The only thing they could both hear, was their pounding hearts. Pounding because it was so stunned, so overwhelmed, so...damned, because of one kiss.
Malachi knew he should pull away. He should pull away and claim with his life, that that action was a big mistake. His head yelled at him to do so, but as always, the heart was much more powerful.
And the soul agreed with it, for that was where the bond lay, cheering them on excitedly.
Malachi didn’t move his lips. They remained crushed against hers, but one hand came up and he braced it against the wall behind her, for he wasn’t sure if his strength could keep up. He wasn’t even sure if he was in his right senses for kissing...the one person he would swear with his life that he hated.
Was it her words that had moved him this hard? Her tears? The rawness of her voice? He didn’t know anymore.
He was sure of one thing though...he couldn’t pull away.
Della didn’t even know how to process thoughts anymore. There was a sudden loud ringing in her head the moment his lips touched hers, and she thought that her soul had been ripped out of her and kept directly in front of her eyes.
Because all she could see was stars.
Stars shooting.
Stars flying.
Was that normal? Was it a good or bad thing?!
His lips parted carefully, shaking, and his grip on her jaw tightened as his lips clasped over her bottom lip and deepened the kiss.
Something ran down her veins, and a noise escaped her lips before she could help herself.
Malachi heard it, and it did something crazy to him too. Still bracing his other hand against the wall, he tilted his head to get more access and then took more of her succulent, full lips.
Delle gasped and grabbed his attire.
He kept going, slowly, taking his time, every second surrendering more to it, every second wishing he could pull away but he was only going in deeper. And the feeling of pushing away and pulling her further in was slowly thinning till none mattered.
Only she.
Malachi groaned, a deep rumble escaping him as he took her lips again and kissed her harder than before. She tasted like the tears that had just finished running down, and he wanted to erase the taste and find out the taste that lay underneath.
He was definitely screwed.
Della didn’t know exactly how to act in this situation. It’s not like any man has ever grabbed her face and kissed her before. She didn’t know what to do with her hands, her feet, her lips...her pounding heart.
But noises kept escaping. Ones she couldn’t control.
And her stomach felt very funny, especially the lower part.
He suddenly brought both hands to her shoulder with a small pressure, halting the kiss. It seemed like he had managed to gain a few ounces of control back to himself despite everything, and he used that to push himself away from her, his breath ragged like he’d just ran.
Why on earth did he kiss her? When was the last time he laid his lips on a woman? Sex was a huge thing, but kissing has always been out of the question! Not even the mate bond should have been able to make him do that.
He had messed up.
A mistake he would never make again.
As he pulled back a little, his eyes fell on her face. She was in a complete daze, and for the first time, her eyes possessed this... little twinkle in them like stars going round and round. Her cheeks were red, and she looked... pretty.
Then, he looked down at her lips.
Gently parted.
Trembling deliriously.
Pink, full, and swollen from his caress.
Malachi blinked slowly, and before he knew it, his lips were on her again. This time, they were even greedier than before and harder. He kissed her so hard her back hit the wall, and her head began to spin.
The taste he’d been waiting to feel finally got to him beyond the salt, and he revelled in it, in what he would have missed if he had stopped. She tasted like everything he’d sworn he’d never need again — soft, buttery and like the first drop of rain after a drought.
He pulled her closer, emitting another groan of pleasure till she was pressed against his chest with no way out. She could not lie to herself that she wasn’t enjoying this either. She could not lie to herself that she wanted this to stop, and so took one step closer too.
And kissed him back.
She knew it was stupid and probably a big mistake.
To kiss him.
To give him another piece of her heart that he was going to trample on.
But she couldn’t help herself. She just couldn’t. For this moment right here, she wanted to let go.
She wanted to be...kissed.
Her hand slowly came up his chest to his shoulders, and she slowly began to follow his movements, adjusting to his flow till she had matched the pace of his kisses.
Till she was lost in all he was offering, giving and taking back.
When she also pulled on his bottom lip and sucked, Malachi groaned uncontrollably and his hand ran down her leg and gripped her backside again. It was so soft, and just the right width for his large hands.
Perfection.
Della moaned more into the kiss as he bit down on her upper lip, tilting her head upward as his tongue forced its way into her mouth. She tasted like delicate, precious wine that shouldn’t be spilt a drop.
Drugging.
Brainwashing.
Deadly.
Like it was trapping him in, and he was letting it.
He moved to the other Butt and grabbed, caressing the softness before owning it again. Della wasn’t sure if this was normal, but there was a crazy amount of moisture between her legs that she didn’t want to admit, that she didn’t want him to know.
The kiss, the backside touch, it was driving her insane.
Embarrassing.
He caressed up and down her back again, and grabbed again.
"Malachi—" She moaned, but it was muffled by his lips.
He groaned again, lost in her, and began pulling up her gown, gathering the fabric. Della didn’t realise what he was doing, till she felt his hand climbing up her legs.
Her thighs.
Then she realised they were now exposed.
A hand climbing up her leg.
And suddenly, all she could see was Garrett’s face. All she could hear was his voice, and then, the hand up her thighs about to pull away her underwear.
Fear crashed into her system all at once, and the strength came from nowhere as she pushed Malachi off of her. Her eyes were wide open, glistening with tears, her breath looked like it had been ripped out of her...and her lips quaked as she pressed herself against the wall like she wanted to melt into it.
Malachi stared at her.
She stared back at him.
But her eyes were still swallowed with fear, and they looked somewhat distant. Like she was trapped in some illusion.
"Moonfire," He whispered.
She didn’t answer and stifled a cry, like she was afraid to scream. Like she was still being attacked by something he couldn’t see.
"Please...," She squeaked, both hands gripping her gown and dragging it back down, "Please... don’t do this... don’t...touch me...,"
Something snapped inside of him.
When he had suggested earlier that someone had touched her because of the ankle and ear tear, he assumed someone had beaten, or punished her.
He never imagined someone had actually...TOUCHED her. Or was she just faking this, too?
He didn’t know which to believe.
And yet, he found himself stepping closer. He grabbed both of her hands, and squeezed reassuringly, "Moonfire," He whispered again, his voice now holding a dangerous edge he was trying to keep back.
She didn’t answer.
"Moonfire!!" He burst, and her dilated eyes turned back to normal.
She looked at him, her expression bland, not knowing what to do. Della tried to smile, to show him that she was fine and didn’t need his help, that she didn’t need him, but all that strength crashed to the floor when he gently pulled her into his arms.
She broke down. She broke down and gripped his clothes hard, bawling into them terribly.
He didn’t say anything. Didn’t ask questions. He just remained standing, his eyes looking horribly scary till she finally began to calm down.
Till the cries had toned down to sniffs that shook her body.
Della opened her eyes and saw that his clothes were now soaked. And although his scent was very much exciting and calming, she didn’t know if it was ok to stay this close to him.
Malachi doesn’t want her shedding her cursed tears all over him.
The minute she started to pull away, a palm came around her head and gently pushed her back.
Leaving her stunned.
"Stay," He uttered, almost inaudibly.
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