They all ignored him, instead saying their goodbyes as they turned off their cameras.
As they were signing off, Shiloh knocked softly on the door. “We’re heading out to dinner at Mama’s, then we’re going to themovies with Ever and Arsen. We’ll be home late…probably very late,” he added awkwardly.
Nico jerked to his feet, turning on Mal. “Are you up to something?”
Mal blinked up at him, his expression blank. “Up to something?” he parroted.
Nico crossed his arms over his chest, backing up until he bumped into their bed, almost falling before catching himself. “Yeah, like…”
Mal stood, stalking towards him.
“Like?” he countered, moving closer until it felt like he loomed over him even though there wasn’t that much of a height difference between them.
“Like…likethis. Why are you so close to me? Is it hot in here? It feels…it feels hot in here,” Nico babbled.
Mal gave him a look that made Nico feel deliciously small and sighed. “Youdidn’ttake your pill today. Did you?”
Nico flushed. “I forgot. I was…in a hurry.”
Mal’s hand closed around Nico’s throat, his thumb sweeping over his pulse. “In a hurry to avoid me.”
“No, that’s…no, I just wanted to get to class early,” he said, looking anywhere but at Mal.
Mal’s hand tightened almost imperceptibly. Nico’s eyelids fluttered. “Don’t start lying to me now,” he said softly, a hint of malice beneath his words, the barest threat of danger that set Nico’s blood on fire.
“I’m…not?” Was his voice shaking?
Mal arched a brow, smirking. “Are you asking me? Because if you are, I think we both know the answer. I just can’t figure out if you’re lying to me because you’re afraid of me or because you’re hoping I’ll punish you for it.”
Both. Both. Both.
Despite Nico’s bold speech last night, it had never occurred to him that Mal wouldwantto punish him. Not really. Not outside of actual sex, not without the safety net of an orgasm to distract him. Rough sex needed sex. It was right there in the title. But this Mal seemed to have no compunction about one without the other. Or was Mal offering both?
Nico should have taken his pill…for numerous reasons.
Nico talked a big game, but the amount of times he’d actually had ‘rough’ sex could be counted on one hand with three fingers left over. Hemayhave overstated the kink experience on his sexual resume in the hopes of keeping Mal at a distance. Before he knew he’d been sharing a bed with the Marquis de Sade.
Mal, it seemed, had not lied at all. He dropped both hands, sliding them into Nico’s loose shorts to grip his bare ass, squeezing tightly. “So, which is it, Fidget?”
Nico couldn’t breathe. His cock was throbbing, his head swimming. He wanted more, wanted Mal closer, impossibly close. He wanted Mal to crawl inside him and he also wanted to push him away. He’d never understood the wordyearninguntil Mal. But that was the only word that popped into his head. He yearned for Mal so badly it scared him.
“Well?” Mal asked, pulling Nico flush with his body, letting him feel how hard he was, too.
Well, what? Had Mal asked him a question? Oh, right, the punishment. Every time he thought he had a good grasp on them, his thoughts scattered like startled birds. He could tell Mal to let him go. He would. But then the game would be over. Nico was good with games. This he could do. He could beat this. This didn’t have to involve feelings. “What are you gonna do if I say yes? Spank me?”
Mal’s smile was sinister. “Is that what you’re after, Fidget? Is that why you’re so restless? Need someone to wear you out? Make your head go quiet?”
Nico’s head fizzed like seltzer water. Could it do that? He swallowed thickly once more, swaying into Mal, inhaling his scent as he tried to calm his nerves. Mal had always been his safe space, but now, he was also the thing tying him in knots. Nico had given him everything necessary to bring Nico to his knees.
“I’m not after anything,” Nico managed, his fingers fisting in Mal’s hoodie. He tried to keep his tone bored, but his words came out shaky. “I’m just asking. How do you plan on punishing me?”
Mal’s gaze raked over him appraisingly, like he was taking stock of what he had to work with.
“I suppose we could start with spanking,” he said, as if that bored him. He stepped away from Nico. “Shorts and underwear off. My shirt can stay on. I like you in my clothes.”
Nico froze at Mal’s sudden change in demeanor. Was he serious? Did he really just want Nico to strip from the waist down with the lights on at six in the afternoon?
“It’s still light outside,” he said stupidly.
