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"Which means he doesn't have sex," she pointed out.
I chuckled. "He does. He just has different pleasures. If you only define sex as a penis into a vagina, then Ela and Talin can't have sex, but I promise they do. If you only define it as penetration, then me giving oral sex to Nari doesn't count. If you define it as pleasurable stimulation, then no touching is required for some people."
"Huh," she said. "So Anver has his own form of sex because he is stimulated by being included." She nodded as if that made sense. "I'm starting to feel like I actually understand all of - "
Before she could finish the sentence, my skate went sideways and my body followed. Maela tried to stop it, but I outweighed her. Between one word and the next, the pair of us were going down, and all I could think about was the ice cracking, sending us both into the cold water.
I crashed, feeling the impact on my hip even as I pulled Maela on top of me to keep from crushing her. But there hadn't been a crack. I wasn't soaked. I was a little cold, and I'd definitely clenched my eyes shut. Opening those, I found the pair of us lying on the ice, and Maela was grinning at me, struggling not to giggle in my face.
"You survived," she teased.
I just began to laugh. Full belly-laughs that bounced her on my body. She was right, that hadn't been nearly as bad as I'd feared, and yet there was no way this petite woman was hauling my ass back to my feet. I couldn't do it by myself, which meant I'd end up crawling to the edge of the pond to try again.
Then a skate scraped behind me as someone came to a stop. Another came from the other side. The delicious laughter of Ela made me look over to find all of our friends making a circle around us. Zeal just offered his hand.
"Yamina? Nari? Would the pair of you help Maela up? Talin, I think we can get Wraythe back on his feet." Then he looked at Ela. "You will stay there. You will not move. If you fall, I will laugh harder than you've ever heard before."
Ela lifted his hands, palms out. "I will stay here. I will silently appreciate your asses as you bend over, and I will not fall intentionally to get some sexy man to pay attention to me."
Zeal chuckled once, then reached back and just pushed at Ela's shoulder. My ward's eyes went wide, one leg came up, and for a second there was an impressive scrambling of his feet as he tried to keep his balance, but he didn't stand a chance. Ela crashed down, right onto his ass. For a second, he just looked at Zeal in shock, and then he began laughing harder than I'd ever heard before.
"You pushed me!"
"You look good down there," Zeal told him. "Stay until it's your turn. I need some muscles in my life."
And now I was laughing again. The three women were giggling too. Talin had his lips bit together, but the sparkle in his eyes made it clear he was struggling not to laugh. Even Zeal had a smile. It was glorious, making the man even more beautiful than Nari, which said a lot.
"Ok, Wraythe," Talin said. "We lift, you get your feet under you, and we're not letting go until you're stable."
"This is a bad idea," I warned them.
"I'm a god," Zeal promised. "I can hold you. Have a little faith, my friend."
Then they heaved. The first try, my skates slipped, but I somehow managed to make it work. Sure enough, Zeal held me. Talin stabilized me. After a few precarious seconds, I was once again standing, and I actually felt close to being balanced.
Then the guys moved to get Ela up. He made it look easy, but he had just as little control as I did. I was about to suggest heading back to our bench when Yamina slid over to my side, stopping with the kind of grace I couldn't even conceptualize on these things.
"You have to learn to adjust," she said. "Put your weight on one leg when you push with the other. Change your balance in the middle. It can't be that different from fencing, right?"
"I'm willing to try," I promised.
"Just one thing before you steal her," Zeal said. "Yamina, you say you wanted to be a priestess. Does that mean you're willing to serve me the way they do?"
"Always," she promised, turning to face him. "I'd like to think I already do."
Zeal eased himself closer, until he was right before her. "As much as you can. I want to make that a little more."
Then he bent and kissed her. It started gently. When she didn't resist, he pressed a little more until her lips parted. His tongue explored her mouth, and while she didn't melt into him, Yamina also didn't try to pull away. I knew that feeling. There was something about Zeal that made it not matter that he was male. He was a god, and that transcended such limiting things as gender.
When Zeal finally broke the kiss, he held her face for a moment longer, waiting until she opened her eyes. "I claim you, Yamina. You believe, and that's not a little thing. You can't be my priestess, but you are still mine."
"Am I going to have to get married?" she asked.
"No," he said. "If you want to one day, then you can, but I will do everything to make sure you are never forced into it. Just know that I cannot influence those who don't believe in me. It's the one place my power fails."
She nodded. "It's ok. That you even care makes me feel less alone."
He kissed her brow. "You will never be alone. As a spinster in that house, you will have Maela, and she needs you as much as you need her. Let yourself love, Yamina. I find no shame in it." Then he pointed to me. "Now take care of our giant. I'm pretty sure you're the only one here who won't bruise his pride."
