As You Wish Read online

  “Karis?”

  That voice. Exactly how she’d imagine a sexy lover’s voice to be, warm yet rough—a sensual caress. Her robe slipped open and she shivered as the silk gave way, baring her legs and black panties under her soft T-shirt.

  “Karis, wake up.”

  She slowly opened her eyes to the commanding voice in her head, her breath catching in her throat as her vision came into focus.

  The hot half-naked stranger was still here.

  “Don’t scream!” he said, putting his hand over her mouth. “Relax, Karis. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  With her lips pressed against the inside of his palm, she inhaled slowly, keeping her gaze fastened on the huge male before her. He smelled of sandalwood and something else she couldn’t define.

  In an instant, blind panic took over and she began to struggle in earnest. She tried to pry his hand from her face, but all her efforts were futile.

  “Relax.”

  His deep voice held a hint of amusement as she gave up fighting to simply stare into the golden depths of his eyes.

  The phone was miles away on the kitchen counter, any other weapon also well out of reach. How could she even attempt to defend herself against such a big man?

  “I will not harm you.” His soft words interrupted the slew of thoughts jumbling her head. “Promise not to scream again?”

  Karis nodded, unsure if she’d keep her promise, yet anxious to get away from the warmth of his touch and the unsettling fissions of awareness spreading through her skin. She sat up as he pulled away from her, aware of his gaze trailing down the length of her scantily clad body.

  “Who are you?” she asked, fumbling to pull the edges of her robe together as she folded her arms across her breasts. There was a slight wobble in her voice but nothing to betray the overwhelming sensation of madness enveloping her. She tore her eyes away from his intense stare to the sparkling looped top defying gravity between them. “Do you see that?” she whispered more to herself than the sexy intruder less than a foot away from her.

  “My name is Vander.” He reached out and grasped the looped lid suspended in mid-air.

  She watched him replace the top on the bottle in stunned silence.

  “You aren’t hallucinating, Karis. I’m real. You know that on some level.”

  Her body responded to the way he kept saying her name and heat rushed to her cheeks. “How…how is this possible?” She stood, tying the sash on her robe.

  “You summoned me when you touched this.” He held out the antique, hand-painted bottle.

  “So let me get this straight you came out of that…that bottle?” A hysterical giggle escaped from her throat. “I’ve got myself a real live genie in a bottle?” She shook her head with a derisive laugh.

  “I’m a Djinn but your culture often refers to my kind as a genie.”

  Karis fell silent. This guy was serious. Was he even human or just some twisted sexual fantasy playing out in her head?

  Vander laughed, each hearty chuckle bringing her attention to his rock hard abs. “I am human in this realm but we can talk more about that later and as for the latter part of your question…I can be whatever you need.”

  She lifted her eyes to his handsome face as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. He had to be the sexiest man she had ever seen. His muscled body seemed to be chiselled out of marble. He would make the perfect subject for nude drawings, oil paintings, a bronzed Michelangelo. Her gaze moved down to his full sensual lips, which were curved into a winsome smile.

  “Thank you for your compliments.”

  She gasped. “You…you can hear what I’m thinking?”

  He nodded, moving to sit on one of her barstools.

  “Wait a minute, wait a minute. This is crazy. I’m crazy.” She rushed towards him. “You aren’t real!” Her fingers connected with ultra warm skin and she gasped as he grabbed her wrists and held her hands in place above his heartbeat.

  Chapter Two

  “See. You’ve touched me…I am real, Karis. I am here.” His voice had lowered to a silky whisper and her gaze dropped to his full mouth and perfectly trimmed black goatee.

  She had to accept he was a genie or she was experiencing one hell of an hallucination, either way, she was going to play along. “So I’ve got three wishes then?” she asked, trying to pull her hands from his grasp. She breathed an inward sigh of relief when he let her go.

  “Three wishes, yes, but we should talk about the details. It doesn’t exactly work like in the movies I’m sure you’ve seen.”

  “Okay, so how does it work?” She took another step back from him and stole a glance at the phone only a few feet away.

  “Because you have summoned me, I am bound to you until your three wishes are met. The term wish implies, as soon as you make a request, I can magically make whatever you’ve asked happen, but that’s not necessarily how it works.” He crossed his arms. “Think of it as three chances or opportunities for me to use my powers to help you achieve what you want. I cannot undo whatever is set into motion once the wish has been asked. I cannot make anyone fall in love with you—”

  “And you can’t kill someone for me…right?” Karis asked jokingly, looking at his bulging biceps. What was this guy’s workout routine?

  “Wrong. I can.” He stretched his arm along her countertop and turned his palm upward and a brilliant blue ball of light appeared and hovered over his hand. “I possess the power to take a life. Although, those types of wishes cannot be asked lightly, for there are always severe consequences for the master who chooses such a dark path.”

  Karis eye widened as the sphere of blue dissolved. “Master?” she repeated, noticing the huge dark bracelets around his wrists.

  Vander nodded. “Until your three wishes are done, you are my master…the keeper of my vessel.” He gestured towards the bottle he had sat on her counter.

  “This is crazy,” Karis repeated, rubbing her eyes.

  “There are a lot of things you don’t understand yet, but you will,” he promised.

  It was as if he knew her and understood she was at the end of her rope, emotionally, financially and apparently mentally.

  He exhaled harshly, swallowing up the distance between them before she could blink. She gasped as he gripped her arms and yanked her close to his body.

  “You are wasting time second guessing yourself, Karis. I can help you.” His hands were huge, encircling the tiny biceps she had spent many hours in the gym to get.

  “If that’s true…then I want you to help me find my mother.” She noticed the golden irises in his eyes darken. “You can help me do that right?”

  He released her again with a slight nod. “I can, but there is much you don’t understand.”

  She shook her head in frustration. “Can you or can’t you help me find my mother?” The silence stretched between them for a few seconds as she waited for his answer.

  “I know your mother and possibly who has her,” he stated flatly.

  Karis gasped. “Where…how?” The questions were flying around so fast in her head, she couldn’t think of which one to ask first.

  Vander went to her window, pulling the curtain back to let in the lights of the city. “Your mother found my vessel and summoned me. She is a powerful seer but your own power is stronger…I can feel it. It was her wish that I would help you develop your gift. “

  “No.” She paced the floor. “This isn’t making any sense.”

  He turned away from the window to look at her. “She also told me your unwillingness to believe in the supernatural ever since you were a little girl, but here I am. You must acknowledge your mother’s beliefs for the truths they represent.”

  Karis stopped pacing to glare at him. “My mother’s beliefs are what got her into trouble.”

  “If you want to help your mother you must believe in your own power and learn how to use it.”

  “I don’t know if I can.” And I’m afraid. She blinked back tears as the thought r
aced through her mind. No matter what she tried to do with her life she couldn’t escape her past.

  “I’m not going to tell you there is nothing to fear. That would be foolish. But, you can do this. You just have to decide once and for all what you believe about yourself and our world.”

  “It’s not that simple,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re asking me to change my whole worldview.”

  “I know.”

  Looking into his eyes, she believed he did. “I don’t even know where to start with all this.”

  “Tell me about these dreams involving your mother.”

  “They’re more like nightmares.” She wrapped her arms tight across her chest.

  Vander nodded. “Your mother has been trying to reach you, the only way she can because you are not in tune with your gift. When you are sleeping, the part of you refusing to believe lies dormant, allowing your subconscious mind to function freely and do what it already knows how to.”

  “Wait…wait,” she mumbled, touching her temples. “I can’t deal with all of this right now. You said you would serve me, well, all I want you to do is find my mother. Why can’t I simply wish for you to take me to her?”

  “I could fulfil that request if she were somewhere in this realm.”

  Her world was spinning. “I…I don’t understand.”

  “Your mother is being held in another dimension. To find her we must know exactly where she is. You possess the ability to find her.”

  “How?” Karis asked with an incredulous scowl.

  One eyebrow lifted as his lips curved into a sexy smile. “First, you must make a formal wish. But, I must warn you, fulfilling your wish will require our joint efforts.”

  “What do you mean?” She picked up her coffee, surprised to find it still remarkably warm. Another reminder not much time had passed since her world had been turned upside down again with the appearance of a genie.

  Vander watched her take a sip, before speaking. “I can help you, but I cannot make this wish come true alone. I need your help.”

  “I don’t have any gifts…I never did.”

  “You’re wrong and you know it. You’ve just been blocking what you see around you, hiding from your true self all of this time because of your fear of being different and your desire to blend in with the crowd, but you’ll always stand apart, Karis. You are different.”

  She stared at him, struck by his accuracy, unnerved by how good it felt to have someone understand. “If I do have this great power, which I can tell you again I don’t…but let’s pretend I do. How would you be able to help me strengthen it?” She watched him walk to her bar counter and select a red apple from the fruit bowl.

  “There are a couple of possibilities, training with another gifted telepath, or a personal friend who also happens to be a meditation guru, but there is a much faster method and time is of the essence…yes?” He took a generous bite from the apple.

  She nodded, distracted by the golden shimmer in his eyes. “I feel like I’m running out of time.”

  “Well, there is only one way I can guarantee that will unleash all of your physic and magic abilities with minimal risk.”

  “Okay,” she prompted him with her hands on her hips, “what is it?”

  “Sex.”

  She blinked. “What?” Her cheeks warmed under his stare.

  “Sex is extremely powerful.” He paused to take another big bite. “During sex, the body becomes aligned mentally and physically…well, usually, if the sex is good.” He flashed her a sexy grin.

  “Oh, puh-lease!” Karis scoffed, her face getting hotter and hotter every time his lips formed the words to say ‘sex’.

  “Trust me, when you are in tune with your body on a spiritual and physical level, it will be very easy for the rest of your mind to accept what the subconscious and body already know to be true.” He moved from the bar stool with fluid grace and snatched a paper towel.

  She watched him wipe up a piece of the fruit and laughed. “So what you’re saying is I have to have sex in order to tap into my gifts? Not having sex is what’s been holding me back all these years?”

  “Sex is what will help you the fastest now, but the best way would have been for you to develop your abilities with your mother as a child.” He finished the apple. “It’s been so long.”

  Try never, Karis thought. “Excuse me?”

  Vander tossed the apple core in the trash. “We don’t have apples like this where I am from.”

  “I won’t even ask,” she muttered.

  “Good. There’s no time. Right now you have to decide if you are ready to become who you are. I can help you find your mother, but you’ve got to let go of your reservations about your power and become strong.”

  “By having sex?” she asked again, spitting out the words. She stood still as he moved off the chair to stand next to her. Her heart began to race as he lifted her face with his palm under her chin to meet his eyes.

  “Yes,” he said softly, tangling one loose curl with his finger.

  “Is there any other way?” she asked, her voice catching as he continued to play with the lock of hair. How could a hallucination conjure up more sparks within her than any other guy she knew? The whole scenario would have been laughable if the circumstances weren’t so dire. She didn’t have many friends in general, let alone a single male friend she wanted to call up and ask for sex.

  “You don’t need anyone else, Karis, just me.”

  Red-hot tingles zipped over her skin as his words sunk in. “You?” She swayed when he removed his hand from her face. It was hard to focus when he touched her.

  “I am Djinn, as powerful as you in many ways, together we can bring your gifts forward faster than any other human male you know…or don’t know,” he finished with a teasing grin.

  She flinched. “Stop doing that!” He had access to all of her chaotic thoughts with all of her emotions laid bare for his amusement.

  “I don’t think any of this is funny.” He caressed the side of her cheek with one finger. “I can’t help the fact I can read your thoughts. That’s a part of who I am.”

  Karis closed her eyes for a moment, confused by her body’s response to his simple touch. She had never experienced an attraction so strong. Being in his presence was unsettling and comforting at the same time. “Your skin is so warm.”

  “My core temperature runs hotter than your own…something else I can’t control. My skin will always feel warmer to you.” His eyes moved from her face to her messy ponytail. “Your hair is magnificent…why don’t you wear it free and wild?”

  “In a word—humidity.” She could lose track of time staring into his hazel eyes. They were hypnotic and sexy like the rest of him.

  “Thank you, Karis. I find you incredibly beautiful too.”

  Her eyes widened at his statement. She dropped her gaze to his sensual mouth only inches from her own. What would it feel like to have his full warm lips covering hers?

  For the first time in her life, she hungered for a man’s kiss. She lifted her face and leant forward. Just a little higher and the kiss was hers.

  “Stop it!” She took a huge step away from him. “I don’t know what you are doing to me, but stop it.”

  Vander chuckled. “I’m not doing anything to you, Karis. This is how it is when undeniable sexual attraction exists between two people. This is good—”

  “Good?” she yelled, cutting him off. “What are you talking about? This whole thing is nuts, you’re nuts, and I am too for sitting here listening to you. Get out. Out of my head and out of my house! Get out!”

  “Enough.” He spoke with deadly calm as his gaze flicked over her trembling body. “This has all been a big shock to you and I know you are scared. I will leave and give you some time to face what’s happening, but you know better than me, time is running out.”

  Karis folded her arms across her chest and took a deep breath. She would need a lifetime to regroup.

  “I can’t give you that
much time.”

  “I know.” She looked up at him. “If you really can help me…I want that.”

  Vander nodded. “All you have to do is think or speak my name and I will appear.”

  “Like poof! And there you’ll be?” She realised his assessment of her being in shock was dead on, as hysterical giggles bubbled up in her throat.

  “Something like that. Look, you need to decide soon.” He spoke the words firmly, his eyes holding hers in a steady gaze. “I can help. Call my name when you are ready.”

  “Okay,” she whispered, blinking as he disappeared from sight in a rush of swirling heat circling the room. The air began to cool immediately and she wrapped her arms around her body, her loneliness even more pronounced in Vander’s absence. For a second, she considered saying his name but she knew she wasn’t ready to face him again just yet.

  Sinking to the floor in utter exhaustion, she hugged her legs as uncontrollable shivers racked her body. She stared at the hand painted bottle on her counter, the reality of all that had just taken place hitting her hard. Was she actually contemplating sleeping with a genie? This was how she was going to help her mother? Tears filled her eyes and she began to cry.

  Her mother was out there somewhere. She could feel it and the overwhelming sense something terrible was going to happen made the hot trail of tears wider.

  Wiping her eyes, she got up from the floor and walked towards the bottle. The glass seemed to shimmer as she picked it up and relaxed her with each passing second she stared at the colours. She felt calm, peaceful even and sleep beckoned to her as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom with the cool glass in her hand.

  She sunk into her queen size bed and struggled to keep her eyes open. For once, she was unafraid of her dreams as she placed the bottle on the pillow beside her and drifted to sleep within seconds.

  Chapter Three

  Vander cursed as he rubbed the heated skin under the glowing bracelets around his wrist. He could never get used to moving between dimensions no matter how many times he had crossed over.