“Malakai Korede.”
“Oh, we’re really doing this?”
I smiled as I tilted the camera toward him. “It’s your turn.”
“That angle is really bad.”
“It’s arty.”
“It’s wonky. Also, the lighting.”
I switched on the reading lamp on the desk. “There. See?”
Malakai laughed. I cleared my throat theatrically, then said in a crisp, journalistic tone, “Malakai Korede, I have a few questions to ask you. The first being”—I let my eyes wander from the lens to his face—“you sure you like me?”
The sudden blaze in Malakai’s eyes answered me before he said, “Yes.”
Still, I needed to make sure this new ground was sturdy before I stepped onto it. I swallowed, forced myself not to whisper. “No, I mean . . . are you sure sure? On a scale of one to ten, where would you rank your certainty?”
Malakai got up to stand between my legs. “Eleven.”
I leaned back on the desk, lifting my other leg so it was on the chair, effectively bracing Malakai between my thighs. “That’s impossible.”
“You’re impossible, so it’s possible.”
Malakai’s eyes flashed into mine. He took the camera from me, switched it off, carefully placed it on the desk. He stepped into me, our chests now bumping, our faces so close together I could swear I was getting tipsier by the champagne on his breath. It tasted potent. His eyes scanned my face, his hand lifting to it, cupping my cheek.
“You are everything, Scotch. I like your mind. I like seeing it work up close. I like your eyes, especially when you’re rolling them at me. Yeah. Just like that. I like how you see things. Adds color to how I see things. I like that when you’re listening to a song you love, you close your eyes and let it take you places. I wanna go wherever you go to.
“I like your mouth.” His eyes dropped to it and I felt my lips tingle. “Not gonna lie—I’m kind of obsessed with your mouth. How something so spicy can be so sweet. I like it when I make your mouth laugh.” My lips curved in response.
“I like your skin.” He picked up my hand and swiped his thumb across my wrist. “I like feeling your pulse race beneath it. I like the person beneath it.”
I discovered the words “knees going weak” was not a silly, sentimental little saying, but a literal phenomenon. My joy was barging against my gates of caution, demanding freedom.
“My pulse?” I said, my tone light. “You being a vampire would be really inconvenient right now.”
Malakai smiled. I needed to joke to find my footing in this new place we were in. Vulnerability made me nervous. He knew. He gave me the space. “That’s why I said all the antivampire stuff before. Needed to throw you off the scent.”
He swept his thumb across my cheek. “How you feeling?”
“I feel like . . .” I paused. The truth felt steady in my mouth. “You’re the only guy that’s ever held my hand without the intention of getting something from me. You just hold my hand to hold it. To hold me. Like you like doing it or something. And it scares the shit out of me, every time, because I like you doing it. Because I don’t want you to let go. It feels good and safe and right. . . . You feel right to me.”
My voice faltered, buckling under the weight of my words, worried that it was more than he wanted from me, that I had shown too much. My eyes flicked downward, but Malakai tilted my chin up, looking at me in a way that sent shockwaves through my body. His hand slipped around to my back and pushed me closer to him.
“I’m not playing with this, Scotch. This ain’t a game to me.”
I swallowed. “Me neither.”
My hand glided up the ridges and dips underneath the thin cotton of his shirt. Despite the tension on his face, a flash of mischief skittered through it, making him look impossibly sexier as he inched closer to me, lids heavy.
Malakai propped his hand around my neck as his mouth brushed against my neck, my jaw and my ear, staggering my breath, making the air buckle and spasm in my throat. Then his lips landed on my cheek. He knew precisely what he was doing.
I laughed. “Oh come on. Give me more than that, Kai—”
I felt his lips curve against my skin. “Okay.”
Then we were kissing each other like we were oxygen, consuming each other, growing stronger. Malakai tasted like all the things I liked: cognac and chocolate, honey and spice. Sweet, sharp, smooth, soothing, stimulating. Familiar and thrilling.