“No, it’s not,” said Rose. “You can choose to live your life, you know. You don’t have to punish yourself with… this.”
She gestured around the small, dank basement.
“I chose this,” said Malcolm. “I’m not thrilled with every aspect of my life, at the moment. Hell, I had to leave my PS4 with Second Wind. Do you understand how crushing that is?”
And Tapestry. I doubt I’ll ever even speak to her again, as myself.
Rose sighed.
“You know, a smarter man might have volunteered his copy for this sort of thing,” said Rose. “He is you. He’d have done it, if you’d asked.”
“I guess I’m just stupid then,” said Malcolm. “Good thing I have the boyish good looks to make up for it.”
He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and Rose struggled to stifle a smile.
“You are stupid,” she said. “In all the best kind of ways.”
She let her head lean forward a little bit and pressed it against his chest. Malcolm could sense anxiety and worry in her. He reached his hand down to her chin and lifted her face up until her eyes met his. There was fear in them, and Malcolm suddenly realized how his situation must look to her.
I’ve abandoned my old life and my old identity and spend every night pushing myself to the limit to save a doomed city. It’s suicide, from the outside looking in.
“I’ll be okay.” He brought his lips to hers, kissing her gently. He still had his shirt off, and as Rose’s hand moved across his chest, he felt electric chills of excitement rush through him.
She kissed him again, and it was exactly what he needed. He was bruised, tired, and injured. His life was a shadow of what it used to be. But Rose was still there, beautiful and full of passion. He still had Rose.
She pushed him back on the bed, and in his exhausted state, Malcolm was more than happy to let her take the lead. Rose let her body slide over his, making a quiet, contemplative noise as though taking stock of him.
“Are you sure you’re up to this?” she asked. “With your wounded shoulder?”
Malcolm lifted his hips up slightly, pushing his burgeoning erection against her crotch.
“Does that answer your question?” he replied.
Rose flashed a tiny, flirtatious smile. She reached down do the hem of her halter top and slowly pulled it up and over her head, letting her big, purple hued breasts fall loose from the fabric. Malcolm ran his hands up the side of her body, shifting them over as they reached her chest, feeling her perfect nipples under his calloused palms.
“Mmm,” said Rose. “Looks like I’ll have to do all the work tonight.”
“If this is work,” said Malcolm, “Then what’s play?”
She kissed him again, hungrier this time. Malcolm groped at her buttocks, squeezing a little harder than he needed to and reminding her that he wasn’t too exhausted to be aggressive. He let his tongue dance with hers, and felt her suck on his lower lip slightly as she pulled her face back.
Rose lifted herself up slightly. Instead of using her hands to pull off Malcolm’s pants and her leggings, she summoned shadow tendrils from the shadows of the basement and put them to work undressing them both. Malcolm smiled. He’d grown so used to the way she used the powers within the realm of the intimate that he suspected he was developing a fetish.
Rose had a small, neatly trimmed landing strip of pubic hair. Malcolm ran his thumb over it as he lowered her onto his erection. She hovered over it for a moment, running her hands across his chest and letting her eyes meet his. Her expression contained more than just lust, though Malcolm couldn’t put what he saw there into exact words.
She lowered herself down onto his shaft, taking her time with torturously slow movements. Malcolm thought he’d been too tired to take an active role in the encounter, but as soon as the sensation of her hot, wet, tightness engulfed him, a second store of energy revealed itself within him.
He let his hands slide her breasts upward, tracing his fingers down the side of her chest, to her hips, and then butt. He pulled Rose down all the way, enjoying the surprised reaction on her face, as though she’d forgotten just how deep into her his shaft could reach.
They both started moving, grinding and bumping together, playing a game of passion that paid rewards in salacious pleasure. Rose pressed her hands down on Malcolm’s chest, pushing with her arms to lift herself up on his rod. Her tendrils ran across his body, hot to the touch, caressing his inner thighs, and twining through his hair.
She leaned further forward. Malcolm kissed each of her breasts and then buried his face in them, feeling like a teenager who’d just discovered his favorite part of a woman. Rose cradled his head, though the softness of the gesture was contradicted by Malcolm’s urgent upward thrusting.
He squeezed her butt and pushed into her, faster and faster. Rose eventually began to follow his lead, as she usually did, matching his rhythm, letting out soft, excited moans of pleasure. Each time Malcolm accelerated his pace, she sped up her own gyrations in a loving, intimate sort of submission.
“Oh,” she moaned. “Oh… Malcolm.”
She tensed up, shivers running through her body as she let out a silent, pleasured gasp.
“Rose.” He pulled her against him tightly, wrapping his arms around her as he pumped faster and faster. His heart pounded in his chest, and he felt a flutter of urgent, near overwhelming pleasure as he found his release.
He kept holding her against him. She was still there, while so much of his life was now a thing of the past. He held her, and felt a little scared.
CHAPTER 6
“I can’t stay,” said Rose.
Malcolm sighed. He loosened his arms and let them fall to the mattress, though despite her statement, Rose kept her head where it was on his chest.
“Are you worried about your fellow monsters getting suspicious?” he asked.
Rose ran her hand over his chest, letting it slide to the edge of the wound on his shoulder.
“Not exactly,” she said. “Shield Maiden is just stressed out. After what happened to Rain Dancer, it’s understandable…”
Malcolm couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his face.
“My bad,” he said. “Though really it was Danny who softened him up for me.”
His smile faded. It was still hard for him to think about his brother. There was too much baggage there for him to open up in casual conversation.
“She’s also concerned about our safety,” said Rose. “Fantasy and I. Along with the rest of the ungifted Awakened Children.”
“How so?” asked Malcolm.
“We’re all still living underground, in Underworld,” said Rose. “In some ways, we’re safer down there then we would be on the surface. But now, given how independently Multi has been operating, we aren’t sure if the alliance we have with him is actually something he’ll uphold.”
Malcolm exhaled through his nostrils. He decided to table his questions about Multi in favor of asking about something a bit more personal to Rose.
“Is your sister down there with you?” asked Malcolm. “Leah?”
Rose shook her head.
“She’s part of a small group of the Awakened Children, including Rion, who have gone to spread the message of peace between monsters and humans in another city,” said Rose. “Which I think is for the best. It isn’t safe here in Vanderbrook, anymore.”
Malcolm nodded. There’d been a half dozen suicide bombings in the Vanderbrook area over the past two weeks. Occasionally, Multi would send his copies out to patrol the streets, for no other reason than to project his power and remind people how badly outnumbered the police were against him.
And he’s just a single demon. He doesn’t need allies, with his power. Shield Maiden is right to be worried.
“Be safe on your way back,” said Malcolm. “Seriously. I don’t trust you on that motorcycle.”