers for a long time but I’d always felt like we were on the edge of waiting for something...someone.
Marco had mentioned the fact that he didn’t like that she didn’t have a last name and frankly, I was perfectly okay with her sharing ours one day. Unlike the others, I hadn’t been given a last name so when we came to the Earth realm, he’d given me his, making me his real brother in the eyes of most of the world. It was a move that probably meant far more to me than he had ever realized.
So yeah, Maya Moretti sounded pretty good.
There were a lot of things we needed to figure out, including how to make sure she was safe but still able to do what she wanted. Because that concept was essential to me, being able to make sure that Maya could do whatever she wanted.
I don’t think she’d remembered in the light of the stressful interview, that she was supposed to work the night before and she would no doubt feel guilty about it come morning. I on the other hand was thankful in a way because without knowing where her father was, anywhere off this property was dangerous.
Hell, I’m still fucking annoyed Jed somehow got on. Just makes me wonder how embroiled in shit he really was, my security wasn’t lax by any means and it would take a fairly decent skill set to be able to sneak in.
I’d given Clara’s shop a call and Jordan, her apparent new friend, had said she’d already told her grandmother about Maya probably being busy. After insisting I talk to Clara, she repeated the same thing. Sort of. What she actually said was along the lines of, “I figured, being who she is and who she is with that, she wouldn’t be able to have a set schedule. We are just happy to have her here whenever she can make it. She makes everyone happy.” I believed that. Maya was special like that. She had this soft radiance that surrounded her and made everyone want to bask in it. Too bad she was mated to some really selfish bastards because I was pretty possessive over that light.
No really, I don’t think she even realized how different the house was with her in it. How could she? There were aprons in the kitchen with baking supplies, cat beds in every room for Bella, and Marco had even switched to order pink and purple flowers for the house instead of the classic space fillers we’d always had. I knew it was only a matter of time before even more things were added to the house and frankly, I loved it. It was like she was leaving her imprint everywhere she went. Her floral scent and sweetness made the entire house seem warmer.
I mean hell, she’d even been sweet to the obnoxious reporters today. Giving them every photo and minute of her time as if it was nothing to her. My growl at the thought of that many people around her, had her turning into me as I inhaled the scent of ash, roses, and rain on her skin. I wrapped her hair around my hand and tilted her jaw slightly looking over the hickies I’d littered on her angelic elegant body.
If everything went according to plan for today, and then this weekend, I would be getting a good amount of time with her which was needed. I only felt better when she was in my arms and after the bullshit with Jed, I was a bit paranoid about her safety. I just wished that it wasn’t necessary to always rush back from wherever we traveled.
If she was serious about this notion of not finishing school, our plans could be extended for sure. I was a fan of the concept. Not because I didn’t think she should be in school, but because it was clear she didn’t enjoy it. Maya had spent her entire life doing what others wanted, it was time for her to be able to make her own choices and her time shouldn’t be wasted on things she doesn’t enjoy.
That's just how literallyeveryonein our family saw it. Hopefully, she would realize that as well. Realize that she had the world at her fingertips and that anything she could want or to try and pursue was an option for her.
I chuckled softly, thinking about how much more introspective I’d become recently. It wasn’t completely avoidable though because my angel made me think. She made me feel a bunch of other ridiculous things but mainly she made me think. Made me wonder what exactly the future would bring once we got rid of her father.
Because trust me, that would happen.
The skies began to lighten outside. I slipped from bed, pulling on my sweats and pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. I walked over towards the panel of windows and searched the forest outside of her room, not enjoying the fact of someone having the ability to see into her space. I would know if anyone entered the property though. At least I should, that fucking Jed shit screwed me up a bit. I was more paranoid than I’d ever been.
When I’d started the security company I owned, it was simply to serve as a branch of the Moretti empire in truth. Our family was extremely well known and only growing more popular, both in the human and supernatural world, so it made sense to have resources to keep us safe. That had lasted for about three months before others asked for information on how to hire our company. How to have the same level of security as the Moretti’s.
Within a year I was bringing in ridiculous profit summaries and my company had grown by nearly fifty officers I’d recruited, expanding everyday. We watched over clients from politicians to celebrities, essentially anyone that could match the price that we charged. Something that I’d made grossly over the top to avoid having too many clients. It seemed that it had just made us more profitable and more desirable. Then again, humans were weird like that.
Now that we were dealing with this, I was glad for all the extra resources. That was why my inability to find Pastor Malcolm was driving me crazy. It was like he’d all but disappeared. Even his scent was gone, only a faint remembrance of it from the one meeting we’d had.
With that thought in mind, I left her bedroom and walked through the halls towards my own room. After showering and getting dressed, I made my way downstairs and found Marco already up or maybe never having slept.
“Why are you up so early?” I arched a brow.