There was nothing left to keep us apart.
He hauled me forward, positioning me exactly where he wanted, his grip firm but not rough, guiding me until I was straddling him again.
“You’re going to hold onto me,” he said, his tone not asking, but commanding. “Understand?”
I nodded, breathless, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Good girl.”
His words had heat knotting itself in my lower stomach, and then he pressed into me, slow and unrelenting, stretching me until I could do nothing but cling to him.
My head fell onto his shoulder as a low moan slipped from my mouth. His hand slid to the back of my neck, guiding me to his lips as he claimed mine once more, the taste of him consuming me. I could feel him everywhere as his hands shifted, clutching each side of my hips, pressing harder into me.
“Look at you,” he murmured, praise in his tone now, his lips brushing along my jaw. “Taking me so well.”
The water rocked around us as he began to move, slow at first, deliberate, teasing, until my breath came in short, broken sounds, until I was the one rocking against him, chasing for more.
“Beg me,” he whispered against my ear, his grin wicked.
“I need—”
“Louder,” he cut me off, voice firm, non-negotiable.
“I want all of you,” I yielded, while my nails dug into his shoulders, punishing him for it. “Ruin me.”
That was all it took. His pace shifted, hard and deep, every thrust making the rock at my back dig into my skin, but I didn’t care. I was completely lost to the rhythm of him, the heat and the water and the way he was somehow everywhere at once.
His mouth found mine again, devouring, drinking every sound I made. A firm hand traced my spine, holding me upright or perhaps shielding me from the rock, the other gripping my hip so tight I knew I’d bear the mark tomorrow.
“Say my name,” he breathed against my lips, wild and ragged.
It tore out of me, raw and broken. “Malakai.”
His lips curved, dark satisfaction in his eyes as he drove in once quick, pulling out slowly, making me ache. “Again.”
I clung to him, trembling, undone. “Malakai!”
His mouth claimed mine again, voice rough between kisses. “Good. I want it carved into you, so that every time you say or hearmy name, this is what you feel.”
He drove into me harder, faster, until I was trembling in his grip, my teeth biting into his shoulder, the world splintering around me.
When I shattered, my flames burst around us and he was right there with me, holding me so tight it almost hurt, his own breath ragged against my neck as he spilled every last ounce of his restraint into the moment.
For a long time, we stayed like that against the rock, tangled together in the cooling water, moonlight painting silver over sweat-slick skin, his chest rising and falling against mine, his red marks glowing brighter than ever before. Instead of fearing it, I felt a strange sensation of power, knowing his control had slipped because of me.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter, rough but warm.
“Try to run from me,” he murmured, “and I’ll drag you back. Every. Time.”
And despite everything, I laughed, weak, breathless, but real, because I knew hemeant it.
CHAPTER
36
The lake was still again, rippling softly around us. My breathing had finally begun to steady, though my body still hummed from everything we’d done.
Malakai hadn’t let go of me, not completely. One hand stroked lazily down my spine, while the other rested possessively at my hip as though daring the night to take me away from him.
