Wishes to Burn

by Ellabee Andrews

  “I don’t know, Fifi. Some of the locals haven’t seemed thrilled to have us around here. Maybe we should just stay in tonight?” I suggest, but can’t help feeling a little excited about the prospect of a festival.

  Poking out her bottom lip, Fifi turns toward Satine and gives her the full effect of her widened-puppy dog eyes.

  “Sorry, Fifi, but I’m with Rhia on this one. I don’t think country festivals are really my thing,” Satine says, and Fifi’s mouth twists into a frown as her shoulders drop. The look makes me feel guilty for ruining her fun, but it doesn’t last as she turns to face the guys.

  Gavril brings his hand up to rub the back of his neck and looks uncomfortable with Fifi's pout being turned on him. Declan just meets her gaze with a smirk, but it's Maksim that speaks. "I don't know," he says, looking around the table at us all. "Maybe we should go. We could all do with some fun, and it will give us a chance to practice communicating mentally in a crowd since it will take more concentration to block out the background noise."

  Shocked that Maksim’s on board with Fifi’s suggestion, I stare at him across the table. His little dog piece is still sitting on Community Chest, but he appears to have lost interest in the game. Instead, I find him studying my face with a thoughtful expression.

  Knowing I may regret it, but admitting that he’s probably right, I lay down my properties and stand up. “Okay, we’ll go. But don’t expect me to start doing the Cotton-eyed-Joe, Fifi.” I say as I shoot her a pointed look. This causes her to shrug, before standing up as well.

  “No worries, loves. This will be exciting. Like an adventure! Let’s get cleaned up and head out. We can grab dinner there!”

  Despite not wanting to, It’s hard not to get excited around Fifi. Her enthusiasm and demeanor are just so bright, that I don’t know if it would be possible to ever stay upset with her. And watching her eagerly toss her neatly stacked play money back into the box before practically skipping out of the room, makes the upcoming awkwardness with the locals worth it.

  Once I’ve returned my own game pieces to the box, laughing the whole time as Fifi belts out the lyrics to Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy, I too, head to my room to figure out what to wear to a ‘hoedown’.

  “There is no way in this world, or the next, that I will ever wear that.”

  Looking over at what Fifi holds, I choke on a small laugh. The sound comes out so abruptly that I begin to talk. Concerned, Satine lifts a hand to tap me on the back until the coughing fit subsides.

  “What? This is what you’re supposed to wear to a hoedown,” Fifi says, narrowing her eyes on us and giving the hangers the outfits hang on a shake in our direction, causing the light to reflect off the large silver buttons, and the fringe to whip around.

  Putting her hands on her hips, and facing her directly, Satine narrows her eyes right back at her. “No, it’s not. Besides, it’s not a ‘hoedown’, it’s just a festival. And even if it was, have you ever even gone to one? Because, I haven’t, and I still know that people don’t dress like that outside of…”

  Eyes flashing, Fifi tilts her head to the side and waits with almost a predatory look to her gaze. "Go ahead, sugar, finish that sentence. People don't dress like that outside of what?" she asks, voice deepening. She emphasizes each word, and I realize that this could get ugly really fast. Both are powerful, and I don't want to see what would happen if either lost their temper.

  Stepping between them, I place a hand on Satine’s arm, giving it a soft rub, and look at Fifi. “What I think Satine is trying to say is that it’s just a bit much for our tastes. Maybe you could create something that incorporates our style, but with a touch of your flair? We don’t want to look too good, Fifi. It might make the locals feel bad.”

  The room is silent as we wait for Fifi to respond, and I watch her face closely. After a pause, Fifi smiles once again, any trace of her earlier temper disappearing as her face smoothes out, and in the blink of an eye, the horrible fringe monster outfits are gone, replaced with clothing more like what we normally wear.

  "Of course, Rhia. Here are your jeans. I know you can't go anywhere without them. And Satine, here's some shorts. You all won't look as fabulous as me, but there's nothing to be done about it now." Laying the new clothes onto the bed, Fifi walks out the door, whistling a tune that I don't recognize, and I release the breath I've been holding.

  Feeling hands wrap around my waist, Satine moves up behind me, lacing her fingers, and laying her head on my shoulder. “I love her, but damn, Rhia. I’d rather eat slugs than wear that first outfit.”

  I laugh as the image of the first outfit flashes in my mind again, the suede material mixed with the cow print pattern a permanent fixture in my head, and run my hand up and down her arm. "I don't know. I think you would look pretty good in skin-tight suede. Maybe Fifi will make it again later, and you can model it for me?" I smile as I tease her, and she moves around my body and faces me, grinning.

  “I can do that. But then you have to do something for me,” she says as she lifts one of my braids and wraps it around her long fingers, her nails painted a blood red.

  “What’s that?” I ask, breath catching as she moves the other hand up to cup the back of my head, moving her fingers and massaging my scalp. I moan a little.

  “If I wear that for you, then you have to wear a cowboy hat and boots for me,” she says, leaning in so close I feel her breath on my face. “Only a cowboy hat and boots,” she adds, then kisses me deeply. Her full mouth moves against mine, and I enjoy the strawberry flavored lip gloss she wears. It makes our lips slide against each other.

  Pulling away, and leaving me breathless, Satine winks before grabbing her outfit off the bed and with one last heated look, she closes the door softly behind her as she leaves the room.

  With a smile on my face that I can't wipe away, I pick up the outfit Fifi made, and after undressing, pull it on, loving how she has somehow created jeans that are not only comfortable but slide on and fit like a glove. And the top, though I'm not normally a fan of plain tank tops, I don't mind with the way this white one fits. As I pick up the next item, however, all I can do is shake my head. She's created a vest. A suede vest, with tassels and a star embroidered on the back. It's definitely not my style, and I go to toss it back down but hesitate. Wearing it wouldn't mean anything to me, but to Fifi? She'd love it. Thinking back on our lessons together, and how sometimes the simplest actions can help others, I slide the buttery soft vest on, pair it with some cowboy boots, and walk out the door.

  “If you make one more Daisy Duke joke, Gavril, I swear on all that’s holy that I will cut your tongue right out of your big block head!”

  I speed up my pace when I hear the thread of anger in Satine’s voice, and rush into the living room. But as I look around, I draw up short. Not only at Satine’s outfit, which is going to take a second for my brain to process, but at all my lovers gathered in the room.

  “Oh my…”

  It’s not the most articulate response, but it’s the only thing I can force pass my suddenly dry lips when they all turn to face me. Maksim meets my eyes first, and my eyes devour him in his dark wash jeans and black, short sleeved button up shirt. His shirt is tucked in, and paired with a black leather belt, boots, and large buckle that, upon closer inspection reveals a woman riding a man, and not a bull. Top that with a black cowboy hat that sits right over his dark eyes, and my body starts to heat.

  “I can’t help calling you that when you’re wearing shorts that short, Satine. Give yourself some piggy tails, and you might fool some of the country folk at the festival. They’ll think a celebrity has come to visit,” Gavril fires back, tone teasing, but he really doesn’t have much room to talk. Like Maksim, he’s wearing a button up shirt, but his sleeves have been made to appear cut off, revealing his muscular arms. It’s a dark grey, with blue threading, and he has his own pair of denim jeans and boots. He doesn’t have a hat, but it would only take away from those piercing steel eyes of his anyway.

/>   “I vote we leave those two here, Rhia. Then we can have more alone time together,” Declan says as he walks over, allowing those daffodil eyes to run over my body. He starts at my brown boots and his gaze travels over the skin-tight jeans, vest, and tank top. By the time he reaches my face, his eyes have darkened into a molten gold that reveals how he feels about that idea. And if his changing eyes doesn’t give it away, the erection straining against his jeans does.

  He’s forgone cowboy boots, instead opting for some leather loafers, but it doesn’t matter. No one will be looking at his feet when he’s wearing a quarter sleeve baseball top with the words ‘You can ride my bull’ written on it. With his signature smirk and smoldering eyes, I want to blurt out that I’ll ride him any day. Yet, as the thought crosses my mind, someone clears their throat and I look up in surprise.

  When I meet the stares of the others, they're all smiling, lips clamped together and looking as if they could laugh at any moment. It takes me a second to figure out why everyone looks so amused when I realize that every thought I've just had was clear for them to hear since my shields aren't up. I quickly slam them into place, but the damage is done, and I feel their delight at catching me lusting over them all.

  “You guys suck,” I say, and Maksim walks over, his large frame dwarfing mine as he pulls me into a hug. With the summer heat, it’s almost too hot to be in his arms, but I don’t pull away. Not when his spicy scent reaches my nose and I feel a deep growl rumble through his chest. With his face relaxed, I know that it’s a sound of contentment, not anger.

  "Don't be embarrassed for how you feel, Rhia. It's very flattering, and I like a woman that knows what she wants," he says, and then leans closer so that his mouth is right next to my ear, brushing it with his lips. "Believe me, it's incredibly sexy," he whispers and I shiver in his arms. He tightens his hold when I do so, and I can feel how sexy he finds it. And with the size of what I’m feeling pressed against my hips, I swallow thickly at the thought of what all I’d like him to do with it.

  “Yep, I’m going to head outside to wait for Fifi. You two with me?” Satine asks, and motions for the others to follow her. When I look up from Maksim’s hold, she meets my stare with a soft smile, a nod of her head, and follows the other two out the door.

  As she walks away, my eyes run down the line of her back, silently appreciating the short sleeve flannel button-up she has on, and the shorts that are in fact, daisy dukes. I can't stop a giggle, however, when I see that on the back of her shorts are stars with horseshoes bedazzled onto the pockets. Raising up her head and lifting her middle finger into the air, she doesn't look back as she walks out the front door, her cowboy boots clicking as she steps onto the wood porch.

  “You know, I don’t know if I should thank Fifi, or be upset about this getup. I’m going to be beating people with sticks for looking at you.”

  Turning back to look at Maksim, I have to tilt my head back to meet his gaze. “Don’t you mean you’ll have to ‘beat them off with a stick?” I ask, tone light and teasing. His face doesn’t change as he holds my stare.

  “No. That’s not what I meant. I’m going to be beating people with sticks,” he replies, and with his eyes flat, and mouth not revealing whether or not he’s joking, I just cough into my hand.

  “Well, I guess it’s a good thing you won’t have to. Not when I’m surrounded by all of you. And Fifi, no doubt, will attract all attention to her.

  Maksim snorts at that, kisses my forehead, and pulls me with him out the door. Time to go.

  Call Me, Fluffy

  I wasn’t wrong about Fifi garnering the attention of the locals, but her being a supernatural has nothing to do with it since all of our true natures are cloaked by magic. No, these stares are all for the white one-piece jumpsuit that she wears, tiny cherries dotting the spandex fabric.

  "Fifi, I think you have a few admirers," I tell her, looking back over my shoulder and seeing the two men that have been shadowing us since we arrived.

  Turning, and making it completely obvious that she’s staring, Fifi takes the corn dog she’s been eating, and slowly starts to slide it between her lips, flicking her tongue out at the end, and twisting it around the top. “I’m not sure why they would be following, honey. I can ask them if that would make you feel better though.”

  Moving his large frame to step in between Fifi, and her growing fan base, Gavril blocks their view of my flamboyant mentor. "I, uh… don't know if it's the best idea to tease them, Fifi. A small town like this may not have ever met a…" Gavril runs his hand up the back of his neck, his cheeks reddening to an adorable shade of pink, and Fifi tilts her head at him, lips pursed.

  “Never met what, sugar? A fairy?”

  A grunt comes from Gavril at Fifi’s response, and as his shoulders slump, he steps to the side. He waves his hand in the direction of where only one man remains, eyes lighting up as Fifi is once again revealed to him. “Just be careful. These country boys can be… hard to handle,” he finishes lamely, and I pat his arm as he moves toward me.

  “You were in over your head before you even started with that, man.” Declan’s shoulders shake as he bites back a smile, and I can’t help my own grin from spreading across my face as Gavril’s cheeks once again tinge pink.

  At the sound of music playing, Fifi stops licking her corn dog, and instead, sends a wink at her lone admirer before taking a huge bite, half of it filling her mouth as she works to chew the too big piece.

  “Really?” My tone is dry as her cheeks bulge from the meat, and she gives me wide eyes.

  "Hmph," her words are unclear, but after a few moments of chewing, she's finally able to swallow. "That was some good meat," she says, licking her fingers like she was holding the meat itself instead of the stick. Then, turning to where Gavril stands shaking his head, she grins up at him. "And thank you, honey, for your concern, but country boys aren't the only ones that are hard to handle. Now, if you all are finished wasting time, let’s go dance!”

  Fifi doesn't wait to see if any of us will follow, she just starts to walk toward where the music is playing and I see more than a few passersby do a double take. And one very eager admirer follows her onto the dance floor, offers her a hand, and begins to do some dance that Fifi surprisingly seems to know every step of.

  “That one’s in for a surprise,” Maksim says at my back, his natural heat ensuring I never forget he’s there, and Declan chuckles from off to my side.

  “And what a surprise it will be.”

  We all laugh and start to walk over to the makeshift dance floor, dodging the hay bales that have been brought in and set up as chairs until we find a spot out in front. This places Fifi and her new friend directly in front of us as we wait to see how this will play out.

  As it turns out, it takes four songs for the man to catch on, and we know this because as a slow song starts, he tries to pull Fifi in close.

  At first, she shakes her head, smiling coyly and wagging her finger at him, but with a pleading look and a hand over his heart like she’s wounded him, her shoulders slump and acquiesces with a nod.

  We all sit up a bit straighter, and I catch myself not breathing as we wait to see how this will go. Her suitor wastes no time, unaware of who he’s found himself trying to woo, and pulls her into his arms, his body swaying against hers.

  “Shiiiit,” Declan breathes as we all watch, and my eyes start to feel dry from trying not to blink. With as still as the others are at my sides, I bet it’s the same for them.

  About a minute into the song is when it happens. One second Fifi is being held, the man’s large arms wrapped around her and allowing no air to pass between their bodies, and then suddenly, his back goes ramrod straight as his movements stop.

  Fifi doesn’t move in his arms as he slowly brings his hands up, hesitantly places them on Fifi’s shoulders and moves back just enough to look down the line of their bodies. I purse my lips as his eyes grow impossibly large when they reach Fifi’s waist, lingering on the spot w
here an obvious bulge is straining against her pants before swallowing hard and meeting her face with a look that’s as confused as it is horrified.

  I can’t hear what Fifi tells him when he continues to stare at her, eyes wide and mouth hanging open slightly, but she takes advantage of his shock to lift his hand into her own before placing something in it. After she’s closed his fist around whatever it is, she walks back our way, head held high and uncaring at the crowd of gawkers.

  When she arrives, she takes the seat at my side, and when I take in her flushed cheeks, I pass her my water bottle.

  ”Thanks, honey. I love to dance, but this heat and humidity has me melting,” she says in a perfect women’s voice that’s somehow both breathy and husky.

  “That looked like it went well,” Satine says drily from my spot, and Fifi laughs, not appearing upset at all from her fun ending.

  "That, my dear, did go well. He was surprised, but when I returned the class ring he lost earlier, I think it helped to smooth things over."

  I pause mid-nod and swivel my head around to look at her. "Wait. What class ring?"

  With a smile tugging at her lips, she leans in. "The ring he lost earlier on a ride. He was quite chatty about it, something to do with his senior year of football. Well, while we danced, I sent out a little magic to find it. The man who picked it up will surely be in for a surprise later when he checks his pockets and it's not there, but, it's back with its rightful owner. I may have made a hard impression, but I don’t think there will be any hard feelings.” Her pun causes her to laugh, and I see the other’s shoulders slump, the tension going out of them at a potential crisis averted.

  When nobody else makes an attempt to ask Fifi to dance, the crowd around us keeping their distance, we leave the area in search of more activities to enjoy, since the day is still young. Besides, we’re already here and whether the locals like it or not, I plan on having a good time.