As soon as my lips touched his, heat and desire unfurled within me, spreading throughout my body until every nerve ending felt alive. Atlas cupped my jaw, his fingers splayed on my neck as he held me in place while his mouth devoured mine. His kisses were hungry, passionate, and full of the pent-up frustration of the last few days. It took my breath away.

I patted his chest when it became harder to breathe and he immediately pulled back but kept his hold firm around me. I stared into his eyes, our noses touching and breaths mingling. Atlas looked... uncertain. I never thought I would see the ever-confident hockey captain look unsure about anything in his life. It pinched my heart knowing I was probably the reason behind it too.

So I did what I thought was the best way to chase away the uncertainty. I cupped his face with both hands, caressing them softly before pulling him in for a slow, passionate kiss. I wanted him here. To kiss me, to hold me, to just be with me.

The kiss was the only encouragement Atlas needed to pin me under him on the bed and kiss me like there was no tomorrow. A moan escaped me when he nipped at my lip before sliding his tongue in. I took the opportunity to slide my hands over his body, reacquainting myself with every dent and curve. God, I'd missed this so much. Feeling his weight on me and having his warmth surround me made the void in my heart fill up again.

That should have scared me. It should have made me want to dart from here and never look back again. But it didn't. Instead, it made me want to stay here, with him, like this, and never leave.

We parted with a gasp and Atlas touched his forehead with mine. I smiled. "Not afraid of your towel coming undone now?"

He grinned back. "There's nothing you haven't seen."

"True that," I said and pulled him down for another kiss. As he tugged at my shirt I wrapped my jean-clad legs around his waist and in the process, my knee bumped into his side. One that was bruised.

Atlas rolled off me with a hiss of pain and I immediately sprang upright, watching him with wide eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

He gave me a tight-lipped smile. "It's okay. I'm fine."

He didn't sound fine. I bit my lip in worry as I eyed his bruises. "Maybe I should leave. You need to rest. I... I'll see you later I guess."

"Or... you could kiss it better?" he said and I raised a brow at him as he leaned against the headboard, getting comfortable. "What? Won't you kiss my boo-boos and make them feel better, Rosy?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "You're ridiculous."

Atlas shrugged. "Only for you. Now c'mere." He made grabby hands in my direction and I laughed but still obliged.

Crawling up on the bed, I got on top of him and straddled his waist. "So demanding," I said as I caressed his face. "Does it hurt here?" I asked, touching the cut at the edge of his brow.

"Yes," Atlas said in a hushed tone.

I pressed a kiss there before moving to his cheek where there was another faint bruise. "Here?"

"Yes." Another kiss. I left a trail of feathery light kisses from his jaw to his chest. I paused to brush my lips against his nipples and smiled when he let out an audible gasp. The bruise on his side looked an angry shade of red from up close with splotches of blue and purple scattered across the expanse. My chest ached at the sight but I pushed the thoughts aside and pressed tender kisses over the battered skin.

Atlas went rigid when I reached the hem of his towel. A noticeable bulge underneath it. I looked up at him only to see him staring back at me with hooded eyes. "What about here?"

"Hurts. Bad," he croaked out. I grazed my knuckles over his covered erection and smirked when he visibly shuddered. "Rosy," Atlas said, his voice half reprimanding and half pleading.

I held the edge of his towel. "Can I?"

"Yes." As soon as I got the confirmation, I untucked the edge of the towel and Atlas lifted his hips so I could get rid of it completely. Wetness pooled between my thighs at the sight of him lying naked on the bed confident as ever. My eyes snagged on his hard length and my stomach knotted.

"What did I say about taking a picture?" Atlas commented and my gaze snapped back to him. He had that mischievous grin on his face that had lured me into all of this in the first place. "You know you can—"

His speech was cut short as I took hold of him and started stroking his length. "You were saying?" I got a groan in response. "That's what I thought."

I stroked him for a while longer before leaning down to lick the tip. I repeated the motion until Atlas was squirming under my touch. "Rosy. Please."

Pleased with his response, I took him in my mouth and was immediately rewarded with a deep, throaty moan. "Fuck," Atlas groaned. Hollowing my cheeks, I sucked him in deeper, feeling the musky taste of him on my tongue. I continued to take him until my lips were wrapped around the base. "Fuck, baby. You're doing amazing. Making me feel so good. My good girl."

My panties dampened further at the praise and heat spread across my cheeks. I swirled my tongue around his length, bobbing my head and taking him in as deep as I could. Tears blurred my vision when he thrusted upward, hitting the back of my throat. I eased him out of my mouth a little, using my hands to squeeze and stroke the base while my mouth worked on the top.

Atlas grabbed my hair, guiding my motions as a series of grunts and curses escaped his mouth. "Rosy—" his words dissolved into a groan when I licked the underside of his length.

"Baby," he gasped. "I'm so close. I'm going to come if you don't stop now."

I ignored his words and doubled down, reveling in his pleasured grunts and groans. I felt him swell bigger in my mouth and twitch with every lick. His grip tightened on my hair, becoming almost painful as he stopped me completely. "Stop."

Popping him out of my mouth, I sat up straight. My breath hitched at the sight. Atlas was staring at me with hooded eyes, his face flushed, and his dark hair matted to his forehead with sweat. He looked beautiful. A twisted sense of pride slithered in my chest knowing I was the reason for him to look like that.

"C'mere," he ordered and I obliged, scooting upward to settle on his thighs. He gripped my jaw and smashed his lips on mine. He swallowed the moans that escaped my mouth at the intensity of it all. His kisses were like drugs that always left me high and dazed. Atlas pulled back once he was satisfied. "If I'm going to come tonight then it's going to be in that tight little cunt of yours."

He kissed me again, long and hard before pulling back. He caressed my face, slowly trailing his hands down my arms, my sides. "Beautiful," he whispered, resting his hands on my thighs, the heat of them burning my skin even through the fabric of my jeans. "Don't you think it's time for them to go?"

Wordlessly, I stood up and with my eyes locked with his, unbuttoned my jeans and slid them down my legs along with my soaked underwear. My shirt swished around my thighs, only managing to cover my ass. "Keep your shirt and get on top of me," Atlas said when I made a move to take it off as well.

Heart beating erratically, I got on the bed again, straddling his hips. Atlas hummed in approval and ran a hand over my hair before placing a kiss on my forehead. "We still have to talk about—"

"I know," I said. Jumping directly into bed with him after everything wasn't the sanest thing to do. We needed to sort things out, determine where we stood now but I couldn't think of anything else. Anything other than the man in front of me. "Later. Please."

Atlas stared at me for a beat before nodding. "Later."

And then we were kissing again, frantic and hungry, hands all over each other. Atlas meticulously unbuttoned my shirt, sliding it over my shoulders. I watched him with bated breaths as his eyes darkened with every stretch of skin that was revealed. He took a sharp inhale when he noticed the black lacy bra. Over the past month, I had figured out what made Atlas tick in the bedroom. Lace was one of the things and I thanked my lucky stars for bringing one of my favorite sets for the away games.

With daft fingers, he undid the clasp of my bra and it fell off, leaving me completely bare. Goosebumps rose on my skin as he trailed his fingertips up my stomach and over my breasts, gently brushing over my nipples. "I missed this so much." His mouth followed his hands, first pressing feathery kisses to my cleavage and then brushing his lips over my hardened peaks before taking it in his mouth.

I threw my head back and moaned, feeling the wet heat of his mouth on the sensitive buds. My hands found their way into his hair, tugging at the dark locks. Atlas nibbled on my skin, leaving marks all over.

"Ride me," he said, his voice heavy with lust. The ache between my thighs intensified while the butterflies in my stomach went wild like they always did when I was with Atlas. I was such a goner.

My heart thumped loudly in my chest as I kissed him. Slow and passionate. Atlas parted his lips, letting me take full control while his hands roamed up and down my body. Without breaking the kiss, I moved my hips forward until I felt him positioned at my core. Atlas groaned against my mouth when I ground my hips against him, covering him with the wetness between my thighs.

The tip of his hard length poked at my entrance and we both stilled. My breaths turned ragged as I watched where our bodies would be connected. Just a little push and—

Atlas suddenly cursed loudly and held my hips in a tight grip, his fingers digging into my flesh so hard I was sure I'd find their imprints on my skin tomorrow. "What's wrong?" I asked when he just buried his face in my chest and shook his head, still muttering under his breath.

"Atlas." I cupped his cheek, forcing him to look up at me. His eyes had this tortured look while pink was splashed across his cheeks and on the tips of his ears.

"Condom," he croaked out and the realization hit me like a truck. We were about to— God. How could I forget about that? I did have my IUD but Atlas didn't know about it. The topic never came up.

But now seeing him like this, I did feel bad for how embarrassed he looked. Most guys would have jumped at the opportunity to discard the condom. So I forced out a laugh to lighten the mood. "It's okay. We got carried away but at least you caught it before anything happened, right?"

He shook his head again and rubbed a hand over his face. "You don't understand. I don't... I don't have a condom with me."

I stared at him long and hard. "You? You don't have a condom with you? Who are you?" The Atlas I knew would rather die than be found without a condom in his pocket.

He scowled at me. "We were on the outs for real this time. What was I going to do carrying condoms with me? Be a supplier for the team?"

An abrupt laugh burst out of me at that mental image which only made Atlas scowl more. I cupped his face with both hands, pecking his nose. "When did you become so adorable?"

He swatted my hand away. "Shut up."

The smile on my face didn't fade despite our current circumstances. The fact that he hadn't even thought about someone else while we were apart filled me with a warm, fuzzy feeling that was both strange and nice. I pressed a kiss to his cheek, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "I have an IUD. So... you know, we don't really need a condom."

Atlas reeled back so fast that it was almost comical. "Are you serious?"

I nodded. "If you are okay with it I'm okay too."

It was insane that I was suggesting this. But crazily enough, I trusted Atlas. I knew if anything went sideways—which it won't—Atlas would be there with me. He won't leave me to face the consequences alone.

"Whatever you want. If you want to do it, I'll gladly follow. But I want you to know you don't have to. We can just—"

I pressed a finger to his lips, shutting him up. "I want to."

He nodded but still asked. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Atlas Griffin, I'm tired, emotional, and horny. Now, if you don't fuck me like you mean it I'm going to tie you to your bed and torture you by using my vibrator right beside you," I warned.

The corner of his mouth quirked up. "That's a tempting offer."

"Shut up." Our mouths met again in a heated kiss, tongues clashing in urgency. Atlas tangled his hand in my hair, tugging at my locks until my head was tipped back to give him access to my neck. He nipped at the base of my throat before sucking the spot. A strangled moan left my mouth while my hips bucked forward. "Atlas," I gasped. "Please."

He reached down between us and aligned himself with my entrance. Our gazes locked as I slowly lowered myself on his hardness. "Fuck," Atlas groaned while a slew of whimpered moans left me. "At this rate, I'm not going to last long. You're so wet, and hot, and perfect."

I felt his rough, calloused hands caress my back as I tried to adjust to the new position. Atlas was big in every sense of the word and no matter how many times we had done it together, it always knocked the breath out of me.

Once I'd gotten comfortable, I lifted my hips before slowly lowering myself again. I repeated it a few more times until I found a rhythm that had Atlas gasping for air. His hands squeezed my hips, helping me move on top of him. "Christ, Rosy," he grunted when I braced myself on his shoulders and increased the pace.

Atlas thrusted upward, matching my pace. At the same time, his hands reached for my breast again, fingers pinching my nipple. I let loose a loud moan, clenching around him as his mouth replaced his hand, licking and sucking. He angled my hips forward, rough hands squeezing my ass, and increased the pace of his thrusts, each one harder than the previous. I felt getting closer to the edge, dangling from the precipice of pleasure.

"Rosy," Atlas grunted, his movements getting sloppy and erratic. He was close too. "I'm close," he confirmed. "Do you want me to pull out?"

I shook my head. It was irrational. I knew that but I didn't want even an inch of distance between us. If anything, I wanted to feel more of him. I needed more of him.

"Are you sure?"

A disgruntled noise left me and I grabbed his face, kissing him hard. Why did he have so many questions today? I bit his lip and he pulled back with a hiss.

"Always with the violence." He shook his head but the smirk on his face was unmistakable. Atlas kissed me back while his hand found its way to where we were connected, his thumb rubbing my clit at a relentless pace.

My legs started to cramp and I threw my hands around his neck, surrendering completely to the currents of pleasure rolling through my body. Atlas didn't seem to mind as he kept thrusting into me, taking full control. "Rosy... I'm going to—"

With a gasped moan, Atlas released inside me and that triggered my orgasm. I buried my face in his neck, nails digging into his shoulders as I let the pleasure consume me until I couldn't form any coherent thoughts.

Atlas held a tight grip on me, rubbing my back and murmuring sweet nothings in my ear while I caught my breath. As I lay there on top, listening to his heartbeats that were slowly calming down, I realized that when all of this was over, I would be losing more than I'd imagined in the beginning.

Atlas had started to feel less like my booty call and more like someone I wouldn't be able to let go of when the time came. And that scared me to death.