Page 42

~DOLLY~

One Week Later

I stand on the balcony of our treehouse vacation rental, now fortified with beefed-up security borrowed from the Celestial palace. Velis is... out.

It’s been a week since we agreed to this arrangement . It still feels unreal, and I’m not sure how it’s going to play out long term, but for now, the chaos is quelled.

Arrik and I have kissed twice, but both times I freaked out, ran to Velis, and rode him hard. Yet, despite the awkwardness of navigating this new dynamic, it’s actually been a great vacation. We did real beach stuff, like regular people, and without the looming threat of heartache or guilt, things between the three of us feel fun, natural, easy.

But there are still a few things hanging over our heads. We haven’t been back to the manor yet. Velis said he’d handle his father, but I know that conversation is going to be anything but chill—especially now that we’ve chosen the throuple route. A half-blood laird is one thing. One mated to a human is another. And one involved in a shared lady-situationship?

Oh, and by the way, it’s with his own brother .

Alex finally released Jeb from his apartment, and they’re staying in a hut nearby. Alex insists on keeping an eye on us to ensure the tangled lines of fate stabilize. Jeb... well, Jeb isn’t happy about the sand. Then again, Jeb’s rarely happy about anything.

Beckham? He’s back in the city, jealous and alone, stuck house-sitting for Jeb, surrounded by heavy wards to keep him hidden from the other Varhons. He’s our problem now, likely for the rest of our lives.

I guess I can handle one evil genie if it means having two amazing ones in my life.

I’ve also been thinking more about the prince’s ask of me, how maybe this is the start of something new for me. Magical travel, Earthen expert... maybe that could be my thing?

I’m working on it.

Arrik and I stayed up later than Velis last night. He kept his arm around me as we watched the stars, kissing my neck softly, but I felt the pressure building and bolted before things went further. You could say we’ve been building up to something real. Maybe I’ve been giving Velis time to back out, but he seems... okay.

There are little twinges of jealousy, but it feels more like playful competition—is it gross to say brotherly rivalry? I don’t know. But it’s different now. Velis’s compulsion and his desire to give me what I want seem to take over, and he often reaffirms that— at the end of the day, we come together each night . It’s taken on a meaning beyond just the literal. It’s a promise that, no matter what happens around us, our affections will stand. If any love is strong enough to endure this, it’s ours.

And the same is true for me and Arrik.

I don’t know how to explain it. I tell Velis he’s my favorite, and I mean it. Then I look into Arrik’s eyes and feel him whisper, without saying a word, that he knows it’s secretly him.

And somehow, in that moment, he’s right too .

That bathtub may have been a metaphor. That lagoon may have been an awakening. The reveries have been right all along.

It’s fun—the energy between us. There’s a sweetness to their rivalry. I love their bickering, and I love being part of it too. Watching their friendship bloom reluctantly around me, caught up in their battle of wits. I’ve always adored smart boys. That’s what drew me to James. He was smart. Sneaky and smart.

That’s one of the first nice thoughts I’ve had about him in a while. That’s got to be a sign that I’m starting to feel better inside. Maybe looking back and realizing I jumped into all this fantasy stuff way too hard and way too fast without doing much to protect myself, and now taking this new venture slower is a good sign I’m no longer in that headspace.

Current mood: I feel special and lucky and fearful that this is all going to slip away.

I lean on the rail and watch the feathers drifting down around us. No, we haven’t exploded a rogue cupid. That would be the feathering weather we’re having. It’s supposed to feather all night and well into the morning.

“ Master .” A voice, low and smoky, slips through the void and into my hair, sending a shiver down my neck. “ Hey. ”

“Arrik?”

“ I dropped the soap. Come help me. ”

I knew this was coming. He’s been flirty and playful all week, and the sexual tension between us has been mounting to this moment. I can practically smell his desire. And I’ve been holding off for as long as I could, because I know once this happens outside the dreamscape, it’ll be real. No going back.

I’ll have two different committed genie boyfriends.

And that’s a bit much.

I take my time, walking down the hall toward the bathroom where a dark and dangerous djinn waits. It feels like I’m walking toward a judgment. My stomach churns, nerves wrestling.

I stop at the doorhandle .

What if Velis changes his mind and I’ve already done this and it’s too late? What if I lose them both?

We knew the risks, and we both agreed we’d rather share than risk losing you to the other.

I promise you, Dolly Jones. The answer to that question will always be yes.

He promised me, over and over again, that he wouldn’t change his mind. And no matter how much I’ve pushed, he hasn’t cracked.

I inhale deeply, the assurance of his love wrapping around me like a safety net.

“And if all else fails, I’ll just wipe your memories,” Arrik calls lazily from the other side of the door. “But that’s not going to happen. Now get in here.”

I enter the large bathroom, the fog from the shower filling the air with the scent of men’s soap. The lights are dimmed, the air thick with anticipation and humid on my dampening skin. I feel like an offering to the god Arrik. I feel like bait.

And yet, I can’t turn away, like I’m being called into his arms because, after all, he’s my soulmate too. He was my soulmate first.

If Amoira hadn’t fucked it up, this would have already happened.

Arrik swings open the shower door, steam billowing out to reveal him in all his naked glory—like the statue of David, perfectly chiseled in a pillar of mist and male allure. Water rivulets stream down his ink, a blunt dangling from the corner of his mouth. But there’s one major difference between Arrik and that statue.

“My eyes are up here, sweetheart.”

The damage is done. That bulge was scarily big.

He flicks his blunt across the room, grabs my wrist, and yanks me in with him, the door thumping shut behind me and the blunt nowhere to be seen. I’m still in my clothes and instantly soaked, standing below the naked djinn and looking up at him with water ruining my mascara .

I look ridiculous.

A slow, methodical grin spreads across his face. “Heh.”

I might be grinning back, unable to resist.

Just like that, everything feels . . . right.

And that bulge is like a magnet. Maybe it’s a soul bond thing. Or maybe he’s just hot.

As my hand glides over to him, grazing his dangling arousal, his expression shifts. His lashes lower, and his palm presses firmly against the wall above me as he leans in to kiss me. Water cascades down his abs, warm droplets trickling between us, his arm over my head flexing with strength. He pulls back briefly, his eyes lingering on my kiss-swollen lips, his body tensing as my hand wraps tighter around his...

“ Cock, DJ. ”

Fuck, it is thicc. Dangerously thicc.

He kisses me deeper, and I open my mouth to taste him fully, feeling him grow in my palm and press his body closer. He hasn’t had sex, that I know of, since we met. It’s been weeks.

“Fucking weeks ,” he growls into my throat, his knee sliding up between my legs, parting them like it’s second nature.

With one swift move, he strips my wet shirt off and tosses it aside. His hands are back instantly, claiming my breasts like he’s been starving for this, cupping them like he’s been counting down the minutes. He pauses briefly, his thumbs smoothing over my nipples like he’s inspecting the grocer’s best fruit, then his lips are back on my skin—hot and demanding.

Something tells me he’s going to be heavy on the nipple play.

And oh, look—remember? His are pierced.

God, his chest is something else. His whole fucking body—smooth and warm, covered in expressions of his creativity. I let myself enjoy it, unashamed, for the first time ever, taking in every inch like the masterpiece it is.

And then, just when I think I’ve seen everything, I notice a small, quiet detail I somehow missed .

He lifts his arm so I can trace my fingertips over it. “Permanent?” I ask, almost afraid to know the answer.

There, on his chest, where his arm usually covers his pec, is a small ‘DJ’ buried in the core of a rose.

It’s so . . . cute.

He hesitates, his pale eyes locked on mine, as if analyzing his own emotions in this moment, like they’re something altogether new. “I didn’t want to forget you existed. Even if I forgot who you are, I wanted to remember my favorite master was out there.”

My pulse thunders in my neck, and suddenly, I’m shaking—nervous, overwhelmed. Okay, so, I am actually, really so super in love with him. And it feels like my first time having sex all over again. The heat between us is unbearable, a feral hunger coiling tight inside me. I want him. I need him. I love everything about him.

“Can I lick you?” I pant out before I can stop it—maybe because he’s a djinn, and my desire for him is intoxicatingly strong.

He gives me this look, like I just said something obvious. Then, like it’s a no-brainer, “Fucking lick me.”

I don’t hesitate. I run my tongue up his chest, tasting his skin as his breath, pheromones, and all this steam cloud my senses, making my brain spin. His head falls back, his...

“ Dick, ” his secret headset voice whispers.

—now fully erect.

I catch a glimpse of the piercing he once showed me, glinting on his tongue as he lowers himself, his finger teasing the center of my soaked panties, ready to kiss his way through their removal. But then, right next door:

“Wait, you have a tattoo?”

His sudden curiosity jolts me right out of the moment, pulling me back from the brink.

Oh. Have we never talked about this before?

Interest sparks in his eyes as he spins me around, searching for more ink. The result? My tan-lined ass jiggling in his palm .

His grip tightens as his eyes track the meaty curve of my body. “Later,” he blurts.

At genie-speed, he tears off my underwear, snapping the elastic without remorse.

“Arrik!” I gasp, curling forward as his hand spreads over mine, and then, finally, he slides inside.

Oh my god. I brace myself against the wall, his breath searing the back of my neck as he moves with a confidence that feels deeply practiced. His touch spreads like shadowy tendrils over my body, as though he’s enjoying every inch, making me feel like he’s everywhere at once. His fingers, honed from experience, skillfully edge me closer to oblivion, thrusting into me with raw, primal intensity, calling me a good girl and teasing my ear. But it’s the whisper—“I love you, Master”—that hits the hardest.

We exchange hot breath and unspoken emotions over my shoulder, my chest turning to meet his as tingling sensations ripple through me. He makes love like the artist he is—fluid, deeply invested, every motion calculated yet electric. I cradle his face, pulling him closer, both of us slick and soaked, hair stuck to our foreheads. When I look down, I notice inky handprints streaked across my pale skin, the dark stains marking where his hungry, wandering hands have claimed me.

He pushes me against the glass, and everything beyond us disappears. No guilt, no fear—just the two of us, finally surrendering to what was always inevitable. His fingers trail over my skin, leaving more ink as he starts to unravel, and as I give myself over to my own ravenous desire, every nerve, every doubt, drains away with the water between our feet.

It’s messy. It’s chaotic. But so am I, so are they, and so is life. And right now, in this moment, everything feels just right.

I made the right choice.

Oh, fuck.

I think I made the right choice.

Oh god .

I hope I made the right choice.

I guess we’ll see.

My toes curl and my teeth clench as Arrik rocks me to the edge.

He lets out a deep, guttural grunt and drives into me harder than ever before, as if he’s marking a part of me he already knows is his, then falls into me with trust and vulnerability, nuzzling me in a way I can’t see him nuzzling anyone else, despite all his practiced exploits that have made him so adept at handling another’s body.

He leans forward to flick the little bell on my collar I didn’t even realize I was wearing.

How long has that thing been on?!

“ We’re going to have a lot of fun together, kitten. ”

Just a girl and her genie s , caught in a tangle of destiny and chaos, desire and wishes, lust and love.

It’s going to be a lot of something, that’s for sure.