Matilda, Child of Fire

TSoT/MMW: Marmalade & The Morning After

28 TSoT/MMW: Marmalade & The Morning After

"Knowing me it takes some time/Diamonds are a little shy/But wait and see, I'll hit some gold/And I'mma be a sight to hold..." -Daniela Andrade, song "Genesis"

8:30 pm, Burn by Rocky Patel, 346 N Shore Dr., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

On a whim (was it the alcohol?), Matilda strode to the nearby dance floor, hearing the beginning beats of Jasmine Ying Thompson's cover rendition of Ed Sheeran's "I See Fire."

She turned to face him. "Wyatt Halliwell Jr., will you get your ass over here and dance with me?" His face tilted in an inscrutable expression. "Please?"

Upon hearing those words, Wyatt subtly smiled, as he rose from his seat and walked toward the lovely lady that had beckoned him forward, who had finally claimed his heart for her own.

8:50 pm, Burn by Rocky Patel, 346 N Shore Dr., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

"Wanna head out? Go someplace quieter?" Matilda murmured in Wyatt's ear as the music finished.

He lifted her chin and kissed her. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Your place or mine?"

"Not Halliwell Manor—my Gran checks rooms, has been ever since my dad was nearly abducted from his crib." Well, that settled that then, Matilda thought to herself as she whispered the exact address of her Azores home, down to the exact specifications of her bedroom.

12:50 am Azores/8:50 pm EST, Matilda's Bedroom, Madalena Village, Azores, Epicenter Pico No. 23

They landed with a soft thump onto Matilda's queen-sized mattress. "Wow...everything smells so...nice," Wyatt remarked a couple of seconds later.

Matilda lit a nearby candle with a twist of her wrist and turned to face him, an eyebrow raised, then she realized what it was. "My gramps grows jasmine, mint, basil, and comfrey—has been for a while, and I usually keep my balcony door cracked open to let the aroma in. It's what makes this place feel like home."

"Cool," replied Wyatt. "My gran and great-aunts just light vanilla Yankee candles and call it a day," he laughed. "Or incense sticks. Or whatever."

1 am, Matilda's Bedroom, Madalena Village, Azores, Epicenter Pico No. 23

Suddenly, the two found each other kissing with greater munificence, as if to absorb the other's soul in whatever way they could. Matilda reached for her phone, turning on Daniela Andrade's song "Genesis," a soft, sultry song, its crooning melody permeating the room as they helped each other shed their garments, raining kisses onto the other. After Matilda unbuttoned Wyatt's shirt, he bade her to turn around as he nipped at the base of her neck with his teeth, unzipping her dress with a torturously slow pace, which tumbled to the floor in a heap.

And here they were, once more. Not aggressively fucking on a doorway, the epitome of a trashy Harlequin novel, but in each other's arms amid tender caresses as they gingerly explored the other's body. Matilda could feel his hardness bump against her thigh and she welcomed the feeling, as it had been so long since their earlier rendezvous. The two situations couldn't have been more different. Instead of amplifiers and frenzied staccatos, their evening began with a fire-shooting lesson, continued with dinner and a dance—as normal as could be for two magical beings.

After unwrapping a foil packet from Matilda's drawer, the pair commenced their languorous movements; Wyatt positioned himself outside her petaled folds once more, entering her slowly as they gasped aloud at the tantalizing sensation, as the bare physicality of their sexes became reacquainted once more in the unembellished surroundings of Matilda's flame-proof bedroom.