djinn wars 03 - fallen (39 page)
Read djinn wars 03 - fallen Online
Authors: christine pope
I realized why when I glanced toward the far corner of the living room. Standing there, yellowed and forlorn, was the Christmas tree Jace had brought me. It hadn’t rotted, but merely dried out. That was where the oddly aromatic scent had come from.
The next thing I realized was that it had dropped half its needles on the floor, and it was going to be one ungodly mess to clean up.
Jace unslung the duffle bags and the backpack from his shoulder. “No fear, Jessica — I can take care of that for us.”
He made a subtle movement with his free hand, and the next thing I knew, it was as if a small whirlwind had rushed into the room, gathering up all the loose pine needles and bits of dropped popcorn, then swirling around the tree itself until all of it blinked out of existence. The corner was clean, untouched, as if my Christmas tree had never existed.
“Very handy,” I said, going up on my tiptoes so I could kiss his cheek. “I think I’ll keep you around.”
A grin. “That’s a relief.”
With the tree gone, I could see that the rest of the front room appeared untouched. And as we made our way back toward the kitchen, it became obvious that no one had come here to disturb the house in my absence. Dust lay thick on everything, and I knew I’d have to throw a bunch of stuff out of the refrigerator and scrub it all down, but at least the power had stayed on the whole time, so whatever was in the freezer should be intact.
Truth be told, it didn’t smell quite as nice in here. I saw Jace’s nose wrinkle, and then he made another movement with his hand. No, the refrigerator door didn’t fly open so a parade of spoiled food could emerge, but it did seem as if the air miraculously cleared.
I let go of his hand and went over to the refrigerator, then cautiously opened the door. Inside, all was bare and clean, sparkling in the bright sunshine coming in through the window. “Nice work,” I said. “Now all we have to do is fill it again.”
“There should still be plenty of food in the cellar.” Jace glanced out the window, the sunlight warming his dark eyes to a rich coffee color. “And it looks like a fine day for hunting.”
“What, you’re not going to magic something right into the fridge for me?”
He didn’t smile. “No. I want us to earn what we have, work for it.”
“That doesn’t sound very djinn-like.”
“Maybe it isn’t.” Only a step separated us; he closed the gap and pulled me against him, but gently, so I could lay my head against his chest and listen to the heart beating within. “After all, I am half human. I want to cherish this world, just as I cherish you. If I make things too easy for us….”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but I thought I understood what he meant. We should never take for granted what we had, but give thanks for all of it, for every passing day, for the sun rising in the morning and the moon that would illuminate our nights.
“If it’s too easy, then we’ll just end up making the same mistakes all over again,” I said softly.
There it was, that brush of his lips against my hair, that quiet gesture which told me how much he loved me, almost more than the times our bodies came together in shared passion. Warmth flowed through my limbs. His warmth.
“Beloved, you understand me better than I understand myself.” His arms tightened around me. “But you don’t believe I am being foolish for thinking this way?”
I began to shake my head, then realized I could only move so far, pillowed against his chest as I was. Going still, I replied, “No. I’ve been thinking a lot about those few months we had together before everything got so crazy. It was hard work, but there was a rhythm to it, a sort of peace, even though the world — or at least the world I knew — had more or less ended. I think that’s why I wanted so badly to come back here. I wanted what we had then. I want the life that Margolis tried to take away from us.”
He gently loosened his arms and moved away a few inches, just enough so he could take both my hands in his and gaze down into my face. “I want that, too, Jessica. I want to tend the plants in the greenhouse and take Dutchie hunting in the Polaris.”
“And go see if there are any goats and chickens left anywhere around here,” I put in.
“Yes, that, and make you coffee in the morning, and lie down beside you every night.”
“And wake up next to you every morning.” I held his hands, feeling the strength in the bones and flesh. That was only his surface strength, I knew. Far beyond the muscles, or even the power he could wield when necessary, there was Jace. Jasreel, a man of the djinn, and the only man I would ever need or want or love.
It had taken the end of the world for him to come to me, and now that we were together, truly together, I knew we would never be apart.
The End
The Djinn Wars series will continue with Zahrias’ and Julia’s story in
Broken
, due out in early 2016.
To be notified of new releases from Christine Pope, including upcoming titles in the Djinn Wars series, please sign up
here
.
If You Enjoyed This Book…
If you enjoyed reading
Fallen,
please consider taking a minute or two to leave a review. Reviews are a valuable resource in helping readers find other books they may enjoy — and they help the author, too, as there are many promotional opportunities only available for books that have a certain number of reviews.
Thank you again for reading!
Also by Christine Pope
THE WITCHES OF CLEOPATRA HILL
(Paranormal Romance)
THE DJINN WARS
(Paranormal Romance)
Fallen
THE SEDONA FILES
(Paranormal Romance)
The first three books of this series are also available in an
omnibus edition
at a special low price!
TALES OF THE LATTER KINGDOMS
(Fantasy Romance)
THE GAIAN CONSORTIUM SERIES
(Science Fiction Romance)
About the Author
Christine Pope has been writing stories ever since she commandeered her family’s Smith-Corona typewriter back in the sixth grade. Her work includes paranormal romance, and fantasy and science fiction/space opera romance. She fell in love with Sedona, Arizona, while researching the Sedona Trilogy and now makes her home there, surrounded by the red rocks. No alien sightings, though...not yet, anyway!
To be notified of new releases by Christine Pope, please sign up
here
.
Christine Pope on the Web:
