Chapter 21
CHAPTER
The lake looked black under the bright sunlight as if it refused to belong to this world. Ash colored sand stretched around it, clinging to my skin and to the blood that had dried beneath my nails.
Malakai moved beside me, quiet as ever. The air around him always felt alive, threads of faint red light pulsing beneath his skin, like veins.
Blood magic, his favorite weapon and thus his favorite toy.
“You’re quiet,” I said, glancing at him.
He didn’t bother looking. “So are you, kitten.”
His voice was low, the edge of a smile in it, always smug.
Once we arrived at the shoreline, I crouched by the water, dipping my hands. It was freezing, so cold it hissed against my skin. I hesitated.
Beside me, I heard him step into the lake, the sound of water shifting around his steady and slow movements making my heart stutter. He never rushed anything, not even this.
“Don’t drown,” I murmured without turning.
“Would you save me if I did?”
“No,” I said, though the word came out softer than I meant.
He chuckled. “Liar.”
I rolled my eyes, unbuckled the last of my armor, and stepped in. The cold bit all the way up my legs before the warmth in me began to fight back.
When I finally glanced up, he was watching, eyes half-lidded, amused, and waiting for me to notice.
“Do you ever get tired of staring?” I asked.
“No,” he said simply. “I like reminding myself that you’re real.”
There it was: that quiet possessiveness he never bothered to hide. The very same that made me feel seen and safe; I was the treasure he guarded with his life.
We washed in silence, the water between us trembling with faint threads of red. His magic had a pulse, and I could almost feel it brushing against me, curious and hungry, but restrained.
When I finished, I turned towards the shallows, while Malakai stayed where he was, waist-deep in the dark. Watching, holding that edge of control, like a hunter who’d already caught his prey but wanted her to take the last step herself.
Finally, he moved, slowly walking out of the lake.
Water trickled down his body in silver trails, tracing his red markings before disappearing into the grey sand.
He didn’t touch me as he passed, didn’t say a word.
But he walked close enough for me to feel the heat coming off him, the intensity in his gaze.
It would’ve been easier if he’d reached for me, but he hadn’t. His restraint, his choice, undid me more than touch. Was this a new game he was playing?
I followed him to the line of twisted trees where we’d hung our clothes. The air was still cool, smell sharp with ash and smoke. He stood a few steps ahead, water dripping from his hair, back turned to me as he reached for his shirt.
“You’re cruel,” I said quietly.
He glanced over his shoulder, the corner of his mouth curving up. “You like me cruel.”
He wasn’t wrong, but I released a loud sigh.
Before I could stop myself, I crossed the space between us.
He turned to glance at me, arching a curious brow, and I slithered my arms around his neck to heave myself up and kissed him.
Hard enough to wipe that smug look off his face, deep enough to make him forget that he’d been the one holding back.
He smiled against my lips, that faint, knowing curve that said he had let me win just to see what I would do with it. His hands stayed loose at his sides, a show of patience that was somehow worse than arrogance.
He was definitely playing.
I kissed him again, slower this time. He didn’t deepen it, didn’t push, he just let me take what I wanted. The way he held back made something boil inside of me, frustration. I drew back only far enough to speak.
“You’re supposed to kiss me back,” I said accusingly as I withdrew my arms.
His eyes flickered, beginning to glow scarlet red. “I will, if you ask nicely.”
I didn’t. Instead, I dragged my thumb along the edge of his jaw, tracing the growing pulse that lived there.
His skin was still cool from the lake, but underneath, I could feel the hum of his magic, a quiet rhythm, steady and possessive.
It was always there, a reminder of what he was, just as my flames always flickered in response to my emotions.
He finally lifted a hand, slow and deliberate, and brushed a drop of water from my collarbone. The touch was nothing, barely there, but my breath still hitched.
“Hmm,” he murmured, voice roughened by something that wasn’t quite control anymore. “Are you struggling to find your words?”
I swallowed, trying not to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much that voice affected me. His fingers trailed higher, skimming along my neck, stopping just below my chin.
He leaned in until our lips nearly touched, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath.
“Say it,” he whispered low.
I shook my head, smiling despite myself. “You’ll have to take it.”
His chuckle was soft, low, and dark. The sound of someone completely at ease with wanting too much.
His thumb brushed the corner of my mouth, before it slipped down to rest against my throat. Not pressing, merely resting, a quiet claim, nothing more. The heat between us thickened, all the things we weren’t saying curling in the air like smoke.
I slid my hand down his chest, tracing the path of the glowing marks which pulsed beneath my fingertips, reacting to the touch. He inhaled deeply, cherishing every stroke. He tilted his head, eyes half-lidded again.
“Malakai,” I whispered sensually, eyes flickering to his. “Tell me you don’t want me.”
“Fuck,” he said through his teeth, his voice revealing how his control was slipping, the frustration lingering in it. His hand around my throat twitched, showing even further how he struggled, without hurting me.
Finally, the kiss landed hard, claiming my lips, before his tongue forced its way through without waiting for permission. I gasped into his mouth, my arms wrapping around his neck.
His arms slithered around my waist, forcing me against one of the trees, caging me there. I was barely able to breathe as his mouth devoured mine.
He was everywhere, his taste, his smell, and the pressure of his body rough against mine.
When he finally tilted his head back, I panted, my head spinning. He kissed my jawline, trailing down slowly, almost torturing, to where my neck and shoulder connected.
I arched against him, my body felt like screaming.
Yes.
A low chuckle rumbled through him as he smiled against my neck, and I felt my heart stutter. His fingers slid along my skin, barely touching, making my skin prickle at his lazy movement.
One hand grabbed my thigh, pulling it around his hip, before his fingers skimmed on top of it, towards my core. He made one painfully slow stroke, before he paused, his eyes savoring every expression I made.
“Look at you,” he mused. “All that control, melting away.”
I shifted, giving him better access, while he kept stroking teasingly, torturing me rather than bringing me pleasure. My body was aflame, luckily not literally for once.
“Beg me,” he whispered into my ear, as he stopped stroking me, but kept his fingers close enough to make my core ache for more. “Beg for my help.” His free hand brushed away the hair from my face, letting his heavy breaths hit my skin.
“Malakai,” I gasped, trying to keep it down by nibbling on his collarbone.
He chuckled low, sensual, and amused. “I’ll start by soothing your inner fire… and until I’m finished, you are not allowed to stop me.”
He began to slowly get down on his knees as his eyes traveled along my body, my eyes widened as a surprised huff left my lips.
“What are you—”
His gaze snapped to mine, sending a chill throughout my entire body with the intensity in it.
No words were needed. His hand grabbed onto my leg, his lips brushing against the inside of my thigh.
Our eyes locked again as he sank his teeth into it and I gasped, my leg twitching in response to his fangs as I rested it over his shoulder.
The pain subsided quickly as he drew back and instead his tongue lapped over the wound.
My pulse skyrocketed, breath quickening at the sight of him so close to my core.
“And just like that, you’re all wet. Because of me,” he said kissing my thigh again. The sound of his voice made me melt and I stroked my hand along his cheek. He leaned in to it as if indulging a pet. My hand continued up, until I swept it through his wet, silvery-white hair.
He smirked, mischievous and maddening, his fingers digging into my thigh as if to keep it in place over his shoulder, while the other hand stroked possessively along my lower back. Slowly, he leaned closer, my heart slamming against my ribs as I saw him lick against my core.
I trembled in response.
“Just when I thought you couldn’t get sweeter,” he sighed with delight in his voice.
A low moan escaped me as one of my hands curled, gripping his hair firmly, and the other dug into the trunk of the tree behind me, catching fire.
He smirked at me, before he continued making broad strokes with his tongue. After making lazy circles around my clit, he moved to my core, pushing his tongue inside, before moving back to focus, with maddening precision, on my clit again.
I was shaking.
My chest heaved, trying to keep up with the warmth knotting together in my lower stomach.
“That, feels amazing,” I breathed out.
His lips pressed against my clit as he suddenly sucked on it and I moaned. My hand released the trunk and covered my mouth, fear crawling over me that the others might’ve heard it.
“That’s more like it,” Malakai chuckled low and did it again, but this time he pushed two fingers into me at the same time.
My legs trembled and my hand tightened over my mouth, muffling my sounds. His eyes slid to mine and red threads escaped from him, gripping my wrist and tearing it away from my mouth as he locked it against the trunk again.
“How am I supposed to hear your beautiful voice if you’re sealing it inside?” His eyes glowed accusingly at me.
“But—”
I felt his teeth grazing against my clit.
“Malakai!” I jolted in reaction.