Page 23 of Atlas & Miles
Clearing my throat, I averted my gaze. But he wasn’t going to let me get away with that, either. Much like he’d done only moments ago, he grasped my chin gently but firmly in his hand, turned my head to face him, and held my gaze.
“Say it, baby. Tell me you’re worthy of good things.”
Tears burned behind my eyes, and I shook my head, trying to wrench him off me. No. I didn’t deserve good things. How could I deserve anything good when my entire life was proof that I never got it? When both of my parents had abandoned me at much too young an age so I had to grow up too fast and raise my sister? When homophobia ran rampant in this partof the country—even in our high school, which I’d witnessed personally—and it felt unsafe to come out? When every part of me wanted to be cherished, held, and loved, but every man I’d ever been with had only seen me for what I could give them?
A single tear fell, and I swiped it away, closing my eyes under the weight of my shame. Atlas couldn’t want me, not when I was this weak, this fragile. I couldn’t even do a hookup right, impromptu though it was.
His hand tightened on my chin. Not to the point of pain, but his command was coming through loud and clear.
It hit me then—was Atlas a Dom? I’d been in the scene long enough to recognize the signs and was too experienced to forget that build and stature didn’t make someone a Dominant; their mindset did.
And Atlas was giving off all the Dom vibes. Even—dare I hope—Daddyvibes?
“Look at me, Miles,” Atlas commanded, and my dick twitched in my jeans even as my eyes flew open of their own accord. He was already owning my body, and I hadn’t even taken off my clothes yet.
The compassion I saw in his gaze when my eyes cleared enough to see him took my breath away. And in that moment, I knew, without a doubt, that this beautiful soulwasa Daddy—or whatever equivalent name he preferred. The truth was right there in his eyes, and I couldn’t deny it.
I wanted it. Craved it.
God, I’d needed someone to dominate me properly for so long. Scenes had long gone stale with the men I’d found on the Daddy’s Boy app, but through no fault of their own. The problem was me.
The realization hit me between the eyes—I was ready for a relationship; a real one. One where I put my heart on the lineand fell in love with another person completely, mind, body, and soul.
And I wanted that with Atlas.
I wasn’t naïve—we wouldn’t fall in love tomorrow and everything would be puppies and rainbows. We’d have to start at the beginning. But this gorgeous person in front of me was everything I’d been looking for.
Mere seconds had passed since Atlas’s command, and it still resonated in my bones. Though I didn’t quite believe it yet, Atlas wanted to hear it, so I would give that to him. And maybe, eventually, I’d believe it myself.
“I deserve good things.”
The words felt foreign on my tongue, but Atlas’s proud smile made everything worth it. “Good boy.”
Fucking hell.My dick twitched visibly this time, aching as it tested the confines of my jeans. Lust stronger than I’d felt before crashed over me like a tidal wave, and my body swayed under the onslaught. Atlas’s free hand grasped my wrist to keep me from falling off his co—sorry, davenport.
One of the many quirks that delighted me about him.
“You like that, don’t you, Miles? You like being called a good boy?”
I nodded hesitantly, because that was mostly it, but those two words alone weren’t what caused such a strong reaction in me.
“Do you like beingmygood boy?”
Shit. My core tightened as lust shot through me again. He’d hit the nail on the head. In a matter of seconds, he’d rewired my brain, and now I lived to be his good boy.
I didn’t understand it. In my scenes before, Daddies and Doms alike had used those words on me, and while I’d enjoyed the pleasant feelings skittering down my spine that the praise brought about, something about Atlas saying it hit differently.
I nodded vigorously, biting my lower lip. I could feel my submissive side coming out the longer he held my chin and my gaze, and I wanted to worship him.
I didn’t know what he liked or even if he really was a Daddy, but I had to show him what I wanted. And in that moment, I wanted one thing more than anything else.
So I slid off the cushion slowly, gaze never leaving his, and dropped to my knees.
Atlas gasped, his eyes shooting wide as he dropped my chin. Questions fluttered through his green irises, and I decided to up the ante. Without another word, I leaned back on my heels, spread my legs just slightly, tilted my head toward the floor, and placed my upturned palms on my thighs.
Atlas’s long exhale sounded like awe, and shit, I hoped it was. Because this felt right. Good. It felt like what I’d been missing my whole life.
His fingertips reached for my ear, tucking the long hair that had fallen to cover the side of my face behind it. Then he cupped my cheek and encouraged my head up so he could hold my gaze once again.
