A Genie's Love (The Djinn Series) (7 page)

“You can have your turn next time. This is all about me.”

This
was being pushed on his back yet again.
This
was being saddled and ridden like a rented stallion.
This
was about Cassia, on her terms, taking what she wanted. The walls of her pussy closed in around his rod, tight and burning, but she chose the tempo. Slow. Steady. He could almost time her pulses, but gave up, settling in for the ride.

She’d done this. Without knowing what he needed, she’d worshipped him with her mouth, giving him the strength to pleasure her like this. Along with love, his
hamdullah
brought the one other thing he’d not had in an age. Confidence.

“Stop it.”

“What?”

“Thinking. I’m here. You’re inside me. What could you possibly be thinking about?”

“You.” It was the last sensible thing either of them said for a very long time. He flipped her over, grabbed her by the ass and rammed his way home until they collapsed into grinning, gasping lumps.

––––––––

C
langing plates woke him up. Tired but happy, he blinked against the light to see a half-dressed Cassia gathering up the widgets and bobbles of their picnic.

“Didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Let me help.”

He kissed her before touching a single utensil and nipped at an ear or shoulder every few seconds thereafter. This was his right and he’d exercise it. With new confidence, came new determination.

She knew the whole of what they had and that she could leave at any moment. The sole purpose of his existence evolved into making sure that would never happen.  To hell with wining and dining. He’d make love to her until she physically couldn’t walk away. He’d bathe her in jewels. He’d hold her in his lamp if it came to that.

“Is that regret on your face, Faruq? It’s all scrunched up.”

“That’s resolve. I’m figuring out a way to keep you where I want you.”

“Does it involve handcuffs or chocolate?”

“For the sake of argument, let’s say both.”

“No argument here. This could be the start of something good.”

He nodded, but pulled her close, needing to ask a single question. “About the future—”

“Every second is a blessing and we aren’t promised the next one. We’ll take this, whatever it is, one day at a time. I’m here. You’re here. That’s all I can give you right now.”

“That won’t stop me trying to keep you.”

“I know.” She sighed and picked up a container of dressing. “I also know that these dishes won’t clean themselves. Back to work.”

A wish or the simplest of spells would have cleared the mess in an instant. But he enjoyed every second with her, even work. He didn’t mind that it took longer than usual as every step of the process had to be punctuated with a kiss or wink.

Somehow, they made it inside before sunset and he had a very good idea of what would be on the menu for dessert. While she loaded the dishwasher, he dipped away to find the bathroom and clean himself up as discreetly as she’d done minutes earlier. He traced the wainscoting of the old mansion, stopping along the way to look at sepia photographs and painted oil portraits that lined the hall. Each face carried the high cheekbones and long necks that the Authement sisters shared.

The setting sun glinted off of something at the end of the corridor, a keyhole, set in the wall. He fingered the thing and got zapped with an unpleasant burst of energy. Not good. He did it again and the same thing happened. How had she lived here with this oddity in the house?

After coming out the bathroom, he went past it and shook his head. “Cassia? Got a minute?”

“Is that code for something?”

“I’m being serious,” he yelled back. “What’s this keyhole lead too?”

He could almost hear her shrugging from several rooms away. “Don’t know. It was...hold on.”  Her footfalls echoed through the hall as she approached. “It was here when I moved in. Grandma always said that this aunt dabbled in the dark stuff. She’d turn over in her grave if she knew I was living here.”

“And how long have you been here again?”

“Oh relax. This house has been blessed and cleansed twice. It’s fine. I mean, I almost never use this bathroom, but I’d have noticed if something was up.”

“You’re not concerned about a key slot in the middle of a wall? It feels stronger than when I first passed it. I want to look away from it, but something deeper tells me not to. You’ve never experienced this sensation?”

“I never come down here.”

“That doesn’t make it okay and it only reinforces my point. What about the tripping and falling you mentioned in the car? That’s new too, isn’t it?”

“Now you’re reaching.  I told you, this whole place has been purified. Nothing bad is going to happen. In fact, life’s looking pretty good at the moment.”

“That’s what people say before they die in movies.”

Cassia’s arms wrapped around his waist, brushing aside the chill that’d befallen him. He brought her in tight and dropped a kiss on her head. She looked up and smiled. “I’ve figured out my role in your life, Faruq. My job is to keep you from worrying about everything.”

“You’re right.” He let her pull him back down the hall, but stopped short of entering the kitchen. “What happens when you put the key in?”

“No key.”

“And that doesn’t bother you either?” Could something be making her ignore this?

“Honestly, no. It was a free house. You’re certain there’s nothing you’d rather be doing right now, other than worrying about a literal hole in the wall?”

“I’m a djinn.”

Cassia sighed, pulled away and leaned against the wall. “So?”

“Wish for the key.”

“Fine. I wish for the key. There. Nothing happened.”

True and bothersome. The wish pulled as most did, but piercingly ached like it didn’t want to be answered. Less than a second later, no, less than
half
a second later, it begged like it wanted nothing more than to be granted.

Wishes pulled and sometimes annoyed. They didn’t hurt. Not unless someone held a lamp captive or the wish was a curse. Outside, a series of howls and barks cut through the air, yanking his attention away. “I don’t remember any dogs around here.”

“There aren’t any.”

“Maybe your neighbor’s house dog got lose.” But he didn’t recall any nearby homes either. “Cassia?”

“No neighbors. Faruq, we’ve had a pretty heavy experience. I don’t want to talk about dogs or keys or anything, really. I want to sit in your lap a little bit, drink some more wine and have you carry me up to bed at the end of the night.”

How to tell her they had an eternity of that without freaking her out or bringing up the huge, massive problem of an unanswered wish? There wasn’t a way so he dropped it, gathered her in his arms and took her upstairs. “Just one suggestion.”

“Yeah?”

“Learn some spells. Fast.”

*****

W
hen the morning sun winked at her through the window, she winked back – weak, aching, bruised and smiling.

Also, alone.

She got up, grabbed his shirt from the floor, then slid it over her as she looked for him in the hall. It didn’t take much searching to find him. He stood with a cup of coffee in his hand, staring at that stupid keyhole. “Let it go.”

“Can’t. You don’t feel anything?”

“Nope.”

“Maybe it’s tied to you – to your bloodline, I mean.  This lady was a blood relation, not one by marriage, yes?”

“Yes.”

“So she had to make it in such a way that she could stay here and not be affected by whatever’s radiating from the other side.”

Here we go again.
“Nothing is radiating from the other side.” She padded down the steps and took the coffee from his hands. One sip and she gagged. Freezing cold. “How long have you been staring at this thing?”

“Move in with me.”

“Too soon there, chief. Slow it down.”

“Not like that. I mean, stay with me at the hotel.”

“As opposed to my house with all my stuff in it? I’ll take my house. You’re free to stay as long as you like. Well, as long as I like.” She laid her head against his shoulder, breathing in the musky scent of his maleness. She didn’t want to talk about the house or keyholes. There were much better things to do. “I’ll promise to tell you about any sketchy feelings that pop up, if you join me in the shower.”

“That’s what I’m worried about. If we wait until you feel it, it might be too late. I think your whole family is shielded from this. What does Tig—”

“Tig says nothing, because there’s nothing to notice.”

“I don’t like it.”

“I’m aware. But this is my home and I don’t need you trying to change it.”

“It’s not that.”

“So don’t act like it.” If he intended to walk in and take over her life, he’d better think again. “Stare at the wall. I leave you to it,” she said and went to the desk to check her appointments.

All in all, so not how she anticipated spending her first day after sleeping with him. They should be in bed cuddling or whatever.
Ugh.
Between her fifth and sixth email, he hovered in the doorway of her office. “I can feel you brooding. Knock it off or leave.”

“Leave?”

“Yes. That’s that thing I get to tell you to do when you’re in my house,” she said, hands floating above the keyboard.

“Because I care?”

“You don’t get to dictate what I do.”

“Whoa. Stop. Can we reset to this morning? After an amazing night, I woke up in bed next to a woman who will never care for me as much as I care for her—.”

“Faruq—”

“And that’s fine. I’m coming to terms with it. But dictating? You don’t have the right to tell me what I feel.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.”

“I can’t control how you feel, Cassia, but I’m allowed to say what I think.”

That
was
fair. She slammed the laptop closed and rose from the chair. “We’ll agree to disagree on the random decoration in the hall. This is a stupid thing to fight over.”

“I don’t think so.”

“I’m going to let that go, because I’m done talking about it. Let’s go upstairs.”

“Upstairs for what? Sex? Now?”

“I appreciate your concern, but you have to trust me. I know my house.  Now, as the rest, I’d rather have sex than fight.”

He looked at her, palms up, one eyebrow raised. “How is that healthy behavior?”

“So you don’t want to go upstairs with me?”

“I didn’t say that.” He shrugged and leaned against the doorframe. “I went from being insulted to feeling used. I mean something to you, right? Even a little,” he asked, fingers held slightly apart. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips and he held out his hands in mock surrender. “Promise me we’ll talk about it at some point.”

“I promise that if anything legit strange happens, we’ll discuss it. Do I have to wish you upstairs?”

“That won’t be necessary. Actually, before we get started...”

His voice trailed off and he laid his hands on her shoulders, gently guiding her down. “You expect this to happen before we have sex every single time?”

“No...I...well...please?”

*****

“Y
ou work too much,” he said, three days later. Cassia only smiled and walked into the bathroom.

After a few nights at her apartment, he realized his place in her life. They’d make love all night, but before sunrise, she left for her runs and workouts. Things improved around lunch, when she returned sweat drenched and grinning.  One hooked finger was all it took for him to clean her up and get her sweaty all over again.

Then the dinner hour would roll around and she forced him to let her go once more.

Why?

Them
.

Humans, vamps, shifters, they all demanded her time. She didn’t need money with him around, though getting her to take any was an exercise in futility. That was the downside of these modern women – they didn’t like being taken care of.  Therefore, she worked and he waited.

The first few days he contented himself with a bit of keyhole staring or getting reacquainted with his lamp.  Later in the week, Tig wished him over, but every second without Cassia left him bored in a gray, dull world. To avoid another day of looking out the window, awaiting her return, he took the car downtown for a bit of sightseeing.

He didn’t make it fifteen feet outside her property before
it
appeared.

The baby carriage.

He slowed the car to watch its progression in the rearview mirror. It appeared as a faded, tattered thing at the beginning, but improved in shape and substance as he put more distance between himself and the house. By the time he reached the city, it started to pale again.

Cassia
.

He tried her cell, but she didn’t answer. It meant nothing. Logic reminded him that she was busy with a client...

...or running for her life.

The thought slammed his foot to the pedal and had him swerving through the city. She could be anywhere. When he tried calling Dinah for a wish, he got no answer. He drove to a few nearby gyms, but none would let him in without membership. Magic didn’t help. No one ever wished to go to the gym.

Not that he had any certainty she would even be inside one. Knowing her, she had her clients traipsing through the rough or flipping tractor tires for fun.  There was nothing other to do than wait.

He didn’t do it at her house though. The car came to a stop at the furthermost point that she would
have
to pass in order to jog home.  He told himself a dozen times that she was fine and that the carriage meant nothing. More than that, his heart would know if she were in danger.

Still, he didn’t move.

An hour and a half later, he caught her jogging up the road and popped a U-turn to pick her up. “Get in.”

“What’s wrong,” she asked, jogging in place.

“Did you see anything?”

“Second time. What’s wrong?”

“Second time. Get in.” She didn’t look scared, and not too far away from pissed either. She hadn’t seen the carriage then.

“Keep driving. I’ll follow beside you to cool down.”

“That’s...” But she’d already taken off and he kept pace, clocking in at three miles per hour. “I saw that carriage again.”