Chapter 16 Malachi #5
The protection I’d wrapped around her all night twisted into something reverent and dangerous. Possession without force. Devotion without demand. My body answered before my pride could stop it.
I lowered myself to the floor.
The marble was cool against my knees, grounding and real. From there, she filled my vision completely. Curves framed by steam and light. Dark skin flushed with heat. A woman choosing me and daring me not to ruin it.
Her breath caught when she realized what I’d done.
“Malachi,” she said, my name slow and careful now.
I looked up at her, steady, controlled, even as heat coiled tight and patient inside me. “You’re safe,” I said. “And you’re in control. Tell me what you want.”
She swallowed. Her shoulders lifted with a breath she had to work for.
“Will you kiss me?”
“Yes,” I said.
My gaze lifted to her face. She stood there in my space, dark and radiant and unafraid, and every instinct in me bowed to it.
I rose just enough to cup her jaw and brushed my mouth over hers, slow and careful, the first kiss soft enough to mean something. I wanted her to feel that I heard her. I wanted her to know I was not skipping past what she asked for just because I wanted more.
She let out the smallest breath against my lips, and that near-silent sound hit me harder than it should have.
I kissed her again, deeper this time, letting my mouth linger until her body eased closer on its own.
My hand slid to her waist to steady her, and when her fingers caught on me instead of pushing me away, something hot and reverent opened in my chest.
I took my time with her mouth. I learned the shape of it, the softness of her lips, the way her breathing changed every time I pulled back just enough to make her follow.
When I dragged my mouth from hers, I did not go far.
I kissed the corner of her lips, then her jaw, then the long line of her throat, giving her a slow path downward instead of a sudden drop that would break the moment.
Her scent wrapped tighter around me with every breath.
My hands moved over her carefully, sliding along her body, finding heat, finding softness, finding the places where she opened for me without me having to force a thing.
By the time I sank to my knees, she was already looking down at me with kiss-swollen lips and that same unguarded need she had put in my hands the second she asked.
I pressed one last kiss to her before I went lower, making sure she felt it there too. Making sure she knew this was still part of the same answer.
Then I gave her more.
I kissed my way down her body, my hands sliding over the damp heat of her bare skin.
She had just come from the tub, soft and warm and completely naked for me, and there was nothing between my mouth and the slick slide of water still clinging to her.
I let my palms travel lower, over the curve of her waist and the fullness of her hips, until I reached her thighs and eased them apart.
I looked up at her once from between them, making sure she felt how deliberate this was, how I was not breaking the moment but deepening it. Then I put my mouth on her.
I lapped at her slowly first, tasting, teasing, letting her feel the drag of my tongue before I gave her more.
Her moan broke loose, and when her hands came down to grab the sides of my head to hold on, I went deeper, shoving my tongue inside as I flicked my gaze up at her to see her head thrown back and her mouth dropped open in ecstasy. ”
I shoved my tongue deeply inside as she moaned and grabbed the sides of my head to hold on. I flicked my gaze up at her to see her head thrown back and her mouth dropped open in ecstasy.
Her slick dripped onto my tongue, peachy and sweet; I couldn’t get enough.
My hand slid up her curvy body until I reached her breasts. I watched her gasp as I pinched her dark nipples. The areolas were large, wishing I had more mouths so I could suck on them as well.
“Malachi,” she squeaked.
I rose off my knees ignoring the pain as her legs wrapped around my head using the wall as her back support. That gave me the leverage to slip my other hand between her legs and push my thumb between her folds.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” She cried out as her pussy tightened and gushed all over my face.
I kept licking while she was trembling trying to come down from her orgasm. I ignored my aching dick even though she slid down my body and pulled her into the water. Fuck, she was perfect.
I kept her close while her body settled, letting the water do its work as the tension eased out of her in slow waves. She was warm and pliant against me, breath uneven at first, then softer, heavier.
I turned us fully under the spray and let the heat pour over her shoulders. She sighed when it hit, the sound small and unguarded, and her weight leaned back into my chest. I braced us both, one hand firm at her waist, the other moving slow and sure.
“Easy,” I murmured, more to myself than to her. “I’ve got you.”
I worked the water over her, careful and thorough. Over her shoulders first, then down her arms, smoothing away the last of the night. Her eyes were half closed now, lashes dark against flushed skin, watching me through heavy lids.
She shifted once, reaching back on instinct, and I caught her hands gently before they could wander.
“Don’t worry about me, baby,” I said quietly, pressing a kiss to her temple. “This was for you.”
Her lips curved, just barely. She murmured something soft that I didn’t catch and settled again, head tipping back against my shoulder. That trust hit me harder than anything else had. The way she let herself go slack in my arms. The way she let me take over without asking twice.
I rinsed her hair last, fingers careful at her scalp, massaging slow until her breathing evened out. By the time I shut the water off, she was drifting, eyes fluttering, body loose and warm.
I wrapped her in a towel and lifted her without ceremony, her arms coming around my neck on instinct. She tucked her face against my shoulder, breath warm and steady, and I felt that quiet pride settle into my chest. The kind you earned.
“I’m gonna take you to bed,” I told her softly.
She hummed in response, already half gone.
I carried her out of the bathroom without hurry, her body loose and trusting against mine, heat still clinging to her skin. She tucked her face into my neck, breath warm and even, and something in my chest eased at the weight of her.
I set her down on the bed long enough to dry her off properly, careful and thorough. Her skin drank in the towel, deep brown glowing under the soft light, relaxed in a way that told me she wasn’t thinking anymore. Just feeling. Just letting me handle it.
I reached for the lotion next, warming it between my palms before smoothing it over her arms, her legs, her stomach.
Slow circles. No rush. My hands knew what to do now, steady and sure, mapping her body.
She watched through heavy lids, eyes half closed, following my movements without the energy to comment.
Her mouth curved when I tugged my shirt over her head, the fabric swallowing her frame in a way that made my chest tighten.
I grabbed her diffuser and ran it over her head while she snuggled me.
Once she was dry, I gathered her hair gently, fitting the bonnet in place with care, fingers lingering just a second longer than necessary at the nape.
“Comfort first,” I murmured, more promise than comment.
I drew her back against me once she was settled, pulling her tight until her spine fit to my chest and her weight sank into me. My arm wrapped around her middle, palm spread warm and sure over her stomach, holding her there.
The sound slipped out of me before I thought about it. Low. Steady. A quiet vibration deep in my chest and throat, instinctive and grounding. Not loud enough to startle her. Just enough to let her feel it.
Her shoulders dropped at the sound. She relaxed further, breath evening out as if my body had given hers permission to rest.
“That’s it,” I whispered into her hair. “Fall asleep.”
She rolled over, facing me. A small, content sound came out her parted lips and she shifted closer, fitting herself tighter into my hold. A few minutes later, the faintest snore brushed my collarbone, soft and unguarded.
I smiled then, slow and private.
Yeah. My mouth did the job.
I held her a little closer, careful not to wake her, chin resting over the bonnet.
My chest still hummed with that low sound, satisfaction and anticipation tangled together, because this was only the beginning.
There were a lot of things Nyx and I were going to get up to next, and I had every intention of taking my time with all of them.
She slept. I fell asleep knowing I intended to keep earning that trust again tomorrow.