Tales of the Djinn: The Guardian (27 page)

Joseph smiled. “If I remind you only God is
perfect, will you clout me again?”

Arcadius laughed sheepishly. Joseph was a
rock, and a good man to have at his back. “I wouldn’t have thought
I’d say it, but I grudgingly thank you for interrupting. What did
you find out?”

Joseph turned serious. “Not as much as I’d
like. Zayd runs a tight caravan. I was able to discover he visits
his women once a fortnight. They live in a carved stone palace
hidden in the mountains.” The other man wagged his eyebrows, saving
the best for last. “He travels there with his most trusted guards
on a flotilla of flying carpets.”

“A flotilla,” Arcadius marveled. “One would
get us home. Do you know where they’re kept?”

“I have a suspicion, but I couldn’t get close
enough to check. It’s early, and his patrol is alert.”

An idea sprang into his mind, so complete and
compelling he couldn’t dismiss it. He wanted to. It was sort of
horrible. “What if—” He rubbed the groove of his chin. He thought
some more but couldn’t come up with a better option to put forward.
“What if Zayd’s patrol were tempted from their duties?”

“I don’t see how,” Joseph said. “Even if we
had a sultan’s ransom, Zayd would kill them for taking bribes.”

“Not a bribe. A distraction. They’ve been top
dogs too long. They’re bored here and so is Zayd. Most of them
probably haven’t seen a woman in a while. What do you think will
happen if someone starts a whisper that Zayd is watching a
‘special’ entertainment in his tent?”

“I expect they’ll wander by to check. I
expect his tight patrol will develop a lot of holes.” Joseph looked
at him. “Are you sure? Elyse would be very uncomfortable if she
knew.”

“I won’t tell her,” Arcadius said grimly.
“Her safety depends on us getting out of here. On top of which,
Zayd would know something was up if we simply slept. We may as well
make hay of this.”

Joseph blew out a breath. He didn’t like the
plan, but he knew what was at stake.

~

Elyse sank down in the steaming bath, trying
to throw off the last of her shakes. She’d grown up female in New
York City, accustomed to the need for caution in regard to her
safety. She’d thought that would prepare her but she’d been
wrong.

Sitting through that meal with Zayd and his
men had chilled her to the bone.

She’d had to stay smack dab in the middle of
circumstances smart women avoided, aware that her only shield was
Arcadius. If Zayd’s men had been human, it would have been bad
enough, but they were something else, something alien and
unpredictable. The thoughts behind their strange eyes were
different. Their voices had a foreign timbre, their movements more
fluidity. A few—those in Zayd’s inner circle—sported smoke hair
like him. She suspected it was a form of boast. Look at me: I can
hold two forms at once. One thing she was sure of: These djinn
weren’t bound by rules unless they chose to be.

Her gratitude to Arcadius for getting her
away was almost too strong for words.

She thought it likely the powerful feeling
was why she’d leaped on him. She wasn’t falling in love. She knew
love made her stupid. Lust was safer. Anyway, gratitude wasn’t
love. So Arcadius respected her. So he told her she was pretty.
David had done as much. Both men had lied about things that
mattered. She wouldn’t go down that road again.

Arcadius didn’t lie selfishly
, she
thought. Plus, she was getting a chance to know him without
deceptions. David hadn’t given her that option.

Stop
, she mouthed. Talking herself
into being more susceptible wasn’t constructive.

She soaped the sea sponge some nameless ifrit
servant had left for her. She could do this: wash her skin, rinse
her hair, pretend being here was just another challenge she’d rise
to. Lose her father—sure. Run the brownstone by herself—why not?
Watch her cousin’s magically infatuated boyfriend shoot her uncle
in the forehead . . .

She covered her face, overwhelmed by the
litany. A moment later, she blew out her breath and dropped her
hands again. She had to keep it together, not just for her sake but
also for Arcadius and Joseph’s. They were two men against a literal
enemy camp. The least she could do was not add to the weight they
carried.

Remember the cool things
, she told
herself. This was a one in a million, unbelievable adventure, the
same sort of adventure her dad adored.

She got part of her character from him. She’d
been tested, and she hadn’t crumpled yet. Maybe, ultimately, she
was as spirited as him.

She’d finished washing up and was simply
lolling when Arcadius stepped around the tapestry.

“Stay,” he said, moving a little stool so he
could sit by her. She had her head on the rim of the clear green
tub, her body almost relaxed in the warm water. Having him sit with
her felt easy, like they’d known each other longer than they
had.

“Do you feel better?” he asked.

She nodded. “How is Joseph?”

“Wandering the camp. He won’t be back for a
while.”

“What did he want to—”

Arcadius laid two fingers across her lips.
“Let’s not speak of serious matters. Let’s enjoy a moment of peace
for us.”

The light touch coupled with the heaviness in
his eyes heated her. His attention fell to the water, which was
scented with lavender oil. A Moroccan lantern hung from a strut
above her, its gentle radiance revealing her submerged curves.
Arcadius dropped his hand to her breast, cupping its side with his
fingers while his thumb drew circles around the rosy peak. Elyse’s
pussy contracted with desire, echoing the tightening of her
nipple.

“You’re so lovely,” he said, his eyes on the
wet flesh he stroked. “You make me wonder that I ever found other
women attractive.”

For some reason this amused her. “The world
does contain a few more than me.”

“You’re the only one who’s beautiful to me
now.”

She touched his face and smiled. He was the
beautiful one, too beautiful to convince her he meant the words.
“You’re silly if you think I need overblown compliments.”

His hand slid beneath the water and over her
belly. “I’m being honest.”

She started to laugh, but just then he
enclosed her pubis within his hand. The laugh became a gasp of
pleasure. He squeezed the softness of her mound, one long finger
burrowing between her labia.

She bit her lip as its tip penetrated her
vagina.

“Do you want me?” he whispered. He worked
half the finger in and out, slowly, gently, making her squirm
around it. The stimulation felt very good and not nearly good
enough. Elyse clutched the sides of the tub harder.

“You’re . . . in a position . . . to know I
do,” she managed to choke out.

He eased his finger out of her, changing
strategy to rubbing two along the smooth channels to either side of
her clit. Teased by the glancing friction, the little peak of flesh
swelled and grew more sensitive. Her pulse quickened inside it, the
ache of want deepening inside her.

When she tried to rise, he held her more
firmly.

She couldn’t deny that excited her.

“I want you,” he said. His eyes were the same
burning steel blue she’d seen in his smoke form. Right then, the
glow was too sexy to frighten her. “I’m so hard I feel like I could
fuck you all night, like I’d just keep going and never want to
stop.”

His words were enough to get to her, but he
also squeezed her entire mound, his capable hand massaging her
eager flesh. Too aroused to be still, she bucked helplessly in his
hold.

Arcadius’s chiseled cheekbones flushed
darker. When he spoke, it was huskily. “Would you let me take you
wearing the cuffs and collar?”

“I’d let you take me any way you want,” she
said.

He saw she meant this. He released her sex,
drawing his palm along her inner thigh. Down from one knee he
glided, across her mound, and up to the other. The admiring stroke
made muscles all over her body clench.

He looked at her, his eyes searching hers.
His breathing was deeper than before, his expression tight with
want. He had to know she was ready. She didn’t understand what he
was waiting for.

“Let me up,” she said, too impatient to
remain where she was. “I left the cuffs over there so they’d stay
dry.”

He drew his arm back from her.

She rose, water sheeting down her naked body
into the bath. She didn’t hide herself. If he enjoyed ogling her,
he was welcome to.

Her nipples sharpened even more as the air
hit them.

The sight inspired him to stand—too quickly,
apparently. The stool nearly toppled over, but he caught it with
his foot. Unable to resist a survey of her own, she was gratified
to discover a tent pole behind his pants. That was worth a stare or
seven. The cotton trousers he wore were thin. Nothing stood between
them and his stiff sword. She saw it clearly through the cloth,
including the spot where pre-come glued the fine weave to the
rounded tip. Blood flushed that part of him, making her mouth
water. The blackness of his pubic hair was X-rated. Ditto for the
heavy hang of his balls. The way his shaft jerked and throbbed
seemed an engraved invitation to jump his bones and ride.

A shudder of anticipatory pleasure rolled
down her spine. When she dragged her eyes up from his erection, his
lips had curved into a smirk.

“Fine,” she said. “I like looking at you
too.”

Grinning, he offered her his hands to step
out.

“Wait,” she said when he seemed about to
swing her up in his arms. “The cuffs and collar are on that painted
chest with the vessel sink.”

He spotted them . . . and handed them to
her.

Okay
. He wanted to watch her put them
on. She’d already discovered how easy they were to unfasten. Their
overlapping edges stuck to each other with invisible magical
magnets. Even the neck collar was surprisingly comfortable.

It looked like bondage but didn’t constrict
her throat at all.

As she checked the straightness of its silver
studs, he inhaled sharply. His reaction sent an answering pulse
through her, as if two of his strong fingers had just pinched her
clit between them.

“Sheesh,” she breathed. “What a pair we
are.”

“You like it too,” he said.

“I like it like crazy,” she confirmed.

He swung her up in his arms, and suddenly
everything was good. No more fear for tomorrow or even the next
minute. She was lost in the heady pleasure of being with him.

The bedroll lay on the floor in the main area
of the tent. It was a generous square of striped linen stuffed with
something comfortable. Arcadius showed off his strength by lowering
her easily onto it, then staying there to kiss her. Being under his
weight, feeling his chest and abs and gloriously hot erection was
wonderful. Rubbing their fronts together, she kissed him
deliriously.

As much she enjoyed this, she wanted him free
of his clothes even more.

“Take these off,” she panted, beginning to
tug at them. “I want you inside me.”

He looked at her—dark-faced, panting.
Decision shifted behind his features. Whatever the decision was,
once he’d made it, he got himself naked fast.

She purred when his big bare body came back
to her.

“You’re so hot,” she praised, her hands
roaming his smooth warm back. “Your cock feels incredible.”

It felt huge: thick and hard and thoroughly
tempting.

“God,” he gasped as her wandering hand
wrapped it and stroked upward. “I don’t need that, sweetheart.”

“I want to.” Her thumb rubbed silky wetness
around his tip. “I love touching you.”

She pushed down and found his balls, stroking
their weight gently. Arcadius groaned and ducked lower, his head
covering her breast as his mouth sealed hungrily over one nipple.
The pull of his lips and tongue caused her spine to arch. Needing
more, she took his hand and moved it between her legs.

He twitched when he felt the wetness of her
arousal, quickly proving he loved exploring her as much as she did
him. His warm blunt fingertips rubbed her, parting her folds,
circling her clit and then tugging it. As he slid two fingers
inside her, he backed his torso up to watch them penetrate. That
was good. Elyse’s eyes closed without her willing them to shut. How
natural this felt amazed her. Gone was any hint of
self-consciousness. Her bent legs dropped to the side, all the
tension washed out of them. She wanted him to see what he did to
her, wanted him to have any pleasure that excited him.

“Wait,” he said as her body rolled with
desire for him.

He stretched to the side to get something.
Elyse’s eyes opened in surprise. He was pulling a sheet over
them.

“I’m hardly cold,” she said, amused by this
unnecessary consideration.

“You might
get
cold,” he said, his
answer choppy with arousal. “Desert temperatures drop at
night.”

She laughed, gliding her hands up his chest
to pinch his tight nipples. She gave them a gentle twist. “Maybe
you need warming up,” she teased.

His pelvis jerked against her, his seemingly
mile-long cock strafing her inner thigh. “Never around you. You
heat me up whenever we’re together.”

“Prove it. Put that tent pole where it
belongs.”

His eyes flashed silver blue fire at her. The
sheet covered them to their waists. He didn’t bother tugging it
higher. He pulled her thighs apart instead, his hands strong and
hot on her knees. She didn’t wrap her legs around him. She wanted
him to move as he pleased without restriction. Seeming to share the
preference, he took his hard cock in hand and placed it at her
entrance. The contact with his fingers was intimate.

His face flickered with deep pleasure as he
shoved halfway in.

“Mm,” she hummed, her spine stretching and
undulating, her feet digging in to the firm mattress.