Memories have the ability to unlock new emotions. They allow you to relive moments with surfacing feelings you were unable to experience then. It's your choice to let these feelings live and take hold or tragically, or in this case, delightfully die.
University of Washington | Tacoma, 2022
Her lips were parted and her eyes were closed as she felt the overwhelming emotion that welled up in the pit of her stomach. Deep within her chest, she felt something take hold of her ability to breathe. It was unlike anything she had ever felt. It was consuming and made her lose any sense of self-control she had, but her body screamed for more.
Her head tossed back with his hands buried in her hair, his lips on the tender skin beneath her ear. The soft and aching caresses of his lips on her skin ignited a flame within her that burned with no mercy. She was lost in the dilemma of wanting to fan it out and make it burn hotter.
More.
She craved more.
He trailed kisses along her jaw to her mouth but stopped for a second to look at her with that penetrating gaze of his. She swallowed past the dryness in her throat as her chest rose and fell. His gaze dropped to her parted lips as his hands wrapped tighter around her waist. He clenched his jaw and there was a flash of pain across his face as his gaze met hers again.
"You're not stopping me." He whispered,
Makenna wanted to speak up but her voice seemed to be lost. So, rather than talk, she took action. She reached up and cradled his face between her hands, she pulled him down and her lips found his with immediate urgency. Kissing him like they'd had a lifetime of practice with each other rather than it being their first kiss.
Well, one of their first kisses.
Makenna felt them moving until her back hit the wall. He took control of the kiss and his hands trailed up her body and down her arms until he took hold of her wrists. Removing her hands from his face, he put them above her head and held them there with one hand. His other hand slid behind her neck and held her in place as he deepened the kiss.
Makenna's emotions dampened as she could no longer think of anything past her restrained hands. He stopped kissing her and began trailing kisses down her neck to her shoulder. She swallowed when his hands lightly gripped her neck and tilted her head to the side to give him better access.
"Atlas." Her voice came out almost inaudible,
"Atlas," She tried again,
"Hmm."
"I need you to stop...p-please."
He immediately stopped and slowly pulled away to look at her. There was confusion in his eyes and Makenna hated herself for allowing things to get this far. He slowly smiled that sweet and warm smile of his that somehow made her heart sigh in relief.
He leaned into her like he wanted to give her a peck on her cheek but he stopped with his lips close to her ear.
"Too late for that sweetheart."
Immediate panic rose in her chest and she tried to pull her hands away from his grip which had tightened around her wrists.
"Let me go." She said boldly, trying her best to push him away from her without the use of her hands,
He found her neck again and his kisses were no longer soft and tender.
"Let me go!" She sounded more panicked, "Atlas!"
"Just a moment longer, darling."
Makenna lifted her leg in a jerk, her knee connected and sent him doubling over. She used that time to push him away and quickly ran towards the gym's exit. Just as she was about to reach the exit, she felt arms wrap around her aggressively. His arms trapped hers by her side.
"Not so fast." She felt his breath fan against her cheek as her breathing grew more erratic,
"Time for your lesson." He dragged her back to the fighting area and threw her onto the padded flooring.
"No, please." Makenna crawled backwards to get away from him, but she couldn't.
He strategically held her in place to prevent her from thrashing so violently or assaulting him again. He came on top of her and she felt her will begin to die a silent death but she wouldn't have it.
"Help! Somebody, help!" She screamed at the top of her lungs,
The smack that resounded in her ear was unexpected and it took a second for the pain to crawl onto her cheek.
"Shut up."
She turned her head to glare at him through the unshed tears in her eyes.
"You will never get away with this." She said through her parched throat and trembling lips,
"I already have." The haunting smirk of his was a look she would never be able to forget as he slowly leaned forward.
His face flickered and changed to someone else's almost like she was in one of those optical illusions. Time slowed and his face flickered again. This time she caught the other man's face. Her breath caught in her chest in recognition and a piercing scream escaped her mouth just as everything went dark.
Makenna gasped sharply as she sat up from her bed. Her scream echoed in her head like it had followed her into the real world. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed heavily, feeling completely disoriented. It took her a second to figure out what had happened and where she was.
The light that streamed through her room window gave her a tiny bit of relief. She reached for her phone and tapped on the screen to check the time. Right then, the time changed and it struck 3:00 AM. Her shoulders sagged in disbelief and consolation. She closed her eyes and tried to get her breathing under control as the shock of what happened began to sink in.
"Fuck!" She cursed into the silence of the dark room as she fell back into bed.
Fucking nightmare!
Eck! I'm super excited for this one. Can I just say that I am grateful to you guys for the reception Broken has had? I mean, without an editor, little things slip through my editing process. And I do try my best to go over each chapter again and again, but there's no doubt that there are things I've missed.
Just wanted to put it out there that if you guys notice any of those slight or major errors, do bring it to my attention by leaving a comment. I want to make the reading experience flawless for you and everyone else reading after you.
See you back here next Saturday.
Love,
Jane.