AWAKAD 1 Djinn's Wish

by Walker, Shiloh

  His climax slammed into him, wrapping a fist around his gut as he came inside her, hot washes of seed splashing deep inside the welcome depths of her sex.

  She was still climaxing around his cock, those little milking sensations drawing his own climax out, on and on, until she had drained him dry. He sank into her, the soft contours of her body cushioning his. With a groan, he flipped onto his back, pulling her with him so that she draped over him.

  Cupping her head in his hand, he held her pressed against his chest as he labored to catch his breath.

  Her body trembled, racked with the aftershocks of her climax. Closing his eyes, he made a wish. I want to keep her…

  But the Djinn didn’t get their wishes granted. They could only grant them.

  Hours later, he lay propped on his elbow, running a slow, teasing finger down her torso. Tam couldn’t get over how amazing she felt next to him, how perfectly she fit him. The scars on her torso and side tore at him, wrapping a fist around his throat and robbing him of air.

  Hoarsely, he asked, “How did these happen?”

  As the glow in her eyes dimmed, Tam wished he could take it back, but before he could say anything, she murmured huskily, “I married the guy I fell in love with in college. I thought we had the perfect life, you know that? We rarely fought, he pampered me… I was a painter, he was a very successful lawyer. We seemed to have everything going for us. My best friend, Jenise, was my agent. I was getting pretty popular.”

  She rolled onto her side, away from him and he curled up behind her, rubbing his hand in small circles on her hip as tension mounted in her body. “We were all going to New York. I had a show there. Brian had to go into the office for a while but said he’d swing by and get Jenise, and then they’d pick me up on the way to the airport.”

  A deep, shuddering sigh left her and for a long moment, she was silent. “Mara called me. Just a little before they were supposed to be here. She and I talked every now and then, went out to lunch and stuff. It wasn’t unusual for her to call me but I hadn’t ever talked to her when she was that upset before. She was crying.”

  Kat took a deep breath, shifting around, anxiety and pain mixing in her belly as she remembered the phone call. “Mara saw them at the Regents Hotel. They came out of a room just as she rounded the corner, and she pulled back, and watched as they kissed each other. They were having an affair. My best friend and my husband.”

  He heard the dry click in her throat as she swallowed. “I have to wonder… What would have happened if I hadn’t said anything? If I had waited? We were driving down the parkway on our way to the airport in Knoxville and I said, calm as you please, “So, sweetheart…how long have you been fucking my best friend?”

  A harsh sob slipped past her lips. “He looked at me—so shocked. But I saw the guilt in his eyes, in Jenise’s. He didn’t see the curve ahead and he was driving too fast,” she said, her voice oddly calm. “Brian lost control of the car—we crashed into the river at over sixty miles an hour. Jenise didn’t have her belt on. She was thrown from the car, died on impact. Brian had his belt on but he was thrown sideways and hit his head against the window too hard. He died from a brain hemorrhage three days later. And when I woke up in the hospital, I was blind.”

  Tam opened his door, resisting the urge to slam it behind him. Now, alone, he paced the apartment, a growl rumbling in his throat. Anger and frustration ate at him, the emotions escaping his body in violent little explosions of light—purple, red, deep blue—the little sparks streaking from his body with every step he took.

  Damn it.

  This fucking close to the mirror and it hadn’t ever felt farther away.

  His heart broke as he recalled the tears on her face as she told him how she’d gotten scarred, how she had lost her eyesight. Bleeding hell, he knew who she was. Not that he was going to tell her that, at least not yet, but he knew who Katlin Dixon was. One of the most talented artists he had seen since the Renaissance, and now she lived in darkness.

  How could he take away her chance to regain her life?

  That woman needed him. Needed the Djinn magick that would grant her one wish.

  Throwing his arms up, he let the Djinn magick take him from the mortal world to the “land between”, where the Djinn dwelled when not in the mortal world. This was where they longed to be, where they came when they were granted freedom. This was where they came for answers, for rest.

  He alit in the middle of a sandswept vista, throwing his head back and staring at the pale gleam of the amethyst sky overhead. “How could you do this?” he demanded. “How could you bring her into my life when you knew I’d have to lose her?”

  The man who slowly formed in front of him stared at Tam out of old, wise eyes. The eyes were set in an ageless face, one Tam had always thought of as kind. His chest burning, he strode up to the winged Guardian and glared at him, his hands clenched into tight fists. “You knew this would happen,” he growled at Michael.

  “You knew I’d fall in love with her. And loving her, I can’t not give her what she desires most,” Tam snarled, spinning away and pacing, the soft, fine sand kicking up behind him as he moved back and forth.

  The sun glittered on the Guardian’s wings and Michael sighed, his blue eyes narrowing as he studied the Djinn before him. “I did not know. What is decided by Him isn’t knowledge that I am granted,” he said softly, shaking his head. The thick black hair floated around his strong face in the cool wind that rose. “But how can you be certain that you will lose her? Are you suddenly all seeing, Tamric?”

  Sucking air into his constricted lungs, Tam tried to still the helpless fury inside him. “Damn it, the woman is blind. She lost everything! I can give just a little back to her. But when I do it, she is lost to me. The mirror will go to another. And I will follow.”

  Michael smiled, a sad smile as he murmured, “Often in life we are required to make sacrifices.”

  Tam bit back the furious words he wanted to say. Not nice to chastise, or strangle, all-powerful beings. “Sacrifice,” he whispered, turning away and staring at the deepening hues of the eastern sky. Deep purple, and shades of violet and pink streaked the sky of his home world and he felt his throat tighten. “Yes. Often sacrifice is required.”

  He flicked the guardian a narrow look and then just shook his head as he let the Djinn magick take him.

  Chapter Seven

  Kat snuggled against Tam’s chest, stroking her hand down the hard muscles of his belly. Satisfaction warmed her bones and had her wanting to curl against him and purr.

  “I’ll have to leave soon.”

  She felt his words strike her in the heart, a cold splash of water. Leave… Swallowing, she whispered, “Going back home?”

  His words sounded odd as he said, “Yes. Time for me to go back to work.”

  Kat felt him move, then she was being rolled under him. She could feel his eyes on her face as he lowered his mouth and whispered, “This has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life. I… I wish I could stay.”

  Tears burned in her eyes but she blinked them away, forcing a shaky smile as she replied, “Me, too.” She reached out and felt his hand catch hers, guiding it to his lips. After he kissed her palm, she cupped his face and murmured, “I’m going to miss you.”

  His mouth pressed against hers, and his kiss tasted bittersweet, like the ache in her heart.

  You didn’t really expect it to last forever, did you? a soft voice whispered inside her head.

  No. But she had found herself wishing it would.

  “Damn it, Kat,” he groaned against her lips and she gasped as he pushed his knee between her thighs, mounting her and driving the thick length of his cock deep inside her with no preliminaries. His tongue pushed deep inside her mouth, his hands cupping the soft curves of her ass and lifting her for his thrusts as he took her quickly, savagely.

  She shuddered, crying out under the hungry touch of his mouth as he scraped his teeth across her neck, kissing his way down
to her breasts. His tongue circled around the nipple then his teeth caught it, tugging on it.

  Kat buried her hands in his hair, shifting so she could wrap her legs around his hips, her heels digging into his spine as she pumped up to meet his thrusts, taking him as deep as she could.

  Heat spread through her body and she would have screamed with the pleasure of it, if he hadn’t taken her mouth again in just that moment. The rough caress of his tongue in her mouth robbed her of breath and hot pinwheels of color burst behind her eyes as the climax loomed closer.

  “No,” he grunted, pulling his mouth away and pulling out of her, flipping her over until she was on her belly. “Not so fast. This must last…”

  His words echoed in her mind, and she felt his cock against her ass as he pulled her until she rose to her hands and knees. Tossing her head back, she panted for air as he pressed his cock against her, the plum-shaped head spearing deep inside her pussy. Her muscles clutched greedily at him, and she pushed back, trying to take his sex completely inside her.

  But his hands held her hips, kept her from sliding completely back. With slow, measured strokes, he fucked her, his hands spread wide on her hips, his fingers curling into her flesh.

  “You’re so bloody perfect,” he whispered, and she shivered, feeling the caress of his eyes on her body. “Making love to you is the most amazing thing in my life. I can’t believe I’m walking away from this.”

  “Then don’t,” she pleaded, tears burning her eyes as pain tore through her heart. She was in love with him… How had it happened so fast? Why did it feel as though she had spent her whole life waiting for him?

  He surged harder inside her and she cried out, feeling the fat head of his cock butt against her womb. Hot streaks of pleasure lanced through her and she keened, her pussy tightening around his dick as he pulled out.

  Over and over, harder, he stroked into her, until sweat broke out on her body and the hunger was a vicious living thing inside her, like an animal was striving to take over. “Damn it, Tam! Please!” she sobbed out, her fingers clenching in the sheets as she tried to push back against him.

  He growled out something as he bent over her, his voice so low and rough, she could hardly understand him. “Sacrifice…” and then he bellowed, his weight crushing her into the bed as he rode her down, his hips slapping against her ass as he slammed into her.

  Reaching behind her, she fisted her hand in the thick silken hair at his nape, holding him tight against her as he crushed her into the bed. He throbbed inside her and she gasped when his cock seemed to swell and grow even larger. She convulsed around him, her pussy clamping down on him as she climaxed, feeling a hot wave pour from deep within her womb as she came. She moaned, the shudders racking through her until her entire body was arching against his.

  He came, pumping inside rapidly, his teeth sinking into the smooth curve of her shoulder. She could feel the hot wet jets of his come as he climaxed inside her. Her heart pounded in her ears, the blood roaring in her head, as he wrapped his arms around her. Propping his weight on his elbows, he covered her and hugged her tightly against him.

  Sleep loomed near, and just before she fell into its arms, she thought she heard him whisper, “I love you, Kat.”

  Moments after his foolish admission, he heard her sigh in her sleep, her fingers unlocking their grip in his hair, caressing down his cheek. His heart clenched as she murmured, “Love you, Tam.”

  He eased out of her, cuddling up against her, reaching out to touch her mind as she slept. He’d come over late in the evening. It had been nearly a week since they’d made love that first time. And his time was up. If he didn’t walk away now, he’d never be able to. Brushing her hair away from her face, he kissed her cheek before settling down to sleep at her side for the last time.

  In the morning he was giving Kat her wish.

  She awoke to the delicious scents of breakfast and she stretched, arching her back, arms reaching high overhead. All over, her body ached, in the sweetest of ways, and she smiled sadly as she remembered last night.

  He was leaving today. In her gut, she knew. I won’t make this hard on him, she told herself. I won’t make a scene. Heaven knew Tam had brought a little bit of light into her dark world. She wasn’t going to repay him with tears and pleas that he stay with her.

  Hell, why would he want to? Even though she no longer felt so broken, she was far from perfect, far from what a man would dream about for his mate in life. With a bitter laugh, she reminded herself, not even her husband had wanted her as his one and only. And that had been before her many problems.

  She rose, walking to the closet and feeling for the robe that hung in the back. The warmed silk was a gift from Tam—peacock blue, he had told her as he slid it on her the first time. Your hair glows against it like it’s on fire, he had whispered. Sighing, she tied it around her waist. At her knee, Zeb woofed softly and she reached down, stroking his head. “I’m okay, boy,” she whispered. His cold nose nudged her knee and she laughed. “Okay. I will be. Is that better?”

  She folded her hand around his harness and walked out of the room with him at her side. “Let’s go see what he’s making us to eat,” she said. “I’ll swipe some of that bacon for you.”

  And she did, feeling along the plate by the stove and filching a piece for herself and him as she listened to Tam washing out dishes at the sink. He said dryly, “I saw that.”

  Arching her brows, she turned an innocent face to him and said brightly, “Saw what? I didn’t see anything.”

  He laughed, the deep, husky sound bringing a smile to her face. She loved hearing him laugh. She loved him.

  All the air left her lungs in a rush and she spun away from him, walking over to the counter, keeping her face averted. I love him…

  Had she been dreaming when he pressed his face against her hair and whispered, “Kat, I love you”? She licked her dry lips, curling her fingers into the unyielding wood of the counter. Did he love her? If he did…maybe…maybe he would stay. Or ask her to come with him…or…

  Clenching her jaw, she told herself to stop it. A guy didn’t ask a woman such things after just one single week. Swallowing, she blinked the tears out of her eyes.

  “You okay?”

  His voice sounded close, too close. He moved so silently. Forcing a bright smile, she turned around and lied, “I’m fine.”

  His finger brushed her cheek. “You don’t look fine,” he whispered softly.

  Kat gave up trying to smile, lifting one shoulder helplessly as she said, “I think I miss you already.”

  His arms came up around her and he pulled her against him. Burying her face against his chest, she breathed in the rich male scent of his body, reveling in the simplicity of his touch, the beauty of it. He did care. Maybe he even loved her. And if he did, maybe sometime, he’d come back.

  His lips brushed her temple and he whispered, “I feel the same way. Kat, how did you get inside me this way? So fast. I can’t even go an hour without thinking about you…” His fingers dipped into her hair and she lifted her mouth to his, holding him tightly as he kissed her gently. Sweetly.

  “I’ve got a present for you,” he whispered against her lips before pulling away.

  “A present?” she asked, forcing a smile. “What for?”

  He laughed and said, “It’s Valentine’s Day, isn’t it?”

  A real smile curved her lips as she murmured, “Valentine’s Day? I forgot.”

  His hands stroked down her arms and he caught her fingers, drawing her along behind him. She felt him push a box into her hands and she stroked her fingertips over the cool, slick texture of the wrapping paper. Finding the edge of the paper, she slid her finger under the flap and tugged, pulling the wrap off and setting it aside.

  Tissue paper rustled as she lifted the lid off the box. Reaching in, she felt out the silky material inside, lifting it up, stroking her hands over it, a slow smile curving her lips.

  “It matches the robe,” Tam said
gruffly.

  “Blue,” she murmured, lifting it up and holding it by the narrow straps to her chest, smoothing one hand down its length, feeling his eyes on her.

  His hands came up, stroked her sides, then she felt him loosen the tie of her robe and the silken fabric parted. His hand closed over hers and he held the nightgown up. The hot touch of his eyes was as tangible as if he had reached out and stroked his hands across her flesh.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he whispered just before his mouth took hers.

  Tears stung her eyes but she didn’t let them fall as he crushed her body to his, the heat of his chest burning her through the nightgown that separated their bodies. Against her belly, she felt the heat of his cock, throbbing within the confines of his clothes.

  Cool tile pressed into her back as he took her to the floor, the silk of the nightgown still trapped between their bodies.

  “One more time,” he crooned against her mouth. “One more time…”

  A farewell… She felt it in her heart as he moved down her body, still holding the silk against her flesh. His mouth closed over the tip of one nipple, his tongue caressing her through the silk, the sharp edge of his teeth scoring her flesh lightly before he moved on down.

  The air stung her nipple, cold against the wet silk that clung to it. His mouth burned through the cloth while he trailed one hand up her thigh, pushing the silk aside as he dragged his fingers up her leg. His fingers dipped inside the hot well of her body, pumping in and out with slow deliberate strokes. She shrieked as his mouth closed over the aching throb of her clit, sucking it deeply into his mouth.

  Orgasm hovered just out of reach and she sobbed as he sucked on her clit, catching it between his teeth and tugging lightly. Even as she screamed out his name, he pulled away, wedged his thighs into the cradle of her hips, and stroked his cock back and forth between her slick folds before he changed the angle of his hips and pushed inside.