Her Titans by Genevieve Jasper
Madelaine
9
Monday morning comes around and the slight ache behind my eyes reminds me of the drinks I consumed at dinner last night. I remember our last conversation and groan, rolling my face into the pillow. Did I really explain my wild phase to the guys? Did I truly admit I found Maxton and Quincy attractive? Fucking hell. Probably best to front it out and pretend I see nothing wrong with it. I can’t deny, even to myself and sober, that I find them all as attractive as each other. Even Quincy, who hasn’t been welcoming at all. He’s the most like my normal type out of the guys, with his shaggy brown hair and eyes nearly the same colour. Plus, glasses on a guy just do something to me. He gives serious surfer vibes but with a nerdy twist, and he would have been my ideal teenage fantasy. Being leaner and probably just over six feet, he’s not as daunting as the others. He’s the one you would think was the friendlier of the three, though that hasn’t been my experience so far.
After spending ten minutes mourning my pride, I get up and ready for errands and Jeremy meets me at the car before we head to the drive-thru. I chickened out and crept past the kitchen on my way out, so I am ravenous. Food is what I need, and then I’ll be back to my boss-bitch ways. I get a breakfast wrap that saves my soul and even convince Jeremy to try it, breaking down our barriers with sugary coffee and hash brown goodness.
The police station takes forever and I’m not sure why, as I know nothing and have a pretty solid alibi. They seem to ask way more questions about the guys I was with rather than anything related to the fire, but maybe I just have them on the brain. Finally, we finish with the insurers and I check my phone as we get back into the car to head back to Atlas’s house. I’ve got a couple of missed calls from Atlas, little shit must’ve swapped numbers when he had my phone. Just as I decide to speak to him when I get back, seeing as we’re on the way anyway, he calls Jeremy, who answers through the car Bluetooth.
“Hi, sir,” Jeremy answers.
“Hi, is Madelaine in the car?”
I make a pretty obvious chopping gesture against my neck, but clearly Jeremy hasn’t read the rule book on best friend loyalty yet, as he answers affirmatively.
“Madelaine, I said you had the night to decide, and it’s now the following afternoon. What’s your answer?”
My face heats. Thank God Jeremy doesn’t know what he means.
“We’re on the way back. Can we talk about this when I get there?” I ask him.
“You’ve had long enough. I’m sure Jeremy is happy to stay on the line while you decide whether you want to use my body to explore...”
“Oh my God, Atlas,” I shout. My face is on actual fire and I cover it with my hands. You could get a tan from the furnace coming from my blazing cheeks. “Fine, yes,” I splutter, wanting this conversation to be over.
“Great. Jeremy, put your foot down. See you soon, Madelaine,” he says as he disconnects the call.
“Sorry,” I mumble to Jeremy.
“Don’t worry about it, Miss Lai. I’m used to him getting his way.” We share a conspiratorial grin and my embarrassment melts away. We pull into the garage this time, as there are only two cars in there. I stroke along the low curves of an Aston Martin.
“That’s Atlas’s second car, the other is Lucy’s,” Jeremy explains to me.
“Wow, Atlas must pay well. Maybe I’ll work here.”
“That was actually a divorce present, but yes, he treats us all very well.”
As we walk through the front door, Atlas is coming through another to the right.
“Thanks, Jeremy,” he says, bending and lifting me over his shoulder without hesitation.
A squeal of surprise slips past my lips. “Atlas! Put me down!”
He smacks me on the ass instead of replying and I yelp but stop my futile struggling. A minute later, I’m laid down on the bed of the room I’ve commandeered the last two nights. He leans over me, caging me in with his hands on either side of my head.
“How was your day?” he asks. I take a second to study his face while he’s this close, and he really might be one of the hottest men I’ve seen in real life. His ashy blonde hair is rumpled and those green eyes stare into my soul. He raises a brow and I realise I haven’t answered.
“Fine,” I squeak. Sexy. He smirks and leans down to kiss me, slow and tender until I open my mouth with a sigh and he tastes my tongue with his. He teases me, overwhelming me with another deep, panty-melting kiss until I wriggle underneath him, needing more.
“I’m happy to let you use me to explore but I’ve been thinking about this for three weeks, so you can explore next time,” he says as he whips my oversized t-shirt and bralette over my head. He starts a trail of light kisses along my jaw. I go to start on his shirt buttons but get distracted by him nipping down my throat and collarbone, so my hands move to his biceps. I press my chest up slightly as he nears my nipple, but he skims his mouth over the curve of my breast and down my stomach until he reaches my waistband. He pulls my leggings and underwear off and separates my legs so I’m laid out in front of him, completely naked.
“Fuck, baby. You are spectacular.” I heat at his words and try to pull my legs together, but he frowns slightly and pushes my knees apart. He runs his hands from my ankles to my hips, making me shudder as he situates himself between my thighs on his haunches.
“You don’t have to hide anything from me,” he croaks as he runs a finger along my seam. I stare at him leaning over me fully clothed with his hand between my legs and am more turned on than I think I’ve ever been. He continues running a finger from my entrance to my clit and back again, making me tense with anticipation. He leans over, kissing me as he rubs circles around the bundle of nerves. When I think I’m about to come embarrassingly fast, he moves his fingers up to my breasts, rubbing my wetness over one nipple. Lapping at it with his tongue, he sucks it into his mouth before repeating the process on the other side. I’m nearly panting as he pulls himself out of his trousers. “One day I’ll make you come using just these perfect breasts,” he murmurs as he coats his cock in my arousal and presses the tip to my core.
I tug at his shirt, wanting to feel actual skin and not cotton, but he grabs my hands in his and holds them above my head. Leaning on his forearms, he gently pushes in, and I wrap my legs around his waist, groaning as he slides deeper. “Fuck,” he groans as he seats himself fully inside me. I can think of nothing but the feel of him as he pulls back and then pushes in slowly again, our faces inches from each other, my breathing getting more ragged. The slow pace is driving me wild.
“Atlas, please,” I whisper into his mouth, and a growl comes from his chest as he picks up the pace, pumping his hips with restrained fervour. It doesn’t take long for the pleasure to build inside me and as he releases a hand to rub my clit I explode, releasing a low moan, clenching around him and making him join me in oblivion. He lets my hands go and sags slightly so that I can feel his weight on me.
“Are you okay?” he asks after a minute, when all we can hear is our slowing breaths.
“Yeah, just waiting for my brain to rewire.”
He laughs. “So, trying again. How was your day?” I chuckle and bask in the lightness of our conversation. Everything has been so intense recently that it’s nice to just be ourselves. I find myself wishing for more of it, then scold myself. Do not catch feelings for your first one-night stand, Madelaine, you’ll make a mockery of the sacred wild phase.
“Okay, thanks. Got some decisions to make with the insurers and I gave the police my statement. How was yours?”
“Okay, just work stuff,” he replies vaguely. I know we’re having this very normal conversation with him still inside me, but I’m okay with that.
“What is it you do, exactly?”
“Well, at the moment we’re focused on buying up failing businesses and refurbing them. Or rather, our very talented designer is refurbing them. I can’t believe you designed the bar, it’s incredible.”
“Does this count as a completion bonus?” I joke.
He chuckles and his cock twitches inside of me, hard again. “Good stamina, noted,” I tease, as he gives a few lazy pumps of his hips. He smirks at me before pulling out abruptly and flipping me over. He pulls my hips up so I’m on my knees and then presses my chest to the bed before slamming back into me from behind.
“Fuck!” I cry, as in this position his every stroke hits deeper. I grip the duvet in my fists as unintelligible sounds fall from my mouth. He thrusts relentlessly, hands squeezing my hips as he pulls me back to meet every one. As I build, he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me up until my back is pressed to his front and he sits back on his feet. I have a bit more control in this position and I take it, lifting slightly on my knees and dropping back down into his lap, reveling in the tightness my closed thighs give. He grips my throat, and I let my head fall back against his shoulder, every muscle clenching delightfully with the light squeeze of his hand around my neck.
“Shit, baby. You like that?” he murmurs huskily into my ear. I clench again, and Atlas groans. “Come for me, baby.”
Such an unnecessary command, as I couldn’t stop myself if the room was on fire. Wait, too soon? Stars explode behind my eyes, and after a couple more hard thrusts Atlas comes for the second time, holding me close. We fall over onto our sides, breathless and with limbs like jelly. I’m coming back down to earth when I catch his shirt-covered arm lazily wrapped around my waist. The fact that he’s still dressed comes to the forefront of my brain.
“How come you get me completely naked but you haven’t taken one thing off?” I chuckle.
He stiffens slightly but I ignore his weirdness, opting to head for a much-needed shower instead.
I’m happy to dive back into work and some semblance of normalcy the next day. Jason’s big news is that the club owners loved the refurb and have kept us on for a handful of other projects they’re starting. I decided to keep the fact that I’m currently lodging with these club owners to myself, for the time being. Not that I think Jason would have an issue. They clearly hired us again before they knew who I was. But I can barely explain the situation to myself, I can’t face trying to rationalise it to someone else as well.
There’s way too much work for just me to handle this time, so I bring Kacey in to help. We spend the next few days touring the venues and discussing ideas. She has some brilliant concepts and I’m reminded of why she got promoted in the first place.
Wednesday comes around and Kace and I are heading for an early afternoon meeting with Jason to lay out our plans.
“I can’t believe we work for the Titans now,” she says wistfully.
“Hate to burst your bubble, Kace, but I’ve met the owners of the club and they’re just business flippers. You might have to pin your hopes of a gangland romance on someone else.” I almost feel bad about her dejected expression.
We walk into the meeting room and I freeze in the doorway, causing Kacey to bump into me from behind and drop everything in her arms.
“Sorry!” I exclaim, spinning around to help her collect her things. Atlas gets up from his chair to help pick up the spilt belongings and smirks when he’s at eye level with me. I glare at him and elbow him in the ribs as we stand without drawing any attention. Yes, that does make me feel better.
“Madelaine, Kacey, this is Mr Grayson, the client for this project. This is Madelaine Noxx, the project lead, and Kacey Mane, an assistant architect here at the firm.”
Atlas reaches a hand out and Kacey throws herself at it, shaking it vigorously. “So nice to meet you, sir,” she beams.
“Clients don’t normally come to meetings this early in the project,” I state abruptly. Jason gives a bemused look at my tone, but Atlas answers before he can say anything.
“I thought I’d drop by on this one.”
“The timescales are so brief again on these projects that it’s probably a good idea to combine some meetings,” Jason protests.
“Great idea. Lovely to meet you, Mr Grayson.” I hope I’ve redeemed myself and Jason forgets my slip up later.
We all take a seat and go through our ideas, Jason and Atlas both giving feedback and requests. The meeting is thankfully short as they both seem happy with our visions and have minimal changes.
“Great, we’ll complete our designs and then send it on to the project teams for the next phase.”
“That’s great. Thank you, Madelaine,” Jason beams.
Kace and I get to our feet, ready to say our goodbyes and leave when Atlas stands, too.
“Miss Noxx, have you got a minute?”
“Of course, My Grayson,” I answer, not having much choice but to be polite.
“In private?”
My eyes tighten involuntarily. “Certainly.” I leave the office and he follows me to the other side of our floor and I gesture for him to enter my office, which I am sadly proud of. I feel like I’ve achieved something by having an office to myself. It also has a gorgeous little balcony that lets beautiful light through the double doors. You may only be able to fit two people out there at a push, and the view is a dingy back-alley no one ever uses, but still, the pride is there.
I follow behind him and stand just inside the doorway, the door still open.
“How can I help you?”
“I can’t decide if I like this submissive, agreeable Madelaine or if I miss the feisty version,” he says, walking towards me.
“Atlas, I’m at work.”
He reaches behind me and pushes the door closed. “Best be quiet then.” He grabs the nape of my neck and kisses me senseless.
“We need to discuss your work clothes,” he says when we come up for air, pulling my skirt up to my waist and shoving my underwear down. I don’t know what has come over me, but I step out of them as he frees himself from his trousers, hard and ready.
“Your opinion has no relevance to my work clothes,” I reply as he lifts me into his arms. I wrap my legs around his waist, thanking my lucky stars this office has no internal windows.
“I definitely prefer the feisty version,” he murmurs into my hair as he pushes me back against the door and slowly slides inside me.
My mouth drops open at the sensual slowness and he claps his hand over my mouth, the domineering act causing me to tighten around him.
“Unless you want me to fuck you hard against this door and let everyone hear exactly what we’re doing, you need to stop that.”
I can’t help myself. His words make me heat and I moan into his palm.
He growls deep in his chest and spins, carrying me over to my desk with one arm wrapped around my waist and sits me on the edge. Pushing my chest back so I’m laying down, he keeps one hand over my mouth and the other moves to grip my hip.
“Hold on, baby.” I realise belatedly that he means it literally when he slides out and slams back into me, causing my body to arch and a scream to slip out against his hand.
I grip the edge of the table as he keeps up his hard and fast rhythm, and it’s not long before I’m right there. He releases the tight grasp on my hip to reach between my legs and circle my clit, sending me spiralling into an orgasm that he follows me into a few pumps later.
I lay there for a second, listening to us both pant, until the fact that we’re in my workplace comes flooding back to me. He pulls out of me as I sit up and puts himself away while I straighten my clothes and cross back over to the door to collect my underwear.
“You should go,” I say. “I need a clean up ASAP.”
He doesn’t get to reply as the door swings open, Jason striding in through the unlocked door as I hastily shove my lace panties behind my back.
“Oh, sorry Madelaine. I didn’t realise you were still in a meeting.”
“That’s okay, we just finished.”
“We certainly did. It’s been a pleasure, Miss Noxx,” Atlas says as he walks behind me, heading to the door. Kacey calls for Jason from her office door, which distracts him long enough for Atlas to risk sliding my panties out of my hand as he passes. I retreat back behind my desk and am sitting to hide the shaking of my legs by the time Jason’s attention is back on me.
He doesn’t stay long, thankfully, just wanting to congratulate me on the plans. I rush to the bathroom as soon as he leaves to do as best a clean-up as possible. Just as I’m attempting to sneak back to my office, trying not to look like I just got pounded, Kacey rushes over to me.
“I’m glad I caught you. What the hell?” she exclaims. “I told you it was the Titans!”
“What are you talking about?” My brain isn’t fully functioning yet.
“The guy in our meeting, Mr Grayson. Even without seeing the tattoos, I’d recognise him,” she insists.
My brain is officially malfunctioning and my post-sex glow disappears like smoke, replaced by simmering anger coursing through my veins.
“Sorry, Kace. I’ve got to go.” I head back to my office and seethe in silence until it’s a respectable time to leave, my productivity having careened out the window.
Jeremy picks me up as usual. We’ve bonded through our trips to and from everywhere, and once he pulls out into traffic, I can’t keep it in any longer.
“Jeremy, what do you know about the Titans?”
“I’m not sure what you’re asking, Miss Lai.”
What a cop-out. I give him a suspicious look, but he keeps his eyes resolutely on the road and drives us home.