Bound (Secrets of the Djinn) (24 page)

It can’t be that easy.  “Because I kissed you, you won’t possess me anymore?  Bullshit, you’re lying again.”

Anger flashes in his eyes and he plants his palms flat against the wall on either side of my head.  His mouth is only an inch from mine and if he kisses me again, it’ll be for punishment, not passion.  “I. 
Always
.  Abide by the terms of a deal I make.”

Saying, ‘I don’t believe you’ again seems unwise at the moment.  “You said it yourself.  You lie.”

“Not about this,” he growls. 

Deep down, I know he’s telling the truth.  I guess if the devil didn’t stick to the deals he makes people would stop making them with him.  Stepping away from this dangerous topic, I say, “You said you want
something from me.  What?”

Smiling now,
anger forgotten, he steps back again.  His moods swing back and forth so fast, I’m getting motion sickness.  “I also said you need to figure out what that might be.”

I’m not going to get anything else from him. 
I can see it in the firm set of his jaw and the coldness in his eyes.  “Can I go home now?”

A wry chuckle escapes his lips.  “You, my dear, have no home.”

Tears spring unbidden to my eyes.  He’s right, I don’t.  But I have people who love me and I want to go back to them.  “Will you send me back or not?”

Eyes narrowing, he considers me.  He takes so long
to answer that I’d squirm under his gaze if I could move against my shackles.  Finally, he says, “Take care, my dear.  You are being led astray.”

Before I can ask him what he means, he sends me home.

Chapter
29

“What are you thinking?  You can’t go off with him by yourself,” Zane says.

Malik adds his voice.  “I concur.  You can’t trust him.”

At first, I think they’re berating me for what I’ve done, but then Brielle asks, “Where did the devil go?  I thought he was all gung ho to talk to you.”

They don’t know I
already left with him?  I half expected to come back days later, but he brought me back to the exact moment I left with him.  How does he manipulate time?  “We’ve talked and he left.  He agreed not to possess me anymore.”

The room is so silent, I can hear my kidneys working.  Finally, Zane says, “You’ve already spoken to him.”  It’s not a question
, it’s an accusation.  “How much of a conversation could you have in the blink of an eye?” he demands.  A vein at his temple is beginning to throb.

“She was with him longer than the blink of an eye,” Malik drawls, his expression disapproving.  “What did it cost you?”

I sigh and reluctantly admit, “A kiss.”  I’m pretty sure I hear Mrs. Gregori mutter the word ‘tramp’, but Hank clears his throat loudly and I can’t be certain.

“What was it like?” Brielle asks.  Her brother turns and glares at her.  “What?  I’m curious.”

I think it’s safer not to answer her question.  Especially considering Beelzebub got inside my head to make sure I enjoyed the kiss.  A shiver travels down my spine as I think of that awful moment.

“Did you make a grab for the ring?” Brielle asks.

“No, um…” I glance at Zane and then back to his sister.  “I was in shackles.”

Incredulity rings in Zane’s voice.  “He shackled you?!”
His falls into a frown.  “I didn’t feel fear from you.”

I probably should have left that little detail out
, and he’s right, I wasn’t afraid.  This means I’m not being careful enough with my personal safety around the evilest being in existence.  I should
always
be afraid of the devil.  Still, I shrug.  “He didn’t do anything else to me.”  Except almost dropping me in a chasm, but I keep that to myself.  I’m getting smarter.  “He only kissed me because I said he could.”

Regardless of the fact Zane suggested I seduce Beelzebub, a flicker of pain
passes over his face.  I reach out to him and squeeze his arm.  “He’s a horrible kisser,” I murmur.  He laughs and I know we’re okay.

Brielle flops down in one of the chairs.  “Okay, we’ve crossed possession off the list.  What crisis do we work on now?”

I think deep down she thrives on this drama.  “I have no clue.  There’re too many to choose from.  Malik?”

“Did Beelzebub tell you any more about Jalynx?” he asks, avoiding my question.

Shaking my head, I say, “No.”

“Any idea when that aunt of yours will attack?” Zane asks.

Malik scowls at the mention of our relative.  “I would guess at the new moon.  She will have many djinn with her and not all will be in human form.  With no moonlight, there is less chance of humans witnessing their attack.”

“That’s tomorrow night,” Mrs. Gregori says.  Who would have guessed she monitors the moon cycles.

“How many will come?” Hank asks.

Malik considers for a moment.  “She will need a large number if she plans to take me on.  She knows my strengths so she will attempt an ambush to catch me off guard.”  His eyes move to me and away again.  “But Skye is who she will come for first.  If she can get her hands on my sister, then she will use her as leverage to keep me from using my power against her.”

“So we babysit Red. 
Nothing new there,” Brielle mutters.  She ignores the dirty look her brother gives her.

Voice even, Malik says, “I would prefer to have Skye with me at all times.”

“You didn’t answer my question, son.  How many will she bring?” Hank asks again.

Uncomfortable now, Malik says, “At least a hundred.”

Even Brielle’s mouth drops open with the rest of ours.  It’s like we’re frogs waiting for flies to land on our tongues.  When my voice finally returns, I say, “How the hell are we going to fight off
a hundred
djinn?”

A new voice enters the conversation.  “I
will stand with you and more who feel as Malik and I are due to arrive soon.”  The room is quiet again.  At least our mouths are closed this time.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Brielle
finally says.  “A little birdie told us you might not be on our side.”

Jalynx stalks into the room like a lion ready to attack a gazelle.  Brielle gets to her feet and squares off against the djinni.  As if we practiced it, Malik and I move
at the same time to stand between the two.  My brother is closest to Jalynx and I stand near Brielle.  Considering she’s tougher than I am, I doubt I could restrain her, but I can prevent Jalynx from using magic on her. 

“Move aside, Red,” Brielle growls.

“Stop being an idiot.  Hank will kill you if you destroy your grandmother’s favorite room,” I say.

“She ain’t lying,” Hank says gruffly. 

“Who gave you the false information?” Jalynx demands of Malik.

Without hesitation, he says, “Beelzebub.”

Jalynx’s hands are on her hips.  “The devil told you?  And you believe him?!”

Malik is matter-of-fact i
n his response.  “He said you’re not who you seem and then he possessed my sister in order to kill you.  He has done several things over the last few days to keep Skye safe, so it seems doubtful he would lie to her about a threat to her safety in this instance.”

The hurt on her face is too plentiful to hide.  “I have done everything you ever asked me to do.  I trained with you, killed with you. 
I became who I am to please you.  Now you turn your back on me?”

“No.”  I’m not sure how th
e word escaped my mouth, but something tells me this is more complicated than Beelzebub is making it seem.  I do believe Jalynx is hiding something, but I’m not convinced she’s out to betray us.  “You will stand with us.”

Jalynx doesn’t respond.  Her eyes are glued to Malik’s impassive face and I think she is beyond speech at the moment.  Brielle, however, is not at all tongue tied.  “What the fuck, Red?  Who the hell died and made you boss? 
No way am I going to be anywhere near that bitch when the fighting starts.  If I’m going to die, I’d rather it not be because we let a traitor in to kill us.”

“She will stand with us.”  The deep baritone is so unexpected, I practically jump at the words.  All eyes in the room shift to Hank. 

Mrs. Gregori’s eyes are narrowed as she stares up at her husband.  I’m not sure what she sees in her intense gaze, but after a moment she says, “The girl fights with us.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Brielle says, shaking her head.  “What is wrong with you people?”

My brow furrowed, I ask Hank, “Did my mother tell you to trust her?”

His eyes are clouded when he turns them in my direction.  “The dead speak in many ways.  It ain’t always what they
say; sometimes it’s what they do.”

I don’t think he could
give me a murkier answer if he had three days to prepare.  “What do you mean?”

Eyes clearing, Hank shakes his head slightly as if to get whatever he was thinking to shift aside.  “Some things aren’t meant to be told.  If they are, their importance is lost.  The girl can be trusted is all.”

I like Hank a little bit less at the moment.  Shaking my head, I ask Brielle, “Is that good enough for you?”

She’s wearing her ‘I want to kick someone’s ass and it’ll probably be yours’ face when she answers me.  “Like usual, I don’t have a fucking choice, do I?”

No, not really.  “You don’t have to fight with us.”

I expect another angry retort.  I don’t expect her to stomp out of the room pushing Jalynx almost to the floor on her way out.  Malik catches Jalynx’s sleeve to keep her from going after Brielle. 

Giving me a reproachful look, Zane says, “I’ll go talk to her.”

Guilt flushes through me.  I know I pushed her too far.  “No, I’m the one who said it, I should go.”

While Zane and I are having our back and forth, Malik slips from the room.  I guess he’s going to talk to her.

Chapter 30

“I don’t like it any better than you do,” Malik says when he catches up to Brielle.  He puts a hand on her petite shoulder as she reaches for her bedroom door.

“Go away, Malik.”

Reaching around her, Malik opens the door and practically pushes Brielle inside and closes the door behind them.  “Hey!” she exclaims in surprise.

“Hit me.”

Stunned, Brielle says, “What?”

“I want you to hit me.  Hit me for all the things I’ve asked you to do, all the pain I’ve caused you.  Hit me for bringing Jalynx into your house.  Hit me bringing the devil into your life.  Hit me because I’m a son of a bitch and you hate me.”

Brielle stares at him for a moment.  Then she cold cocks him in the jaw.  Twice.  Rubbing the spot, Malik asks, “Feel better?”

Brielle’s response is to hit him again with her left fist.  “No,” she finally says.  She hits him again and Malik lets her.  He deserves everything she wants to dish out.

Turning from him, she walks to the window.  “Why me?”

“Because I felt a connection to you from the beginning,” Malik says.

Snorting, Brielle tosses him a dirty look over her shoulder.  “Right.  More like you knew I was gullible enough to buy whatever lies you fed me.”

Malik scowls.  “Gullible is not a word I would use to describe you.  Strong, confident, intelligent, beautiful, sexy.  Those are the words I would use.”

Her gaze returns to the window.  “I’m just a human, nothing impressive here.”

Malik moves across the room until he is standing behind her.  Putting his hands on her waist, he pulls her back against him.  “My body wouldn’t respond to you like this if I didn’t mean everything I said.”

“Giving you a hard on doesn’t make me special.  I’m sure you get a lot of those.”

Pushing her soft brown hair aside, Malik leans down and nuzzles the tender skin of her throat.  He’s half surprised when she doesn’t pull away, or hit him again.  Taking this for acquiescence,
he kisses a line along her jaw to her lips as he slowly rotates her body until she is facing him.  He growls low in his throat when she lets him kiss her deeply.  Brielle’s arms curl around his neck and her body presses against his.

For several long moments, Malik explores her mouth while his hands flow over her gentle curves.  Aroused doesn’t even begin to cover how his body feels as he touches her.  He has wanted to do this for so long, but he never let himself come here.  He never wanted to taint this beautiful creature with his touch.  But he can’t stop now.  His craving is too fierce, his need too ferocious.

Malik edges Brielle to the bed, lifting her when they reach it.  Laying her down gently, he joins her, his lips barely leaving hers in the process.  Slipping his hand under her shirt, he revels in the silkiness of her skin.  The urge to rip her clothes off and bury himself deep inside her pounds through him.  His hands move to the waistband of her jeans, fumbling in his eagerness to get her naked.