Chapter 17
CHAPTER
It was close to midnight already and when I looked up again, Malakai was gone.
My chest tightened. I scanned the tree line until I saw the faint shadow of his figure, leaving through the mist, a flicker of crimson embracing him, deeper in the dark. He’d wandered far enough that the warmth of the fire no longer touched him.
I rose quietly, brushing ash from my palms. The others didn’t notice, Ashley was arguing with Nate again, Lionel and Eve still talking with low voices. Jaden had joined Caleb and Faelin for some small talk, bonding about being the new recruits perhaps. I took the opportunity to slip away.
The air grew colder the farther I went. Malakai stood among the twisted trunks, his back to me, shoulders taut.
“Malakai,” I called softly.
He didn’t move. His voice came low, but slightly amused. “Kitten.”
I stepped closer. “Are you okay? Where are you going?”
“Just to get some air…” He shrugged. “Every time I breathe, I can taste the fire on your skin. Sweet and alive. It calls to the part of me that shouldn’t exist.”
“Then let me help you,” I said. My voice was steadier than my heart felt. “You don’t have to do this alone, Malakai.”
He tilted his head, a low sound slipping from him, half-groan, half-growl. “Sweetie… you don’t understand what you’re offering.”
“Yes, I do.” I stopped an arm’s length away. “We’ve done it before. You didn’t hurt me, you won’t.”
“It’s funny, when I say don’t push, you shove,” he chuckled low. “You trust me that much?”
“I do.”
For a long moment he didn’t move. Then, slowly, he turned, his glowing eyes settling on me. A low growl rumbled inside of him as he reached for me, planting a possessive hand on my hip.
“You didn’t seem worried before, what changed?” I asked, remaining calm and steady.
“The more I take, the more I seem to crave you.” His voice lowered, his free hand brushing back my hair.
“When you defend me, I want to be worthy of it. When you call my name, it feels like coming home. You’re busy looking at the world, trying your best to fix it but…
Sweetie, you are my world, and I wouldn’t change a thing. ”
A trembling breath escaped me, and my hands shot to the collar of his shirt gripping firmly. I heaved myself up and planted my lips against his.
Malakai’s hand found its way to the back of my neck, not letting me break away for air as he deepened the kiss. It wasn’t claiming in the same way as it had been before, it felt like he was savoring the moment, every stroke, taste and rising pulse.
His fingers dug into my side, forcing me to shift until he had me pinned against a tree.
He pressed against me and I gasped into his mouth.
A sharp scraping sound came from beside my head, and he pulled his head back, panting low.
My eyes slid to the side, as I saw his fingers clawing into the tree.
“Stop torturing yourself,” I said, stroking his cheek. He leaned into it, as if my touch was the only thing grounding him, keeping his inner beast in check.
“You really shouldn’t look at me like that,” he murmured, voice rough silk. “It’s an invitation you don’t even know you’re giving.”
“I know exactly what I’m doing,” I said.
That earned a smirk, sharp and amused. “Do you, kitten? Because the last time I tasted you, you could barely even say my name without shaking.”
My pulse jumped, traitorous, and his grin widened, a predator’s smile dressed up in charm.
“There it is,” he murmured, brushing his thumb along my jaw. “That pulse. You want me to lose control again, don’t you?”
“I want you to stop pretending you don’t need it,” I said. “You’re trembling.”
He laughed quietly, low in his throat. “Oh, sweetie. That’s not me trembling.”
My breath caught, as his fingers traced the side of my neck, slow, deliberate, until his hand rested at the base of my throat. He leaned in, close enough that the edge of his teeth grazed my skin, not biting, just a reminder.
“Maybe I should,” he whispered, tone dropping. “Maybe I should just take what I want.”
I froze, half expecting the bite, and he felt it. The stillness, the anticipation, he was savoring it.
“Mm,” he hummed. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? The heat, the sting… the way you always melt after.”
“Malakai—”
“Careful,” he said, his lips brushing my pulse. “Say my name like that, and I might think you’re begging.”
My fingers curled in his shirt. “And if I am?”
He chuckled, dark, low, dangerously amused. “You shouldn’t tease a starving man, kitten.”
“Then eat.”
His teeth pressed just hard enough to make me gasp, a threat without the follow-through. For a second, I thought he’d given in, and then he pulled back, eyes gleaming, victorious.
“See?” he said softly. “You still flinch, still wait for the monster.”
My breath steadied, slowly. “You think that’s what I see?”
He blinked, thrown by the quiet in my voice.
I pressed my palm to his chest, right where his heart hammered beneath the skin. “You call yourself a monster, but you were the only one who didn’t treat me like one. When my flames burned out of control, when everyone else turned away, you stayed. You didn’t run, even when it got ugly.”
He chuckled, low and lazy. “Stop it. You’re talking as if I’m some kind of hero… Need I remind you what I am?”
“You are my savior,” I said simply.
That wiped the amusement clean off his face. For a heartbeat, he just stared, as if the words had burned through all the clever lines he could have thrown back. His hand rose, fingers tracing the edge of my jaw, almost reverent.
“Don’t say things like that,” he murmured, voice softer now, the teasing turned molten. “It makes me want things I shouldn’t.”
I leaned in, nibbling his collarbone. “I want you to want them.”
His breath hitched, and just like that, the restraints began to shatter. “All I could see before me was a dead end, until you stepped up and showed me the way forward.”
I leaned back enough to catch his gaze, his beautiful, tender eyes locked on my lips, yet he wasn’t moving. No, he was giving me the control, letting me decide whether to push on or back away.
“Malakai.” I inhaled deeply. “Stop pulling away from me when you’re having a hard time, I don’t want to lose you.”
“Ethalyn,” he breathed out, our eyes locking.
“All my life, I’ve been in control, it’s been easy.
Keeping the beast locked up tight, only released when on the brink of starvation.
Until you came along… You undo me in ways I’ve never imagined and hells…
I’m yours. I’ve been yours ever since that day you uncovered my secret, the day we both dropped our masks for one another. ”
I kissed him softly, affectionately. He paused briefly, his breath staggering, before he caught my mouth again, rougher this time, the kiss dragging heat through every inch of me. His hand slid into my hair, the other gripping my hip hard enough to make me gasp.
But even as the kiss deepened, hungry and consuming, there was something tender in the way he held me, as if he couldn’t decide whether to devour or worship.
My magic stirred in response, a shimmer of heat beneath my skin, sparks licking the air where our bodies met.
“We should… stop,” I panted against his lips. “I only meant to offer you my blood, not… The others aren’t that far away.”
A mischievous grin appeared on his lips as he pressed closer, his body flush against mine.
“Shh,” he hushed, against my ear. “Be a good girl and stay quiet, then.”
He planted a kiss along my jawline, before brushing his lips against my neck.
A sharp inhale escaped me before I could stop it. He smiled against my skin, slow and knowing.
“You’re melting, kitten,” he murmured. “I thought you’d be used to me by now?”
“I am,” I lied.
He chuckled, a dark, velvet sound that always made my flames stutter. “Keep telling yourself that, sweetie. Your body can’t lie to me, though.”
“Maybe I just like the view,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
He leaned back just enough for me to catch his red glowing eyes. “Oh, I know you do.” His thumb traced the edge of my lower lip, smearing a spark of heat across it. “But tonight, I’m not the one losing control.”
“Then why are you hesitating?” I shot back, even as my body betrayed me, pressing towards the warmth of his.
He laughed softly, teeth flashing. “Because you taste divine.”
The admittance hit somewhere deep, pulling at the bond between us, that invisible tether of heat and hunger. I felt his restraint like a held breath, every muscle coiled, every heartbeat aching to break.
“You could just… Take what you need,” I whispered, my cheeks heating.
His smile turned slow, indulgent. “I could. But knowing that you want me to so badly might be better.”
“Arrogant demon,” I breathed, but there was no venom in it, only the ache of wanting more.
He dipped his head, lips grazing the shell of my ear. “Say it again, kitten. Maybe I’ll believe you.”
The words burned through me, every syllable a spark of fire. He wasn’t feeding, just letting his breath skate over my skin, drinking in the shiver he caused.
No, tonight, I was the one losing control, not him. I felt defeated by my own feelings. Here I was, asking him to use me, in order to survive. What normal person would sacrifice themselves to a demon, instead of encouraging their restraint?
Only he wasn’t one. In my eyes, he was more than a man, more than a demon. He was my partner on the battlefield; he was my safety in the storm.
Malakai was my home, because he was who my heart had decided upon.
“That expression…” he said softly, voice cracking on something almost human. “You make it too damn hard to behave.”
“Then don’t,” I blurted. “For once, don’t.”
He froze, eyes darkening, a flicker of raw hunger beneath the smirk. For a heartbeat, I thought he’d finally give in.
Instead, he exhaled slowly, stepping back just far enough to break the spell. “Not tonight, sweetie.”
The loss of contact was a physical ache. He tilted his head, wicked grin returning.
“Come on,” he said, his voice gentling. “You’ll catch a cold out here.”
I didn’t move. He sighed, the sound half amusement, half surrender.
“Tell you what,” he said, brushing his fingers along my jaw. “Since I’m in a good mood…”
His mouth tilted in that teasing half-smile. “I’ll let you snuggle tonight.”
The words shouldn’t have hit as hard as they did, but something in the way he said them, soft and unguarded, broke through the ache in my chest.
I exhaled, finally letting the tension bleed from my shoulders. “You make it sound as if I needed to ask for your permission.”
He smiled, that familiar glint of mischief softening the edges. “Of course not,” he murmured. “You never ask, kitten, you just claim.”
He nodded in the direction of the camp. “You first. If I keep looking at you, sweetie, I’ll start to think this was a dream.”
I smiled as I took his hand, tugging him towards the faint glow of the campfire. “Then stay close. I’ll make sure you don’t wake up.”