The Seven Kings of Jinn

“How does that make you feel?” she whispered.

Jai made a huffing noise. His cynical little smirk was firmly back in place. “How does it make you feel?”

A sensation, a warm tension, a bubble of understanding, drew around them, closing them in together, their breaths seeming to match one for the other. She didn’t answer. Because she didn’t need to. Somehow, in all of this, Jai Bitar of the Ginnaye, one of the jinn whom she wished to be nothing like, understood her. She smiled shyly, dropping her gaze, trying not to think about the hot kiss he’d placed on her to trace her movements. Jai got her.

And just then, she didn’t feel so lonely anymore.

Chapter 15

How can I lean on you

if you’re lying down?

Ari snuck another peek at Jai. He was slouched on an armchair, his book under a lamp. He’d read all books in the sci-fi series he’d been reading and had been looking for another science fiction novel to conjure. Ari had given him a copy of Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood from her bookshelf. His head hadn’t lifted from the pages since he’d started reading it after dinner, so she could only assume he was enjoying it. She drew her legs up onto the couch, curling them under her, and attempted to concentrate on the television. It was difficult with Jai sitting there looking like that. She held in a huff of annoyance, wishing they could rewind the clock a few days. Yeah, sure, she’d thought he was attractive (she had eyes after all) but until today he’d just been this slightly annoying hot guy she enjoyed trading insults with. Alright, he was a slightly annoying hot guy she enjoyed trading insults with and who also intrigued her. A little. He had a story. She wanted to know more. Needed to know more of.

Crap.

To shrug off whatever it was Jai made her feel, Ari called Charlie, but his cell went straight to voicemail. She wondered if he and his mom were spending some more quality time together. God, she hoped so. Still, it would have been nice to talk to him, tell him about her dad. About ‘the big talk’ her dad had planned, the one in which she was pretty sure he was going to bully her into going to Penn. She knew she should stand her ground, but it would be easier to let her dad have his own way. She didn’t want to disappoint him. Again.

Without meaning to, Ari’s eyes drifted over to Jai again. His willingness to confide in her about his family took her aback. He’d let down his guard and let her in so she wouldn’t feel so alone in this thing with her dad. It was incredibly unselfish of him. Settling her chin on her hand, she studied the way the light played over his face. When Jai was talking to someone, his entire face was tight, the muscle in his jaw flexed a lot, and his eyes glinted like sharp cuts of emerald. But when he was reading, he was more relaxed. And boy, did he have attractively long eyelashes for a guy. He turned a page and Ari followed the lines of his large, strong hands. They were nice hands, masculine and rough, but somehow graceful. The tendons on his muscled forearm twitched as he turned the page and Ari felt a deep flip in her lower belly. Her heart picked up speed as her gaze feasted on him. Flushing at her wayward thoughts, reprimanding herself for being disloyal to Charlie (and yeah, she was aware they weren’t actually a couple). Ari wanted to tear herself away. But she couldn’t. Jai had gotten under her skin somehow, and now she wanted to know more.

“So what the Red King said? You live a completely human life?”

Jai raised his head at her soft question, his brows furrowed together as he processed it. “What?”

“What he said… you live a completely human life?”

He pulled himself up into a sitting position so he could look at her without craning his neck. “Uh… yeah. The Ginnaye are among the Jinn who live a mortal lifespan. Although… well...” he rubbed the back of his neck, seeming uncomfortable. “With my mother’s blood I don’t know what that means for my lifespan.”

Ari’s eyes widened. “Your mother is immortal?”

Jai made a face and put the book down on the coffee table. “Ari, didn’t you read the book I gave you?”

“Yeah. It was interesting. Despite the revulsion I felt reading about my so-called father, I’m glad I read it. You were right. I needed to know this stuff. I especially found the whole Seal of Solomon thing fascinating.”

His gaze sharpened on her. “Really? Why?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, I just did.”

“Interesting.”

“Why—”

Jai cut her off. “The only immortal jinn are Azazil and his sons. And Asmodeus, for some reason we can’t fathom.”