Anger was easier than hope.
It was a useful shield to hide behind. But its handle was thorny, ready to destroy him if he clutched it too long. Now, he left it and admitted to himself that all he’d longed to hear was three simple words, and Durae had said them earnestly.
“Of course I’ve forgiven you,” Blaze rasped. “I knew I would the second I saw you again. That was why I had to stay away. You could crush my heart between your hands, and I would still hand it to you the next time you asked.”
The playfulness in Durae’s eyes vanished, and they widened with surprise. “Blaze.”
“I’m being too forward, aren’t I?”
“All I want is to know you better so I feel worthy of what you said,” Durae replied.
Blaze kissed him. He tasted of wine and flowers, and he was warm as the summer and soft as a whisper. Unthinking, he pulled Durae closer. His hands still had remnants of grease and paint on them, and he left marks on Durae’s outer robe. But when he glanced at one of the stains, Durae slipped out of his outer robe and let it pool on the deck. His cream tunic was going to suffer far worse if Blaze reached for him.
“I’m getting you filthy,” Blaze said.
Durae frowned, then followed his line of sight to the robe he’d shed. “The stains will come out, or they won’t. I don’t care.” He stepped up to Blaze and put his arms around his neck.
Why Blaze thought he was all softness was a mystery. Though his skin was silken, Durae was wiry, and his cock was a hardening bulge trapped in his breeches. He was a velvet-wrapped living statue, impossibly beautiful and breathtakingly complex.
They sank to the deck together and made a mess of both their clothes.
CHAPTER 12
The intricate enchantments of the ship’s controls were not commanding Durae’s focus enough to ease the knot of twisting snakes in his stomach like he’d hoped they would. After they’d explored one another, Blaze had brought out his pile of blankets once more and even fashioned the makeshift canopy before they’d fallen asleep. Durae had woken with Blaze wrapped around him and lingered.
The first rays of dawn had swollen into full light hours ago, but he was still on Blaze’s ship.
He should have rushed back to the inn and apologized to his family.
Instead, he’d written notes and paid Mack to deliver them. One begged Uleyri for her forgiveness but also mentioned that he’d seen she was on her own adventure, and he needed to follow his. The other was for all three of his parents. He promised that he would meet them for the supper Mama had arranged. He was looking forward to talking to the Celestial Society member who was going to attend.
Now, wearing last night’s cream tunic that had gained several new stains from crawling around on Blaze’s ship and a pair of borrowed trousers, he summoned a bit of magic to help himinspect the craftsmanship before his eyes. Thin lines appeared in the air, visible only to him, and he checked the patterns for flaws.
The trouble was Blaze’s creation was very new, and Durae wasn’t sure what patterns were right and what might be wrong. They weren’t completely foreign, though. He could see the influences of Navisora formulae, but like Blaze had reconstructed them. That made sense. A few were closely guarded family secrets.
Delight brought a grin to Durae’s lips. He might be falling for a commoner, but Blaze was abrilliantcommoner. Being handsome and good with his cock were nice traits, too. And he was thoughtful. Kind. Had a beautiful smile that was more timid than the first star after sunset, but lingered like the last star before dawn.
Thinking about Blaze distracted Durae from his spell, and it slipped. The energy dispersed harmlessly into the air. Having seen all he could, he rolled out from under the ship’s wheel and stood.
Blaze was emerging from the house with two plates and a waterskin. When Durae leaned over to take them from him so he could climb aboard, he asked, “What do you think?”
“You’re a genius. Possibly a mad one, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Durae kissed Blaze’s cheek as soon as he could. He handed one plate back to him and went over to the pile of blankets with his. The fare was simple but delicious, and Durae tucked in. Running around, making romantic overtures, and fucking created quite an appetite. “I don’t recognize some of the enchantments, which makes sense. Can I see the schematics?”
A brief flicker of hesitation clouded Blaze’s expression, but he sat beside Durae. “Sure. Can I ask why?”
“I’m curious how it works,” Durae said between bites. “It’s an awful lot of complex magics working in tandem. Have you had a chance to experiment?”
“The theories are sound,” Blaze said tensely. He furrowed his brow much like he had the night before, but with more wariness than anger.
“Your best shot at winning the award will be a stunning display of this prototype. Can’t hurt to have an extra set of eyes double-check your work, especially when this set of eyes is familiar with the gondolas you studied.” Durae added proudly, “My efforts have even caught a few flaws before they caused problems.”
“How’d you do that?” Blaze asked.
“I … accidentally threw too much magic into certain enchantments and started a fire.” Durae picked up a piece of bread and used it to push potatoes around on his plate. “Or three.”
“What?”
“I’m not going to do it to your ship!” Durae said. “It’s why I’m only looking, not offering help to finish the enchantments!”
