Page 102 of Cold as Ice

“Yeah?” Mal turned around and Elliott was grinning at him. He hadn’t moved away and it was really easy to just lean down and press their lips together.

Elliott swayed closer and for a second, his tongue was licking into Mal’s mouth, making his whole body shudder with repressed desire.

“See?” Elliott said impudently. “That was fun, right?”

“It was something,” Mal said.

“Couple more games and we’ll go back to my place,” Elliott promised.

“I . . .uh . . .it’s . . .how did you know?” Mal finally confessed the truth.

“How did I know? You mean . . .how didyounot know I’m going out of my mind? That I’m dying to get you into bed?” Elliott grinned. “That’s a great fucking question.”

Mal didn’t care who was watching. He snagged Elliott’s hip and dragged him up against him. Kissed him again. Deep and long, until his head swam.

“Yeah, it is,” Mal said, voice rough when he finally let Elliott go.

“We could . . .uh . . .get out of herenow?”

Mal just laughed. There was no question he wanted to. Knew that Elliott could feel that desire, pressing into his hip. But he’d wanted to give him a good time. To havefun, Elliott would’ve said, if he was thinking straight.

But he’s not. All because of you.

And that was an intoxicating realization. So intoxicating, that Mal nearly said,fuck it, and dragged Elliott out of the arcade.

He didn’t. “Let’s play a little longer,” he said, instead, pressing one last kiss to Elliott’s mouth. “Show me how it’s done, okay?”

He’d worried for a stupid moment that Elliott might be disappointed, but if anything, his smile brightened even more. Like he knew what Mal was picking—for now, anyway—and he was on the exact same page.

“Well, I’ll be honest. I’m kind of killing it on this one,” Elliott said, gesturing to one of the machines, the one he’d gravitated towards after suggesting the Star Wars machine for Mal.

“Show me?”

Elliott flushed, clearly even more pleased. “Of course.”

Chapter 13

It was completely possiblethey weren’t even going to make it out of the elevator this time.

Unlike last time they’d been in this elevator together, when Elliott had kissed Mal and he’d been shocked, this time, to Elliott’s surprise, Mal had him against the wall the moment the doors clanged shut.

“You’re a quick learner,” Elliott groaned as Mal’s mouth slid down his neck to just the spot that made him full body shiver.

“Am I?” Mal murmured into his neck.

“You know you are.”

To Elliott’s disappointment, Mal lifted his head. The look in his blue eyes was smoky and intimate. Elliott had known for awhile this was way more than sex, but that look? If he hadn’t been sure before, he’d be sure now. “Guess I don’t need to keep setting your expectations low, then.”

“You never had to do that,” Elliott said.

Mal shrugged and the elevator dinged, indicating their floor. He gestured towards the door and Elliott exited, still feeling the warmth as Mal followed close behind, palm flat against his back.

He fumbled with the keys, and when he finally got the door open, Mal practically dragged him to the bed.

It was really fucking cute how he’d been trying to rely on his thinly stretched self-control at the arcade, but it was even cuter that it was snapping now.

Mal pressed him to the bed, kissing him hard and then soft, but every single meeting of their mouths was deep and intense.

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