“You’re not leaving now, are you?” Scarlet asked, grabbing my elbow.

“I’m so sorry. I can’t waste a minute. I need to help my brother.” Plus, every second counted as Kaza got sicker, too. “I promise my next visit will be for a week.” I didn’t have the time to spare right now.

Scarlet rubbed her arms. “You don’t want to be traveling through the Darkwoods at this time of night. It’s home to the tiger shifters. And The Collector has lots of other animals patrolling her borders.”

An iciness trickled down my neck. Hmm. Now that Scarlet mentioned those dangers, I was suddenly overcome with extreme exhaustion and needed rest. I’d had enough tigers to last me a lifetime, thank you very much.

“That won’t be a problem,” said Dahvi, placing his fingers to his lips to whistle.

“Yeah, we have flying carpets,” added Kaza.

I squeezed my bag to my stomach, and the lamp inside it jabbed me.

Scarlet looked at me with wide eyes crammed with curiosity. “A magic carpet exists? And you went for a ride?”

Ugh. Guess I had to confess or tell her something. I sighed and said, “It’s amazing soaring over the lands. Oh, the view!”

She squeezed my hands and bounced on her feet. I gave a half smile, not sure what else to say. Sometimes, the truth was the easiest solution. Even if it was more complicated.

“Are you up for a moonlight spin?” asked Kaza with a waggle of his eyebrows.

“No,” we both barked.

“Evil priestess in Terra,” I said to jog his memory. “No magic, remember? No putting my friend in danger.”

“That’s right.” Kaza took a jar of licorice from a shelf and helped himself to a piece. “This land must be so boring.”

Scarlet’s hands flew to her hips. “That’ll be one silver markos, thank you.”

Kaza kept chewing. “Don’t suppose you’ll accept a magical spell I.O.U.?”

I snorted. Over the years, I’d probably accumulated dozens of I.O.U.s to Scarlet. I was glad she was so generous.

Kaza wrapped a clammy arm around me. “You’re very, very sexy when you snort, Master.” His hands ran along my curves and even cupped my ass.

Flames claimed my cheeks, and I pulled away. Why did he keep teasing me about that? I swatted his hands away. “Not now!”

Scarlet ignored the genie and squeezed my hands again. “Stay the night and leave at first light. You can have Grandma’s old room.”

Thank the gods! I could do with a proper mattress and pillows. My ankle needed a rest after all the action of today. So did my body and mind. I was confident Zand would keep my brother safe for one night. Worry gnawed at me that they might worry if I was gone for too long.

“Thank you,” I said, hugging my friend, adoring how she smelled of citrus.

“Excuse me a moment,” said Scarlet. “I’ll get you clean bed sheets.”

When Scarlet was out of earshot, Kaza nudged Dahvi in the ribs. “Kinky, Brother. We can lay with the master. Though I’m not sure I’d call having sex with her in a grandmother’s old, mothball sheets a turn on.”

“Hey, keep your voice down,” I said. “No one is having sex tonight.” Gods. My whole body burned. I wanted him to get in the lamp and stop embarrassing me.

Kaza rolled his eyes.

“Scarlet’s grandmother passed away not long ago,” I whispered.

Dahvi shoved Kaza in the chest for me. “Brother, show some respect!”

Kaza grabbed my hand and placed kisses along it and up my arm. “Please, accept my humblest apology.”

My inner arousal stirred. Gods, he left me burning up!

He nuzzled my neck. “Master, I was only joking. I’m a Shaitan djinn. Fun is in my nature.” He squeezed my bottom again, soft then harder.

“Don’t worry, Master,” said Dahvi, pulling away his brother. “I will not try anything inappropriate with you.”

What? No! Secretly, I wanted Dahvi to try everything inappropriate with me, but not tonight. Every part of me ached for his hands to explore my body. Having the two of them explore me made me want to explode with excitement. But I wasn’t about to admit that now, was I? The moment wasn’t appropriate.

I rubbed my temples. What were these genies doing to me? Turning me into a wild, horny beast? I swore they’d leave me starved for sex when they left.

“Brother, don’t play all innocent,” said Kaza. “I’ve seen the way you swoon over the master.”

Dahvi tucked his hands under his armpits, highlighting the lines of his biceps. “And I don’t deny it.”

“I’ll just make myself scarce and return to the lamp then, hey, Brother?” Kaza got to his feet, straightened his vest, and patted Dahvi’s chest. “Let you two get acquainted.”

What was he doing?

Yellow smoke swirled around him. He blew me a cheeky kiss before dissolving into it, the vapor streaming into my bag.

Dahvi and I just stood there like two shy teens set up on a date.

Crap. Well this was awkward.

“Brothers.” Dahvi shrugged.

The creak of the wooden floor told me Scarlet was on her way back, so I smiled when she appeared armed with a set of sheets and pillowcases.

“Where’s the flirt?” she asked, handing the items to Dahvi.

I stroked my bag. “Back in the lamp. Staying out of trouble.”

Part of me wanted to strangle Kaza for being so forward with Dahvi and me. Maybe it was a brotherly thing. You know, looking out for his brother, putting in a good word with me. But if Kaza’s heart had bonded with mine, why do such a thing? Was sharing women something genies did in their culture?

I hated to admit it, but some part of me kinda liked his brand of trouble. Made me feel alive. Kept me on my toes because I never knew what to expect. Maybe I should take more of a page out of Kaza’s book and not be so serious or end up grouchy like Zand.

“Thank you again, my friend.” I smiled at Scarlet and followed her down the hall and into a large bedroom with Dahvi.

“Good night,” Scarlet said. “The bathroom is just across the hall, and the kitchen is stocked with food if you get hungry.” She winked and vanished into the dark corridor.

“Thank you.”

The genie shut the door behind us.

Queasiness filled my belly. Was it true that Dahvi had a crush on me? Or had Kaza been joking around again? Gods, I hoped not. An excited tremble coursed through me at the prospect of lying in Dahvi’s arms. I felt giddy, like it was my first love all over again. But if the blue genie was shy, would anything happen between us?

Damn. How could I be thinking this when I’d just said no one was having sex? What was happening to me? Instead of thinking about getting to know him, I jumped straight to the dirty stuff. I was so destined for the pits of hell.

Was it so wrong of me to have a strong attraction for the three genies? The people of Utaara would expel me from society for my behavior. But I didn’t care when I couldn’t control my attraction, my emotions. There was something between the genies and me. A connection. An unexplainable lure. We’d all felt the pull on our hearts the moment they’d smoked out of their lamp. Whatever that represented, I craved more and to explore what it meant.

Dahvi examined Scarlet’s grandmother’s old room, prodding a crocheted blanket across the bedside chair.

An old quilt with patches of pink was folded on the end of the bed. Various quilted pillows rested against the headboard. Kaza hadn’t been kidding when he’d joked about the mothball smell. Floral-patterned wallpaper was marked with the stains of age. Eyes on a creepy painting of some religious woman, whom I assumed was the priestess, watched my every move. I pulled it off the wall and turned it over.

The genie and I got busy making the bed. I showed Dahvi how to put on the sheets. His side ended up with heaps of creases, but it wasn’t a bad effort for his first time.

Dahvi turned to me and brushed a thumb under my eye. “Master, you look so tense. It hurts my back, looking at you. Come. Sit.”

He led me to the bed, and I sat on the edge.

Resting on his knees, he took my foot, inspecting my ankle. His fingers worked their magic on the sole of my foot, easing tensions I hadn’t known I had.

“Do you ever want to start life again?” I asked.

“I wish for freedom every day.” A rueful edge clung to his words as his thumbs pressed deeper into the pads of my feet.

I could relate. We were both victims of circumstance. Him, trapped by a spell that had bound him to a lamp and countless masters until he was freed. Me, a product of my environment and the family into which I was born.

“Do you believe I am the master who will grant your freedom?” I said, drowning in calm.

“Yes,” he said as he worked his way up to my ankle and heel.

Gods. No pressure, or anything. The poor genies had been used and abused as slaves. I was not going to be the next asshole. Now, I had to live up to my own promise to free them. As long as they helped my brother…

Curiosity burned inside me, and I couldn’t stop the flood of questions. “What will you do when you are free? Visit the universe? Climb the highest mountain? Explore Haven?” Of course the last question was an intentional fishing expedition.

He inched over my pants to my calves, relaxing a really tight muscle. “If I am feed I will lose my powers. I guess I will wander and explore these lands.”

My heart broke for him. I could barely breathe over the ache in my chest. The genies’ situation made me wonder what I would do if I were in the same position. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like, stuck in a strange land without all the glorious power I used to possess. But it would give me the chance to start a new life in a different land. If Ali and I got a fortune from the genies, I planned to settle by the sea. Maybe Dahvi and his brothers could tag along if they needed a place to stay. Who was I kidding? I’d love to have them. Taking them in seemed fair in exchange for their gift of wishes to me. Especially if they were unable to create a home of their own.

Dahvi’s brown eyes, lined with a ring of aqua flecks on the outside, locked on to me. “Unless I meet someone I want to share my life with.”

Heat flushed across my face. Did he mean it? Sure, there was an attraction between us, but we hardly knew each other. Maybe he just wanted to get to know me and explore the possibilities. Gods. I admitted I was eager to investigate them, too. But my heart contracted, reminding me of the pain I’d suffered over those I’d loved. My deadbeat dad had left my mother to raise me. Ali’s father never even knew my brother was born. Raising two children alone had been too much for my mother, and she had left us. The one time I opened myself up to love with a man, he had cheated on me, and broke my heart. I didn’t want to get hurt anymore.

I tried to pull my leg free, but Dahvi’s grip was firm, so I stayed where I was.

“That’s amazing,” I moaned.

He pressed his thumbs deeper into my calf. “You’re welcome,” he replied with a smile more delicious than baklava.

His gaze skimmed over me as if he memorized every inch of me.

An immense, warm wave washed over me. I’d never had anyone care for me the way Dahvi did. From his massages, to checking on my ankle, protecting me from the guard, and even to caring for my brother. Then there was the way he tended to Kaza and had a natural connection with Ali.

This was the kind of guy…genie…I could fall for if I wasn’t careful.

“Mmmmm…do you do this to all your masters?”

“No.” Dahvi laughed, deep and honeyed, stoking embers burning within me. He dug into the edges around my knee.

“Don’t stop,” I moaned as my tension spilled free.

“I’m not.”

The kiss he left on the top of my foot set me alight. His grin promised me heaven, and I drifted toward it with abandon.

“Gods,” I said on a sigh.

I bit my lip as Dahvi broke up the knots surrounding my knee, giving me both pleasure and pain, both of which I enjoyed.

I really needed this. More than anything. I wasn’t lucky enough to get a daily massage from my servants like all the fat cats in Utaara, so this was a rare and blissful gift. One I accepted with open arms and heart. And having a gorgeous genie for my masseuse only added to my enjoyment.

“You carry a lot of tension, Master.” Dahvi’s vigorous fingertips dissolved a nodule on the top of my thigh, and my muscles tensed from the pain.

Hell, yeah, I did. He would, too, if he had the stress I had on my shoulders.

“I’ll get rid of it all for you,” he promised, running his thumbs up and down the outside of my thigh, easing the burn scaling through me.

Gods. I wasn’t going to say no. Right then, I’d let him do anything to me. Anything! His touch had my center blazing, and I groaned. Need shuddered through me. The apex between my legs grew wetter with desire. I wondered how much better the massage might feel with him touching my bare skin.

He rose off the floor onto his knees, exposing the bulge in his pants. He wanted me, too. His breathing quickened. A deep groan rumbled in his throat. The way he drank me in made me even hotter with anticipation. He hooked his hands onto the back of my knees, dragging me closer so my butt rested on the edge of the bed.

I sat up to stroke his penis. “I want you.”

“Your wish is my command.”

My heart raced as his hands slid over my his and belly. His eyes drilled into mine as he lifted my kaftan and eased off my underwear. I could barely breath as he tossed them aside, and a chill captured my bare legs.

My doubts kicked in. Was it wrong of me to want this stranger? After I’d had his brother? Did he think any less of me because of what I’d done with Kaza? At that moment, my lust kicked my doubts aside and took control. She wasn’t up for questions or second-guessing my actions.

My core tightened in excitement. I ached for him to kiss me.

From his position on the floor, he parted my legs and lifted them over his shoulders. I gasped as he buried his face between my thighs. My nails scraped along the quilt as his tongue flicked my folds. Quivers rocked me as he lapped at my slickness. He gave me an approving moan as if he liked what he was doing.

“Dahvi,” I panted as my body convulsed.

I wanted more. More. More. More. My heart cried out for him, like dry soil desperate for a soaking rain.

Each pass of his tongue rocketed me into the heavens. My pussy throbbed. He consumed every last drop of me. Every muscle seized with pleasure as he tipped me over the edge. I belonged to him, and he knew it. He left my body rocking with everything he had to give.

Gods. We hardly knew each other. But I was eager to give myself to him. Damn, those genies’ charms. They worked to seduce me, all right.

The bridge of my pleasure intensified, and a scream of ecstasy pressed the back of my throat. But I didn’t want Scarlet to hear me. This was her grandmother’s room! What might she think of us? I bet her grandma never anticipated hot genie action happening in her dusty, old room! I grabbed a pillow, pressing it to my face, and unleashed my scream as my body shuddered with the orgasm devouring me.

Dahvi pulled the pillow away and licked his lips.

Now that was sexy. I wanted to do the same for him. Suck him. Taste him. Swallow him.

I’d been left breathless, and my heart worked overtime to pump the blood from my privates to the rest of my body.

Dahvi’s excitement tested the fabric of his pants.

Flames swarmed in my libido, and I propped myself up on my elbows. I gawked as he stroked his cock through the material. Slowly, as if to tease me, he stripped away his pants, doing a little sexy jig and tossing his pants on my head. I yanked them off and threw them aside. My attention focused on his hardness. The thick, swollen head of his cock throbbed, dripping a bead of white liquid. He slowly caressed his shaft for me, and it twitched in his fingers. I could tell he liked to take his time. Build anticipation. Take things slowly. Make it last. He was going to kill me with his sexiness.

I was hypnotized by his motions. All my thoughts trained on Dahvi. Every inch of me trembled with desire to have him inside me. The wait was driving me crazy, and I ached for him.

Dahvi climbed over me. The heavy length of his penis danced in the air like a magical wand. It jerked as I clasped his shaft with an eager hand. A grunt tore from him.

I yearned to take him into my mouth and make him scream. Passion surged in his aqua eyes, and I answered the call of my senses by licking his waiting tip. He responded by grabbing my hair and pulling me away.

“No,” he said as some of his pre-cum dripped on me.

What had happened to my shy, sweet Dahvi?

Urgency pulsed through me. To kiss him. For him to enter me. He enjoyed making me wait, teasing me, which made me want him even more. For now, I was no longer his master. I willingly surrendered to him. Whatever he wanted I was up for it. My body was his.

“Gods, your beautiful,” he said.

Lightning bolts flashed through me as he ran his fingers through my hair.

Had he taken a look at himself in a mirror lately?

My fingers found my face. He thought I was beautiful?

He ran his hands over my hips and underneath my ass. His gaze turned me into a simmering puddle. In one quick motion, he flipped me onto my stomach as if I weighed nothing. Those sleek hands of his glazed over my butt like silk sheets. His touch was pure heaven. His fingers grazed my wetness, and he laughed, the sound stoking the fire within me.

“Please,” I begged, wanting him to have his way with me before I burst from the pressure of my anticipation.

“Patience, Master,” he said, his voice pure sex.

Heat fanned across my body as he spread my legs. His hardness caressed my inner lips, teasing me. Hunger charged through me. I was drowning in his game but loving every second of it. Gods. I might be dripping all over Scarlet’s grandmother’s quilt. Dahvi better hurry up and take me before I ruined the thing!

To my immense relief, he did just that, easing into me, soft and shallow at first, as if testing me. When I moaned, he pressed deeper.

“I’m not hurting you, am I?”

I laughed. “You’re not hurting me enough.”

He was longer than Kaza and reached the end of me, stretching me. But I adored every inch of him.

I lifted my ass, meeting each steady thrust. My entire body wanted to be consumed by him. To burn in the heat that poured from him.

The springs in the mattress creaked with each thrust of his strong hips.

To hell with it. I no longer cared if my friend heard. Hopefully she’d be happy for me. I sure as hell know I’d be if she found someone as amazing as Dahvi.

The genie’s pace quickened, and I fisted the quilt. With each pound, I gasped for air.

“Gods,” I said, meeting each strike, diving into his passion, drowning in it.

His fingers laced with mine as he lowered his stomach to my back, his body slapping mine, harder and faster. I let go, and a second orgasm gripped me. My whole body quaked from pleasure I’d never even known was possible. If only I could remain on this high for eternity.

The walls of my pussy clenched, squeezing him, and he groaned with his own pleasure that pulsed into me. He collapsed onto me, and I melted under the scorching heat he radiated. Our breaths heaved in perfect unison.

Pale-blue flames licked across my arms and hands. My heart thumped under my breastbone.

Dahvi rolled off me, and I rested on my side to face him. My hands found his hard stomach. Blue fire ignited on his chest. I felt a calling within me. Flames lit awake inside me, too.

I was curious to know how it worked. “Did you imprint on me too?” I asked, touching my chest.

Dahvi nodded. “Our hearts are now entwined.”

I felt him probe the depths of my soul, like fingers flicking through a book containing all the pages of my life. But when he touched the pain I’d buried, I grew frightened and shut down my side of the connection.

He brushed hair away from my eyes. “Do you want to read me?”

My mind screamed at me to search him back. To discover the life of a genie. Before I could stop myself, I dove into him, peeling back the layers.

Someone had hurt him before. Broken off a commitment of lifelong love. Now, he yearned for someone to fill the void inside him. But, like me, he didn’t trust his heart with just anyone. Appreciation spilled through me that he’d entrusted it with me.

“Why did she leave you?” I asked, holding his fiery pendant between my thumb and forefinger.

The genie traced a finger along my navel. “She loved someone else.” The agony in his words cut into me like a knife. “We were all hurt by someone. I don’t dwell on it. That’s in the past.”

Maybe I should take a page out of his book. My pain only served to drag me down. I didn’t want to end up all twisted and dark like the vizier. But something about letting my pain go, about being naked, exposed, and vulnerable…it terrified me. And I had more than just Dahvi to contend with. I was also bonded to Kaza. At any time, he could split me open, examine my heart, and take me to pieces. Lay me bare for the world to see. I hadn’t even shared my soul with Ali or Scarlet. The idea of not being able to hide behind anything made me want to clam up.

Speaking of the Kaza issue…that gnawed at the back of my mind, too. My fondness for him. My affection for Dahvi. My unexplored attraction for Zand. For wanting to deepen my bonds with the genies deepen. But I had to wonder whether that was possible, given the circumstances. Whatever the outcome, I was up for it and for the promise of more of what the genies offered me.

Dahvi’s fingers curled around the back of my neck, pulling me closer. “It is odd in your culture that you lay with my brother and me?”

Heat rose in my cheeks. Damn, this bond thing. Now I couldn’t keep anything a secret. “Yes. In Utaara, only the sultan or the rich, fat cats have multiple mates.”

Finally, Dahvi kissed me. A long, sweet, and soft touch on my lips. When he pulled away, he said, “It’s perfectly acceptable in my society.”

Why couldn’t Utaara be like that? Everyone chose who they wanted, how many they wanted without persecution or judgment.

“You don’t care that I am bonded with Kaza?”

“Not at all.” Dahvi’s mouth brushed the tip of my nose. “He is my brother. Seeing you both happy makes me happy.”

Gods. Well, that was one weight off my mind.

Dahvi crushed me to his chest. His hands cupped my cheek. “You look tired, Master. Please, sleep.”

“I’m pretty exhausted, but I want to spend time with you.” I lay there, my eyelids growing heavy. I hadn’t had a wink in over one rotation of the sun. Everything was finally starting to catch up with me.

The sound of his heartbeat lulled me into oblivion. I’d much rather remain in his arms than face my troubles. There was always tomorrow for that.