Chapter 9 - Atlas
Chapter nine
Atlas
By the time I’d given Miles enough aftercare for me to be satisfied—which largely involved holding him on my lap for a long time while he dozed after which we’d showered and I’d reapplied arnica gel to his perfect dark-red ass cheeks—it was past midnight.
I tucked him into bed next to me, rushed through my nightly routine, then crawled under the covers next to him.
I was asleep in minutes.
Bright sunlight streaming through my bedroom window woke me up, and I groaned quietly as I stretched so as not to wake the most perfect boy in the world, the one who shared my bed.
But when I turned toward him, Miles was already stirring on the mattress beside me. “Mmm . . . what time is it?” he mumbled, voice gravelly with sleep.
I twisted to see the clock on my nightstand. “Nearly eight.” Leaning forward, I pressed a kiss to his bare shoulder. “You’re okay on time, right?”
Miles scrubbed a hand over his face adorably then blinked a few times to clear the sleep from his eyes. When his beautiful brown irises met mine, almost translucent in the sunlight, he smiled. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Fuck,” I cursed, leaning in to steal a quick but hard kiss, morning breath be damned. I grinned at him. “What time do you need to get to work?”
Miles blinked a few more times then pushed to sit up. I’d need to stock the good coffee Miles liked at my house if—I meant when—this became a regular occurrence. But as soon as his tender ass scraped against the sheets, he hissed. “Shit! That fucking hurts!”
I chuckled at his misery like the good sadist I was. “Sorry, not sorry.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, but I could see the smile playing on his lips. Completely ruined the effect. “I bet you are.” He gingerly settled on his tender ass, then his face smoothed as he stilled on the bed. “My first appointment is at noon, so I have all morning.”
“Good.” I jumped to my feet, clapping my hands once in my excitement. “Wanna run some errands with me?”
Miles, adorably sleep rumpled with bedsheets pooling around his waist, highlighting the lickable expanse of his chest, just stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
Without waiting for an answer—giving my boy some much-needed time to wake up—I waltzed over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of my silkiest boy shorts in white lace.
I bent over, ass toward the bed, and ever so slowly pulled them up my smooth legs.
Yes, today was a they/them kind of day, and I was ready to rock a totally fierce look.
Once my panties were on and I’d straightened, I spun to see Miles literally gaping at me. His open mouth and the fiery lust in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine in the best of ways, and I smirked at him. “You’re gonna catch flies with that mouth, baby.”
His jaw snapped closed, but his eyes were still on my lace-covered dick, which had started hardening under his appraisal. “Atlas . . . you . . .” His eyes flicked up to mine. “God, Daddy, you’re so hot.”
I chuckled, my cheeks heating for some odd reason. “Thanks, baby.” I made a point of scanning his bare torso. “Right back atcha.”
Miles seemed to come back to himself then, and he carefully climbed out of bed, naked as the day he was born. The sunlight from the window behind him backlit his entire beautiful body like a halo around an angel, and my knees grew weak.
“Come here, sweet boy.”
Without hesitation, Miles circled the end of the bed and headed toward me.
My house was small, but the bedroom had been its biggest selling point.
I barely had room for a two-seater kitchen table in my tiny kitchen-slash-living room, but the bedroom fit a king-sized bed with room for a second beside it if someone were so inclined.
I was not, so I had plenty of room to twirl around—I didn’t, but I could’ve—as Miles approached me, instantly reaching for my hips.
His large hands wrapped around me, thumbs dancing near my thickening cock at the waist of my low-cut panties and his fingertips resting over the dimples at the small of my back. My eyes fell closed at the feel of his skin on mine, and I almost gave in to the desire I felt snaking down my spine.
With more self-control than I thought I’d had, I gave one last luxurious sigh and shifted back. My eyes opened to find questions in his, but I just smiled, stepping toward him one last time and placing my hands on his chest. I leaned forward, stretching up to place my lips against his.
It was still early days, but I swore his lips held a goddamn magnet that constantly pulled my mouth to his.
Reluctantly, I pulled away, and his hands fell to his sides.
“I have a toothbrush you can use. We could swing by your place if you want a change of clothes or something, but I’d love it if you’d go to the grocery store with me. ”
He blinked at me, but he was fully awake now, so he wasn’t merely waking up. He was processing what I’d said. “Together?”
I raised an eyebrow. “That a problem?”
He tucked his hair behind his ears. “Uh . . . not a problem, but . . .”
Oh. I swallowed against the lump in my throat then forced a smile.
“I get it, baby. We’ll go as friends, okay?
We sort of knew each other in high school and rekindled our friendship when I moved back to Gomillion—that much is true.
No one needs to know what we choose to do in the bedroom.
Or the living room. Or the kitchen . . . ”
Miles started laughing. “You’re right, of course. I’m sorry.”
I rested my hand on his solid, veiny forearm, sending another shiver of lust through me. Dammit. Focus. “Nothing to apologize for.”
Miles’s face mellowed into a smile at that, and he leaned in and kissed my forehead. “I would love to go grocery shopping with you. But doesn’t that feel, like, domestic or something? Like we’re doing more than just hooking up?”
I looked up at him through my eyelashes. “‘Exclusive’ usually means more than just hooking up.” I grinned. “And I’d be down for that.”
He searched my eyes for a split second before grinning back. “Me, too.” He straightened then took my hand, pulling me out into the hall toward the bathroom. “So you said something about a toothbrush?”
***
We were on our way half an hour later, me in a white sleeveless jumpsuit in a silk blend and Miles in his jeans and the largest gray T-shirt I could find that still stretched tightly across his pecs in a drool-worthy manner.
I was driving toward the nearest—and only—grocery store in town in my only slightly flashy sedan I’d driven here from Seattle.
The most luxurious part was the leather interiors, and its slick black exterior paint was unmarred and smooth. Gorgeous.
Miles whistled as I pulled out of my driveway. “Damn, sweet ride.” He smoothed his hand over the leather on the interior of the door almost reverently. “They must pay you well at Jeb’s.”
I laughed as he slapped his hand over his mouth.
“Shit, sorry. I tend to put my foot in my mouth a lot. It’s why I don’t make friends very easily—like Claudia keeps telling me I need to do.”
“Claudia?”
Miles settled back in his seat, his whole body relaxing when he realized I wasn’t offended. “My sister. She’s amazing.”
I smiled at the clear love in his voice as I pulled up to a red light. “Tell me about her. And the rest of your family, if you’d like.” The trip wouldn’t be long, but I wanted to learn everything about my boy I could. Especially since it seemed like he wanted to stick around for a while.
Because I glanced over at him as I spoke, I didn’t miss the cloud that fell over his features for a split second before he smiled again. “My sister’s the only one worth talking about. She’s a lawyer in Seneca and kicks ass. Her girlfriend, Ophelia, is awesome, too. They’re great together.”
I grinned despite the pang in my heart at the obvious and understandable pain he’d hinted at. I didn’t know the details, but I didn’t need to right now. Hopefully, someday soon, he’d trust me enough to share.
Until then, I’d take whatever he’d give me.
“Sounds like you adore her.”
He sniffed, still smiling. “She can be annoying like all siblings are, but I do. She’s incredible.”
I wanted to ask what happened with his parents—I suspected they weren’t in his life given what he’d said—but today, I was keeping things light, so I bit my tongue. “So what do you do for fun around here?”
When he didn’t answer, I took my eyes off the road for a second to study him. His lips were pursed as he stared out the windshield. Did I inadvertently stumble onto a touchy subject?
“Not much. I see Cloudy and Ophelia every week for dinner, and I hang out with a friend, Theo, on occasion, but we’re not super close. Other than that, I lead a pretty quiet life.”
Again, I bit my tongue because I wanted to ask if that was what he preferred.
We were still super new, and while he wanted to call me Daddy—and I loved it—I still had to earn the title before I played that card outside of the bedroom.
I would respect his privacy for now, until we had the chance to fully flesh out what we wanted our relationship to look like.
I pulled my . . . okay, pretty flashy car into the parking lot of the grocery store and parked, turning off the engine and looking over at Miles with a grin. “Ready?”
He grinned back before we both climbed out of the car, and I pressed the key fob to lock it before pocketing the keys. My eyes briefly flicked to the dilapidated store sign posted on the roof as we passed under it and through the automated front doors.
I’d been here a few times, though I would admit to ordering groceries online from the store in Walhalla that magically delivered to Gomillion when I couldn’t be arsed to get my fabulous behind out of the house.
The selection wasn’t extensive here, but they often had little gems I struggled to find anywhere else. Plus, I was all for supporting a local business.
Miles pulled a grocery cart from the corral just inside the door—under the row of windows half-covered in advertisements and prices painted as high as the glass—and started toward the produce.
When I raised my eyebrow at him, he just shrugged.
“We’re here for you. I figured I’d push the cart so you could shop. ”
I barely restrained myself from smacking my lips to his, instead leaning up to his ear and whispering, “I could kiss you right now.”
I was graced with his adorable blush as I headed toward the grapes.
I’d loaded my cart with a slew of fruits and vegetables with little to no commentary from Miles. But when I stopped at the raspberries, I saw him make a face out of the corner of my eye. I spun toward him, pint in hand. “What?”
He just shook his head, but he couldn’t conceal the disdain on his face.
I eyed the package in my hands then flicked my gaze back to him. “Okay, what do you have against raspberries?”
He stared at me for a few moments before sighing with his entire body. “They’re just so pretentious!”
I cough-laughed. “Excuse me, what?”
He gesticulated at the offending berries.
“They are! They’re the most stuck-up fruit, and everyone seems to adore them.
They’re in everything! And they’re truly disgusting.
The flavor is sour and off-putting—and the seeds!
Holy shit, who needs a million tiny seeds stuck in their teeth all day?
And the hair on them. If I wanted to eat hair, I have plenty of my own to gnaw on. ”
By the time he was done ranting, my sides were hurting from how hard I was laughing.
I was grateful no one was around this time of day except the kid at the front checkout and the clerk restocking the nearby open-air refrigerated case with specialty cheeses and dips.
They were both eyeing us curiously as I tried to stop laughing and failed.
Miles, apparently amused at my reaction to his soliloquy, joined in a moment later in a bubbling of joy, which only served to make me laugh harder.
When I could gasp out enough breath to speak, I grasped his ridiculously attractive forearm and squeezed.
“Goddammit, Miles, you are fucking hilarious!” Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I wiped them away as I tried to regain my composure.
It took almost all my strength to get myself under control.
His own guffaws had quieted enough to talk, but mirth still sparkled in his captivating eyes. “Am I wrong?”
I chuckled, holding my side with one hand while using the other to put the raspberries in the cart with my whole chest.
He gasped, throwing his hand to his mouth, and I fucking lost it again.