by Hart, Allysa
“I will not. Not until you pay your penance.”
“You are an asshole, you know that?”
Another snap and. I couldn’t move at all and my mouth would not open. It was like being in a full body straight jacket with my mouth taped shut. I squirmed and fought, but nothing worked. I called him every name in the book in my throat, but he didn’t seem to care. Time ticked by, and I got so tired. Staring at the corner bored me, and my body started to ached from trying to escape. It felt as though I had just completed a full body workout.
With a sigh I gave up. Anger and frustration were getting me nowhere, and I wanted to be done. I accepted my fate and stared at the corner, still and silent.
“That’s a good girl,” he praised as he slowly released me and brought me to stand in front of him. “Now that you have found a calm place, do you anticipate any more outbursts?”
I shook my head. I wasn’t planning on anything except going to bed. This day had been utter crap.
“Little sprite, how are you supposed to address me?”
I closed my eyes and took a fortifying breath before forcing out the damn phrase. “No, Sir.”
“There now see, it was certainly not worth all that fuss, now was it?”
I counted to ten in my head to keep myself from punching him in the mouth.
“It’s late, and you have had a long day. Get ready for bed, and I will tuck you in.”
I left my room without a word and went to the bathroom to get ready, more to get away from him than to actually follow orders, sick of him telling me what to do. That wish had been so dumb. How could I screw something up so terribly? Three wishes should have been a gift, but they felt more like a curse. I finished up and dragged myself back to the room. Callum had shut the light off and lit a candle on the dresser. The whole space smelled of lavender. My bed was turned down, and he waited beside it. The entire scene was so sweet and, even though I had been a bitch, again, he was back to taking care of me. As soon as I lay down, he covered me with the blanket and kissed my forehead.
“Sleep well, little sprite.”
“Okay, so I wasted two whole wishes. Can I just use my last wish to—”
“No.” Callum interrupted.
“You don’t even know what I was going to ask”.” I stopped sweeping and threw him my signature glare.
“Do I not?” He folded his arms over his muscled chest, regarding me with that frustrating quirk of his brow. The look did funny things to my insides and made me want to curl in a ball at his feet. It drove me nuts how hard I had to fight my developing feelings, but his ego was big enough. He didn’t need to know how he affected me.
“Not unless you can read my mind.” I put my hands on my hips and held back from tapping my toe. His Mr. Know-it-all attitude rubbed me the wrong way every time.
“I may be able to hear you when your thoughts call to me, but reading your mind is not one of my skills. However, I have been a genie for six generations, my father for seventeen before me, and his father for twelve before him. They passed their knowledge down, and I have gained much through my own experience. Every single woman we have served has made the same request you were about to make, and the answer has been the same thing each of those times.”
“You are a cocky bastard.” I turned back to my chore. If he wanted to be a jerk, I would ignore him altogether.
“I do.”
I stomped over to the counter and propped the broom against it before turning on him. “Since you know everything, I am going to ask, why don’t you enlighten me on all things genie, and I will be a good little student and listen.”
“Did you really just roll your fucking eyes at me?” I know he didn’t roll his eyes at me.
“Did you really speak to me in that manner?” He scooted closer, never being one to back down from one of my tantrums.
I wasn’t backing down either. I widened my stance, ready for a fight. “If you can be rude, so can I.”
“I have said nothing that could be construed rude. You, however, have expressed attitude in your demeanor, called me a name, and spat a vulgar word in my direction. I believe I have warned you about your mouth, have I not?”
Stand your ground, Fi. He knew goading me pissed me off, and he did it on purpose. Punishment or no punishment, I was going to give him a piece of my mind. “Look, you float around and lord over me with this domineering façade, and when I ask a simple question, you cut me off.”
“False wishes can be counted against you, even if they are against code. I attempted to save you from throwing your last one away. I apologize for not explaining myself straightaway. That is still no excuse for your tantrum.”
I couldn’t keep eye contact as I thought about how strong my reaction had been. At home I was like ice woman. No one could ruffle me, and it bothered me on so many levels when he did. “I’m sorry, too.” I conceded.
Callum gave a nod but stayed quiet. He had a way of giving me time to think when I needed it, even if it wasn’t what I wanted. The silence made me uncomfortable, and shifted from foot to foot.
“How about we discuss more of the rules and avoid another episode such as this?”
I let go of the breath burning my lungs. “Okay, yeah. Good idea.” He gestured to a chair, and I sat down. “Are there a lot of them? I’m not so great with rules.”
He placed an open palm on his cheek and shook his head. “You don’t say?”
“Ha. Ha.”
“There are not many I believe you need to be aware of, but the few you do are quite important.”
The front door to the shop opened, and Mary came in with an armload of groceries. “Fi, be a dear and help with these, will you?” she puffed, but before I could respond, she screamed and dropped the load she had been carrying. Apples scattered in every direction.
“Callum?” she whispered, white as a ghost.
I jumped to my feet, “You two know each other?” Looking back and forth between the two gave me the answer. His smirk, her stunned expression. Clearly I was missing something. “What is going on around here?”
“It’s been a long time,” Mary whispered, eyes still trained on the man floating in front of me.
“I was once your mother’s genie, as I am yours.” He made it sound like that should be common knowledge. It definitely was not.
“You… you were her genie? When?” Questions flooded my mind, but none would come together as a finished thought.
“She was a little younger than you. Isn’t that correct, Mary?”
“Yes, Sir.”
A smug smile spread across his face. “I see you remember our time together.”
Mary’s hands went behind her, and her face darkened to the shade of a ripe tomato.
“You… you spanked her?” My voice reached decibels that would have made a dog yelp and run for cover.
“Did you think you were the only naughty girl I have granted wishes for? I have been assigned to the women in your family for six generations. And I have been tasked with disciplining them all in order to complete my mission.”
I could not believe what I heard. My genie, the man who was breaking down all of my carefully constructed walls, had served and spanked my mother? It would have been easier to accept some past stranger had gotten a few wishes granted, but he knew my mother? I couldn’t help but feel betrayed. All this time he knew who she was and hadn’t said a word about it. “I… this… you?”
“Take a breath”,” Callum instructed.
I did and closed my eyes. Nothing would get answered if I couldn’t pose the question. “Can we start from the beginning?”
“Mary, would you mind giving us some privacy? I believe you know this story well.” She nodded and hastily gathered the spilled groceries before hiking up the stairs to the apartment.
“What did you do to her? She has not been speechless since I got out of the cab.”
“Your mother has always been quite the chatterbox. I instituted the same discipline with her as I have yo
u. She was quite the handful. Her lack of words probably had something to do with seeing me again for the first time in over twenty years.”
“I guess so, maybe, but… did you know who I was?”
“Of course I did. We were destined to meet.”
I hated that word. “I don’t believe in destiny.”
“Roll your eyes again and you can listen to this story with your nose pressed to the wall.”
“I’m sorry, Sir.” Squeezing my eyes shut, I hoped not to find myself floating in that awful position again.
“That’s my good girl. Now, would you like to sit down and listen?”
I nodded and fell back down on the chair.
Taking a deep breath, he delved into the story of his past. “I was born approximately two hundred years ago to Olivia and Alastair. My father was a genie before he met my mother, which destined their first born son to follow in his footsteps when he came of age. I was their first born. Growing up knowing what my future held, I was not schooled like normal children but by my father. He taught me what it was going to be like and what I would likely encounter, explained all of the stringent rules and regulations. There are many things genies are not allowed to do and if our rules are broken, the consequence is dire.”
Ominous. “How can a genie face consequences?”
“Everyone has consequences, little sprite. I am no different. If a genie should attempt to break one of the rules, he is relegated to his chamber for eternity. Complete and total isolation. It is a horrible fate.”
“But don’t you spend most of your time there, anyway?”
Callum nodded, “Indeed. However, when I am waiting for my next grantee, I am in a deep slumber. The worlds are separated by time, your day equivalent of my hour. Time passes much faster in your world. It is how we appear to be so much younger than our years would allow. It is also why time passes slower when you are in my presence. It is the universe’s attempt to balance the difference.”
“Okay, so how come you have been with only my family? I thought genies bounced around to whoever found the magic lamp? Oh my God. Would you listen to me? I’m a psychopath.”
“Please refrain from self-degradation.” His eyebrow rose, and I slunk down against the back of the chair. “May I continue?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Thank you. Each genie is assigned to a specific family. I knew the bloodline of my first mistress would be that of my future mate. This is the part pertaining to you. We have had some conversations where you have shared your feelings with me. I have refrained from doing so for fear your heart will be broken, but the truth is, I believe you are her.”
“I am who?” I sat up straight hoping he meant what I heard. I was falling in love with him. I had been since the first moment he didn’t back down from me. I needed his strength in my life. It was scary to think about it. I knew we couldn’t have a relationship, so I had felt pretty lost and confused.
“When you need me, I can feel it like an ache in my chest. You call me to you with your thoughts, and I find myself thinking about you often. My father waited seventeen generations for his love. I did not think mine would come so soon. I also fear my mind is flawed. I have not felt fear for over a hundred years.”
His eyes carried a pained look, and I wanted to comfort him. I got up and took his hand, hoping to infuse him with whatever strength he may need. “What are you afraid of?”
“Losing you.” His eyes bore into my soul. A fist grabbed hold of my heart, squeezing tight enough to burst it at any moment.
“The normal sequence of events would lead me to be returned to my chamber after your third wish is granted. If you are indeed my soul mate, I will be granted my freedom, and we can live out the rest of our days as man and wife.”
“And if we are not…”
“Then it is likely you will never see me again.”
The fist tightened, and I barely contained my sorrow. “I will never make my third wish. I will keep it forever. Then you can stay with me.”
“That’s not how it works, my little sprite. If indeed you never make your third wish, then we will be together only in farce. I will never be able to love you the way it is intended for a man to love his woman, and you will never be fulfilled. If your life should come to an end before your third wish is granted, then I have failed in my mission, and I will be punished. There is no way around it, and to try to cheat is to open yourself to very unappealing consequences.”
“That’s just not fair.”
He caught my tear on his thumb. “Life is not fair. Have you not learned this in your twenty-three years on this planet?”
“I have learned more about life in the last few days than I ever did at home with my father. Mary is… different. She pushes me and has a way of making me feel good about myself and what I’m doing. She frustrates the sh… crap out of me. I just can’t trust her.”
“Your mother is a good woman who made very bad mistakes, but you need to find forgiveness in your heart for her. She loves you.”
Needing to feel his strength, I leaned in for a hug. “I don’t know how.”
His arms folded around me, and he laid a kiss to the crown of my head. “It will come.”
That small comfort offered exactly what I needed, and my pounding, aching heart slowed to match the cadence of Callum’s. “Can you tell me the rest of the rules? I don’t want to mess up and get you in trouble. I don’t want you to punished on my account.”
He stroked my hair. “Yes, I will. You need to be aware nothing you do can directly cause me to be punished, unless you put yourself in danger and lose your life. This is why I am so hard on you. You need to keep yourself safe and allow me to guide you.”
“My potty mouth isn’t going to kill me.”
He chuckled. “You are correct. However, I do not like it.”
“I know, I know. Back to the rules.”
With my ear pressed against his chest I could feel the words spoken.
“Genies are very powerful beings, and that could be dangerous to the future of the human race. We were given rules to keep that from happening.”
“How can one genie endanger the entire world?”
“I can end your life with the snap of my fingers.”
A nervous laugh bubbled out of me. I had never thought about it before, but now that he brought it up, it was a little freaky. “Oh. Well okay then.”
“If I were to do that, you would be dead, and I would be punished, instantly.”
“Is there like a genie council or something watching you all?”
He shook his head. “No, nothing like that. It is hard to explain. It is the universe that does not allow it.”
“That makes no sense. How does the universe control you?” There was a reason I didn’t believe in all the magical crap. I had questions, and the answers made no sense.
“Let me try to explain. Thousands of years ago, when the first genie found his mate, they bore twin boys. The older of the two was, of course, destined to become a genie, however the younger boy was jealous of all the attention his brother received. They hated one another with a deep passion, and the day the older son was granted his powers, he used them against his brother, ultimately ending his life.”
“That’s awful.”
“Indeed. Their father’s distress overwhelmed him, and he spent his entire life seeking out a way to stop his eldest son. His mission kept him alive for hundreds of years, long enough for him to contrive a spell and see the birth of his grandson. He stole the baby and used the small amount of power he had left to place a spell over the child, taking away any more chances that a genie should be allowed to harm another without consequence. He died shortly afterward, but his spell worked and is now built into all of us.”
“It’s still crazy to me you even exist. There’s no such thing as magic. You are a myth, a storybook character.” I don’t know if I was trying to convince him or me at that point.
He quirked a brow. “I don’t believe storybook
characters have the capability of paddling your backside.”
The veiled threat made me giggle. “I don’t deserve a spanking, so you can’t give me one.”
“Oh, little sprite. You have much to learn. You always deserve one. Don’t you know, good girls get spankings, too?”
I caught the glint in his deep purple eyes. The spanking had definitely excited me, but I would never admit it. It was too embarrassing. His unyielding power, coupled with the feeling of helplessness and his hand so close to my sex had made me crazy with arousal. Even now, the memory of the experience made me wet.
“I see you like the idea. Your little pussy wept for me when I bound you to the tree. You cannot hide from Daddy in that position.”
Groaning, I buried my face in his chest to hide the blush and escape his knowing gaze. It didn’t matter what position he had me in, I couldn’t hide things from him. Especially the feelings he evoked in me. My body had such a visceral reaction to him, I didn’t stand a chance.
He placed a finger underneath my chin and forced me to look at him. “The truth. Would you like to know what it is like to get a good girl spanking?”
I bit my lip and forced myself not to agree to quickly. I would give anything to feel his power like that again, even take a humiliating spanking. “What’s the difference between good girl and bad girl spankings?” I asked.
“Be a good girl, and you will find out,” he replied with a wink.
After a week of cleaning merchandise off shelves, Mary decided we needed a change of scenery. My arms and shoulders had developed a perpetual ache, so I was all for something different. That is, until I saw the disaster she called “her “files.” Receipts, tax documents, employee information, you name it. It had been haphazardly thrown into boxes and shoved in the closet with zero rhyme or reason to any of it. If it had been up to me, I would have thrown all of it in the fire pit, but apparently that wasn’t an option.
“I have to say, this kinda surprises me.” I was only semi-teasing. As a rule, Mary kept things in order. The shop initially looked like a haphazard mess, but, as time went on, I learned there was an organization to it that she understood. She liked it that way. This was the furthest thing from order and organization I had ever seen.