"The guest room is back here," she said, disappearing into a dark corridor. He followed her into a smaller room with a bed and a cabinet along the wall. "Sit down," she said.
He did as he was told, holding still as she wrapped a blanket around his bare shoulders. He’d told her he wasn’t cold, but she seemed insistent, so he would indulge her. She went into a room across the hallway, returning a moment later with a glass tube.
"Open your mouth so I can take your temperature."
He complied, allowing her to slip the glass beneath his tongue. They sat quietly for a moment before she removed it. Her golden eyes narrowed, inspecting it and then frowning.
"There’s something wrong with it," she said, shaking it and looking again. "It says you’re nearly one hundred and twenty-five degrees. That’s at least ten degrees past dead."
"I am not ill. Please do not be concerned for me."
"You still need to rest."
"I assure you I am fine."
She eyed him with concern before opening the doors of a nearby cabinet to reveal neat stacks of fabric inside. "There are fresh towels here if you want to take a hot shower. There is also some men’s clothing left over from the previous keeper. They might not be the right size, but they’ll work until we can get you back where you belong."
"I belong here with you, Mistress."
She took a deep breath, not meeting his eyes. "The bathroom is across the hall. There’s only the one. Make yourself comfortable. I’m going to see about dinner and make some calls."
Raj watched her disappear down the hallway. This was a very odd situation, indeed. Not only did his mistress not make wishes, but she was insistent on caring for him instead. It seemed wrong, but he was bound to do what she asked of him. He pulled some clothing and a towel from the cabinet and carried them to the water closet.
The fixtures were different than he remembered, but he made it through the shower, rinsing the salty seawater from his skin and hair and toweling dry. He used a comb on the counter to brush through his wet hair, slicking the strands out of his face and down just to the middle of his neck. The clothes he’d picked up were denim pants and a plaid shirt of a warm, soft fabric like wool. Unfortunately they were designed for a much smaller man. The pants came halfway up his legs, and the shirt pulled across his shoulders and wouldn’t allow his arms to fall to his sides. Easily correctible.
Raj studied the clothing in the mirror, mentally making adjustments, and with a snap of his fingers, the garments enlarged to fit him. He tugged the pants up and fastened the closure, then buttoned the shirt. Back in the guest room he made similar adjustments to a pair of socks and some old boots.
His tasks complete, he continued back down the hallway to the kitchen. The smells as he came closer were extremely appetizing. It smelled of fresh seafood, cream and the yeasty punch of fresh bread. He drew his power and energy from the fire that burned inside of his spirit, and did not need to eat. But that did not mean he couldn’t. From time to time he had been allowed to indulge in human foods.
As Raj entered the kitchen, his eyes were drawn to a calendar tacked to the refrigerator. The numbers stopped him in his tracks. More time had passed than he’d anticipated. It had been almost eighty years since he was dropped into the sea. The new millennium had come and gone. His last master was long dead, whether successful or not in his conquests.
His mistress was hovering over a pot, stirring gently with a long wooden spoon. On the counter beside her were rolls cooling on a wire rack. She had tamed the windblown strands of her red hair by pulling it up into a knot at the back of her head, although a stubborn piece had slipped out and curled along her jaw as she worked.
"I am dressed, as requested."
"Did the clothes fit oka—" She turned and stopped when she saw him. She looked him over from head to toe, the constant frown of concern on her face stubbornly remaining. "I guess so. I didn’t realize the last keeper was such a big man. He didn’t look like it."
"I was able to make adjustments."
She absorbed his statement and turned back to the pot without responding. "Dinner is almost ready if you’d like to sit at the table."
"Are you in need of assistance?"
"No. Thank you. It’s done."
Raj sat patiently waiting for her at the table until she came to him with two steaming bowls of soup. She set those down and then returned with a platter of bread and a pitcher of tea.
He followed her lead, eating quietly. The food was delicious. He’d never had anything like it before. The soup had some sort of shellfish in it with potatoes and cream. "What is this called?" he asked.
"Clam chowder. Haven’t you eaten it before?"
"No. I don’t eat very often, though."
"Is there someone I need to call for you, uh…Rajan?" she asked, ignoring his answer. "I’m sure your people are worried sick about you."
Raj set his spoon down in the half-empty bowl. "Please call me Raj. And no, I have no people to worry about me."
"I made a call to the coast guard while you were in the shower. They haven’t had any reports of ships in distress or men overboard."
"I am glad for that. The seas are dangerous for sailors."
"I meant you. If your boat didn’t sink and you didn’t fall overboard, how did you wash up on my beach? Naked."
His mistress was very confusing. She did not seem to understand him at all. "I am here because you summoned me, Mistress."
"Please stop calling me that."
Raj frowned. "What would you prefer I call you?"
"Valerie."
"Very well, Valerie. You bade me here, and I answered."
She looked down at her soup and pushed it away as though her appetite was lost. "I’m pretty sure I didn’t do that, Raj."
"You did. Where is the necklace?"
Valerie looked startled. Her gaze went briefly to her coat on the wall. She did not realize he knew about the necklace. "What necklace?" she said.
"The gold and sapphire amulet you found on the beach. You may not realize it, but when you touched it, you called me here, to this place. I was not on a ship or floating in the ocean. I was trapped inside the stone."
She reached out and pressed the back of her hand against his forehead with a concerned shake of her head. "I need to call Benny and see if he can come get you tonight. You must’ve hit your head pretty badly. You need to see a doctor."
"I do not need a doctor, Valerie. I am well and strong. I cannot get ill as I am an all-powerful djinn. I am here to grant you three wishes."
"Three wishes," she repeated. "Like the genie in the lamp?"
"Yes!" he said, finally seeming to make progress with his mistress. Surely she would start making her wishes now. "I am a genie, if you are more familiar with that word. It is the same."
"Where’s your lamp?"
"I do not have a lamp. When a djinn is trapped by a sorcerer, they are confined in a prison made of pure metal because it is one thing we cannot escape. A gold lamp would be a good choice, as it was used in the stories. Or in my case, a stone set into gold. It serves the same purpose."
Valerie sat back in her seat. The frown was gone, but his mistress still looked anything but happy. She looked tired. Worn down.
"Shall I demonstrate my powers for you? Prove to you that I am who I say?"
Her pink lips twisted in consideration for a moment before she shook her head. "Maybe later," she said. With that she reached out to pat his hand and took her empty bowl to the sink.
Chapter Two
Well, so much for her first plan.
Valerie thrust the bowls and plates into the hot, sudsy water and scrubbed the remains of the food from them. She hadn’t sat still since their bizarre discussion. Raj remained at the table, watching her silently as she worked. She’d put the leftover soup into containers in the fridge, wrapped up the extra bread, washed the pots and pans and now had turned to the last of the dinner dishes.
She had hoped warm clothes an
d a hearty meal might bring her guest to his senses. It hadn’t worked. He seemed more insistent than ever that he was a magical genie. Somehow she couldn’t reconcile the hard, dark man beside her with the singing, dancing blue genie of her childhood.
He wanted to prove it to her, but she wasn’t about to take the bait.
Valerie was no mental health expert, but she’d spent two years alone on this island and she’d watched her fair share of true crime shows. Challenging someone’s delusion could be harmful or even dangerous. If this guy wanted to believe he was a genie, that was fine. But if he tried to grant her wish and failed, she didn’t want to be trapped on the island with a guy losing touch with his version of reality.
Raj didn’t seem dangerous. So far he’d been nothing but polite and grateful for what she offered him. He complimented her mediocre cooking, which meant he had been hard up for good food for a while. She would’ve sent a red flag up to the coast guard if she thought he would be a problem. But the weather was getting worse by the minute. There might be people out on the water that truly needed saving. She wasn’t about to waste their time and potentially put them out on rough waters because this guy wanted to grant her wishes.
It didn’t mean she wouldn’t give Benny a ring, just in case.
When she finished the dishes, she grabbed her cell phone off the coffee table. "I need to make a call. I’ll be right back."
Raj nodded, remaining in his seat as she went into her bedroom for privacy. The call was picked up on the second ring, which didn’t bode well. If Benny was out on the water, he was usually slow to answer.
"Hey, Val. Are you feeling okay?"
Apparently she didn’t make enough casual calls to Benny. She called the day before he would come out to let her know what supplies she needed. Aside from that, her calls tended to be for emergencies. The catastrophic blowout her doctor had warned her about hadn’t happened yet. But she’d had some close calls. Chest pains. Shortness of breath. When that happened, she called Benny. She’d rather die in a hospital then have him find her dead and bloated in the living room after a week of decomposition. She wouldn’t burden him with that.
"I’m fine. Listen, are you still out on the water?"
"No. The winds got too high for my boat, so I had to drop the last of my traps and head back in. I started feeling seasick, so I headed to the pub to ease my stomach."
Somehow Valerie wasn’t certain beer was the best cure for motion sickness, but who was she to judge? "What about tomorrow?"
"I probably won’t go out at all tomorrow. That nor’easter blowing through is supposed to be the biggest of the season. I figure I’ll stay in and repair some of my traps. It will probably be a couple of days before I get out that way. Did you need something?"
"Well, not exactly." How could she explain that a naked guy had washed up on her island and insisted he was magical? "I’ve picked up a castaway."
"What?" Valerie could hear Benny move to a quieter part of the bar. "Like a person?"
"Yes, a man. I found him on the rocks this afternoon. He’s okay, not hurt, but I worry he might’ve hit his head. He seems to be a little confused about who he is or how he got here."
"Are you worried about being alone with him?"
"Not really. I’m more worried that he needs a doctor to look at him. He’s said some pretty wonky things."
"Damn," Benny swore. "My boat can’t take those waters or I’d be out there in an hour. Can you call the guard to get him?"
"I don’t want to waste their time if I don’t have to. If you were still out and could swing by to get him, that was a different matter."
"You’ll be stuck with him for at least two days. I don’t like it," Benny grumbled. "Do you still have the shotgun I left there?"
"Yes, I do." Valerie had thought it was a little ridiculous at the time, but Benny insisted on her having protection being out here alone. She wasn’t certain who was going to get her. The majority of the wildlife stayed in the water or in the sky. Most ships couldn’t get close enough to the island for people to get to her. But she’d taken it. It couldn’t hurt. At the moment it was in her bedroom, propped beside the headboard.
"Make sure it’s where you can get to it. Get the ammo out and keep it nearby. Make sure the chamber’s loaded. Tonight, push your dresser in front of the door so he can’t get into your room."
"Okay."
"And if you feel at all scared, call the coast guard. I don’t care what the weather is like. Your safety is a priority."
"They’re better utilized saving other people, Benny."
"Other people?" Benny said, his voice cracking with irritation. "You mean ones without a ticking time bomb in their chests?"
This wasn’t the first time they’d had a discussion along this vein. "If you could save only one of two drowning people and you knew one would live a long life and the other could drop dead at any time, wouldn’t you pick the one that would live?"
"I don’t care who’s in the water, Val, I’d save you. Despite the fact that you’ve holed yourself up on that island, people don’t care about you or worry about you any less. It just makes everyone feel more helpless."
"Everyone but me, Benny. It feels like the right thing for me."
"Fine, we won’t have this argument again. But I want you to check in with me tonight before bed, and in the morning when you get up."
"Yes, Father."
"I mean it. If I don’t get a call from you every eight hours, I’ll call the coast guard myself."
Benny was a good guy. A friend she’d known since the second grade. He’d always been there for her, just as she’d been there for him. They’d both weathered some rough years with her health problems and his wife dying. Crystal’s death had been sudden and unexpected, hitting both of them hard. She hydroplaned her car into a massive concrete power pole only a year into their marriage. Not two months later, the doctors found the fatal, inoperable aneurism in Valerie’s heart. Valerie and Benny had never been anything more than good friends, but his protective side had tripled where she was concerned after he lost Crystal.
Valerie had come to the island to die. Her doctor had told her to avoid excitement and stress, so it seemed a logical choice to live out here in solitude and peace. And when the time came, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt as badly for those left behind. She’d be nothing but an old memory, someone they hadn’t seen in years. But as much as she told everyone she didn’t want to be a physical or emotional burden, Valerie did like that Benny cared. She couldn’t keep him from doing it. She could have volunteered to blast off on a mission into space, never to return, and he would still care.
"I’ll call. And I’ll be safe. I promise. But please call me before you call in the cavalry."
"Okay. Stay safe in the storm, Val."
"I will. You, too." She hung up the phone and dropped it onto the bed. As promised, she checked her shotgun, loaded it, and slipped it just under the lip of her bed so she could quickly reach for it. She hoped she wouldn’t need it, but there was no reason to take the chance.
It looked like she was stuck with Raj for a while.
Raj was used to the nagging irritation of restlessness. When his spirit was trapped within the sapphire necklace, he grew extremely antsy with no outlet for his energy or his mind. He was aware of every second that ticked by, every minute strung together into days and months and years. Even with all his powers, there was nothing he could do inside the gem. It was like being fully conscious and trapped inside a failing, atrophied human body. He wished he could go into some sort of suspended mental state, unaware of his surroundings until he was summoned by a new master. That might help the millennia go by faster.
Of course, the sorcerer that had trapped him there wasn’t interested in Raj enjoying his captivity. The djinn were dangerous. All of them. At least that’s the story that was told. They were like great raptors that had to be captured and tamed. But not destroyed. Oh no, their powers were too valuable to snuff out. They just needed t
o have their wings clipped.
Since Raj was imprisoned, his life had become a predictable series of events. His necklace would be found. He would be summoned. His new master would quickly select their wishes. Raj would grant them, and it was back into the necklace. Sometimes minutes would pass between masters as one man would share his good fortune with another. Sometimes it would be months. Or years.
But always the same. A new master, new demands. He’d spent nearly his entire existence giving people whatever they wanted. The great irony of his captivity was that he could escape it at any time. One of his masters simply had to be giving enough to sacrifice one of their own wishes to free him. To give something back to the person that had given them so much.
A few had promised. Early on Raj had even believed them. But something always happened. An emergency that required the final wish. A change of heart. A selfish nature that surfaced after the thrilling rush of receiving their first two wishes. Always something.
And before he knew it, Raj was back in the stone.
This, however, was a different sort of restlessness. He wasn’t in the stone. He was free to move about the island. His mistress made no immediate demands of him. In fact, she seemed adamant not to make any wishes at all.
Now he was sitting on the couch watching what Valerie called a television show. It was a new technology that allowed actors to perform plays that could be broadcast to thin, flat receivers like hers. Radios were the big thing the last time he’d been out. There had been new large boxes that displayed small, gray images, but nothing so colorful and clear as now. The play was interesting. The characters were likable enough and seemed to find themselves in simple predicaments that took a whole half an hour to resolve.
Sexy In A Bottle: A More Than Men Novella Page 2