“Mira—”
“Because here’s the deal.” She drew in a deep breath. Let it out slowly. Knew it was now or never. She could take a chance, go after what she wanted or…not. In her business dealings, she was a go-getter. In her personal life? Not so much. It was time to change that. “I’m not naïve. I’ve dated plenty of men, but I’ve never felt confident with them, and I think that’s why I’m still single. I want to learn…how to touch without wondering if I’m doing it wrong. To experience desire without the fear of rejection. And I called you back because for some strange reason—even though you are djinn, which is totally out there for me to even say—I feel comfortable with you. I want you to be the one to teach me. If you’re not attracted to me, though… If you’re just going to run again or come up with excuses why I should ‘think’ more about what I want, then this isn’t worth it to me. I’ll take the Firebrand opal back to that shop and tell the shopkeeper my wish didn’t work.”
She stared at him. Waited for an answer. But he didn’t say anything. His eyes were blank, his expression neutral. And in the silence, Mira’s hopes and dreams crumbled at her feet.
She’d taken a chance. She’d gone after what she wanted. And in the end…it didn’t matter.
She was right where she’d started out.
Alone.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Tariq stared at Mira as her words sank in, and his pulse picked up speed.
She was willing to give up her wish all because she had standards. She wanted him—he could see it in her eyes, read it in her words—but she wasn’t going to force him. She was giving him an out, if he so chose.
Awe, admiration, and wonder swept through him once again. For a woman who was unlike any other he’d ever met.
All the resolve he’d come back here with, the intent to fulfill her wish, corrupt her soul as Zoraida wanted so he could move on and free at least one of his brothers, withered and died. How could he value one life over another?
Options raced through his mind as he stared at her. It was too late for him to free her from her wish. By calling him back, he was bound to her now until that wish was fulfilled. But…maybe there was a way to prolong it. Until, at least, he could come up with a better solution for all of them. Zoraida wouldn’t kill his brothers so long as he was here. Not when she needed Mira’s soul to strengthen her powers. And if he stayed with Mira, the witch couldn’t send Ghuls to influence Mira’s thoughts.
Staying took on a whole new appeal. Maybe they could just sit here and talk until he figured out what to do next.
“Tariq?”
Mira’s soft voice jolted him out of his thoughts, and he brushed a finger down her cheek before he thought better of it. “In my language, the word for teacher is mu’allim.”
“Mu’allim,” she repeated, drawing the word out. “I like that. But you didn’t answer my question.”
Her skin was silky smooth, and so pale next to his hand. Captivating. “You are beautiful, hayaati. And yes, I am extremely attracted to you. So much so that I left before not because I wasn’t interested, but because I knew if I didn’t leave then, I wouldn’t be able to stop touching you, stop tasting you. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop taking you.”
Heat flared in her eyes. Heat and desire and need. A need he could sate, right here and now. If, that was, he planned to corrupt her, which he couldn’t do anymore.
Keep talking. He had to keep talking so he didn’t reach for her.
“So much so,” he went on, thinking any words were better than none, “that the thought of you wanting to know how to please a man fills me with a jealous streak I’ve never experienced before. Djinn are not jealous creatures.”
A slow smile spread across her face, one that turned her from beautiful to downright gorgeous. She eased up on her elbows, maneuvered to sitting, and pulled her legs out of the way. “Is that so?”
“Yes, hayaati, it is.”
She moved before he even realized her intent. Pushed against his chest, sending him back onto the mattress. Then she leaned over him until her strawberry-blond hair fell around his face like a curtain. “I want to make you feel as good as you made me feel.”
Holy Allah in heaven. No one had ever cared about pleasing him. In all the years he’d been Zoraida’s pleasure slave, his assignments had only ever cared about their own desires. His weren’t even an afterthought. “Mira—”
She brushed her lush lips against his throat. Tingles rushed through his body, speared straight into his cock. “Do you like to be kissed here?”
His resistance wavered as his eyes slid closed. “Um…”
“How about here?” She trailed her mouth up to his ear, laved her tongue across his lobe as he’d done to her.
Yes, yes. Allah, yes, he liked that. But he shouldn’t. He shouldn’t be letting her kiss him or touch him at all. He should be trying to distract her. Words. He needed to use words to get things back on track.
He slid his hands to her biceps, pushed gently. “Mira—”
She ignored the move, kissed his jaw, his chin, worked her way back up to his mouth instead. “And what about here?” Her index finger trailed across his lips. “Do you like to be kissed here as well?”
Desire rippled through his chest, spread lower to engulf him in flames. “Yes, hayaati,” he whispered before he realized what he was saying. “By you, always there.”
Her mouth closed over his, just as he wanted, just as he’d dreamed. And though he knew he shouldn’t, he opened to her, stroked his tongue against hers, grew hot and achy at the need for her to touch him elsewhere. Everywhere.
With her it wasn’t forced. With her it was natural. With her it was not duty, but pure, erotic bliss. A bliss he hadn’t realized he’d missed until right now.
A ribbon of guilt wove through him. He thought of his brothers locked in their cells. Of Ashur being beaten. Of Nasir’s split lip and malnourishment. Why had he complained about his imprisonment? Their torture was a thousand times worse than his. Especially now, when he was being kissed by the most amazing creature he’d ever met.
She skimmed a hand down his chest while he explored every corner of her lips, her mouth, her teeth and tongue. Her fingers tangled in his shirt as he cradled her face. She tugged the shirt up, breaking the kiss long enough to drag it over his head, then closed her lips over his once more.
She threw the cotton on the floor at her back. Smiled down with that sexy, heated, all-consuming look. And desire bunched in his stomach as he watched. Followed by a swift slap of reality.
Words weren’t going to work anymore. She wanted him. As much as he wanted her. If he tried to stop things now, it would only result in her feeling rejected.
He never wanted to hurt her.
Indecision rippled through him. Power was something he’d been forced to relinquish long ago to Zoraida. But even with his assignments, he still maintained control. He gave them what they wished, but he did so at his leisure, tempted them in a way he knew would corrupt their souls just as Zoraida wanted. This time, though, he could give that control to Mira. If he played his cards right, he could give her what she wanted and protect her soul from Zoraida at the same time.
She slid down his body and pressed her lips to his chest before he’d even made up his mind. “I love how smooth your skin is here. I love how muscular you are.”