Harvest Moon (Beaux Rêve Coven 4)

Nikon pursed his lips. “What I’m wondering is what he needed with you.”

“I was wondering the same thing…” came Radha’s soft voice from the doorway.

Khan felt all his anger toward the satyr drain from his body.

“I’d like to know, jinn,” she said, stepping onto the porch. She still wore her magenta silk skirt with a shimmery gold top that exposed the tops of her plump breasts. She looked lovely.

He raised his chin. “In case you didn’t realize, when someone captures me, either physically or through empathy, I am beholden to them.”

“You grant their wish,” she said, her tone a little flat. “Again, why did the vanir need you?”

“Women begged me for things,” he said, his voice hoarse, because he knew every word he said diminished him in her eyes. “They begged for a child. Begged for their husbands to never find out how they’d been made able to conceive. Begged to learn to love their husbands…”

“And you allowed yourself to be put in their path so that you could be used in that way…”

He nodded.

She cleared her throat. “Did you fuck them together?”

He cleared his throat. “Sometimes. If they wished…”

She closed her eyes. “How would a woman, who might be your wife, ever trust that you’d remain true…?”

And there was the crux of his problem. Short of imprisoning himself, where he’d never come into contact with another person other than his wife—like the tale about the genie in the lamp—there was no way to ensure he’d never be pressed into granting an inappropriate wish.

“All I can promise is to remain aloof from others who might use me,” he said, holding her gaze and hoping she believed the promise he was willing to make.

She gazed out at the water moving slowly through the canal, moonlight glinting on its surface. “How will you contact your…friend?”

“He’s no longer my friend. We parted ways long ago.” But he reached into his pocket for his cell phone.

She arched an eyebrow. “Not friends, and yet, you have his number?”

“I have his handler’s number. Before I came to Bonne Nuit, I met a woman who was despondent over failing to bear a child, so I reached out.”

Her lips firmed. “These women cheat the Goddess.”

He tilted his head. “Or perhaps, the Goddess placed the vanir here to provide a needed service.”

She blinked. “Maybe. Anyway, I’m going to try to get some rest.”

“You will keep your door unlocked…in case you need one of us to wake you,” he said, reminding her that danger lurked in her travels.

Radha gave a mirthless laugh. “Sure.”

When she turned away, he noted the satyr’s expression. For once, his smirk was gone. “She suffers.”

Khan glanced down at his phone and dialed the number.

Chapter 3

Later, Khan let himself inside her bedroom after the satyr left her side to shower. Drawing closer to the bed, he took in the sight of her, lying on her back, her thick brown hair spread on her pillow. Moonlight filtered through the window. Everyplace it touched her, her skin glowed like a lustrous pearl.

Except beneath her eyes. There, dark crescents looked like bruises. How had he not noticed she was exhausted?

She lay still, barely breathing, so he pulled an armchair close to the bed and sat in the darkness, waiting for any changes that might indicate distress.

Radha had said she sometimes walked around the house, and he wondered if she was doing it now, looking at him as he watched over her. Had she watched him at other times, when he’d traced the arches of her dark brows with a fingertip? Had she seen his gaze roam her body? He should feel ashamed for the liberties he’d taken, but he didn’t. He’d savored every second, knowing she’d never accept his touch in any other circumstance. Since the beginning, she’d held herself apart from the males, other than accepting a crooked elbow or a hand to help her stand.