A Genie's Love (The Djinn Series) Read Online Free

danced over her body, she imagined his hands leading the way. He’d be a patient lover, slow and considerate.
    Then again, the quiet ones always surprised you. Thoughts of Faruq having her against the wall or balling her hair in his fist were enough to turn her shower into a far more pleasant enterprise than she’d anticipated. She was just rounding third base...and pondering if one could third base oneself...when her cell phone rang.
    She ignored it for all of 0.2 seconds.
    On the infinitesimal chance it could be him, she scrambled out of the shower, sliding wrist first across the tiles. One hand shaking, the other was forced to bear the burden in her Frankenstein crawl to the bedroom. “Hello?  Hellohellohello?”
    “Cassia?”
    “Yes, um, hi. Uh, Faruq?”
    “If I’m bothering you—”
    Be cool. She let out the breath she’d been holding, ignored her now scraped wrist and pushed the throbbing pain away to feigned awesomeness. “I wasn’t sure I’d hear from you again.”
    “I’m sorry for my behavior.”
    “Strong ditto. Mine, I mean. We should start over, don’t you think?” She thought she heard a whoosh of air on the other line and a little something fluttered in her tummy.
    “That’s why I’m calling. I hoped that you could show me around.”
    “A run?”
    “Not exactly. I had drinks in mind.”
    Her fist pump to the air was immediately followed by a wince at her burning wrist. She used to know a spell to fix that sort of thing.
    “Cassia?”
    “Right. Yes, I’d like that. Soon?”
    “Tonight. If you’re not busy. I know it’s short notice but—”
    “Pick me up at eight.  Gotta go. Bye.”
    She hadn’t meant to hang up on him.
    Well...she had. Drawing that out would have left her open to more humiliation.  Nope, best to end strong...ish. She had business to handle and only nine and a half hours to find the perfect outfit, do her hair and erase the ridiculous grin crawling across her face.
    She ran to her closet, fast on the hunt for something tight, sexy but not slutty.
    Hair? Flat ironed.
    Grin? Still plastered on. No help for that.
    Game? Got it.
    Magical wrist fix? She’d work on it.

Chapter Five
    F aruq triple checked his tie in the rearview mirror of the borrowed Jag.  He wiped his damp hands against the side of the leather seat one last time and checked his teeth before getting out. It’d been eighty years since he’d last gone out on a date and he knew he was nowhere near as suave as he used to be.
    Date . The word was so impermanent. One day on a calendar. Back then, they’d called it courting and it meant forever.  On the other hand, perhaps the word did suit. He’d know soon enough and planned to touch Cassia the second she opened the door. He wouldn’t have it hanging over them throughout their night.
    If she was his , he had a place to work from. If not, well, at least he’d have a pleasant evening with a beautiful woman on his arm.
    ...assuming he didn’t faint again.
    Right. Battle stations.
    She answered on the first knock and he was very lucky to be holding on to the door when she did. “Wow.”
    “Too much?” Behind her, the lights of her house flickered, but that may well have been his imagination.
    The sleeveless black dress looked to have been painted on her, accentuating every curve and muscle of her body. Where Dinah was small and delicate, her younger sister was a warrior princess in heels. Very, very high heels. Heels attached to legs and thighs that went straight on up forever. “No...perfection.” She turned away, but not before he caught her grinning. “May I escort you to the car?”
    She took his offered hand and a glorious tenderness that stung in its intensity, burrowed through his heart. She’d done it again.
    “Everything alright?”
    “Not sure how much your sister told you.”
    Her smile didn’t drop, even as she gave a very unladylike snort. “Dinah never tells me anything. I’m still the annoying little sister. It must be nice