“I like you very much, Kale.”
He wasn’t an easy man. No one simply liked him.
Her mouth slid over his, teeth nipping at his lips. She eased back in his arms and smiled.
A piece of his frozen heart melted.
Chapter 11
“Tell me more.”
“More?” Kale swallowed the green grape she pressed against his mouth. He’d insisted he wasn’t hungry but she continued to feed him from the plate he’d brought to her while they lay in bed tangled among his silk sheets.
“Yes. How old are you?”
Kale sighed and leaned back along the headboard. Clearly she wasn’t going to be done with this any time soon. They’d made love twice already. Once in the front entry and once in this very bed. Then she’d decided it was time to get to know one another. Her words.
“I’m five hundred, give or take.” He didn’t keep track of inconsequential things such as his age any more.
Carolyn gaped, the strawberry paused at the tip of her tongue. She lowered the fruit to stare. “You’re five hundred?”
He arched a brow at the redundant question.
She flushed and muttered, “Talk about older man.”
Kale heard her clearly. Carolyn leaned back against his chest and bit into the strawberry. The sweet aroma teased. Propping his chin on the top of her head, Kale asked, “Is my age a problem, Carolyn?”
“Only if you feel like you’re robbing the cradle.”
It took him a moment to decipher her meaning and Kale chuckled.
“Have you ever been in love?”
Kale froze. Thinking of Isolde guaranteed an increase in Kale’s rage. The bitch had betrayed him in the worst way. Sold him out for money. If he could have killed her he would have but fate robbed Kale of that simple pleasure.
“Kale! Kale!”
Kale blinked. “Yes.”
“Bad huh?” Carolyn patted his upper thigh. She probably meant the gesture as one of sympathy but Kale hardened against her back. “Sometimes it helps to talk about it.”
He doubted it. “She’s dead. If she were alive, I’d kill her.”
Carolyn tried to turn to see his face. Kale pressed tight on her waist, keeping her in place. She wouldn’t like what she saw. Thoughts of Isolde filled his mind with dark, ugly things. His expression would surely reflect that and scare her.
“What did she do? You know, so I can avoid it.”
Betrayed him. “You’re nothing like her.”
Because Kale had spent the day with Carolyn and her innocence shined through like a beacon.
“Tell me anyway. Then I can imagine her with a wicked in grown toe nail if she was still alive.”
Kale rubbed his chin over her soft hair. His hand glided upward and cupped her warm breast. Carolyn gasped and the smell of strawberries wafted to his nose. He pumped his hips up, knowing she couldn’t miss his arousal.
“It’s not a pleasant story.” He would prefer to flip her over in his bed and have his way with her once more.
“She’s a bitch. Tell me.”
He appreciated her faith. But to tell this story of his past, she would need to understand more about him. “What do you know of djinn?”
“Genies make wishes,” she retorted instantly.
Kale stared down at her in amazement though she couldn’t see him. “Genie!”
There was no disguising his outrage. He was no genie. He came from a long line of powerful djinn. His family was without fault.
And then the bed shook. Not a lot. But enough to get his notice. Kale leaned forward just as she tilted over to the side on his lap, laughing.
The little imp.
Her laughter ended with tiny hiccups. His lips curved and Kale couldn’t resist placing a kiss at the juncture of her shoulder and pulling her back upright against his chest. “It appears I will need to instruct you. A djinn is a being of power.”
“They have the power to grant wishes,” she interrupted.
Kale sighed. All humans focused on the same point. “Yes.”
“Like that.” She snapped her fingers in the air.
Kale grinned down at her. He didn’t have to snap his fingers to use his power. The physical action was a carry over from his childhood when his mother used it to help prompt him to focus on drawing forth his power. “Or like this.” He blew softly on the shell of her ear.
A perfect long stemmed red rose landed in her lap.
“Wow.”
Carolyn fingered the petals and Kale gave in to temptation. He eased her onto her back and slid from behind her. Licking every inch of her satiny flesh was a priority.
Her hair fanned out across the pillow, brown eyes lowered as her arms looped around his neck. She twirled her fingers in his hair “Okay, you’re a powerful being of magic.”
He hadn’t said powerful but it was true enough so he didn’t correct her. “Djinn come from the land between the veil. Curiosity often drove many of us to cross over to this side to observe. Humans...were a point of interest. Without warning, the veil suddenly closed leaving those here trapped. Unable to return to their home, the djinn adapted to a new way of life. Fortunately our power draws from the core of Earth and they were able to survive. A djinn without power is a djinn with a short lifespan.”
“You’d die?”
Her arms tightened and Kale enjoyed her concern. “Yes. But we’d go mad without our power first.”
As a child, Kale had witnessed such a fate befall another djinn long ago who’d broken the law and refused to grant a wish while ensorcelled. It wasn’t a pretty death.
Then she asked the question he hadn’t expected. One which caused a shaft of remembered pain. “Why are you the only djinn? Where are the others?”
“I don’t know. It’s easy for many paranorm to hide among human kind. I chose like many others to live my life publicly.”
Honestly Kale wasn’t sure if there even were more of his kind left. To be so far from home was like being torn in two. The effect was lessened since he’d been so young. He’d crossed over with his mother as a teen to visit. As they were returning to the land of the djinn, Kale had been caught on the Earth side. As soon as his mother realized what was happening, she’d lunged back for him, but the veil slammed closed between them. Her scream was as clear now in memory as it was then.
Carolyn kissed his chin, his cheek then his lips. Before he could deepen the kiss, she pulled back. “Tell me more.”
Anyone else, any other time and Kale would never have revealed what he was about to.
“A djinn continually draws in a part of Earth’s essence to fuel the magic and make it his own. It becomes ingrained during childhood. A habit we don’t notice. Once a year we have to stop the connection between ourselves and the flow of power from Earth.” It was the only time Kale considered himself vulnerable and he made damn sure to be in the safety of his home behind closed doors before purging every year.
“Why?” She sounded honestly interested.
He toyed with her hair and stared at her upturned face. “Think of it as the price for the use of magic. The flow is continuous and the one day strengthens the bond and connection to the source. But this leaves a djinn weakened to ordinary human levels for almost a full day.”
A day Isolde had used to her advantage.
“I want to hear the rest, Kale.”
Christ. Kale dropped his head to the pillow by her head. “We could just fuck.” Allowing his weight to press into her, Kale thrust forward, leaving her no doubt he was ready to put action to words. The length of him throbbed against her thigh.
“After. What was her name?”
Bitch. That was how he thought of her. If he thought of her at all. Kale propped his arms up, caging Carolyn. “Isolde.”
Carolyn waited, still playing with the strands of his hair. She hummed under her breath for him to continue.
Kale exhaled heavily. “Isolde knew I was djinn. I shared the secret with her because we were in love. Only
money meant more to her than our feelings. One day a traveling caravan came through. Isolde liked watching. She was jostled and stumbled, injuring herself. A broken arm. I didn’t like seeing her hurt.” Ever. More fool him. He should have let her suffer. “I healed the break. One of the traveling merchants asked her about it when he saw her the next day and she told him. He asked for my weakness...”
Kale would have given Isolde anything if she had but asked. Kale broke off and pushed up from Carolyn.
Or tried. She wrapped her legs around his hips and her hands became chains of steel in his hair. It may not have been her intent, but the hold rubbed his stiffening erection along the satiny folds between her legs.
“What happened? Finish it, Kale.”
He rocked his hips forward, causing her neck to arch as she gasped. “She waited until I blocked my connection to Earth and told him my full name. He imprisoned me in a gold ring for fifty years.”
Fifty fucking years of granting wishes on demand for the hooked nose bastard. Years where Kale dreamed of the ways he’d kill Tobias when free. When not if because Kale had planned to escape the binding no matter how long it would take.
His only regret was that Isolde had already died when he’d eventually managed to break the spell tying him to the ring. Tobias hadn’t been so lucky.
“Fifty years?”
Kale grimaced, remembering all the other things he’d been forced to do for Tobias besides filling his home with riches. Dark things. Punishing people the merchant thought had wronged him. Fifty years was a blip in time for Kale, but his actions during those times left a stain on him.
“How did you get away?” Curiosity had the best of her.
“He made a wish. I chose to misinterpret. One that allowed me to kill him.” Slowly, and in a way that made sure Tobias suffered. As Isolde should have.
Her lips parted. Kale had no intention of talking about Isolde or Tobias any longer. He licked the pulse of the slim column within reach. Nipping softly to not bruise the tender flesh. Kale inhaled deeply. The scent of her arousal joined the aroma of honey.
The hands in his hair caressed his nape, fingers tugging before they released the short strands.
Once more Kale wanted to bite, to mark her as his in some way. He sucked gently on her succulent flesh before moving upward to kiss her moist lips.
“Kale.” Her moan encouraged.
Kale had not enjoyed kissing another woman as much as he enjoyed kissing Carolyn. This human was wrapping him around her finger, one potent string at a time. His power rose to the forefront, needing release. With a mere thought, he showered rose petals on the both of them.
Her eyes widened. Each use of his magic created such delight on her face.
Lavishing his attention on her mouth, Kale licked and sucked until her lips were puffy as the blossoms rained down, the rich scent combining with Carolyn’s own honey fragrance. Kale inhaled deeply and breathed in her essence. Fragile. Beautiful.
His lower half pumped in a rolling motion and her legs spread wider.
“Fuck.” Kale reached for one slender thigh and pulled it up. Aligning himself with her entrance, he inched forward.
Moist folds parted to receive him. Such heat. Each time like the first. He inched further. Continuing until he was seated to his groin. Inside, her muscles clamped and released. Again and again she continued the delicate flutters until his every thought was of burying himself so deep she would never be far from him.
A sliver of his power escaped. The fiery whip wrapped around her torso, lifting her weight so his hands were free to roam. Hot lips touched his jaw. She stroked and caressed as if greedy for the touch of him.
Kale stared down at the beautiful woman flexing her hips. “You’re amazing.”
Her passion glazed eyes grew soft. That one look sent his desire soaring. Kale wanted everything she had to give. Forget that he’d only known her for a couple of days. Forget that it didn’t make sense for him to feel this way about her.
Kale planned to keep her. He’d accept no less. Carolyn Sutherland belonged to him.
His pace quickened, the headboard thumping on the wall. The sheets crumpled between his clenched fingers as his strokes drove hard within her core. She cried out. The sound of pleasure.
Carolyn took it. Lips parted, neck arched and the flex of her heels spurred him on. She took all of him.
When the orgasm struck, it took the both of them down with it, leaving them gasping and shuddering. Kale slumped on top of her quivering body, knowing with everything in him that his life would never be the same with Carolyn in it.
For the first time, he wasn’t frightened by the thought of loving again.
Chapter 12
Making love with Carolyn ranked as one of Kale’s new favorite things to do. Spending time in bed together came as a close second.
“Why are you still single?”
Kale sat up in bed against the headboard. Carolyn rested between his legs, her back nestled against his chest. The position enabled him to note the way her body stiffened. He smoothed a soothing hand down her bare belly. She’d wanted to get dressed, slip on a nightgown, but he’d refused to let her move from the bed.
He wanted her close. Within touching distance. He nuzzled the top of her hair and waited.
“My last boyfriend dumped me after two years.”
It was Kale’s turn to go hard. He stared down over her shoulder and for once ignored the temptation of her perfectly sized breasts with her lovely nipples. “He dumped you?”
The answer didn’t really matter to him. What mattered was there had been someone else. Someone she’d cared enough about to stay with for two years. For a woman like Carolyn that meant a deep sign of commitment. A low growl slipped free.
“Yep. Six months ago.”
She tried to sound carefree, but Kale was an expert at reading the nuances of a person’s voice. The boyfriend’s actions had cut deep.
“What was his name?” Kale forced his tone to remain casual and twirled a lock of her hair.
Carolyn reached for another lonely grape remaining on the almost empty plate beside them and stretched her arm behind her head, searching for his mouth. Kale nipped her finger, but accepted the grape.
“Peter Winslow.”
Kale kept his left arm around her waist, but flicked his right and his cell phone appeared in the palm of his hand. Carolyn never noticed. “Why did Peter dump you?”
And how soon would it take for Kale to kill him. Because that was beginning to sound like his best idea yet.
***
“Peter said I was ordinary. That there was nothing exciting about me.” His words had stung at the time.
“He was wrong.”
Carolyn rolled her eyes. “You have to say that. You like me.”
“Would you like me to destroy him, Carolyn?”
He had to be kidding. Wasn’t he? Carolyn peered over her shoulder, but Kale’s expression never wavered. She licked her bottom lip and whispered, “No.”
There was no way she’d unleash the fury of Kale Serano on poor Peter.
Kale held up his cell phone. “Are you sure?”
“You’d do it? Just like that?”
“He hurt you. Anyone who hurts you deserves to be dealt with.”
Her insides went gooey. “But it was before I met you.”
“And you’re still hurt.”
Not really. Well maybe, but only in the sense that no woman enjoyed being dumped.
“I’m fine, Kale.” Then to let him know how much she appreciated his efforts, she leaned up and kissed him.
“If I can’t kill him, can I ruin his life?”
“No.”
“Take away what he loves most?”
“No.”
When he opened his mouth to ask another question, Carolyn smacked her palm against his lips and grinned. “Nothing. Nada. Leave Peter alone.”
“As you wish,” he murmured, the words fluttering against her hand.
&nbs
p; Clearing her throat, Carolyn straightened. The sheet dipped below her hips, baring all and liquid gold followed the motion. Since she was sore from their last bout of lovemaking, Carolyn knew she had to get him out of the room. Fast.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
Kale’s upper lip curled in disgust. Carolyn snickered and darted forward to place another kiss on his handsome face. “Please.”
“Fine.” He waved his hand and they both ended up standing by the bed. Carolyn wore a red sundress with strappy sandals on her feet. He had a good eye for what worked with her coloring. Kale wore black jeans and a black vee neck tee, the short sleeves revealing the bulge of muscle in his upper arms.
Carolyn bit her lip and scratched the irritating spot on her left elbow. “I wonder if I’ll get use to that.”
Kale smiled and she was reminded again of a predator on the hunt. “There is a path that winds around the cabin and leads to the woods. You should enjoy your walk.”
His tone made it clear he’d feel otherwise. They left the house, Kale making no effort to lock the door behind them.
“Aren’t you worried someone might break in?”
He started off at a brisk pace and Carolyn skipped a little to keep up. Gold eyes slanted in her direction. “If someone breaks in, they’ll wish they hadn’t.”
She shivered, crossed her fingers and hoped no one decided today was the day for burglary. Still the thought persisted. “You’d call the police?”
“Of course.”
No hesitation. Yet Carolyn knew he lied.
She decided to let it go, not sure if she really wanted to know the true answer. They spent the day together exploring most of the land. Carolyn was the first to admit she’d never spent much time outdoors. Being with Kale changed that. While he’d grumbled about the outing, she sensed a deep rooted pleasure in being out with her.
She linked hands with him and added a swing to their arms. He canted his head in her direction and smirked. Carolyn’s belly did a little flip. He could tease all he wanted. She liked holding hands with him. The affection felt natural and something she wouldn’t have dared to do with him before when his presence alone used to scare her.
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