Tapestry’s anger continued to burn in her eyes, but she lowered her hand, shutting the door behind her as she walked into the apartment.
“Did you stop him, at least?” she asked.
Malcolm nodded.
“I thought that was all he had planned,” said Malcolm. “I thought that stopping the truck would stop, or at least delay, his next bombing. I let the ball drop on this one. I’m sorry.”
His words seemed to mollify her somewhat, but there was still emotion in her expression as she turned to look at him.
“Why didn’t you at least tell me?” asked Tapestry. “I’m your partner, Malcolm. For you to just ignore me like this…”
She trailed off. Malcolm had enough understanding of what had been going on in Second Wind’s life over the past few weeks to know what was left unsaid. She wasn’t just Second Wind’s partner. She wasn’t just a close friend and occasional lover, as she’d been to Malcolm.
The two of them had developed something more, and if Malcolm wanted to keep Tapestry from being completely heart broken, he needed to find the words that Second Wind should have been saying.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t have my phone with me. I’ve been paranoid, lately. Feeling like maybe Multi has the tools to track us.”
“And you didn’t check it when you came back to the apartment?” demanded Tapestry.
Malcolm shrugged.
“I checked it,” he said, honestly. “And then I turned on the news and saw that the situation had been resolved. I figured you’d come here next and… I wanted to apologize to you in person.”
Tapestry sighed and slowly shook her head, a bit of the tension leaving her shoulders.
“What has been going on with you the last couple of days?” she asked. “Is this because of us? Are you scared of… whatever it is that we have?”
Malcolm felt like he was walking a tightrope, with Tapestry’s emotions on one side and his copy’s privacy and right to a life of his own on the other.
“It’s the opposite of that,” he said. “Tapestry. I miss you so much when you aren’t around.”
He reached his arms out and pulled her into a hug. Malcolm half expected her to push him away. The Tapestry he’d known, before taking on his new identity, would have probably pushed him away. This Tapestry melted against his chest, her hands running up and along his back.
“Malcolm…” whispered Tapestry. “We’re losing.”
Malcolm stroked her hair with his hand.
“What are you talking about?”
“This isn’t like last time,” she said. “Or any of the other demons I’ve fought before. We don’t have other champions backing us up. And Multi… he isn’t a single enemy, he’s an army. An army of demons who aren’t afraid to die.”
There was doubt in her voice. That was new to Malcolm. He’d never known Tapestry to be anything other than confident and controlled. He found himself considering her fears, and realizing that they extended beyond her.
Is it the same for Second Wind? Is he struggling under the pressure to take on Multi, to be the champion standing between the city and chaos?
“It’s not like last time,” said Malcolm. “But we aren’t going to give up. Not now, and not ever. It’s that simple. Isn’t it?”
Tapestry turned her face up toward his. Malcolm felt excitement and hot desire wash over him as their eyes met. He’d wanted so badly to protect her, his partner, his friend. His lover. Even his arrangement with Second Wind had been designed to protect her from the ugly truth of Malcolm’s complicated life.
Thinking of that gave him pause, even as he felt Tapestry’s soft breasts against his chest. She rose up on her toes, one of her hands caressing his cheek. Malcolm’s heart pounded in his chest, and his entire body felt hot and ready.
He kissed her, and the pleasure and emotion of it was instantly entrancing. Tapestry pushed herself against him and let out a little moan, her hips pushing forward in an attempt to find his. Malcolm broke the kiss found himself suddenly walking backward. Tapestry was pushing him toward his bed.
It’s not my bed anymore…
Tapestry tipped him back on it, and the two were rolling together across the sheets like young lovers, given an hour of privacy. Malcolm groped at her breasts. He felt Tapestry’s hands running over his crotch, admiring his erection with her fingers. Had she ever been this lively before?
The guilt hit him as he faced the truth of the situation. By kissing Tapestry, by doing whatever they were about to do, Malcolm was engaging in both betrayal and deception. He had an idea how Second Wind would react. They were both Malcolm, but when it came to love and intimacy, was that fact enough to beat jealousy?
But worse was Tapestry, who kissed him without any idea of who he really was. Tapestry, who hated when people she trusted kept secrets, and had already worked through her suspicions of Malcolm in the past.
“Stop thinking so much,” whispered Tapestry. She kissed him again, her fingers stroking his hardness through his jeans. He wanted her so badly, despite all the reasons why he shouldn’t.
Tapestry pulled her blouse up and over her head, revealing small, but perfect breasts and the pink bra that enveloped them. She delighted in his reaction, clasping her hands and pulling her arms together for a moment to exaggerate her cleavage. She was more sexually confident than she had been, there was no denying it. And Malcolm didn’t like where that thought led.
He was so caught up with his own internal dilemma that he didn’t notice as Tapestry reached down to the hem of his shirt and began pulling it up and over his head. Malcolm raised his arms, only realizing how foolish he was as he felt the bandages on his shoulder catch on the fabric and pull off along with his clothing.
No! She’ll see my shoulder, the wounds there, and recognize that she gave me one of them! She’ll know everything…
Tapestry tossed the garment aside and brought her face in closer to his. She stole a quick kiss, as though there was nothing remarkable about Malcolm’s exposed flesh. And, he suddenly realized, there wasn’t. He had absorbed her power, and he’d grown so used to the effects of it that he’d had never stopped to consider that it would, of course, heal all of his wounds without leaving so much as a scar.
“Hey,” she said, seeing his expression. “It’s okay. Malcolm, whatever it is you’ve been going through lately, it’s okay. I’m here with you. We’ll face it together.”
Malcolm knew that her words weren’t really meant for him, but they were exactly what he needed to hear, regardless. The past few days had been harder for him than he’d realized, full of pain, disappointment, and failure.
He leaned back on the bed, watching as Tapestry wiggled out of her jeans and tossed them aside. He pulled his own jeans off. He needed her intimacy. As she moved back on top of him to continue, Malcolm took her by the waist. Tapestry was a petite woman, and she let out a delighted squeal as he easily flipped her underneath him.
He kissed her as he never had before. His lips were brimming with weeks’ worth of unrealized passion. All of the fleeting thoughts he’d had about her, a mix of longing for a lost lover and friend, was unleashed upon her.
Malcolm roughly pulled her bra down and gave her breasts the attention they deserved. Tapestry ran her hands through his hair, her body tensing slightly as he prodded into her with his hardness, their underwear a flimsy barrier.
Not for long. Malcolm pulled his boxers down, only taking the time to pull her panties aside before sliding his shaft halfway into her. She was tight and hot, and there was enough sensation just from that half thrust to make his body pulse with pleasure. He could feel the softness of her silk panties against the side of his sensitive erection, and it reminded him of what the encounter was: an illicit coupling. Stolen love. A passionate encounter that could not happen again.