Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
Malachi lifted his finger to his lips. His eyes widened. “What…” He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. He couldn’t string words together.
Trent kissed me. He kissed me!
He couldn’t make sense of it.
“I’m sorry. Was that wrong?” Trent’s gaze dropped to his knees. His shoulders hunched forward. “I thought that since our date was going well, it would be okay to kiss you.” He glanced at Malachi before dropping his gaze again. “Did I… Was I wrong?”
Malachi stayed completely still, frozen in place.
He kissed me.
Then his brain snagged on a single word. Date. Trent had called this a date. Malachi blinked. It felt like he’d jumped into the freezing waters of the lake.
Because Trent had not been suggesting friendship in his invitation to the Christmas markets.
He’d been suggesting a date, a courtship ritual common in Anorra.
Which of course had gone completely overlooked by Malachi, since he had never gotten used to the ways of Anorra even after so many years living here!
No, Malachi was a siren. And he’d found his mate through song. He’d not even known Forathia’s name when he knew they belonged together.
But Trent lived in Anorra. He was not a siren. So instead, to show he was interested in Malachi, he’d come into Malachi’s shop every day, nervous and flustered. He’d asked Malachi on a date. Of course, he’d not explicitly used the word date, so Malachi had not realised.
He thought back to all the times Trent had stared at him. To all the times he’d stammered or stuttered. He thought of the hope in the young man’s brown eyes when he’d come into the emporium earlier that day to go to the Christmas markets together.
And now those brown eyes stared at him, brimming with vulnerability. And hurt. Because Trent had tried to kiss him, and Malachi had pulled back. Now the young man thought he’d done wrong.
Malachi had to explain. “I…” He trailed off.
He stared at Trent and his expressive brown eyes. Trent’s throat bobbed. He clasped his hands in his lap.
“I…,” Malachi tried again. “I am sorry. I had not realised this was a date.”
The skin between Trent’s brows puckered. “What do you mean?”
“When you asked me to go to the Christmas markets, I thought it was as a friend. Nothing more.”
Trent exhaled, his body deflating with the motion.
“Sirens are very direct in courtship manners, and asking each other on dates is not a part of it. I apologise for not understanding your intentions.”
“So you didn’t want to go on a date with me?” Trent asked, voice barely above a whisper.
“I did not know that’s what you were asking.”
“And if you did know I’d been asking you on a date, what would you have said?” Trent’s eyes pierced straight to Malachi’s core.
Malachi glanced away. He did not want to reject Trent. But what else could he do? “I probably would have said no,” Malachi finally said.
Trent sucked in a breath.
“But not because of you. Because of me,” Malachi said. “I lost my mate over ten years ago. He died. I am not capable of loving again.”
The chair beneath Trent creaked. “I didn’t know that.”
Malachi shook his head. “How could you have? I haven’t told anyone in Anorra.”
The fire crackled, filling the silence that stretched between them.
“I’m sorry, Trent. But it really is not because of you.” He looked at Trent then. “Honestly I’m surprised someone as magnificent as you would be interested in a weary, dull, grief-stricken siren like me.”
Trent’s mouth twitched. “I’m nothing special.”
“That’s not true at all,” Malachi protested. “You’re exquisite. You’re beautiful. You have a kind heart and show great caring towards others. I marvel that no one has realised that and endeavoured with all their might to make you theirs.”
A flush darkened Trent’s cheeks. “You’re just saying that.”
“I’m not.” Malachi’s gaze travelled over Trent’s slender body, still perched on the edge of the seat. He really was lovely to look at. “I promise you I’m not. And I really am sorry for the misunderstanding.”
“It’s not your fault. I don’t have a lot of experience with—” Trent shrugged. “—anything really. So I see why I misunderstood.”
“I think that was more because I’m only familiar with siren ways.” And before Malachi could stop himself, he asked, “What don’t you have a lot of experience with?”
That delightful flush spread to Trent’s throat. Malachi could almost imagine reaching forward and touching the pinkish skin.
Malachi had had lovers before Forathia. Never human though.
He’d noticed that humans had a tendency to blush. But Trent did so more than most. He blushed when nervous. And when embarrassed. Did he blush when aroused? Did he flush all over?
For a split second, Malachi imagined tugging the buttons of Trent’s collar open, slipping a tentacle between the fabric and rosy skin. He thought of a startled moan escaping the young man before Malachi kissed him.
Properly this time.
Malachi looked away, surprised at himself. He’d not considered any sort of physical interaction with another in a long, long time.
Why was he now?
He stared at the bed. Suddenly he thought of stripping the young man bare and laying him down. He imagined kissing him, stroking him, caressing him. Malachi wanted to pin him down with hands and tentacles and make Trent moan.
Malachi pressed a hand to his throat, feeling the heartbeat flutter beneath.
This was madness. He’d had no libido for years. Suddenly it had reawakened with force. It was as if it had been held back behind a dam, and out of nowhere the dam had split apart, flooding him with desires that had been absent for so long.
Apparently knowing someone, knowing that pretty Trent, wanted him was enough to bring his sexual desires back to life.
“Nothing. I’ve had practically no experience with anything,” Trent said.
Did that mean sex? Because the thought of introducing Trent to the world of pleasure sounded…delicious. Every moan, every cry, every orgasm, every inch of pleasure he wrung from the young man would be his first.
“But honestly, I didn’t really expect you to be interested in me,” Trent continued. “I’ve never even been properly kissed.”
And why did that make Malachi want to moan? Malachi had never sought out innocence in his lovers before. For some reason, in Trent it appealed greatly.
“I’ve never even been on a date before,” Trent said, unaware of the effect his words were having on Malachi.
“Wait.” A cold horror flooded Malachi’s body. “This is your first date?”
Trent gave a wry laugh. “I don’t think it’s really a date if only one person thinks it is.”
“I’m so sorry, Trent. You are very attractive.” He kept his eyes on those warm brown eyes. “And very desirable, both your personality and your appearance. I am sure you will find many who want you.”
Trent gave him a half-smile. “Just not you?”
“Well, like I said, I lost my mate and cannot love again.” Malachi hesitated. “But honestly, I find you very appealing. I just cannot date.”
Trent went very still. After a second, he sat up straight. He licked his lips.
Malachi wanted to kiss them. Bite them. He wanted to shove his cock between them. He wiggled his tentacles, wanting to reach out and touch. But he held himself in check.
Trent cleared his throat. “What if we didn’t date… What if we just…” Trent gestured between them.
Malachi raised a brow. Could the young man be suggesting a purely physical relationship? His cock filled. “I do not think that would be fair to you.”
“Why?” Trent asked.
“You wanted to date.” But Malachi could feel his will waning. “You weren’t looking for purely sexual interactions.”
“No. I wasn’t.” Trent leaned towards him. “But I’ll take it.”
Malachi inhaled. He could scent the sugar, spices, and smoke on the human’s skin. He felt the urge to lick his skin and taste him.
“I want you,” Trent whispered. “When I lie in bed, I think of you whilst I touch myself.”
Malachi’s heart thumped against his ribs. “You pleasure yourself to thoughts of me?”
“Every night. Sometimes several times a night. And sometimes in the morning too.”
A groan escaped Malachi’s lips at the thought. He didn’t need to hear anything else. He surged forward and captured Trent’s lips in a kiss.