Malachi smiled. He didn't think he'd make them happy with 'whatever' he did, but he wasn't going to argue the point. As she shifted her body, he stayed where he was until she settled again. Once she seemed to be okay again, he continued to rub her inner thigh gently, going slow and trying not to seem too eager even though he'd be more than happy to go farther right now. They had to go slowly, though, for her sake if not both of their sakes' after what happened. "You do care about my last name now," he said teasingly. "We want Truth to have our last name, too." He kissed her softly, meaning it. He still wanted to find a way to adopt Truth so he could have the same last name as the rest of their family.
He shook his head, chucking. It did seem very much like Cormac to try something like that. He'd think he could have saved Lavender from Macnair and help Truth. Despite his attitude and reputation, Cormac was a decent guy when he tried and sometimes that decency backfired on him, probably. He leaned down and kissed Lavender's neck softly, lingering there. "I'm glad you said no. Whether we were seeing each other or not, I'm glad I didn't have to compare with Cormac. I think I'd lose." He kissed her neck again, smiling against her skin. He was kidding, of course, and hoped she'd know that.