“True.” He took a breath. “Plus, you are the only person I seem to be able to touch without killing.”
“Another resounding reason to stay hitched.” She winked at him. “Not to mention, Hattie won’t scold us if things get…conjugal.”
A small, choking noise came out of his throat, and an unfamiliar rush of heat swept over his face.
“Hey, I didn’t know reapers could blush.”
“I’m not.”
She tipped her head. “Um, yeah, you are. And it’s adorable.” She twisted back around in her seat and fastened her seat belt. “All right, husband. Take us home.”
The remaining few minutes of the drive were lost to Lucien. His head was otherwise occupied with the unexpected and overwhelming news that his beloved Imari wanted to stay married to him.
He wasn’t quite sure how to process it, really. He’d never felt joy like this, other than the day his daughter had been born and the very early days with Pavlina. But those memories had become more bitter than sweet in the past few years, and he hoped his relationship with Imari wouldn’t follow the same path as his relationship with Pavlina had.
But that wouldn’t happen. He couldn’t let himself think that way. He and Imari were good together. Really good. Great, actually. And Imari was nothing like the flighty and fickle Pavlina.
He parked the Lamborghini in its designated spot, then got out and went around to get Imari’s door.
He would show her just how perfect a husband he could be. He knew he was subject to moods. He’d work on that. Be less broody. Happier. Easy to do with Imari around. After all, she was proof that he could still be happy. She was his happiness.
He’d spoil her with things, if she wanted things. Trips were harder, given how dangerous it was for him to be around people, but he’d find a way. Maybe rent out an entire resort somewhere.
That gave him an idea. If she wanted a date night, he could do the same thing. Buy out one of the restaurants in town for the night. That would be romantic, wouldn’t it? He’d ask Hattie. She’d know.
He offered Imari a hand out of the car.
She took it and kissed his mouth as she went by. He grabbed her and pulled her close, kissing her back. Showing her just how happy he was. Kissing her now felt so different because she was his and he was hers. It was a kiss filled with love and promise and hope for the future. And as he held her in his arms, a feeling of completeness came over him.
When the kiss ended, she smiled blissfully up at him. “This is going to be fun.”
“Fun.” He shook his head at the idea. “That’s going to take some getting used to.”
“Well, I hope it never gets old. I don’t want it to.”
“Me either.”
She flattened her free hand on his chest. “I’m too wound up to sleep. You want to watch a movie or something?”
“We could get dressed up and go into the club.”
Her eyes brightened. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
The brightness faded. “I don’t really have anything clubby to wear.”
“You realize I own the place. You can wear a bathrobe if you want. We’ll sit in the VIP section and people-watch. If you want to.”
She gave him a coy smile. “Can we dance up there?”
“I don’t dance.”
“C’mon, Lucy, it’ll be fun…”
He rolled his eyes with great playfulness. “Is this my life now? Do I really live with two women who insist on calling me by that dreadful nickname?”
“Dreadful? I think it’s cute. Not as cute as you, but close.”
He laughed softly. “You know I will do anything you want. If it’s dancing, so be it. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you about my ability. Or rather, lack of.”
“Maybe I can show you a few moves.” She wiggled her hips in the most enticing way before letting go of him to hook her arm through his. “Let’s lock my bottle in the safe first, okay?”
“You got it. In fact, I’ll teach you the combination.”
He closed the car door, then they headed for the entrance to the house.
Imari leaned into him a little as they walked. “I could eat something, too.”
“I bet Hattie has some leftovers for us.”
“Perfect.”
As they entered the house, Lucien sensed something odd. It was just an instinct and not anything he could name, but something felt off.
Hattie materialized in front of them. She hovered above the floor, her expression tense. “You’re home. Good. Everything all right?”
“Yes,” Lucien said. “Everything’s really—”
“Good,” Hattie interrupted. “Because I have to tell you something.”
He braced himself. “What happened?”
Hattie glanced behind her before answering. “Kora’s home.”
“That’s right,” a female voice called out. Kora walked into the mudroom. She ran her tongue over her fangs. “Hello, Daddy.”
“Hello, Kora. What brings you here?” He could feel Imari tighten up. He understood. Kora was intimidating. Statuesque, icy blonde, and beautiful in a severe kind of way. Tonight she was dressed head to toe in black leather. Her short dress and matching jacket showed off her long legs, and the stilettos on her feet only made her taller.
Kora leaned against the mudroom wall and jerked her chin at Imari. “Who’s this? And how is she still alive if you’re touching her?”
Hattie clucked her tongue and frowned. “Kora, mind your manners.”
“Mémé, you seem to forget. I don’t have any.” Kora moved away from the wall and closer to Imari, passing right through Hattie as she walked. “So? Who are you? Don’t tell me dear old Dad found himself a girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend isn’t the right word,” Imari said.
Lucien put his hand on Imari’s arm. “You don’t have to explain anything to her. I’m sure my daughter is just here because she’s run out of money.”
Kora laughed. “Maybe that’s why your girlfriend is here too, huh?” She waved her finger at Imari. “Are you on the clock? Or is it a set fee? I don’t know how you girls work.”
Lucien stepped between his daughter and his wife. “You will not speak to Imari that way, do you understand me?”
Kora backed up, hands in the air. “Touchy. Wow. Okay, I get it, you like her.” She shrugged. “Cool with me. Like I care anyway.”
“I will ask you one more time, Kora.” Lucien exhaled, trying to calm himself. “Why are you here?”
Her friendliness disappeared. “I need an advance on my allowance.”
“You don’t get an allowance.”
“I should, seeing as how you’re the reason my mother’s dead.” She leaned around him to look at Imari. “Did he tell you that part? How he’s the reason my mother killed herself? If not, you’re welcome. Feel free to split if that’s too much for you.”
“I am not the reason Pavlina faced the dawn.”
“Seriously,” Kora said, still looking at Imari. “You should go before you get in too deep. He’s bad news.”
Imari narrowed her eyes and came to stand next to Lucien. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Hey, no shame in quitting. I ditched him. It’s easy.”
Imari looked up at Lucien, her eyes filled with love and questions. She smiled at him. “I’m not about to walk away from the man who saved my life.”
Kora snorted. “Oh, brother. You should marry her, Luce. She might be your only chance.”
“For your information,” Imari said, “we’re already married.”
Kora’s mouth came open. “Are you kidding me?”
Lucien hadn’t been ready to let Kora in on that, but he wasn’t going to be anything but proud of Imari and his relationship with her. “Kora, wait for me in the living room. Imari and I have a little business to take care of before I deal with you. Hattie, is there anything to eat? Imari and I are both hungry.”
Hattie nodded while Kora looked on, her mouth still
agape. “I’ll heat some leftovers up right away.”
Lucien took Imari’s hand, and together they walked away, leaving Kora in the mudroom. Lucien didn’t stop until they were in his office with the door closed. “I understand I have a lot of explaining to do.”
“Not a lot,” Imari said. “Whatever you feel comfortable with is fine. After what you just saw of my family, I’m certainly in no position to judge.”
“That’s very fair of you, but you still deserve an explanation.” He slumped against the door for a moment. “First of all, I’m sorry for how Kora spoke to you. Everything she does is designed to get a reaction.”
“I sort of figured that based on her whole look. But nothing she says is going to change the way I feel about you.”
“I appreciate that. I’m sure you’d still like a little background.”
Imari took a seat on the big leather sofa, curling her legs under her. “I wouldn’t mind. She seems…hurt.”
He joined her on the sofa, pulling one knee up so he could sit facing her. “Hurt? She’s just a willful, spoiled child who’s never grown up.”
“But something has caused all that anger in her. Most likely this belief that you’re somehow responsible for her mother’s death.”
He pondered that. “She can’t really think that.”
“Then why did she say it? You said it yourself to Khalid that the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Some part of her must believe it.”
He sighed. “Maybe you’re right.” He narrowed his eyes. “How do you know so much about children?”
“I don’t think I do. Jinn just have an innate gift to read people. And Kora comes off as hurt. That’s what makes a lot of people defensive and prickly. Pain. And the desire not to feel it again.” She drew circles around one of the upholstery nails on the back of the couch. “It’s why you were so reluctant to get involved with me. Right?”
He studied her, taking in her beautiful face. “Right. I was…afraid. It sounds so foolish now.”
“No, it doesn’t. How could you have known what the outcome would be?” Her smile was gentle. “I’m sure that’s what Kora’s going through too. So what happened between you and her mother? And why did your ex choose to end things in such a permanent way?”
Lucien rolled his shoulders, the weight of his past already heavy on him. “It’s a long story.”
“We have time. And I don’t think Kora’s going anywhere until she gets what she wants from you, so…” Imari shrugged. “Tell me.”
He took a breath. “It all started when I took my sabbatical from being a reaper…”
The pain in Lucien’s eyes made Imari hurt for him. She listened intently as he explained what had happened.
“All reapers take a sabbatical. It’s more than a recommendation, it’s scheduled. The council believes it helps those of us in the especially difficult divisions to balance out the work we do. You can opt out, and some do, but I didn’t.”
His gaze went to a distant place. “I wanted a family. I wanted to bathe myself in life. To remember that there was something good in the world. I saw so much destruction and carnage, I needed the other side of the coin.”
She nodded, unable to imagine how hard his job had been. “I would have too.”
“I’d already met Pavlina. She was a wild creature. I was captivated by her. She was a vampire, but she was more alive than anyone else I knew. She lived life in such a big way. By her own rules. If she wanted something, she took it.” The faintest hint of a smile bent his mouth. “That’s how she ended up with me.”
“She pursued you?”
“No.” He laughed. “But she whipped me into such a frenzy that I went after her like nothing else mattered. And it didn’t. I was under her spell. We married two weeks after we met. The day I began my sabbatical, actually.”
He shook his head like he was trying to rid it of memories. “Everything was such a whirlwind. The courtship. The marriage. Kora.”
Imari thought about that a moment. “I don’t mean to be indelicate, but I didn’t think vampires could procreate with any other kind of supernatural, so how did Kora happen?”
His gaze had slipped to some random spot on the cushion between them. He raised his head to look at her. “Reapers are a loophole, you might say. We’re so closely associated with death that we’re one of the few supernaturals compatible with vampires. In that way. Our powers don’t pass on, only the vampire’s do. That’s why Kora is so much her mother’s daughter.”
“I see.” For a second, Imari wondered if Pavlina had known that. And had possibly sought Lucien out for that purpose. But she didn’t know the woman or her motives, so Imari didn’t want to speculate. “Were you happy at all? You must have been at some point if you married her.”
“I guess I was. Caught up in her whirlwind is more like it. When Kora was first born, things seemed perfect. A happy little family.” His expression darkened, underlining how that happiness hadn’t lasted.
“So what happened? How did it break down?”
He sighed, a deep exhale of breath that roared out of him like a storm of emotion. “Pavlina had a short attention span. Everything and everyone was attractive to her. She wanted it all. Having a child only temporarily slowed her down.”
“What do you mean she wanted it all?”
“The attention I gave her wasn’t enough.”
“She…cheated?”
“Repeatedly. I lost track, actually. I stayed for Kora’s sake.”
Of course he had. Because that’s who Lucien was. A good man with an incredible heart. She couldn’t help but think he must have been an amazing father. The very idea got her maternal instincts all hot and bothered. Could a reaper and a genie have children? It was something worth finding out.
He rubbed his hand over his face. “It’s a terrible thing to feel betrayed by someone you love.”
She sniffed. “Don’t I know it.”
He looked stricken. “I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me. Of course you know how it feels.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s something we share now. An awful something, but that kind of understanding makes for a good bond.” And because he understood that feeling, he’d think long and hard before betraying anyone himself. Not that she thought he would betray her. But it was like extra insurance.
He smiled. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, tell me the rest.”
“Pavlina. She did what she wanted. Disappeared for weeks on end. Ignored both of us. Lived, essentially, like she was single again. And somehow, despite all of that, I became the bad guy in Kora’s eyes. In fact, the older Kora got, the more distant she became with me. She wanted her mother. But her mother was rarely there. And when Pavlina was there, she was never engaged. Never the doting mother Kora wanted her to be.”
Imari tapped her fingers on the back of the couch. “I’d guess that what Kora wanted was not only her mother’s attention but her mother’s approval. She saw her mother treating you badly, so she thought that was how to get it. She followed in Pavlina’s footsteps.”
“Yes. That’s exactly how it was. She had anger toward her mother, too, but she took it out on me. Maybe because I was usually the only one there to take it out on.” His gaze shifted away again. “I’m as much to blame, though. I thought I could win her affection with things and leniency.”
“What parent wouldn’t feel that way?”
His laugh was bitter. “You see how that worked.”
“No one would blame you.”
“Kora does. For everything.”
“Why? How are you responsible for Pavlina’s choice to meet the dawn? At least, I’m assuming that’s what she did.”
“It is. And I don’t know.”
“You must have some suspicions. What has Kora told you?”
“Nothing. She refuses to talk about it.”
Imari lifted her brows. “And yet you continue to fund her lifestyle?”
“I…yes.” He closed h
is eyes for a moment. “I’ve been afraid that if I stop, I’ll never see her again.” He looked away, a battle of emotions raging on his face. Then his jaw tightened. “She’s still my daughter.”
“And you love her.”
“I do.” His voice was strangled when he answered, thick with pain.
Imari went to her knees and leaned forward, cupping his face in her hands. “I’m so sorry.”
He bent toward her so they were forehead to forehead. “I have to be firm with Kora. I know that. And with you in my life, I can be.”
It thrilled Imari to know she gave him that kind of courage. “I’ll do anything I can to help.”
“Thank you. But my conversation with Kora is probably best had alone.”
She kissed his forehead before sitting back. “Whatever you think.”
He sighed, sounding very much like the most exhausted man in the world. She felt for him. For everything that weighed upon him. She hoped that she could ease those burdens a bit. Maybe not with Kora. That relationship wasn’t Imari’s to get involved with unless Lucien asked. But surely there were other aspects of his life she could help with.
She could, at the very least, bring him some fun and joy and lightness. The balance of his life was sorely lacking in that area.
He got to his feet. “I should go talk to her now. No point in putting it off.”
Imari stood up next to him, then picked the bottle off the side table where she’d put it before sitting down. “Can we put this in the safe first?”
“Yes, of course. I forgot all about that.”
“With good reason.”
He walked over to the Klimt painting and opened it like a door, revealing the safe behind it. “Watch now and I’ll show you the combination.”
“You don’t have to do that, you know. I trust you.”
“And I trust you. Which is why you should have the combination. It’s your bottle, after all. You should be able to access it whenever you want.”
“Thank you.” That was quite a statement coming from the man who’d been so closed off when they’d first met.
He punched the numbers into the key pad.
She watched, memorizing them. “Do those numbers mean anything, or are they random?”
The Reaper Rescues The Genie Page 21