Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
HECTOR
“You’re not mad I banned those guys without asking you first, are you?” Atlas asked later that night.
After kicking the troublemakers out and every single person making sure to speak with me as if showing proof they were on my side, things returned to normal pretty quickly.
It’d been a busy day, and I was exhausted, probably more from the emotional roller coaster of it than the actual physical labor.
We’d showered and were now on the couch with the TV playing quietly in the background.
Shadow had retreated into my room, preferring his own company. He rarely sat on the couch with us.
“Of course not,” I replied and glanced at Atlas. His entire body was perched on the couch, facing me. “They deserved it.”
“They did. How dare they speak that way about you in front of me? If I ever see them again…”
I laughed at the way Atlas practically puffed up with anger.
He peered at me and smiled along. Climbing onto my legs, he rubbed the scar on my temple.
He did that more often these days. At first, I thought the scar bothered him.
It was ugly and so visible. But now I could sense he liked touching it for comfort.
Whether it was for him or me, I didn’t know, but I enjoyed his touch just the same.
“I was surprised by how many people came to my defense, since what the guy said about my past wasn’t all false.”
Atlas flinched. “You heard that? How much did you hear?”
“Enough that I don’t have to imagine what else they said,” I replied.
Atlas let out a hiss of air through his teeth.
“What they said about Angelina…I always wondered why she just left like that, but I didn’t want to bring it up.
” He paused, then, as if changing his mind, quickly added, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.
It’s probably a sore spot. Sorry I mentioned it. ”
I smiled and pecked him on the lips, just because I could. That ended the almost-panicked look on Atlas, and he smiled too.
“No, it’s fine. It wasn’t anything bad. In the last few years, she’d been thinking about leaving town. A fresh start, she said. This town was making her angry and bitter.”
“And she wanted you to come with her?”
I nodded.
“But you didn’t want to.”
“I don’t think it was really me she wanted to go with her. She wanted something familiar, and I was familiar. But I didn’t think it would have done either of us any good. Even if we moved to another place, we would have fallen back into old habits. It wouldn’t have been a fresh start.”
“And you didn’t want to leave Kither Springs,” Atlas said softly.
“I didn’t,” I agreed. “This place is my home.”
“Still, she shouldn’t have left in the middle of the night like that. Without even saying goodbye to you,” he grumbled.
“It was the only way. She would have lost her courage if she had to do the whole goodbye thing. She was a lot braver than me. I feared being alone, so I kept her prisoner at my side instead of encouraging her to leave.”
When Angelina came to deliver the divorce papers and collect the rest of her stuff, she’d told me as much. She was ashamed and wouldn’t meet my eye as she apologized and thanked me for all these years.
Despite the hurt I felt from her disappearing without a word, I was more relieved to see her doing well. There had been a lightness about her I hadn’t seen in years, and when she did manage to meet my eye, life had returned there too.
I’d told her I was happy for her and hugged her one last time before sending her off with the signed papers. And despite what people think, she wasn’t a bad person. She never tried to fight me for a piece of the diner or apartment. She left the marriage, taking only what she earned herself.
“You didn’t force her to do anything. You took care of her until she was ready to venture out on her own,” he said firmly.
“I’m glad you stayed.” He rubbed my scar again.
The movement turned my focus back on him and this moment.
“I was drawn to Kither Springs for a reason, and I think it was to meet you.”
I smiled because we both knew it was because of his ex that this place landed in his sight. But the world worked in mysterious ways, so maybe Atlas was meant to be led right here to me all along. Either way, now that I had him, I was going to make him happy.
Our mouths met in a tender kiss that lasted until our breaths were heated and our clothes felt too hot for our skin.
“Want you,” Atlas murmured. It was the only warning I got before he was tearing off my clothes. He departed from my lap only long enough to get us naked before he was back on top again.
He slid our hot cocks together, and I fisted them while his hips rocked, creating delicious friction that had me moaning into his mouth.
“Fuck, want you inside. Need you,” Atlas babbled. He took my free hand and wrapped it around his body, between his cheeks.
“Need lube.”
Atlas wasted no time bringing my fingers to his lips and getting them nice and wet. The sight was too erotic, and I had to stop stroking our erections before I came just from the vision of him.
“Now hurry up. Stretch me open and get me ready for you,” Atlas purred into my ear.
“Ah, fuck. That sexy mouth of yours is going to be the end of me.”
“I can’t have that. I have more plans for you later tonight.” He stroked my scar, and despite the skin there being less sensitive, I shivered at the touch.
“What if I end up wearing you out first?” I nibbled on his ear and was rewarded with a gasp that had him rocking his hips right onto my finger. The slide inside wasn’t as smooth as it would have been with lube, but it still had Atlas crying out from the sensation.
“Promises, promises,” he whispered through his moans. They were the last words he really managed before he turned into a moaning mess in my hands.
Our precum coated our cocks as I continued to work them, and his hole was putty, easily taking two digits. Atlas stole my lips again, hot tongue finding all the nerve endings inside my mouth and making me go wild.
“Hector. Can’t wait any longer. Want you.
” Atlas was bouncing on my fingers the way he did so perfectly on my cock the other night.
I was desperate for him too, but three digits seemed like it was already too much.
There was no way I was fitting inside without some kind of lubricant.
My fingers slipped out of him, and he let out a needy whine.
“Need to grab the lube,” I told him and tried to nudge him off my lap, but his thighs were firmly pressed to my sides. “Need a condom too, love.”
Atlas’ only reply was to grab his cock, taking himself in his hand.
His other hand ghosted up his chest. I watched his large hand on smooth skin until he reached his pink nipple.
He pinched himself there, his eyes locked on mine, his bottom lip caught on his teeth, and then spilled all over his hand.
“Fuck.” Now my dick was throbbing, probably wishing to join the party too. It didn’t have to wish long since Atlas had quickly spread his cum over my length. He stroked me until my dick was coated with a mixture of my precum and his essence.
Then, he was repositioning himself. His strong thighs held him up as he hovered over my erection. My hands found his ass, and the muscles of my arms strained. I didn’t know if I wanted to protest and warn him he was going to hurt himself, or force him down onto his own personal throne.
“Wait, it’s not enough.” My concern for him won out. Sperm and a little spit probably weren’t going to cut it. Plus, he was going to be too sensitive from just coming. Penetration would surely be uncomfortable right now.
“No, I’ve had enough waiting,” he said and slammed his hips down hard enough to take me all the way to the hilt.
The sudden, intense pleasure was dizzying. My head tilted back onto the couch. My hands were gripping his ass cheeks, trying to keep him in place and give me time to control myself.
Atlas hummed a devious sound. His hands found my head, his thumbs ran softly over my temples, and his lips captured mine until I was faint with the taste of him. He rocked his hips as much as he could with my hands in place to stop him, but I was weak to his temptation.
I felt Atlas’ grin on my lips when I lost strength in my hands. He rocked harder, driving me up the wall with both his body and tongue. His cock slid over my stomach, and I could feel him plumping back up with each thrust of his hips until he was hard again between us.
It was too much. How fucking tight he was around me, his erection rubbing perversely against me, and his lips nipping at mine. I had no chance of lasting. Atlas sucking on my bottom lip was enough to drive me mad.
“Fuck, I’m gonna…fuck, Atlas,” I called as I spilled what felt like my soul inside his body. I captured his lips and took his erection in my fist, because I needed him to come with me.
A couple of strokes and Atlas was gasping into my mouth. His hole twitched so deliciously that another spurt of pleasure went through me. We kissed until our breathing leveled, and even then, neither of us was in a rush to move.
It didn’t matter that there was cum splattered on my belly hair and my dick had softened inside him, both of us stayed in place and soaked in the moment. I hadn’t known how much I needed the tenderness afterwards until Atlas gave it so freely.
He nuzzled my neck, rested his forehead in the crook, and just let me hold him like this. I breathed in his scent. It smelled like the floral shampoo he used, and it was quickly becoming one of my favorite things in the world.
Atlas pressed a kiss to my chin, then startled in my arms. “What’s wrong?”
“I think your cat’s a bit of a perv,” Atlas said with a laugh. I followed his gaze, and sure enough, Shadow was on the couch with us—something he never usually did—watching us with an intensity he only showed when he was interested in something.
“Shoo, shoo. Leave us,” I said and waved in his direction to emphasize my point. Having never tried to chase him away before, Shadow looked confused and just tried sniffing my hand.
Atlas was fisting his mouth, looking like he was trying not to laugh. I sighed and kissed his temple. “Should we get cleaned up?” I suggested. Sitting naked on the couch with my cat wasn’t my idea of fun.
“But I’m comfortable,” Atlas whined, clinging to me.
“How about a quick shower, and we can get comfortable again in bed?”
“Hmm, that’s a tempting offer. But don’t think that means I’m going to let you sleep. Tomorrow’s our day off too,” he said with a cheeky grin.
I slapped his ass, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to earn me a surprised yelp from him.
“Hey!” he yelled, then paused. “Actually, you know what? I liked that. Do it again.”
I shook my head and smiled. “C’mon, let’s get cleaned up.”
He grumbled something under his breath, maybe about a spanking, but he obliged and slipped off my lap.
“Oh,” he mumbled when he stood. I followed his eyes down his legs and saw the remnants of my pleasure sliding down his thigh.
It was so fucking hot coming inside him in the moment, but now seeing the evidence had heat climbing up my face. “Sorry. I’ll make sure to, um, pull out next time.”
My comment was met with a light laugh. Atlas pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “You better not. I want every single part of you, Hector.”
His words had me feeling so shy that I had a hard time meeting his eye, but I couldn’t keep my gaze away from him for long. Atlas caught me looking, and a heart-shattering smile graced his lips.
“Get me cleaned up and to bed. I want to cuddle.”
We held hands to the bathroom and kissed while the water warmed. Our hands never left each other even as we washed, which made it very hard to, well, not get hard. My libido had never been this active before.
I fingered Atlas, mostly to get the last of my cum out, while he fisted us at a punishing rate. Things didn’t last long when Atlas came so beautifully around my fingers, and I quickly followed with my own grunt of pleasure.
We didn’t linger long after. Towels around our hips, we shared the single sink to brush our teeth, smiling at each other over the foam of the toothpaste, then made our way to my bedroom.
Atlas found the drawer with his underwear, and I grabbed mine as well. It wasn’t until days after the fact that I realized Atlas had moved some of his things in here. Him being in my safe place had just felt natural.
I slid my boxers on, content with sleeping in my underwear.
Atlas was more meticulous about his PJs.
He’d already had his briefs and PJ pants on when I turned to help him with the shirt.
Tonight, he’d chosen a simple blue silk set that felt divine against my skin.
I swore Atlas’ closet was nothing but PJ sets with how many different ones I’d seen him wear.
I slowly helped Atlas button up his PJ shirt. His arms found their way around my neck again, and he was watching me with this soft look in his eyes.
He pecked my lips when I’d finished the last button.
“Your reward,” he teased.
I pulled him in for a deeper kiss as we tumbled onto the bed, laughing and holding each other.
I was sure we were both too tired to do much more than kiss. We faced each other, arms wrapped tightly around the other, our legs tangled. Atlas’ eyes were drooping, but I didn’t think either of us wanted to sleep just yet.
We stayed up chatting quietly under the covers about stuff of no importance, but it was important in the moment. It was us living in this space together and cherishing each precious second.
And as the moon rose high in the sky and neither of us could keep our eyes open any longer, I had the thought that this was exactly what had been missing in my life. I thought I would be okay living out the rest of my days alone, but that all changed the moment Atlas walked into my diner.
Now I needed the slow nights where we reveled in each other’s company. To fall asleep with Atlas curled in my arms? It was more than anything I could have asked for.