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I sat on the bed and watched Zoran pace the room. The windows and doors were all barred by Aedus’ strings of tar.
“Can’t you just break through them?” I asked.
“No,” snapped Zoran.
“You could do the smoke thing.”
“No.”
“What about a fireball?”
“No!”
My shoulders dropped, and I sighed. “I thought you were a god. It shouldn’t be that hard to escape.”
Zoran appeared in front of my face and slammed me back on the bed. “Third,” he stated. “I’m the third god of fire. Third! Not the first or the second, the third.”
I held my breath and nodded.
“If I could beat my brother, they’d be dead!”
“I’m sorry!” I exclaimed. “I didn’t know. I just thought all gods were the same.”
“We’re not.” He jolted me against the bed and moved to the side. “Curse the gods, you’re so dense.” He ran his hands down his face.
I turned onto my side. We sat there quietly for awhile. I could feel the heat radiating from his skin. It felt nice.
“It was just a kiss,” I whispered.
“What?” He glanced down at me.
“Your brother. He pushed me down and kissed me.” I traced the pattern on the bedspread. “He tried to do more, but... I blew up.”
Zoran started to laugh, and it slowly grew louder until it was uncontrollable.
“It’s not that funny.” I sat up. I expected him to be a bit more upset that I had been assaulted.
His laughter died down and he wiped his eye. “You really blew up in Aedus’ face?”
I nodded. “He was really mad.”
“I bet he was. That man has never had anyone defy him in his life.”
“You defy him,” I muttered.
“I’m a god. You’re a shapeshifter.”
I let out a deep breath. “Yeah, Aedus said he wished he could kill me. Good thing I’m a firebird.” I touched my neck. “His fire hurts.”
“It would also hurt if Masou shot a fireball at you.”
“You don’t, though?” I inched closer to him.
His hand landed on my head. Heat pulsed from it. Closing my eyes, I soaked it in.
“You’re not the only one who thinks so.” Sitting me upright, he pulled me against his chest. “You’re colder than usual.”
I buried my face in his chest. “Iri is a horrible person.”
Zoran shook his head. “I warned you.” He lifted up my shirt.
I yanked it back down and peered into the god’s eyes. Zoran just sat there, waiting. I knew what he wanted. The cold was coming back, making my body start to shake. I wanted it, too. To be warm again, to feel Zoran’s inferno—I wanted it all.
“So, Fin,” he raised an eyebrow, “what have you decided?”
“Okay.” I let out a deep breath. “But just this once.” Leaning forward, I pressed my lips to his.
Zoran grabbed the back of my head and deepened the kiss. It was so hot. Heat was pulsing from his lips. I wanted more. I crawled into his lap and straddled him as we continued to kiss.
“You waited too long for that refueling,” he chuckled as he kissed my neck.
I gasped and bit my lower lip. I needed more of him, to touch his skin and run my hands up and down his body. Zoran unbuttoned his shirt. He lifted up the bottom of my shirt, and I helped him take it off. I tossed it on the floor and pushed off the god’s coat. It fell to the ground, soon followed by Zoran’s shirt.
“Yes.” I pressed up against him. It was so good to be skin against skin. It was pure pleasure. “More.” Every kiss I placed on his skin burned through my body.
Zoran laid me down. My breath caught when he pulled away. The cold was coming back. He yanked off my pants. I squirmed and reached for him. It was so cold.
“Patience,” he whispered, running his hands down my thighs. “Such a needy sparrow.” Tossing my pants to the side, he leaned over me.
I arched into him and felt the flames rise up from my skin.
Zoran smiled. “No control, as always.”
I was gasping for air. The pleasure was flooding my head. “More, more,” I breathed.
The fire flickering across Zoran’s skin changed to blue. His eyes turned the same color. It was pure bliss. I was shaking. My senses were being overrun.
“Do you want more?”
My mouth was open, but no words came out. I had to nod to convey the message.
“What a lustful bird,” he laughed. He grabbed my legs and hiked them up around his waist. Kissing my neck, he sucked hard on my collarbone.
Closing my eyes, I was struggling for air. I clung to the fire god. This was amazing. The cold was gone and the furthest thought from my mind for once. Zoran slipped a finger inside me. A blast of heat ripped straight through me to my core. The fire emanating from my own skin hit the bed canopy.
Zoran smiled. “Males are far more honest.” Another finger worked its way inside.
If this continued, I’d burn the room down.
“Let it out, Fin,” he whispered. “You can’t hurt anything here.”
The encouragement was enough for me to stop trying to hold back. The fire grew and spread. Our bodies sat entangled in a ball of flames.
“That’s it, my sparrow.” His fingers pulled away and something bigger was pressed against my entrance.
I wanted it. I wanted it so bad.
“You’re shaking,” chuckled Zoran.
Not replying, I pulled him into a kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck. He deepened it and twirled his tongue around mine. I jerked back as my breath caught when he entered me. He went to suck on my neck as his cock stretched my walls and sent fire racing through my body.
The flames coming from me turned blue as well.
“You’re feeling it better this time,” whispered Zoran. “You’ll love the ending.”
He started to move his hips. Each thrust made the flames grow higher.
“More,” I gasped. “More, Zoran.”
Zoran chuckled and continued to nibble on my neck. I spread my legs wider. He slammed into me harder. Grabbing my erection, he started to stroke it.
My body was going to explode. “Zor—Zoran.”
Breathing heavily, Zoran grabbed my hips and increased the pace. He threw his body at me and erupted. Fire blasted through the room, causing the windows to shatter. I came hard and added to the wave of heat that shook the walls.
As we came down from our high, the blaze diminished to a simmer. My head was still filled with the warmth. I was warm, so warm.
“Curse the gods,” breathed Zoran, collapsing at my side. He clasped my cheek and ran his thumb along my cheekbone.
I closed my eyes, breathing deeply. He pulled me to him and kissed my forehead as he placed a blanket over us. I settled in and felt my mind slip away. He was right: I had loved the ending.
***
“WHY DO YOU ALWAYS SAY curse the gods?” I asked. “Isn’t that a little self-defeating, since you are a god?”
“I curse the others, and one day I hope it happens.”
I curled up against Zoran. His arm was wrapped around my shoulders. It was strange to not see him poring over scrolls and scribbling down notes for once.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“For what?” he muttered.
“Saying those things to you. I was just upset. I’ll try harder to get better at my powers so I can be like the others.”
“Hmmm... I never wanted you to be like the others.” He cleared his throat. “You’re doing well.”
A lightness filled my chest. A compliment. Zoran had given me a compliment. Finally, he’d acknowledged all my hard work. I hid my smile in his side.
“For being so young, you’re doing okay.”
He could try to cover it up all he wanted, but he’d complimented me.
“Why are you so happy about such a menial thing?” muttered Zoran, gazing off across the room.
I shrugged. “Just because.” Shifting in the bed, I laid my head on his chest. “What’s going to happen tomorrow?”
Resting his head against his fist, Zoran rolled his eyes. “A festival of sorts for the humans. It’s a day they can celebrate their gods. It’s an egotistical celebration, really. Pointless in every aspect.”
“Maybe because no one celebrates you,” I teased.
Zoran didn’t reply.
“Is that why you left?”
He quickly pulled away and went to locate his clothes.
I laid there, thinking over what I’d said. That was probably not the best thing to say to a god. “Sorry.”
Zoran groaned and rubbed his forehead. “Stop apologizing. I’m tired of hearing it.”
Sucking in my lips, I rolled over and stared out the window. That was the first time I’d heard that. The bed shifted behind me.
His arm landed on my waist, and he pulled me to him. “Tomorrow you will see for yourself what the Festival of Brite is like.”