The Candle Princess

by Raine Hughes

  Jasmine’s smile was coupled with tears that escaped from her shimmering eyes. Tears of joy? Hopefully. He gently wiped them away with his thumbs.

  “I want to love you forever, Jasmine—well, at least my forever. I want you as a man wants a marriage partner, to love and to be with, to cherish and to have babies with. I want to watch them grow as we grow old together. I want to see our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren, too, and to know that they will flourish because of our love for each other.”

  He drew her into his arms, this time for a long embrace, an aggressive kiss to show her the sincerity of his words. She returned it with equal feeling so that it was a long time before he relinquished her lips.

  The charged atmosphere around them was tangible. The electrical pulse beat in tandem with his heartbeat. Or was it keeping pace with Jasmine’s rapid heartbeat? Even while the walls continued to unnerve him at times, he wondered if the living fabric was signaling agreement of the union with the woman in his arms.

  Well, at least someone, or something, was on their side!

  “Jasmine, I love you more than life itself. I’d gladly give up living if I could go on loving you into eternity. You’re that special woman I’ve always been looking for, but never dreamed I’d find. You’re attuned to my thoughts, my wishes, but I didn’t know it until now. My dear, sweet, special Jasmine, I love you as much as humanly possible, and then more.”

  Jasmine’s arms circled his neck. Their hearts thumped together as one as he pulled her to him, heart to heart, breast to breast, thigh to thigh. Then he eased away from her and got down on one knee to make his pledge.

  “I love you, Princess Jasmine. I love you and I want to plant my seed in you. I want to see it grow in you and hope she will be just like you, so beautiful to see, and beautiful on the inside, too. Then I want to do it all over again because that’s what my love is about—loving you—always. This, I pledge. I will marry you, Jasmine, in my world, here, now, to the free ways of my people.”

  “Oh, yes please, Noah. I will be your life mate, your wife.”

  Noah flung back his head and laughed as he scooped her up into his arms and swung her around with wild abandon. Their laughter mingled together.

  “You must complete the granting of the wishes in one day,” she said, stilling him.

  He set her on her feet. “Do you think twenty-four hours is long enough?”

  “I mean, until this one day is over—tonight.”

  Noah froze, all tenderness erased by panic. “Midnight?” he gasped. “But there’s the license, the blood tests—I don’t even know if they’re still required—and the wedding! We’ll—” His gaze flashed over to the clock on the mantel. It was nearly half-past ten at night… so little time! Under stress, his brain just didn’t seem to be working at all, except to remind him he only had ninety minutes in which to accomplish the impossible.

  It took him a long moment to realize that Jasmine’s confidence remained unshaken. Could he accomplish everything in the next hour and a half? Magical intervention must be part of the deal. Or was it?

  Chapter 19

  “There’s only Dad… He’ll have a conniption when we storm into his place and demand that he marry us on the spot, but it can’t be helped. We can take care of the other formalities afterwards. If there’s still an afterwards! Noah refused to think about failing.

  “Quickly, we must get dressed and over to his house. I wish that you use your magic to get us to the wedding on time!” He groaned at how silly that sounded.

  Jasmine gave a little squeal of delight, whether over the prospect of finally giving him a wish or over the fact they were about to be married, Noah had no time to speculate over. She crossed her arms, prepared to nod—

  “No!” Noah bellowed. Predictably, she cringed. “Sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean to shout.” He sucked in a calming breath. “Look at Mouse Guy. It’s left over right.” He deftly rearranged her arms. Jasmine completed the task and in an instant they were dressed, he in a dark tux, she in a traditional Canadian gown of shimmering pearls and lace. He recognized it as one he’d seen in the Sears Catalogue. His tuxedo looked like the one worn by the character on her special watch! That was funny but he didn’t have time to laugh. “To Dad’s house!”

  She carefully folded her arms, looked to Noah for the okay then transported them to Pastor Herman’s. They landed ungracefully and had to pick themselves up off the wooden steps leading into the house. “The darkness—” she wailed.

  “Never mind, we’re here.” The place was cloaked in eerie shadows as Noah pounded on the door, rapping with iron-hard knuckles. It occurred to him that Jasmine’s night-blindness included the semi-darkness of the twilight that marked the Northern latitudes as spring pushed into summer.

  “All right, all right. Don’t knock the house down!” Pastor Herman called out from somewhere within the depths of the home. A light came on and finally the door swung open.

  Noah dragged Jasmine inside, paying little heed to the fact his father was in his pajamas, his robe hanging open to attest to his hasty dress. Their entry forced the elder D’Ark to step hastily aside. “Dad, I want you to marry us. Now!”

  Pastor Herman’s jaw dropped. “Have you lost your senses?” He squinted at their formal wedding attire. “Son, don’t you think…”

  “What’s going on down there?” Martha D’Ark called from the top of the stairs and started down in a housecoat over her nightgown.

  “Jasmine and I want to get married, Mom,” Noah called up the stairs. “We want to get married immediately.”

  “Now son, let’s talk about this,” his father cautioned again.

  “Dad, I’m very sure about this. You think this is spur of the moment, and in a way it is.” With his gaze on the old grandfather clock at the far side of the room, Noah tried to present a reasonable argument for their haste. “I asked God for His guidance tonight and I believe this is what He would like to happen. Who are we to question His wisdom at this time?”

  Pastor Herman snorted, plainly unfazed. Noah could imagine that his father was thinking along the lines of urgent sexual desires, in which case he should be relieved that they wanted to marry before indulging in such intimacy.

  “Are you sure, Noah? Really sure? Marriage is no short term affair, and to send for someone sight unseen—”

  “I’m positive, Dad,” he broke in determinedly and ignored the reference to a mail order bride; after all, the story was serving a purpose. “Can you marry us now, please?” He glanced over his father’s shoulder. “It’s eleven o’clock.” That brought a frown of confusion from his father.

  “Here’s your book, dear,” Martha said, pushing the volume into her husband’s hands, its pages already open to the marriage vows. She smiled at the exasperated look her husband gave her. Plainly, she was on their side and she maintained a sure air to convey such to her husband. To Noah and Jasmine, she gave a conspiratorial wink.

  “We need witnesses!” the pastor countered, plainly stalling.

  Noah groaned aloud, once more glancing anxiously at the clock. He turned to Jasmine, his eyes pleading for help of some sort—he didn’t even know what, exactly.

  “Oh, we forgot them!” She giggled like any nervous bride-to-be, then turned and ran to the door, flung it open and beckoned a couple inside.

  With the robes and scanty under garments they were wearing, they visibly shivered with the early season’s chill. They’d only been out there for seconds, hadn’t they? Considering the unfamiliarity with Jasmine’s culture and costume, Noah hoped his parents would conclude that they wore Arabic wedding attire. Actually, he’d guess they’d come from a beach somewhere.

  “The King’s sister loves weddings,” Jasmine said as if everything had been prearranged. “She wouldn’t miss mine for the world.”

  Noah nearly gasped at the statement but squelched the impulse in face of his father’s incredulous look. Noah’s smile felt more like a silly grin as he speculated over the identity of
the dark man beside the King’s sister. He didn’t exactly look like a husband.

  “Rings! You must have rings to exchange,” Martha hastened to point out, effectively drawing everyone’s attention.

  “Of course,” Noah said smoothly, counting on magical intervention as he patted the pockets of his tuxedo. He had to try three pockets before an exquisite square of silk folded around a bejeweled ring connected with his seeking hand. Jasmine hadn’t moved since his parents kept looking back and forth between them. He glanced up at their female witnesses to receive a you’re welcome nod. With a relieved smile he turned back to consult the clock. Time seemed to be flying, he saw with dismay.

  He took Jasmine’s hand in his and they stood ready to recite their vows. “We’re ready, Dad. Make it the short version.”

  Herman D’Ark snorted but nevertheless complied.

  “…till death do us part,” they finished together, each faltering, knowing that it would be his death, for Jasmine could continue to live several hundred years.

  “I now pronounce you man and wife,” the Pastor announced. “You may kiss the bride.”

  Noah took her in his arms and kissed her with an urgency that left him shaking. If only this kiss would seal their union forever, but it couldn’t. Only satisfying the demands of a Djinni King would do that.

  They drew apart to the sound of multiple throats clearing. That’s when Noah realized how lost he’d become in that earth-shattering embrace. And how much time he’d devoted to it! Did Jasmine’s people even follow this custom of kissing to seal the wedding vows? The other two people in the room looked serious, or rather one of them did. Their female witness was clearly amused by the proceedings or the possible intent behind their hasty marriage, he didn’t want to speculate on. She gave Noah an approving nod.

  He finally released his new bride and Jasmine rushed into the woman’s arms, speaking to her in a foreign tongue before she drew her forward to meet him.

  The long name was mind-boggling so Noah just bowed, kissed the slim regal hand offered to him and murmured his thanks. After pausing to affix their names to official forms, the witnesses headed for the door. Jasmine held it open for them and they disappeared into the dark, as if they flew right off the doorstep. Which of course, they had.

  Noah glanced anxiously at his parents but they seemed to be engaged in an argument. “Who was that man?” Noah whispered.

  “Her lover.”

  Noah coughed with a strangled gasp. “I think we better go home,” he said, swinging his head towards his parents, “before they start asking questions.”

  To them he said, “You can go back to bed now, Dad, Mom. Thanks for marrying us.” Noah hustled Jasmine outside, leaving his father with mouth open, hand raised, ready to speak.

  Noah quickly closed the door behind them and once more they were standing in semi-darkness. “Left over right,” he whispered to his new bride, lest she forget in the excitement of the moment.

  They were married, actually married. Man and wife.

  Now he knew how Jasmine felt when she became so excited that she fairly bounced up and down in front of him. He could almost give into that exercise himself. He was saved from that by the working of Jasmine’s magic. In an instant they were home, or rather they were in the barn. The odor of livestock said as much.

  “I will never master my powers in the dark," Jasmine wailed.

  Noah chuckled. “Never mind, I know the way well.” He led them outside and on to the house, her hand tucked safely under his arm. He fingered the ring as they walked.

  “It is the ring originally bestowed on my Nordic great-grandmother,” she told him. “Grandmother passed it on to my mother, and now it is mine, as one of mixed blood.” She paused and her next words sounded puzzled. “I don’t know how the King’s sister came by it for this occasion.”

  Noah nodded appreciatively as he pulled her to a stop on the doorstep and swung her up into his arms. She gave a startled squeak before he explained, “It’s Canadian custom to carry the bride over the threshold.” He turned to find the door closed.

  Jasmine folded her arms then dropped them. With a giggle she reached over to turn the doorknob the mortal way, and let them in. He stilled her giggle with a kiss before setting her on her feet. Jasmine’s face was eager and he knew exactly what she wanted.

  “Now, Mrs. D’Ark, we can legally make love,” Noah whispered, turning in the direction of the clock.

  Jasmine stopped him, her hand on his cheek, turning his head towards her. “There is much time, Noah.”

  “But I wanted to do this in a leisurely manner, to make it good for you, Jasmine.”

  She grinned naughtily before offering her mouth to him. “I know you will make it wonderful. Time will stand still for everything that we wish to do.”

  “Everything? Making love, and the final wish?”

  Based on her reaction and the aura that had surrounded her when he’d voiced his love and pledged himself to her in love and in marriage, he was certain the third wish would come to him while they engaged in the second wish. He was about to discover if he was up to making sensationally wild and satisfying love to a Djinni! For that he had to clear his mind of the little clock that was ticking away inside his head.

  Jasmine took his hand and led him into the next room. They didn’t get to the bedroom, but then they did have an exotically romantic place in front of a warm fireplace, with sheepskin rugs under them and the walls humming happily. Jasmine glided to the floor, pulling him down with her.

  “How do you get this thing off?” Noah muttered minutes later, having unsuccessfully searched for a zipper or buttons that would allow him to remove her gown. Of course, he had been a bit preoccupied with kissing her. He took time to do that again, still groping unsuccessfully. It wasn’t exactly a traditional wedding gown, after all.

  Jasmine giggled. “Let me.” With seductive deliberation Jasmine stood and gestured with her hands, allowing the tight bodice of her gown to ease away from her body and slide down her trim legs with intoxicating slowness. Noah’s hands followed it down. She stepped away in a silken crimson petticoat that was even more alluring than the white gown. Trust Jasmine to wear a blazing red petticoat to get married in! With a delighted bark of laughter he rolled himself up to watch when she began swaying.

  Somewhere, a flute played, the music exotic, erotic, the sound influential to the mood of their lovemaking. It was a captivating dance. They were finally going to make love and he refused to think about anything else. He especially wasn’t going to think about her other wish, trusting that it would come to him as easily as the first one had. Jasmine had implicit trust in his ability to give her the three wishes, so he had to have confidence in himself, too.

  In the firelight he watched wide-eyed as she swayed and moved in front of him. Then she began peeling her petticoat off, a strip at a time, giving striptease a new, more tantalizing meaning. Noah cheered as each piece of cloth removed revealed creamy skin here or transparent material there. He deftly caught each bit of bright fabric as she threw it into the air. These Djinni females had such strange but delightful clothing.

  And the dance was driving him nuts!

  “Jas… mine,” he pleaded, reaching for her. She dodged him skillfully and kept flinging strips of crimson material at him, revealing more and more of herself as she whirled and writhed to the quickening tempo of the music.

  Finally only the see-through bra and panties remained. For the first time it did not feel shameful to be gazing at Jasmine in her totally provocative and uninhibited underwear.

  But, he could take the waiting no longer. “I need to touch you, to feel you in my hands. Let me, Jasmine. Please, let me love you now.”

  She didn’t dodge away as he rose on his knees and walked eagerly to her, easily capturing her this time. She willingly went down with him onto the sheepskins and he immediately whisked away the scraps of transparent cloth while he sealed his mouth over hers, plundered her satiny depths.

>   “You’re so beautiful, so incredibly beautiful, Jasmine,” he whispered, his gaze feasting upon her very feminine attributes. He gave loving attention to every inviting inch of her body, pausing frequently to savor his work. He leaned over her to press tiny kisses everywhere, trekking upwards to the creamy hollow of her neck. With a sigh, her head rolled to the side, allowing him greater access to the sensitive spot while he nibbled and kissed her freely.

  * * *

  Jasmine was a mass of quivering anticipation. Noah displayed a tender and gentle mastery in loving her, even while he was almost frantic with wanting her. This was her husband, her lover, her mortal. He would soon give her everything she wanted and they would be together forever. She would not let herself think on the barriers that might thwart one of the most precious wishes he could give her. She must use every ounce of her power to believe in destiny, to bring about the ultimate.

  She purred her pleasure at Noah’s perpetual grin, the same one that had been on his face since they began making love. He had been totally entranced with her dance moves, the flames of desire leaping and dancing in his eyes. She had never performed so well, but then never had she had such an appreciative audience. Love made the dance much more for both of them.

  She was completely and totally at peace with her decision to give herself to this mortal. He was, in her eyes, much better than any royal Djinni mate.

  Even as she reclined on the floor with him, Jasmine couldn’t lie still, her hips wanting to gyrate to the music as if they had a will of their own. Nor could she keep her hands still, placing hers over top of his as he repeatedly ran them over every part of her body, allowing for a heightened sensuality for both of them.

  Her sigh of pleasure brought Noah’s attention back to her mouth.

  “Mmmmm,” was all she could manage before she lightly raked her fingernails over his back, gaining a low growl that made her giggle. She felt his smile before he trailed his tongue from her chin, over her throat, and on downward right to her bellybutton, where he used his teeth to remove the ruby she had settled there. With one hand he carefully reached up and placed the red stone on the low mantel of the fireplace where it glinted back at them. She moaned again as his tongue delved into the vacated cavity.