Page 8 of Malachi
“Dance with me. Please?” she pled, her eyes wide as she all but pouted her desires to me.
“If you won’t go willingly, I have half a mind to throw you over my shoulder and drag your ass back to the house,” I shot back.
“Oh, Malachi. No, you wouldn’t,” she chuckled, shrugging me off as though my words were not to be taken seriously. I’d show her serious. I lunged for her, grabbing her about the waist and throwing her over my shoulder as she shrieked.
“Put me down!” she yelped as I stomped my way back through the tree line and into the dense timber towards the house.
“Hush,” I commanded, tuning out her protests as I walked through the trees and then across the yard. I flung open the door, refusing to set her down as I marched through the house and up the stairs towards the bedroom. When I had cleared the doorway, I finally threw her down on the bed, watching as she bounced once. I closed the door, locking it behind me. With arms crossed over my chest, I glared at her.
“You will stay put,” I commanded as she looked at me in shock.
“But you must understand. I love being outdoors and you have so much space and —”
“I said stay put,” I reiterated through clenched teeth. She closed her mouth, hearing the uncompromising tone I used. I took a deep, cleansing breath before continuing. “If you wish to go outside, you will tell me. That way I can ensure your safety. It is my job as your husband to make sure you are safe. It’s day one and you are already making it difficult. Please do not make things any harder than they already are.”
She looked at me for a long moment before she sighed heavily.
“Alright, Malachi. I will speak with you before I do such a thing again. I promise,” she vowed.
“Can I trust you to stay here while I shower before bed?” I asked her, one of my brows arching in question.
“I promise I will stay here,” she said with much chagrin and a touch of embarrassment.
“Good,” I nodded, stalking off towards the adjoining bathroom. I kicked off my boots, tossing them towards the closet before I entered the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it behind me. I flipped on the shower, letting the water warm as I stood before the mirrored sink.
What the hell had I gotten myself into? This tiny wisp of a woman was already wreaking so much havoc on my life, and it had been mere hours since we had been married. How was I going to get through the next few weeks without pulling out every last lock of hair from my head? Or having a damned heart attack when she suddenly disappeared into the forest? Granted, hopefully that was a onetime occurrence that I had now fixed from ever happening again.
There was a small part of me that wanted to let the beast out of its cage to revel in the way she had sprinted into the woods like that.
I shook my head, dispelling the notion as I stepped into the shower. I loved this shower. I had built it, much to the dismay of Levi. It was all glass, unlike most of the things in my home. It was large and a place I wanted to bring a woman back to. I had visions of chasing a delicious little thing through the trees, fucking her with wild abandoned until we were both a dirty, muddy mess, and then carrying her back here to this very spot to clean up. I could picture our muddied bodies dirtying the glass as the water cleansed us of all things except our passion for one another.
The water sluiced over my hair, wetting my face as it trekked down my body. The fantasy weaved through my mind. I took hold of myself, squeezing the head of my cock lightly as the images of a woman pressed against the glass filled my mind. Her breasts would be pressed into the glass as I held her hair and her hips back, fucking her until I slaked my thirst for her.
I stroked myself slowly, bringing myself to the brink as my hips thrust into my fisted hand. The water lubricated my movements, my mind spinning with thoughts of stalking my beautiful prey into the dark of night. The adrenaline, the pounding heartbeats, the rough play. All of it pushed me past the bring as I spilled over my hand, my cum spurting against the glass wall, only to be rinsed away by the spray of water above.
I leaned my head against the glass wall, taking a moment to catch my breath. Eden’s little excursion into the woods tonight was toying with me. It was skirting along the edge of my fantasies, but that’s all those could ever be: fantasies. I knew in the depths of my soul that I would never be able to find what my brothers had. There was not a woman out there would could slate the hunger and yearning I had for the hunt, the chase, the passion I desired. It was a fool’s errand to think anything otherwise, and I knew it.
The life of a loner was all I would ever know, and I had made my peace with that decision long before this night. It wouldn’t change, no matter how much Levi, or even Zeke, tried to convince me otherwise. No woman would be okay with the darker sides of my nature. The beast within would stay tucked away for all time, loathe as I was to admit it.
Finally turning off the water, I quickly dried myself off, throwing on a pair of sleep pants before making my way back into the bedroom. Eden lay on the bed, curled up on her side, all snuggled under the covers. A small smile played at her lips as she slept soundly. At least she hadn’t run while I was in the shower. That would have only made a shit day worse.
I toyed with the idea of going downstairs to sleep in the guest bedroom, but decided against it. If I did that and she got a wild hair up her ass to run again, I would be none the wiser. By sleeping next to her, at least I would know if she tried to leave again. I slid into the bed next to her, careful to hug my side of the mattress to avoid touching her at all costs.
She was an odd thing, Eden. She was a sweet young woman with a smile that was hard not to return. I thought she was like any other girl here in Zion, but then she had thrown me for a loop by running. What in the hell had possessed her to dance in the forest? She had told me her reasons, sure. But they didn’t make a lick of sense. To just bolt out there, into the wilderness without care or caution? It was maddening.
I would need to keep my wits about me in order to keep an eye on her. The mountains here were wild. While they suited me well, playing to my proclivities while keeping my loner existence secure, she was an innocent girl. She didn’t understand what dangers lurked out there.
Or in here, for that matter.
CHAPTER3
EDEN
Marriage was an odd thing. Mother had told me often that my sole purpose in this life was to serve my husband and be a godly wife. That was it. That was what it all amounted to. To be married at such a young age felt like a life sentence. A life spent waiting on a man much older than me, serving him in whatever way he wished, just as I had seen my mother serve my father. There was much I hated about the thought of getting married, but then I had learned I would be marrying the mysterious, perhaps a touch infamous, Malachi Temple.
He was an odd duck, Malachi. When my parents had announced my engagement to the second oldest Temple son, I was delighted. And while my parents were happy with my excitement, their announcement also came with its fair share of warnings. Malachi was not only much older than me, but he was known as somewhat of a loner. I was told about his home, outside of Zion in the mountains. While this came as a warning from my parents, it was only more of a delight for me.
When we had arrived last night, I had taken in the surroundings and the beautiful home I knew he had built. It was everything I had hoped for, and more. The house was a beautiful log cabin design, though on a much larger scale than the homes within Zion itself. That wasn’t what had taken my breath away, however. It was everything around it. Land and timber as far as the eye could see. So much nature to explore, and for once in my life, I would be able to do just that.
