Atlas cradled Makenna's face in his hands and slid them into her hair as he kissed her slowly but intensely. It was so painfully sweet that his heart ached at the tenderness of having her in his arms. She was so strong yet so fragile and he simply longed to shield her from everything.

But Makenna chose that moment to pull away from him, leaving him exposed to his feelings. He knew he had those feelings for her, but he'd never had to face it head-on like he did in the moment. The look on her face was one of surprise and. dare he say, anger. What happened next was not something he expected.

Makenna's hand flew across his face and Atlas clenched his jaw in an attempt to ease the sting from the slap.

Dang! Did she have to hit so hard?
He thought as he shifted his gaze back to her.

Makenna was standing a few feet away from him completely out of her element. He'd kissed her and she'd slapped him. But her slap was not in response to his kiss. She rather liked it.

Ugh!
She groaned inwardly hating that she'd admitted that to herself.

But she couldn't pretend that she didn't anymore. He made her feel a certain type of way that no one had ever made her feel before. It was a feeling she couldn't explain to herself, but she'd read enough books to know what it meant.

I like him.
She thought as she looked into his eyes.

Her gaze dropped to his jaw and she noticed that it was starting to turn a light shade of pink. She didn't like that she'd slapped him, but he'd chosen violence when he called her Kenna.

Returning her gaze to meet his, she caught him staring at her lips and she swallowed.

Atlas took a moment to look at the lips he'd just kissed. He then lifted his gaze and found hers,
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

"No," She was breathless, "You shouldn't have called me Kenna."

Atlas' frowned, but only slightly, confused about the reason for the slap.

Makenna didn't care to elaborate, instead, she took a step closer, bringing her to where she'd been just a moment ago. Then she took another as she peered up into his eyes.
"I told you," Her voice was low and breathless, "Not to call me that."

Atlas was finding it hard to catch his breath with her standing so close. He inhaled, trying to reign back his self-control that she was bordering on. But breathing only made it worse because of his scent on her. He'd caught it on her the second he'd walked into his room and he couldn't help but think it smelled better on her than it did on him.

In the bottle, he loved the scent. On Makenna, it was insanely intoxicating.

Atlas stood very still, not wanting to give into his growing urge to have a repeat of the kiss. But she was standing so close, he could feel her breath on his skin. He clenched his fists when he felt her hands grab onto both his arms. She slowly rose on her tiptoes, her gaze shifting from his eyes to his lips. Atlas closed his eyes and held his breath as her lips met his.

It was an innocent peck that shook his world. Their breaths mingled together as they stood still in that moment. Then Makenna's hands slid up his arms and as they locked behind his neck, she deepened the kiss. The last straw for Atlas was when she drew him closer - he could not hold back anymore.

Atlas leaned down and wrapped his arms around the small of her waist. He drew her so close to him that nothing could pass between them. He liked the feel of her body against him as they both revelled in the free-falling effect of the kiss. Their lips moved in sync, almost like a dance they'd practised together for years and perfected.

The kiss slowly ended and when their lips separated, they remained close, trying to get their breathing back to normal. Eyes closed and in each other's arms, neither of them wanted the moment to end.

"Did I mention you look beautiful?" Atlas' voice was deep and breathless,

Makenna frowned, hating that she loved being in his arms. She forced herself to open her eyes so that reality could set in. She pulled back so that her forehead was no longer resting on his, which made Atlas open his eyes.

"You don't have to say things like that."

Atlas' gaze took in every inch of her face,
"Not even if I was thinking it?"

Makenna stayed quiet as she looked into his eyes,
"I don't understand."

"What?"

"You." She said, "This."

And she truly didn't understand what was happening and how it was happening. She was feeling the things but it didn't feel like it was her in the moment. It felt like she was walking in what was supposed to be someone else's life.

Atlas couldn't tell what she was thinking but he wanted to ease the panic he heard in her words.
"You don't have to, not now." He tightened his grip around her slightly, "It'll make sense at the right time."

He felt her back muscles relax a little bit and he was happy,
"Now, you just need to feel."

Atlas reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. He let his finger leave a trail of goosebumps on her skin from behind her ear down her neck and to her back, where his hand had been a moment ago.

Makenna inhaled sharply, that simple act making her shy away from his touch and bringing her closer to him.

They looked into each other's eyes for what felt like a moment too long, then they leaned in again. This time, the kiss was torturously slow. They took their time to explore this feeling they were finally admitting they shared.

I'm screaming! There was a lot of back and forth with this chapter. I wanted Makenna to take a step forward concerning her 'relationship' with Atlas, but I also wanted her to stay true to the 'badass' person she had learned to become.

The part where she hit him, (sheesh!) it was a struggle for me to keep that in because I'm not a violent person. The thought of hitting anyone, man or woman, cuts deep in my heart. I hate that she had to do it but I reminded myself that as much as she is a product of some of my experiences, she isn't me.

With that said, I've been on a role creating some Broken-inspired booktoks that I'm honestly certain you're going to love. 🤭 I would appreciate it if you checked them out on any of my socials and supported me on there as well.

Direct links --->

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MUSIC UPDATE

I posted a snippet of my NEW SINGLE inspired by Broken. ⚠️ However, if you listen to it, you may get a major spoiler on what to expect in Atlas' and Makenna's story. ⚠️ So, check it out if and ONLY if you want to know what happens down the line.😉

Direct link --->