“I can whip something up, no problem. And I’d say that would be amazing.”
“Good. Tell Imari and Kora, will you? I’ll be out as soon as I’m done with my call.”
Hattie nodded. “Perfect.”
He went to his office as Hattie headed for the kitchen.
But his office wasn’t empty. Imari stood in front of the Klimt painting, her bottle in her hands. “Hey,” she said softly.
“Hey. Everything all right?”
She looked at the bottle she was holding. “I was just thinking.”
“About?”
“How I should probably go home.”
Imari hadn’t expected Lucien to be so shocked by her announcement.
“You’re leaving?”
She nodded. “You need space to reconnect with Kora.” It wasn’t how she’d pictured things going, but she wasn’t going to hinder Lucien and Kora repairing their relationship. That was far more important than her desire to stay with Lucien. “And I need to get back to my apartment at some point. And then there’s my job.”
“But you said you wanted to stay married. I thought…that you’d stay here, too.”
“I don’t want to get in the way of you and Kora. I love you, Lucien. This doesn’t change that.” She did love him, so very much. “And I do want to stay married, but we already knew we couldn’t go from zero to sixty. We need to get to know each other properly. Gradually. You know, the way it usually works. And we’ve got all kinds of time to do that. Right now, Kora needs you.”
“Imari, I need you, too.”
She smiled as she walked to him. She liked seeing him as a father. It suited him. “And I need you. I didn’t mean to imply I didn’t. But again, I don’t want to get in the way of you and Kora figuring out your new relationship.”
She leaned into him, the bottle safely tucked against her side. “Don’t look so sad. This isn’t the end of anything. Really, it’s just the beginning. Of you and Kora. And of us. There is so much good yet to come.”
He sighed, but the exhale ended in a thin smile. “I can’t lie, I don’t like it. But I know you’re probably right that Kora and I could use this time together. It’s very understanding of you.”
She shrugged. “After what I just went through with my parents, could you expect me to think any other way? You’re so lucky to have this opportunity.”
“You’re the one who made it happen.”
“That reminds me.” She set the bottle on the small table by the couch. “Isn’t there another wish you’d like to have?”
“I have everything I need.”
She cut her eyes at him while offering him a coy smile. “Lucien. Come on, now.”
“You mean being able to see color?”
She’d already planned on giving that ability back to him, but it wasn’t what she was talking about. “I mean fixing your abilities.”
He seemed shocked by that. “You can fix my reaper powers?”
“I told you, jinn magic is strong stuff.”
“That would mean…I wouldn’t have to separate myself from people anymore.”
“Isn’t that what you want?”
He was quiet for a moment, the muscles in his jaw working. “Yes, of course. But I didn’t think such a thing was possible. You’ve already done so much for me, and I know your wishes are limited—”
“Lucien.” She gave him a stern glance. “You saved my life. And risked your own doing it. I owe you.”
“You owe me nothing. After what you did for Kora? We’re square.”
“Then consider these wishes my wedding present to you.”
He smiled. “You are gift enough. But I am not so foolish that I would turn down the chance to be whole again.” He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her, then pulled her in close. “Thank you.”
She held on to him, savoring the feel of him in her arms. All her life, she’d thought this kind of happiness was for other people. People who were able to make their own choices. People who’d been born to a different path than she had. And now, here she was, with the love of a good man.
And thanks to Hattie, and potentially Kora, she had a new family. One who would never decide their station in life meant more than their relationship with her.
“Just say the words,” she whispered. “Wish for what you want.” She felt him take a breath.
“I wish I could see color again. And I wish that my reaper powers were fully mine to control again.”
She stepped back and summoned her wishes. The familiar spin of possibility washed through her with a happy buzz, and she imagined the things that he’d asked for. Then, with a nod and a small shower of glitter, she made them reality.
He sucked in a breath. She imagined it was because the color had returned to his sight.
“Better?” she asked.
“Perfect.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you fixed me so easily.”
“Jinn—”
“Magic,” he finished with a laugh. Then his mood shifted back to a more serious tone. “I could wish for you to stay, couldn’t I?”
“You could.” She already knew he wouldn’t. He wasn’t the kind of man who would force his will upon her.
“But that would make it my choice and not yours.” He kissed her. “I do wish you’d stay, but I also understand you probably need some time to process everything that’s happened to you, too.”
“I do.” She kissed him back. Her husband. How odd. And wonderful.
“I do hope you’ll still be here often, Imari. Your presence will always be welcome. And I actually think it will help Kora.”
“You think so? How?”
“Kora could use the example of us together. She needs to see what a happy relationship looks like. Besides that, Hattie loves you.”
“But she has her granddaughter now.”
“Doesn’t mean she doesn’t still want you here. She does.”
Imari smiled. “I’ll be around.”
He glanced toward the kitchen. “Good. Because I just hate the thought of you not being in this house. Of not having you in the same room. Or being able to touch you. And kiss you. And hold your hand. Whenever I want.”
She slipped her arms around his waist again. “Then you’ll probably want to take me out on dates. Especially now that you can go out in public without the fear of accidentally doing someone in.”
His smile returned. “I like the thought of being out with you in public very much.”
“Good. Then it’s settled. I’ll move back to my place for a little bit, and we’ll all get to know each other better. That will give me some time to get to know Kora as well. Without the pressure of us all being in the same house together.”
“Agreed.” He glanced around the room like he was seeing it with new eyes, which in a way, he was. “This house is odd, isn’t it? Living underground like this. It’s not what most people do.”
“No, it isn’t. But then, most people aren’t generally trying to hide from the rest of the world. Nor do they have a reason to.”
He nodded slowly. “I think it’s time to make some changes.”
“Like what?”
He just smiled and shrugged. “You’ll see.”
A week later and Imari still wasn’t sure what kind of changes Lucien had been talking about. So far, nothing new had really happened.
Well, outside of everything that was already new. He and Kora seemed to be moving forward in a healthy way. Hattie had joined the Nocturne Falls gardening club, despite the fact that she had no garden.
And Imari was back at work.
Which was a little strange. Because as much as she loved her job, she missed being at Lucien’s.
Her apartment seemed so empty without Hattie in the kitchen, or Lucien’s weighty presence.
And she’d been over to his place twice. Both times for dinner, which had been lovely, but since being back at work for three days, their schedules hadn’t lined up. She’d been too tired after the first day of w
ork, then he and Kora had made plans to do something, then her girlfriends had insisted on a night out to catch up. The bottom line was she missed him. A lot. Text and phone calls were great, but they weren’t Lucien in the flesh.
And he was going to be away again, soon. He had to face the reaper council to discuss why he’d reaped and then returned Khalid’s soul. She’d asked to go with him for that. Seemed only fair after what Lucien had done for her. But he’d said that wouldn’t sit well with the council.
She leaned against the hall that divided the spa rooms. Dwelling on how much she missed Lucien wasn’t helping get her through the day. Time to focus. Her next client was already waiting for her. A new client. She had a lot of new clients today. Wasn’t that unusual. This was a tourist town, after all. But she hoped this one, a Mr. Black, wasn’t creepy. Sometimes with the guys, you never knew what you were getting, although the spa did a pretty good job of weeding out the weirdos.
She put on a smile and knocked softly on the door of the Oasis room. “Mr. Black, it’s Imari, your massage therapist. Are you ready for me?”
A muffled grunt answered her. She took that for a yes and opened the door.
Lucien leaned against the massage table, smiling. “Hi there.”
She almost squealed. She shut the door behind her so as not to disturb the spa’s quiet. “Lucien! What are you doing here?”
He shrugged. “I missed you.”
She threw her arms around him, which was totally not appropriate therapist-client behavior, but whatever. “I missed you too. It’s been too long.”
He nodded and kissed the edge of her jaw. “Too long. But I know we’ve both been busy.”
This was the first time she’d seen him out in public since everything that had happened. She knew it was a big step for him, even with his powers mended. She hooked her arms around his neck. “It was really sweet of you to come by.”
“I had to see you. To touch you.” He pulled her closer and trailed kisses toward her ear. “And do this.”
Her breath shuddered with the waves of pleasure his kisses were causing. “You, uh, know they’re going to charge you for this massage.”
“Who cares? I can afford it.”
“I know, but I would have given you one for free at your house. Or mine.”
He stopped kissing her. “I didn’t come here for a massage. I came here to spend an hour with you.”
She backed up and rubbed her hands together. “Oh, you’re getting a massage.” She’d been wanting to give him one for a while. For someone who’d been unable to touch or be touched, this was going to be an amazing experience for him.
“I am?” He looked skeptical.
“You are.” She pointed behind him. “Drop the robe and get on the table under the sheet, face down in the ring at the end.”
He straightened, putting his hands on the robe’s belt. “I should warn you, I don’t have anything on under this robe. That’s what they told me to do when I got here. Get undressed. So I did. I was afraid they wouldn’t let me back here if I didn’t.”
She turned around to give him some privacy and to hide her quickly heating cheeks. “Yep, that’s standard procedure. Under the sheet.”
She heard a soft rustling behind her. Lucien. Getting naked.
Heat swept her from head to toe. How was she going to do this? She’d massaged people from all walks of life, all body types, all varieties of supernatural, and always kept it strictly professional.
But this was Lucien, the only one she’d ever wanted in a very unprofessional way. And he was her husband.
“Ready.”
She swallowed and took a breath. She could do this. Fifty minutes of the best massage she’d ever given. Easy.
She turned around. The sheet covered him completely, but even in the soft light of the Oasis Room, it was impossible to ignore the incredible shape of the man beneath that sheet.
Professional, she reminded herself. Yeah, right.
“Okay, I’m going to start with your back.” She pulled the sheet down to his waist. Next she held her hand beneath the automatic warmed oil dispenser, then rubbed the oil between her palms. “Just relax and let yourself go. It’s okay if you fall asleep.”
He grunted. “The woman I’m in love with is about to put her hands on my naked body and you think I might fall asleep?”
“Massage is very soothing.” Sure it was. That’s why her lady parts were making wishes of their own.
Lucien hadn’t come to the spa for a massage, but when Imari’s warm, oiled-up hands caressed his back, his mind lost track of the real reason he’d come here.
Forget the wishes and the flying carpets and glitter in the air. Her hands were the real magic. The long, slow strokes she worked over him made him feel blissfully drugged. He’d never been touched like this, never wanted to be.
But then, he’d never known it could feel like this.
He might have been flying on that magic carpet again as weightless as he felt. He sighed, eyes closed, world around him forgotten.
Except for the woman touching him. There was no way he could forget her. “You are amazing.”
Her soft laugh answered him. “I told you you’d like it.”
“If we were not already married, I would propose.” The last word reminded him why he was here. He’d brought her a gift, and it was currently in his robe pocket.
More soft laughter as her hands slipped lower. Then lower still.
His body responded in a new way. A way that he hadn’t expected. A way that filled his head with ideas that should not be acted on in Imari’s place of employment.
He yanked the sheet around him and scrambled into a sitting position.
“Whoa.” Imari backed up, her eyes on the ceiling. “You all covered up there?”
He checked. He was. Mostly. He adjusted the sheet. “Yes, but we are married, you know. It’s not like you can’t look if you want to.”
She did now, smiling sheepishly. “I know, but we aren’t at that stage of our relationship. Yet.”
But maybe soon, was what her tone implied. He was fine with that. He was ready when she was. Maybe more ready. Or too ready. He cleared his throat and tried to think about other things. Like Hattie. And Kora. That helped ease him away from the edge of no return.
“Did you not like the massage?”
“I liked it very much. So much we probably shouldn’t continue until we’re at that stage of our relationship.”
“Oh. Oh!” She snorted, then pressed her lips together in a wobbly smile. “Yep, good. I’m in agreement there.” She crossed her arms. “So I guess we could talk until your appointment is up.”
“I have a better idea. I brought you a present. It was somewhat impulsive, but I promise that if you don’t like it, I won’t be offended or upset.”
She frowned. “Now I’m worried.”
“Don’t be.” He hopped off the table and dug into the pocket of his robe, pulled out a small black box. He held it out to her. “Hattie said I should get you a ring.”
Her frown lessened. “Oh, that’s sweet.”
She opened the box and looked inside. Then she glanced up at him, puzzled. “Is that…a key ring? I’m not sure that’s what Hattie meant—”
“I know it’s not the kind of ring she meant. But this key ring holds a key. To a house. That I bought for us.”
Her mouth hung open for a moment. “You bought a house?”
“Yes, I know it was impulsive, but I spoke with Pandora Williams—isn’t she a friend of yours?”
Imari nodded, still looking a bit shocked.
“Well, I spoke to her about the idea of buying a new house, and she told me the house two blocks from the Victorian her fiancé owns was about to come onto the market, but I might be able to scoop the sale if the offer was good enough. Apparently, it was because the owners accepted right away.”
“You bought a house. Above ground.”
He nodded, completely unsure what to think about her reacti
on. “I thought it would be good for us to have a space that’s…a new beginning.” Especially if there was any chance they might start a family. Children needed a yard. And Hattie wanted a pet.
“What about your underground house?”
“Kora will live there. It’s perfect for her since she has to avoid daylight anyway. Plus I’m training her to take over some of my responsibilities at the club. Hattie would like to live with us, though, if that’s all right with you. The house is plenty big enough, I assure you. Very large yard, too.”
“Oh, Lucien. I don’t know what to say.”
“Are you happy or upset? I can’t tell.” He hoped with everything in him she wasn’t upset.
She laughed, and her eyes sparkled with tears. “Happy. I can’t believe you bought us a house. And yes, Hattie can live with us. I would love that.”
He exhaled in relief. “Would you like to see it? Pandora said it will need some work. Enough that it might take a few months. The owners haven’t updated it since they bought it in the ’80s, but you can change it however you like. The only thing I ask is that you use lots of color. And let Hattie decorate her own space.”
“Of course, she can do whatever she likes in her—wait. Are you telling me you bought a house two blocks down from Pandora Williams boyfriend’s house? On ritzy Shadows Drive?”
“Yes.”
“But those are all big, fancy, expensive Victorian mansions.”
He nodded. “Yes, they are. And the house is quite large. Pandora said three floors. I think Hattie would like an elevator. Sadly, the garage only holds four cars, but I’ll find a way to manage that.”
“Why do you keep saying Pandora said? Haven’t you seen the house?”
“Not yet, no.”
She let out a little laugh-sob combination, then put her hand over her mouth. “You’re kind of nuts, you know that? Who buys a house that was undoubtedly a lot of money without looking at it first?”
He lifted one shoulder. “I do, I guess. I promise I won’t always be this impulsive. I know how you genies like order.”
She threw her arms around him. “No, don’t change. I love you just the way you are. I think order is overrated.”
The Reaper Rescues The Genie Page 23