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Backing Ava against the door, he curled his body over hers, bracing his ar her to look into his eyes

"Do you want this? Say so now" He dangled on the edge of forever All he needed was a word

He saw the edges of doubt cloud her eyes, but behind it was a desperate hunger that mirrored his own He pressed closer

"Do you want me, Ava?"

Malachi saw her mouth form the word before he heard it "Yes"

His control snapped

Reaching down, he gripped her hips, lifting her against his chest as Ava wrapped her legs around his waist A fierce possessiveness overtook hied her ed at the back of her hair, baring her neck to his kisses He inhaled the heat of her skin as he trailed his tongue up the line of her throat, pausing to press a gentle kiss at her neck where he could feel her voice hum

"More," she whispered

"Yes"

"I need… Malachi--"

"I know" Groaning with desire, he swung her around and walked across the roo his own tall fra acco at her clothes as he carried her, as desperate for contact as he was He could feel the heat of her ar a live wire He lay her down and slid next to her, suddenly aware of the y that hue his own desire and think of her

"Ava" He took a deep breath and pressed a hand over her heart, halting the fingers that were fu with the buttons "Ava, wait"

She stopped, eyes narrowing "You better not be backing out of this If you’ve got sos slow--"

"Be quiet and let rowl shocked Ava out of her anger "I’ve been thinking about this for over two hundred years"

Brushing her hands away, he slipped open the first button, and Ava watched ide eyes as he bent down and kissed the newly bare skin A single finger trailed froold trail in its wake Malachi traced a cal The urgency was still there, but as the y was drawn into his own body, feeding his passion as he slowly stoked hers