NichelleGregory_AsYouDesire6

by Nichelle Gregory

  Like hell!

  As if wanting one’s freedom was such a hard concept to understand. If only he could go back and change the decision he’d made to become a Djinn. At the time, he’d only focused on all the power he’d have, but he hadn’t understood the price it came with. As far as he could see, he’d been practically tricked into the Brotherhood.

  How could they expect him to feel any loyalty towards the order that had stolen his entire life?

  No—this wasn’t his fault and he wasn’t to blame for any of his actions. No matter what they did to him or how many times they questioned him, he would never show any sign of weakness to any member of the High Council. His clothes were rags and he couldn’t imagine what he looked like in the mirror, but he wasn’t defeated.

  He’d felt a surge in his power when he’d reached out to Lona during his transfer. For a split second, he’d considered using all the power he had to break free from Vander and Thane, but in his weakened state he was certain he couldn’t overpower them both.

  And besides, where would he go once he’d escaped?

  He had to leave this dimension entirely and that required access to a portal or permission from the High Council, neither of which he would ever receive.

  Lona was the key, and she was close by—Rue could sense her energy even more strongly than before. Vander and Thane had unknowingly helped him out.

  Rue laughed in the pitch black darkness, uncaring of the skittering feet of critters not far from him in the corner of his dank cell.

  Soon he would reach out to Lona and she would come. Once they were together, he was certain he would be able to control her mind again…make her see how perfect they were for each other. They were compatible in every way that mattered, with him calling the shots and her incapable of making a single decision without him.

  Don’t forget she defied you when you needed her compliance the most.

  Rue frowned, remembering her fury when she’d found him about to ravish Karis, who had lain helpless on the table. His power over her had shattered the moment she’d realised his intentions, but that was a problem easily fixed. He would make sure she never saw him with another woman in the future. What she didn’t know couldn’t hurt her or break the psychic connection that still existed between them.

  Yes, Lona will help me escape, and if she doesn’t…I’ll kill her.

  He had never liked sharing as a child—definitely not as an adult—and the possessive look on Rafi’s face when he’d been all in his face asking questions about Lona had rubbed him the wrong way. He understood the other Djinn’s attraction to his woman. She was beautiful, sweet and so fucking easy to manipulate.

  Damn, he missed her.

  * * * *

  “Niri told me you were out here.” Rafi turned to see Lona walking towards him. She was dressed in a long, white robe with a blue sash cinched around her waist. Her thick, chestnut tresses were loose, swinging against her thighs with each step she took, but it was the warm smile on her lips that made his heartbeat quicken. It took every bit of his resolve not to sweep her up into his arms and kiss her.

  “You should still be sleeping. How do you feel?”

  “Like I’ve been sleeping for over twelve hours. I needed some fresh air.” Lona lifted her face to meet his and the sun gave her wavy tresses a luminous sheen.

  “Niri has given me a clean bill of health.”

  She averted her face and wrapped her arms under her breasts.

  “The wonders of magic medicine. I feel fine. Like I was never pr—”

  Rafi took her hand as she paused, interlacing his warm fingers with her cool ones. “Life is so funny,” Lona said, touching a blooming yellow rose with her free hand. “By funny do you mean hilarious or strange?”

  “I’d have to say the latter. You went through something so painful, I honestly don’t

  know how you dealt with it emotionally—and yet here you are. I admire your strength, Rafi, and I thank you for sharing your story with me.” The adoration mirrored in her eyes rocked him to his core. No one had ever said anything like that to him before.

  “You do what you have to because you have no other choice.”

  His voice sounded harder than he wanted and Lona’s eyes widened as she looked up at him.

  “You didn’t have to tell me what happened, but I want you to know I’m glad you did.”

  Rafi was glad he had, too. Vander was the only other person who knew the entire story—he’d never shared what had happened to his family with anyone else, but telling Lona had felt right.

  “I just don’t want you to think you can’t get through this…because you will.”

  And I wanna be there for you.

  The words were ready to jump off his tongue, but he held back from saying them.

  Lona shuddered. “I don’t know why, but ever since we’ve come back here I’ve felt like Rue’s close by.”

  “That’s because he is.”

  He could feel her entire body freeze as his statement sank in.

  “What?”

  Lona pulled her hand away, her wide eyes locked on his.

  “Vander and Thane were ordered to find him and bring him back to stand trial. Rue’s been here since yesterday.”

  “Is his arrival here and my miscarriage more than a coincidence?”

  “Niri seems to think so.”

  Lona placed her palm on her stomach, then let her hand fall to her side.

  “And you… What do you think?”

  Rafi wished he’d had one moment alone with Rue for the look of sadness marring Lona’s lovely features.

  “I think Rue’s desperate to escape his fate. He tried to use his connection with you and it backfired for him and hurt you.”

  And I’m gonna hurt that bastard for it, one way or another.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Confusion and anger made her honey-brown eyes appear darker.

  “You were hardly in any shape for conversation yesterday, Lona. I wanted to make sure you were feeling stronger before laying another bomb at your feet.”

  And I still have one more.

  Rafi knew now wasn’t the time to tell her the High Council had ordered him to keep a close eye on her until they were certain of her loyalty.

  “I’m going to go before the High Council—tell them about this psychic link you two have and ask that they find a way to break it.”

  “He could lose his life.”

  And the downside to that would be…?

  Rafi searched her face but couldn’t pick up on any sort of emotion in her statement. “There are other ways to do it.”

  Granted, those other ways wouldn’t be any fun for Rue, but that was a non-issue as far as he was concerned.

  “So when you said we needed to stay here for the next forty-eight hours, it was because of him?”

  “We need to know if the link between you two is still strong enough to hurt you now— ”

  “Now that I’m no longer carrying his child.”

  A warm breeze filled with the scent of exotic blooms fluttered around them as Lona touched the petals of the yellow rose.

  Hearing her even mention carrying another man’s child did weird things to his testosterone level, let alone knowing it had been Rue’s. He wanted to make her smile and forget the ugliness of the past twenty-four hours, if only for a little while.

  “I want to show you something guaranteed to make you smile. Will you come?”

  Lona turned from the rosebush to meet his gaze.

  “On one condition.”

  “Name it.”

  “I go with you to talk to the High Council.”

  Lona didn’t need any magical powers to know that Rafi wasn’t happy with her request, even though his expression did not change.

  “That’s not a good idea, Lona. You’ll be in even closer proximity to Rue and it’s not safe.”

  Safe.

  Being around Rafi had reminded her of what it meant to feel that way. She wa
s tired of living life worrying about Rue. There had to be a way to get him to leave her alone. Surely, if she talked to him in person—asked him to let her go once and for all—he’d do her this one small act of kindness?

  “Lona?”

  Lona blinked and saw Rafi watching her closely.

  “You’re right, I shouldn’t go. I just feel so helpless. I’m so tired of feeling like nothing in my life is under my control.”

  “I promise you that you won’t always feel like this.”

  “Rue’s never going to stop.”

  “He will.”

  The steel in Rafi’s voice made her believe it was possible.

  “Come with me?”

  Lona looked at Rafi’s outstretched hand.

  “I can’t guarantee I’ll smile.”

  “I can.”

  The corners of her mouth tickled as a tiny grin already threatened to break free. He had that effect on her.

  “Just let me change, then.”

  “You look beautiful.”

  The compliment warmed her cheeks and her blood as she gestured at his creamcoloured linen pants and sky-blue button shirt.

  “Thank you, but I’m hardly dressed for a walk. I’ll hurry.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  Yeah, but for how long?

  She turned away from him as a wave of sadness swept through her.

  Once Rue had been dealt with, there would be no need for Rafi to be in her life. He would go back to his life as a genie and she…

  She would have to get busy making a life of her own.

  Lona breathed in scents of cinnamon and vanilla the moment she entered Niri’s home.

  “Niri?”

  The smell of the freshly baked muffins drew her to the cosy kitchen in search of the multi-talented elf. Instead she found a note explaining her absence, along with a basket on the counter already prepared with the still-warm muffins and a carafe of coffee. Her stomach growled and Lona forced herself back to the guest bedroom for something to wear before she bit into one of Niri’s decadent treats.

  There was a bag filled with her personal belongings on the bed. A red sundress with tiny shimmering beads along the bottom hung on the door, along with another with a shorter hemline in the softest shade of orange. She quickly dressed in her bra and panties without looking at her body in the mirror. It was so strange to feel no after-effects of being pregnant. No physical reminders of what had taken centre stage in her life for the past several weeks.

  Too bad the emotional backlash loomed ever-present.

  Lona sighed.

  Will I ever feel at peace?

  Determined to enjoy the sunshine and whatever it was Rafi wanted to show her, she selected the orange dress. The soft material was light and airy and, like everything Rafi had given her, fitted perfectly. Lona pulled her hair free from between her back and the dress, wondering when Rafi had gone back to get her stuff.

  Duh—he’s a genie, remember?

  He could have gone and come back in an instant. Sometimes she forgot about his abilities as a genie, because she was all too conscious of him as a man.

  Lona pushed her feet into some gold flats and left the room. She grabbed the basket of muffins and coffee before leaving, embracing the feeling of excitement quickening her steps.

  Rafi was in the same spot when she returned to his side.

  “Niri baked these for us.” Lona lifted the basket for Rafi to smell.

  “She’s so thoughtful. They smell delicious.”

  Rafi took her hand and led them out of Niri’s garden. The sun was warm on their backs as they walked deeper into the woods and a comfortable silence ensued.

  I could face anything with your hand holding mine.

  Lona glanced at Rafi, thankful again that he wasn’t a mind reader—but she wished she could read his.

  “Just a little bit further,” Rafi said, turning to look at her for a split second. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m good.”

  “Good. I can’t wait for you to see this.”

  They walked for a few more minutes, then the woods gave way to a clearing where a sparkling pool of water seemed to reflect the sun’s rays with the fire of diamonds. Lush flowers of every colour imaginable encircled the oval pond. Water lilies with vivid pink blooms floated on the surface and the songbirds overhead fought to be heard over the bubbling sound of the water moving before them.

  “Oh, wow! This is breathtaking, Rafi.”

  Lona gave him the basket of food and rushed to the edge of the water. She dropped to her knees in the soft grass and stared out over the pond.

  “Lona?”

  “What?”

  Lona tore her gaze away from the shimmering pond in front of her to look at Rafi.

  “You’re smiling.”

  Lona touched her mouth with her fingertips and nodded. “I guess I am. I can’t help it. This place is amazing.”

  “I thought you’d appreciate nature’s simple gifts. Whenever I come to this place, I never fail to remember that life goes on and it’s up to us to find the beauty in it all.”

  Tears clogged her throat as Rafi came to sit beside her in the soft grass.

  “Thank you for bringing me here.”

  “It’s my pleasure. Do you want to eat something?”

  “Yes.”

  Lona swallowed back the lump in her throat as Rafi held out his hand. A ball of blue light formed and disappeared, leaving a huge ivory blanket in his grasp.

  “We’ll have an impromptu picnic of coffee and muffins. Would you like something more to eat? Eggs, bacon?” Rafi asked, flashing a sexy grin as he spread out the blanket.

  He beckoned her over and Lona stood and joined him in the centre of the quilted fabric.

  “Let’s try Niri’s muffins first.”

  “Fair enough. Taste.”

  Lona opened her mouth as Rafi fed her a piece of the muffin he’d broken off with his fingers. The flavours of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg filled her mouth and she moaned with delight, taking a bigger piece from Rafi’s hand.

  “These are scrumptious! I don’t think I’ve ever had a muffin this moist and yummy.”

  Lona watched Rafi take a bite and waited for his reaction. She giggled as he nodded with appreciation.

  “See…what did I tell you?”

  “Niri’s a helluva baker.”

  Lona reached into the basket for the carafe of coffee and the small mugs. “Coffee?”

  She opened the lid, looked up from the basket and found Rafi’s eyes glued to her face.

  For a moment, they stared at one another.

  The spark of desire that wound its way around her body made her clumsy. The carafe tilted and coffee sloshed out of the top and onto her hand.

  “Ouch!”

  The shock of the pain made her wince.

  Rafi moved so fast that Lona wasn’t even sure the movement was possible to detect with human eyes. He took the carafe from her hands and covered the reddening spot on the back of her hand with his own. Soft blue light radiated beneath his touch as she watched and when he pulled away the burn was only a memory.

  “Let’s skip the coffee,” Rafi said, moving next to her.

  “Yes, let’s.”

  Lona was reaching for another muffin when he grabbed her hand.

  “I want to feed you.”

  “No need—the burn is gone.”

  The intensity of his gaze was making her warm. Erotic images of him tasting her flashed through her mind.

  Rafi played with a strand of her hair as he nodded. “I know, but I want to. Will you let me?”

  How could she say no to him?

  She accepted another morsel and her pulse quickened as Rafi brushed crumbs off the side of her mouth. A curious heat spread throughout her body, centring at her core.

  Kiss me… Please kiss me.

  “I’m going to kiss you now. I don’t think I can stop myself from tasting your lips, Lona.”

  A low moan erupted from
her lips as he wound his hand around the back of her neck and into her hair.

  “Kiss me, Rafi.”

  Chapter Ten

  Lona closed her eyes as Rafi’s head blocked out the sun and his lips touched hers. He kissed her gently at first, caressing her lips with his tongue as he laid her back against the blanket. Lona revelled in the feel of him, so strong and warm pressed against her body as they lay side by side. She settled her head in the cradle of his arm around her neck as he deepened the kiss. His tongue tasted of cinnamon and Lona moaned with need as she returned his kiss, craving so much more from him.

  “I want to kiss you everywhere,” Rafi whispered in her ear.

  “And I want you to.”

  She wanted to make a beautiful memory to remember him by…something to cherish

  after he said goodbye and walked out of her life. A strangled sound erupted from her throat at the thought of never seeing him again, but she pushed back that thought as she reached for the buttons on Rafi’s shirt. She wouldn’t think about anything else right now but being with him.

  “I want you naked.” Rafi laughed as he sat up to slide his shirt off his shoulders, revealing tanned muscles worthy of tongue-worship.

  “Lona, I think you’re reading my thoughts.”

  His wavy, dark hair gleamed in the sunlight as Lona moved up onto her knees and leaned in towards Rafi to kiss his collarbone.

  “Then you know I want to kiss you everywhere, too.”

  Lona opened her mouth, dropped her head and flicked her tongue over Rafi’s nipple. She smiled against his skin at his sharp intake of breath.

  “Damn it, Lona, you’re asking for more than just my kiss if you do that again.”

  Without hesitation, Lona encircled his other nipple with her tongue. She yelped as Rafi pulled her forward, knocking her off balance as they fell back onto the blanket with her on top of him. He slipped his hands beneath her sundress, up her thighs, over her waist, lifting the fabric to show her green panties. She helped him, taking the dress up over her head, feeling gloriously free as the scent of the water and honeysuckle carried in the wind blowing around them.

  “Take this”—Rafi touched her protruding nipple through the cotton of her bra—“off.”