by S. E. Babin
“Do you know what I am?”
His eyes glittered with curiosity. “You’ve always smelled a little funny to us, but none of us could figure it out.”
I snorted. “Thanks.”
“You have to understand we can smell everything. It’s intense.” A smile ghosted across his generous lips. “You and certain members of your family smell...exotic. Nothing we’ve ever scented during our time in America.”
Our kind was not from here, though we’d been here for as long as I could remember. My mother and her mother before her were born here. “I’m a Jinn.”
Mark’s eyes widened. “Oh.” He let out a little exhale. “Let me guess what happened.”
A smile that didn’t reach my eyes flickered across my face. “It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?”
“How do you plan on protecting yourself?”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell him I’d bespelled his wolf, but I couldn’t see how to wiggle out of it either. “Jeff no longer remembers what I am.”
“Ah,” his hand tightened just a fraction on my waist.
He didn’t like it, but I think he understood. “And the other men who’ve left you? All for the same reason?”
I winced. “Ouch.”
“Katie, you have a gift people would kill for. I can only assume you’ve been used. If I were in your situation, I would do everything in my power to protect my secret.”
I nodded. “Few people know the truth.”
Surprise crossed his face. “You own the Magical Brew!” He chuckled. “I would have never guessed. Your Ditzy Blonde brew is the best ale I’ve ever had.”
“Thanks. It’s been hard to keep it on the down low but, yes, it’s me back there.”
He shook his head. “I have to keep my wolves away from there, otherwise they’d live in your establishment.”
I blinked. “Why would you keep them out?”
“Because your wish service isn’t exactly cheap, and I don’t want my wolves taking the easy way out.”
We’d slowed our pace down as the music went softer. I was a little bit offended. “I don’t grant wishes to everyone who asks for them,” I told him.
“Interesting. So you’re saying I can let them off the leash a little bit?”
“With the amount of beer it takes to get a werewolf drunk, I’m begging you to let them off the leash a little.”
His warm chuckle rolled across my skin. “What kind of wishes do you turn away?”
I shrugged. “Most of them, honestly. Jinns have an...ability. We can see the outcome of our wishes. Anything that could harm someone is denied unless that person has done harm to the wisher and I can see the karmic threads involved. This includes self-harm as well.”
“Self harm?” Mark’s gaze turned curious.
I nodded. “Yes. So say someone came in and wished for twenty million dollars. It’s an easy enough wish, but if I look into the consequences and see someone losing everything they loved because of the money, I will usually deny the wish and turn them onto a different path.”
“And they’re okay with that?”
I grinned. “Never. But I will tell you that those who do take my advice are generally happier in the end and usually find themselves well supported financially.”
Mark and I stopped as the song came to an end. “You are an interesting woman, Katie.”
I bowed. “And you are an interesting Alpha.”
“I will keep your secret. My words about Jeff stand. He will suffer.”
I gave him a quick nod and turned to go back to my table.
Mark was a great man but he was super intense. I needed a drink to still my shaking hands.
One more person in Midnight Cove now knew my secret.
3
Six Weeks Later
There was a Doritos bag stuck to my face. I rolled over with a groan and peeled the opened foil pack off my cheek. Sunlight streamed into my living room, making my eyes water once I opened them. I blinked away tears and slowly sat up. The television was streaming nonstop Home Shopping Network and this morning’s offering was a combination hair brush/curler. That sound like a disaster waiting to happen.
I fumbled for the remote control and flipped the television off. The sound of silence in my house was deafening. I hadn’t even remembered to set the timer on the coffee pot so I couldn’t even get up and get my cup of joe immediately.
“Crap,” I muttered. I sat up and had to swipe candy wrappers from my lap. I was a hot mess. I knew it. My family knew it. All of my employees knew it since I hadn’t shown up to work for any real length of time since the wedding was cancelled. I’d sold off our honeymoon and talked to Mark about being reimbursed for half of the wedding costs. He hadn’t given me a check yet, but I knew he was good for it.
So...my savings account was running a wee bit low. Okay. A lot low, but I was still fine for now. I swung my legs off the couch and padded into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. I grumbled a little bit when I saw the state of my house. I’d bought it before I met Jeff, so about three years ago. I had big plans to fix it up which quickly fizzled when Jeff blew into my life with the force of a hurricane. My time became devoted to him and other things in my life suffered. Thus the reason I was standing in a kitchen that still had linoleum and half my countertops missing.
When I made it home after the wedding, I called Martin Roma immediately. He agreed to come over and look at the house to give me a quote. At that time, I was still running on anger so I was still upright and functional, but right after he’d given me the quote, I sank into a deep depression. So deep my parents came over banging on my door in the middle of the night to make sure I was still alive. I cancelled my appointment with Martin and had been barely able to get out bed since.
Martin was not pleased. My mother told me later he’d moved several things around on his schedule for me. When I cancelled, he’d lost all of that work. I’d felt guilty, but not nearly as much as I should have. I needed to call him soon and throw myself on his mercy. My life was chaotic enough. The least I could do was live in a house that didn’t make me look like a squatter.
I pulled my mug from the machine, poured an obscene amount of cheesecake creamer in it and took it back into the living room. I felt...better today. Not amazing. But not like I was going to die. The first two times had numbed me. I couldn’t quite explain how I felt, but life had kept chugging on around me and so I chugged along with it. This time? I was a boulder in the river and the river parted around me.
Being a jinn might seem glamorous to everyone who wasn’t actually a jinn. But for me, I was forced to keep my secret in order to have a normal life. Having a relationship was nearly impossible. The temptation always overcame how someone felt about me. I knew Jeff cared about me, but he also realized I was a good tool to have in his arsenal. He was a man who wanted an easy life and knew I had the capability to give it to him.
I set my overly sweetened coffee down and groaned as I got a whiff of myself. Gracious. I was a total slob right now. I needed to get my shit together. And a shower.
Maybe a shower first. Then I’d contemplate ways to put my life back together.
When I stepped out of the shower, I smelled like jasmine and spice, thanks to the body wash Jeff had given me weeks before. I threw it away as soon as I got out of the shower, only using it because I realized I didn’t have any other soap. I made up for it by slathering myself with my honey and oat lotion which masked the smell somewhat. Now I just smelled weird.
My smell matched the state of my life right now. I dressed in a loose maxi skirt and a white tank top, pulled on a pair of white sandals and ran a brush through my thick hair. I didn’t have the energy to put on any makeup or blow dry my hair. The fact that I was even out of bed was a miracle.
A massive crash outside of the bedroom made me squeak in alarm. I rushed out of my bedroom and was hit in the face with a cloud of dust. I stepped back, coughed, and blinked several times to try to make sense of what had just happe
ned.
The smell of coffee hit me next. I looked over and saw my worst nightmare. My coffee pot lay shattered on the ground, this morning’s bounty all over my crappy linoleum floor.
“No,” I moaned. “Noooooo.” I looked around, trying to process the shit storm that was my life only to realize it was way brighter in my kitchen than it should have been. I didn’t want to look up, but the debris on my counter and floors told me I needed to.
I slowly lifted my head and held back tears and a primal scream of frustration.
A massive hole was staring back at me. The sky was bright blue, an odd thing for Midnight Cove, the town that was usually shady even on a good day. My ceiling had caved in. The hole in my ceiling must have been two foot across.
Dust flowed all around me, ruining my freshly washed hair and my new change of clothes. It settled all over my furniture and my cabinets.
“Shit,” I said with feeling. I spied my cell phone, mysteriously unscathed on top of the counter, and picked it up. I had some groveling to do.
“Martin Roma,” the masculine voice barked.
“Hello, Mr. Roma, this is Katie Harper.” I put on the most friendly, chipper voice I could afford.
There was a pause on the line, and I could practically hear the silence crackle with animosity. “Yes?” he said after a moment.
“First, I’m calling to apologize.” My mother had always taught me that accepting responsibility was the first step in rectifying a situation. Considering his animosity was warranted, and I was a giant, depressed idiot, and I really, really needed him right now, this was the least I could do. “I thought I was fine when I got home, but the shock of the events of my wedding hadn’t quite caught up to me. When they did, I fell into a little bit of a...funk.”
At the word funk, Martin Roma snorted. “A funk.”
I rolled my eyes and felt embarrassment color my cheeks. “Yes. A funk.”
“Uh huh. It’s been six weeks, Ms. Harper. That’s quite the funk.”
I bristled with annoyance. “If you knew my history, Mr. Roma, you might be more understanding.”
“Considering your mother called me four times, I am fully aware of the nature of your past relationships.” He paused and his next words came out in a growl. “Being sympathetic, I cancelled and rescheduled paying jobs to accommodate you. When you cancelled, I was unable to get those gigs back. Every single person but one ultimately cancelled on me. You’ve cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost jobs.”
I was very lucky he wasn’t suing me.
“In fact,” he continued, “you should consider yourself extraordinarily lucky I’m not suing you.”
“I’m -”
“Although I’m still considering it,” he finished.
I blew out a breath. I could handle this one of two ways. Lose my shit on him or grovel. Considering there was a big ass hole in my ceiling, I chose door number two.
“You’re right,” I said. “You suffered because I couldn’t get my shit together. I’ve been unable to get out of bed for several weeks, other than for trips to get ice cream out of my fridge. I woke up this morning with candy wrappers stuck to my face and piled in my lap. I’ve lamented the state of my life and my lack of love life for six weeks now. I realize you suffered because of my complete emotional breakdown and for that, I am extremely sorry. I haven’t worked, haven’t spoken to my parents, and I’ve barely showered. I remedied one of those this morning only to walk out to see my entire kitchen ceiling resting on my countertop and floor. I am one hundred percent screwed and, honestly Mr. Roma, I need someone to save my ass, and I need them to do it now.” I took a breath. “And, if my pity party has no effect on your apparent cold, cold heart, mull this over. If you are willing to drop what you are doing and come work on my house, I will pay you one and a half times your going rate.” I took another deep breath and felt a cold sweat break out over my back as I threw out the next thing. “And, I happen to be in possession of a powerful magical artifact, something I tell no one. If you come over here, today, I will offer you the use of it to grant you one wish with no limits, to be used at a time and a place of your choosing.” I left out the fact the “object” was me.
I never did that. Never. It broke all of my rules. But I was desperate. Desperate times led to desperate jinns throwing out wishes like an actor tossing candy on a Mardi Gras float. Except so far, I didn’t have to show any boobs.
Silence crackled across the line like electricity. “Cold, cold heart?” he said with what sounded like amusement.
I let out a snort laugh. “Sorry.”
“Again with the apologies, Ms. Harper.” I heard something like a rasp come across the line and I wondered if he was rubbing his face. “One and a half times my rate?”
Hope bloomed like a flower opening at high speed. “Yes. And a wish.”
“Scratch the wish. I’m not a user. But I will take your money. Even though it won’t make up for all of it, it’s a nice start. I’ll be over in an hour.”
Before I could say another word, Martin Roma hung up.
I grinned like an idiot and did a little twirl in my completely screwed up kitchen.
4
The doorbell rang 45 minutes later. I rushed to open it only to realize my mistake when the charisma of Martin Roma hit me smack in the face. I opened my mouth to speak, quickly realized I had no idea what to say, and closed it.
He was just as handsome as I remembered. Even more so if I was being honest with myself, which I rarely was these days. His dark hair was swept back from his face and curled below his collar, but not in a pretentious way. More in a he needed a haircut way. His tanned face was set in a neutral expression, but it only enhanced the generosity of his lips and the deep brown of his eyes.
“Thank you,” I managed to get out. “Thank you so much.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I need to look at your ceiling.”
I opened the door and he brushed past me as he stepped inside. Even before he got to the kitchen, he let out a low whistle. “Did you get an inspection on this house?” he asked.
“I did.” I bristled a little at his assumption, but considering my ceiling had just caved in, I guess it was a valid question.
“And who was it from?”
I rattled off a Midnight Cove company and watched one of Martin’s dark eyebrows raise.
“Did someone recommend them to you?”
“Jeff,” I told him. My steps slowed and ground to a halt as the realization poured over me.
Martin let out a harsh laugh. “Jeff Hunt is a silent partner in that company. They’re a bane in my industry, but so far we’ve never been able to get them on anything. You wouldn’t believe the number of homes I’ve worked on who’ve all hired the same home inspection company.
I sighed and leaned against the back of my couch. “Jeff is the gift that keeps on giving,” I grumbled.
A slight smile crossed his mouth as he began to crunch through the ceiling debris. “I’ve heard that more than once in reference to him.”
He poked and prodded some things, whipped out his measuring tape, and studied the hole in my ceiling. “The rumor is Jeff has some kind of kickback thing going on with another one of the realty companies here. I think that will come to a halt pretty soon since they had a leadership shakeup.”
I hadn’t heard this. “Oh?”
“Yeah, it had to do with some property over on the edge of town and the founder of Midnight Cove.”
“Portia Kadish?” I said in frank disbelief. “She hasn’t been seen in years.”
“Apparently she has. She took them on and fired damn near everyone.”
The first genuine smile in weeks flickered over my face. “So do you think Jeff will get caught in the crossfire?”
One of his powerful shoulders lifted in a shrug. “It’s possible.” His dark gaze flickered to mine. “But never underestimate the survival drive in a cockroach.”
Heat flickered across my cheeks. My fiance was a co
ckroach, but it was hard to hear someone else say it. “Right.” I pointed up at the ceiling. “What’s the damage?”
Martin shook his head. “It’s difficult to tell until I can get up there and look at everything. I can guesstimate it, and you aren’t going to like it. The original quote I gave you is void, based upon this and our verbal agreement. If you’re ready, I can issue you a new quote.” His mouth curved in a grimace. “And a contract.”
I hadn’t signed a contract the first time. “Is that new?” I bravely asked.
“Yep.”
I nodded. “Okay. Yes. Is the deposit negotiable? I haven’t worked in a few weeks and my savings took a hit.”
His expression darkened a bit at that, but he gave me a short nod. “I’ll work out something in the contract and send it over to you this evening. Sound good?”
I swallowed hard. This was my fault. Martin was being fair. “Yes. Thank you.”
He snapped his measuring tape shut. “I’d recommend you cleaning your furniture and covering everything you don’t want dust to get on again. Once I get in here and start working, it’s going to stir up a lot of stuff.
I nodded. “Okay. I’ll take care of it. When can you start?”
His lips pulled back in a grim smile. “Since I’m barely breaking even right now, thanks to you, I’ll be here tomorrow. If you aren’t ready, it will be July.”
I blinked. So what he was saying was that I’d better be ready tomorrow. “Fine.”
He gave me a nod, picked up his bag, and left the house.
“Crap,” I said with a groan. This was going to cost me dearly. Stupid Jeff. Tears filled my eyes. I hoped this was the only thing that went wrong. I couldn’t believe Jeff had sold me to the wolves over the inspection just to get a kickback.
A huff of annoyed breath woke me up the next morning.
“Are you serious right now?” came the pained words from a masculine voice. A very annoyed masculine voice.
