Page 24 of Unholy

Malachi looked a little shocked, and Luke feared he’d overshared until Malachi said wondrously, “You feel it, too.”

“Feel what?”

“That we belong together. You think I’m perfect for you, the same way I think you’re perfect for me.”

Did he? He hadn’t realized it until he said the words aloud, but they were true. He had been attracted to Malachi since the moment he first saw him. Talking to him only made him that much harder to resist, because as soon as he did, helikedhim. Hefit, like a perfect puzzle piece, in every curve and dip of Luke’s life.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to admit it yet,” Malachi said loftily, circling his hips in a way that sent sparks down Luke’s spine. Luke couldn’t stop touching him, sliding his hands up and down his body, gripping his thighs, his hips, combing his glossy hair back from his face.

“Seven years,” Luke said, digging his fingers into the meat of Malachi’s thigh.

Malachi, his face twisted with pleasure, blinked down at him. “Wait, what? Is that how long it’s gonna take to get you to admit you like me? Because that’s fine as long as we get to keep doing this.”

Luke huffed, his face heating. “No. My dry spell.”

“What? You poor thing.” Malachi leaned over him, cradling him in his arms as though to protect him from his self-isolation.

A peal of laughter left Luke that he barely recognized as himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed this much. “No dry spells for you, I take it,” he murmured, sounding more bitter than intended. Why would Malachi ever have to go through a dry spell? He was the most attractive man Luke had ever seen, and he said himself that humans threw themselves at the demons in In Extremis.

“Mm, not exactly, but nothing like this,” he replied, pulling Luke from his thoughts. He kissed Luke long and deep, wrapping a hand around both their cocks and jerking them in time with his undulating hips. Luke rocked up to meet him, quiet moans falling between their mouths.

“This?” he asked between drugging kisses.

“Mm-hm. You feel so fucking good. I don’t just want to get off with you. I want to take my time, marinate in your scent, luxuriate in the feel of you up against me. Goddamn, you’re perfect.”

Luke’s eyes fell closed, overwhelmed with emotion, dragging Malachi down for another slick, intoxicating kiss as their bodies rocked together. He was sweating, his panting breaths puffing out between them as he neared the end. Malachi was right. This felt different than anyone else he’d ever been with. It wasn’t perfunctory sex to get them both off. It wasn’t even the obligatory sex he’d had with past partners who expected him to perform his part. Somehow, he could let go with Malachi. For the first time in his life, he didn’t have to be in control. It was unlike anything else he’d ever experienced.More. Their bodies moved as one not for their own selfish ends but to reach that peak together, to spill off into the unknown together. Like bungee jumping but without the cord, because all they needed to land safely was each other.

Hot pleasure exploded through him as he came, arching up and crying out. Malachi buried his moan in his neck, curling his fingers in Luke’s short hair as he followed him over the edge. Their bodies went lax, hands stroking idly across each other’s skin as they came down from the high.

“Okay,” Malachi said breathlessly, raising his head to look down at Luke with a half-lidded gaze. “Food?”

Luke laughed. “Yeah. Then maybe sleep.” He glanced over as they both sat up, and Malachi tugged the blanket over their naked laps. “Maybe you… would want to stay tonight? Do halflings sleep?”

Malachi smiled, fond and content. “We do sleep, and I’d love to stay.” His crimson gaze darted away—Luke would almost say nervously, if Malachi had ever displayed such a feeling. “I’ve got to say, I’m a little surprised you’re so accepting all of the sudden. You were pushing me away pretty hard the last time we saw each other.”

Luke ducked his head. “I know. This is still… incredibly risky. We can’t risk being seen in public together. If word gets back to the guild, I don’t know what they’d do. Banish me, at the very least.”

“And you love hunting demons,” Malachi said, then nudged his thigh. “Eat before it gets cold. Again.”

Luke chuckled, plucking a fry off the plate. Salted potato bloomed on his tongue. When he leaned over slightly, letting his shoulder brush Malachi’s, the halfling leaned into it, lining their bodies up. It felt companionable, and Luke smiled to himself.

“I do. But more than that, the guild is just—” he shook his head, “—all I’ve ever known. The guild took me in when I was two years old. I’ve been with them for thirty-two years, Mal. It’s what I’ve dedicated my life to. It’s my purpose.”

He expected Malachi to dislike that, but instead he smiled, and there was a twinkle of something like fondness in his eyes.

“I’ve never felt like that about anything,” Malachi said.

“Really? Not even in your human life?”

Malachi shrugged. “I don’t remember it. I barely remember Hell, too. I remember pain, and waking up on Earth. In a coffin.” His gaze was distant. “Pitch black, barely any space to move, just the smell of dirt and old wood.”

That must’ve been incredibly disorienting. “You came back in your own body?”

“Mm-hm. Restored like new.” He looked down at himself. “I don’t think I looked exactly like this, though. I think this is the most perfect version of my human body.”

It might’ve sounded arrogant coming from anyone else, but Malachi said it matter-of-factly. Luke tilted his head, examining him. He could see what Malachi meant. There were no scars or little imperfections on him. Normal humans weren’t that flawless. To Luke’s trained eye, it had always been another warning sign that halflings weren’t quite right, but now, looking at Malachi, it gave him a little shiver of delight. He truly was perfect.

Luke leaned in, kissing his cheek. “I think I would’ve liked human you.”

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