As You Desire (11 page)

Lona didn’t need any magical powers to know that Rafi wasn’t happy with her request, even though his expression did not change.
“That’s not a good idea, Lona. You’ll be in even closer proximity to Rue and it’s not safe.”
Safe.
Being around Rafi had reminded her of what it meant to feel that way. She was tired of living life worrying about Rue. There had to be a way to get him to leave her alone. Surely, if she talked to him in person—asked him to let her go once and for all—he’d do her this one small act of kindness?
“Lona?”
Lona blinked and saw Rafi watching her closely.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t go. I just feel so helpless. I’m so tired of feeling like nothing in my life is under my control.”
“I promise you that you won’t always feel like this.”
“Rue’s never going to stop.”
“He will.”
The steel in Rafi’s voice made her believe it was possible.
“Come with me?”
Lona looked at Rafi’s outstretched hand.
“I can’t guarantee I’ll smile.”
“I can.”
The corners of her mouth tickled as a tiny grin already threatened to break free. He had that effect on her.
“Just let me change, then.”
“You look beautiful.”
The compliment warmed her cheeks and her blood as she gestured at his creamcoloured linen pants and sky-blue button shirt.
“Thank you, but I’m hardly dressed for a walk. I’ll hurry.”
“I’ll be here.”
Yeah, but for how long?
She turned away from him as a wave of sadness swept through her.
Once Rue had been dealt with, there would be no need for Rafi to be in her life. He would go back to his life as a genie and she…
She would have to get busy making a life of her own.
Lona breathed in scents of cinnamon and vanilla the moment she entered Niri’s home.
“Niri?”
The smell of the freshly baked muffins drew her to the cosy kitchen in search of the multi-talented elf. Instead she found a note explaining her absence, along with a basket on the counter already prepared with the still-warm muffins and a carafe of coffee. Her stomach growled and Lona forced herself back to the guest bedroom for something to wear before she bit into one of Niri’s decadent treats.
There was a bag filled with her personal belongings on the bed. A red sundress with tiny shimmering beads along the bottom hung on the door, along with another with a shorter hemline in the softest shade of orange. She quickly dressed in her bra and panties without looking at her body in the mirror. It was so strange to feel no after-effects of being pregnant. No physical reminders of what had taken centre stage in her life for the past several weeks.
Too bad the emotional backlash loomed ever-present.
Lona sighed.
Will I ever feel at peace?
Determined to enjoy the sunshine and whatever it was Rafi wanted to show her, she selected the orange dress. The soft material was light and airy and, like everything Rafi had given her, fitted perfectly. Lona pulled her hair free from between her back and the dress, wondering when Rafi had gone back to get her stuff.
Duh—he’s a genie, remember?
He could have gone and come back in an instant. Sometimes she forgot about his abilities as a genie, because she was all too conscious of him as a man.
Lona pushed her feet into some gold flats and left the room. She grabbed the basket of muffins and coffee before leaving, embracing the feeling of excitement quickening her steps.
Rafi was in the same spot when she returned to his side.
“Niri baked these for us.” Lona lifted the basket for Rafi to smell.
“She’s so thoughtful. They smell delicious.”
Rafi took her hand and led them out of Niri’s garden. The sun was warm on their backs as they walked deeper into the woods and a comfortable silence ensued.
I could face anything with your hand holding mine.
Lona glanced at Rafi, thankful again that he wasn’t a mind reader—but she wished she could read his.
“Just a little bit further,” Rafi said, turning to look at her for a split second. “Are you all right?”
“I’m good.”
“Good. I can’t wait for you to see this.”
They walked for a few more minutes, then the woods gave way to a clearing where a sparkling pool of water seemed to reflect the sun’s rays with the fire of diamonds. Lush flowers of every colour imaginable encircled the oval pond. Water lilies with vivid pink blooms floated on the surface and the songbirds overhead fought to be heard over the bubbling sound of the water moving before them.
“Oh, wow! This is breathtaking, Rafi.”
Lona gave him the basket of food and rushed to the edge of the water. She dropped to her knees in the soft grass and stared out over the pond.
“Lona?”
“What?”
Lona tore her gaze away from the shimmering pond in front of her to look at Rafi.
“You’re smiling.”
Lona touched her mouth with her fingertips and nodded. “I guess I am. I can’t help it. This place is amazing.”
“I thought you’d appreciate nature’s simple gifts. Whenever I come to this place, I never fail to remember that life goes on and it’s up to us to find the beauty in it all.”
Tears clogged her throat as Rafi came to sit beside her in the soft grass.
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
“It’s my pleasure. Do you want to eat something?”
“Yes.”
Lona swallowed back the lump in her throat as Rafi held out his hand. A ball of blue light formed and disappeared, leaving a huge ivory blanket in his grasp.
“We’ll have an impromptu picnic of coffee and muffins. Would you like something more to eat? Eggs, bacon?” Rafi asked, flashing a sexy grin as he spread out the blanket.
He beckoned her over and Lona stood and joined him in the centre of the quilted fabric.
“Let’s try Niri’s muffins first.”
“Fair enough. Taste.”
Lona opened her mouth as Rafi fed her a piece of the muffin he’d broken off with his fingers. The flavours of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg filled her mouth and she moaned with delight, taking a bigger piece from Rafi’s hand.
“These are scrumptious! I don’t think I’ve ever had a muffin this moist and yummy.”
Lona watched Rafi take a bite and waited for his reaction. She giggled as he nodded with appreciation.
“See…what did I tell you?”
“Niri’s a helluva baker.”
Lona reached into the basket for the carafe of coffee and the small mugs. “Coffee?”
She opened the lid, looked up from the basket and found Rafi’s eyes glued to her face.
For a moment, they stared at one another.
The spark of desire that wound its way around her body made her clumsy. The carafe tilted and coffee sloshed out of the top and onto her hand.
“Ouch!”
The shock of the pain made her wince.
Rafi moved so fast that Lona wasn’t even sure the movement was possible to detect with human eyes. He took the carafe from her hands and covered the reddening spot on the back of her hand with his own. Soft blue light radiated beneath his touch as she watched and when he pulled away the burn was only a memory.
“Let’s skip the coffee,” Rafi said, moving next to her.
“Yes, let’s.”
Lona was reaching for another muffin when he grabbed her hand.
“I want to feed you.”
“No need—the burn is gone.”
The intensity of his gaze was making her warm. Erotic images of him tasting her flashed through her mind.
Rafi played with a strand of her hair as he nodded. “I know, but I want to. Will you let me?”
How could she say no to him?
She accepted another morsel and her pulse quickened as Rafi brushed crumbs off the side of her mouth. A curious heat spread throughout her body, centring at her core.
Kiss me… Please kiss me.
“I’m going to kiss you now. I don’t think I can stop myself from tasting your lips, Lona.”
A low moan erupted from her lips as he wound his hand around the back of her neck and into her hair.
“Kiss me, Rafi.”

Lona closed her eyes as Rafi’s head blocked out the sun and his lips touched hers. He kissed her gently at first, caressing her lips with his tongue as he laid her back against the blanket. Lona revelled in the feel of him, so strong and warm pressed against her body as they lay side by side. She settled her head in the cradle of his arm around her neck as he deepened the kiss. His tongue tasted of cinnamon and Lona moaned with need as she returned his kiss, craving so much more from him.

“I want to kiss you everywhere,” Rafi whispered in her ear.
“And I want you to.”
She wanted to make a beautiful memory to remember him by…something to cherish

after he said goodbye and walked out of her life. A strangled sound erupted from her throat at the thought of never seeing him again, but she pushed back that thought as she reached for the buttons on Rafi’s shirt. She wouldn’t think about anything else right now but being with him.

Rafi laughed as he sat up to slide his shirt off his shoulders, revealing tanned muscles worthy of tongue-worship.
“Lona, I think you’re reading my thoughts.”
His wavy, dark hair gleamed in the sunlight as Lona moved up onto her knees and leaned in towards Rafi to kiss his collarbone.
“Then you know I want to kiss you everywhere, too.”
Lona opened her mouth, dropped her head and flicked her tongue over Rafi’s nipple. She smiled against his skin at his sharp intake of breath.
“Damn it, Lona, you’re asking for more than just my kiss if you do that again.”
Without hesitation, Lona encircled his other nipple with her tongue. She yelped as Rafi pulled her forward, knocking her off balance as they fell back onto the blanket with her on top of him. He slipped his hands beneath her sundress, up her thighs, over her waist, lifting the fabric to show her green panties. She helped him, taking the dress up over her head, feeling gloriously free as the scent of the water and honeysuckle carried in the wind blowing around them.
“Take this”—Rafi touched her protruding nipple through the cotton of her bra—“off.”
Lona reached behind her back, unclasped the bra and let it fall down her arms. She shifted her weight onto Rafi’s stomach, conscious of his lengthening cock nudging her stomach as he stared up at her.
What was he thinking?
“You’re gorgeous…you know that?”
Lona couldn’t respond as he lifted his hands to palm the heavy weight of her breasts. Her panties were soaked now as he stroked the rough pads of his thumbs back and forth across her sensitive nipples. Rafi gently tugged on the tips of her breasts, making her arch her back as she placed her hands on his chest. He abruptly grabbed her hips and rolled her to the side, covering her body with his own. His mouth latched on to her breast and Lona grabbed hold of his head, running her fingers through the thick strands of his hair as he teased her with his tongue and teeth. Only when both breasts had been given the same amount of wet kisses did he move lower, pressing his mouth to her belly and on the top of her panties.
“I’m so wet for you, Rafi.”
Her admission made something wild flare in his eyes.
“Show me.”
Rafi shifted his weight off her, settling on his knees as Lona lifted her bottom to take off the damp lingerie. He helped her pull them off from around her ankles, bringing the lace to his face, where he pressed the fabric to his nose and inhaled deeply.
Lona studied him beneath hooded eyelids, her body temperature sky-rocketing as he pinned her with a serious stare.
“I’m waiting, Lona.”
Her legs trembled as she parted them, offering him a front row seat to her blatant arousal.
“Wider.”
Lona spread her thighs as far as she could and was rewarded with a kiss on her engorged clit. She whimpered with pleasure as Rafi lapped at the erect bud while gently gliding two fingers inside her. He pumped his fingers in and out of her slippery sheath as he kissed her pussy over and over again.
“You are very wet for me.”
Rafi nipped the inside of her thigh as he slipped his fingers from her body. He held his hand up in the sunlight as if admiring the glistening wetness on his fingers, before licking them clean.
“Keep your legs open,” Rafi instructed as he stood and untied his linen pants. They fell to the blanket along with his underwear and Lona stared at his cock.
“I want it.”
“I know.”
Rafi came to her, his hard length bobbing as he dropped back down onto his knees between her legs.
She didn’t think she could stand any more teasing or foreplay. When the head of his cock slipped into her, she cried out, grateful that he was of the same accord. She grabbed hold of his forearms as he filled her, holding his dark gaze until he was fully seated within her.
“Ready?”
Lona could see the other question in his eyes—
Are you okay?
She answered him by moving her hips beneath him. A gasp escaped her lips as her body adjusted to the exquisite feel of him so deep inside her. Her eyes widened as he began to move in slow, delicious strokes.
“Rafi!”
He kissed her again, cutting her off as he withdrew his cock from her slick heat. Dazed and hungry, Lona reached for him, but he shifted his weight to lie on his back, carrying her with him so that she was lying on top of him with his thick, wet cock sandwiched between them.
“Put me back inside you.”
Rafi’s desire was her own.
She sat up, taking his cock in her hand, loving the way his eyes closed as she touched him. The tip of his erection bumped against her belly button as she lifted her hips and guided him back into her. She shuddered, lowering herself all the way onto his lap as Rafi groaned. Her hair fluttered in the breeze against her back as she looked down at him.
“You feel so good inside of me, Rafi.”
Lona moved her bottom and he exhaled sharply as she began to slowly bounce on him. She closed her eyes as he slipped his hands beneath her ass, lifting her faster and higher, increasing the erotic sensations engulfing every cell in her being. The wind teased her, whipping over the sheen of sweat covering her skin as she fought to keep her rhythm. Her breathless pants became wilder and wilder as the impending climax roared forward, sweeping through her with the force of the water surging next to them. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out as her body broke apart into a million blissful pieces.

Rafi held on to Lona as he shifted their positions again so that he was on top. He stared down at her face, flushed from her climax, as he picked up the pace.
This is heaven.
Lona was his angel. He stared at her, lost in her beauty and the feel of her tight sheath convulsing around his dick. The pleasure overtook his ability to see anything but the stars flashing in his eyes as he lost control, coming with a force that elicited a rough moan. Rafi was certain the heat of his orgasm eclipsed the sun. He withdrew from Lona’s body to lie beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist.
“Now I remember…”
Rafi lifted a long lock of her hair and circled it around his finger.
“Remember what?”
Lona turned her body and face towards him, tears sparkling in her eyes. “Now I remember what it feels like to make love.”
Rafi was speechless, unprepared for the crazy hammering rhythm of his heart that had nothing to do with his climax.
Lona smiled at him, lifting her hand to touch his cheek.
“Let’s swim.”
Rafi blinked, trying to switch gears in his head as Lona got to her feet. The sight of her naked body against nature’s prettiest backdrop made her look almost ethereal.
Tingling heat racing up his arms tore his gaze from Lona, down to the carbide bracelets around his wrists.
Damn!
He was being summoned by the High Council.
Rafi cursed under his breath.
“Are you coming?” Lona asked, dipping her toes in the water.
Rafi grabbed her sundress as he stood, wishing he didn’t have to leave her as he went to her side.
“I have to go.”
He glanced down at the subtle glow emanating from his bracelets and Lona followed his gaze.
“Genie stuff?”
“Actually, the High Council wants to see me.”
Lona took her dress from his hands and pulled it over her head.
“Do you think it’s about me?”
“I don’t know. Will you be able to find your way back to Niri’s?”
Her hair caught the sun and gleamed in the light as she nodded her head.
“It’s a straight shot. I’ll be fine.”
Rafi smiled. “I shouldn’t be long.”
He leant down to kiss her, only pulling away when the burning sensation around his wrists increased.
“Later,” Lona said, stepping away from him.
“We’ll have coffee when I come back.”
Rafi returned Lona’s grin as he focused his energy and his body shimmered into a ball of light.
The next thing he saw was Maurelle waiting for him.
“I’m sorry to have summoned you at a most inconvenient time.”
Rafi frowned, wondering why the female Djinn was avoiding his gaze, until he glanced down.
With a low curse, he raised his hands, already emanating light, and within seconds he was fully clothed in dark jeans, a white T-shirt and leather sandals.
“I apologise for my appearance.”
Maurelle cleared her throat, the blush on her cheeks fading as she stared at him. She looked every bit the regal Djinn queen in a sea-green, diaphanous gown that seemed to flow in waves around her.
“I trust your new appointment is going well?”
The implication of him sleeping with her was clear, but Rafi had no intentions of discussing
that
with Maurelle.
“She lost her baby because of Rue.”
Maurelle sighed. “The High Council is aware of her loss.”
“Are you also aware of the psychic connection he has with her? That’s the reason she stayed with him as long as she did. She wasn’t to blame for any of his treasonous acts against the Djinn Brotherhood.”
“I called you here today because of this new information that has come to light about Rue’s manipulations.”
“He must be forced to break his hold over her.”
“I agree.”
Maurelle broke eye contact for a second to glance down at the marble flooring.
“But the High Council must vote on such a decision. We will convene later tonight and a decision will be made on the best course of action to take.”
“The best course of action for the High Council, or for Lona?” Rafi couldn’t keep the hard edge out of his tone.
“Both.”
He wasn’t sure he could believe that, but speaking further to Maurelle about it wouldn’t help Lona at this point.
“After tonight, Lona will be appointed the ward over whatever estate and monies Rue has. We will no longer require you to keep her in your care.”
Rafi gritted his teeth, averting his face from the female Djinn.
No longer in his care?
Why did hearing those words make his heart turn to stone?
“Rafi?”
He lifted his gaze from the floor to meet Maurelle’s intense stare.
“I can see you’ve taken a personal interest in this whole thing. You do understand you must reclaim your Djinn duties… Have you considered how this will affect Lona? You will hardly have the time to indulge in the type of relationship she truly desires.”
Rafi remained silent until he was certain he wouldn’t pop off a few choice expletives in the presence of an elder.
“Why did you offer me the choice to become a genie when you knew my relationship with my wife would never withstand it?”
Maurelle looked shocked by his question.
“You saved Sharon’s and my daughter’s life and I was so grateful…until I realised I could never be what they needed or wanted.”
“Rafi—”
“I’ve wanted to hate you, but I can’t. I’ll always be thankful that you saved them. That they got to make a life—to
live
life—even if it was without me.”
The tears shining in Maurelle’s eyes surprised Rafi.
“Your pain was so great. I truly wanted to help you…to ease your emotional turmoil. I never anticipated the outcome.” Maurelle’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Please know I never meant for you to suffer more because of what I did to try to help.”
“I believe you.”
But it still doesn’t change what I’ve endured.
The words were unspoken, but Rafi was certain Maurelle had heard them loud and clear.
“I would never allow Lona to think anything between us could be more than what it is.”
Maurelle nodded, her dainty features flushed. “I will summon you back here tonight to render the decision made regarding Rue.”
Rafi waited until Maurelle’s form shimmered and disappeared before leaving the hall in a streak of light himself.
He expected to see Lona the moment he reappeared in Niri’s guest room where she was staying.
“Lona?”
A quick check in the bathroom confirmed she was not around.
Rafi strode to the door, following the sound of Niri’s laughter into the kitchen. He found her sitting at the table, sipping tea with Karis, Vander’s wife. He went over to Karis and kissed her on the cheek.
“Rafi, you’re back. Karis decided to come by and check on Lona.”
“Good to see you, Rafi,” Karis said, her exotic green eyes flashing with merriment.
“And you. Have either of you seen Lona?”
Niri frowned. “I thought you two would be enjoying my muffins…possibly on your way back to get more.”
Something about the way the elf said ‘enjoying’ caught his attention, but he was more concerned about Lona’s whereabouts.
She definitely should’ve been back by now.
“I was summoned by Maurelle, so I had to leave her by the lake. She seemed confident about getting back here on her own.”
“She’s probably still sunbathing by the water. It’s so beautiful over there.”
Rafi hoped Karis was right, but had a feeling something was wrong.
“You’re concerned?” Niri asked, setting down her tea cup.
I’m more than concerned.
“I’m going to go check and see if she’s there.”
Niri and Karis exchanged a glance as Rafi pushed back the increasing feelings of dread.
“We can meet you there—”
“No, you two stay here. I’m sure she’s fine.”
He smiled at the two women and hoped his senses were wrong as he disappeared from their sight.