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~Darlina's POV~

I wasn't sure when but I must've fallen asleep at some point after I had taken a shower with Atlas because I woke up late at night in his arms, my legs tangled between his. It felt a little hot so I took the blanket off myself and left it on him, glancing up at his handsome face.

He was still sound asleep, so I tried my best not to disturb his slumber as I slipped out of bed. It wasn't until I stood that I really noticed the pain between my thighs, which became only more apparent when I took a step away. I winced and lifted the big shirt I had on, which belonged to Atlas, and glanced down at my thighs as if there'd be some physical evidence of my pain. Of course, there was nothing but I was still as sore as ever.

To be honest, I hadn't really quite expected to be so sore afterwards, though I had been expecting the pain that had come at the very beginning of the act. Avani had told me of that, but not this part. Maybe it was to be expected, however, so it made sense.

Wanting to take some Tylenol and turn the air conditioner on, I spared one last look towards Atlas to make sure he was still asleep before I quietly crept out of my room. I headed into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of Tylenol from the medicine cabinet, popping two of them into my mouth before washing them down with water. After I took the pills, I exited the kitchen and jumped in surprise as I saw Emmett was sitting on the arm of the couch, his brown eyes meeting mine when I entered the living room.

"Hey, Em." I greeted quietly, a little bit taken aback. "Did you just get home?" I asked, curiously cocking my head to the side. I fiddled with the bottom of Atlas' shirt, the large item of clothing practically swallowing my frame.

"Mm, yeah." He nodded in affirmation, smoothing a hand over his braids with a sigh. I approached him and he seemed to take note of my appearance, causing a dark eyebrow to lift with interest. "Is that Atlas' shirt?" He asked, his question bringing me to look down at myself as if I didn't know what I was wearing. My face burned as I looked back up at him once again and pursed my lips awkwardly. "Um," I mumbled. "Yes."

Emmett allowed a playful smile to form on his face. "Did you guys finally fuck already?" He teased, and I knew from the tone of his voice that he was only making a joke, but I just stared at him, my face flushing brighter. I didn't know what to say, so instead I said nothing.

It was clear he knew almost immediately from my lack of response or reaction because his smile faded and his jaw went slack in shock. "You did?!" He exclaimed, brown eyes wide with disbelief. "When the hell did that happen?" He asked, scowling at me as if he couldn't believe he hadn't known about this before now. I raised my eyebrows and shrugged my shoulders nervously. "I don't know.." I said shyly, more than a little embarrassed to be talking about this with him. Clearly he didn't care, though, and why would he? He'd had threesomes with the man before.

"It was only a few hours ago, Emmy." I told him in a grumble, crossing my arms across my chest. "Not that you really need to know this." I added.

He just snorted at my muttered remark, giving me a look. "A few hours ago?" He repeated incredulously, glancing up and down the length of my body. "That's more recent than I thought. Are you feeling okay?" He asked, now sounding a bit concerned. I smiled slightly and nodded. "I'm fine, Emmy." I assured with an amused snicker. "Although you look utterly beat." I told him, pointing a finger at the noticeable bags beneath his eyes.

A heavy sigh left him. "Fucking tell me something I don't know. I feel utterly beat. Dumbasses keep calling out of work and so I'm forced to work late when I usually never have to." He complained, only making me roll my lips into my mouth as I attempted to hide an amused smile. I'd always found it funny when he complained about things.

"You should get to sleep, don't you think? I know you're supposed to work again tomorrow afternoon." I stated rather matter of factly, casting a glance at the clock. It was almost one AM, and Emmett had been working since eleven AM.

With a nod of agreement, he pushed off the couch and slung his arms around me in a hug, ruffling my hair when he pulled from the embrace. I patted his back and stepped out of the way as he muttered a quiet goodnight beneath his breath, allowing him to slip by. He disappeared down the hallway and I wandered over to the thermostat as I'd intended to do earlier, turning the air down to seventy before I returned to my bedroom.

I glanced at my bed as I shut my bedroom door, just to make sure that Atlas was still asleep, which he was, to my relief.

Wanting to join him in bed again, I tiptoed across the room and crawled in bed with him, laying atop the covers because I still felt a little warm. I curled up to his side nonetheless though, and, as if he somehow knew I'd been gone, his arm loosely wrapped around me to pull me closer with a series of sleepy murmurs.

Smiling to myself, I buried my head into his chest and relaxed at the warmth of his embrace, managing to drift off to sleep again.

**

For the first time, I didn't wake up alone in the morning. Instead, Atlas was still right where he'd been when he fell asleep last night, his large frame pressing into my side.

My heart fluttered as I peered up at him, a little surprised that he was still asleep. I'd woken up in the middle of the night and yet I was somehow awake before him.

I reached up and brushed a loose strand of his hair out of his face, pressing my cheek against the smooth, firm planes of his chest. He shifted and let out a groan, suddenly lifting a hand to rub at his face before his eyelids reluctantly peeled open. Our gazes met when he looked down at me, his voice husky from sleep when he spoke. "Good morning." He murmured, causing a small smile to pull at my lips. "Hi." I greeted quietly, sliding my hand into his and tangling our fingers together.

"Have you been awake for long?" He asked, his free hand brushing through the length of my hair absentmindedly. I shook my head, my gaze trailing over his face. It was kind of unfair that he still looked so good immediately after waking up. "No." I assured. "Only two minutes or so."

He seemed relieved to hear that, letting out a heavy sigh as he glanced down at my mouth. "Did you sleep well?" He inquired, cocking up an eyebrow curiously. "And how are you feeling? Was I too rough last night?" He continued to prod, sounding more than a little worried. I couldn't help but to smile, finding it both amusing and endearing that he was worried over something like that. "Yes, I slept very well, actually." I told him, beginning to rapidly answer his questions just as he had asked them. "No, you weren't too rough. I'm feeling just fine, I promise."

Then I paused and glanced away, a blush creeping up my neck. "Although I am a little bit sore." I admitted quietly.

Atlas cringed at my confession, an apologetic look on his face. "Fuck," He muttered, a deep frown on his lips. "I'm sorry, smalls. I knew I should've been gentler with you." He apologized quietly. However I just smiled up at him and shook my head, curling my leg around his. "You don't need to be sorry." I hummed. "I was the one who insisted you not to be gentle. I knew what I was asking for." I told him, though I then silently reconsidered my words.

I'd thought I knew what I was asking for, I suppose was a better way to put it. He was definitely more rough in bed than I'd expected, yet not only had I wanted it but I had liked it when he was. I didn't regret asking him not to be gentle, honestly.

Even so, he just pursed his lips as if silently disagreeing. "Maybe but I still feel bad." He grumbled, clearly upset about the matter. A soft giggle left me and I shook my head, pushing myself up into a sitting position. "You're cute." I hummed, my words causing him to scowl slightly. He definitely didn't seem to want to be seen as cute, at least not by me.

A silence fell between us as he sat up beside me and pulled me onto his lap, leaning back against the headboard with his strong arms around my waist. I relaxed against him, peering up into his eyes when I spoke. "Emmett knows about, you know, you taking my virginity by the way." I noted to him in a whisper, causing his eyebrows to shoot up in surprise, caught off guard by my words. "Um, what?" He frowned, now looking confused as his brows furrowed together. "How the fuck does he know? It wasn't even twenty four hours ago."

I smiled sheepishly, tracing my fingertips over the lines of his tattoos. "He basically figured it out last night. I left the room at one point to get some water and turn down the air conditioner and Em was just in the living room when I came out of the kitchen, since his shifts have been running so late recently. Regardless, he knows." I explained, shrugging my shoulders slightly. At first I'd been embarrassed that Emmett knew Atlas and I's business, but I figured Emmett was the last person I should be embarrassed about.

"Goddamn it," He shook his head, a somewhat amused sparkle in his dark eyes. "That nosy motherfucker. Of course he figured it out." He grunted.

Another series of giggles left me in response and I curled my arms around him, resting my cheek against his bare chest. Beneath my head I could hear the strong beating of his heart, slowly managing to lull me back to sleep, my eyes fluttering shut as I fell asleep atop him.