The Genie's Witch (Dirty Djinn) (5 page)

He warmed her up in a coffeehouse where they talked about nothing and everything. Music, movies and favorites colors didn’t make for pithy conversation, but they did wonders for creating a bubble of quiet companionship.  Even when the talking lulled into stares and smiles, there was no urge to fill it with words. There was a peace to him that settled within her and she latched onto it like a candle in the darkness.

She’d have been content with that, but he wasn’t done surprising her.

“Do you ice skate?”

“No.”

He sucked his teeth and turned her in the direction of an outdoor ice rink. “Me neither. Let’s go rent some skates.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

It ended up being a terrible one. They windmilled their way through a couple of butt-bruising laps before giving up and making a laughing run  into a half-empty mall. Tig pulled her into a unlit cubbyhole. She rose to her toes for a kiss, but a got a peck instead. Before her disappointment got too far gone, he disappeared for two seconds to check they were alone.

“Wish for jeans and shirts.”

She shook her head in wonder and appreciation at the instantaneous clothing swap. Thank goodness he’d gone the sensible route this time. Her jeans didn’t leave much to the imagination, but damned if her butt didn’t look good in ‘em. He rocked his jeans just as much as she did. “Did you wish for those glutes?”

He snorted and patted his butt. “Squats. Go ahead, touch it.”

She did and came away with the knowledge that she could bounce a penny, a dime and the entire GDP of Switzerland off of it.  She made a mental note to add squats to her twice-monthly workout routine.

“Hungry yet?”

“I could eat.” They’d been gone for a few hours now and the smells from one end of the mall lassoed her in, too enticing to avoid. The vendor from a Lebanese food stall waved them over. Her feet moved with little goading from her brain.

Tig spoke to the man in his own tongue, a hum of soft accented words. Every few seconds, the man would lean around Tig to look at her with the same unreadable expression. If she’d had a sweater, she’d have wrapped it more tightly around her. Nothing about his stares read as licentious, but wholly exposing, as if he could see clear through her. When Tig returned with mountains of food in his arms, the vendor tipped his hat to her, pocketed the stack of cash and went on to the next customer.

“What was that about? I kept waiting for someone to read me my rights.”

“Nothing bad. He only wanted to make sure you were a good girl.”

“You’re joking!”

“And that my family would be proud.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep.”

Even if that had been the conversation, what kind of man admitted it? Didn’t guys run screaming in the opposite direction with that type of thing? But not Tig, and he wasn’t finished...

“Since you’re too rude to ask, I will tell you how I answered him. I told him that you were a rare beauty, inside and out. Nothing? No response?”

A few responses, all silent. Giddiness and pride ranked high among them. “Well...”

“I told him that with time and patience, we’d grow into an unbreakable match.”

“Tig, I—”

“Too much?”

Hell, yes, too much. And, no. Mostly yes. Somewhat. “You’re an unusual man.”

“I’m choosing to take that as a compliment.”  He dipped his pinkie into the tzatziki sauce and brought it to his tongue. “It’s close.”

Yes, food. Much, much safer. “According to you, but you’re not Lebanese. I happen to think it’s fine.”

“I’ve been there more times than whoever made this has. I can promise you that. I’m not saying it’s bad, but I’ve made better.”

“Made?”

“You should see my other talents.” He ran his tongue across the dough. Then, almost as if he remembered something, he froze, coughed and wiped his mouth. “Where to next?”

“We could catch a movie.”

“Eat. I’ll check.” He picked at his food while scrolling through movie times on his phone. She took a more leisurely pace, savoring each gooey, tastebud-tingling bite. 

“Horror flick. Starts in ten minutes. No, don’t rush. I’ll go get the tickets, you finish eating. Be right back,” he said and took off.

There was a marked sense of loneliness at his exit and it pissed her off. Falling for a man she didn’t know had to be the dumbest thing in the world, yet she couldn’t stop imagining a future with him.

Nothing wrong with a harmless daydream, but how to play it? How to make sure it stuck?

Aim for the hard to get act? That ship sailed when she’d thrown her legs over his shoulders on the plane. Giving the milk away for free hadn’t been too detrimental to the cause. And technically, he’d been doing the milking with no real work from her at all.

Her hand flew to her mouth at the memory of what he’d done to her...and the hope that he’d do it again. That’s how he found her.

“What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing. What are you holding behind your back?”

“Glad you asked, Dinah. Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Answering defeats the purpose. Close your eyes. I’m not going to hurt you. I can’t.”

She did, because for some crazy reason, she completely believed him. Something cool, slick, and heavy danced across her neckline before settling into place. Shaky hands rose to her throat and her eyes fluttered down to see a very large rock.

“There’s a jewelry store across from the movie theater. A chocolate diamond, they called it. It looked good on the woman on the sign, but I knew it’d look better on you. Do you like it?”

For the first time since they’d met, they’d stumbled across an uncomfortable silence. Her heart fluttered and she shook her head. “It’s too much. You can’t buy me a diamond necklace.”

“Of course I can. I’m rich.”

“You’re not that rich.”

“Pretty sure I am. This is the part where you say thank you.”

“This is the part where I tell you to take it back.” The thing had to be worth several thousand dollars. Was he insane? No one bought strangers jewelry.

No one but Tig. “The chain matches your bracelet.”

“My bracelet is silver. Plated, at that. I got it for twenty bucks.”

“It still matches,” he grumbled. “Platinum, silver, whatever.”

“Tig, you don’t have to buy me.” His head jerked up at that. The almost heartbroken look on his face reduced her to about one inch tall. “I only mean...it’s just—”

“It’s hard for me to gift something, when I have the world to offer. So when I think I’ve found a bauble that’s special, no matter how much or how little it costs, I give it. I want you to have this. Accept it. Please.”

But she took the necklace off and handed it over. “I’m sorry. I can’t. Thank you anyway.”

Tig shifted from one foot to the other, before taking it from her hand and shoving it in his pocket. “I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“You haven’t. It shocked me, that’s all.” She grabbed his hand and started tugging, eager to change the subject. “How about we catch that movie?”

“I never made it to the counter. Silly me, something caught my eye.”

“Tig—”

“You’re right, we should go. We probably haven’t missed much.”

She didn’t much feel like it seeing the film and from his scrunched up face, neither did he. None of the ghouls and goblins on the screen bothered her as much as the still and silent djinn next to her. She hadn’t
meant
to hurt his feelings. He ought to be grateful that she’d saved him a buttload of money.

So why did she feel like she’d stolen candy out the mouth of a baby?

As one of the actresses fought against near certain death, Dinah leaned over and planted a kiss on Tig’s cheek. The gesture was so well below what he’d tried to do for her, but it worked. She could feel the tension leave his body. His chest sagged and he brought his arm around her.  She’d just settled into the crook of it when the lights turned on and a voice over the loudspeaker announced that the mall was closing due to increasingly bad weather.

While the rest of the patrons grumbled and shouted for refunds, she and Tig slipped out, whisked back to the hotel with a simple wish. “Your magic’s so weird. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”

“You will.”

He sounded so certain. Or hopeful. It almost scared her as much as the necklace. But then, why should it? He’d fallen too – what was so wrong with that? She took a seat on the side of the bed, kicked her shoes off and headed for safer conversation. “Why not wish away the storm?”

“The same reason you didn’t magic-up some clothes. I could move a cloud or five, but that’s asking a lot. A small storm’s no problem, but this would be like moving a hurricane.  I’d have an easier time buying you something nice.”

“That’s not funny.”

“You’re right. Why are you so guarded?”

“Some guys have a thing. They’d love to say they slept with a...you know,” she said, pointing to her skin.

“Sweetie. I’m not that guy. I’ve slept with plenty of...witches.”

“I’m going to hurt you.”

“Finally!”  He dodged the pillow she threw and returned fire with a cushion from the recliner. The cocky jerk blew a raspberry on her forehead then tumbled on to the bed beside her. “You will though. You’ll hurt me one day. Me? I’ll never hurt you. And before you ask, I do know that.”

She bent to kiss him, but he didn’t pull her down to him. He just sorta laid back, letting her take control.

So she kissed him again.

And a third time.

“I’m afraid to touch you. I don’t know how to make sure you’ll stay. So you take the lead.”

“What does that mean?”

“Do what you want. Or nothing at all.”

She didn’t intend for it to happen, but her hands made their way to his pants and through them, she felt him waiting for her, hard and hot. “You’ve done a million wonderful things to me, Tig, and I’ve never returned the favor.”

“That’s because it wasn’t a favor. I did what delighted me. Seeing you enjoying your body delights me. Tasting you, delights me.”

“What would delight you now?”

“You.”

So she gave him what she had.

She gave
...he didn’t take.

He didn’t control. He didn’t command. Still partially dressed, he laid there on his back as she removed her pants and shirt.

“Lock your hands behind your head.”

He did without a single word.

Her panties were a sloppy mess. She kicked them off before she climbed atop and pushed him inside her. Then she took what she wanted. He grabbed the headboard. He grabbed the comforter. He touched everything but her. Only at her direction did he put his hands on her waist to guide their tempo. And it was a slow, rocking, sumptuous movement. Not at all what she envisioned sex with him to be. Sex was rough. Sex was loud. Sex was a grinding, moaning thing, but this was soft. She’d only climbed on top of him to fuck, but on the bottom, he’d tried to make love.

And he won.

Tig held her like the finest crystal and it had her shattering above him. She lay in broken pieces on his chest and bit by bit, with every pat on the back and whispered word of adoration, he put her back together again. “Please, Dinah?”

“Hmmm?”

But he didn’t answer. Instead, he took off his pants, turned off the lights and returned to bed. The next thing she felt was a sliver of cold, dripping across her neck – the necklace he’d tried to give her earlier in the day.

“Please?”

She fingered it, brought the stone to her lips and drifted off to sleep.

H
er flight would leave in eight hours. At the news, Dinah ended the call with the airline and flopped back on the bed, fingering the necklace. She couldn’t
not
go. It had taken months of saving and even longer planning to make this Napa trip happen. It was what she wanted.

Right?

Of course!  Who could turn down a week of relaxation with wine in hand and an included massage?

Although, that internal one on the flight hadn’t been half-bad either. Or the one last night.

No!

She liked that djinn, true, and wanted more of him, but it didn’t make any sense to blow off her vacation. Maybe he could afford to toss money away, but Dinah couldn’t. She had to stick to her guns. There were no two ways about it. That wasn’t the end of anything, not truly.  If he wanted to see her again, he’d call in Galveston. If not, well, there you go. Staying wouldn’t change that one way or the other.

“I’m back.”

And, again, he’d brought breakfast. Definite keeper. Something was off though, his lips were pursed together and he kept glancing toward the window. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Well, um, I called the airline and I’m booked after lunch, so...” She broke off in a sigh and sat up on cross legs. “I never thought I wouldn’t be looking forward to Napa. I can’t believe I just told you that. Don’t say anything.”

Tig slouched next to her, bringing the bag of food between them. He plucked her nose and her stomach fluttered at the contact. Such an innocent move, but she knew well what powers his touch had. And in a few hours, she’d leave him.

“I hope you don’t think it’ll be that easy to get rid of me, Dinah. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah. Though I’ve gotta admit, you had me worried this morning. I know you were awake when I left.”

“I figured I’d give you an out, if you wanted one.” The casualness with which he waved it off made her tummy do that weird thing again. “So, how do we handle goodbye this time?”

He dropped the toast half hanging from his mouth. “The same way we had our hello.”

She was on her back before she could get out her next breath. Thank goodness, she was still in her robe. The man was a ripper, wrenching open her covering and sliding his hands over her more than willing body. His lips worked her over too. He sucked and pulled, playing at her mouth, while his fingers dipped beneath her underwire. Soon, the thing was off her entirely and she was naked save her flimsy panties. She tried to shimmy out of them, but he grabbed her wrists, holding them steady on the pillow above her head.

Her fingers ached to touch him. They’d done this, sort of, but she wanted to feel him, naked and heavy on top of her. She wanted to see him too and wished he’d take those damned clothes off.