As You Wish (5 page)

So much for feeling better.

“Karis!”

Patting the excess water from her cheeks, she took a deep breath and exited the bathroom. “Is he gone?”

Oscar nodded with a concerned look. “He is. What was that all about? You never turn away the chance to chat up the customers about your work.”

“I started feeling sick.” She avoided her friend’s eyes as she sat down at her desk.

Her assistant cocked his head to the side. “You do look a little green around the gills. Why did you come in if you’re sick?”

“I was feeling okay. Since when did you start giving private showings on Saturdays?”

“Rue has shown major interest in several pieces and I thought given the state of things right now, I’d do whatever it takes to make those sales.” Oscar sat on the comfy couch facing her desk. “Besides, with those looks he could ask me to come in any day of the week. Wasn’t he hot?”

“Uh…not my type.”

Oscar gasped, his mouth an open O. “You must be ill.”

Karis forced a grin. “Yeah, I think I’ll just check the rest of my messages and the mail.”

“Here you go.” He lifted the stack of envelopes from underneath sketches on the desk and handed them to her. “I’m going to take off in a few minutes…unless you want me to stay?”

“No, no…go. I’m not going to stay too long either.”

“Okay. I brought in some powdered donuts this morning. Do you want some?”

“I’ll pass. I thought you were on some new thirty-day diet challenge,” she teased. He needed to lose weight like she needed to gain it.

Oscar shrugged, heading towards the doorway. “I eat when I’m stressed.”

Instantly feeling guilty, she frowned. “I’m sorry. I know you never counted on practically running this place on your own the last couple of weeks.”

Oscar waved his hands. “Don’t worry about it…I can handle things here. I just can’t paint for you. I wish I could.”

“You don’t like getting messy.” She pointed to his pressed trousers and trendy white shirt.

Oscar laughed. “So true…I’ll let you know when I’m going.”

“Okay,” she answered back, slowly ripping open the electric bill. She was only halfway through the stack of mail when he popped back in to say goodbye. A few seconds later, she got up to lock the doors behind him and returned his wave as he pivoted to walk towards the train. She was grateful for her trustworthy friend and associate. K Studios would be in worse shape without his exceptional organisational skills and gift for gab. His warm personality often drew people in before any of them saw her artwork.

The sun was falling in the sky, casting red and orange shadows along the studio walls. She watched the light pick up the hues in her paintings as she circled and looked at each one with a critical eye. It felt good to be back in her haven of paint and brushes. She hadn’t felt this calm since her mother had disappeared.

The need to paint propelled her towards her workstation to study the unfinished piece waiting for her. After reviewing her preliminary sketches and notes about the person the painting was for, she took out the necessary oil paints and brushes needed. Fifteen minutes later, she was engaged in her work as the stereo belted out her favourite classical songs. She cleared her mind of everything else and concentrated on bringing to life the images in her head.

When she was in the zone, she could finish a portrait fairly quickly. She placed her clean brushes in a jar to dry and glanced at the clock. It had taken four hours, but the painting was done. She stood back and assessed every stroke of her brush as she stretched. The finished piece was breathtaking, each swirl of colour in line with the vision in her mind. She was more than pleased with the end result.

One down…seven more to go.

She never questioned her uncanny ability to render beautiful oil paintings that were somehow exactly what the customer had in mind, even if they couldn’t describe what they wanted. Sometimes, her patrons would stare at the completed work in shock or burst into tears, which was always awkward, but every single person left her studio feeling she had created a piece of art just for them.

Maybe this was a part of her gift? Instantly, Vander popped backed into her mind. What more would she be capable of after he helped her embrace her abilities?

She had managed not to think of him for most of the evening, but now she was distracted by the questions swirling around in her head. No longer in the mood to paint, she turned off the radio and cleaned her workspace in total silence. After she’d set the alarm, she flipped off the lights and stepped outside of the studio. It was still warm and the busy street was filled with people enjoying their Saturday evening. She locked the door and joined the throng of people on the sidewalk to head towards her car two blocks away.

Chicago
was the place to be in the summer and Karis envied the people she passed sitting outside enjoying drinks and laughter in the waning sunshine. It was the perfect evening to relax and unwind outdoor with close friends.

Karis pushed down feelings of loneliness as she stopped to admire a pair of sandals in a store window. She considered going inside to try them on when the reflection of a man standing directly behind her caught her attention.

Mr. Tevori!

Chapter Four

Startled, she whipped around to only see a group of girls walking by. She looked up and down the street, ignoring the crowd of teenagers passing by. Had someone been watching her? She couldn’t shake the feeling as she hurried to her car. Once safely locked inside the small space of her beige Mini, she put the key into the ignition and quickly pulled into traffic. Her heart rate slowed down with every passing mile that brought her closer to home.

The wind rustled her hair as she sped down the highway and tried to shake her sudden paranoia. After the last couple of months, not to mention hours, she had been through who wouldn’t be having panic attacks? Going into the studio had helped to take her mind off him and his proposal but now the anxiety was back with a vengeance.

She pulled into her parking spot and rested her head on the steering wheel. Genie or no genie, she wasn’t convinced she possessed any special talent other than blending oil paints. How powerful could she be when she couldn’t push back her own fear or feel where her mother was?

With a muffled curse, she lifted her head, put up the windows and got out of the car. She touched the necklace around her throat as she walked to her door and imagined how pleased her mother would be to see her wearing it.

A blast of cool air washed over her as she stepped inside her home. She tossed her purse on the couch as she kicked off her sandals with his name on her tongue. She wanted to say the two-syllable word so badly, just to see what would happen.

How fast could he get to her?

Her stomach flipped as the realisation that she did expect him to come hit and even harder to swallow she wanted him to. Believing he was real both comforted her and made her nervous when there was still so much she didn’t understand. Like, could he see her at all times?

Wine.
She needed a glass to calm her nerves. The linoleum floor felt cool beneath her feet as she stepped into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and poured white zinfandel into a glass. The first sip was nirvana and the second just as nice. Her eyes fell on the note her mother had left for her on the kitchen counter. She picked it up and stared at the words again before closing her eyes.

Mother, where are you?

She reached out to her with her mind, but nothing changed. With a frustrated curse, she opened her eyes and placed the slip of paper back on the countertop. Tomorrow she would summon her genie in the bottle. If he appeared…

Karis sucked in a breath.
When
he appeared, she would decide once and for all whether to proceed with his offer of help. She finished the last of her wine and stripped out of her clothes as she made her way to the bedroom. The painted bottle was still on the pillow beside her own and for some reason seeing it there put her mind at ease as she slipped between the soft covers in her bra and panties. She lay on her side and stared at the bottle for a few minutes before her eyelids began to fall.

Tomorrow she would find out if she was truly losing her mind or face the fact her whole life was about to change forever.

* * * *

Karis!

Vander opened his eyes as he sat up in the dark. All of his senses heightened as he reached out to the panic-stricken voice in his head.

She was dreaming…no, she was having a vivid nightmare. Her fear gripped his heart and he resisted the urge to rush to her aide. He had promised her he would not return until she called him and he was a man of his word. There was a chance the dream could hold a clue to where Nadine was being held. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the dark images transferring to him from Karis as the dream played out in her subconscious.

* * * *

She was running again in her dreams, hunted by some unseen creature hell bent on catching her. She pooled every last bit of her strength and demanded her body to respond. Her heart hammered in her ears and the muscles in her legs screamed with pain. He was gaining on her, laughing as he chased her through the dark woods. The eerie, malicious sound of his guttural howls sent shivers of terror down her spine. Adrenaline kicked into high gear and incredibly, she was moving faster, her feet flying over the hardened jagged earth.

She could see her mother now, her melodic voice an urgent whisper inside of her head. She beckoned Karis towards the light. Her white gown was almost luminous in the inky void and tears spilled from her eyes. Joy filled her heart at the sight of her mother now so close. Only a few more metres separated them from being reunited again. The creature nipped at her heels and…

“Vander!” Karis screamed.

Within seconds the air temperature elevated and pulsed around her. She blinked as a brilliant ball of light appeared at the foot of her bed then he was there.

Still struggling to shake the nightmare, she reached out to him. “Help me! It’s going to get me!” The feel of his warm hands on her face stilled the violent tremors racking her body.

“You’re safe, Karis,” Vander said, wrapping his arm around her as he sat down. “It was just another dream.”

Unable to stop shaking, she stared at him with wide eyes. He had reappeared. He was here in the flesh, very much real. The warmth of his skin against her body was not a hallucination. As her breathing slowed, Karis realised she didn’t care how any of it was possible, she was just glad he was with her.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked, giving her a gentle squeeze before switching on the small lamp by her bedside.

She nodded, blinking in the light. “You came.” Now that he was back, she had to admit to herself how much she’d hoped he would return.

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” He lifted an eyebrow with an amused grin.

“I wasn’t sure.” She was extremely conscious of him in her bed, once again half naked. Her eyes travelled across his smooth muscled chest and thick biceps. Did he ever wear a shirt?

“Yes, I do, but I was resting when you said my name. You are lucky. I usually sleep in nothing at all.” He gestured to her exposed black bra. “Looks like you prefer less clothing in bed as well.”

With a strangled gasp, she pulled the sheet up under her arms. She had forgotten about her own state of undress. “Can you always hear what I’m thinking?”

“When I’m with you in this dimension yes, but when I’m home I can only hear you if I focus on listening for your voice. Because you are my master, we are irrevocably linked until after your three wishes are done.”

“This is crazy,” she mumbled. “I’ve seen Aladdin and that genie couldn’t read minds.”

“True, but I had this gift before I became a genie.”

“Before?”

“Yes.”

Karis stared at him. “How long have you been a genie?” she asked, noticing the hard glint in his eyes and the faint glow emanating from the bracelets around his wrists.

“Longer than I care to remember.”

Clearly, he didn’t like talking about his past, which was unfortunate because she had so many questions. “What do you mean when you say this dimension? Where are you from?” She waited for him to answer, trying not to notice the muscle definition of his back.

“You’ve learned to view your world as one place in which you can travel in different directions to many different places. What you perceive is just one dimension when in fact there are several. I could take you to a dimension where you could see another version of yourself in a completely different life.”

“What?” She scooted up further in the bed. “How is—”

Vander held up his hands. “You have many questions and I want to answer them, but right now isn’t the time. Have you made up your mind about strengthening your gift to find your mother?”

“You mean have I decided to have sex with you?” Just saying the words stirred up heat in her blood. She didn’t think the male body could be more tempting in physical form.

Vander grinned. “Do go on.”

Karis cursed, flinging the sheets aside as she stood. “Can I wish for you to be unable to read my thoughts?”