The suns were just dawning over the horizon when Colin and Genevieve returned home. Before closing the door, Colin took one last lingering look at the altered landscape now becoming visible. In the distance in one direction, his lab was now surrounded by thriving crops. In the other, lay the town where Colin imagined the men would all soon gather in the square to talk about the miraculous appearance of fully grown crops on their farms and start organizing irrigation.

Genevieve had been tireless over the last few hours. In fact, with each seed she’d made sprout, she’d become even more energized and filled with curiosity. “More seeds,” she’d said over and over again, fascinated with the variety of plants. “Give me more seeds. What else do you have?”

After she’d successfully grown a batch of Condrafurs outside on the unprepared earth of Garrulus Four itself, Colin had continued giving her more. Curious, he’d even given her some of the failed batches of seeds from the storage closet that he’d forgotten to throw out. She’d made them all grow normally, without a single mutation showed. Following that, he’d pulled out a few of the non-essential strains of hearty non-food-bearing plants that they’d been using for splicing, and there was now a beautiful garden off to the side of the lab.

After that, he’d hesitated. What if they lost some of them to the climate conditions outside? He also felt the need to document everything they were doing so it could be studied later. But how in the world could magic ever be explained? Besides, there were people who would need food within a few days, so did they really have time to waste? Wasn’t this exactly what they’d come to Garrulus Four to accomplish?

He’d worried about the strain on Genevieve, but she seemed fine, vibrant even. So, he’d let her go to work on the rest of the Condrafur seeds and even helped lay the seeds out in the earth, per his original plan.

After exhausting all she could do at his facility, she’d made him take her to the other farms. And there, in the dim light of the moon, she’d done the same. He would never forget how she looked standing in the middle of Brace’s orchard with the trees supernaturally rising and growing fuller all around her until her glowing face was lost to his view.

It seemed that the more she used her power the stronger her effect became. Somewhere along the way, she’d said that she could now feel seeds hidden in Garrulus Four’s soil. It turned out those had been unable to resist Genevieve’s command as well. Now, in addition to the crops, there was a whole host of native foliage that would need to be studied. Their house was also now surrounded with what he supposed were the native flowering plants. Instead of petals, they had strange dangling orbs that fluoresced in an assortment of colors. Genevieve had seen to their growth as soon as they’d touched down in the transport.

Colin’s colleagues were going to get one hell of a shock when they stepped out of their homes. He wished he could be there to see their faces when they saw the overnight transformations, but that would come soon enough. Within a few hours, there would be more than plenty to do, so he closed the door, deeply satisfied with their night’s work.

Genevieve stood in the kitchen arranging a bounty of freshly picked fruit in a white bowl on the counter, a smile on her face as she worked. Just the sight of her there looking so happy made his heart swell with feeling for her. He couldn’t resist stepping to her side, taking her in his arms, and kissing her. She leaned into him and kissed him back with a contented sigh, her arms stealing around his neck. She felt so good against him, so right. She was a woman of fire and light and passion. She was a miracle, and he felt like the luckiest bastard on Garrulus Four to have her here with him. Sure, she was beautiful. But without all that she was on the inside it would have meant nothing. It would have just been a hollow shell.

He ran his lips across her cheek and whispered, “You’re a miracle, Genevieve,” in her ear. Who was he next to such a creature? Not that it really mattered. Being next to her was all he wanted. He would be happy to have just that for the rest of his days.

She laughed. “It feels like a dream. I can’t stop wondering what would have become of me if you hadn’t bid?” Then she looked at him with such trust that it overwhelmed him.

“You came in to my life, all our lives, and turned our reality upside down. You saved us.” She reached up to cup his cheek and he tilted his head into that soft palm.

“You saved me, too,” she said. And then she was kissing him in a way that made him feel a virility he never had before. It made him sweep her up and carry her toward the bedroom. With each step, he left all logic in the room behind them. It had no place in the passion that was expanding between them like a tangible force. He wanted to be with her, to be one with her, and he could see in her eyes that she wanted the same. When he spoke the command to shut the bedroom door, his voice was so low and guttural that he almost didn’t recognize it as his own.

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GENEVIEVE FELT A THRILL go through her when Colin picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, their bedroom. Tonight was a night that could only be described as an awakening. Not only of her long-hidden power, but also of a feminine part of her that now pulsed to be set free. When Colin set her down, she slipped immediately out of the clothes she wore. He watched her with hungry eyes, and she gloried at the feel of his gaze as it latched onto each section of flesh she exposed. He looked at her as if she were a goddess come to life, and she didn’t think she would ever get enough of that.

He began shedding his clothes as well, and then it was her turn to be fascinated. Just looking at him caused the tender flesh between her legs to throb with need. When he sat on the bed to remove his socks, she kneeled before him to help, her eyes drawn to the generous member between his legs that now stood erect with need. She tossed the sock in her hand to the side and reached out to touch it, fascinated by its firm masculine softness. Colin groaned, but he remained still, watching her. With wonder, she stroked over his length, feeling the wonderful silky skin and firm ridges. She slid her hand down to the base and fingered the folds of the sack beneath, then ran her hand back up again to round her fingers over the tip where drops of dewy moisture had wept out.

This was the first time she’d done more than kiss a man, so thought she wasn’t exactly sure what she as doing, it felt right. Now filled with her power, she could see that her instincts carried an arcane knowledge that she trusted immediately and implicitly. Sex was no secret among the Jinn. They were not prudes. They celebrated intimacy. But it was one thing to see pictures and hear other women giggle about their escapades and quite another to experience it first-hand.

Genevieve glanced at Colin and could see he was watching her even more intently now, hungrily, doing nothing to stop her. So she decided to explore even further. She scooted closer to the bed and, with the sides of her breasts brushing his thighs, watched his face as she took him into her mouth.

He groaned even deeper and closed his eyes, his face tense with exquisite pleasure. It was heady this power she had over him. So she continued, licking and touching as the mood suited her. She found that she loved the musky, salty scent of him and the way it tasted on her tongue. She could have continued, but his breath soon became jagged and he rested a hand gently on her head, making her pause.

“Wait,” he said. “Come here.” He pulled her up beside him to lay on the bed and ran his gaze up and down her body. “You are so beautiful, Genevieve. I could look at you forever.”

He stroked a hand down her side to her hip then up to take her breast. Her nipples peaked at his touch and, when he leaned down to suck on one, it was her turn to groan and close her eyes. The feel of his mouth on her sensitive flesh was far more wonderful than she ever imagined it would be. It made her arch her back up into him and grasp his wide, powerful shoulders. All she knew was that she wanted to be close to him, that she loved the feel his warm skin on hers.

He took his time kissing first one breast, then the other. More magic of a different sort tingled beneath her skin when he trailed kisses up along her collarbone then to her neck and ear while at the same time he skimmed his fingers downward to gently stroke the secret flesh hidden in the damp curls of hair. His fingers were strong and sure, and soon she was calling his name, her hips jerking in response to his touch. She pulled at him, wanting to feel his weight against her.

Colin shifted to cover her body with his, pushing his way between her legs until the head of his cock rested firmly pressed against her opening, making her tremble with want. There was a fire burning within her, and the feel of him there at the entrance only made her burn hotter. He remained where he was though, despite how she writhed beneath him, and took his time kissing her deeply until she swore she would lose her mind within the soaring maelstrom of lust that raged inside her.

She pulled at his hips. “Colin,” she said urgently.

He moved then, just a little, pushing more deeply within her and making them both shudder and groan. Then he stopped again.

“What’s wrong?” she panted, feeling his hesitation and seeing the strain on his face.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said. “Are you ... are you a virgin?” His cheeks filled with color as he said it, and she couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her. He was such a dear man.

She was familiar with the term and instantly understood what he was asking. “You won’t hurt me,” she said. “You could say that I am a virgin, in that I’ve never done this before. But the other part of it, the painful part you’re thinking about, is a human thing. We Jinn have no such obstruction.”

He looked instantly relieved. “Thank god!” he said.

It was all the reassurance he needed. He plunged his length all the way into her in one smooth thrust, making her cry out with the pleasure of it. She clutched her legs around him and her instincts took over once more. She moved her hips against him, following the delicious tendrils of want that beckoned. He responded to her urgency with some of his own and thrust harder, making their flesh slap together and causing her breasts to jiggle. At this moment he was not careful, not tender. He was a man of power driven to bring them both to ecstasy and, oh, it was so good!

She couldn’t have stopped the cries of passion that tore from her even if she wanted to. The sensual storm building within her was unstoppable, and she felt as if she would never get enough of Colin. It was too good, like liquid love. Her instincts again took over out of the raw need that was consuming her, and she pushed at his shoulders, surprising them both. They rolled over as one, and she was suddenly astride him. Her legs splayed wantonly to the side with him still embedded deep within her, bringing a whole host of new sensations.

The new positions allowed his hands the freedom to roam over her body, from her thighs to her hips to her breast as she began to move, discovering the marvelous increase of erotic power. With the feel of his hands on her skin, and the whims of her body desperately directing her, her passion quickly stoked far beyond what it had been before. And when he bent his head to suck on her breast while still pulsing in and out of her, it was as if she were thrown over the edge into shockwaves of a magnificence. It made her forget everything, including who she was, just so that she could revel in the purity of their oneness as they climaxed together.

They remained locked in each other’s arms after it slowly wound down and rolled away, like thunderclouds after a rainstorm. Then Genevieve shifted to lay beside Colin with her head on his chest and his arms cradled around her, and listened to his heartbeat as she drifted off to sleep.