31. Chapter 31
Malik brought his lips down to mine once more, this time capturing them as if I was the last drop of air in the world.
He left me no room to escape, pressing me to the temple floor as his hands found my skin beneath the tapestry I held around us and trailed my curves, memorizing them as one does the stars.
I felt lost in his touch, not knowing where he began and I ended, and not caring to find out.
He kissed me as if we had all the time in the world, as if we had nothing to run from, nothing to save. He held and kissed me as if the world had already ended, and there was nowhere else and nothing else we needed to do other than this.
I felt the roots rise and begin to curl around us as he kissed me, their limbs wrapping around both of our bodies, bringing us even closer.
They wove up and around our legs, the mix of their soft caress alongside Malik's sending shivers up my spine as they forced us to become one.
We laid like that for a moment, tangled in one another, the roots joining us together as he kissed me, his hands tracing every inch of me, across on my chest, over my stomach, and down to the apex of my thighs, leaving me trembling in his wake.
I braced my hand to the ground, my mind dizzy with his ministrations and the tease of him so close to where I wanted him most. Roots flourished around us at my touch, sprouting more nodes and buds, dancing around us in a mirror of the blooming heat I felt inside me.
That was, until Malik's hand met mine, holding me down, the roots shriveling at his touch.
I looked over at the roots below, noticing the life sucked out of their vines, their movements stilling at his command. Something about it only made the heat within me burn hotter. His powers were strong, something to be contended with, and that made him a force to be reckoned with.
Malik brought my attention back to him, his fingers weaving with mine.
We both felt the ridge of my wedding ring, the band long forgotten by me.
Malik looked at it again, the stone catching in the moonlight.
I knew the ring had haunted him this entire journey and now, finally, he brought his gaze to mine before removing it, dropping it into the pool next to us.
"You don't need this anymore."
Our lips met once more, hungrier now.
I could feel the thrum of the earth below me so clearly now, the magic of Rida strong, but something about it was different again. Not in the same way it was different after the Shroud, more balanced, more harmonious almost.
Curious, I placed my hand to the ground, pushing my magic into the roots, watching as they sprang back to life, only for Malik to do the same, placing his hand on the ground next to mine as he moved his attention to my neck, the roots withering just as fast under his touch.
"We could play this game forever," he whispered in my ear.
I felt a dark heat go through me in that moment, something that reached through the pit of my stomach and made it curl in delight.
I whimpered as Malik's lips met mine again, my body melting into his, surrendering to him.
All those years of wanting and dreaming of being with one another exploded in a moment. All that time I spent wondering where Malik was, all those questions, finally answered.
It was like a deep breath being released at last, a song coming to its crescendo.
We had all the time in the world, nothing but our own will to keep us from leaving the bliss that surrounded us.
Malik kissed me deeply as I wrapped my legs around him, positioning himself at my entrance, our breaths mixing with anticipation. He hovered for a moment, his eyes piercing mine, full of reverence, full of want, of promise, of safety.
"You mean everything to me, Lyra," he whispered, the words full of a reverence only heard before in temples. "I will always take care of you, and I will never leave your side again."
I nodded at his words, the feeling of devotion in them permeating the air around us.
I took a deep breath as he pushed his way into me, exhaling at the perfect fill of him.
Ten years, ten long years had I wished for this, thought about this, had I stifled my true wants and needs. I had spent so many nights thinking of him instead of the one I was married to, missing this and how perfect I knew we were for one another.
Malik began to move and nothing outside of those walls mattered anymore.
It was only us, taking what we needed from one another, what should have been ours all this time.
There was no sound in the temple except for our breaths, and the voice of the Divine on that wind that whispered:
This is the beginning of the balance.
And this time, I understood.
This was the beginning of the balance, of the beginning of him and I, and so much more.