She tried to scramble off his lap, but he only held tighter, his hands digging into her hips. “Let me—”
“Not sorry,” he said. His forehead was gleaming with sweat. The burning in his skin hadn’t stopped. “Don’t be sorry.” He reached up and grabbed the back of her neck, forcing her mouth to his in a bruising kiss. Ava leaned into him. Relieved. Excited. She could feel the raw energy rolling off him in waves.
Adrenaline. Endorphins. Her mate’s body had been hit with a massive cocktail of magic and hormones in the space of a few minutes.
She pulled away, gasping as his hands began to tear at her clothes. “Oh. Not angry.”
“No.”
MALACHI made love to her with furious focus, ignoring what had to be brutal pain on his left side. Ava just held on and let him vent the surge of power into her body. Over and over. He asked if she was okay. If he was hurting her. He wasn’t. She was more afraid of hurting him, but he was insatiable and seemed to find as much satisfaction in her pleasure as in his own.
They took a break when the sun set, and someone—who wasn’t brave enough to speak—knocked on their door, reminding Ava they weren’t alone.
Malachi reached down, threw one of his boots at the door, and the footsteps hurried away.
Ava laughed into the shoulder that wasn’t sore. His arm had already healed over, but it was an angry red.
“You’re quite the beast today, aren’t you?”
“It’s your fault,” he said, rolling onto his right side. “Do you know how much magic you woke in me?”
She tentatively touched his left arm. “A lot?”
“Yes. And Rhys was right.”
“About?”
“I remember, Ava.”
She paused, stunned that it had worked. “How much?”
“Most of my childhood. The earliest things.” His eyes shone with tears. “I miss my parents again.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, stroking his cheek. He’d shaved that morning, but he was Malachi, so half a beard had already grown.
“Don’t be sorry,” he said. “I’m glad I miss them.” He brushed the wet away from his cheek. “They deserve to be missed.”
“How… What is it like?”
“You told me to remember, and it was like… a key unlocked in my mind. This door opened. And then inside that door, another door. And then another. I kept passing through each one, and it was as if the rooms they unlocked were infinite. Eventually, my brain just shut down. I remember everything through my school years. Rhys was there.” Malachi frowned. “He may be my best friend, but by heaven, he can be an ass.”
Ava burst into laughter. “He likes tormenting you.”
“Still does.” A reluctant smile crossed his face. “I suppose it was mutual.”
“And your talesm grew.”
He lifted an arm. “Apparently.”
“That looks really painful.”
“It is.”
She winced. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I wanted them back.” He stretched his arm out and she could see the skin already healing around the tattooed flesh. “I feel stronger already.”
“Then I’m glad.”
“Good.” He touched her chin until she looked at his face. The gold fire had retreated and his eyes were a beautiful, cloudy grey again.
“What is it?”
“I adore you, Ava. Your mind is fascinating. Your spirit humbles me. And your body feels as if it was made to fit my own. Even now that I have more of my memories back, my thoughts continue to circle you on a level that’s borderline obsessive.”
She blinked. “Wow.”
“Know that. Understand it, because I’m going to say something that will likely make you angry.”
She frowned. “Oh.”
“You need to stop fooling around and work on your magic.”
“What?” Her mouth dropped open. “But you said—”
“I know what I said. ‘Go at your own pace. No pressure.’ That was me being supportive and protective.”
“I like you being supportive and protective.”
“I don’t think you need me to be supportive and protective right now. I think you need a kick in the ass. Because the magic I just felt has nothing dark or evil about it. You’re scared of something that doesn’t exist.”
Yeah, okay. That made her a little mad. More than a little. He didn’t know what she saw. Had no idea the shadows she felt lurking on the edge of her mind anytime the magic drew near.
“Until we know where my power comes from—”
“Ava, we may never know.” He sat up and she followed him, facing each other on the rumpled bed. “We could search the world, question your father, wring answers from a fallen angel, and there is no guarantee we’ll ever know why you were able to call me down from heaven. Or why you can show others things like the face of Death itself. We may not know any of it. Ever.”
She had nothing to say, because he was right. She hated it, but he was right.
“What we do know,” he continued, “is that your power is unique. It could be an incredibly potent weapon against those who want to hurt you. And you need to learn how to wield it like you just did with me.”
She raised an eyebrow and glanced down at his naked body.
“Okay, maybe not just the way you did with me. You know what I mean.”