Page 43 of Falling Into Gravity

He let go of her wrist, but Aku didn’t move. Her eyes flicked between his lips and his eyes, then back again. “So what you gon’ do about it?”

His hands found her waist. Her body melted into him like it had been waiting. He slid one hand down, letting it rest at her lower back…holding her there.

“If I kiss you right now,” he murmured, “I’m not gon’ stop.”

“Then don’t.” Aku’s voice was breathy.

His lips met hers like a secret they wanted to keep between themselves—keep in Oz. Soft at first, then he carefully peppered her lips. Aku sighed—deep, heavy, and full of feelings she hadn’t released in a long time. It all pulled something primal out of Malik.

So he kissed her deeper.

His hands gripped her waist tighter.

Her fingers dug into his shirt as his mouth moved against hers, his tongue tasting her like he needed proof she was real. She moaned into his mouth, and it made his knees go weak, jarring him a little, yet not enough to pull away.

Their bodies pressed together. Both of them knew exactly what this was and what it could become.

Pulling back just enough, Aku whispered, “You feel like gravity...like something beautiful to fall into.”

Malik rested his forehead against hers. “Just don’t forget how hard the ground is.”

Neither of them moved an inch.

The kiss had cracked something open, but it wasn’t just lust. It wasn’t just that she was fine as hell and felt like temptation. It was that she saw him…through the red eyes, through the fear…through the silence.

And he saw her too. Not the stylist…not the cool, collected girl of the rich and famous.

He saw the girl who was tired of being loved half right.

She kissed him again, slower this time…softer this time, savoring his taste…more intentional.

And when he kissed her back, it wasn’t rushed either. It wasn’t about getting her naked…it was aboutlearningher.

Tasting every word she hadn’t said…

And promising her, with nothing more than his lips, that he’d hold all of it…

Even the unsure parts,

Even ifhewas unsure…

Malik pulled back, his eyes begging her, not to take the bad parts of him when it was all said and done.

She stared at him. “I feel like I’m falling.”

He leaned in just enough for her to feel the weight of his words. “Then fall. I’m right here. I’ll catch you before you even hit the ground.”

She laid her head on his chest, her voice barely above a whisper. “You feel like gravity.”

He kissed her forehead.

“You know what gravity really is?” he murmured. “It’s God’s way of keeping us grounded.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. She didn’t wipe it…he did.

“The right love won’t make you beg or question yourself,” he whispered. “It’ll feel likehome,like breath, like peace where you used to have panic…that’s what my parents have.”

Malik knew love saw love…he was just scared as hell of it. The last time he loved someone, it changed his life and others. That was a mistake he wasn’t willing to take again.

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