Jinni's Wish (Kingdom, #4)

“Excuse me?” Richard’s hard brown gaze pinned itself to her face and she squirmed even as her insides melted into putty.

Fiancée, really? Did he really want to marry her?

“And just when were you going to share? And by the way,” he cocked his hip out, “when did this freaking happen? Last I heard my sister was well on her way to becoming a cat lady.”

She rolled her eyes as Richard jiggled the pot at them. So much for soufflés being so sensitive.

“Gonna invite me in or what? Thing’s hot.”

She bit her lip, and peeked at Jinni who was wearing a very satisfied smirk on his face. Her heart did a weird flop before sliding into her stomach. She really needed to talk to him. Like now.

“Richard, how would you and Todd like to come by for dinner tonight?” she asked.

The questions and hurt in his eyes died, replaced by a bright sheen. “Dinner? Really?”

“Umm…” she glanced at Jinni, not sure whether to call him Tristan or Jinni in front of her family, amazing that she could remember the name the golem had given her that night long ago.

He instantly read her mind. “It’s good to meet you Richard, you’re sister has spoken so much to me about you.”

“She has?” His full lips quirked. “Because she’s told me boo about you.”

He smiled and yeah, she was such a girl because she totally wanted to squeal and grin like an idiot. “Well, that’s going to change. My name is Tristan Black.”

Richard finally came inside, walking to her kitchen with a dazed look on his face. “And where did you guys meet?” He sat the pot down, turning around with a large frown as he stripped off the oven mitts.

This conversation was going to take a lot more than just a few minutes. She smiled. “Dinner tonight, Richard. I’ll explain everything. Bring a bottle of red, we’ll provide dinner. Seven sharp.”

She glanced shyly at Jinni from the corner of her eyes. It felt amazing to say we. She was finally a we. Paz cuddled deeper into his chest, a throaty rumble passed his lips and her worries that maybe she was getting too heavy for him to hold washed away.

“But,” Richard said, “I want answers now.”

Jinni’s fingers strummed the corner of her thigh and her stomach tightened.

“Honey, I promise, but later. Tristan just got here and we need to…”

“Talk,” Jinni finished her sentence.

Richard snorted. “Talk. Code for bow chica wow wow, I get it.”

“What?” Jinni looked baffled and if Paz had been drinking something she might have snorted it out of her nose.

“Just go, Richard. Please.”

Richard took a deep breath, then said, “You’d better be good for my sister.”

“I swear I will,” Jinni said without missing a beat and yeah, she was definitely turning into a puddle of goo.

Kissing her cheek quickly, Richard said, “Good to see you smile again, sweetie. I was so scared.”

She cupped his face. “I know. Love you butt face.”

He laughed. “Seven?”

“Seven.”

Richard turned on his heels and left, within seconds she was alone with Jinni again, heart racing like a bird on crack.

“So you’ve got me in a pretty compromising position, Jinni.”

His smile was long and seductive. “I know.”

She swallowed hard. “My room is next to my studio.”

He turned, and neither spoke a word, but the air around them grew pregnant with the heady anticipation of promises, vows, and so much love.

They entered and he stilled as he gazed up at her ceiling. Made out of double reinforced glass, she had a direct view of the sky.

“Gets hot as hell during the day, but at night I feel like I’m back in the stars with you. Do you like it?” she asked nervously.

He licked his lips and then took them to the center of her king sized bed, scattering her throw pillows to the hardwood floor. She scooted back on her heels, until her back pressed against the head board.

Jinni sat cross-legged on the center of the bed. “No,” he said.

Her stomach plummeted. “No?”

“No,” he shook his head, “you cannot sit so far from me.”

He grabbed her hand and helped her crawl back onto his lap. She laughed when she settled in and he groaned.

“I never wish to be so far from you again.” He nuzzled his face into her hair and she sighed, arms racing with goose bumps and a rush of desire so heady it made her dizzy.

“Me either, Jinni.” She ran her fingers through his silky soft hair, staring deep into his nearly black eyes. “But is that scary?”

He shook his head, his hands playing idle circles on her waist. “We had a year to get over this need. At this point, I don’t think we ever will.”

Jinni reached into his pocket.

“Jinni?”

“Hmm?” He glanced at her.

“Did you mean that about me being your fiancée?”

His hand stilled and he nodded. “If you’ll have me.”

She’d read so many books in her life, watched countless movies, always gushing when the man asked the lady to be his. But right now, there were no tears. Only so much joy she thought she might explode from it.