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extra crops it was producing because of the Gods’ favor.”
    “I’m sure they didn’t want you to go.” That wasn’t a question, was it?
    “They didn’t and they did. My mother, especially, was afraid of losing another son, but my parents also didn’t want to stop me from choosing what to do with my life.”
    “So...you died, obviously.” Definitely not a question.
    He took his arm off his face and propped himself up on his elbows. “I died eight months into my service, had my throat slit, never saw it coming.”
    Flora could feel him glance at her neck. He knew what kind of pain she was in for, then. That made her braver. “How did you convince the Gods to let you become a Guardian?”
    “It was luck.” He turned his gaze back toward the water. “I was standing in line waiting for my Afterlife assignment, hoping that maybe I’d get something in the way of carpentry or farming. Some people get assignments to do things they have no affinity for. But like I said, I was lucky. With all of the people dying in The War, the Gods’ record keepers were behind and no one knew I was a witch. When they asked me if I wanted to be a Guardian, I immediately agreed, happy that I could be alive again and that I could visit my parents from time to time.” He looked Flora in the eye. “Glad that I could give back to Sacrifices in my own small way.” Julian stared at her, studying her face.
    Before Flora could let the blush he was causing fully take over, she licked her lips and leaned into him, pressing her mouth to his. When he didn’t resist, returned the kiss even, she deepened it. She pushed her tongue in between his lips, touching his. In response, Julian wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her on top of him. Keeping his arm around her, he slid his hand down, letting it rest on her rear end.
    Flora had other ideas. She spread her legs, straddling him and sat up. She began taking off her sweater, but Julian’s hands stopped her, grabbing her wrists.
    “Let me,” he said, his voice husky. He peeled the light cashmere fabric from her body, tracing his pinkie fingers across her skin as he went, making her shiver. He gave one final little tug and had the sweater off over her head, her ponytail loosening. Flora reached back to take the elastic out, but Julian stopped her again. “This is my favorite part.” He gently pulled on the band and her hair spilled down over her shoulders. He sighed.
    She had to admit, she thought that was a little weird. Then it occurred to her, “How old are you really?” she asked, smiling down at his lust clouded eyes.
    He grinned, embarrassed. “Old enough to get turned on by taking a woman’s hair down.”
    Flora slid her bra straps off her shoulders and bent over him. “So, what does something like this do for you?”
    Julian took his feet out of the water, tightened his grip on her hips and rolled her onto her back. “Are you sure you want to know?” he breathed, kneeling next to her, grazing his fingertips over her flat stomach.
    She laughed deep in her throat.
     
     
     
    I should not be doing this. And yet, there he was, his tongue tracing along the tops of her breasts, unable to stop. He moved lower, taking one of her hard nipples into his mouth, teasing the other with his thumb. She brought her hand up in between his thighs, rubbing against him with her heated palm. Scary for a non-fire user, incredibly arousing to someone like him. It was too much. “Easy, Flora.” Julian took her hand and pinned it above her head with his.
    “Sorry!”She just laughed again and went for the zipper on his jeans. He moaned. She had no idea what she was doing to him after a decade without any sexual contact. He needed to control the pace of this thing that was happening with them or it would be over in a matter of minutes. He pulled her hand away from him and tried to capture it next to her other one.
    She shook her head, panic rising in her voice. “Too...sacrificial. Please