Page 130 of The Menagerie
The only thought that overshadows everything they’ve done is everything they haven’t. Rowan desperately wants to feel Mal’s lips on his own. Forrealthis time. He wants to wrap his hands around Mal’s throat—more than merely a gentle graze of fingertips as he’s done countless times—and watch his eyes roll back. He wants to hear him scream until he’s hoarse and feel him whimper his name against the crook of his neck. He wants to leave bruises on his hips and bite marks on his chest and fingerprints on his thighs. See his skin blossom with pinks and reds and purples that will linger for days and weeks to come. So anyone else Mal fucks will see that he’s been with someone who knows how to take him apart better than they ever could.
He wantsso goddamn much, and he knows he’s being unrealistic. But the thoughts flow through him like a tsunami—the more he tries not to think about it, the more the waters recede until inevitably, they rear up and come crashing down onto him in one giant, unyielding wave.
It’s been happening all too often the past couple of months, and Rowan’s constantly on the verge of drowning in the torrent that is Mal Savaryn.
The hazy waves of heat simmering on the pavement make him think he’s hallucinating when the object of his daydream appears on the horizon like a mirage. But rather than fade into nothing, Mal’s form gets sharper and more defined the closer he gets. Rowan sputters, utterly flabbergasted, and it isn’t until he hears Addison’s disgruntled shriek of “Hey!” that he realizes he’s sprayed her right in the face with the hose.
Mal’s stride is purposeful, and it draws Rowan’s gaze away from his coworker.
“Holyshit, is that the guy?” Addison asks, suddenly and excitedly whispering in Rowan’s ear.
“Jesus,” Rowan gasps, taking half a step away as he feels a spray of water droplets hit his bare shoulder as Addison wipes off her face. He doesn’t know if it’s the way he’s frozen in place or the way he’s gawking that tells Addison who it is, having never given her any physical description of Mal. Maybe she’sthatgood at her job and can sense his heart hammering in his chest.
“The guy I’mfucking, yeah.”
“Damn. Congrats, Rowan…. I don’t know which one of you is hotter.”
Rowan does.
Addison’s ogling is wildly apparent, even though Rowan isn’t looking at her. “What’s he doing here?” she asks.
“No clue,” Rowan says, finally dropping the hose and wiping his wet hands on his pants.
With a still-wildly fluttering heart, Rowan realizes this is the first time he’s seen Mal in the daylight. Andfuck, his eyes are impossibly gold. Honey and caramel and all sorts of other things coming to mind. He remembers seeing them for the first time at the gangbang—finding the color so vibrant even in the dimness of the club. But in the sunlight, theyshine. He’s dressed mostly the same as he always is—tight black jeans and a maroon shirt that has Rowan staring as much as Addison has been, though this is far from the first time he’s seen him.
“Hey,” Mal greets, casual as ever, as if he hadn’t shown up unannounced to Rowan’s work.
“What’re you doing here?”
Mal rolls his eyes. “Nice to see you too.”
“Uh, this is Addison. My coworker,” Rowan says, gesturing to the woman on his left and nearly hitting her in the shoulder as he does.
“Nice to meet you…?”
“Hey. Mal.”
“I’m gonna go—” Addison starts, thumbing vaguely in the direction behind her.
“See ya,” Rowan cuts her off, thankful that she didn’t ask to hang around. But as she leaves, the realization that Mal has met, however briefly, someone in Rowan’s life outside of the club rattles around in his brain.
When Addison disappears into the station, Rowan asks, “How’d you know where I work?”
“Only one station this side of town.”
“Gotcha.”
There’s a beat of silence, the two of them taking in each other’s appearance as if they’re seeing each other for the first time.
“Here,” Mal says, handing him a large brown paper bag, the top folded over neatly, concealing the contents.
Rowan’s eyebrows knit together as he takes the bag, opens it and peeks inside, instantly snapping it shut when he sees the rope Mal promised he’d bring him, two bundles of neatly coiled black hemp.
“Oh, thanks. You didn’t need to come all the way here, though. Could’ve waited till Saturday.”
Mal bites his lip. “Yeah, well. Said I’d give it to ya. Practice on yourself if you want, just not on anyone else.” He says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, but Rowan doesn’t miss the slight apprehension in his voice or the way he glances quickly to the ground. Scuffles his shoe a bit.
“What do you mean ‘anyone else’?”
