Page 44 of Voices in the Stars
“I’ll sleep on the floor,” he offered, moving past me to the bed, making a grab at some of the pillows piled up.
“You’re not sleeping on the floor,” I scoffed, glancing down at the floor that was covered in thick layers of dust and dirt, his footprints imprinted within it.
Atlas froze, his back facing me. One of the blankets dangled in his grip.
“This is the only room they have.” His voice was low as he spoke.
“It’s been a long day, no one is going to sleep on the floor when there’s plenty of room on the bed for both of us.” I felt myself rambling as I waited for him to stop me. “If anything, we can just pile pillows between us or something.” I paused, still waiting for him to move. “If that’ll make you more comfortable.”
Atlas started returning the pillows and blankets back to their spots before turning to me. “Pillows? Are we children?” He chuckled, walking over to me.
My cheeks burned with a blush that ran down my neck as he backed me against the closed door. He placed one hand on the door right above my head, his other hand caressing down my arm. A shiver made my body tremble.
“Unless you’re afraid of sharing a bed with me.” His voice was a soft rumble as he leaned closer to me.
Fear flittered briefly into his eyes before it vanished. I saw his words for what they were. If only he knew what the rumbling of his voice was doing to me. I was thankful he didn’t question the way my eyes wanted to flutter shut. Putting words to this feeling wasn’t something I was ready for.
“I’m not scared of you,” I said instead, leaning forward until our lips almost touched.
Atlas smiled at that, flashing a fang at me before pulling back. He planted a quick kiss to the top of my head before turning back to the bed. I watched as he slipped off his boots before sitting on the edge of the bed. Taking a couple of deep breaths, I followed in his steps.
I slid under the covers, sighing as my body sunk into the shockingly soft mattress. Glancing over at Atlas, I saw him patiently looking at me from where he sat, glancing between me and the other side of the bed with a raised brow. It only took a couple extra seconds for my tired brain to get the hint and slide over to the side furthest from the door. He was quick to join me under the covers, keeping his hands tucked behind his head so no part of us was touching.
Sleep was nowhere to be found now. I felt wide awake as I laid in bed, staring at the wood ceiling. Everything from today kept screaming at me. The fact that I truly almost died. Yet, I wasn’t sure if I would have changed what I had done. Except for the burning in my side. I shifted, hoping to find a comfortable way to lie with the fire blazing inside me.
My actions helped those people. Though I couldn’t imagine being in Atlas’ shoes during that. Watching him in the jaws of a dragon would have been horrifying. All of this still felt small compared to learning about everything.
My past was ripped out of my memories. Any attempt to think back to what happened before Donnaway led me to nothing. A void where I know memories should be. I was old enough to remember something. I would take anything at this point. A single smell. A room I visited when growing up. I wasn’t very optimistic about my future, either. It seemed to be decided that I was going to cause destruction no matter what I thought of it.
I glanced over at Atlas, where he was lying with his eyes closed. I’d been terrified of everything the moment I ended up in this world I was supposed to live in. I was tired of being afraid. I rolled over onto my side, looking over the man who was now staring at me, eyelids low as he slowly traced over every part of me. My body heated under his gaze. If I was going to be here, I might as well enjoy it.
“Hi,” he whispered, turning so he was on his side as well, facing me.
“Hello,” I whispered back.
My hand reached out before I could fully think through what I was doing. His eyes closed, head flinching back as his body tensed. I paused, holding my breath, giving him a moment to either relax or pull away. His eyes stayed closed, but the arm that wasn’t under him stretched out until his knuckles brushed against my stomach. A shivertrailed down my spine as his thumb rubbed along where my shirt had ridden up.
I reached up to where a piece of his hair was caught on his horn, untangling it so it dropped back down with the rest of his hair. The piece was rough and coarse, most likely from the salt water we swam through. I noticed mine didn’t have its usual softness once it had dried many hours ago. Running my fingers through the rest of his hair, I wondered if it was usually soft. Maybe his hair was always like this. It certainly wouldn’t be the most extreme difference between the two of us. My fingers traced their way up to his horns, following my train of thought. Atlas sighed as I felt the smooth texture, shifting slightly closer to me.
“What are you doing, little witch?” His voice was a rasp as he broke the silence.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly, trying to ignore the fluttering in my stomach at his words.
If he was expecting a different answer, he didn’t say anything about it. He just hummed instead, keeping his eyes closed as my hand kept exploring him. I traced down his face, along the ridge of his brow, down the side of his face. The stubble of his growing beard tickled my fingertips. Looking at him now, I couldn’t believe I thought this was a dream. I never could’ve imagined something like him.
I shifted so I could lean over him, taking a shaky breath before kissing him. Atlas stiffened, the hand brushing against me shooting out and grabbing my hip. Neither one of us moved for several moments. I was about to pull away, a blush creeping up my neck to my cheeks. This was a stupid idea. Our kiss earlier today obviously meant less to him.
Finally, he moved. He pulled me close to him, his lips moving against mine fervently. His fingertips dug into my side while I reached up, running my hands back through his hair. I felt his grunt as I tugged him closer. He flipped us in one easy move. He broke the kiss, both of us panting as we stared at each other. There was a fire burning in his eyes as he stared down at me.
Our separation only lasted a moment before we were desperately pawing at each other, throwing our clothes off. Neither one of us cared enough in that moment where anything went. I ran my hand down hisexposed chest, ignoring the sprinkling of dark hairs. I traced over all the scars that were scattered across most of him. I bit my lip, finding it hard to look up at him. My hateful thoughts of love and romance stopped me from doing this with anyone before. Everything right now felt like this was exactly where I was supposed to be.
His hand rested on mine, pushing me away from the scars, leading my hand further down.
“Feel how you drive me crazy,” he whispered, voice like gravel as he led my hand down to his cock.
Both of us moaned as I held him. His head was thrown back as I moved my hand along him, hips thrusting with my movements. He grumbled curses as I ran my thumb over his wet tip. My gaze held his as I brought my thumb to my mouth, licking the traces of him.
“Enough,” he growled, slamming his lips back against mine.
