“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. Watertrickled 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 wasdefinitelyplaying.
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 asknicely.”
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.
