If I hadn’t run into Raif, I would’ve written the morning off as a total waste of my time. I had no interest whatsoever in playing Xander’s games. The workout had been a welcome distraction; I hadn’t stretched my muscles in a while. But Raif’s obviously haggard state had left me feeling less than satisfied.
It had been months since we’d-well, I’d-killed Azriel. And though Raif’s conscience felt the weight of his part in it, I wasn’t the least bit sorry. Azriel had deserved the punishment I’d been paid by his father to dole out. But his death had raised more questions than solutions. And that had me worried.
I’d been arrogant before. Thinking you sit at the top of the food chain has a tendency to do that. Finding Xander and opening up an entire world of supernatural creatures had brought me down a peg or two. Despite my recent changes, I remained a small fish in a very big pond, and if my dream had any truth to it at all, it confirmed both Azriel’s and Delilah’s words: Someone was hunting me.
I wondered, as I recalled the dream, if there was a nursery somewhere full of little Shaede babies. Probably. Just because I’d never seen one didn’t mean there weren’t any. Kind of like Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster. Could one of them dance right into someone’s dream, though? Anything was possible at this point. Not that it mattered-Azriel had warned me long before my dream. Delilah backed him up with her own assertions as well. The coincidence of it all was just too perfect. I needed to watch my back. Hadn’t the Shaede child tried to warn me too? “He’s coming for you,” she’d said.
I felt dizzy just thinking about the skipping girl. Shit.
Stepping from pure sunlight, I became my solid self just inside the entrance to my apartment. Tyler sat at my table, working on a mammoth sandwich. He had a tendency to eat when he was worried, and he was chewing as if the damned thing were stuffed with nails rather than ham. I moved soundlessly across the hardwood floor, and he didn’t even flinch.
“Where’ve you been?” The casual tone he’d been going for failed miserably. In fact, his voice sported something altogether darker. Worry, party of one. “You didn’t call-”
“Because there was no reason for me to call.” I walked around the table, my hand trailing across the sculpted muscles of Tyler’s shoulders. He raised his hand to mine, his fingers pausing on the silver ring I wore on my thumb. He’d given it to me when I first met him. It was engraved with a bear, the protector-and his symbol. “I went to Xander’s. Trained with Raif. Nothing unusual. Relax.”
My short answers didn’t do much to assuage his overprotective attitude. He’d been on me like white on rice for weeks. I could handle the protectiveness. In fact, it came standard issue with Tyler’s Jinn nature. But for the past couple of weeks, that nature had grown from sweet to downright severe.
“I don’t like the way you smell when you’ve been there,” he said, setting down the sandwich as if it had a cockroach on it. “You smell like him.”
“Him” being the High King.
“You know there’s nothing between Xander and me.” Tyler’s ego didn’t usually need this kind of stroking. What the hell was up with him lately?
“I’m not talking about Xander,” Tyler said.
Oookaaay. “Well, then, who the hell are you talking about?”
“Raif.”
My jaw dropped on rusty hinges, and it wasn’t closing anytime soon. Come again? Raif? I couldn’t even put my voice to the words of astonishment juggling around in my head. I mean-Raif? As in, like-a-brother-to-me Raif?
“You spend every day with him. Nights too.”
Come on, mouth-work, damn it. I cleared my throat only to get a brooding hazel-eyed stare in response. One more try gave my vocal cords the get-up-and-go they needed. “Ty, what the hell’s wrong with you? You know there’s nothing between Raif and me. We’re friends. I mean-I am allowed to have friends, right? Why the jealous-lover routine lately? And have you forgotten, I spend all of my nights with you too? During and after work hours.”
Tyler’s eyes lost a little of that hard edge, and he ran his fingers through his hair, making him look a good five years older. He sighed, flexing his arms as if his skin suddenly felt too tight. “I know,” he said, his gaze cast toward the floor. “Sometimes the bond can make me a little twitchy. Darian, this is new for me. Usually the bond doesn’t go hand in hand with romantic attachment. It’s stronger because I love you. I guess I’m more worked up than I should be. Maybe I need to get a better handle on my feelings.” He gave me a sheepish grin. “You gonna call me an ass now?”
Usually, Tyler was the most levelheaded person I knew. We’d been bound for years. In fact, Tyler had made the bond between us without my even knowing because he thought I’d shun his protection. Can you say overprotective? Aside from that, I didn’t know much about the effects of the bond. As my genie, Tyler had more or less made a commitment to grant my wishes (but only when it was something I truly needed) and protect me to the point that he’d sacrifice his own life to keep me safe. But beyond that, I hadn’t a clue how the bond affected him. He definitely wasn’t acting like himself. He’d been just as keyed up as I’d been lately. Maybe we both needed a few weeks of vacation.
“I don’t mind a little jealousy now and then,” I said, bringing his hand to my mouth so I could kiss each of his knuckles. “It’s a turn-on.” The spark returned to Tyler’s eyes, no longer flashing with anger but with passion. “But not when it comes to Raif.”
He brushed his thumb across my bottom lip, his eyes glued to my mouth. “Like I said, I’m a little twitchy. The bond just needs to settle a bit.”
We’d been bound for five years. Jesus, how long did it take to settle? I laid my cheek against his cool palm. “I like that you want me all to yourself.”
I left my chair and rounded the table to stand behind him, my hands kneading the tense muscles above his shoulder blades. “Ty, if I wanted to find someone, could I just wish for it?”
Tyler craned his neck around so he could look me in the eye, and he sat up a little straighter. “That depends on who you’re looking for and why.”
“Well,” I said, peering at him through lowered lashes, “let’s just say I want to find someone who isn’t human. Could you deliver her to me if I wished for it?”
I pulled a chair right next to his and sat, rubbing the tip of my nose along his cheek, rough with stubble. I inhaled and held the scent of him in my lungs. His warm, spicy aroma had a homey quality and reminded me of comfort and trust.
“First of all,” he said, his voice thick and husky, “if you don’t stop that, I’m going to have you-right here on the kitchen table. Secondly, what are you up to?”
I smiled and took his earlobe between my teeth before gently pulling away. He groaned, and the sound sent a pulse of excitement zinging through my veins.
I knew the rules for making wishes, more or less. Tyler had spelled them out for me when I’d first become aware that he’d bound himself to me. Wishes, just like everything in the natural world, were regulated and restricted-balanced. So wishing for a million dollars or world peace was out of the question. I could wish only for something I needed. Just wanting something wasn’t good enough to justify wish granting. I couldn’t wish the dead back to life, or the living to be dead. I couldn’t wish to change the natural order of things, so that secret desire of being able to shoot laser beams from my eyes was a definite no-go. And I could never wish to break the bonds of others, no matter what they might be. As far as our own bond was concerned, though Tyler had made the bond, only I could break it. He could choose to bind himself to another only three times in his life, and I had no idea if I was number one or three.
What I was about to wish for definitely fell under the “want” category. But someone I cared about needed it. So I thought maybe by virtue of the loophole, I’d get my wish. “It’s just a simple question of finding someone,” I said, building the framework for my request. “Can you do it if I ask?”
A curling strand of my strawberry blond hair drifted into my line of sight, and I huffed it away before fixing my gaze on Tyler’s face. I tried not to stare directly into his eyes. They’re gorgeous, and I sometimes lose myself entirely in the hazel orbs. What can I say; I’m a sucker for pretty eyes.
“Could you find a Shaede if I wished for it?”
“Maybe,” he answered slowly. “There might be extenuating circumstances that would prevent me from granting that wish.”
I leaned back in my chair and deposited my legs onto his lap. “Such as?”
He smiled, a good sign, and began to massage one of my calves. “Well, this particular Shaede might not want to be found. Or there could be magic stronger than mine protecting him or her. Also, is this something you need? Or just a passing whim?”
I raised a dubious brow.
“Who are you looking for, Darian?”
I sighed as I felt a tightening in my center that branched outward toward my limbs-the barest perception of the heavens shifting. The noon sun had reached its zenith, dipping lower into the sky. I pushed the sensation to the back of my mind and tried to focus on the matter at hand. How I hated unceasing time.
“I want to find Raif’s daughter.”
Tyler paused in midmassage, the dark shadow returning to his eyes for a fleeting moment before he shook it off. “Raif has already tried to find her, Darian. Unsuccessfully, I might add. Besides, didn’t he tell you she died?”
“Yes,” I murmured as he moved to my other calf, artfully rolling it in his palm. “But I think she’s still alive. Delilah said something. Well, she said a lot of somethings actually, mostly incoherent ramblings, but I know she had her shit together when she told me Raif’s daughter is alive.”
“Did she tell you how she knew?”
I bit my bottom lip. “No. Raif thinks she’s lost her mind.”
“He tried to find her,” Tyler insisted. “He couldn’t.”
“But he didn’t have a genie.”
“Do it,” he said abruptly. His tone became serious, almost a dare. “Make the wish.”
I stared into his eyes, momentarily absorbed by the brownish star that surrounded Ty’s pupil. Something shimmered there, looking like an oil slick on water. My breath hitched. A wish was what I wanted, after all. He’d offered. Thrown it right in my face, actually. I tried to avoid making wishes; it felt too much like exercising control. But it wouldn’t be an order, just a simple desire spoken aloud.
Swallowing down the bitterness that coated my mouth, I found it hard to speak the words. The last time I made a wish, I’d been a sacrificial lamb, my blood dripping into nine bowls to awaken nine dormant gargoyles. I’d needed Ty’s help, and so I’d wished again and again for it. I needed his help now. “Tyler, I wish Raif’s daughter were standing here right now.”
Ty closed his eyes, thank God, and I could finally look away. A shudder passed along his body, and he inhaled sharply, every muscle in his body going rigid. I held my breath in anticipation as much as worry. I’d never seen the physical effect of the wish. Did it hurt him somehow?
Still silence consumed the apartment, but within me, time marched its steady cadence. Though the suspense was killing me, I waited while Tyler did his thing-whatever that was. His eyes flew wide open, and I felt the stirring of air as an invisible force ghosted past me. Startled, I pushed the foot resting in his lap against him, and my chair teetered on its back legs before coming down again on all fours. He exhaled an unsteady breath, his eyes watering.
“Nothing,” he said. “If she’s alive, she’s protected far beyond my scope of power. I’m sorry.”
He looked a bit shaky, and I cursed my selfishness. Had this happened every time I’d made a wish? Even the times before I’d known he was forced to obey my simple commands? “I’m sorry,” I said, the shame welling up like bile. “I won’t do that again.”
Ty reached over and squeezed my hand. The reassuring gesture did little for my blossoming guilt complex. “It’s part of the bond, love. No apologies. It’s about damned time you started making wishes anyway.”
Wrestling my hand free, I stood, the chair screeching against the floor as I pushed it back. Things had been a lot goddamned simpler when I was alone. For starters, I didn’t have to worry about hurting the man I loved. “Delilah’s got something up her sleeve,” I said, crossing to the kitchen. “I don’t know what, but I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, I want you to be more careful. Maybe you should keep a low profile until I’m sure it’s safe.”
A low snort of disgust answered me. Typical. Ever the knight in shining armor, Ty would never go down without a fight. “Keep a low profile,” he replied in a caustic tone. “Yeah, right.”
It was worth a try anyway. But I had ways of slipping through his fingers, and I refused to put him in danger again. I’d almost lost him forever when the Enphigmalé attacked him. And his only sin had been protecting me.
“Whatever.” The smart-ass remark I’d prepared evaporated into the one word. I didn’t want to fight with him. Not right now. I had other things on my mind. “I smell like a locker room. I’m taking a shower.” I walked toward the bathroom with a slow, languid gait, my hips screaming an invitation. A satisfied smile curved my lips as I heard Tyler’s chair slide back.
I peeled the tight white T-shirt up the length of my body and over my head, tossing it behind me. I didn’t hear it hit the floor, but I heard Tyler’s breath catch. I paused, kicking off my boots, toeing both of my socks down and over my feet. Cool fingers traced a path up my spine, causing delicious shivers to race along my flesh. He worked the clasp on my bra with ease, pulling the straps down over my shoulders. His breath tickled against my ear.
“I’ll help you wash,” he whispered.
As I led the way to the shower, I heard items of his clothing drop to the floor.
I’d keep him out of trouble, all right. And if that meant using my body and all of my feminine wiles to do it-then so be it.