“I’m not going to last,” I say, my voice strained. I can feel the pressure building, the pleasure coiling tighter in my core.
“It’s okay,” he tells me. “Come for me.”
I thrust deeper, faster, losing the rhythm I’d been maintaining. I’m chasing the pleasure now, chasing the feeling of him around me. His body tenses, and I can feel him coming, his muscles contracting around me. The sensation pushes me over the edge, and I come hard, his name on my lips as my body goes rigid.
For a moment, there’s nothing but pleasure and him and the overwhelming rightness of this moment.
I collapse on top of him, sweaty and breathless, my weight pressing him into the mattress. He doesn’t seem to mind. He wraps his arms around me and holds me tight, and I let myselfrest there for a moment, feeling his heartbeat gradually slow beneath my chest.
After a few minutes, I carefully pull out and dispose of the condom. I return to bed and wipe him off, then pull him against my chest, my arms wrapping around him from behind. He fits perfectly against me, like we were made to fit together. Like this is exactly where he’s supposed to be.
I press a kiss to the back of his neck, breathing in the scent of him mixed with sex and sweat. It’s intoxicating.
“Do you want to stay the night?” I ask gently. Wondering if it’s too early for this. If I should try to be more casual. After all, he’ll be going back to Denver soon.
He turns to look at me, and in the soft light of the bedside lamp, I can see the vulnerability in his expression. The hope. The same hope I’m feeling.
“You want me to stay?” he asks.
“Yeah. I want to wake up with you.”
He settles back against my chest, letting my arms tighten around him. “Okay. I’ll stay.”
I hold him like that, listening to his breathing gradually even out as he starts to drift toward sleep. My mind is racing, though. Because for me this isn’t just sex. This isn’t just a hookup or a distraction. It feels truly real—like it could change everything I expected to find when I moved to Pine Ridge.
I press another kiss to his shoulder, and he makes a small sound of contentment. We lie there in the quiet of my apartment, the world outside forgotten, and I think about how rare this is. How rare it is to find someone who shows up like this. Who’s willing to be vulnerable. Who’s willing to be seen even at his darkest of times.
Atlas is asleep within minutes, but I stay awake a little longer, just holding him and wondering about the viability of a long-distance relationship. If Atlas would even be willing to try.
7
ATLAS
My phone rings,loud and insistent, pulling me from the best sleep I’ve had in months.
I jolt awake, disoriented for a moment before the ringing stops. The ceiling isn’t the one from my childhood bedroom. The walls are a soft gray instead of the pale blue I’ve stared at for so many nights. Then I feel the warmth beside me, and it all comes rushing back.
Kai.
Last night.
Smiling, I turn slightly to look at him. He’s still asleep, his hair messy against the pillow, his face peaceful with a slight curl in the corners of his lips. The sign of a good dream. I indulge in taking him in.
Kai is so different from other men I’ve been with in the past. They were all about career goals, cocktail hour, and networking. Kai is so much more. Simple, but in a good way.
He knows what he wants, and unlike me, he doesn’t need to pretend.
And he’s very,verygood-looking. Tall with dark hair that falls just above his collar and warm brown eyes that crinkle slightly at the corners when he smiles.
The phone rings again.
I turn around on the bed, trying not to wake Kai, and grab my phone from the nightstand. It’s Jordan. Of course it’s Jordan.
“Hello?” I answer, my voice still rough with sleep.
“Where the hell are you?” Jordan’s voice comes through immediately, accusatory. “Your location says you’re not at your parents’ house.”
“Thanks for making me regret giving you access to my location.For emergency purposes.”
