All Bottled Up (21 page)

“Hey, baby.” She scooped him up in her arms and felt her body relax as he proceeded to lick her face. “At least you still love me.” William agreed with a small bark. She kicked off her heels, walked over to her couch and collapsed onto it. She wanted to cry, but couldn’t. That required a vast amount of energy, something she was seriously lacking at the moment.

Viola closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the couch. “Today sucked.”

“I actually thought today went quite well,” Jerod said from somewhere in front of her.

Viola groaned.
It isn’t going to end.
“Can you please go away?” She heard him laugh and half rolled over to look at him. Jerod was dressed in his usual genie attire and floating in the middle of her living room. Not only did he have a 193

smug grin on his face, he was eating grapes. Her stomach growled to remind her that she still hadn’t eaten supper and it was damn near eight-thirty.

“I should have waited for the steak.”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t.”

When he didn’t continue, she threw a pillow at him.

He simply laughed and popped another grape into his mouth before he continued.

“The cooks don’t like your friend Bill. Whenever he comes to the restaurant, they usually do something to his food.”

“Something?”

He shrugged. “It’s best if I don’t say.”

The possibilities ran through her mind at rocket speed, each one more disgusting that the last. She shuddered and thanked her lucky stars for the close call.

“I’m never eating there again.”

Their conversation died as they sat there looking at each other. Viola couldn’t keep up with the emotions racing through her. She was furious with him for his interference tonight. But at the same time, Bill’s performance on their first date wasn’t stellar. Bill was a jerk, and her life the way it was right now was certainly better than what he could ever offer her. Had Jerod trusted her judgment, she would have come to that conclusion on her own.

Jerod’s cocky grin was back. He looked very much like he did the afternoon he beat the young man at Dance Dance Revolution. Jerod liked to play to win. The idea that Viola was nothing more than a prize to him hurt.

“Why?” she asked, hoping Jerod knew what she was asking of him.

His lips puckered and, for a second, she wanted to feel his lips on her neck, making the memories of dinner fade. Completely abandon herself to his touch and continue to live in the fantasy. But she couldn’t do that either.

Jerod floated over to her and touched her head with his finger. She began to float off the couch and toward him. William began to bark frantically, until she dropped him lightly back on the couch.

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Memories of their weightless lovemaking rushed back to her. She’d never felt as free as she had that night. How could any man she ever dated live up to a night like that?

When she floated next to him, Jerod took her hand in his and kissed the back of it gently.

“As I said in the restaurant, you deserve better than Bill.” His words were hot against her skin.

He turned her hand over and continued to kiss her wrist, rubbing lazy strokes in her palm with his thumb. She moaned when he licked a short trail across her pulse line.

“This isn’t fair,” she whispered.

“No one said I had to be fair.”

She pulled her arm away, confusion mixed with pain made it hard to breathe.

“Viola?”

She swallowed hard. For both their sakes, she needed to do this, to end things. She’d never be able to move on. Besides, if her plan worked, maybe they’d have a chance.

“Jerod, I’d like to make my final wish.”

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Viola watched Jerod closely to see if he knew what she was about to do. Instead of the relief she thought he might feel, she saw a flash of regret cross his face, before he masked his emotions once again. He put his feet firmly on the ground and motioned for her to do the same. Standing as straight as he could, he folded his arms across his chest.

“Of course, Mistress. What is your final wish?” In her mind, she tossed the words around, making sure they sounded right. Jerod didn’t rush her, probably anticipating his immediate disappearance once he granted her wish.

She took a deep breath. “Jerod, with my last wish I’d like to grant you your freedom.”

Jerod stood there, his lips a tight, thin line, staring at her. She’d expected something else. Excitement, perhaps.

“Jerod?”

“I can’t.”

She took an involuntary step backwards. “What do you mean you can’t?” He shrugged. “Remember I mentioned the rules that I had to abide by?”

“You said you can’t make anyone fall in love with me, you can’t bring anyone back from the dead and you can’t grant me more wishes.” By the end of her speech, she’d walked right up to him, her finger now poking his chest.

He reached up and took her hand in his. His fingers were warm as he laced them in between hers.

“And I can’t set myself free,” he whispered.

Her heart squeezed in her chest. This wasn’t fair.

“Why not? I thought you could do anything?”

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He pulled her into a tight hug, kissing her hair and temple. She tipped her head back giving him access to her lips. His kiss was tender, comforting.
This isn’t fair.

“Come here.” He pulled her over to the couch and sat down. Not for a second did he release her hand. When she relaxed against him, he sighed.

“The genie’s curse is a little more complicated than what your books and movies have led you to believe. We are all powerful, except when it comes to our own fate.”

“But I thought my wishes—”

“Can’t go against the rules. I’ve been cursed. Nothing can change that.” He looked like he was in pain, embarrassed, but he didn’t look away. She didn’t want to ask, didn’t know if she wanted her opinion of him shattered by some three-thousand-year-old misdeed. But she had to know.

“What did you do?” Her words were barely audible.

Something shimmered in the air, catching Viola’s attention.
Magic
? She focused harder, but it moved beyond her sight. Like a word that you can’t quite think of. Jerod hadn’t noticed, too wrapped up in his own thoughts and memories to see anything else.

“I was a much different man back then. Arrogant, self-centered.”

“What do you mean different?” She nudged him with her shoulder and smiled. “You weren’t annoying back then?”

He didn’t bite. “I was cruel. I killed men in battles and took their women as my own.”

Viola felt the momentary joy she’d felt drain away. “You raped them?”

“Gods, no,” he said urgently, looking shocked as he gave her hand a squeeze. “If you believe nothing else, please believe that I would never hurt a woman. I loved them all in a small way. Every one of them came to my bed willingly.” Of that she had no doubt.

She took a deep breath and hoped her courage would hold out. “What happened, then?”

He didn’t say anything for a long time, his gaze alternating between her face and where their hands met. Every second that passed made her heart break a bit more. In all 197

the time she’d known him, she never suspected there was a reason like this, a darkness that seemed to weigh on him. They’d been so happy on the island How the hell could things change so quickly?

“There was a woman,” he said finally. He stopped for a second and seemed to steady himself before he continued. “I didn’t know at the time, but she wasn’t well mentally. My men came to her village. We’d been patrolling the southern border between Olympia and Sparta for months and needed rest. The attacks from the Spartans were growing. They were swift and without warning, and in the end had worn us out.”

“When I met her at the tavern, she seemed pleasant enough. She smiled at me, sat on my lap and toyed with my hair. It didn’t take much to seduce her. I barely remembered bedding her. What I didn’t realize until much later, after her family accused me of her death, was that she’d been a virgin.”

He stopped talking, his eyes locked on a point over her shoulder. His guilt was etched on his face, his muscles tight as Viola watched him struggle against the weight of the memories.

Viola couldn’t imagine what it would have been like for the young girl faced with the temptation Jerod would have presented. She didn’t think she’d be able to resist Jerod if he was in full seduction mode, let alone a young woman with no experience. She gave his hand a squeeze for him to continue.

“The next morning, she seemed to think that our relationship meant something more than it was. I had no idea she harbored these feeling for me when I left. We had to continue our patrol, defend our people. We didn’t come back for months and when we did, I found out she’d been disgraced. I’m not sure what happened that night, but I must have bedded her again. Later, I learned, she killed herself.” He turned to her, regret on his face like a second skin. “She was disgraced and it was my fault.”

“Jerod, that wasn’t your fault. There’s no way you could have known what she would do.”

“No, it
was
my fault. Her grandmother seemed to agree.” Viola pulled back a little, her mind trying to reconcile the story with the man she’d 198

grown to know.

“She’s the one who cursed you?” Her voice came out as little more than a whisper.

His eyes traveled to her carry-on bag that was still lying in a heap on her floor. With a snap of his fingers, his bottle floated up and out of the bag, and over to rest of the coffee table in front of them.

“I got very drunk that night trying to forget about…gods, I don’t even remember her name anymore. I went to bed. Alone. I woke up much later to this sound.” He shook his head and released her hand to cover his ears. “Chanting. It wouldn’t stop. The grandmother was some sort of shaman. Had a connection to the magic realm. She cursed me.”

“I don’t understand. How?”

His mouth opened and closed several times, but nothing came out. He closed his eyes and growled before he held out his open hand.

“It’s easier if I show you.”

Viola looked at his open hand for a solid minute before she could move. Did she really want to see this? See a side of him that may not be all shiny and magical? She knew that if she didn’t, she’d never fully understand him. Gently she set her hand in his.

“Okay.”

In a blink, she was standing in a room. It was dark and cold, even though a fire burned in a large open pit in the corner. She couldn’t get a sense of anything outside, except to know it was dark and damp.

A moan caught her attention. She turned to see Jerod lying naked on a small mat piled with furs. His body was exactly as it was today—taut muscles, black hair covering his chest, even his goatee. She reached out, wanting to touch him to feel if he was real, when the door opened.

A small woman entered the room. She shuffled past Viola and over to Jerod’s side.

Her face was so lined and wrinkled, it appeared to collapse in on itself. The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pouch. Viola tried to get a better look, but was too scared to move.

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When the woman reached inside, she began to chant in a language Viola didn’t recognize. Words blended with a strange melody that threatened to lull her into a trance.

Jerod continued to sleep, oblivious to what was going on. He stretched ever so slightly so the furs moved dangerously close to revealing everything.

“Jerod, wake up,” she whispered.

The woman didn’t stop and threw a small portion of the powder over him. Her chanting grew louder. From out of nowhere, a second voice joined in. Viola looked around the small room, but there was no one else. When a third voice emerged, she realized they were all coming from the woman. Viola shivered and had to fight the urge to run.

“Jerod.” She was more insistent this time, but still nothing.

Next, the woman took out a vial of liquid. She popped a cork off and bent down to pour the thick slime into his mouth. He coughed but swallowed all of it.

“Jerod,” she said loud enough this time that he surely would wake up.

“He cannot hear you.”

The entire scene froze at the sound of a voice behind her. Viola stood and turned around to come face-to-face with a woman. But not the one who cursed Jerod. This woman looked younger, her face smooth and free of the wrinkles that come with time. A mass of silver hair crowned her head, falling loosely over her shoulders and onto her plain, shapeless black dress. There was something about her, a hint of something ancient.

Suddenly very fearful, Viola took a step backwards. “Who are you? How did you get here?”

“My name isn’t important. It has been lost in time for many years now. And as for why I’m here, all you need know is that I’m responsible for making sure justice is met in our world.”

“But I thought Jerod was controlled by the curse?” The woman looked at her and smiled knowingly, like an adult who needed to explain something to a child. She took a step toward Viola, her black dress scraping lightly against the floor.

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“What’s important right now is Jerod. Why are you here?” That was a good question. Why was she here? Because she owed Jerod for his kindness and his insight. And maybe she was more than a little bit in love with him.

“I want to try to help Jerod. To free him,” she said with as much confidence as she could muster.

The woman seemed to consider that, her liquid gaze inspecting Viola. Viola tried not to move, waiting to see if she’d pass whatever secret test she was currently undergoing.

“Why?” the woman asked after several moments had passed.

Viola looked back down to the scene frozen in front of her. The grandmother’s hand was wrapped around the glass bottle Viola recognized as Jerod’s home. Once the scene began to play again, she knew the curse would unfold and he’d be trapped. Again.

Viola’s fingers curled into the palm of her hand.
Did he deserve his fate?

“He’s paid for his wrongs against her granddaughter and he’s very sorry for what he did. It’s time he gets a second chance.”

“Because you feel he gave you a second chance at life?”

“Pardon?”

The woman let out a squeaky laugh. “Child, there aren’t any secrets from me here.

You’ve fallen in love with the man who helped you discover who you really are. You want to repay him by giving him what you think he wants.” A shiver passed down her spine. “What do you mean what I thinks he wants?” The older woman glided slowly over to Viola and patted her cheek. Her fingers were cold against her warm skin and it sent a chill through Viola.

“He wasted the first part of his life whoring, killing and drinking. He wanted all the power in the world. So she gave it to him.”

The woman wrapped an arm around Viola’s shoulders and tugged her back a few steps. She snapped her fingers and the old woman began to chant again. Viola’s chest tightened when she set the bottle on the floor at his feet. She pulled a small bag from her skirts, opened it and threw the contents over him.

Jerod screamed and Viola felt her body stiffen. His eyes had flown open, his mouth 201

still wide in a now-silent scream. The old woman’s chanting had grown louder, until she was practically shouting in the small room.

Voices from outside the room were coming closer, investigating what was going on.

A pounding at the door didn’t stop the woman. She threw the rest of the powder on Jerod and shouted. His entire body glowed as he was impossibly pulled into the bottle.

And, in one final flash, he was gone.

“All the power he ever wanted,” the woman beside her said in a sad tone.

The scene around her faded until all that remained was Viola and the woman.

“Jerod isn’t like that anymore.” Her words came out softly.

“Really? Do you truly believe that if he were released, he would stay with you?

Remain faithful for the rest of his life?” She turned and looked intently at Viola.

Until this very moment Viola would have said no. He’d been tied down for so long, the urge to wander where he wanted, when he wanted must be overpowering. But, after seeing this, she knew freedom wasn’t what he wanted. The look on his face as he’d recounted the story spoke volumes. It was companionship, a purpose for his life that he needed.

“I do.” And deep down she knew he would. “But even if he didn’t, he still deserves his freedom. A life sentence isn’t fair.”

Viola was willing to take that chance. Even if he didn’t stay with her, he deserved the chance to live his own life. Free.

The old woman shook her head. “I hope you’re right.”

“I am.”

“Time will tell.”

The woman blew some dust in Viola’s face, causing her eyes to shut, instantly, setting her lungs on fire. She began to cough and cough until she felt a strong hand against her back.

“Viola? Are you okay?”