“Any other champion would be in confinement right now, held until they came clean with the full story behind what was going on.” Tapestry’s voice burned with anger, but also with hurt. “Why is Multi treating you special, Malcolm?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said. The last thing he was interested in doing, at that moment, was justifying himself to Tapestry.
“You know more than you’re letting on!” snapped Tapestry. “Enough with the mysterious act. I want the truth!”
“And I want a relaxing shower,” said Malcolm. “Let’s talk about this later.”
“Malcolm!”
He rolled his eyes at her and walked down the row of shower spigots, heading all the way to the very back, where the sound of the water made it impossible to hear anything short of a shout from the locker room. Malcolm sighed as he ran his hands over his body, feeling so very tired.
He turned around and saw that Tapestry had followed him, stripping off her clothes to enter the shower as naked as he was. She had her hands folded over her chest, but it did a poor job of covering her nudity. It would have been an enticing sight, if not for the heavy, angry emotion set into her expression.
“You don’t get to walk away from me that easily, Malcolm,” she said, crossing her arms.
Malcolm took a couple of seconds to openly leer at her, wondering if he could end the conversation just by making her uncomfortable with his lecherous gaze. Tapestry had a nice, if not incredible body. She was athletic, with a petite figure, smallish breasts, and a butt that took advantage of her womanly hips.
“You’re naked,” he said, staring at her exposed, pink nipples. Tapestry blushed, but narrowed her eyes, resolve entering the forefront of her expression.
“I’ll be embarrassed, if that’s what it takes to get the truth out of you,” said Tapestry. She stepped in closer to him, dangerously close. “Now… Why don’t you tell me about the shadow spryte, Malcolm?”
He tensed up immediately, trying and failing to keep his expression level.
“What are you talking-”
“Don’t!” Tapestry jabbed a finger into his chest. “Do not feed me any baloney on this, Malcolm!”
“Tapestry, come on!” He tried to step away from her, but there was nowhere for him to escape to. The showers ended in a tiled wall, and she had him pressed practically into the corner, her naked body barely a foot away from his.
“She was in your apartment,” said Tapestry. “And then she was there, fighting your brother! And now, suddenly, you develop a spontaneous interest in a cult that worships monsters?”
“Keep your voice down!” Malcolm grabbed her by the wrist to avoid being poked in the eye by the finger she used to punctuate her words.
“Who is she?” asked Tapestry.
Who is she? Can I even answer that question properly, for myself or for her? She’s just… Rose.
“Get out of my face, Tapestry,” said Malcolm. “I’m taking a shower.”
He tried to slide by her. Tapestry pushed her chest against his, a gesture occasionally intimidating coming from a man, and something different, but equally hard to ignore, coming from a naked woman.
“No,” said Tapestry. “I refuse.”
Malcolm felt his anger boil over. He summoned the wind, pulling it down between them in a hard column and pushing Tapestry back a few feet.
“I’m not going to say it again, Tapestry,” he said, through gritted teeth. “I’m taking a shower. Leave me in-”
Tapestry leapt through the space between them, grabbing Malcolm by the arm and pulling him toward her. He fell off balance, almost slipping on the wet shower floor with his next step.
She stepped in close, pushing her body into direct, naked contact with his for an instant before twisting him into a trip over her leg. Malcolm pulled her with him as she fell, but that seemed to be what she’d been expecting.
He was still soapy, and tough for her to get a hold on. Unfortunately, Malcolm lacked any real martial training, and still had plenty of hang-ups about fighting women. Tapestry touched his upper thigh trying to get a hold on his leg, and he almost forgot what they were originally doing.
“No!” growled Malcolm. “You can’t wrestle the answers out of me, Tapestry. Get a grip.”
“And you can’t keep pushing people away like you do.” Tapestry twisted one of his arms painfully before slipping onto him, straddling his stomach.
“Why not?” asked Malcolm. “Maybe… it’s for the best.”
Tapestry stared down at him, naked and beautiful. Her blonde hair had come free from its pony tail at some point during the fight and fell across her shoulders in loose, wet locks.
“I’ve seen the end of that story before, Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “So many times. You aren’t going to like how going through life alone ends.”
He started to lean up. Tapestry pinned his arms with a surprising amount of strength for such a small woman. Her face was right in front of Malcolm’s. He darted forward with his lips, feeling rather than thinking, and gave her a quick, hungry kiss.
Tapestry took a couple of seconds to respond to the sudden change in the tone of their wrestling. She kept Malcolm’s arms pinned, kissing him back while still acting like they were in a serious fight.
Her body slid down his stomach, and Malcolm felt her tense up as her butt made contact with his rapidly hardening rod. He’d been struggling to keep from getting turned on for their entire encounter, and with the kiss, all that pent-up arousal had boiled over in a single, intense moment.
Malcolm tore one of his hands away from Tapestry’s grip. She tried to lean back, as though expecting him to twist her into a submission hold. He grabbed her breast instead, delighting in the soft, girlish sound Tapestry made as his thumb ran over her nipple.
She slid a little bit lower, and released Malcolm’s other hand. He took her by the hips, moving with the same angry urgency that had been underlying the fight. Sliding his hardness into her, he pulled Tapestry down onto him.
The sensation of sliding into her was tight and wonderful. Tapestry set her hands on his chest, biting her lower lip and slowly waving her body back and forth. She was slow and cautious with her movements, like a novice belly dancer dancing for her first big show.
“Is this what you meant, Tapestry?” Malcolm asked, his voice angrier than he’d intended.
“You… know what I meant,” she said, blushing. Malcolm thrust up hard, and Tapestry let out a silent gasp of pleasure.
He held her hips tight, slowly bouncing her up and down. It almost felt like an extension of their argument, though Malcolm found it impossible to tell whether he’d won or lost in the end.
The fact that they were in the showers of HQ, which were open to anyone who walked in, was not lost on either of them. Tapestry was clearly trying to keep quiet, and only stopped glancing over at the door to the locker room when the pleasure became too much of a distraction.
Malcolm didn’t care if they got caught. Compared to the rest of the secrets in his life, fun with another champion in the showers barely rated on his list of worries. He thrust up into Tapestry, building into a steady, aggressive rhythm.
“Malcolm!” Tapestry gasped and collapsed on top of him. Malcolm cradled her head as he pushed into her, feeling a bit selfish as he continued to enjoy her while she melted into a pile on his chest.
Maybe this is the path forward for me. Being with the champions, and Tapestry… and fighting against… Rose.
Malcolm lost it, and pulled the woman on top of him tight as the pleasure hit him.
CHAPTER 28
“I’m sorry,” said Malcolm.
The two of them had continued to shower after the sex, neither of them saying anything. They’d cleaned up, and Tapestry had brought a towel for each of them to dry off with. Malcolm looked over at her as he pulled on his clothes, watching as she pulled her panties on over smooth legs.