A Genie's Love (The Djinn Series) (8 page)

That stopped her. She turned, bracing herself against the open car window and looked side to side. “Where?”

“We’re a quarter mile from the house. We won’t see it this close. I don’t think you’ll see it when you’re alone, either. Now will you please get in?” She did, jogging to the other side and head weaving in all directions. He gave her a fortifying kiss, as much for her sake as for his. “I’ve had some time to think about this. That thing’s been following you since you moved in, but you’re protected from seeing it.”

“Only I have seen it. Logic fail.”

“Never when you’re alone and never when you’re with people other than me.”

“So it’s tied to you?”

“Maybe or us.”

“Us, I just can’t see it. Wait, then why does it show up with you when I’m not around?”

“I’m tied to you, Cassia.” In a way you’ll never be tied to me. That last bit he kept to himself, but her eyes widened and he knew she got the whole of it, unspoken or not. Her burdens were his and never the reverse.

“I’ll protect you from the creeptacular baby stroller,” she said, then smiled and wished for a glass of milk.

He rolled his eyes, but it appeared nonetheless. She still wasn’t taking this seriously. But could he blame her? She’d seen the thing once and it could easily be dismissed as a fluke of magic. She also didn’t feel the dark spot in the hall. She had no reason to fear anything. “Cassia, all I’m saying—”

“I’m tired and sweaty. If you want to help me, you can have a nice bubble bath waiting for us upstairs.”

Forcing the issue wouldn’t get him anywhere. He sighed, smiled and shook his head. “I’ll keep you safe Cassia, despite your best efforts.”

O
ne week passed.

Then two.

He’d stayed. She went on about her life, running in the mornings, working in the evenings, but her nights belonged to the djinn, starting from the end of the lane, where he’d jog with her the rest of the way home. During the days, they talked about their pasts and the present, careful never to tiptoe near the future. This was for her benefit, she knew, but it didn’t help her come to terms with any of this in the least.

This was different, whatever this was. She’d seen enough of life to know that loves came and went. This was something more. Real love wasn’t all passion. It was soft. She caught glimpses of it in their quiet moments together. Making the bed in the mornings or going on one of their evening walks around the property after work.

And during the shoveling.

The dogs howling during the night did a number to the landscaping. She wished, more than once, for the holes to refill themselves, but the often malleable Faruq had taken a hard line on this. Either they fixed the holes with sweat and a shovel, or she had to manage enough of her own magic to do it herself.

She massaged her shoulders at the memory.

He tried anything he could to make her practice, some methods more effective than others. Once, he’d had her bent over the kitchen table with her butt up and his penis inside her. He only moved if she managed to flicker the lights on and off. She mastered that trick real fast.

A couple days later, he had her clit in his mouth and threatened to stop sucking if she didn’t levitate the bed with them both still on it. She’d been a little over eager and after all the loving was done, she had to
wish
the massive four-poster off the roof. He’d never let her live that down.

“Baby?”

That was newish too. He’d started calling her that in the last three days and it still sent a thrill through her. She looked up from her notes in time to catch a couple of lottery tickets floating in the air. She concentrated, slowing down their descent and directing them to the table. “High five.”

“That’s my girl. Those are quarter million dollar winning tickets in Florida and Mississippi. I’ve learned that smaller amounts, spread out over a few states, help avoid drawing too much attention.”

None of this surprised her. It was how her sister and brother-in-law sustained themselves. People always wished for winning lottery numbers. Apparently, djinn the world over plucked those wishes from the multitude and used them for their own bank accounts.

Oh, Dinah.

She hadn’t gone back to Dinah and Tig’s house since their falling out and maybe that was a good thing. They had their life now and she didn’t need to always be in it. Plus, even though her sister was right, Cassia still nursed some bruised feelings. She’d get through it at her own pace.

Faruq hadn’t spoken of it. He visited his brother often enough, but never once mentioned what they talked about. He had to have known she was a persona no gratia in the household. No way was she bringing it up.

She tried to concentrate on studying her spells, but gave up and followed her nose to the kitchen. Faruq cooked something in a wide, double handled metal pan thing. She closed her eyes and tried to pick out the strange scents pickling the air. “Cumin? Cinnamon?”

“Good.  What else? Sit.” Faruq threw a towel over his shoulder and bought the pan to the table. He grinned at her shrug and put a piece of warm flatbread on her plate. “The key spice is
ras el hanout
. It’s hard to find here.”

“Which plant?”

“All of them, really. Turmeric, berries, cardamom, cloves, peppers, paprika, I could go on, but you get the idea. It’s different from every single place, but the closer to the Aurès mountains you get, the better. You throw all that and your meat into the pot and you get
marqa
. Then you...”

She held up her hand to stop him and dug into the plate. Her tongue appreciated it more than her nose did. The man was an excellent chef.

Correction. The man was excellent.

And it scared her less and less each day.

“My food makes you smile.”

“Umm, yeah. This is ridiculously good. I want to stay home today and enjoy more of it.”

“Stay. I’ll cook all day if it keeps you here.”

“You really mean that, don’t you?”

Her phone rang before he could answer. Faruq slid it over the table without a glance at the screen, but frowed as he got up to toss a dropped fork in the sink.

The message made her eyes glaze over. One of her newer clients texted next month’s workout dates. It ought to have thrilled her – not just the job and accompanying payment, but the neat and orderly schedule in and of itself. Instead, the thought of carving out more time away from this left her a little empty.

That was Faruq’s doing. The tidy life she’d once held dear now held her like an ever twisting vise.  She didn’t need the money. However, it didn’t make any good sense to turn it down either.

Faruq grabbed his plate and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Living room. I thought I’d give you some time to work. Looks important.”

“It isn’t. It really, really isn’t. Yes or no?”

“What?” Faruq put his food back on the table, but didn’t sit down. “Really, I don’t mind. Just come on over when you’re done.”

“Yes or no?”

“To what? Never mind. Yes. Whatever it is, the answer is yes.”

Yes.
Yes to more work. Yes to more money. Yes to time away from him. “Yes or no?”

“Cassia, what’s the point? If you don’t like what I’m going to say and intend to change your mind anyway, don’t ask.”

“You’re right.” She picked up her phone and started typing.  “You grab the drinks and I’ll bring my plate in.”

“What are you doing?”

She exchanged her phone for the mountain of food he’d prepared and nodded toward the hallway. “Saying no. And after we eat, let’s go out tonight. There’s a music festival downtown.”

“You have appointments.”

“That I’m rescheduling as we speak.”

“Okay.” Faruq laced his hands behind his head, walked to the door, then turned again. “I like this version of you.”

She scarfed down the food, feeling a sudden giddiness at breaking her self-imposed rules.

“I made that with love. Are you even tasting it? I’ve never seen a woman eat that fast.”

“It destroys my whole grain pasta. No contest.”

“That was never a debate.”

“Do you remember being in middle school and...oh...those hadn’t been invented yet, had they?” He sopped up more food with his flatbread and shook his head. “Right. Let’s just say that I’m very excited about going out. A proper, nighttime, middle of the week date.”

Faruq put down his plate and grinned. “I’ll get some blankets to sit on. Meet me upstairs to get dressed when you’re ready.”

She tried not to smile.

She tried not to look up.

She failed at both. Getting dressed was one of her new favorite pastimes. She sent a group text to tomorrow’s three clients too and ran up to the bedroom, stripping out of her sweatpants on the way.

The man had a thing about lingerie. She did the best she could. Bras were the safest and she got on a green one without too much interference.

Faruq watched her from the edge of the bed, shirt off and pants unzipped. She bent over, butt towards him to put on the panties, but jerked up and set them aside. Just in case.

Thigh-highs next, nude.

Leg one? Check.

Leg two?

Before she got the hose halfway up, Faruq moved to stand directly behind her. His shaft pressed against her cheeks but she didn’t stop. When she stood up, his breath was hot on her neck. “Bend back over.”

He entered her swift and hard, one hand around her stomach, the other at her throat. He never took his time, always pulling, rushing, fast.

She loved it.

She knew that when they came back home and when it was time to go to bed, it’d be her turn to use him. But this first time was always his. It left her wet, desperate and feeling just the right side of dirty. Their relationship was the perfect balance of power and sharing.

When he was finished, he dragged his hand across her wet kitty and brought it to her mouth. She sucked while he talked.

“When we get home...”

“Mmmhmm.”

“After we make love...”

“Yes?”

“I have something for you.”

“What?”

He reached around, grabbed her panties and held them out for her to step in. “After.”

Dressing happened fairly quickly. She didn’t wash up, loving the delicious and wicked sensation of him lingering and sliding down her legs. She wished them to the park district, but he planted them off at the far end and they walked arm in arm through the congested street of families.

When he stopped to read a posted program, she caught movement out the corner of her eye. Unsure of what she saw, she turned to face an antique baby carriage wobbling across the uneven streets of the old city. Without doubt, it was the very same one from the first day they met. The one Faruq claimed to see when he was on his own and away from the house. “Faruq?”

He whipped around and sucked in his breath. “Get behind me.”

“Why doesn’t anyone else see this?”  She ached to know what was inside. The thing turned to her and tumbled in their direction. With the handle within reach, she lunged forward, but Faruq whirled her away.

“No.”

“I have to know what’s inside.”

“It can’t be good. Look around. The last time we saw this, everything stopped. Everything. Now nothing. Whoever is controlling this isn’t as strong here. It’s the same when I’m alone. They can keep others from seeing it, but not halt things as they did before.” 

“It was stronger closer to my house, but loses power at the actual property line.”

“Exactly. But I’m starting to take more stock in the belief those blessings worked to protect your place. At least some of them.”

The carriage tried turning towards their new position on the pathway, but it soon faded to nothing as if it’d never been there at all.

“We’re leaving.”

“We just got here, Faruq. It’s gone now. Let’s stay. Please? I don’t think it can hurt us, or it would have already.”

He swore a bit, but nodded. “Okay,
hamdullah
. Listen, we’ll stay for the show, get some energy in us and wish ourselves directly to the property,” he said, staring off into the distance.

He hadn’t caught it, but she had. It was the first time he’d called her that – ever said the word in her presence. Knowing what she was to him, hovered over like a specter in the dark. Hearing him say it presented an entirely new wave of emotion.

She liked it.

She could get used to it.

Love.

There it was again, growing in the quiet moments. She took a deep breath and made a decision right there and then to stop fighting it and start fighting for it. Without another word, she rose to her toes, gave him a kiss and led him to an empty spot on the dew glistened grass.

“T
ell me more about this Lyons guy.”

Cassia stopped swaying with the music and threw back her head in laughter. “He doesn’t like you.”

“Can I kill him?”

“No.  You should thank him. He’s the guy who told me to give you a chance.”

He was also the guy that stole most of her time. It would have been unthinkable in the past – a woman working so closely and so alone with other men. But he couldn’t ask her to change. It was up to him to catch up. Archaic thought wouldn’t do anymore.

Thank god for Tig. He helped tamp down on those urges to cart Cassia off to some deserted isle or blind every man who looked at her. His heart thudded with unexpected and unfounded jealousy. The whole mating process changed him throughout.

“We talk about you,” she said, rising to an elbow. “You can stop smiling about it.”

“And what do you say?”

“None of your business, djinn. What if I asked you what you and Tig talk about?”

He cleared his throat and leaned down. “I’d tell you.”

“Liar.”

“You know I’m not that. Go ahead. Ask, if you dare.”

“I dare,” she said, using a blade of grass as a pointer.

“Cricket.”
And you.

“The fake baseball game?”

“That actually hurt, Cassia. I’m serious. It’s a beautiful sport.” He got on his stomach next to her and tapped his temple. “It kept me here, when I was on my own. The whole stadium comes together, an impromptu, if temporary, family. For three days, strangers stand in complete love. Sometimes more.” He chuckled and plucked her nose. “I’ll take you some time, if you’re good. Before you say you don’t have time, we’ll make time.”