POSSESSED BY DESIRE

by Elisabeth Naughton

  Ashur already knew this—at least the part about her going back to the celestial realm. He’d spent several days searching for her in the human world, much to his parents’ dismay. Had needed to talk to her. To find out why she’d left so suddenly. Why she hadn’t even touched the firebrand opal she’d been seeking for so long when it had lain inches away at her feet and why she’d given Nasir his powers back. And when he hadn’t found her, he’d realized she’d been sent back to her own world.

  “She chose the human realm,” Tariq said quietly.

  Ashur’s gaze snapped to his brother. “What did you say?”

  On his other side, Nasir chuckled. To Tariq he said, “Told you he’d care.”

  Tariq smiled, the same easy grin he’d had as a kid when they’d been teasing him. “I said she went back to the human realm. She’s mortal now. Like Mira, she can’t cross into our world, but she’s there, waiting if you want to talk to her.”

  Talk to her? Ashur wanted to shake her. Find out why she’d saved him and why she’d run. And then he wanted to kiss her until they were both too breathless to argue.

  His heart raced, but it was no longer a hard, cold ball beneath his ribs. It was hot. So hot. And pounding hard with the thought of seeing her again.

  “Why?”

  “Why what?” Nasir asked.

  “Why would she choose to stay without the opals?” She’d told him how empty life was without the full range of her emotions. It was why she’d summoned him in the first place. Why subject herself to more of that emptiness?

  “That’s a question only she can answer,” Tariq said.

  He looked toward Tariq. “Where is she?”

  He smiled again. “Where you first met her.”

  That beach. In the Marshall Islands. Where he’d only barely restrained himself from ravishing her.

  He needed to see her. He couldn’t wait. He needed answers. He needed—

  He stepped away from the railing.

  Nasir grinned and turned his way. “Eager all of a sudden, huh? She’s not going anywhere, little brother. Why don’t you stay? Have a few drinks. This is your party, after all.”

  Ashur shot him a look. “Would you stay if it were Kavin?”

  Tariq’s grin widened, and to Nasir he said, “You were right. I’ve a feeling Father might just lose his second in line to the throne. You and Kavin better get busy making those babies.”

  Nasir chuckled, and Ashur frowned as he looked between the two. What the hell were they jabbering about? He didn’t care about anything but seeing Claire. He turned for the door. “I have to go.”

  “Hold up,” Tariq called.

  When Ashur turned, Tariq stepped in front of him, but the humor was gone from his features when he laid a hand on Ashur’s shoulder. “You asked me if I’ll miss it. I’ll miss this. The three of us, together.” He looked toward Nasir, who moved up on his side, the humor gone from his face too. “You already know this, Ashur, but I’ll say it for posterity’s sake. Blood is stronger than distance and time. Wherever you go, whatever you do, you’ll always be my brother. You’ve spent your life searching for adventure, and I’ve a feeling you’re about to embark on the biggest adventure yet. But I want you to know, whenever you need me, I’ll be there for you.”

  “Me too,” Nasir said in a thick voice. “And unlike this one, I can cross realms no problem. So if you need someone, I’m your guy.”

  Ashur couldn’t help it. He chuckled. Then sobered because he realized what they were saying.

  They didn’t think he was coming back. His heart rate quickened. Was that what he was doing? Was he choosing Claire? He didn’t know. He just knew he needed to see her. To talk to her. To bathe in her light one more time.

  “I…” His throat grew thick. For so long in prison he’d blamed his brothers for his plight. Blamed Tariq especially, because his eldest brother had been happy and in love when Ashur had been suffering. When in truth it was that love that had saved Tariq. The way love had saved Ashur. “I don’t know what to say to you both. ‘I’m sorry for being an ass’ doesn’t seem like enough.”

  Nasir laughed. Tariq smiled. And the hand on Ashur’s shoulder squeezed tight. “How about ‘I’ll call you.’”

  Tariq was giving him an out. Just as he’d done when they were kids and Ashur had gotten in trouble. Tariq had always known the solution. All the tension Ashur had stored in his shoulders released. “I’ll call you.”

  Tariq pulled him in for a tight hug. And Nasir did the same when Tariq let go. When Ashur eased back, both of his brothers’ eyes were damp, just like his.

  He turned away before he made a fool of himself and said, “I’ll tell Mother and Father I’m leaving.”

  Nasir chuckled again. “Good luck with that. Maybe it would be better if you just escaped unnoticed.”

  “When Father’s fawning all over Nasir’s bride,” Tariq added. “He’ll barely notice your absence then.”

  “He doesn’t fawn over her,” Nasir said.

  “Right.” Tariq rolled his eyes. “I’m surprised Mother hasn’t decked him yet. Did you see the way he was staring at her breasts?”

  “No,” Nasir said, shooting Tariq a look. “And how do you know anything about her breasts?”

  Ashur smiled. They were back. The brothers he remembered. Always ribbing each other, lighthearted, happy. The brothers he remembered from before the war, before Zoraida’s invasions, before their world had turned bleak.

  He turned for the double doors but spun back on his heels with one last thought. Pointing at Tariq, he said, “And I am sorry about your house.” Then cringed. “I hope Mira’s not too upset about that.”

  Tariq tucked his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “We’ve been living on the boat. She loves the water. And tight spaces with me. All is good. Besides” —he nodded toward Nasir, who was feigning disgust— “this guy’s paying for the remodel. Least he can do for me since I gave him a kingdom and all.”

  This time, Nasir rolled his eyes. “I’m never going to hear the end of that, am I?”

  “Never,” Tariq said with a grin. “What are brothers for?”

  * * *

  Sitting in the pink-and-white-striped beach chair in the warm afternoon sun, Claire pushed her toes through the sand and looked out at the gentle waves lapping against the shore. Palms swayed overhead, and a light breeze blew her hair away from her face. The cove was quiet today. No tourists. No locals. Just her and the view she never tired of looking at.

  She was going to miss this place. She only had two months left in her sabbatical before the university expected her back, and now that she’d made the decision to stay in the human world, she had to forget about all the plans she’d made for the future and start blazing a new trail. She’d said she wanted to live, really live. Now was her chance.

  A heavy weight settled on her shoulders, and she drew a deep breath. Depression, that’s what this was. The big letdown. She didn’t regret her decision—not now that she knew the truth—but a part of her had hoped this would all end differently. The same part of her that had foolishly thought about a happily ever after with Ashur.

  He was free. That should be enough for her. And maybe there still was a happily ever after out there somewhere for her. Though at the moment, she couldn’t imagine finding it with anyone else.

  Sighing, she closed the journal in her lap and pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. She’d been out in the sun too long. It was obviously baking her brain. She pushed to her feet, closed the beach chair, and headed for her hut on the far side of the cove. After leaning her chair against the porch, she wiped the sand off her feet and pushed the screen door open.

  Then gasped.

  Ashur was sitting in her living room, in the middle of her couch. His long arms were extended across the back, one foot was propped on the opposite knee, and an amused expression crossed his handsome face.

  “Wh-what are you doing here?” she managed. Oh yeah, that sounded smooth. She swallowed h
ard.

  “Waiting for you. I thought you were going to burn to a crisp out there.” He pushed to his feet. “You know, with your light complexion, I hope you’re wearing sunscreen.”

  She could barely process what he was saying. All she knew was the djinni she’d been dreaming about the last week was standing in her living room, his big body eating up all the space as if she’d summoned him. Which she hadn’t.

  “I don’t understand. You should be in Gannah.” Her brow lowered. “Why are you here?”

  He crossed to her, and her heart sped up. But he didn’t touch her like she hoped. Instead, he sat on the arm of the chair closest to her. “I could ask you the same thing.”

  Her eyes searched his familiar features. Dark hair hung like a fall of silk to his shoulders, and his eyes sparked with curiosity. And those firm lips she’d dreamed about were so close all she could focus on was kissing them again. Feeling them next to hers. Tasting them one more time.

  “You didn’t take the opals,” he said softly. “Why not? I thought that’s what you wanted.”

  She swallowed again. Searched for the right words. Knew she’d never find them. “I didn’t go to your world to get them. I went to help you.”

  “Then why did you leave so fast?”

  “Because I was tempted. The opals carry great power. I knew if I didn’t leave then, I might not be able to later.” She shifted her feet. “I’m not sure if you know this—I didn’t until I got there—but Zoraida wasn’t just a sorceress. She was celestial, like me. Fallen. And like me, she was tempted by the power in the opals. But instead of fighting that temptation, she gave in to it. Her light turned dark. There was very little of it left in her, but I could still feel it. I knew if I stayed, I’d end up just like her.”

  “A fallen angel,” he said, looking down at the bamboo flooring. “Oddly, that makes a lot of sense.” His gaze swung back to hers. “What happened when you came back here? I searched for you in the human realm after but couldn’t find you.”

  He’d looked for her? Her heart bumped, and her skin grew warm. “I…I thought I was crossing back into this realm, but my superiors drew me home.”

  “To the Seven Heavens?”

  She nodded. “It turns out everything I’d believed was a lie. Our emotions aren’t housed in the opals. That belief was just the setup for my test. You were right about that, by the way. I was being tested. But not by you. By the opals themselves.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Neither had she, at first, but now that she’d had a week to think about it, she realized everything had happened for a reason. “I was banished because I became too interested in life, to the point where that interest was interfering with my job. I’m not the first from my realm to do that. I just didn’t know it happens to many of us. So I was sent here, and since I wasn’t used to feeling emotions, I didn’t really know what to think. Feelings, emotions came on slowly, and it took me a while to get used to them. And with a friend of mine in the realm feeding me information” —she frowned when she remembered discovering Sura had been in on the test from the start “—I honestly believed the angels’ emotions were stored in the opals.”

  “But they’re not?”

  She shook her head. “The opals were created thousands of years ago, by the High Seven. One for each of the deadly sins the High Seven banished from our order at the beginning of time—lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. The power within the opals comes from that—from how each person who comes in contact with them interacts with those sins. In Zoraida’s case, her powers grew quite strong because she was impacted by each one. The High Seven scattered some of the opals in the human realm, some in the djinn realm. Even though you have supernatural powers and humans do not, you both still have free will. And the High Seven are always testing mortals. They allowed the opals to exist to see how mortals would be tempted by them.”

  He frowned. “Forgive me for saying so, but your High Seven sound like a scheming bunch.”

  She couldn’t help it, she laughed. “Yeah, I guess they do. But then that’s their job. To see which souls survive temptation and are truly worthy of reaching the Seven Heavens.”

  “Tariq said they gave you the choice to go back to your realm.”

  He’d talked to his brother. She wanted to ask if that meant the two had mended their rift. Wasn’t sure now was the time. She nodded again. “They did.”

  “So why are you still here?”

  A tingle ran through her belly, igniting a flutter she felt everywhere. Could she tell him the truth? Indecision raced through her mind. Would he think she was a fool? They didn’t even know each other that well. But he was here. He’d come all the way from his realm. And he’d said he’d looked for her just after she’d left. That had to mean something, right?

  Nerves caused her skin to tingle. But she knew if she didn’t take a chance now, she’d never have the opportunity again. And this was why she’d chosen to stay. “Because I wasn’t ready to go back. Because—” She drew a breath. It was now or never. “When I was with you, the emotions I felt were too strong to make me consider giving them up. I finally felt alive. Not from any opal, but from you.”

  His dark eyes searched hers so long, her nerves shot up. What was he thinking? She didn’t know. Couldn’t read him. If he’d just come to find out why she hadn’t taken the opals, he knew now. And yet, he wasn’t leaving.

  “Nasir said you’re mortal now.”

  Wow, he’d really had quite a conversation with his brothers, hadn’t he? She nodded again.

  “So does this mean you gave up the Seven Heavens…for me?”

  Her pulse pounded hard. He didn’t seem excited by the news. She forced herself to nod once more anyway.

  “And you can’t go back?”

  “When I pass from my mortal life, I can. But only as a mortal, not as a celestial being.”

  “And the High Seven are okay with that?”

  “They felt I was worthy of the choice because I passed the test.” Or so they’d said. She’d never know what they really thought, nor did she care anymore.

  “I never understood how Tariq could give up his heritage to be with Mira, but I think maybe…now I do.”

  Was he saying…? Claire’s pulse picked up speed as he pushed to his feet, as he crossed the space between them, as he took her hands in his.

  “I’ve been searching for a reason to truly live for a very long time. Since way before I became Zoraida’s prisoner. I just didn’t expect it to come wrapped in the body of an angel.”

  Every cell in her vibrated. “We don’t really like the term angel. It implies—”

  “Wings and halos.” One corner of his mouth tipped up. “I know. Tariq told me.”

  He had? Her heart pounded harder. “Ashur—”

  His big hands framed her cheeks, tipped her face up to his, sent tingles of awareness all through her skin. “I don’t quite know what the future holds, but I do know, if you’re here, then that’s where I want to be.”

  He wanted her. Really wanted her. And by staying with her, he was giving up everything too. His life, his home, even his family. Her stomach clenched. “You—you’ll lose your powers if you stay in the human realm with me.”

  A slow smile spread across his face. “Then we’d better make the most of them while we can.”

  Light and heat flared behind her, and she turned to look toward the bed on the far side of the room. Hundreds of candles of all shapes and sizes lined the tables, the windowsills, even the floor. And on the mattress, the toys he’d teased her with before appeared, including that purple vibrator.

  She couldn’t stop the laugh that pushed up her throat. She dropped her head against his chest, smiled wide as his arms circled to pull her close. It felt so right to be held by him. So perfect. Why on earth had she ever thought some silly opals were more important than this? “That’s not why I chose to come back here, you know.”

  “But it doesn’t hurt, right?”


  She smiled wider and wrapped her arms around his waist, loving the way his body fit against hers. As if it were made just for her. “No, it doesn’t. I’ve sort of fantasized about those toys and what you planned to do with them before we were interrupted last time.”

  He leaned back and looked down. “You did?”

  “More than once.”

  A devilish grin curled his lips. “Then maybe I’d better show you.”

  His mouth closed over hers. And she gasped, then sank into the kiss. Into him. Into everything she’d never known she’d wanted.

  True happiness didn’t come from somewhere else. She knew that now. It wasn’t found in magical opals or even in a life of ease. It came from within. From finding where you were meant to be. From risking your heart and loving someone more than yourself, even if that love wasn’t guaranteed.

  When they were both breathless, he eased back. And in his eyes, she knew no matter what their future held, she’d made the right choice.

  “I don’t know much about being mortal, maya.”

  Maya. He’d called her princess again. Desire shot straight to her center. She stepped back, clasped his hand and pulled him toward the bed. “Don’t worry. I’ll teach you everything I know. And then” —her lips curled— “you can teach me everything you know.”

  He leaned to her side and pushed the toys to the floor, then lowered her to the mattress. “Your wish is my command.”

  And as his weight settled on her and she opened to his kiss, she couldn’t help but think those were the most perfect words she’d ever heard.

  Thanks for reading POSSESSED BY DESIRE.

  I hope you enjoyed it!

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