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“What’s a prosperity gospel?” I ask.
Mal rubs the bridge of his nose.
“What? I’m not Christian.”
“I know,” he says. “It’s this idea that if you’re a good person, you’re going to become really rich because you’re going to get this heavenly reward that’s all about material success. It’s more like a giant pyramid scheme based on religion.”
“Right,” I say. “I guess that makes sense. But why are you showing me this?”
“To show you that things are far worse than you thought,” he says. “There’s not much you can do about other people who are already possessed or already influenced by this.”
My heart beats hard in my chest. I think I’m going to pass out; my vision darkens for a second. The floor becomes unsteady under my feet, but before I go down, I feel Malon’s arms wrap around my waist. He’s pulling me into a deep embrace, the muscles of his chest hard and lean against me.
He smells like iron and fog, likewinter.
“How do I win, Malon?” I ask, tilting my head up so I can look into his jade green eyes. “If everyone’s already lost to this, how can I win?”
“You can’t help everyone,” he says, his hand slowly sliding up my back until his fingers are speared in my hair. “You have to help yourself first.”
MALON
Ithink she might pull away.
I realize this is probably not a good idea. I don’t really care, but I have to wonder if Trine is going to pull away from me and tell me we shouldn’t do this. She does. It makes my heart drop, but only for a second. She gasps when she parts her lips and my gaze flits between her lips and her brown eyes, her pupils expanding when she meets my eyes.
This isn’t a dream. This is real.
And she’s doing this, her hands on my chest, her fingers curled in my shirt. She stands on the tips of her toes and I pull her close to me.
“Are you sure about this?” I ask her. I don’t want to, I want to drag her into the bathroom and have my way with her, but I also don’t want to do anything that she might regret. I know she’s really vulnerable right now.
“Yes,” she says breathlessly, as if she can read my mind. “I’m absolutely sure.”
I’m not going to try and talk her out of it. I tuck a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and catch her gaze again as she smiles at me, her eyes glimmering despite the dark shadows under them.
She doesn’t let me stare at her for too long. She crosses the space between us, her lips pressed against mine, her right hand wrapped around the back of my neck. She opens her mouth to let me in and then bites down softly on my lower lip, her teeth scraping against me.
I slide my hands down toward the curve of her ass. She moans into my mouth, then gasps and pulls away.
“Maybe we should go somewhere more private,” I say.
“Or maybe we could just do this here,” she replies, a hint of anger creeping into her voice. “Since you’ve made me wait so long.”
I laugh under my breath. “Here,” I say, feeling for the door next to me. I’m surprised when the lock clicks open. I smile at her. “See? Now you don’t have to wait.”
She shakes her head, pulling away from me and grabbing my wrist. She walks into the meeting room before I do. I want to slam the door behind myself and press her against the wall, but I close it softly instead so we won’t call attention to ourselves.
“Lock it,” she says.
“Why?” I ask, only because I want to hear what she has to say. I’m happy to follow her directions.
“Because,” she says, smirking. “You don’t want anyone to walk in, do you?”
“Not unless that’s what you want.”
“It’s not,” she replies. “What I want is what you’ve been keeping from me all this time. How long have the dreams been happening? Four years now?”
“A little more than that, yeah,” I say.
