Opening my eyes was a terrible idea. Hector was watching me with a fiery intensity that would have burned me if I wasn’t in the cool water. His hand never stopped its punishing pace, but he was solely focused on me, like nothing else in the world existed right now.
“Atlas,” he whispered my name like a caress, and that was enough to push me over the edge. I smashed our lips together, needing to taste him in that moment as I spilled over his hand.
A rumble shot through Hector as he moaned through his own release. His teeth captured my bottom lip enough to feel the sting but not break skin. I doubted he could ever hurt me, but seeing him lose control likethat, not caring about anything else besides me and our desire for each other, was fucking hot.
Our kisses eventually slowed along with our breaths. “My mind is thoroughly blown,” I murmured against his lips. I could feel him smile against me as he pressed in for another taste before snuggling into my neck with a laugh.
“We definitely shouldn’t have done that inside the spring,” he commented, but I could hear the amusement in his tone.
“Maybe not,” I agreed with a laugh. “But hey, nobody’s swimming in the springs this late in the year anyway,andwe fed the fishies. I hear sperm has protein in it.”
That earned me a laugh that sounded mostly like a snort. He straightened to look at me and used his thumb to swipe a strand of hair out of my face.
“What am I gonna do with you?” he asked, the affection in his voice as clear as the sky above us.
“I dunno. Guess you’re just gonna have to keep me on a tight leash,” I teased and leaned in to plop a quick kiss on his lips, then on his left brow where the scar ran through it onto his temple.
I followed the path of the slightly protruding skin from the top of his eyelid, through his eyebrow, and almost into his hairline. I’d never really thought about it, but the scar was dangerously close to his left eye. He could have lost it.
He told me he got it when he’d been tackled to theground by a police officer. A piece of metal had broken his fall and slashed his face along the way.
“Does it still hurt?” I asked, softly rubbing his left eyelid. Hector’s eyes were closed as he let me explore his face as I wished.
“It doesn’t. I hear you don’t feel as much on scar tissue, but it does itch sometimes.”
“I hate that you have it.”
“It sure doesn’t help with my ugly mug,” he said self-deprecatingly.
“No, that’s far from what I was thinking. I hate that you got hurt in the first place when you were only trying to help. You could have lost your eye.”
“I didn’t,” he said and took my hand to kiss the back of it. I caught the curl of his lips when he pulled back.
“Why are you smiling? This is serious.”
“Because I’ve never had anyone this angry on my behalf before. I didn’t think anyone would get this protective over a little scar.”
“It’s not little,” I grumbled and thumbed the pale mark again. “I care about you, Hector. I wish I could take away every little bad thing from your life. I wish you’d never had to experience them in the first place. I want you to be happy.”
He let out a strangled sound that almost broke my heart. I pulled him into my arms. Hector’s head fell onto my shoulder. Warm liquid dripped on my skin, but he stayed quiet and kissed the side of my neck.
I held him close and let the cool spring wash it allaway. Hector was right about one thing: that it was all in the past. The sadness, the pain, and not having anyone fighting for him. Because now he had me in his corner, and I wanted so much to give him everything he thought he couldn’t have.
Chapter Nine
ATLAS
Hector didn’t tell me about the hidden cameras until we’d returned home from our impromptu date. His friend had covertly canvassed the place to make sure there were no listening devices hidden in our apartment.
I hadn’t even considered that possibility, so I was thankful Hector had made sure all the bases were covered. His friend installed hidden cameras pointed at all three entrances into the upstairs apartment: the front door and the windows in both rooms.
He’d been worried that I’d get angry about having one installed inside my room without my permission first, but I understood he was doing it for my sake. Plus, the camera was angled in such a way that it only showed the window and the corner of my dresser. It was the same for the one installed in Hector’s room.
Inside the diner, the cameras were a lot more conspicuous.
“Are we shooting a movie or something?” Becca asked when she came into work the next day. The cameras weren’t meant to be hidden since that was probably illegal, and we wanted the stalker to know the cameras were there.
“A friend gave me a good deal on them,” Hector replied with a shrug. His eyes drifted to mine, which had him visibly flustered before he’d made an excuse to retreat to the kitchen.
