She laughed softly. “Thank you. And you are going to be an amazing uncle. That’s all I can really ask for.”
I leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you too. And I know I’m a pain in the ass, but I am trying.”
“You’re good. Now, I’m going to go soothe my pouting boyfriend while you guys head up to the beach.” Letting her go, I pulled open the sliding door, then flipped the lock after it snicked shut. I yanked the curtains closed, then made my way into the bedroom, where Atlas was scrambling onto the bed, trying to look casual.
“Cute.”
He scowled, but it turned into a laugh as I took a running leap and landed on top of him. He lost all the air from his lungs, but he stole some of mine with a long, thorough kiss. When he pulled back, we were both a little breathless, and I knocked my forehead against his.
“Hi.”
He laughed and wrapped his arms around me, then his legs. His grip was tight, which was a mark of how relaxed he’d been over the last week. “Hello.”
“I love you.”
His eyes closed, and his lips softened into a grin. “I’m pretty sure you were on top of me like this the first time you said those three words.”
“Yeah, but we were more naked,” I reminded him. He wasn’t wrong. It was the morning of our first New Year’s Day together, and I’d woken up, rolled on top of him, and felt ready to say it. I rocked into him until I got hard enough to fuck him into oblivion, and when I’d spilled on his chest, I pressed my lips to his and whispered the words.
He took them down with a kiss, then gave them back on the most contented sigh. And we hadn’t gone another morning without saying them to each other from that moment on.
He laughed. “Yeah. Your dick was all come-covered and floppy.”
“You fucking loved it.”
His eyes opened. “I did. I love everything about you. Even a flaccid, slimy penis.”
“Oh my god, why do you have to say it that way?”
“It’s the title to my next song?—”
I shut him up with a kiss. It was the only way to get him to stop. The worst part was, I’d seen his lyrics notebooks, and half the songs were ridiculous titles, like ‘Your Naked Ass In The Shower’ and ‘The Way You Fuck My Thighs.’
I wanted to believe those would change when they got to recording, but I didn’t trust him or his producers.
“Stop,” I whispered when I pulled back.
His eyes were gleaming. “Alright. For you.”
I kissed him again, then nuzzled his neck as I rolled onto his side. I was mostly hard now and definitely wanted more, but it could wait a little while. I didn’t mind when my need simmered for a while, then eventually grew into a blazing inferno of want so powerful, he bent me over the bathroom sink and fucked me breathless, forcing me to watch the pleasure on my face as he edged me to hell and back.
And I knew if I was good, he’d do that for me tonight.
I took his hand and lifted it to my lips, kissing his palm. “I think I love you more today than I did a year ago.”
“It was new then. And a little scary,” he admitted, dragging a touch across my cheek. “The feeling was so…big.”
It was. “Regrets?”
He snorted and rolled his eyes. “You know there are none.”
I bit my lip. “Gracie was bugging me about kids again. I told her we haven’t changed our minds. But if you ever do…”
Atlas rolled his eyes. “Sweetheart, no. We are on the same page, and she’ll get over it once she realizes what it’s like to have them. I mean, Tollin doesn’t regret it. He loves his little family and probably wants more, but it’s a lot. And it’s not for me. Unless you…”
“No. God no.” I knew where he was going with that, and I had plenty of gay friends who were married and did the surrogate thing or the adoption thing. But that wasn’t how I’d ever pictured my life. If I were going to free up my schedule to do anything, it would be following Atlas on tour, not changing shitty diapers. “I’m happy.”
