“Nothing.” He squeezed her hand and her heart jumped just a little. “I’m thrilled to see all this, to see that things are going well. But now we need to shop.”
“There’s a second hand store not far from here. Their stuff’s fairly inexpensive. I thought we’d go there.” For a minute she thought he’d argue with her. Instead, he just nodded.
They left the center and walked the few blocks to the store, Lily’s Remakes. When they stepped inside, Lily greeted them with a smile.
“Hi, Moreen. It’s been a while.” It had been more than six months since she’d been in. Moreen was surprised Lily remembered her name and seemed genuinely happy to see her.
“Yeah, I know. But I need some new outfits, work type outfits, professional ones.”
“You got a new job? How exciting. Where is it?”
“She’s the new bookkeeper at the Cave of Pleasure.” Paran extended his hand, then lifted Lily’s hand to his lips and introduced himself.
“Hello.” She blushed just a little, then turned to Moreen. “Well, it’s good you came in here. I’ve got some great stuff that will fit you perfectly, and keep you within budget, too. I’ve heard about the Cave, but I haven’t been there yet.”
“You must come by,” Paran said. “I’m sure you’d have a fantastic time. I know a few single men I can introduce you to.”
“Well, I just might do that.” Lily laughed, then leaned closer to him. “Especially if they all look like you.”
Jealousy bubbled inside Moreen. She wanted to reach out and put a hand between the two of them, tell Lily that Paran was hers, and to stay away. The wink he gave her made her turn her head from him. She hated that he could get into her mind.
“So, work clothes? How many outfits do you need?”
“Say five?” Moreen bit her lip. She hadn’t bought five outfits at once since she was a teen-ager and her parents were buying her clothes. “And I only have about two hundred dollars to spend.”
“No problem. We can mix and match and come up with some great stuff. You start looking over there and I’ll do the same over here. Then we’ll meet in the dressing rooms.”
Lily bounced away and Moreen wished she had her enthusiasm.
“You have more than two hundred to spend,” Paran said. “I know there was three hundred, cash, in the envelope.”
“I put some of it back for bills.”
“No, that is money for clothes, money for you. If you go over two hundred I’ll pay, and you can pay me back.” He held up a finger to stop the argument before it started, and she frowned at him. “You will obey me in this.”
“You can shove your obey straight up your—”
“Look at this.” Lily stepped up to them with a pants suit in periwinkle blue. The outfit consisted of fitted slacks, a shell shirt, and a jacket with three-quarter sleeves. The jacket hit just above the knee. “With your hair, this will be great. And it’s casual, yet dressy. You can wear it to work, or out to get a drink afterwards, or even on a date.”
Moreen looked at the price tag and saw that the outfit cost forty-five dollars. She licked her lips, then looked at the size. “It won’t fit.”
“Sure it will, you’re an eighteen, right? I’m good at sizes.”
“I need a twenty.”
“Nonsense,” Lily said. “That would be way too loose. The secret is to buy something that fits just right, and this is it, trust me. Not too loose, not too tight. You’ve at least got to try it on.”
“She will,” Paran assured her. He handed Lily a black sheath dress with tan floral print. “This one, too.”
By the time they’d looked through the racks, Lily had provided seven different pairs of pants, five blouses, two dresses, and four pantsuits. They all went into the large dressing room in the back of the store.
I can’t afford all this.
You don’t have to. We’ll pick and choose. Paran winked at her, then turned to Lily. “We’ll call you if we need a different size.”
“Great.” Lily gave Moreen a wicked glance that clearly said, ‘lucky girl.’ “She has to model for me, though. I want to see how everything looks.”
“She will,” Paran replied, sitting down in a chair. “Thank you for your help. It is very much appreciated.”
Lily left with a laugh, closing the dressing room door behind her. Once she was gone, Paran looked at Moreen, studying her.
“The blue first,” he said.
She raised her eyebrows. “Is that an order to be obeyed?”
“Yes.”
“You know what you can do with your orders, don’t you?”
“Oh, you’ll pay for that, and the earlier remark, too. Now, get undressed.”
His words made Moreen shiver, even though she knew he didn’t want her to get undressed for sex. It was just so she could put more clothes on.
“I knew you liked my dick.”
“You are so freaking conceited. Just because you made me come—”
“More than once.”
Moreen growled at him, then turned back to the clothes, quickly tearing hers off before putting on the pantsuit. She was sure it was going to be too tight, but when she had it in place, she stared at herself in the mirror.
“Perfect.” His voice was deep. “It hugs your beautiful curves and shows just a hint of cleavage. Sexy, yet professional enough for work. Lily, come in.”
The door opened and Moreen managed to tear her gaze away from her reflection to turn to Lily, who laughed and clapped her hands.
“What did I tell you? It’s wonderful.” She stepped behind Moreen and turned them both to face the mirror. “But, if I can say something without you getting mad?”
“What? I’m too fat for it?”
“No, I told you, it’s great. It’s about your hair.”
Moreen let her fingers stray to her hair, which hung midway down her back “What about it?”
“Sweetie, it’s way too long. Perfect for a teen-ager, yes, but for professional reasons? No. I know a great stylist just a few blocks over. He’ll style you for about sixty bucks, since you don’t need color or anything.”
Moreen shook her head furiously. “No, I’m not cutting my hair.”
“Make the appointment for this afternoon,” Paran said. “Thank you, Lily. We’ll try on some more and let you see them.”
Lily laughed then left again. Moreen wheeled on Paran. “You can’t take over my body. I have to put up with you, obviously, but I won’t let you change the way I look.”
“Why not? She’s right about your hair. How long has it been since you’ve had it cut?”
“I trim it myself. Did you hear what she said? Sixty bucks to cut my hair? That’s ridiculous.”
“That’s cheap. I’ll pay for it.”
“No!” She stomped her foot. “You’ll have to drag me there.”
“That can be arranged.”
“You’re taking this obey crap too far. This is my body we’re talking about, my looks. You can’t mess with them.”
“I can, and I will. Part of loving yourself is accepting what you see in the mirror. Part of honoring yourself is taking care of your body.”
She waved her arms out. “Well, we can’t all be a size zero, like Aliya.”
There was a stinging swat on her butt.
Moreen glared at him, indignation boiling deep inside her. “How dare you.”
“This has nothing to do with body size, and everything to do with taking care of yourself. Different sized people exist; it’s a fact of life. I’m sorry that your society has made it so hard for people to be larger. It sucks, but you learn to deal with it. You are a beautiful woman, yet you allow yourself to dress in baggy clothing that looks like it came from your uncle’s closet. I’m talking about being clean, putting on make-up to make yourself feel better, and about taking care of things like your hair and nails. Things that will make you feel beautiful to yourself.”
“Pretty on the outside, but an ugly thief on the inside, is that it?�
�� A second swat landed on her bottom, harder this time. “Stop that!”
“Then behave. It’s as simple as that.”
She turned back toward the mirror, muttering under her breath about inconsiderate assholes who thought they owned the world. “He has no idea what real life is like, living as a demon, able to do anything he wants,” she mumbled. “Jerk.”
Paran appeared behind her in the blink of an eye. She gasped when he pulled her back into his chest. “Do not think you are the only one with problems. Everyone has problems. It’s how we look at them that matters. You’ve allowed yourself to stop living life, and that stops here. Now, stop being a baby and try on the rest of these clothes before I take you over my knee.”
Moreen jerked away from him, then stalked to the wall and took another outfit off the hook, quickly undressing, then redressing, trying to keep her mind blank.
Back in front of the mirror, her gaze drifted down the dress she wore, then came back up. She gasped in surprise. Her hair was short, and curly. And then suddenly it was longer, but layered, and then it was shoulder length, and wavy. All three styles flattered her.
“You see? It makes a world of difference, and it will make you feel better about yourself, too.”
“Maybe. I’ll think about it.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Wipe that smirk off your face.”
“It’s a permanent thing. You’ll get used to it.”
She turned back to the mirror. “Yeah, well I only have to put up it for a month, or less now, I guess.” She looked at him in the reflection, and an emotion she couldn’t define flittered across his face. Their gazes locked and a queer feeling, much like the one she’d had when he was inside her the previous night, took over her belly.
“Paran?”
“Keep trying on the clothes,” he said. “We don’t want you to be late for work.”
In the end, she selected the black dress and the blue pantsuit, plus four pairs of pants, two khaki, one black and one navy blue, and five tops to match. And she still had forty dollars left of the three hundred. All she needed was twenty more dollars to get her hair done, and she was pretty sure she had a little extra in her “disaster fund” that she kept stashed in the kitchen. She kept the money in case of emergencies, but after seeing her hair fixed several different ways, she was pretty sure this was an emergency.
“Kissy can get you in at three,” Lily said, handing Moreen her change. “And you’ll have to come back tomorrow so I can see what he did.”
Well, give us a minute and the immortal asshole behind me who keeps ordering me around can show you. “Ouch!”
Lily’s eyes widened. “What’s wrong?”
Moreen rubbed the spot on her ass Paran had just spanked. “Muscle spasm.”
“Oh.” Lily gave her an uncertain look. “Well, just make sure you come back tomorrow so I can see your hair.”
“Sure, no problem.”
Out on the street, Moreen took one of her bags and started hitting Paran with it, swinging it as hard as she could. “Stop doing that!”
“Me? You’re the one who called me an immortal asshole. How did you expect me to react? With laughter?”
“You’re mad at me for telling the truth?”
“I’m not immortal, and I’m not an asshole.”
“Depends upon your definition of asshole.”
She yelled out when he lifted her in the air. Within seconds, she realized he was sitting on a bus bench and she was across his lap. Her jeans came down and he started to spank her, hard.
“You can’t do this to me! We’re in public. Stop it. Stop it!” She fought against him, but his magic held her in place, and her buttocks ached from where he was striking her. She kicked and screamed, hoping someone would help her. It took a couple minutes for her to realize no one was watching, or even noticing them.
“Freaking magical jerk!” The slaps came harder and she struggled just as hard, kicking out her feet and flailing her arms. “You can’t control me. I hate you! Get your hands off me!”
Paran stopped spanking her. “You will behave,” he said, his voice even and controlled. “Do I make myself clear?”
“Screw you!”
She cried out as the spanking started again. She continued to struggle, but realized it would do her no good. Resigned, she stopped fighting her punishment and placed her hands on the bench, gritting her teeth.
“That’s better. Now, what did I say about your language.”
“That was hardly a bar of soap.”
“I can arrange that, if you like.”
“No! I’ll behave, I promise. I won’t even think dirty words. Please, just stop spanking me.”
“Liar.” He lifted her off his lap and stood so they were face to face. “I can read it in your mind.”
“Then stop reading my mind, you cretin.”
Moreen gasped when he roughly pulled her close to him. Then he kissed her, his lips demanding, pressing hard against her own. She responded, wrapping her arms around him when he did the same to her. Despite her resolve to hate him, she felt as if she would melt. His tongue slid across her lips and she opened her mouth for him, sucking him inside, laughing to herself at the groan that escaped his throat.
The same hard magnetism that she’d felt last night pulled on her, and it frightened her to no end. She didn’t need anyone. She couldn’t. They always let her down.
“How very sweet.”
The deep, strange male voice made her start and jerk away. She turned to find a striking blond watching them, his eyes narrowed in anger.
“Paran?”
“Get behind me.”
This time she didn’t argue, moving behind him as quickly as possible. Her bags disappeared and she had no doubt they would be waiting for her at home.
“Hello, Kitel.”
“Paran. You’re looking old. Robbing the cradle, I see.”
The tension crackled around them. She leaned in and whispered in his ear. “Who is that? One of your brothers?”
“No,” he replied. Suddenly, a second man appeared. He was an exact image of Paran, only with darker, angrier eyes. “That is one of my brothers.”
Paran’s brother leaned over and kissed the first man, pulling his hair and biting his lip as he pulled away. The blond moaned softly in pleasure. “You did well, my love.” The new version of Paran stroked the other man’s hair, then bit his lip again.
Moreen winced at the obvious pain, but Kitel groaned, then licked the wound. “I live to serve you, my master.”
“Such a good boy.” Although his voice was soft, she could hear the condescension in it, and it made her stomach revolt.
She shuddered as the dark-haired newcomer turned to Paran. “I’ve come to tell you father is dead, for almost six months now. Not that you care.”
Moreen felt Paran’s body stiffen. She rubbed his back, and he reached behind her to take her hand.
Paran’s sibling turned his gaze on Moreen. “Since my brother is so rude, I should tell you my name is Paschel. Welcome to the family.”
When she didn’t answer, he shook his head. “More rudeness. Well, it doesn’t matter.” He glared in disdain at Paran. “I’m going to fulfill father’s dying wish, and that was to see you suffer for the rest of your life. It always bothered him that he failed at that mission.”
Paran laughed. “Go ahead, give it a try. I’m stronger than you, your little fuck buddy, or the rest of our lovely siblings, and you know it. Why did it take you six months to find me after father’s death? Wait, don’t answer. I already know. It’s because of my shields. It’s why you’ve never found me, and it’s why father never found me. I’m stronger than he was, too. My goodness has won out over you. Admit it.”
Paschel’s eyes turned blood red and Moreen gasped. Paran clasped her hand tighter and she clutched his shirt with her free hand.
“Stronger until now. The first crack in your armor came when you were fucking your slut. Mated passion made you vulnerable, made your shi
eld crack. It cracked again just now, enough for Kitel to find you. Don’t worry, it may take a while, but I’ll see to it that father gets what he wanted. You’ll never be happy again. Never.”
They disappeared and Paran squeezed her hand.
“What did he mean, about mated passion?” She moved in front of him. “Tell me.”
The look he gave her said it all.
She shook her head and backed away. “No.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I have a strong self-worth. Otherwise, my mate saying no to me would hurt.”
“No, I don’t believe in that type of thing.”
“How would you explain last night?”
“Good sex?”
“Have you ever seen lightning bolts before? Seen the lights, felt the pull? That’s what happens when a Djinni finds its mate.”
“You’re not Djinni, you told me so.”
“I am in spirit.”
“But we don’t love each other.” She could see her words hurt him, made him stiffen more.
“It doesn’t matter. I’ve never had a mating call in my life, until last night. You can’t ignore it. It will slowly drive us both mad unless we embrace it. I had meant to wait until—”
“Until what? I’d learned to behave, learned to do things your way?”
“Until you learned to love yourself, to see that there is good in you.”
She snorted. “Right. I suck at being a good person. Totally suck.”
“Yes, because a bad person would risk getting caught in someone else’s apartment to return something that someone else stole.”
Her mouth hung open. “You knew.”
“Of course I knew. There is good inside you, Moreen, just like there was in me. You just have to let it out, be happy again, allow yourself to feel joy.”
“Everything I touch turns to shit.”
The bar of soap appeared before her face and she burst into laughter, which quickly turned to tears. She leaned into him as he gathered her in his arms.
“I’m still here, and I always will be. If I have to spend the rest of our lifetimes teaching you to love yourself, then that’s what I’ll do. With more than a few spankings thrown in, I’m sure I’ll be very successful.”
Chapter Seven
To Rub, Honor and Obey Page 6
