In Shadows We Rise

Chapter 32

Reia

We reach the hidden alley and I drop my powers with a heavy sigh.

"Easy there," Xander steps behind me and steadies me by the shoulders.

"All good. Just need a sec," I tell him.

"What's wrong?" Atticus' worried voice asks. So they're back as well, good.

"We succeeded, thanks for asking, boss," Callista says indifferently. She never really seems to care about anything other than her girlfriend.

"Rei, you good?" our leader goes on without acknowledging the girl's comment. I hear someone blow out a huff and open my eyes.

"We're all good. She's just a bit tired but our celebrations will get her there," Xander says in an attempt to lighten the awkward mood. I nod against him and let him help me walk back to the headquarters. Instead of getting more tired, I seem to regain my strength as the people around me tell each other the details of what they had to do during the mission. The bottled-up tension of the past few weeks seems to gradually flow away and even Sorin is laughing loudly by the time Calista tells them about the lady she knocked out. We're not worried about being seen. Right now we're just a group of teenagers walking the streets in the early evening. We're normal for once.

Naiara lunges herself at her girlfriend even before we enter the house.

"Geez, get a room," Layla jokes. The others join in laughing and we go inside. "I'd say this calls for a round of drinks to get this celebration started."

"Way ahead of you," Naiara says while motioning to the kitchen counter where a line of small glasses is ready. There's more laughing.

"You were counting on us to make it, huh," Xander teases our short friend.

"I figured we'd either celebrate or I'll need them even more."

We clink our glasses together before tipping our heads back in unison. I don't flinch but when I'm about brag about it I see Atticus already smiling down at me.

"I know," he nearly shouts over the loud chattering and laughing of the others. For such a small group we sure know how to make some noise.

My first impulse is to kiss this achingly handsome man in front of me but I stop myself with my hands midair on their way to reach for him. He doesn't share my sentiment of hesitation but leans down and crashes his lips on mine. So many endorphins are in the air around us and released into my body that it feels like I'm floating. I wrap my arms around Atticus' neck and stand on my tiptoes to get closer to him, not giving a single fuck about the opinions of the people around me.

I hear Naiara whoop from nearby but no one else reacts. They just go on with whatever they are doing while I am relishing in this feeling. This moment.

A and I pull away from each other and dance for a while. I jump around with Naiara, trying to sing a song with her I've never heard before. Her voice is fantastic while I sound like a dying horse but who cares.

Atticus watches me with a smile between conversations he keeps getting pulled in. Finally, after who knows how long, he makes his way to me and pulls me to the side.

"Are you ready to sneak off yet?" he asks and a smirk spreads over my face. I look at the group over my shoulder before taking Atticus' hand and pulling him upstairs. He takes the lead when we reach the corridor and pulls me into his room. As soon we enter, he closes the door and cages me in against it.

He slowly leans down to kiss me but I'm having none of it. I get on the tips of my toes until our lips connect. He groans and pulls away.

"I've been wanting to do this again all night," he whispers. I shut him up by pulling him against me again. I hope he understands that as the me too it is. He's kissing me back with the same urgency I'm feeling and I suddenly think there's still too much space between us. I hesitantly let my hands slide down his back until I reach the bottom of his shirt and take the fabric into my hands.

"Can I?" I ask out of breath before tugging at his shirt. His gaze is almost too intense to hold when he's staring down at me like he is now but it's addictive all the same. He nods and I start lifting his shirt, letting my fingers brush against his toned body along the way. He helps me pull it over his head and throws it to the ground behind him. Then he waits patiently as I take in the view in front of me.

Atticus' tan chest is showing off all the time he spends training and fighting and I bite down on the inside of my cheek as I feel my skin heating up. I let my hands trail down his chest again and feel him shiver beneath my touch. When I look up at him, he's staring at me as if I were a wonder he's never seen before. My hands move over his sides and to his muscular back and I pull him closer to kiss him again.

His hands leave their position from each side of my face and I can feel them at the backs of my thighs. This time I know what he's planning and am ready when he picks me up. I wrap myself tightly around him as he deepens the kiss. He walks over to the bed and stops at its edge. We stay that way for several seconds before he starts bending forwards and lays me down on the bed. I kick off my shoes and position myself in the middle of it waiting impatiently to feel him close again. I watch him quickly taking off his own shoes like he can't stand the distance between us any more than I can, and then he climbs on top of me. His lips are back on mine in no time and I feel my whole body heating up when his hands find the hem of my own shirt. He pulls back to look at me questioningly and I nod without thinking. I want him closer, that's all I know.

I arch my back and lift my arms as he pulls the fabric over my body. The cool air brushes against my naked skin and I can feel my nipples harden. Atticus stares down at me with plain desire in his eyes. I feel exposed but before I can even think about covering myself up Atticus breathes, "you're absolutely stunning." He's looking into my eyes as he says it, not my body, and I relax. This is Atticus I'm with. I don't have to be afraid when I'm with him.

I pull him down on me until our chests are flush against each other and our tongues are battling again. He pushes me down into the mattress and I all but mind.

Then his mouth leaves mine and he places a kiss on the edge of my jaw. Then another one a little further away. Then one on the curve of my throat and I turn my head away so he has more space to continue this sweet torture. He leaves a trail of kisses and soft nibbles all the way down to my shoulder, my collarbone, my chest. I moan when he takes one of my nipples into his mouth, far past the point of thinking or feeling insecure. A hand of his covers my other breast and I bury my own hands inside his hair, not knowing what else to do with them. I tug at his roots when he bites my skin just hard enough to send more heat straight down to my core.

The warmth of his mouth leaves one breast only to come back down on the other where he repeats his procedure. When I can't take it anymore I pull his head up and roughly crash my lips to his. His right hand moves from my breast to my waist until his fingers are at the waistband of my pants. I stiffen slightly and when he notices he pulls his lips from mine once again.

"Do you trust me?" he asks softly, his voice not tainted by an ounce of hunger. Do I trust him? I nod, meaning it with my every fiber.

"You know I'd never hurt or force anything on you?" he asks and I relax underneath his touch as he speaks. His hand slides inside my pants and I nod again. "You are in control, Amo. You say stop and it's done, understood? We have all the time in the world." I don't nod this time, I simply close the distance between our lips to have him closer again.