Her Wish--A Playboy Genie Romance
Page 29
Jax was slumped in the chair next to the bed, his head back as he slept. Shadows marked under his eyes, and his skin was pale and peppered with golden stubble. His hand kept hold of hers as though he were afraid to let go.
Charlie frowned, wincing as a thousand bumps and bruises made themselves known. She was in the hospital. Why . . . ?
The sound of brakes squealing entered her head, the world flipping around and around, the burning pain as something crushed her.
Car accident.
Yet when she looked herself over, she seemed to be the proud owner of only a few gashes and admittedly some horrific purple-and-yellow bruising. Had she been asleep for weeks? She vaguely remembered waking at one point to Jax’s voice, and then nothing.
She tried to shift in bed.
Jax’s eyes flashed open, gleaming muddy blue-gold. He froze as his eyes connected with hers. His mouth trembled open. “Charlie?”
“You look terrible,” she croaked. Her throat was coated with dust.
He gave a choked laugh, sitting slowly as though she would run if he moved too fast. “How’re you feeling?”
“Okay. My head kinda hurts, and my side’s literally splitting. But considering I was in a crash, pretty . . . okay.” She wet her lips and looked at him. “You’ve been here all this time?” As he nodded, warmth flowed through her like liquid sunshine. She smiled at him. “You’re so good to me. How’d you get the Director to let you come back?”
“She didn’t have a choice.”
His voice sounded rusty, and she looked at him curiously. “Do you need some water?”
“I’m good.” He continued to watch her, his eyes a very deep blue sparkling with gold. She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of those eyes. “Do you remember everything?”
“The crash.” She shrugged, wincing as it pulled on her side. “Bits and pieces.” A thought struck, and heat crept into her cheeks. “Did you, ah, get my voice mail?”
His hand clenched on hers until he abruptly released it, apologizing. He ran a hand down his stubbled jaw and nodded. His eyes stared into her. “I did.”
“Okay.” She frowned, feeling as though she were the only one who didn’t know her lines in a play. “Jax, are you feeling okay?”
“I’ll get the doctor.”
“No.” Her breath hitched as she struggled up.
Instantly, Jax was standing, his hands hovering above her. Concern and panic twisted his face. “Don’t move. You’ll hurt yourself.”
“Jax, what is going on with you?” Charlie waved a hand at herself. “It’s just a few bumps and bruises.”
He turned to face the wall and rested a hand on it. His shoulder shook once. The bottom fell out of her stomach when he turned back. Actual tears shimmered in his eyes. “I almost lost you.”
“Hey, hey.” She motioned for him to come to her, panicked at how distraught he looked. “Hey, I’m okay, see? Got my fine motor skills and everything.”
He shuddered. “You almost died, Charlie.”
She blinked as something curdled in her stomach. “I’m fine.”
“Now.” Jax pressed his lips together and sighed. “I’ll get the doctor.”
“No.” Charlie’s voice rose. “Explain. Please.”
She held out a hand. After a long pause, Jax slid his into hers and pressed her palm to his mouth. He closed his eyes. He was scaring her, but she swallowed her own fear in order to comfort him.
“Jax, I’m strong. I can take it.”
It took him ten minutes, but in a voice like a rusty saw he explained everything. Her crash, how injured she really had been. How WFY had known of Jared’s cruelty.
“I, ah, know.” She pursed her lips. “Didn’t you hear me say about Director Clare visiting Natalie?”
“Charlie, you were critical when I listened to that message.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You could have said you thought blue banana skins were the next fashion statement and I wouldn’t have heard.”
“Well, I did.” Charlie flicked her eyes down to the white sheets. She drew designs with her fingertip. “She told me that the Director had apologized to her. That she didn’t blame the entire race for one bad apple.” She heaved a sigh. “I realized that I’ve been a child acting out of a need to blame somebody, fight something, because my mom left me.” She made a face. “Pretty pathetic, huh?”
He covered her hand with his. She turned hers over so they were linked.
“I’m not saying I can suddenly like them,” she warned, staring at his much tanner, stronger fingers intertwined with hers. “But maybe they’re not as bad as I thought.” She looked up to gauge his reaction.
He slid a speaking glance at her. Without words, he told her so.
She narrowed her eyes. “But you have to admit—they’re not as good as you thought, either.”
Jax’s lips quivered and he tipped his chin. “Agreed.”
It was so strange to feel a lightness where the old blind prejudice used to dwell. A thought occurred, dark swirls mixing with the light. She wet her lips. “Did anyone phone my mom?”
“She was in Iceland on a cruise.” Jax squeezed her hand. Sexy blue eyes glittered with gold as his lips pursed. “She was on her way, but when she heard you were fine, her husband convinced her not to cancel her trip.”
An old pain clenched but receded as Jax kissed their joined hands. While it hurt, it no longer held power over her. Her mom wasn’t a victim or a villain. Just human.
Charlie nodded. “What else?”
So he told her the rest of it, how he’d begged the Partners to grant her life.
She caught his chin. “That’s not something to mess around with, Jax—even I know that.” Apples surrounded her with their scent, and she almost wept at the familiar smell. Instead, she narrowed her eyes. “Spill. What did you have to give up to restore the balance?”
Jax shrugged and turned his head to kiss her hand. “My immortality.”
Her hand fell from him to the sheet as her heart pounded. Fingers twisted into the sheet. “What?”
Jax leaned in, his hand cupping her jaw. His thumb stroked over her pulse point. “They need life to grant life. The only way they could grant my wish was to strip my immortal life from me.”
“You gave up your immortality?” Shock encased her in brittle glass, a high-pitched ringing in her head. “For me?”
Jax’s eyes burned into her. “I would sacrifice anything for you, gorgeous. Say the word.” His lips crept into a smile. “Even eating French-style.”
But she wasn’t going to be fobbed off. “Jax, you can’t sacrifice your immortality.”
“It’s done.”
“But . . . your job. You love your job.” Her brow creased as her thoughts tumbled into one another. “How can you do your job without immortality?”
“I’ll grow old and I’ll stop. Unlike the Genies who quit, I still have all my powers. And unlike them, I’m still a Genie, technically. I just won’t have to watch you and Mabel die.” Jax covered her hand that was twisting into the sheets. “Don’t you get it, Charlie? I love you. I don’t want to live eternity alone.”
The glass that encased her broke, and love and happiness fled in on a wave of pure joy. If she hadn’t already decided to let go and trust in him, this ultimate sacrifice would have done it.
She threw her arms around him, pulling him close, ignoring the thundering ache of her body. Her mouth captured his, tasting him, absorbing him as her hands tunneled into his hair.
When they broke apart, she cupped his cheeks. “Oh, man, Jax Michaels. What am I going to do with you?”
“Love me?” His hands slid to her shoulders, gripping as he dropped a kiss on her jaw.
“Always.” She inhaled apples and shot him a slow smile. “Hey, you think they have croissants here?” She toyed with the buttons on his shirt.
His eyes became sleepy, a wicked smile curving his lips at one side. His thumb caressed her skin as a steaming buttery croissant appeared in his hand
. Flakes of pastry tumbled onto the bed.
Charlie widened her eyes. “But we don’t have plates,” she teased.
Jax was smiling as the lock to her room clicked home.
* * *
Wedding Bells for Magic Couple???
Charlie Donahue, Jax Michaels’s girlfriend of six months, was spotted on the street outside of her successful bookshop, The Book Nook, yesterday dragging around a huge diamond ring on her third finger. Sources close to the couple have been tight-lipped, but we have managed to get a comment from Jax Michaels’s long-time friend, Aunt Mabel herself. The cookie queen bestowed her blessing on the pair, finally admitting that she will be “polishing off her zebra-print hat.” While somewhat bizarre, it’s as good a confirmation as any. The only question left will be whether the reclusive Partners themselves will attend the wedding. The Partners, known for their sporadic appearances, stripped the famous Genie of his immortality to wish Charlie Donahue back to life after a horrific car crash earlier in the year. I know we’ll all be watching to see what happens next . . .
Stay tuned for another Playboy Genie!
HIS COMMAND
By Sophie H. Morgan
Coming Summer 2017 from St. Martin’s Swerve!
About the Author
Sophie H. Morgan is a paranormal romance author with a love for hot guys, sassy heroines, and HEAs that seem impossible. When not at the keyboard working out ways to drive her characters into each other’s arms, you can find her rambling about the English countryside with her four crazy spaniels, or devouring yet another romance novel with another bag of cookies. The spaniels sometimes help with the latter. Visit her at: www.sophiehmorganauthor.wordpress.com.
You can sign up for email updates here.
Thank you for buying this Swerve ebook.
To receive special offers, bonus content, and info on new releases and other great reads, sign up for our newsletters.
Or visit us online at us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
For email updates on the author, click here.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
About the Author
Copyright Page
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
HER WISH. Copyright © 2017 by Sophie H. Morgan.
All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover photographs: man © CURAphotography/Shutterstock.com; background © Reinhold Leitner/Shutterstock; smoke© Romolo Tavani/Shutterstock.com
Author photograph © Sophie H. Morgan
eISBN 9781250129215 (ebook)
First eBook Edition: May 2017
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, ext. 5442, or by e-mail at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.