Page 56 of Malachi
“Come home with me. Let me care for you,” he pleaded in hushed, loving tones that soothed the aching panic I felt. After another shared kiss, I finally nodded my head. We rose slowly, brushing away grass and leaves as he gathered our clothing. I had expected him to give me something to cover myself, but instead he simply held his hand out.
“My clothes?” I questioned, eying the pile in his other hand.
“Who cares?” he shrugged with a rakish grin. “Let’s go home, Little Bird.”
I thought it over for only a moment before I took his hand and walked back to the house with him, completely nude and completely happy.
CHAPTER15
EDEN
The hot water lapped at my skin. Malachi lay behind me. There wasn’t a single place I’d rather be in that moment than in his arms.
“That was probably the sexiest thing we’ve ever done,” I said shyly.
“That it was, Little Bird,” he said with a smile I could feel against the top of my head. He had washed me slowly, my hair and my body, until I felt clean as could be. It was a sensual thing to be bathed by a man. Especially a man like Malachi.
“I love when you call me that,” I sighed happily. The water was quickly growing tepid. I could feel the wrinkled skin on my fingertips as I let them run over my skin slowly beneath the water’s surface.
“I love calling you that,” he agreed softly. He slowly moved me away from him, standing in the water as it sluiced off of his body. “Come. Let’s get dried off.”
We dried quickly, readying ourselves for bed without a word. I felt a heaviness from everything that had happened. So much information, so many things unknown. Yet here, with him, there was a constant I was learning I could count on.
“Don’t get dressed,” he urged as I pulled a night shift out of the dresser. I had half a mind to question him, but thought better of it. He had yet to lead me astray tonight. His honesty, his forthright vulnerability, had moved me beyond words.
He led me to the bed quietly, helping me to lie back as he found his place beside me. He kept the covers off of us as his hands touched my skin gently with reverence. There were marks all over my body. A scratch here, a bite mark there. Even a few bruises from where he had been particularly rough.
“A part of me wants to apologize for marking such beautiful skin—”
“Please don’t,” I urged him in a hushed tone. I touched one of the bruises that marred my breast.
“Why not?” he questioned, looking up at me.
“Because they are perfect,” I answered honestly.
“Perfect?”
“They are us.” It wasn’t exactly an explanation, but it was the best I could do to define how they made me feel. There was something, a feeling between us in that moment, that could not be described.
He touched and then kissed every mark on my body before making his way to my lips. Our kiss was gentle, with a sweetness that made my feelings grow for him more than they already had this evening. The kiss didn’t go anywhere. It did not spark any passion between us, aside from our growing feelings for each other. Or at least, my growing feelings for him.
As the silent stillness threatened to lull us into sleep, I found myself plagued with thoughts.
“Malachi?” I asked quietly.
“Mm?” he murmured beside me. He was curled around me, as though he were still unwilling to let me go.
“How do you deal with it all?” I asked with a soft sigh.
“All of what?” he grumbled.
“All of it. The plan. The kink. All the things the Elders are doing.”
“Well, that’s a lot. Are you feeling a little overwhelmed?” he asked, re-situating himself until he lay beside me, propped up on his elbow.
“You could say that,” I shrugged off.
“For me, it didn’t all come at once. I had time to process each thing on a much more individual scale. Granted, even that felt overwhelming, so I can’t imagine how you must be feeling,” he admitted, concern evident in his whispered voice.
