Erase and Rewind (Full Book)

Chapter Thirty One: Outcast

He was naked. Malik was naked too. They were both naked.

Noah giggled as he stood while Malik tested the water in the bathtub.

Malik looked at him and grinned, he held a box of bath scented bath salt. "Vanilla or lavender?"

Noah shrugged. After they came the first time, Malik had dashed to the kitchen and brought back a warm, wet towel. He cleaned them both up but they kept doing sex stuff and kept making mess after mess. There was dried cum on their chests and thighs, it was impossible to tell which had belonged to who. They'd merged, becoming one. Noah ran his fingers over the dried liquid over his heart. He relished the jagged feel of it; wild tailored evidence of love exchanged.

Malik swirled a hand in the water and arranged his muscular body in the tub. ''Care to join?"

Sitting in the tub, Malik's entire being glowed. His body, which he'd granted Noah free reign, was made up of curves, of realms untapped and realms whispering secrets. Some responded to the slightest pressure, a feather of a touch, and others demanded a crescendo of various types of teasing and heat. Looking at him made Noah's chest tight.

"Where do you want me?" he sounded breathless.

"It's not the Ritz," Malik laughed. "You're gonna have to sit with your back to my chest.''

Noah swung a foot and gasped as the warm waters lapped above his ankle. He swung the other in the narrow spaces between Malik's limbs and in slow, deliberate movements, arranged himself. The warm water came up to his shoulder blades and his legs were semi-folded on Malik's lap.

Noah let his head fall on Malik's chest and sighed in contentment when Malik kissed the nape of his neck. Right then Noah was in sync with himself. He was grateful for his healing curse which left his skin smooth, unmarred with hideous scars. He enjoyed his delicate frame too because it fit like a missing puzzle piece against Malik. He reveled in the feeling of letting go, of surrendering and knowing without a doubt Malik would only grant him pleasure.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Malik asked.

Noah smiled. "I was thinking about how you make me feel."

Malik chuckled. "Horny?"

Noah craned his neck to be able to meet Malik's intense eyes. "Whole. Complete."

Since they were literally plastered together, Noah felt Malik stiffen. A ghost of panic fluttered in Noah's stomach.

"Did...did I say something wrong?"

Malik fell quiet. He untangled his hands from around Noah's waist and let them hang on either side of the cream tub.

He definitely said the wrong thing. He should've been paying more attention. He'd been so caught up in the moment he was messing everything up. Should he apologize? Or would he seem more hopeless if he did so?

"Noah?"

"Yes?"

Malik shifted and the shift made Noah slide a few inches underwater. "Am I your first...person?"

Out of caution Noah nodded, there was nowhere to conceal the ebbing panic. He messed up. How bad did he mess up?

"Were you attracted to guys before we met?"

What would be the correct answer? He couldn't lie even if he wanted to.

Malik had him at his mercy.

"I don't think I was really interested in anyone," he said slowly. "There was a girl in my class...we held hands."

Malik took a deep breath against Noah's back, a whoosh of cool air hit his exposed flesh as he let it out. "So would you say, if we hadn't met, you'd hook up with a chick?"