Page 56 of Killer Confections (Syndicate Killers #1)

Loxley

Four Months Later

“Stop eating the icing!” I scold, slapping Atlas’s hand away from the cupcakes.

He draws back, shaking his appendage as he smirks. “I’m sorry, baby, but I’m having flashbacks.”

The memory of both of us, naked in the kitchen and covered in the first batch of icing I tried to make, surfaces and I feel my face heat.

I had slathered Atlas’s chest in navy blue icing and he coated my neck and breasts in pink. It was extremely sticky, but too hot to pass up on.

He scoops a dollop of white icing onto his thumb before smearing it across my lips and grabbing my cheeks to hold me still. He licks it off, his tongue flattening against my mouth and teasing my seam before he pulls away and stares at me with lust-drunk eyes.

I wipe his spit from my face, ignoring the arousal coating my thighs. “This is meant to be Alana and Connor’s big day. I’m sure no one wants to watch you lick icing off of me.”

He scoffs, tucking his hands into his pockets. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m innocent. I’ve never done a bad thing in my life.”

“Uh huh,” I hum. “Where’s my birth control?”

He stops, his eyes flickering to me. “No idea…”

It went missing a month ago. Conveniently, after we visited my parents and had a long discussion about giving them grandkids as soon as we tied the knot. Our ceremony is scheduled for fall, but Atlas is determined to have me pregnant before then.

I slap his shoulder playfully. “Sure you don’t. You’re definitely not obvious when you go all out on ovulation days.”

“What?” He scoffs nervously. “I don’t do that…”

My lips thin as I stare at him. He’s quick to redirect my attention as Connor and Alana file into the reception area.

Connor has lost his suit jacket and Alana has changed into a white mid-thigh dress that clings to her lithe curves.

They smile brightly as everyone applauds the newlyweds.

Alana’s mom and dad push to the front, snapping pictures of the couple as they share a kiss.

“You all sicken me,” Thalia grumbles as she saunters up to us. “First, it was Atlas. Then it was Rowan. Now, Alana and Connor. Who’s next?”

“Are you still bitching?” Addison asks as she walks up to our group. A familiar shadow lingers just behind her, standing protectively at her back. “Go get laid or something. There are tons of people here that you don’t know.”

Thalia rolls her eyes, taking a sip of her whiskey. Which is strange because there isn’t a bar here. “Why? So I can spend an hour telling a man where my fucking clit is again? No thanks. He was really embarrassed when I broke out my vibrator and got myself off in under a minute.”

Addison snorts. “I wouldn’t know what that’s like.” She high-fives the man behind her.

Thalia eyes me, and I give her a sympathetic look. “I wouldn’t know either. I think Atlas knows where it is a little too well.”

My husband makes an agreeing sound as he smirks at me past a mouthful of cupcake.

“Hard headed,” I scold.

He winks. “My head stays hard when I’m around you.”

I shake my head, fighting my smile. “You’re so lucky you’re hot. ”

I peer around the venue, searching for Alana and Connor, and spot them talking with a group of relatives. Everyone hands out hugs and congratulations to the newlyweds, and I smile softly at them. Until movement out of my peripheral catches my eye.

I scan the room until I spot Bailey and her fiancé, Liam, standing by the dessert table. Liam is a tall, lanky guy. His hair is impeccably styled, and he wears a suit everywhere he goes. He’s not a bad-looking guy. He looks clean— responsible .

His lips tip up as he feeds Bailey a piece of cupcake. The icing sticks to her mouth, and he leans down before collecting it with his tongue. The assassin blushes, her tan cheeks tinting a bright red as she smiles suggestively at her soon to be husband.

But for some reason, they both seem tense. To anyone else, they probably look like a man and a woman who are deeply in love. And maybe they are, but there’s some strain.

I see it in the way Liam’s smiles never reach his ears or the way Bailey keeps sighing under her breath and peering around the venue like she’s looking for someone who isn’t right in front of her.

I elbow Atlas, canting my head in Bailey’s direction.

His eyes narrow as he scans the area until he points to a far corner.

Pressed close to the wall, Dominic holds a glass of something in his hand, his knuckles turning white as he takes a strained sip.

His gaze is locked onto Bailey, eyes piercing her from across the room as his jaw ticks anytime her fiancé touches her.

I shake my head. “What’s going on between those two?”

Atlas grunts. “Dom wasn’t quick enough. He should have said something the moment he knew he had feelings for her. Instead, he chose the path of least resistance and was forced to watch her fall in love with someone who wasn’t him. He’s an idiot, and he’s regretting his choices now.”

I don’t doubt that, but with the way Bailey and Liam are acting, I don’t think Dom is the only one with regrets…

“It’ll work itself out,” I shrug .

“Or he’ll watch her marry someone else and go insane,” Thalia throws out there, taking a sip of her mystery alcohol. We all slowly turn to her, our stares hard. She throws her hands up, her drink sloshing over the rim of her glass. “What? I’m just saying.”

“Well, on that somber note,” Addison mumbles as the newlyweds make their way over to our group.

We hug them both, congratulating them as the guys slap Connor on the back and do that weird man hug thing.

Alana flashes her massive rock and we all squeal, except for Thalia, who looks like she’s literally in Hell.

“Oh, my god!” Addison shakes the bride by her shoulders. “You’re the only normal one! It took you a whole five years to get married!”

Alana snorts. “Connor proposed to me the second week we were publicly together. I just kept telling him no until I was ready.”

“Wait.” I point a finger at her, my eyes narrowing. “How many times has he proposed to you?”

She smiles coyly. “Once every month for the last five years.”

A chorus of awes come from us as our hearts melt. Thalia only takes another big swig of her drink, ignoring us completely.

Addison hogs Alana’s attention, asking questions about the honeymoon and my eyes stray to my husband.

Heat flares in me as I take in his dark suit with swirling tattoos poking out from under his neckline.

I thought he was handsome in jeans and a T-shirt, but he’s devastating in formal attire.

I’m feeling a little catty when I see a random redhead staring a little too intently at my man.

She bites her nail, whispering to her friend as she eye fucks my husband.

I clear my throat before calmly walking over to him and grabbing the back of his neck while he’s in the middle of talking to Connor and Rowan. I drag him down to me, smashing my lips to his fiercely in a show of possession .

He groans, circling his arms around me and completely forgetting about the two men watching us.

He pulls away, nipping at my bottom lip. “I want to hike this pretty little dress up and bury myself deep inside of you.”

I hum. “Dance with me first and I’ll let you do whatever you want to me.”

He lifts me with one arm, smashing me to him as he walks us over to the dance floor. He’s careful not to drag my dress as he sets me down gently.

“You’ve been wearing those heels all afternoon,” he comments. “Are you ready to get rid of them?”

“Yes, please,” I say quietly as he bends down and undoes the straps of my right one. He kisses my ankle before tossing my shoe aside and then opening his hand for the next one.

It’s so doting how he knows I have three hours in heels max before I’m shedding them.

He’s definitely an act of service guy. And a physical touch guy.

Hell, I think he’s just a Loxley guy. Which I’m not complaining about.

These last few months have been the best time of my life.

They’ve been full of laughter, comfort, and mind-numbing sex.

And as I stare down at my husband, I realize he was right. We were always destined to end up here, in each other’s arms. We were two souls in this vast existence that found one another for a reason .

He’s my other half and I don’t know how I’ve gone so long without him by my side.

Emotions swell in me as he stands and hooks an arm around my waist. He picks me up again before lowering me back down until my bare feet stand over the toe of his shoes.

“There we go. Give your feet a break. I’ll massage them when we get home.” He says, his eyes soft as he pulls me so close I can’t tell where he begins and I end.

I smile. “You’re so good to me.”

His brow creases. “Always.” He punctuates his proclamation with a deep kiss, and everything comes together so seamlessly. The waiting, the what-ifs, and the endless nights of yearning for something I thought I would never have again are finally over.

Because here, in Atlas’s arms, I finally feel it.

I’m home.