Fire

Chapter Six - Inferno

She awoke with a smile on her face and stretched languidly, enjoying the comfort of a fully sated body. She felt tender in some places but she grinned, eyes closed as she remembered exactly how she had become tender. Elated and ready for more, Cass slid her hands across the sheets, fingers questing for flesh, sitting up with a frown when they found none.

She felt the colour drain from her face as she realised Ignatio was not in the bed beside her.

Cass was not a particularly religious person but she prayed that Ignatio had not left her after what they had just done. Her heart couldn't take that kind of rejection.

Quickly, she gathered the blankets to her body and rushed out the room. She couldn't stop the relieved breath that escaped her mouth when she saw him in the kitchen, standing behind the stove in a t-shirt and a pair of faded denim jeans.

"Good evening," He said glancing over his shoulder with a grin that stopped her heart.

"Evening? Did I sleep all day?" She asked and scratched her head, wincing as her hand was met with an assortment of nasty tangles.

"Yeah. You did, but I don't blame you. I think I kind of wore you out."

Ignatio had a saucy grin on his face when he turned to put plates of breakfast food on the countertop in front of her. Cass blushed in response to his statement.

"Yeah... Well you know..." Her eyes were glued to the plates before her, "I'm not sure if this is breakfast or dinner."

Ignatio chuckled and came around the counter to her and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"It's a little bit of both, actually," He then returned to the kitchen, placed two glasses on the table and asked if she wanted some orange juice.

As if pulled by magic, she stepped up to the counter and sat down on the left barstool. She answered yes like an automaton, mouth watering at the bacon, eggs, sausages, beans and toast on the table before her.

"I'm guessing you're hungry," Ignatio observed with a chuckle when her stomach let out a very unladylike growl.

Cass gave a sheepish shrug as he pushed one of the plates towards her. He also placed a glass of juice before her, gave her a fork and told her to dig in. She was about to raise the fork to her mouth, when she paused. It would be better to wait for him to sit down. She was trying to subconsciously tell him that they were a team now; whether he liked it or not, they were going to do things together. He was no longer on his own... but wait –did what happened earlier make her his girlfriend? They never exactly talked about it –and she never asked. –Maybe she should-

"Uh-oh. What did the wall do?" Ignatio asked as he took a seat next to her with a small smile on his face.

She turned towards him, confused.

"Huh?"

"You were frowning at the wall, Cass," he offered and began chewing on a sausage.

"Oh! Uh it's noth-" She smiled sheepishly at the dry look he gave her and began to eat, "okay, you got me. I was just thinking about... us."

He arched and eyebrow and took a long sip of juice.

"What about us?"

"Well," she offered between bites, "what exactly are we?"

"That's a rather complicated question to ask," he said, visibly relaxing, "You're a human and I'm an elemental/human hybrid."

Cass returned his dry look and gently punched him in the arm while he chuckled. She was beginning to enjoy this relaxed, unguarded version of Ignatio.