After much stalking, pouting, and demanding, I finally stilled. Arms crossed, lips pursed, brow furrowed in the deep contemplation of a man who had absolutely been bested but refused to admit it. I sighed, dramatically, throwing my head back. "Why won't she let me in?"
Arbor's lights flashed. A few quick blinks, then a soft, pitying hum in the walls. My jaw tightened. "I called out her deep emotions she wasn't ready to face," I repeated flatly. "Huff. What kind of cheap romance novel bullshit is this?"
A flicker. My head snapped up. "Excuse me?"
Another flicker. I gasped, scandalized. "I am not your personal romance novel, Arbor!"
The lights flickered again. Then again. Then again. Laughter. Pure, delighted, mocking laughter. I growled, pointing a finger at the ceiling. "You are enjoying this far too much."
A single, long blink. Yes. Yes, I am.
I let out a sound somewhere between a sigh and a growl, running a hand through my hair. "This is supposed to be my house. I am your god. You should be loyal to me!"
More flickering. More laughter. "Betrayal," I declared, throwing up my hands. "Utter betrayal! Just wait, Arbor. When she does let me back in? I am going to be the worst."
Silence.
Finally, A slow, steady, utterly unbothered blink. A we will see about that. I groaned, dragging my hands down my face. "I hate you."
Another blink. No, you do not. Drama king.
"Stop reading my soul, Arbor! It's very rude!"
I started pacing like a caged animal. "Bloody hells, do I have to apologize for this?!"
A flicker. I froze. "No. Absolutely not. I've apologized too much lately! I hate it! I am a god! I am not sorry!"
Silence. Which was worse. "Arbor!" I groaned, throwing my hands up. "Damn it! Fine! If you open the door, I will apologize!"
A flicker. Then another, slower. Skeptical. "I'm not lying! I will!"
A long, drawn-out blink. Considering. I crossed my arms, glaring. "Any day now, traitor."
The door did not open. "Arbor, I swear to—"
Another long flicker. Taunting. I gasped. "You don't believe me, do you?"
Another flicker. Obviously. "This is ridiculous!" I flung my head back. "Reduced to negotiating with my own house! I hate this!"
Silence. "Fine! I am sorry!" I snapped.
The door creaked open. I narrowed my eyes. "That was too easy."
A single flicker. No take backs. I sighed, rubbing my temple. "This is what my life has become."
Apologizing to mortals and the damn house. Knuckles tapped against the frame as I stepped inside. Annie looked up from her book.
"Annie, are you okay?" The words slipped out before I realized, and I groaned, dragging a hand down my face. "Damn it, I did it again." Quoting song lyrics. Accidentally.
I straightened, clearing my throat. "What I meant was… Annie, I-- I was rude."
Her brow lifted. Surprise flickered in her eyes.
"All the gods damn it!" I threw up my hands. "Fine! Annie, I am sorry for teasing you!"
The silence that followed was unbearable. From her. From Arbor. Both stunned.
"I… I won't make you face anything you're not ready to," I added, softer this time. "I won't tease you about the big things again."
Still silence. "Ugh! How much more of an apology do you want?!"
Her lips curved. A small, dangerous smile. "None."
The word nearly knocked the air out of me. Relief and disbelief tangled in my chest. "None?"
"None," she confirmed.
And something shifted. The air thickened. The space between us shrank. Her tilted head wasn't an invitation. Not exactly. But it was enough. Enough to unravel me. I stepped closer. Then closer still. She didn't move away. Didn't look away. That was all it took. The last thread of restraint snapped. I crushed my mouth to hers, deep, urgent, devouring. She met me without hesitation, hands in my shirt, demanding more. And oh, I gave it to her.
Gods, I would give this woman anything. Everything. It was all hers. The thought didn't scare me. No, it thrilled me. Urged me to break down the last of her barriers until there was nothing left between us but truth. She made the most wonderful noise. My new favorite sound in all creation. I devoured every one of them like they were nectar, like I could hoard them the way a dragon hoards gold. I had never wanted to give so much in all my immortal existence.
Her fingers dragged down my chest, over the shifting tattoos that rippled with heat rising in me. A shudder broke through, rare, genuine, nothing to do with magic. Everything to do with her. Annie. My Annie. Gods, I needed more My hands roamed, mapping her, rediscovering her like I hadn't already traced every scar, every rune carved into her. But this was different. This was real. My mouth followed my hands, lingering over the delicate chaos etched into her ribs. My mark. My lips pressed there, reverent, savoring her gasp, the way her body shivered under me.
"Annie," I murmured against her skin, worship dripping from my voice. She said my name back like I was a god worth praying to. My restraint was dangling by a thread.
Then she whispered, "I want you, Malvor."
The words stilled me. Wound me tight. Dangerous words, because they were true. She wanted me. Me. I lifted my head, searched her eyes. No hesitation. No second guessing. Just her, giving me that truth freely. My hand cradled her cheek, thumb brushing her skin as I drank her in. She was looking at me like I was real. Not a legend, not a trickster, not chaos incarnate. Just Malvor. I bent close, my lips ghosting hers. "Say it again. Please."
Her fingers tangled in my hair, pulling me closer. Her whisper brushed my mouth. "I want you, Malvor."
That was it. My control shattered. My lips crashed against hers, urgent, unrestrained. I kissed her like she was oxygen, pouring every damn thing I felt into it. Every touch, every motion, every unspoken word was a declaration. I would give her everything.
My grin curved sharp against her mouth, dark amusement lacing my reverence. "Oh, Annie," I purred, velvet steel in my tone, heavy with promise. "You demand so beautifully."
I unwrapped her like something sacred, stripping away each barrier between us with deliberate care. My hands slid fabric over her shoulders, baring pale skin and the runes etched into it, scars turned into power. My lips followed, reverent, tracing her collarbone, tasting the heat of her pulse.
Her breasts rose and fell with shallow, uneven breaths. Full, perfect, begging for my mouth. I cupped them, thumbs grazing over hardened peaks until she gasped, then closed my lips around one, sucking slow and deep until her back arched clean off the bed. Her sigh of my name broke into a whimper, and gods, I nearly lost myself right there.
I dragged kisses lower, over the delicate lines carved across her ribs. My chaos burned into her skin. The sight of her bearing my mark undid me. I licked along one curve, felt her shiver under my tongue, then bit gently, claiming and soothing all at once.
Her navel drew me down, the small hollow quivering with every breath. I pressed my mouth there, tasting the heat of her, inhaling her scent, then let my tongue dip lower, toward the edge of her panties. My fingers hooked the fabric, sliding it down inch by devastating inch, exposing the soft curves between her thighs. Gods, that undid me. She wasn't performing. She wasn't surviving. She was here. Wanting me. That truth, her want, was more than I could bear. It was salvation. It was destruction. It was everything. I lowered my mouth to her, tasting her, sucking her clit until she writhed beneath me, begging for more. My fingers slid inside her, slow and deliberate, one, then two. Stretching her around me as my tongue teased and tormented. Her hips bucked helplessly, her hands fisting in my hair, desperate sounds spilling from her lips. I added a third, scissoring gently, working her open until she was trembling, clenching, slick and perfect for me. She broke apart on my hand, crying my name like a benediction. I licked her through it, savoring the taste of her release, before easing my fingers free and kissing my way back up her body.
My lips brushed her ear, whisper low and sinful. "Do you even realize what you do to me, Annie?"
Her eyes burned with the same hunger. "Then show me."
I growled, low, approving. "Oh, I intend to, darling."
I kissed her fierce and unrelenting, my body settling between hers. I ground against her, slow, maddening, letting her feel the heat of me through the last barriers left. She moaned into my mouth and I drank it greedily. Clothes vanished, magic or impatience, I didn't care. Her fingers dug into my back as I pressed her down, claiming every inch with mouth, hands, body. I hovered over her, pressing the head against her slick entrance, nearly undone by just that. She looked at me, no mask, no fear, only need. She was flushed, panting, pupils blown wide. I pressed the head of my cock against her entrance and stilled, chest heaving. Her heat wrapped around me, velvet and wet, and it nearly destroyed me to hold back.
I cupped her face, forcing her eyes to mine. My voice came out ragged. "Tell me now. If you don't want this, if you don't want me, say it. I'll stop."