by S. E. Smith
The djinn in question, looked up from sweeping some broken glass. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to take Cade over to a friend’s house,” she said. “That way we can be as noisy as we want cleaning up and deal with whatever tomorrow brings.”
A silent understanding passed between them. He stared at her with solemn eyes. “Be careful.”
She stopped fiddling with her coat. “I will.”
Selene returned home from Paula’s and stood on her threshold gaping. The apartment was put back together in better condition than before. She now had a deep red, comfortable looking couch, a carved cherry wood coffee table, a sound system playing Mozart, and a restocked bookshelf.
“How? What?”
Rayez, who’d been sitting on the couch reading a collection of Rumi’s poems and enjoying a glass red wine, blushed. He put the book down and got to his feet.
At some point, he’d changed into a short-sleeved black tee-shirt and worn blue jeans, both showed off his manly assets in all the right ways. “Since Cade wasn’t around helping, I cleaned the rest of it up using djinn powers,” he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. “I hope you don’t mind me making some changes. If you don’t like them, I can put it back as it was.”
“Nope. Don’t even think about it,” she said glancing around. “It’s nice. Thanks.” The best improvement was him. He was still there. And at the moment, he looked like a normal guy. She could pretend she was just a girl returning home to him. The yearning for that simple life left her with a hollow ache.
Selene walked over to the book shelf and perused the titles. All her old favorites were back—Little Women, Good Earth, Pride and Prejudice, Around the World in Eighty Days, Frankenstein and more. A contented smile slipped onto her lips. She turned to Rayez. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” he replied gruffly. “Thanks for using your books to help me out.”
She laughed. “What a night, huh?”
“Want to have a glass of wine and toast our survival?”
His dark gaze was serious in contrast to his teasing tone. She should decline, walk away from temptation. But her feet refused to move. It was just one glass of wine. Nothing wrong with that. “Sounds like a great idea.”
He magicked another glass of wine into existence and presented it to her with a graceful flourish. “Here you go, madam.”
“Thanks.” She took the glass and raised it. “Here’s to surviving tonight and tomorrow.”
He clinked her glass with his. “Cheers!” After taking a swallow, he pinned her with that serious look again. “We make a great team.”
His soft words almost caused her to choke on her wine. She managed a hasty swallow and blinked at him. “Um, yes.” Dear God, that was eloquent. Not.
“Selene, we almost died tonight.”
“Yup, I was right there with you buddy.” Smart aleck was back. Maybe it was a slight improvement over awkwardness. She took a fortifying sip of the wine. This time she savored it. It tasted of blackberries and cherries and warmed her inside out.
He grasped her free hand in his and brought it to his lips. He pressed a kiss to the top of her fingers. “I don’t want to die with regrets.”
Oh, dear God. He was going to kiss her. Something she’d been fantasizing about almost all day. Selene’s throat constricted and her pulse sped up. Muscles she didn’t even know existed tightened. She put the wine glass down on the table next to his.
A muscle jumped in his jaw. Flames flickered in his dark eyes, slivers of gold, orange-red and blue. The intensity of his gaze burned her, left her almost breathless.
“I want to touch you.” His voice, rough and needy, sped to her core.
“So touch me.”
Rayez reached out and grasped strands of her hair between his thumb and fingers. “Just as soft as I imagined,” he whispered, a smile turning up one corner of his mouth. He skimmed his fingertips along her jawline, down her throat to the hollow at the base. “So soft. Satin soft,” he whispered. Rayez lingered for a bit there, before brushing across the top swell of her breasts. She gasped, and then smiled. “My turn.”
Surprise and pleasure widened his eyes. He inclined his head. “As you wish.”
Selene started at his hands, the big gorgeous hands that had been tempting her all day. She ran her fingers over the bones and veins, then up his arms. There she lingered and traced over his tattoos, following lines until they met the edge of his sleeve. “Hmm, I wish I could see the rest of them.”
“Your wish is my command,” Rayez’s voice was a deep, dark whisper. Then the tee-shirt vanished.
She smiled and continued her exploration. “What do your tats mean?”
He gasped as she brushed a thumb across one dark nipple. “When a djinn comes into power, usually at puberty, the tattoos appear. I’ve heard some tell stories of the past, others catalogue the present powers, and in some cases they foretell the future.”
“I wish I could read them,” she said, pressing a soft kiss on the one right over his heart. “So all djinns have them?”
“They used to,” he said. A shadow dropped into his voice and his eyes. “But we’re changing and weakening. Now many never get them.”
Selene wanted to wipe the sadness away, bring him back to a happier place. She nuzzled into him, placed a kiss on his collar bone, a soft bite on his pecs, and flicked her tongue over the tip of nipple. His gaze darkened with need as he bit back a groan. The solid length of his sex pressed against her, demanding and male.
She pulled back and smiled up at him. “Patience.” She pressed her finger tips to his mouth and rubbed and traced over his full sexy lips. Until he turned the tables on her and drew them into his mouth and sucked and licked them. She threw back her head with a soft moan, exposing her throat.
Soft lips and hard teeth pressed against her sensitive skin there, made her shiver. He laid a trail of scorching kisses down to the dip at the base, where his tongue lapped and flickered for a moment. Another moan escaped her and she wrapped her arms around him, pulled him down with her, on top of her, onto the couch. His muscled chest crushed her breasts, sent all kinds of sensory signals zinging to her hot, wet core.
He shot her a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I have been wanting to taste you all day.”
A breathless giggle answered him. Was that really her? She was usually more matter-of-fact, almost brusque, about hooking up with men. Sex was just another way to relieve stress. She trusted Rayez and that brought out an unexpected playful side of her. “It’s okay, but it was supposed to be my turn.”
She placed soft, gentle bites along his jaw to his chin, following each bite with a swirl of her tongue. She bit an earlobe, sucked it and then blew a breath across his ear.
Rayez groaned and grasped her tighter, fingers digging into her flesh. He shifted and moved, until she could feel the hard swell in his jeans twitching and pressing against her stomach. She reached up and stroked a hand across his clean shaven head, down the back of his neck and across his broad back. Warm skin and hard muscles made for a delicious combination.
“I want to feel your skin against mine, no clothes, no separation,” he said, breathing hard.
She found herself agreeing and raising her arms, so he could pull off her tee-shirt.
His fingers skimmed down to her waistband and undid her button. A moment of panic cleared the sensual fog in her mind, had her scrambling out from under him and off the couch.
Rayez fixed a worried gaze on her and stood up “Are you okay?”
Selene backed up a few steps, wrapped her arms around herself, and nodded. “I just need to think this through, be sure.”
His gaze shuttered as he nodded.
She bit her lips and studied his beautiful profile, his masculine figure. Her heart catapulted into her throat. What the heck was she doing? What happened to not getting involved? Then more sobering questions followed. What if she had died tonight? What if “one day” never came
?
To hell with caution. Life was too uncertain to waste good moments.
Selene peeled off her jeans and kicked them away. He smiled and made his simply vanish. She was pleased to find out he’d gone commando.
Rayez scrunched his dark brows together as he studied her. “You’re still wearing way too many clothes.”
Within seconds her underwear disintegrated. She yelped and tried to cover herself with her hands.
“Drop your hands.” His voice held a quiet command. “I want to see you. All of you.”
She met his gaze. It was all male and hungry. It made her feel feminine and sexy. Still holding his gaze, she lowered her hands to her sides and stood tall.
“You’re beautiful, so damn fucking beautiful,” he said. “You take my breath away.”
Awe and admiration flickered on his face. Made her shy. She dropped her gaze even as a smile pushed onto her face.
“Come here.”
Heart hammering, she sauntered to him. Her breasts ached. The junction between her legs grew moist. Oh, she wanted him. She wanted him bad.
He reached over and brushed back a lock of hair, and then slid his hand down her face. Let his touch linger. “I want to kiss you.”
Her lips parted in anticipation.
Rayez grasped her chin and tilted her face up, gazed deep into her eyes. Blistering intensity sucked the air from the room, left her panting. He lowered his head and claimed her mouth.
Chapter 8
Oh Creator, she tasted good, so good, like warm honey. Her naked body pressed and tucked against his as if made to fit right there. She felt good and right. This thing between them—whatever it was—felt right.
The kiss started out soft and sweet, a tender exploration. Lips nibbled and rubbed, tongues slid around each other in a gentle dance. Soft sighs and building heat led to tentative nips and sharper grazing. He wanted more, so much more.
Rayez tightened his arms around Selene as he deepened the kiss, bit and sucked on her lips, thrust his tongue deep inside to tangle with hers. Now it was a heady, demanding kiss full of heat and frantic need.
Her whimpers and squeaks, the touch of her fingers, the scratch of her nails, were fuel to his fire. He liked making her soft with need, reveled in the naked desire on her face. His already hard dick twitched and pushed against her, seeking entry. Soon, very soon, but not yet.
He threaded his fingers into her hair and cupped the back of her neck, and then, still kissing, maneuvered her to the coffee table. When the back of her legs bumped against the edge, he broke the kiss. “I want you on it,” he grated out.
Her eyes widened and her chest heaved. “There’s…there’s stuff on it,” she stuttered.
A growl tore from his throat. He let go off her and swept the table clean with one impatient swipe of his hand. He’d deal with the damn mess later. “Now lie back and spread your legs.”
His heart swelled with a possessive satisfaction as she obeyed him. He enjoyed watching her pink-tipped breasts sway and move as she settled back on her elbows in a half-raised position, her ass right at the edge of the table. He almost stopped breathing when her moon white thighs fell open to reveal the glistening pink folds. A delicate sea shell pink. Fuck, she was beautiful.
With a groan he dropped to his knees between the open V of her legs. He reached out and brushed the spill of silvery hair from her shoulders just because he wanted to touch those gleaming strands again. He slid his hands down to her breasts and just held them for a moment. Then he squeezed and kneaded them, twisted and pinched her pebbled nipples. Selene whimpered and arched her body, revealing more of her hidden core. She pushed all that delicious pinkness toward him. Tempting him.
His mouth watered, but he tore his gaze away and back to her face. Her mouth had dropped open as her breathing turned more desperate. He let heat flood his fingertips as he played with her nipples, let out a tiny bit of sparking. She gasped and closed her eyes.
Her hard buds looked like berries. Rayez raised up and took one pink nipple into his mouth, sucked and savored it. Then turned to the other.
“Oh Rayez,” she whispered. Damn, he’d never get tired of hearing her say his name, especially like this.
He raked his hands down the length of her abdomen, massaged her flat stomach. Let his fingers brush the soft hair at the top of her mound, before stroking the soft insides of her thighs.
A breath hissed out of her. Her eyes were open again and watching him. The lavender in them had turned a deeper purple. “I want to touch you too.”
Rayez smiled. “You will.” Then he brushed a thumb back and forth across her opening, rubbed against her folds. She gasped again.
Damn, she was ready, slick with desire. He relished the slip and slide of his fingers over her silken insides. “You feel so good, Selene,” he murmured. “So wet, and hot. So ready.”
“Yes,” she panted, dropping back against the table. “Yes, I’m ready, so ready for you.” She reached for him, grasped his forearm and tugged. “Take me, take me now.”
“Not just yet.”
She responded with a desperate moan as she squirmed and writhed on the table. Like a tasty morsel for his taking. How good would she taste?
He brought his mouth down on her. Let his tongue swipe across the length of her in a good, firm lick. Damn. He pulled in a ragged breath. She tasted damn good.
“Oh, Rayez,” she sighed. “More, please more.”
He smiled against her soft curls and complied. He played her with his tongue, flicked and swirled, dipped into her hidden depths. He added his thumb and fingers to the mix, stroking and rubbing all around, the sensitive nub of her clit.
Selene’s thighs pressed against his head. Her constant barrage of high-pitched “yes” and “Oh,” dwindled to wordless desperate cries. Raw and primal, they pushed him over the edge. Need roared inside him, made his already swollen dick ache. Fuck, he was going to erupt like Old Faithful. He had to have her. Now.
He crawled over her body, until the head of his dick nestled against her, in her. Her nails dug into his shoulders. “Rayez, wait.”
“Why?” Creator, he sounded desperate.
“We need protection,” she said. “Can you magic up a condom?”
“I’m djinn and you’re human. We can’t share diseases,” he said.
Her tongue flicked out and swept over her lips. He groaned, but held still because of the worry still in her gaze.
“What about babies?”
“Djinn have to intentionally will it to procreate, less complicated that way,” he said. “So, we’ll just not think about babies.”
“Oh.”
“Any more questions?”
She blushed prettily and shook her head. Unfortunately, he had one. “You sure about this?”
“Oh God, yes.” He liked that the answer came at once, without hesitation. There was a whole damn lot he liked about Selene He met her gaze and slowly pushed into her.
A soft gasp escaped Selene as Rayez filled her emptiness, made her feel complete. She wrapped herself tightly around him, shifted to pull him in deeper.
“How does it feel?”
“Incredible.” She answered truthfully. “How does it feel for you?”
He smiled a slow, sexy smile at her. “Like I found paradise.”
Something inside her fluttered and melted. She stared into his eyes. Into the fathomless dark depths with twin hot, burning centers. Red and gold flames, with flickers of iridescent blue, mesmerized her.
God, he was freaking gorgeous, and sweet and into her. She felt herself falling, tumbling head over heels, for him. “Fuck me Rayez,” she said. “Fuck me hard.”
He pushed himself onto his arms, sliding his hard length almost out of her. She moaned at the delicious friction. He held her gaze through it all. “No, I’m going to make love to you.”
Before she had time to think or respond, he plunged deep inside her again. He drove himself over and over into her, as his mouth ravished her wit
h hot kisses and careful bites in the crook of her neck, at her throat, and her breasts.
Selene bit his shoulder, sucked and tasted the salt of his skin. She held on as his repeated thrusts rocked loose the tightness insider her. Heat rolled through her, filled her every pore, made them expand and breath. She grew warmer and warmer as the rhythm changed, became more urgent. Long, drawn out sighs shuddered through her.
“Come for me, Selene,” he said, slamming inside her, deep, oh so deep, that he set off fireworks of pure sensation. She screamed his name and thought she heard him say hers over and over like a prayer. Then the orgasm ripped away all thought, all barriers. Their very skin and flesh and bones seemed to dissolve and float away. She sucked in a harsh breath as the world spun around her. She was free falling through time and space.
And then suddenly she fell back and landed into herself. Her world blurred and froze, then started restarted with a jerk. No, oh God no. A terrible, hot agony gripped her in its claws, shredded away her breath. All she knew was that agony. It mapped every inch of her skin, seeped into her bones and turned her soul into ashes. Selene screamed her throat hoarse.
Chapter 9
The orgasm lifted Rayez up like a wave and then brought him crashing down. Literally. He hit a hard surface, presumably the table, with a loud “Oof!”
The humans referred to earth moving sex with reverence, and the djinns compared it to a cosmic joining, becoming one with the universe. He’d never experienced anything close to that until Selene. Now he knew exactly what they meant.
A blood curdling scream shattered his euphoria. Selene? He shook his head to clear off the fog of satiation.
“What the fuck?” A startled exclamation in an unknown male voice added to his confusion. He could sense a fear edged hardness in the tone. “Stand up slowly with your hands in the air.”