Sexy In A Bottle: A More Than Men Novella (8 page)

It didn’t matter anyway. She wasn’t going to make any more wishes.

Hearing him talk about how much her kindness had meant to him had nearly broken her heart. She’d done no more for him than she would’ve done for any other man that washed up here. And yet, she’d given him more than anyone else had in his recent memory. He had been floored by her giving spirit
, and he didn’t have a clue how much more she wanted to give him. These last few days with Raj had allowed him to breach the fortress she’d built around her heart. She hadn’t intended to let him in, but he’d done it anyway. She wanted to give him all the love she had for as long as she could.

Feeling that way, how could she ask anything of him that he wouldn’t give freely? She couldn’t.
Wouldn’t. Not knowing that it would send the man she loved back into the cold, black hell of his prison.

"
Something smells great."

Valerie looked up to see Raj dressed and standing at the edge of the kitchen. He kept his distance, probably concerned she was still upset. She couldn’t stay mad at
him, especially when he couldn’t possibly know what he’d said to upset her. She hadn’t told him about her condition. It wasn’t a secret, but it wasn’t light, romantic conversation, either. She smiled and gestured for him to sit at the table. "Have you ever had fried chicken and mashed potatoes before?”

He shook his head.

"You’re in for a treat, then."

Valerie finished up the chicken and whipped the drained potatoes with butter and cream. When everything was ready, she brought it to the table. They both sat quietly eating for a few minutes. It had turned out well
, and after the last few days, she was starving. She hadn’t cooked a real meal since he took her to bed. They’d only grazed between lovemaking sessions.

"
May I ask you something?" Raj asked after thoroughly cleaning his plate.

At least he liked her cooking, although he probably had little to compare to.
"Sure. I’ve asked you quite a bit today."

"
Why are you out here on this island alone?"

She should’ve known this was coming.
"What’s wrong with being out here?"

"
Nothing, if that’s what you want. I am just curious as to why a beautiful young woman would choose isolation over love and family."

"
Coming to this island was my choice, but I didn’t choose it over love and family. Those are options I was never given. I could die here on this island, or I could die there on the mainland. Either way, my time is too short for anything more than that."

"
You’re ill?"

Valerie
set down her fork and pushed her plate away. "Yes. I have a heart condition. I’ve developed a large and inoperable aortic aneurysm. Basically, the biggest blood vessel in my body has deformed and has a thinning bulge that grows every day. It was one of the largest ones they’ve seen. At some point it’s going to blow, and I’ll be dead in minutes."

Raj’s dark blue eyes widened, his words seemingly failing him
for a few moments. "That is why you were upset with me. I embrace death, while it chases you. I am sorry I spoke words that caused you pain."

"
You didn’t," she said. "There’s no way you could’ve known about it. It just made me sad to think that we each have what the other wants, and in the end, neither of us can be happy."

"
There is nothing that can be done for you?"

"
No. The doctors recommended that I avoid stress and excitement, so I came out here. Most of the time it’s a quiet, easy place to live." A loud boom of thunder in the distance rattled the windows as though it were calling her a liar. Another small storm was coming through. "The weather, of course, can be an issue."

"
But here the doctors are too far away to help you."

"
It doesn’t matter, Raj. A doctor isn’t going to be able to save me once it happens, even if I’m standing in a hospital at the time. I will hemorrhage instantly."

Raj looked around her sparsely decorated home.
"Would you not rather spend the time you have left with your friends and family, then? Instead of being in this place?"

"
I don’t have any family left." The last few years had made it impossible for her to dwell on the losses of her parents. When she was diagnosed, it had been almost a relief they were gone. Her mother wouldn’t have been able to take watching Valerie die. She also wouldn’t have tolerated Valerie waiting on this island for the end. "And as for friends, I decided it would be easier on everyone if I came out here."

"
You are existing as though you are already dead and wasting what precious time you have left."

Valerie had fought this fight before, although no one had the nerve to use such a blunt description of what she was doing. She shook her head and dropped her gaze to her plate.
"I don’t have to explain this to you. I made what I thought was the best choice for me."

"
And yet you are unhappy with it."

"
I’m not," she said, although her heart wasn’t really in it. She was unhappy. But would living in town and waiting to die be harder or easier? Building a life just to have it ripped away? There was no way to know. It felt easier to have nothing so in the end she lost very little.

"
I can heal you," he said.

Valerie looked up at him. She couldn’t possibly have heard him correctly.
"What did you say?"

"
You have two wishes left. I don’t have the power to raise you from the dead after it happens, but I
can
save you before it does." Raj reached across the table to cover her hand with his. "I can heal the defect in your heart, and you can live a long, happy life."

Her mouth dropped open, but she didn’t know what to say. She’d just decided she wasn’t going to make any more wishes.
Ever. And not ten minutes later, he offered her the opportunity to get her life back.

Her life back.

What did that even mean? She didn’t have a life. She’d walked away from her career as a real estate agent after her diagnosis. She’d sold nearly everything she owned, including her house and her car. Most of that money went toward medical bills. What little salary she made on the island went to supplies and the savings fund she’d started for burial expenses. She’d been preparing to die for a very long time. Did she even know how to live again? To return home and try to integrate back into society? She had nothing. Her world fit into a suitcase.

She didn’t have the strength to fight her way back.
At least, not alone. And by using that wish, she was one step closer to losing Raj. Somehow all of those things seemed pointless without him.

"
That’s not possible," she croaked, pulling her hand away.

Raj frowned, his brow
s drawing together. "It
is
possible. I can fix it and you can live."

"
Maybe," Valerie said. "But that doesn’t mean I’ll have a long life. I could have an accident or get sick."

"
Well, yes, things could happen. Bad things could befall anyone at any time. But you could leave this island and start living again. Fall in love, have children. You could have a second chance."

"
No."

"
What do you mean, no? How could you not choose to live? I’m offering you the life you never thought you would have. All you have to do is wish for it."

"
You’re asking me to do what everyone else has done. I don’t want to use you, Raj. I don’t want to take a single thing from you. And I certainly don’t want to go on with this wonderful new life without you there with me. I would rather live the short life fate has dealt me with you."

"
You’re refusing because of me? Of what it would do to me?" His head shook slowly in disbelief. "You have three wishes. Make the second wish to save yourself, then choose not to make a third, if that is what you want."

Valerie sighed. She didn’t want to talk about this anymore. She didn’t feel like she was on death’s door, so they had time.
"Right now, what I want is for you to make love to me again." She made the demand knowing he couldn’t refuse her.

The irritation and confusion in Raj’s eyes were quickly replaced by the blue flame of desire. He pushed back his chair and stood, tugging Valerie up with him. He captured her mouth with the searing kiss she’d come to crave the last few days. Her whole body responded in an instant to his touch. She couldn’t live without it.

And one way or another, she wouldn’t.

Chapter Six

"I’m sorry I haven’t been able to make it out there yet," Benny said. "My boat took a beating."

Valerie carried her cell phone with her out of the house and opted to sit on her favorite rock overlooking the sea. The weather was remarkable today: a rare glimpse of spring with bright blue skies and calm waters. The weather seemed to match her outlook
— sunny. Her whole life had turned around in just a few days. She never could’ve imagined things would be like this for her.

"
Don’t worry about it. Raj and I are quite content out here together. He’s recovered from his time in the water." She wasn’t about to mention he was a magic genie. "We have plenty of supplies."

The silence on the line was deafening.

"Yes, Benny, I’m sleeping with him. I’ll save you from asking."

"
Val, are you crazy?"

"
Crazy for him, maybe," she said with a girlish giggle that sounded odd to her ears. "He makes me happy. I haven’t been happy in a long time."

She could tell her friend was wrestling with her revelation.
"I’m still going to come out and check on you the minute my boat hits the water again."

"
That’s fine," she said. "I’ll be happy to introduce you. Just be sure to knock."

The groan on the other end of the line made a grin spread across her face.

"Bye, Benny."

Valerie hung up and slipped the phone into her pocket. Raj was waiting for her inside, but it felt too good to leave. The warm sunlight on her skin was wonderful, even if the
breeze was still a touch cool. The fresh air filled her lungs and helped her think more clearly.

She’d been very confused since dinner the day before. There were so many things to consider
, and in the moment she just hadn’t been ready to make her choice. After losing herself in the pleasure of his arms and collapsing into a thoroughly exhausted sleep, she’d found some clarity. Raj was right; there was no reason why she couldn’t wish herself well and then just not use her third wish. There wasn’t a time limit that she was aware of. She could also use the third wish to free him. He hadn’t seemed very enthusiastic about that idea, but it was something he’d probably been promised many times, and no one had delivered.

Valerie would. That was the only wish she would feel good about making. He deserved to be free. She wouldn’t let him slip back into the hell of his confinement.
That was an impossibility.

With a sigh she climbed up from the rock and headed back to the house. She found Raj at the kitchen table. He was flipping through an old photo album she kept on the bookshelf.

"Who is this man?" he asked.

Valerie peered over his shoulder at the picture. She’d forgotten all about that
day. Funny how the moments that seem so important at the time can slip away. "That’s Danny. We dated for a couple of years in college."

"
What happened?"

Valerie shrugged.
"It just didn’t work out. We wanted different things."

Raj hadn’t looked up once from the picture.
"He looks very much in love with you."

They
had been in love. Danny was probably her most serious relationship. The one she had thought about marriage and children with. "That was a long time ago. I’m certain he has moved on."

Raj flipped the album closed and turned to her.
"I am concerned about you."

"
Please don’t start that again. I have decided that I —"

"
Not about your health," Raj interrupted. "I am worried about your feelings for me."

How did he know what her feelings were? She hadn’t voiced a single one.
"What are you talking about?"

"
You are my mistress. I cannot read your mind, but I am attuned to your thoughts and desires. You have an…attachment to me. I admittedly feel the same. But I am worried that is not what is good for you."

He had basically said h
e had feelings for her, and yet Valerie felt somehow like she’d been punched in the gut. "How do you know what’s good for me?"

"
I am not a man, Valerie. I am not a human. I might look like one. And alone on this island it might be easy to pretend that I am, but I’m not. Even if you allow me to save you and you never make another wish, what will become of us? How will you explain me to others? I have no family, no papers. I don’t exist. I couldn’t have a driver’s license, much less marry you. A djinn cannot give you a child of your own. You may live a long life, but you might never have the things you truly desire."