Chapter Five
Mai threw herself down on Ryan repeatedly, impaling herself on his dick as she rode him with vigor. Ryan’s brows creased as he held her hips, meeting her thrusts from below and amplifying their pleasure together.
Their bout at the silos hadn’t been enough to completely heal her. It stopped the bleeding and helped close the wound, but Mai needed more to undo the damage done. She needed more from Ryan.
As she crested another orgasm, Mai leaned forward and kissed Ryan. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close while he kissed her passionately. His tongue swept across hers, and they bit lightly at one another’s lips. They were both close.
Hooking his hands around her shoulders, Ryan planted his feet against her bed and slammed into Mai as hard as he could from the angle. Her head flew back as she cried out in pleasure. Her fingernails bit into his arm, and when she came, they broke through the skin.
Mai wasn’t silent when she screamed his name. She was never quiet when they were together because he deserved to know exactly what he did to her. Mai felt her body give as she broke from the bliss he pushed on her. And as she quivered in his arms, Ryan came, too.
Their actions slowed. Ryan held her tight while he moved in and out of her in deliberate, measured thrusts, bringing them both back to reality yet again. And as their hearts calmed and their wits returned, Mai forced herself upright, planting her hands against Ryan’s barrel chest as she did.
Mai breathed heavily. Her platinum hair had fallen into her eyes, her cheeks were flushed, and her face reflected her satiation. Ryan reached forward. He threaded his fingers through her wayward locks and guided them back, hooking them behind her ear so they were out of the way. He cupped her cheek. The moment was sweet and tender, something Mai was more than willing to sink in to, but she knew they didn’t have the chance. Ryan still had to go to work.
As he drew back, she noticed the glint of his tattoo. Mai took his hand in hers and turned it to see his wrist. Roughly the size of a quarter and made with iridescent ink that was easily missed by someone on the outside, was the mark of the Light Fay: the Tree of Life. Everyone who pledged themselves to the Light bore the mark in the same spot.
She eventually let go of his hand and crawled off of him. Ryan must know what she was thinking and spoke probably without meaning to.
“I wish you’d choose a side,” he muttered.
Mai sighed heavily as she got off the bed entirely. “You know I can’t,” she replied as she reached for her robe. “We can’t be marked.”
“I know.”
Mai wished it was as simple as joining a side, but it wasn’t. The Light required devotion, which was fine, but something she was unable to give. Once someone chose a side, they were required to take the mark, whether it was Light or Dark. Mai would never be able to do that, even if she wanted to. Djinn were unique that way. A tattoo wasn’t a simple tattoo. It was a leash.
Not all stories about genies were myth. While they weren’t blue and didn’t live in a lamp, they could be captured. If someone managed to restrain Mai or mark her, she was bound to them so long as the restraint remained.
For example, if she were to be arrested or even tied up playfully during sex, Mai would be under the complete control of whoever restrained her, forced to do anything they asked or commanded of her. It was the same with a brand—so long as the mark remained, she was bound to the one it represented, and tattoos were indelible.
If Mai pledged to the Light and wore their symbol, they could literally make her do anything they chose, anything. That power had been abused in the past when a djinn was stupid enough to follow through. Worse yet, her people didn’t do well with restrictions. Slowly but surely, the collar around their necks would begin to feel like it was tightening. They would feel the suffocation of not being able to do as they wished, and it would drive them mad. That was why any djinn who chose a side, chose the Dark.
Morgana (and that wasn’t a title. The leader of the Dark was actually the witch who destroyed Camelot and killed Merlin) was more than willing to forgo protocol. She knew the power of a djinn and how rare they were. As a result, she was more than willing to keep the relationship casual and work on a quid pro quo basis. Morgana knew that if she gave a djinn the proper compensation (usually in the form of worshipers from which the djinn could feed) they’d be happy to give the Dark anything they asked for.
Mai still didn’t understand why since most of her kind considered the rest of the Fay and humans below them, but she assumed it was boredom. It made sense that the djinn would probably cause whatever mayhem Morgana asked for the fun of it, something to spice up eternity, and the free feeds.
For centuries the simple arrangement worked. Djinn offered their mark-free loyalty to the Dark so long as they were properly paid for it and it continued being fun. The Light didn’t want to give the creatures such freedom and demanded a show of absolute allegiance.
So, while Mai would be willing to pledge herself to the Light just so she could be with Ryan, common sense and fear of insanity kept her from it.
Ryan knew it, too, but sometimes he wished it didn’t matter.
Mai took a sip of her water while Ryan got dressed. He had to get back to work before someone important realized he was gone. Mai knew that while Marcus could and would cover for him, but that would only last so long.
Dressed again, he approached the young woman staring up at him through her lashes. Ryan gently ran his fingers down her cheek adoringly before dipping forward and giving her as chaste a kiss as he could manage. It was a difficult task. Every time they touched it was torture just to pull back.
“I’ll see you later,” he said. She nodded. “Be careful, please.”
Mai offered a small smile. With one of his own, Ryan finally left.
If there was one person in the world Mai thought she could fall for, it’d be him. Hell, she was close to it already. Ryan was unlike anyone she’d ever met before in her incredibly long life, but she couldn’t do that to him. She couldn’t condemn him more than she already had. The trouble was, Mai had little to no control over herself when it came to Ryan Ursy, and she was well aware of the fact.
But, she also knew she couldn’t ask for more than they already had. The risk of being caught and the forbidden nature of their relationship was a nice thrill, but it held real-world consequences. The Light Council weren’t known for being forgiving, and while Mai snubbed her nose at their rules a lot of the time, they still worried her.
The five Fay who made up the Light Council were some of the most powerful in their world. Mai didn’t know what type of species they were, necessarily, but she knew that anyone who’d been arrogant enough to challenge them in the past paid for it with their lives. Rumors were that a couple of them were actually worshipped as gods in the old days. If that was true, Mai doubted she’d be able to sway any of their opinions should they find out about her and Ryan. She may have been a strong succubus, but she knew she was nowhere near strong enough to affect that many people, and her djinn side was grossly underused. It’d be no help.
If worse came to worst, she knew she’d have to bluff in order to save Ryan’s life. She would have to pretend to be the creature the Light feared, that ethereal being who could destroy the world if it chose. She would have to lie like there was no tomorrow because for Ryan, if caught, there wouldn’t be.
Walking away would be the wise move, except Mai knew she couldn’t. She was too connected to Ryan, too close. She’d never be able to walk away.
****
Ryan wasn’t surprised to see Marcus’s annoyed expression when he made it back to the office. He did his best to ignore it, but after a while, he felt like his partner was burning holes into the side of his head.
With a sigh, Ryan let his shoulders slump. “Just say it,” he grumbled.
“You know the rules, man,” Marcus repeated for the umpteenth time. “Why do you keep doing this?”
“She was hurt,” he replied shortly. “What was I supposed to do, let her bleed out?” Marcus offered a halfhearted shrug that ignited Ryan’s anger, but he kept it under control. “Jesus, man. I don’t give a shit, okay? I don’t give a shit about what the fucking Council has to say. It’s bullshit. Who cares if she’s djinn?”
“Shhh!” Marcus hissed sharply. His eyes danced around the scene. None of the other cops seemed to notice the two having a conversation, and he relaxed just a hint, but he was still agitated. “Keep your voice down.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. At the moment, it didn’t matter that they were surrounded by humans.
“I don’t care,” he said again. “What gives them the right, huh?”
“The fact that they’re the fucking Council.” Marcus told him angrily. “They’ve been in control of the Light for three thousand years. That gives them the right.”
“I didn’t elect those assholes.”
“Oh, my God.” Marcus sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Ryan, they are five of the oldest, most powerful Fay, and they make up the rules: we don’t kill humans, we don’t consort with the Dark, and we don’t fuck djinns. How hard is that?”
Ryan was losing his patience. He was tired of having to defend himself all of the time. He felt like Marcus was attacking him, and the animal inside wanted to react, despite the humans that surrounded them. Fortunately, Ryan was given something else to focus on.
Two men in suits with sharply cut hair and stern faces approached from his periphery. They went to him with purpose, and it made his back tighten. He didn’t like the way they looked at him.
“Can we help you guys?” Marcus asked suspiciously.
They didn’t even bother looking at him. Instead, the older man with white hair and deep, chocolate skin spoke. His terrifying glower reminded Ryan of Samuel L. Jackson in one of the thousand movies in which he yelled angrily at people.
“Ryan Ursy,” his voice rumbled. “You need to come with us.”
Ryan arched a brow. “I don’t think so.”
The intimidating man reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a billfold. Ryan half expected him to flip it open with a flourished motion to reveal a Fed badge, but he didn’t. What he showed the two detectives was much worse. Centered in the patch of black leather was a metallic tree. Ryan felt the tattoo on his wrist burn at the sight of it. The two men standing over him worked for the Council.
“Come with us.” The once-silent man said as Sam Jackson’s twin placed his badge back in his pocket.
Ice trickled down Ryan’s spine. They knew about Mai. That was the only thing he could think of.
Whether he wanted to or not, Ryan stood. He took his jacket from the back of his chair and cast Marcus a glance. His partner looked terrified on his behalf.