The Seven Kings of Jinn

Remembering the epiphany that had come to him in his dream, Charlie had jolted out of bed that morning to grab the book Jai had given him about the jinn. Some of the wording made him frown as he looked over what he wanted, but surely this was the only way? Besides — he grinned inwardly, feeling warm and sure at the thought of Ari—if he did this he’d be strong enough to protect her, maybe not strong enough as a certain guardian he’d like to punch, but strong enough to be what she needed. Finally, to be what she needed.

“Yes,” he replied, clearing his throat when it came out all husky and nervous. “I wish to be a sorcerer.”

The marid raised a thick, dark eyebrow before he nodded. “I grant you this wish, Charlie Creagh.”

Chapter 27

Kiss of darkness

Ari hovered outside her dad’s bedroom, glancing at the hall clock again. It was noon and he still hadn’t made an appearance. For the fiftieth time, she raised a fist to the door, ready to knock, ready to face him. And then the nerves caught hold of her again like vicious little gremlins playing with her insides, and Ari fell back, taking deep breaths, trying to pull herself together.

Just as she was sure she was ready to knock for real this time, the doorbell rang downstairs. Hoping it was no one else but Charlie, Ari almost threw herself into his arms with relief when she swung the door open to find him there. But the memory of the night before, of crying herself to sleep over someone else, stopped her short. Charlie grinned, striding into the house, an electric energy buzzing around him. He placed a proprietary hand on her waist, his lip curling in that sexy, arrogant way of his. “Can we talk?”

Curious, Ari nodded. “Sure.”

She headed upstairs, hearing them creak behind her as he followed. Suddenly she was conscious of the fact that her ass was in his face and she hurried up the steps, bemoaning how easily she blushed. It was just… Charlie had been acting so differently around her lately. She wasn’t sure what it meant and right now, she wasn’t sure she could deal.

Wow. She never thought she’d ever doubt wanting to be with Charlie.

Feeling inexplicably guilty again, Ari let him into her room and shut the door behind them.

“Have you spoken to your dad yet?”

She shook her head, staring at him as he stood before her, his eyes warm, his hair all mussed up as usual. He stood with his hands stuck lazily in his pockets. He looked casual, relaxed.

Happy?

“He’ll come around.”

“Yeah.” Ari wasn’t so sure. “So… what did you want to talk about?”

He sobered, taking a step toward her. “First, I want to apologize.”

“Apologize?” For what? What did he do?

“Yeah. Apologize. For all the times in the last two years, I turned my back on you. I was messed up, and I didn’t want to drag you down. I didn’t think I was good enough for you.” He took another few steps until he was standing inches from her. The lemon detergent his mother used on his clothes tickled her senses, reminding her of those two lonely years. “I’m sorry, Ari,” he whispered, leaning in, making her heart pound. “For hiding from someone so special and taking you for granted. And on that note… the second thing I wanted to talk about…” When his lips came down on hers and he pulled her close, Ari froze. Probably assuming it was surprise, Charlie grasped the back of her neck, his fingers threading through her hair. The soft pressure of his lips unwound her and Ari held on to him, finally giving into his kiss. Thoughts of Jai pushed in on her, screaming at her she was acting unfairly. But Jai doesn’t want me, she argued. And Charlie does. And I love Charlie. I do. Sighing into his mouth, Ari let her lips fall open and Charlie took the invitation, his tongue teasing hers in a wet, deep kiss that causes her cheeks to flush a rosy red.

So she didn’t feel the overwhelming, unbearable, nerve shattering heat she felt with Jai.

But this was good.

This could be so good.

This was Charlie.

Kissing him back harder, Ari almost smiled when he groaned, the vibration thrumming through her. He gripped her closer, her shirt straining against her chest as he scrunched the back of it in his fists, aiming to press as much of his body against hers.

“Ari,” he moaned, pulling back to look at her, his eyes bright with desire. He only paused a moment—almost as if he couldn’t be away from her lips any longer—but that moment was all Ari needed to be reminded that his eyes were brown.

Not green.

And as awareness of what she was agreeing to came down on her like a ton of concrete, so did her awareness of everything else. She felt the hum of energy from Charlie’s skin, the hum that she’d attributed to lust.