She stroked his chest awkwardly trying not to look at him. The look in his eyes did nothing to make it easier. Why was he staring at her as if she was the one taking advantage of him? Clearly, he was enjoying this way more than he should. She wiped her face with the back of her palm, accidentally rubbing the ointment onto her face. "How does it feel now?"
He grinned at her mischievously. "It feels awesome. Can't you tell?"
Of course, she knew that. He almost made it seem like she was caressing him. She glared at him.
"You idiot. I want to know if you are alright now. Will the scars heal?"
Thinking about it for a while, he decided to once again stick to a response that would evoke her pity. "They will but it still stings a lot. A little more rubbing will do."
He sounded nothing like someone who felt pain from burn wounds, but she was too guilty to notice it. "Okay." She continued clumsily rubbing her hands against his chest.
She had probably never been this close to a man as she was so flustered that her face was red. She would freak out every time her hand felt his warm skin in parts that didn't need ointment and she looked like she was about to die in embarrassment.
"Maybe I should lead your hand where it hurts?" He suggested, fighting back his urge to tease her.
"Okay." She muttered.
He took her small palm and placed it on the left side of his chest, right where she could feel his pulse. He didn't say a word but his deep eyes said it all. It's racing because of you.
She stopped in her tracks when she felt his pulse. His heart was racing too, and for some strange reason, it seemed as though his heartbeat was in sync with hers.
He slid her hand down unceremoniously and she couldn't help feeling the muscles in his abdomen. She was out of breath when he slid her palm even further, so she was touching the defined V that led into his pants. She retracted her hand as though she had been electrocuted.
"I think you are alright now. I'll take care of your back."
He laughed but let her go. It was barely a minute later when he moved away to avoid her touch. "I'll do it on my own."
"But…" She didn't want to sound disappointed—though deep down she knew that she was—but how would he be able to apply the ointment on his back?
"It's okay, flower. Go get some rest." He gently shooed her off and she literally bolted out.
He chuckled after her and looked down at his chest that was filled with a messy spread of ointment, which he didn't need to begin with. She no longer hated him, so he could immediately heal from her attacks. The ointment was his way of stalling for alone time with her but if he continued keeping her so close to him, he might do something that would make her hate him again. Tonight, he was bound to be restless.
He was not the only one that could barely sleep. Her thoughts were filled with his skin and when she finally fell asleep, her dreams were filled with his chest. That V that led to a place where she probably should not think about. That naughty gaze when he teased her.
_
The following morning, her eyes kept tracing their way back to his face.
This was a familiar scene. Dairon served her some of the bacon that Bardumond had snuck to the human realm to get, because his little sister liked it.
"Is there something wrong with my face?" He asked when she didn't notice the bacon because she was still staring at him.
She pulled out of her thoughts. "No."
She ate the bacon and although she should be happy, her chest felt so stuffed that each bite hurt.
"What's wrong?" He noticed her discomfort. This was why he didn't often cook human realm food—it reminded her of her home in ways that made her sad. He shouldn't have made an exception.
She knew that he had figured out why she was sad so she asked, "Is it okay to hop into the human realm for a bit? I have this and I miss my family so much." She took out the pendant that Bardumond had given her and showed it to him, explaining that she would be able to control herself and wouldn't be a danger to the humans.
"You can." He couldn't bring himself to say no.
Not having expected him to agree, she was pleasantly surprised. "Thank you."
"If you take me with you." He added, making her frown. What?
"You don't need to." She protested.
"Someone needs to remind you when you should come back and I don't think forcefully summoning you back will sit well with you." He took a bite of his toast.
She looked troubled. "But what will I tell them… you know, about you accompanying me."
"The truth. That I'm your partner." He raised an eyebrow. Wasn't it obvious?
"You are not!" She sternly glared at him, which made him laugh in amusement.
"Sweet flower, haven't we had this conversation enough times already? No amount of your denial will change a thing."
She had a lot to say but probably because the pendant was working its magic, it all translated into a glower.
"Don't look at me like I'm a villain. If you don't want to visit your family, then…"
"Let's go." she interrupted, knowing what he was going to say.
He was not done messing with her. "We will go once you create twenty five fireballs. Place them on the surface of the sea next to each other, no fusing and no altering the temperature of the water."
He had mentioned giving her a task today so she was not surprised. Except… "Is that even possible?" How the heck could fire not alter the temperature of water?
He raised an eyebrow. "You are asking me if it's possible for a fire demigoddess to control the fire she created?" He asked in a way that made her feel silly for asking the obvious.
He stood when they were done eating. "Call me when they are done."
…
It was only three hours later that she managed to make the final fireball float. The first dozen or so times had been hectic. If the water didn't boil, the fireballs would go off. After several tries, she found it much easier and by the time he arrived after her call, some of them had changed their color and made an odd pattern with red, blue, green and yellow flames.
"Well done." He praised as he glanced at the beautiful picture. The reflection of the flames under the calm water made it look like a rainbow.
"Honestly, I thought you would get drained by the tenth fireball, at the very most." He added.
"And you asked for twenty-five?" She frowned.
"If I asked for ten, you would be drained at the eighth."
She didn't get his logic, but she didn't probe further. "So, how are they?"
"Let's see…" He picked up a blue fireball to inspect.
"Don't…" She freaked out, but it was too late to stop him.
"Are you worried?" He grinned at her.
"No!" She quickly denied it even though she was. How could he simply pick it up? That was fire!
"Don't worry. I'm a water demigod." He reassured her.
Her eyes dilated at his statement. Did being a demigod of water mean that he was resistant to fire? Then yesterday…
"You tried to use as little power as possible on each. Smart girl." He observed, interrupting her when she was about to point out his pretense from the previous day.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked, returning the fireball onto the water for it to continue floating.
"Yes. I'll grab something."
When she returned with a small dress, he immediately understood that it was for Dahlia. She had long prepared for this visit.
_____
They ended up at the backyard of Harry's house, and Jasmine couldn't wait to hurry into the house. It was the weekend in the human realm so everyone was home. She found Dahlia drawing on the balcony.
"Dahlia," She tried to fight back her tears as she called.
"Jasmine!" The girl looked up excitedly and was about to jump onto her elder sister for a hug when she stopped and turned away.
"Dahlia?" Jasmine was confused.
"I don't want to talk to you! You promised to stay with me." Dahlia pouted.
"I'm sorry, Dahlia. There are things I can't control either." She tried to explain, only to be ignored.
"Dahlia?" She called her name in vain. She sighed and looked at Dairon. "My sister doesn't love me anymore. I guess I'll just leave."
Hearing that her sister could leave, Dahlia jumped onto her to stop her. "Jasmine! Please don't leave. I was just mad. I should have been more understanding."
"What would I do without you?" Jasmine petted her head.