The Genie's Witch (Dirty Djinn) by Lyn Brittan Page B

wrapped her legs around him. Red, swollen eyes met his. “Relax, Dinah. We’ll fix this.”
    “Just hold me a little while,” she said and buried her face in his chest.
    Something wasn’t right. Something well beyond this current situation. “What’s wrong? Tell me. Tell me right now.” Heat bubbled within him as fresh tears raced down her cheeks. The heat of them burned through his shirt. “Did someone hurt you? Karlin?”
    Dinah looked up frowning, and shook her head. The laugh that passed her lips bore no joy. “Kidnapped. Brought a few spirits over. The usual. Oh, Tig.”
    “His name?” He held her rocking body and tried to push the mind-clouding rage aside with little success. “Give me his name.”
    “It doesn’t matter. We need to deal with this lamp situation.”
    “His name, shareek hayat. I’ll have it.”
    “It’s handled.”
    “Is he dead? Who is he? Where? Tell me everything and spare no detail. I will split his insides.”
    Dinah wiped her nose on her sleeve and gave him a wobbly smile. “I stunned him and trussed him up like carrion. The man, Demetrius—”
    “Demetrius. Demetrius what? Give me his last name.”
    “He’d killed before and his victims haunted the area, waiting for someone to bring them through. That was me and they destroyed him.”
    He didn’t interrupt her story and listened to every detail of the madness that had overtaken the man. She finished with a shrug. “I thought of my family and you. Demetrius never had a chance. I’m tough. I saved myself and now I’m going to save you.”
    “I love you.”
    “Tig—”
    “Shhh. You don’t have to say it.”
    “But I want—”
    “Hush, love. Tell me weeks, months, years from now, anytime but today. I want to know that you mean it. I want it said when we’re alone and quiet and safe. I won’t have it rushed. I won’t have it born out of fear or anxiety. For now, we’ve got a woman at the front of the plane to deal with.”
    The hand on his cheek dropped and her eyes sharpened to a warrior’s glare. No, this Demetrius hadn’t had a chance at all. Neither did Karlin.
    “Who is she?”
    “Karlin’s a wannabe from the hotel. She has no natural born powers, only learned from books and charlatans, I think.”
    “You’re kidding me.” But it was the last she said before quietly listening to the story of his week. Maybe quiet wasn’t the whole of it. She swore a little and smacked her lips a little more. When he finished, her mouth was twisted and her head lay back against the mirror. “So, what’s the plan?”
    “Initially? Do the three wishes and get back to you.”
    “I like it. But?”
    “She came with some pretty heavy dark marks wrapped around her. There’s a reason she needs me in her house. Long term imprisonment?”
    “Probably not. But I don’t like that she wants you in her city or anywhere near her home. Who knows what resources she has there. Does she know about me?”
    “No.”
    “Nothing at all? My name? My...” Her voice trailed off at his shaking head. “We can’t let her get out of that airport when we land.”
    “You can freeze it again.”
    “That’s a bad idea. I halted it less than fifteen seconds when we met and it left me too burned out to fight properly when I needed to. That will never happen again. More importantly, she still has wishes left. She could make me hurt you.”
    “Impossible.”
    “I don’t want to be the test case.”
    “What would a witch want from a djinn? Besides his obviously stunning physique.” He kissed the space between her rolling eyes and dipped to capture her lips again.
    “We don’t have time for this.”
    “Don’t care.” But he pulled back all the same, because he did care. Hell, he was scared. His whole world was in front and wrapped around him. If he wanted an eternity to do this at his leisure, to worship Dinah as he pleased, he had to get this right. “She has money.”
    “Then she’ll want power next. She wants yours, but not