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I like yours better.
Uh-huh. Heather will be mad.
No she won’t. Besides, I have a question for you.
Ask, then.
Not until I see you.
I snort and shake my head. That man is always so full of surprises and it’s fun watching him love me without treating me like I can’t do it myself. The numerous bouquets or walks along the wharf say it all. His mother has called once or twice to make sure that he’s treating me right, Raphael answering once right after he finished fucking me into the mattress. I still hate him for that because I was basically wheezing, trying to catch my breath. Pretty sure Isabella heard me, too.
“Shit, put that back!” Someone yells. I straighten up and look around, frowning when no one is in the lobby. I dash in the back, eyes widening as two of the newest employees are standing three feet away from an animal that shouldn’t be outside of his cage.
“What do I do with Dexter? I was trying to feed him and-”
“The Komodo?” I ask, slightly worried that we’re all in over our head. “No! Don’t touch him.” I help them back away slowly before I reach into one of the pails beside his enclosure and dangling a small lizard. His head moves back and forth, tracking his treat and then I chuck it backward. Dexter scrambles for it and I rush to close the doors of his enclosure behind him. “Why were the doors open? There’s a feeding window up there!” I point to the small gap in the glass where we usually feed him in.
Both employees look scared as hell, shrugging, mumbling that they didn’t know. One is moments away from tears but I’m just glad nothing bad happened. Dexter is one of the tamer animals onsite but he’s not exactly harmless.
I blow out a deep breath, searching for the right words to educate them when a hand lands on my shoulder, Shawn himself standing behind me. “I got this kid. Why don’t you help the polished man out by the counter?”
Shawn shows up often, walking through and making sure everything is in place. However, he’s never shown up when something has gone wrong. “I-”
“You did nothing wrong, Atlas. I got this.” He winks and I frown, wondering who I have to meet until I realize there’s only one polished individual that would show up here. I slowly leave the scene and reenter the main lobby.
Raphael gathers me up in his arms and I hold onto him despite working with animals all day. “I’m dirty.”
“And clothes can be washed. Besides your shift is over. I asked.” I open my mouth to relay my entire day and everything I learned now that Raphael is by my side under the guise of needing a coffee. “Tell me all about it on the way home, little one.”
“But-”
Raphael chuckles as he waits for me to gather my things and then follow him out of the sanctuary. I stare at the fact that we now have two cars here which isn’t practical. “I’ll bring you back in the morning but I wanted to take you on a date, Atlas.” His boyish smile makes an appearance as he cases me in against the driver’s side of my car. His hands hold onto the top as he leans down, his lips hovering over mine. “We won’t have much time this weekend because my mother insisted that you be there at the next event and then you have a shift the day after.”
“So wanting a coffee was a lie?”
“Coffee was never a lie. I’m taking you back home to make coffee and spend time with me.” Raphael searches my expression for acceptance and we both pause at the word ‘home’. One of his hands moves to caress my cheek as he kisses me, slowly and lovingly, taking his time to take me apart until my fingers are curling into his shirt for more. “Move in with me, Atlas.”
“I kinda already did,” I whisper. His house is now covered in my aura, my things strewn across his bedroom and living room, my two favorite places in his house. Having a little more disposable income, I’ve bought myself things that I hadn’t previously been able to enjoy.
Raphael shakes his head. “Atlas, this was never your home. It was mine and I gave you the space you needed. I want it to be ours. You’ve already moved into my heart but I want you in my home, in my bed, in my life. Atlas, be mine. Completely.”
“And if I say no?” I joke, grinning up at my lover, my boyfriend, and my heart.
His hand moves down to my neck and squeezes a little and his eyes darken with desire. “This is not the time to be a brat, little one.”
I burst out laughing even as he growls at me until I start chanting that ‘yes, I’ll move in’. Raphael wrangles me into another kiss, silencing my defiance although it wasn’t much to begin with. I’m building a forever with the man right in front of me and I can’t fucking wait.
