Chapter 72 Party Winds Down
Malia's POV
The Moonfall suite was alive with easy laughter and the low hum of music. Empty pizza boxes sat scattered on the coffee table, and someone had turned the lights down low so the string lights along the walls glowed like tiny stars. I leaned against the arm of the couch, barefoot, watching my friends.
Freddy and Rowan were deep in conversation by the window, heads bent over Freddy’s phone. Rowan was pointing at a photo of some rare orchid he’d found last semester, and Freddy was nodding like he actually cared about botany.
“You’re telling me that thing only blooms once every seven years?” Freddy asked, eyes wide.
Rowan grinned, the first real smile I’d seen on him all night. “Yeah. Worth the wait, though.”
Across the room July had finally cracked Cian’s quiet shell. She was perched on the arm of his chair, poking his shoulder every time he tried to go back to scrolling his phone.
“Come on, big guy. Tell me one embarrassing story. I know you’ve got one.”
Cian’s mouth twitched. After a long pause he muttered something about accidentally setting off the fire alarm during a cooking attempt when he was twelve. July cackled so loud Freddy turned around to shush her.
I felt something warm settle in my chest. For once the air didn’t feel heavy with jealousy or unspoken words. Everyone was just… here. Together.
I caught Aiden’s gaze from the kitchen doorway. He’d been grabbing fresh drinks, but now he was watching me, eyes dark and steady. The corner of his mouth lifted in that slow, private way that always made my stomach flip. He set the glasses down without looking away, crossed the room in a few long steps, and leaned close to my ear.
“Need to check something in my room,” he murmured, voice low enough that only I could hear. His breath brushed my skin. “Come with me?”
My cheeks heated instantly. I glanced at the others—July was still teasing Cian, Freddy and Rowan were back to plant talk—but I knew they’d notice. Especially Rowan. His shoulders had stiffened the second Aiden spoke, though he kept his face turned away, hiding whatever flickered across his expression.
I nodded anyway.
We slipped out quietly. Aiden didn’t rush. He let the door click shut behind us, then turned and backed me gently against it. For a heartbeat we just looked at each other in the dim light coming from his bedside lamp. His thumb brushed my cheek, slow and deliberate, like he was memorizing the shape of my face.
Then his mouth was on mine.
The kiss started hungry—open, urgent, like he’d been holding back all night. His lips moved against mine with a kind of desperate need, tongue sliding in to taste me, drawing a soft sound from the back of my throat. My hands found his shoulders, fingers curling into the fabric of his hoodie as I kissed him back just as hard. Aiden groaned low in his chest, the sound vibrating through me.
His hands slid under my shirt, warm palms skimming up my ribs, thumbs brushing the undersides of my breasts. I arched into the touch, and he took it as permission, lifting the hem higher until the shirt was off and tossed somewhere behind him. Cool air hit my skin, but his mouth was already there—kissing down my neck, slow open-mouthed presses that left little sparks everywhere he touched. He lingered at my collarbone, teeth grazing just enough to make me gasp.
“You’ve been driving me crazy all night,” he said against my throat, voice rough. “Smiling at everyone else. Laughing. Looking so fucking perfect.”
I tilted my head back, giving him more room. “I was right there.”
“Still too far.” He kissed lower, tracing the curve of my breast with his tongue before closing his mouth over my nipple. I moaned softly, fingers threading through his hair, holding him against me. He sucked gently, then harder, switching sides while his hand slid down my stomach, popping the button on my jeans.
We moved together in a tangle of need. My jeans and leggings hit the floor next. Aiden lifted me easily, my legs wrapping around his waist as he carried me to the bed. He laid me down carefully, but his eyes were burning as they raked over my body—hungry, possessive, reverent all at once.
He stripped off his hoodie and shirt in one impatient motion, then came down over me, bracing on his forearms so he could kiss me again. This time it was slower, deeper, tongues sliding together in lazy strokes that made my toes curl. I ran my hands over his back, feeling the hard lines of muscle shift under my palms. I traced the dip of his spine, then lower, slipping my fingers under the waistband of his boxers.
Aiden hissed against my lips. “Careful,” he warned, but there was a smile in his voice. “You keep touching me like that and this ends too fast.”
I laughed breathlessly, tugging the fabric down anyway. “Then slow down.”
He did. He kissed me like he had all the time in the world—long, drugging kisses that left me dizzy. His hand slid between my thighs, fingers stroking slow circles until I was arching off the bed, whispering his name. When he finally pushed inside me we both froze for a second, foreheads pressed together, breathing the same air.
“I love you,” he said, raw and quiet, hips rocking in a gentle rhythm that built heat slowly.
My heart squeezed. I cupped his face, thumbs brushing his cheekbones. “I love you too.”
We moved together like we’d memorized each other’s bodies weeks ago. Slow rolls of his hips, my legs tightening around him, hands everywhere—his in my hair, mine on his shoulders, his back, his ass urging him deeper. Every thrust drew a soft gasp from me, every kiss swallowed the sound. The world narrowed to just us: the slide of skin on skin, the wet heat between us, the way his breath hitched when I clenched around him.
He shifted, hooking one of my legs over his arm so he could go deeper. My nails dug into his shoulders as pleasure coiled tighter and tighter. Aiden’s mouth found mine again, swallowing my moans as he drove us both higher. When I came it was sudden and shattering—back arching, his name on my lips, body trembling around him. He followed seconds later, burying his face in my neck with a low groan, hips stuttering as he spilled inside me.
We stayed like that for long minutes, breathing hard, hearts hammering against each other. Aiden pressed lazy kisses along my jaw, my temple, the corner of my mouth. I traced idle patterns on his back, content in a way I hadn’t felt in weeks.
Eventually he rolled to the side, pulling me with him so I was tucked against his chest. His arm draped over my waist, hand splayed possessively across my stomach. He kissed me again—slow, sweet, lingering. Our lips brushed, parted, met again in soft, unhurried touches. Tongues touched lightly, then deeper, like we couldn’t quite stop.
“Still too far?” I whispered against his mouth.
He smiled, kissing the tip of my nose. “Never close enough.”
We kissed again, lazy and warm, bodies still humming from earlier. The muffled music from the living room had faded to almost nothing. Just the two of us, tangled together, lips meeting over and over in the quiet dark.