Falling for the Genie (Genie's Love, Book 1) (2 page)

I leap to his side. “Sebastian, are you okay?”

He looks up at me, sweat dripping into his eyes that are turning red. His face is pale gold. I touch his forehead. My hand flies back. He’s hotter than a boiling pot of water. “What’s going on?” I ask, panic overtaking every cell in my body. “Oh, god. Is it because of the food you ate?”

Why did I give it to him? I should have suspected something like this would happen. He’s not human. He said he doesn’t eat. This is my fault. Is he going to die?

His eyes flutter open. “Don’t…blame yourself.”

I grab my phone. “I need to get you to a hospital.”             

“Lily…”

“We’ll just tell them the gold skin is paint. They won’t suspect—”

“Lily.” His voice is so weak. His eyes are dark red now. “They won’t…be able to see…me.”

He’s right. Only his master can see him. My hands begin to shake as a million thoughts crowd my mind. What do I do? How can I help him?

“Bathroom,” he mutters, his head rolling from side to side. “The food needs to…”

I reach for his hands and try to haul him to his feet, but I’m so tiny and he’s so heavy that I don’t manage to move him at all. “Can you stand?”

He lets out a moan. I pull the garbage bin to him just in time. Everything comes out, and from the sound of it, he’s in a lot of pain. I feel terrible for causing this. His entire body heaves. I can’t watch.

When he’s done, he rolls over onto his stomach with another moan. I touch his shoulder. He’s still hotter than a desert. “Genie…”

“Sebastian.”

“Sebastian. Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

He doesn’t look any better. And sure enough, his face is back in the garbage bin as he goes for round two. I hold his hair away from his face. It’s silky.

He pushes the garbage bin aside and clutches his stomach.

“Sebastian, I’m so sorry.”

He shakes his head, moaning softly. “Not…your fault.” He takes my hand. His is cooling down a little.

“Are you going to die?”

“I don’t die from this.”

That’s a relief. “But will the pain go away?”

“I don’t know. This never happened before.”

My hand is still in his and it feels really nice and soothing. He starts to breathe softly. His eyes are shut. He’s sleeping? Does he even sleep? I guess he does. Or maybe all that human food took such a toll on his body that he passed out.

I push some hair off his sweaty forehead. He doesn’t look comfortable lying on the floor, not to mention the kitchen is a mess from everything that fell from the table. I wish I were strong enough to lift him to my bed or the couch.

Now that he’s asleep, I can examine him in detail. His black hair is messy, curling into his eyes. His lips are slightly opened and when I close my eyes, I can see them coming toward me in slow motion, driving me insane until our lips make contact and I get tingly all over. When I open my eyes, I slap my forehead. What am I thinking? It’s because it’s been a few months since I had a boyfriend. Yeah, that’s it. It’s not because of—I run my hand along his cheek—his soft skin that feels like a cloud. There’s something magical and exotic about him.

My eyes lower to his golden, bare chest. Hesitantly, making sure he’s still asleep, I trace my finger across it. His muscles are strong and firm, and there are swirly designs all over his chest as well as his arms. The designs are a darker shade of gold than his torso and match the ones on his lamp. I wonder if that means he’s bound to it.

His black pants hang low on his hips. Aside from the golden and silky skin, he appears like a regular human guy. Even though we just met and I barely know him, I don’t want to forget about him. Of course I want wishes and it wouldn’t be fair to take up too much of his time. Other humans need wishes, too. But is it wrong to admit that I don’t want him to leave yet? I want to learn all I can about him.

My hands must have minds of their own because they’re back on his chest, smoothing over the muscles. His arms seem strong, and I can imagine how safe a girl could feel in them.

A hand closes over mine. I glance at Sebastian and find his eyes pasted on mine. He looks a little better. “That tickles,” he whispers.

“I’m sorry for touching you.” I can’t believe I did that. I
woke
him up by touching him. And he caught me.

“Don’t be.”

“How are you feeling?”

He tries to sit up, but crashes down to the floor, wincing. “Not as good as I thought.”

I want to tell him it’s not a good idea to lie on the dirty floor, when I find him staring at me. “What?”

“You’re kind to me.” A look washes over his face. I’m not sure what. A mix between gratitude and pure wonder and confusion. “Thank you.”

He tries to get up again, and I help him, but his body seems to be too heavy to support itself and falls down again.

“Maybe we should get you to my bed so you can rest comfortably,” I say. He nods weakly, and I pull his hands. He doesn’t move. We try a few more times, but his body has zero strength left. I bite my lip as my heart skips a beat. He said he can’t die, but how can he know for sure? He’s never been poisoned by human food before.

“Lily…”

I take his hand. Normally, when a human is this weak, he’d need fluids. Being that Sebastian can’t consume anything, I don’t want to risk him getting worse.

“Thank…you,” he whispers.

I bring our hands to my cheek. His is warm, not burning. Does this mean he’s getting better? That he just needs to wait it out?

His eyes scan mine. “You’re worried.”

“You might die.” My voice cracks.

His face softens and he rubs his fingers against my cheek. “I’ll be okay.”

I want to believe him, but he’s so weak. How do I know he’s not trying to calm me down? He drops his hand, his eyes closing again and his breathing growing heavy. I grab a blanket from the closet and throw it over him, and place a pillow beneath his head. I’m going to let him sleep this time.

As I tidy up the kitchen, I keep the noise down so Sebastian can rest. I can’t help but check on him every two seconds to make sure he’s still alive. When I see his chest rising and falling beneath the blanket, I sigh in relief. Once the kitchen is clean, I make sure he’s okay before slipping into the shower. I’m filthy from all the cooking and food that spilled all over the floor.

I try to keep my thoughts positive, that he’s going to be okay, but a part of me worries I’m going to lose him tonight.

“Lily?” he calls as I’m drying off. I wrap the towel around myself and rush out. He’s sitting with the blanket cloaked around him. His eyes widen as he skims me from head to toe. When our eyes meet, he keeps his on mine. They’re so deep I get lost in them. Then I freeze. I was so caught up with him calling for help that I didn’t realize I forgot to put on some clothes.

He blinks, snapping out of the trance. “I woke up and you were gone.”

I shift from one foot to the other and cross my arms over my chest, hoping everything is covered. “I was taking a shower.”

“Oh.”

“Are you feeling better?” I ask.

His skin is still pale and sweaty. “A little.”

I smile. “That’s good.” I’m glad he’s able to sit up.

Quiet. He looks at me and I look at him. A swallow goes down his throat, slowly. He doesn’t take his eyes off mine.

I back away. “I’d probably better…”

“Yes, yes. Sorry.”

In the bathroom, I lean against the closed door and cover my face with my hands. I don’t have much experience with guys. I’ve only had two boyfriends and they both lasted for less than a month. To have a guy in my house, and the fact that he saw me with nothing but a towel, causes goose bumps to pop up all over my skin. A shiver goes down my spine. I can’t forget the way he was staring at me. Like I was…sexy.

I change into pajamas and return to the kitchen. Sebastian is where I left him. He’s looking out the window.

“Hey,” I say. He turns his head and smiles. “Do you think you can make it to the bed to rest?”

“Where will you sleep?”

I shrug. “The couch.”

He shakes his head. “I’ll take the couch.”

“That’s okay.”

He shakes his head again. “You’re my master.”

I join him on the floor and rest my hand on his shoulder. “That doesn’t matter. You’re not my servant, Sebastian.”

He doesn’t say anything, just stares out the window. I try to read the expression on his face, but I have no idea what he’s thinking. I don’t care what he says. I won’t let him sleep on the couch when he’s so sick.

“How about we share the bed?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I want to slap myself. What if he gets the wrong idea? I don’t want him to think I’m inviting him into my bed.

He doesn’t answer, his eyes still on the window. I don’t know genie rules, if I shouldn’t treat him as my equal. I don’t believe in the whole genie/master thing, but he does, and I have to respect that. “Never mind,” I say.

Again, he’s quiet.

“Sebastian?”             

He turns his head and seems to snap out of whatever he was thinking about. “I appreciate it, but don’t human males and females who don’t know each other feel uncomfortable sharing a bed?”

He’s right—having a strange man in my bed will definitely make me uncomfortable, but I can’t think of myself now. I get up and hold out my hand to him. “Right now, all that matters is you getting well.”

He nods unsurely and lets me help him to his feet. I sling his arm over my shoulder and we make it to my bedroom. Once we’re seated on my bed side by side, he takes in the walls that are plastered with portraits of different dishes and chefs I’ve always looked up to as a kid. My room is a little messy because I have a hard time getting up in the mornings for work, and I dump things wherever, promising to clean up when I get home. That never happens. I hope I didn’t leave underwear around. After a quick sweep of the place, I sigh when I find nothing embarrassing. Except for my teddy bears lining the shelves. Most of them were gifts from Daisy. She knew how much I loved collecting them, and whenever she went out, she always got me one. I pull my eyes away.

“I like it,” Sebastian says with a small smile. “It helps get a sense of who you are.”

I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment. Does he see me as a messy person, or a little kid at heart? I think I’m always going to love stuffed animals, not matter how old I get.

“Thanks,” I say. “Too bad I can’t go into your lamp and check out your room.”

“There isn’t much to see.”

“How does it look inside?”

“It’s dark. Quiet. Not really comfortable.” He presses his palm on the bed. “My bed is bigger, but not as soft as this.”

I feel bad that he’s bound to that thing and I’m glad I asked him to stay out here with me. “You’re never going back in there again.”

He cocks his head to the side. “I’m going to have to eventually.”

Yeah, once I make my wishes. But I don’t want to think about that now. I lift the blanket, and we lie down. Sebastian’s head is so close to mine, and if I were to face him, I know our mouths would be only a few inches apart. Is he thinking the same thing? Does he want me to turn around?

He smells good, like spices mixed in with something that resembles cologne. But not the usual, human kind. An exotic kind. He’s not moving, and I’m not sure if he’s asleep.

“Good night, Lily,” he says softly, like he’s not sure if I’m still awake. I am, fully, and I doubt I’ll get any sleep tonight. Ever since Daisy’s death, I hardly ever do, but it’s different this time. I have a strange man…not a man, a magical genie, in my bed.

I turn around and tuck my hand beneath my pillow. “Do genies even sleep?”

“Yes.”

“But you don’t eat food?”

He shakes his head. “Granting wishes puts a toll on my body, so I need rest.”

He’s really close now and even though it’s dark in here, I can see his blue eyes clearly. He’s staring straight at me, his breathing growing heavy. I have a million more questions to ask. I want to learn everything. But not now. I’ll be up all night, but I won’t deny him some sleep.

“Good night, Sebastian.”

His hand finds mine and gives it a squeeze. “Sleep well, Lily.” He doesn’t let go. I don’t want him to. His hand is so warm and smooth. It’s better than a teddy bear.

My eyes won’t shut, no matter how much I try to force them. My thoughts usually revolve around Daisy and how her death screwed up my mom, but tonight I’ve got something else on my mind. Not only the genie sleeping right beside me, but the three wishes he’s supposed to grant me. The problem is I have no idea what to wish for.

I must be lying here with my eyes wide open for two hours before I feel Sebastian stir. My hand is still in his and I expect him to pull away, but he doesn’t. Instead, he scoots closer to me, his toes brushing mine, which sends jolts throughout me. But I keep still and shut my eyes tight, too shocked to move. Is he going to return to his lamp?