Bearing Her Wishes (5 page)

She kissed the cool metal and set it down again.
I will speak with him first. I must know his mind and his heart.

Colorful wildflowers perfumed the sun-warmed air as fat bumblebees buzzed from blossom to blossom, joined by delicate butterflies. Mahasti favored the warmer weather but she often missed the arid deserts from her homeland. Southern California didn’t come close despite its dry periods.

Barefoot, she strode forward until the orange poppies and golden yellow buttercups thinned to lush clover and sporadic blades of knee-high grass. She had donned her favorite mortal garment, a sundress fitted to her torso and worn without a bra, its colors blending from gold to vibrant orange.

“Leiv?” she called.

At first he barely stirred but then the drowsy bear raised his head. He set his big brown eyes on her, and in that moment, Mahasti saw him exactly as she did in his human guise. She crouched beside him and ran her fingers over his caramel pelt. The silky fur was warm beneath her touch, scented like the grass and sweet meadow flowers.

“I’m sorry I woke you. May we talk?” Too stubborn to be deterred by his impassive gaze, she kissed the tip of his black nose.

Pulling away from her, the bear rose on his hind legs. Leiv towered above her in his natural state, a gentle giant amidst flowers with hints of honey on his snout. She tasted a sticky trace on her lips.

“None for me, too?” she tried again.

The bear exhaled heavily, like a man releasing a frustrated sigh. As the fur faded from his body and his powerful frame shrank to a man’s dimensions, Mahasti waited with her hands behind her back and didn’t approach him again. Animals never reacted well to pressure, and in his human body the same trait remained true for Leiv.

“What may I do for you, Mahasti? Does Saul have some need?”

“No, I have come to speak with you on my own behalf.”

Her gaze roved over his muscular body to slowly admire every inch. The silky dark hairs on his chest narrowed to form a perfect treasure trail to his flaccid cock. In an effort to suppress memories of their single night, she tore her gaze away and back to his face. A shiny smear of honey lingered on his nose despite the transformation.

“Why?” he asked brusquely.

Rather than answer, Mahasti stepped forward and lifted her hand to his face, a damp cloth materializing in her hold. “You always make a mess in the beehives,” she said with a soft laugh. She daubed the sweet nectar from his face first then turned her attention to his hands.

“Why are you here?” Leiv repeated again. While he didn’t withdraw, he also didn’t invite her to continue physical contact beyond their touching hands.

“I came with apologies, Leiv. I wronged you. You are my dearest friend and I have damaged our friendship.” She vanished the cloth and stroked her fingers down the back of Leiv’s hand, caressing his knuckles. Try as she might, nothing seemed to get through to him. He gazed down at her through dispassionate brown eyes, unmoved by the affectionate touches.

Leiv grunted and turned away from her to face his home. “Saul granted me the day to enjoy in peace. You should leave.”

“No. I ran from you once and I won’t do it again.”

“Go back to your lamp since you prefer it.”

Dark hair drifted into her face as she lowered her head, shamed by her own actions, or rather, her choice of inaction by choosing to ignore him. “I am sorry. Truly. I should have spoken to you when you asked.”

“Your apology is accepted, Mahasti. Now please leave.”

“No. I won’t. I am no coward, and I did us both a disservice by leaving you that day. I came to make amends and I
will
be heard.” In all of her years, Mahasti had neither pleaded with a man nor given herself in entirety to one of her own free will. Standing before Leiv struck a raw cord in her, provoking emotions long since buried and denied. She had to have him, and she’d do anything to earn his forgiveness.  ”Make love to me as you would another of your own kind,” she blurted out hastily as he pulled away.

Leiv’s bitter laughter brought stinging tears to her eyes. “Sex. You believe sex will make this better?”

“Yes. I mean, no. It is not about sex, Leiv.”

“You think to fuck the problem away,
dah
? Go back to the estate, Mahasti. We had many times to talk.”

His words hurt. His utter disdain cut deeper than a knife. “Leiv, please. Don’t be like this. I want to—”

“Do you truly know what you want at all?” Liev asked, cutting her off.

“I want this,” she insisted.

Stepping forward placed him within reaching distance for her arms to encircle his neck. Their lips met, his mouth soft and pliant despite the hard angles of his body. The movement crushed her against him and introduced his half hard cock to her lower tummy where it immediately stiffened to a fevered pulse. A stroke of her tongue explored the sweet contours of Leiv’s mouth. At first, her direct manner seemed to win him over; he reciprocated her gesture and slid his tongue between her lips.

The moment ended harshly, abrupt. He tore away from her and set her aside with a firmly uttered, “No. I can go anywhere to find meaningless sex. I do not want it from you.”

“Nor do I.”

“Take your pity fuck to someone else, Mahasti.”

The growled words struck her like a slap to the face. She blinked at him. “After all our years together, do you truly think me so callous?

Leiv hesitated at first and studied her with scrutinizing brown eyes. His response cut her to the core. “I no longer know.”

I should have expected this. How could I not, when I turned him away.
It still didn’t make the cold stab of rejection hurt any less.

“Do you know how I came to be in Saul’s service?”

“Very little. Saul does not speak much of it.”

“I fell in love.” She lifted her gaze to a cobalt butterfly dancing over her head. “And I trusted him with my lamp. But as the years passed, the powers granted to him changed the boy I adored. Fear replaced my affections and soon, I was no longer a cherished lover; I became a slave bound to Khalid’s will.”

Leiv opened his mouth to speak, but Mahasti held up a hand, indicating she wasn’t finished. She drew in a deep breath then continued her story.

“In his never-ending quest for more power, Khalid sought a gift I couldn’t grant him. He sought out the vampires, offered me as a shiny bauble, and he joined their ranks. For one hundred years I served as their coterie pet until he foolishly tried to steal a relic from a dragon.”

“A relic?” Leiv asked, intrigued.

“Yes. A weapon of some great power Saul was rumored to own.”

“Did Saul have this weapon?”

“He did,” Mahasti confirmed. A cheshire grin brightened her exotic features. “And he protected it quite viciously. As you know, a djinn may not intentionally take a master’s life and we may not be ordered to kill. Our servitude doesn’t also guarantee loyalty. Khalid ordered me to defeat Saul’s wards, but he couldn’t force me to cause harm or to do more than protect his life.”

“So, how did Saul defeat him with you on this master’s side?”

“It turns out djinn and dragons are immune to one another’s fire. Saul cannot harm my physical body. His breath blazed through me and I merely allowed it to happen. By placing myself between Khalid and Saul, I fulfilled my master’s command.” Mahasti shrugged. “When it was all said and done, I simply stayed and awaited my own demise.”

“Clearly he did not kill you.” Leiv breathed in a deep breath and watched her. More than anything, Mahasti longed for the weight of his arms around her, the thrill of his lips against her cheek.

“He did not. Instead, he spoke with me at length and offered me a chance at something better. Freedom. Well, as much as a genie can ever have.” She smiled faintly. “I spent many years fearing the coterie would try to reclaim me but they never did. I guess they were waiting until I would forget and lower my guard. Or waiting for Saul to leave.”

Usually, Saul hibernated in the depths of his vault alongside her lamp. Rarely did he leave for any prolonged time lasting beyond a weekend. It unsettled her that they realized he would be away from the home for an extended period.

“From vampires to a dragon. I did not know, Mahasti.”

“I’m fortunate Saul makes no demands. Dragons are collectors. The appetites of the flesh generally hold no appeal to them.”

Leiv glanced toward the estate. “I think he proves otherwise.”

“Our Master grew tired of living without someone by his side, Leiv. He was weary of the fruitless chase. I was happy to nudge him toward happiness.”

“You did a good thing for them, but what does this have to do with us? Why come to me now? Why tell all of this to me?”

“Because I need you to understand why I’ve resisted you all these years. Why I have not acted on my attraction to you. History has a way of repeating itself.”

“This is different, Mahasti. I do not want your lamp. I have no need of it. I am happy here in my home and satisfied with what Saul has given me. What would I want with a genie’s lamp?” He held out his hands in a helpless gesture, only to turn and wander away from her toward the quaint log cabin. The sight of his naked body was a glorious vision, his lean physique as cut as a bodybuilder beneath the noonday sun.

Please don’t leave.
With a thought she appeared before him, standing between Leiv and the cabin.

“Can you forgive me? Will you at least give me a second chance?”

Leiv sighed. A range of emotions flickered in his dark eyes: anger, sadness, and a longing so intense that it swallowed her. Until that moment, Mahasti had never wanted to grant one of her own wishes more. She wanted him.

“Please,” she whispered again.

Both of his large hands raised to her shoulders and brought her in close enough to easily enfold her within his embrace. She wrapped her arms around his waist.

“There is nothing you could do beyond forgiveness, Mahasti. I want to be upset, but it does no good. I think of you all the time, even now as I laid here. You stay in my thoughts.” His nose pressed against her dark hair, breathing her in. “It is maddening.”

“The djinn are creatures of magic. We do not conceive. I can never bear children for you as I am, Leiv.
Will you still accept me?
”

“I accept it,” he said without a pause.

“Think carefully. Your family line will end with you. No more first son of the first son to serve the Drakenstone line. I will never be anything more than a companion. The woman to share your bed but never a true mate to provide a child for you.”

One of his strong hands lowered to her ass. With one sharp tug, Leiv drew her in tight against his pelvis to feel his aroused cock. Molten heat and an indescribable urgency pooled in her belly. The warm, tingly sensation spread to all of her limbs.

“I accept you as you are.”

Mahasti whisked them from the meadows to the natural hot springs located in an underground grotto. Her magic kissed each oil-scented candle, igniting the fat pillars of wax set in rocky alcoves. Only a month ago, she’d brought the new addition for the comforts of Saul’s mate, as the mortal woman lacked his vision in the dark.

At the speed of thought, her sundress partially dissipated into smoke, its thin fabric becoming as fog against her skin.

“
No.
I want to undress you,” Leiv muttered against her throat. “You can give me that pleasure, yes?”

The smoky presence abruptly froze, and within seconds it coalesced into thin cotton, returning to its original form. The sunny-hued material draped around her hips and thighs before it fell neatly to her calves. Held by thin straps at her toned shoulders, the bodice clung tightly, becoming nigh unbearable where it hugged her breasts.

“If such is your wish.”

“It is.” His rough palms dragged the thin straps down over her shoulders, and in his haste, he snapped one to bare her luscious breasts to the open air. His mouth eagerly descended to suckle the erect tip between his lips.

Leiv peeled the ruined garment down inch by slow inch, lowering to his knees before her. He scraped his rough cheek over the delicate fabric and drew in deep breaths through his nose. The animalistic gesture made Mahasti’s knees tremble and her inner core clench.

“Undressing a woman is like unwrapping a most beautiful present. There is no comparison,” he growled against her tummy.

Despite all of her years among the mortal populace, Mahasti never donned undergarments. She wore nothing beneath the dress, but his sensual words inspired a sudden longing.

Leiv’s unspoken yearning became her pleasure to fulfill. Silk and lace whispered into place over the djinn’s skin as another layer for her lover to discover once the golden yellow cotton fell to her ankles.

“You are everything I imagined.”

“You saw me only the other night.” A month was little more than a blink of time to her reckoning.

Soft laughter rumbled against her thigh. “Not long enough, my desert blossom. Had I my way, we would have spent the night in your bed.”

His teeth caught the lacy edge of her black panties in a teasing exploration, and then his rough palms slid up the back of her legs, over her calves and behind her ticklish knees. Their tantalizing path ascended her thighs until he held both ass cheeks in his grip.

The first wet press of Leiv’s tongue against the silken scrap led Mahasti to curl her hands at his shoulders for support. He licked and nuzzled her through the delicate barrier until it required every ounce of willpower not to vanish them away.

“I want to make love to you, Leiv.”

“Come down here to me.” A tug accompanied the request. Leiv lowered back to his bottom, intent on allowing her his lap.

“No. I want you to claim me as you naturally would. I meant what I said despite my graceless delivery.”

Leiv’s nostrils flared. “You would do this?”

“I trust you.”

Curls of steam rose from the mineral rich water of a wide pool that stretched into the darker recesses of the private cavern. Mahasti drew her hair over her shoulder and turned until her back was to Liev. He stepped in behind her, hands at her arms and his lips against her nape.