Page 99 of Malice

I snap my eyes open and force a smile to my face, immediately melting when I see Aster leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. His dark hair hangs in damp tendrils around his face as water drops decorate his chest and arms.

“Are you okay?”

I nod. “Yes. How was your shower? Feel better?”

“Yeah. I can still smell it, but it might be my imagination.”

“All I smell is bodywash.”

“Good.” He walks over to me, searching my eyes the entire time. “You would tell me if something was wrong, right?”

“Yes.”

Aster sits next to me on the bed and takes my hand in his. “I can only imagine what’s going on in your head. You’ve been through a lot recently.”

“So have you. You died, like, two weeks ago, right?”

He chuckles. “I did, but for what it’s worth, I didn’t feel a thing.” His smile fades as his expression softens. “But it’s all good. My death led me here. To you.”

I have to consciously swallow to push down the lump of emotion building in my throat. “I’m glad for that part.”

“Me too. I have stuff I want to tell you. A lot of stuff.” He exhales in a huff. “But if you’re okay with it, I need to hold you and be close to you first.”

“And make love to me?”

He nods, reaching out to brush his fingers under my chin. “And definitely make love to you. You’re special, Hudson. I hope you know that and that anything that happened to you before didn’t dim the bright light that you are.”

“You think I’m a bright light?”

“The brightest. A beacon in the dark, like a lighthouse during a storm. I was lost, untethered, until I met you.” He cups my face and leans in to dust a soft kiss over my lips before pressing his forehead to mine. “I hate the things that have happened to you, but if you give me a chance, I’ll do everything I can to make you forget.”

“I don’t want to forget.” I drape my arms over his shoulders. “I want to remember so I always know how much better my life is now.”

Aster tilts me backward and we both scoot higher up the bed. As our mouths collide, I tug his towel away and manage to kick off my pajama pants, exhaling with relief when our bodies notch together. I love the feeling of his cock swelling and leaking precum onto mine, the knowledge that I turn this incredible man on so much.

He grips my chin, tilting my head to one side so he can attack my neck. I gently claw at his shoulders as he sucks, kisses, and bites my flesh from my earlobe to my collarbone.

“So delicious,” Aster murmurs. “Your skin tastes like summer.”

“Summer?”

“Mm-hmm. Like the beach. Sun-kissed, warm, ocean-y.”

“No one’s ever said that before.”

“I love summer.”

I card my fingers through his hair. “I love autumn, and that’s what you feel like in my arms. Warm, cozy, comforting. Like home.”

Aster lifts his head. “I feel like home to you?”

Smiling even as my eyes grow damp with emotion, I nod. “You know when you travel and you’re far from home?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe you have a long flight and there’s a delay and a layover and you think you’re never gonna get home. It makes you long for it even more.”

Aster nods.

---