Atlas is finally going for what he really wants. Will he be brave enough to keep her?
[Cordelia]"Atlas..." My breath catches as his hand touches the edges of the veil. "May I,' he asks as he gently reaches for the lace corners that trail along the edges of my bodice. Afraid to shatter the magic of the moment with words, I nod. He steps up onto the raised platform and for a moment, time stops. My lungs fill with his clean scent, his body so close that I can feel the heat of him radiating outward, melting whatever ice was in my heart. It has been so hard since I told him I wanted to be friends. The more I see him with Angelica, the more it tears at my heart. But right now, at this moment, I don't want to think about her. It is just the two of us as he lifts the veil revealing my face as he places it gently behind my tiara. "You are so beautiful," he moves a strand of hair behind my ear and I close my eyes at the gentle touch. "Such a beautiful bride. How did I ever let you go?""Atlas," I try not to cry, but a tear slowly rolls down my face."Shhh," he gently wipes
[Cordelia]Atlas sits very still, his hands splayed out, his face open with surprise. I use his shock as an opportunity to move myself out of his grasp, just in case he decides to use his body to change the subject. Every nerve in my body is on fire as the blood rushes into places that make me swoon, but I can’t give in to my physical impulses. I need answers, not distractions. "I'm not," he says plainly without inflection, clearly stunned by the question. "I never have."Now I'm the one sitting up suddenly in shock. "But you dated for almost a year before...""She wanted to wait until after the wedding," he shrugs. "I didn't want to rush her.""But now things are different," I persist. "She told me that you were proving your love for her and...""But I don't love her," he replies. Leaning forward he reaches for my hand. "To be honest, I'm not sure I ever did. It was always one-sided. I had so much affection for her, that I didn't notice how little she had for me. Even now, she seems
[Cordelia]Walking backward, Atlas leads me over the edges of my dress which lay puddled at my feet in a beautiful ripple of silk and lace. The tall silver pumps catch on the edge but he holds me steady with a stable hand on my waist as my back presses against the cold, flat surface of the mirror. I gasp at the sudden chill as he presses me into it gently, his hands moving up and down my rib cage sending delicate tingles of pleasure along my spine. Placing my hands on his chest, my hands reach up to wrap around his neck, bringing him closer to me as my lips part enough for his tongue to gain entrance."Cordelia," he smiles my name against my lips as he continues to kiss me, his hands slowly reaching up towards my breasts, which aching and full, press against the tight lace of my bra. As his thumb touches the edge of my areola I gasp. "Too much?" he stops, waiting for my approval. I struggle to catch my breath. Pregnancy is making everything so sensitive that just a simple touch is
The door holds open just big enough for Angelica to pop her head in. We see a tendril of blonde hair. Atlas snaps to attention, Jumping to his feet he rushes to hide. I move to the door to try and push it closed. Oblivious, Angelica continues to struggle to enter the room and with a final shove almost knocks me off my feet. I don't need to pretend to be embarrassed as she stands there, stomping her foot as I reach down to cover myself with the discarded dress. "Don't come in here!" I scream at Angelica. "I'm naked!" "I can see that," she snorts, rolling her eyes. "I used to change your diapers, Cordelia, I've seen you naked." "Not like this," I huff, turning my back to her as the door opens a bit wider. Thankfully, the more she opens the door, the better Atlas is hidden. At least until she opens it completely. The last thing we need is a big scene at the wedding dress shop. Imagine the headline "Steele Family Scandal: Wrong Bride Mr. Steele!" I shoo her away, or at least try to, p
"Can I kiss you down here?" He looks up at me again with his large, blue eyes and I feel myself melt into a puddle at his feet. "Just a little kiss." "Yes," I barely manage to reply as my throat goes suddenly dry. The thought of his mouth on my most sensitive parts sets my imagination into very kinky places. I've never had a sexual partner in any way and if he means to do what I think he wants to do, it is something I've only read about in books. Atlas nuzzles my mound and my eyes roll back. Dear gods it feels so good and he has barely even touched me. As he buries his nose into my auburn-colored curls, his hands move my panties down to my thighs, then my knees, and finally my ankles. "These," he taps my silver heels, "are in the way. Hold onto my shoulders."Leaning forward I grasp his shoulders. He taps my left leg and I lift it so that he can remove the shoe and one leg of my panties. We repeat this with the right side and I am suddenly very naked, while he is very clothed."Spre
[Cordelia]I stare after him for several minutes, unsure of what to do.Yes, Atlas just gave me a moment of intense pleasure but I don't know if I want anything more from him. Our last marriage was a disaster, and my sister is still in the picture. I'm starting my career and I'm finally feeling like my own woman. What if I don't want to get married again? Maybe it would be better for me to remain single while I figure out what I want with my life. I don't need to jump into anything. Just because he wants to take things more swiftly doesn't mean I need to let him push me. Or am I reading more into this than I need to? It wasn't a proposal, not technically.Although it did feel like one. The rest of the afternoon was awkward. I was expecting to see Atlas in the lounge with Angelica and the bridesmaids, having suddenly "arrived" while I was getting dressed, but somehow he snuck out. Instead, Atlas called Angelica, bowing out of lunch claiming to have "too much" work to do.And yet, whe
I don't understand. Why would Atlas do something like this? But his signature is unmistakable. Atlas must have signed off on these changes, but why? None of this makes any sense.Thinking back, Atlas hardly spent any time on the production floor and he mostly stayed far away from my work, preferring to give me enough space to show what I could do. To do this, he would have needed to come into production, see the design, alter it, and then order the alterations distributed to all the sewers.Sometimes last-minute changes are made to items due to lack of availability or cost, but I had been assured that all of my materials were here and that I could spend what I needed to. Neither of those issues should have come into play. This was done for another reason. But why would Atlas be this cruel? And when did he have a chance to do this? I walk up the one flight of stairs to the executive floor. Except for a few early birds who have come to make coffee and prep for their bosses to arrive,
[Cordelia] My anger transforms into a rush of horror. Just yesterday he was promising me forever only to bring my sister into his bed the very same night? All because I didn't want to buy a wedding dress and promise myself to him? I'm done being sad about this. "How could you?” I glare and watch as Atlas slowly turns his face to see where I am looking. He takes a moment to look back my way, but when his eyes connect with mine, they are wide with surprise and fear. "Cordelia," he takes a step forward. "I know what this looks like but it isn't what you think." "It doesn't matter," I close my eyes, no longer wanting to gaze at my sister's perfect breasts or smug, self-satisfied expression. "I guess I shouldn't have expected you to act any differently. All that talk about celibacy and now..." I wave vaguely in Angelica's direction my face turned in the opposite direction. "What are you going on about?” Angelica leans into Atlas' back, hiding her form as her naked front aligns wi
[Atlas]Delilah Fisher steps around the corner in a long, silver gown, her makeup flawless, and her smile large and welcoming.She looks so much like Angelica did when I first met her that my heart stutters. I love Cordelia with my entire being, and yet a part of me still reacts to the memory of the shining girl who captured my attention almost a decade ago. But this isn't Angelica. Delilah, while beautiful and poised, lacks the immaculate grace that Angelica exuded. Each of the sisters has a unique nature that shines through, despite having almost identical faces."Atlas Steele," her heels click in the silent room as she steps into the light. "Why is it so hard for you to believe your brother? Haven't you seen enough wonders in this world yet to understand that anything can be possible?""There's no such thing as mind control," I repeat. "Believing in psychic powers is for fools.""And you pride yourself on not being one," she smirks, amused. "But a true wise man would keep his mind
[Jude]Sydney. Now that she has me under her control, I'll never be free of her. When I came to save her, I was convinced she was pregnant with my child. She had sent a distress signal to me using our private channels letting me know of her pregnancy and it was enough to get me to betray the Steele family and derail their plans to find their cure. Using what I knew about Atlas' missing mother was just a distraction.My goal had always been to claim my son.But then I discovered that beyond all logic Angelica is still alive.I should have realized this was possible and known that Magnus wouldn't give up such a valuable tool so easily. Angelica had been Magnus' toy for years before she was sent into my world. I knew he had modified her, and turned her into the perfect weapon, but I had no idea how deep those modifications went until I saw her face staring at me on that magazine cover.She shouldn't have survived that explosion. And yet here she is, unscathed, awaiting a new uterus in
[Atlas]I twist my arm away from the guard in black. His face is blank as he reaches forward again. "Don't." My voice carries forward, and although it isn't loud, it holds a note of command that makes the armed guard pause."Sir," he blinks retracting his hand. "You are trespassing. I was ordered to take you into holding." My face remains still as my voice rings out again, "You will not touch us. You have no right." The guard swallows, taking a step back, my words hitting him with the force of a slap. "We will leave," I inform him. "You will report our apologies to your boss." He nods, accepting my command. "Atlas," Clark calls my attention to our situation. Blinking I snap awake, and pull my gaze from the guard. As soon as I blink, the guard stumbles backward shaking his head in confusion, as if my words and stare alone were enough to entrap him in some kind of trance. Around the edges of my vision, I see more guards headed in our direction. If we are going to make it out of h
[Atlas]Damn it, Cordelia!"Pick up, pick up, pick up," the phone rings but nobody replies. "This number is unavailable as dialed, please try again," the message on the other end informs me as my blood pressure rises and my hands shake.A moment ago I had been talking to my wife. And then the line was dead. I sent her to Canada to keep her and our children safe, and she chose to bring herself to Magnus' attention. Sending a quick message to the guards in charge of watching over my family, I stare at my screen waiting for word of their status. "Atlas, is there anything I can do to help?"Blinking away from the screen I look up at my brother as our rented van parks a few blocks away from the luau. Our driver informs us of our arrival and waits for further instructions."I'm sorry, Clark," I close my eyes, rubbing my temples. "You were saying something?""Is everything okay?" He tries again and I groan. "No." I groan honestly. "Or at least, I hope everything is fine. Lately, it seems
[Clark]The message "Tilly SOS" flicked across the screen three times before winking out, leaving my screen blank. I open my email that I keep under an alias on a secure server. There is a single message alerting me to new information available on my server. I've used this system when working with people who needed to keep their identities safe and their messages secret. The last time I needed it was working with Jude while he was still under Magnus' watch.Even though it has been months since I used it, my fingers remember the passcodes. Soon, I'll be on the server. Two emails are waiting for me, both are from Tilly's parents. In the first message, they inform me that they have landed and are settling in their new place. It is a secure facility, surrounded by several acres of land, disconnected from the distant towns and cities. The Madisons, sparing no expense, went to extra lengths to include copious additional security.They are, after all, securing their legacy. Tilly is their o
[Cordelia]There is a loud explosion just to the right of the airplane. "What was that," I lower the phone, turning it off as I gaze out the window to see what had caused the noise. "Nothing, Ma'am," the co-pilot says over his shoulder, "Just a little turbulence.""Turbulence?" I shout back as another boom resounds just outside the passenger's cabin as a curtain goes up between the pilots and the rest of the plane, blocking our view. "But we aren't even in the air yet!""Calm yourself, Mrs. Steele," Jake, the security guard, takes his phone from my numb hand. "Sit next to your children and trust your staff to get you out of here safely. We've got this, Mrs. Steele."He almost seemed offended in my lack of faith as he types into his phone what I'm guessing is a message to Atlas to calm his nerves and let him know we are alive. "But nobody is telling me what's happening," I grumble as I buckle in next to Jasper and the little girl I've decided to call Saphira until I learn her real na
[Atlas]"What do you mean gone," I barked into the phone, my hand clenching it tight enough to hear it crunch. These new smartphones seem to get flimsier with each model. I've broken 3 in the last 6 months from anger or nerves. I love my wife, but I'm pretty sure she's going to stress me into an early grave. "Your mother created a distraction, Sir," my lead guard, Jake, apologizes over the phone, not making excuses as much as stating facts. "Mrs. Suzanna Steele arrived late last night along with a young man she called Sasha. The next morning, while your mother and Ms. Devaroux kept me distracted searching for a false threat, your wife and this young man escaped."Cordelia has always been sneaky when she needs to be, and until this point, he had been very good at keeping her from falling into mischief. I wasn't expecting my mother to be part of the problem. At least now I know where she ran off to. Her room had been empty when I returned to the boat yesterday. "Are you sure it is m
[Clark]There are things that I need to keep secret from my brother, not because I do not trust him with my secrets, but because I do not want to burden him with them.Which is why I needed to get away. Without Tilly, there is no reason for me to stay on the boat."I'll meet you later, when it's time to go to the luau," I promise Atlas as I give him a hug and take my leave. I know that I could just stay at our family hotel, but I need to be somewhere else, somewhere that nobody recognizes me. And also, I want to ensure that what I am about to do is as untraceable as possible. "Mr. Janus," the man at the front desk smiles when I hand him a wad of cash in exchange for a key card. "Enjoy you stay. Please call down if you need anything."Adjusting my sunglasses, lower the bill of my baseball cap, grab my small bag, and make my way through the other guests milling around in the hotel lobby. Located along the beach it has a spectacular view of the the ocean.And the location of tonight's
[Jude]Opening the door, I push back the clinician waiting for Angelica to rise. The poor man looks lost, most likely expecting Angel to greet him and not a gruff guard in black."Excuse me," he calls out as I walk down the hall. I don't owe him any excuses or explanations. I'm her bodyguard. I can be seen coming and going from her room. Besides, I don't have time for niceties. I'm already late reporting to work. The guards all bunk together in a large room on the basement level. There are beds and a shared shower as well as a kitchen so that we don't disturb the rest of the house as we take care of our daily necessities. There weren't any free bunks when I arrived, so I sleep on a camping bed on the floor. As I march down there, the leader of the group raises his eyebrow. He can tell by the unused state of my sleeping area that I haven't been back to rest."Late night?" he questions me as I walk down the stairs, "Whoever she was, she better be worth it." He smirks. "Mr. Fisher will