KNOCKING ON ATLAS'S apartment door, I release the breath I've been holding and tap my fingers against my thigh nervously as I wait.

Surfing on some of the biggest waves in the world in front of crowds and on live television is easily less nerve-wracking than standing in front of Atlas's apartment right now. When I'm out on the waves, I'm fearless, or I used to be, anyway. There were no nerves. You would just dive in headfirst and let the ocean take control. However, tonight the nerves flutter in my stomach and I am way out of my element.

My eyes flicker around the apartment hallway and knowing how this town is, it wouldn't surprise me if some locals were peeping through their doors right now and gossip spreads like wildfire tomorrow.

The door opens and Atlas smiles as he pulls it open, before leaning against it with his hand on the handle. His blonde curls fall over his forehead, slightly in front of his eyes, before he pushes them back. A black button-down shirt covers his chest, with some of the top buttons open and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, plus a pair of dress pants.

His eyes flicker down to the summer dress covering my body before his eyes connect with mine once more.

"Hey sunshine."

The nickname rolls off his tongue easily, as it always does, and the rustling sound of pots and pans coming from his apartment breaks our moment. He turns his head to look over his shoulder and I tease him, gesturing over my shoulder back to the stairs.

"You know, if you have other company, I can just leave."

Taking a step back, I don't get far before he takes my hand in his and pulls me forward closer to him, so I'm standing right in front of him, looking up at him. "Oh, no you don't. Come on, I'll show you what that's about."

Leading me into his apartment, he closes the door behind us before keeping hold of my hand as we walk through. An older woman stands in the kitchen wearing an apron with ingredients spread around her on the counters, with a smile on her face as she watches us walk in.

"What's all this?" I ask him, confused, as we come to a stop at the counter.

"This is a cooking class." Atlas smiles before holding his hand out in front of him to the woman. "This is May. May here hosts cooking classes in her spare time and I convinced her to do us a private one."

"He's very charming when he wants to be," May says, smiling as she wipes her hands on a rag as she comes over to hug me as a greeting.

"Oh, I know," I tell her, looking at Atlas, who winks at me.

"Well, I've heard a lot about you from our little town of gossipers, and also this one here." She points to Atlas.

"How do you two know each other?" I ask her, walking over to put the apron around me and handing one to Atlas.

"Atlas used to come to some of my classes as a child and be my helper." May smiles at him as he puts the apron on.

"Did he now?" I question, and Atlas rubs the back of his neck.

"All the time. While June would run some errands, he would come in and join me whether I was hosting a cooking class or help me prep as I own a little store that sells homemade pasta, sauces, and a lot of other things," May explains.

"I've seen it when I walk through town. I didn't know you held cooking classes," I tell her, and she nods her head proudly.

"I probably have some pictures somewhere of him when he was younger helping me." She winks at me, and Atlas shakes his head.

"This was a dangerous move by me," Atlas mutters, and I roll my eyes.

"Okay, let's start before Atlas's cheeks turn any pinker," she says, clapping her hands together as she moves some things around.

I chuckle and poke him in the side as I move next to him. "It's cute."

"Cute." He scoffs. "I'm insanely handsome and charming."

"Whatever you have to tell yourself," I say, and he swats me with a rag as I squeal. "What are we making?"

"Well, I can cook, but this is different. We're making homemade pasta, so we make the noodles ourselves," Atlas explains.

"Okay, so to start, we need to make the pasta dough," May says as she shows us what ingredients to put in, all of them pre-measured. I wiggle my sticky fingers from the flour in Atlas's face, and he tries to dodge me before pointing down at the counter.

"Focus on your pasta, dough girl."

✺✺✺

"Why is it that you can charm all the ladies, no matter how young or old? I feel like even babies would love you."

Atlas laughs at my statement, before he reaches for the wine bottle to pour us some more. He leans back against the chair as he sits across from me at the table for two he set up for our dinner, with candles on it, that sits in front of the balcony with the doors open so that we can have a view of the ocean.

"I have a very trusting face," he says, pulling a few faces and I shake my head before eating my pasta that we made together. "I can teach you. So first." he clears his throat before reaching over to take both my hands. "You soften your gaze, look at them under your eyelashes and give a smile that is basically saying 'look how charming I am'."

Atlas does them all, and I can't help but chuckle. "I knew you were conning everyone here."

He shrugs before sitting back again. "I give a great puppy dog face as well."

He pulls it and I laugh. "I wonder if those are in those pictures May was talking about. I want to see if you've always been like this."

"Are you really taking May up on her offer to go into the store so you can see those pictures?" He raises his eyebrow at me, and a smirk decorates my lips.

"You would so do the same if it was me," I say, and he nods his head, clearly having no argument there. Taking another bite of my pasta, I let my gaze roam to the balcony for a moment.

"I wanted to run something by you." Atlas clears his throat and I look over at him. "I actually was thinking about what you said a while ago about providing snorkeling, scuba lessons, and tours."

He stands up before opening a drawer and taking out a flyer. Sitting back down, he hands it to me, and I look at the flyer that is promoting the new classes at the surf shack.

"You scuba also?" I ask him and he nods.

"I snorkel more, but there are opportunities to snorkel with the volunteer work I do. I have to become certified to teach and take people out, but I thought what you said was a good idea and it would be good for the tourists who come to learn," he explains, and I smile at the knowledge of him taking my ideas on board.

"I can help you hand them out if you want?" I offer and he nods his head, smiling.

"I'm going to get certified first before I get the equipment. Just a small bit to start off as I see how much interest there is, but I'm thinking since summer is getting closer with the tourist season, I could start rolling it out. Maybe a few weeks earlier to let the locals have first chance, but then I'll start putting them up and asking businesses to put them in their windows," he says.

"I think it will go down really well with people," I say, placing the flyer down and continuing to eat.

"Well, it's all thanks to you. I didn't even really think about the different opportunities I could take on. If this does well, I might also offer boat trips around the place using my boat," he says, reaching over to place his hand over mine.

"You're doing all the work. Just remember me when it takes off," I joke, and he laughs.

"As long as you remember me when you're back on the circuit," he says, winking and I smile. "I had another idea, actually."

"You're full of ideas tonight, huh?" I ask him and he chuckles.

"This involves you. I know how you much you loved teaching Gabi the other day. How would you feel about teaching a surfing masterclass? You know, for the people competing in the surfing comp," Atlas questions, and I sip my wine as I think about it. "I know people would love it and some people go to competitions. I'm sure it would give them some tips."

"Do you really think people would come?" I ask him and he nods.

"Thalia, you're still a pro-surfer. Everyone would love that. I may have also mentioned it to a few surfers to see what they think," he says, smiling sheepishly before stuffing his face with pasta.

"If people are interested, then sure," I tell him, and he smiles. "Nice timing. Wine and dine me, then ask me."

Once finished, I help Atlas bring everything to the kitchen and into the dishwasher. I pour some more wine in my glass before naturally gravitating towards the open balcony doors and lean against the railing to look out at the private beach in front of us.

I hear Atlas's footsteps as he steps onto the balcony and he comes to stand next to me, leaning his hip against the railing with a content smile on his face as he looks at me before looking out at the view.

"So," I begin, and he raises his eyebrows. "This is your best effort to charm me, huh? The cooking class, the romantic dinner—"

He smirks before a flirtatious smile crosses his lips. "How's it going so far?"

Rather than telling him, I lean up and place my hand on his jawline before kissing him softly for a moment. His hand curls around my waist before I pull back slightly and we look into each other's eyes. His eyes hooded as he stares back down at my lips. Placing my drink down on the railing, I wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him once again.

Our bodies press together as we kiss, his hands venturing down to my hips with his fingertips brushing against the top of my ass. I play with the back of his hair and a soft grunt leaves his lips as I do, getting me to smile into our kiss. He shakes his head as if it's a competition before his hand cups my cheek and tilts my head slightly so he can kiss along my jaw to my neck. I let my arms fall around to the belt buckle of his pants to pull him closer.

A little moan tumbles from my lips, from the pressure of his lips on my neck, and I can feel his smirk against my skin. His hand drops back to my waist, briefly brushing over the side of my breast and he moves us, so my back is against the railing.

My back connects with my wine glass and I push away from the railing, pulling apart from our kiss as we see the glass falling off the balcony and hear a smashing sound, clearly now broken on the floor outside the building. I cover my mouth with my hand as I laugh and he joins in, resting his head on my shoulder.

"Maybe making out on the balcony where everyone can see us isn't the best idea. You know how nosy this town is," he mutters, and I nod in agreement.

Brushing my lips against his, I mutter, "take me inside."

I don't have to ask him twice. He takes my hand in his before pulling me inside and closing the balcony doors. I lean against the now empty table we were sitting on earlier and as he turns around, I see a gleam in his eyes.

He saunters over before placing his hands on my cheek and brushing some of my hair back before leaning down and pressing his lips against mine. I hum in pleasure as he does, and he bends down to pick me up and place me on the table as he stands between my legs. I pull him closer by his belt buckles once more and I can feel the bulge in his pants as I do.

Deciding not to stay where we are for long, he picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist as he carries us through his apartment. I kiss his neck as he directs us, and his grip on me tightens as he groans. We make it to his bedroom, and he sets me down before I pull back and my eyes dart around his room, having never been in here before.

I feel him press a kiss to my forehead and I step out of his arms for a moment to look around. My fingers trail across the surfboard he has sitting in the corner of his room on display, and his bedroom reflects his personality. There is a window that looks out to the ocean and there are framed photographs on his wall from when he was younger until recently, just like the ones on his wall in the living area.

His hands come to rest on my hips as he stands behind me and I look at him over my shoulder.

"Help me get this off?" I question, and he winks at me. The boyishness of his features returning for a moment, replacing the hot and heavy look he had in his eyes before.

His fingers tug at my zip, pulling it down slowly as if teasing me. His hand brushes against my back and once it is down as far as it can go, I remove the straps of my dress and let it pool at my feet.

Turning around to face him, his eyes roam every inch of my body, lingering on certain parts of me, such as my breasts as they spill out of the bra, my hips, my legs, and the small piece of lace covering me.

He looks into my eyes, and desire is clear in his as it is mine. "Do you trust me?"

The deep gravel of his voice takes me off guard. I guess I now know what's it like to see Atlas turned on. I raise my eyebrow at his question before nodding my head.

"At any point, if you feel uncomfortable, we stop. You tell me and I'll listen. Still want to carry on?" He asks and I nod. "Verbal consent, baby."

"Yes."

His hands make their way down my body, brushing my sides before landing on my hips. He slowly backs me up so my back hits the wall.

He leans in to kiss me, but that doesn't last for long as his lips travel to my neck. They brush across my chest, kissing the pushed up part of my breasts, down to my stomach before he reaches my thong. His eyes flicker up for a moment, a wicked smirk on his lips, and I feel as if I'm about to find out about this more passionate side to Atlas.

His hand runs along my legs before he pushes one further to the side and then places my other over his shoulder as he kneels in front of me. His fingers trace over the lace and I suck in a breath at the feeling. Once more, his eyes meet mine as he pulls my thong to the side.

He hums in approval before teasing me with his kisses. I arch my back and as best as I can in this position, try to spread my leg that is still on the floor a little further out.

"So eager for me."

His tongue teases my clit, and I reach down to run my hand through his curls. He hums in satisfaction as I push his head impossibly closer. His hands reach around to squeeze my ass, and I gasp.

"Atlas," I moan in pleasure, throwing my head back against the wall as he works wonders on my body.

I can feel myself growing closer and closer to my orgasm, as my mouth no longer has any filter from the whimpers and moans coming out of it. I grind my lower half against his face, needing the friction and I gasp once more as I feel his finger trail along my folds and curl into me.

"So sweet," he mutters. "Let go for me, Thalia."

He brings me to the edge of my release, and I let myself relax and succumb to him. Crying out in pleasure, with my head back against the wall as I reach my orgasm. I hear Atlas grunt as I do and I sigh in pleasure as I feel him revel in every part.

He pulls back and licks his lips, leaving me with an empty feeling, no longer having his hands or his mouth on me. He releases my leg and the slight wobble takes me by surprise. However, he holds my hip as he stands back up before placing both hands beside my head against the wall and leans down to kiss me deeply.

Placing my hand on the back of his head, I pull myself closer to him before pushing us away from the wall to the bed. His hand wraps in my hair as he lowers us down onto his bed, with his body covering mine.

My hands work on the buttons of his shirt before I pull it off and run my nails down his abs as he groans at my scraping. Reaching for his belt before I undo it, I pull him closer and grind my lower half against his as he curses. Removing his belt, I undo the zipper of his pants before reaching in and palming him against his boxers.

"You are going to be the death of me," he tells me. I push his pants down and he kicks them off before he reaches around to unhook my bra. Pulling it off, Atlas doesn't even wait a second before he pulls me up, so I'm sitting in his lap, slightly taller than him at this angle.

Pulling my hair over one side of my shoulder, I lean down to kiss him as I press my naked chest against his and rub against him as we both moan. His hands dig into my ass before he pulls back from the kiss.

Our breathing is harsh as we sit there, but Atlas is nowhere near done as his gaze lands on my bare chest. I look down as I see his hands skim my body as he works his way up. I gasp as his fingers brush against my hard nipples and his eyes meet mine as I do. A smirk appears on his lips as he toys with my nipples before covering my breasts easily with his large hands and squeezing them.

"This is torture. I need you," I admit to him.

"I'm not finished with you yet," he tells me before his hands slide up my back and push my breasts closer to his face as he worships them. I whimper as his lips wrap around my nipple, his teeth grazing against them and the small love bites he seems to leave all around my breasts. His hand reaches to my hair before lightly pulling and once I moan, he realizes how much I like it and pulls harder. "Fuck, you're going to be naughty for me, aren't you?"

"Says the guy who one minute is the perfect gentleman, and the next is dominating me in bed."

"Any complaints?" he says, and I keep quiet. "Didn't think so. You're gonna pay for that sass."

"Hmm how?" I ask and there is no reply for a minute as he kisses up my body and kisses my neck.

"On your knees, baby."

My eyes open, and I look down at him, seeing the desire in his eyes. I have to admit this other side to Atlas is hot. Happily doing as he says, I climb off his lap. Pulling us both to our feet, his boxers soon land on the floor. My eyes drop lower. His dick no longer constrained against the fabric that clearly must have been uncomfortable with the size of him.

Atlas's eyes remain on me as he sits on the edge of the bed and spreads his legs with his impressive length on show, waiting. His hand takes mine as he pulls me forward and I gasp as his hand rubs against my lace thong.

Leaning down to kiss him, I lower myself to my knees as I kiss down his chest and place my hands on his strong thighs. Keeping my eyes on him as I lower my mouth and flick my tongue out against his tip, he groans and his hand curls in my hair, pulling. Hard enough to feel sensual, but not so hard where it's too much.

"That's it, Thalia. Suck my dick," he grunts, and I happily do as he says. I hum in pleasure as I try to take as much of his length as possible in my mouth. "Fuck, my dick feels perfect in that pretty little mouth of yours."

His dirty words keep me going, and it's surprising from Atlas, but definitely not unwelcomed. He strokes my cheek as I take him as deep as I possibly can, sucking on him. Running my tongue around the tip of him, he groans in pleasure. Trying to get him to find his release like he did for me, the grunts and dirty words that come from his mouth show me I'm getting closer.

Who knew Atlas had such a dirty mouth?

"You going to let me cum in your mouth?" He asks, and I nod my head. "Shit, I'm gonna cum."

His admission prepares me, and as soon as his orgasm hits in my mouth, I swallow every drop before pulling back and licking my lips as he stares down at me.

"You enjoyed that as much as I did," he says, and I smirk, shrugging my shoulders, not denying that statement.

I stand up before pulling the last piece of clothing off my body, leaving me fully naked in front of him for his eyes. He wraps his arm around my waist before pulling me back down onto the bed with him on top of me once again.

Atlas changes from commanding and dirty to sweet as he places kisses down my body, whispering about perfection. I sigh in pleasure as his lips cover every inch of my body and his hands delicately caress me before leaning back up and placing a kiss on my forehead. He reaches over to pull a condom out of the drawer and rolls it on his dick.

I spread my legs further for him as his body slots between mine and presses up against my own. His hands pull mine above my head, with his fingers entwined with mine, and he stares into my eyes as he pushes inside me.

Tilting my head back, I can feel my eyes roll slightly at the feeling of him pushing inside me. A hiss leaves my hips as my body adjusts to his length and thickness.

"I'll go slow," he whispers in my ear as a promise and true to his word, he moves when I tell him it's okay to keep going. He presses kisses to my neck, my cheek, my nose, and my forehead as if trying to soothe the feeling.

Once I've adjusted, I tell him to move as the uncomfortable feeling has left, leaving only pleasure behind. He starts to move, slowly at first, as if testing the waters and wanting to savor this feeling. Our bodies brush up against each other the more he moves, my hard nipples brushing against his chest and being able to feel every part of each other.

My breathy moans go directly to his ears as his head leans on my shoulder, and I can hear all the groans coming from him.

His pace picks up, his lower half rocking against my own as he pushes into me. At first it's a gradual pace, but the more we get used to each other, the more his pace increases to where he's pounding into me. My cries of pleasure turn into screams of pleasure as he continues to push further into me, hitting my g-spot.

My eyes roll to the back of my head, and my hands tighten against his. His hands leave mine and press against the bed, needing more stability at the rate he is fucking me at. He leans down and presses a small bite against my breast, giving them some attention.

My hands run down his back, scraping and pushing my nails into him as I moan. My hands soon find his ass, pulling him further into me with my nails digging into him.

"Thalia," he grunts. "You feel so perfect."

"Fuck me hard, Atlas."

He listens to my command, and I can hear the headboard banging against the wall, and the dips of the bed as he does as I say.

"Your pretty little pussy was made for my dick," he tells me and I gasp. "There we go, keep taking it."

"Such dirty words." I reach up to run my finger along his lips and he nips at my thumb before he leans down to press his lips against mine hard.

He swallows my moans and I feel the tension coiling at the bottom of my stomach. "I need you to come for me."

"I'm so close," I whimper.

He continues to fuck me and I feel myself succumbing to the edge. I feel my orgasm hit as my eyes roll and I cling onto him as I cry out. He continues to push into me, now seeking his own release, as if wanting me to orgasm before he did.

He grunts at his own release, and once he's there, he slows down. With him still inside me, he rocks his lower half against mine a few more times, slowly coming to a stop. His body falls on top of mine, not where it hurts, but where he's laying on me and I reach up to run my hand through his hair as he presses kisses to my shoulder.

Our breathing is harsh against our ears and our chests are rapidly hitting each others as we try to catch our breath. The room now remains silent once more and his hand leisurely runs up and down the side of my body as I run my other hand up and down his back.

He sighs in pleasure at the feeling, and I wrap my arms around his neck in a hug. He does the same, moving so his arms are under my back and he pulls his face back to leave a kiss on my nose before softly kissing my lips.

"Hmm, I've wanted you for the longest time now," he admits, and it feels nice to have him admit that to me and feel wanted for Thalia and not the pro-surfer.

"What are you going to do now that I'm in your bed?" I ask him, and that sensual smirk decorates his lips once more.

"I'm going to have my way with you in every position possible, in every inch of this apartment, just to hear those sweet little moans of yours as I fuck you so you can't walk tomorrow," he tells me.

"Who knew you had such a dirty mouth and are dominant in bed?" I brush my lips against his before pulling on his bottom lip with my teeth.

"You've seen nothing yet."

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A U T H O R  N O T E 

This was just 4000 words of smut, and I'm not mad at it.

Some of you are probably like FINALLY! I was so excited to write this different side to Atlas, him being such a sweetheart I knew I had to make him dominant in the bedroom.

My first week of work was this week! It's been going well, but the time after work has been flying so it feels like the space between finishing work and sleeping is so small. Trying to navigate how I can fit writing into my daily routine still.

For the next book of this series (Gabi & Easton's) I want your input. Do you think the book should take place in Sandy Cove wholly or not? I have an idea for the book that would not fully be in Sandy Cove (just the start/end), but I think it would be such a cool story.

How has your week been?