it over. I’m not in the mood.”
“I am.”
“That desperate to get a man?” He prepared for the slap this time and managed to duck it. Karlin had put so much weight behind it that when she didn’t connect with his face, she stumbled to the ground. He dodged that too, happy to see her faceplant the floor.
She jumped up glaring and shooed off would be Samaritans. “Your lamp and I are heading to Galveston tomorrow. If you want it back, meet me at six.”
“Is that a wish?”
“I’m not that stupid.”
He reached for his phone, but she was quicker, sliding it into her low cut top before disappearing up the stairs.
If they’d been alone, he’d have wrestled her to the ground and taken it. Or at the very least, made her waste a wish to get him off her. That was still a possibility, but here in a place packed with people, tackling a screaming woman would only lead to more trouble.
Out of options, heavy feet walked to a room still wrecked and tousled from his earlier lovemaking with Dinah. Tig fell against the pillow, desperate to catch her scent again. With nothing else to do, he curled up against it and waited for Karlin’s wish.
*****
T ig met her at the shuttle pickup point as requested. He didn’t roll his eyes at Karlin’s smirk or say anything beyond a grunted greeting. He wouldn’t show how disgusted this situation left him. Let it sit. Let her think this was routine. His plan was simple, answer her three flipping wishes, get himself free and move on with his life. He’d been in this position before. Yet this time, he carried the small hope that it would be his last, thanks to Dinah.
The glint in Karlin’s beady eyes was worrisome though and indicated she meant to drag this out as long as possible. “Aren’t you an obedient little boy?”
“I can be, for a wish.”
“I’ve already planned out my wishes.”
“Let’s hear ‘em.”
Karlin’s fake nails tapped on the seat in front of them. “All in good time. First we get to Galveston and then we’ll talk.”
“Why there?”
“Why? Two islands, home to French and Spanish magic in the New World?”
He wanted very badly to ask how she intended to get to Galveston in the first place. She couldn’t have known that was his original place of departure, so how had she expected him to get a return ticket? He wasn’t going to pay for it. Not without a wish. He resisted a smile at the thought. She’d make this too easy.
Yet at the ticket counter, he found the woman had better sense than he’d given her credit for. Instead of asking him for his ticket or to buy or to do anything , Karlin whipped out her credit card and paid for his seat herself. It was the desk agent who asked for his ID, not Karlin, and he handed over one of the few he used for emergencies, a Johnson Smith.
He didn’t acknowledge the woman’s triumphant grin as they made their way through the airport. Instead, he sat in silence and watched the departure screen.
“I consider this an investment. By the time I’m done with you, it’ll be chump change.” She looked at him, lips parted, clearly angling for some sort of reaction. He picked up a newspaper to block her view. What was happening in the world, he couldn’t tell. The words on the page all merged together as his mind drifted back to Dinah. Memories of her served as his one refuge.
“Not in a talking mood?”
He didn’t look up. “They’re boarding soon.”
Generally, he didn’t mind granting wishes, but he didn’t want this bitch to have anything. However, as long as she had his lamp, he was at her mercy and his wants didn’t mean anything. This could go on for years or end immediately. If he pissed her off, she could squash the lamp and destroy who he is. Had she read that far in her stupid research?
His only hope rested in greed and vanity. Humans were a remarkably consistent lot. Those two sins built the basis of most wishes. She’d screw up sooner or later.
When the flight attendant came
“I am.”
“That desperate to get a man?” He prepared for the slap this time and managed to duck it. Karlin had put so much weight behind it that when she didn’t connect with his face, she stumbled to the ground. He dodged that too, happy to see her faceplant the floor.
She jumped up glaring and shooed off would be Samaritans. “Your lamp and I are heading to Galveston tomorrow. If you want it back, meet me at six.”
“Is that a wish?”
“I’m not that stupid.”
He reached for his phone, but she was quicker, sliding it into her low cut top before disappearing up the stairs.
If they’d been alone, he’d have wrestled her to the ground and taken it. Or at the very least, made her waste a wish to get him off her. That was still a possibility, but here in a place packed with people, tackling a screaming woman would only lead to more trouble.
Out of options, heavy feet walked to a room still wrecked and tousled from his earlier lovemaking with Dinah. Tig fell against the pillow, desperate to catch her scent again. With nothing else to do, he curled up against it and waited for Karlin’s wish.
*****
T ig met her at the shuttle pickup point as requested. He didn’t roll his eyes at Karlin’s smirk or say anything beyond a grunted greeting. He wouldn’t show how disgusted this situation left him. Let it sit. Let her think this was routine. His plan was simple, answer her three flipping wishes, get himself free and move on with his life. He’d been in this position before. Yet this time, he carried the small hope that it would be his last, thanks to Dinah.
The glint in Karlin’s beady eyes was worrisome though and indicated she meant to drag this out as long as possible. “Aren’t you an obedient little boy?”
“I can be, for a wish.”
“I’ve already planned out my wishes.”
“Let’s hear ‘em.”
Karlin’s fake nails tapped on the seat in front of them. “All in good time. First we get to Galveston and then we’ll talk.”
“Why there?”
“Why? Two islands, home to French and Spanish magic in the New World?”
He wanted very badly to ask how she intended to get to Galveston in the first place. She couldn’t have known that was his original place of departure, so how had she expected him to get a return ticket? He wasn’t going to pay for it. Not without a wish. He resisted a smile at the thought. She’d make this too easy.
Yet at the ticket counter, he found the woman had better sense than he’d given her credit for. Instead of asking him for his ticket or to buy or to do anything , Karlin whipped out her credit card and paid for his seat herself. It was the desk agent who asked for his ID, not Karlin, and he handed over one of the few he used for emergencies, a Johnson Smith.
He didn’t acknowledge the woman’s triumphant grin as they made their way through the airport. Instead, he sat in silence and watched the departure screen.
“I consider this an investment. By the time I’m done with you, it’ll be chump change.” She looked at him, lips parted, clearly angling for some sort of reaction. He picked up a newspaper to block her view. What was happening in the world, he couldn’t tell. The words on the page all merged together as his mind drifted back to Dinah. Memories of her served as his one refuge.
“Not in a talking mood?”
He didn’t look up. “They’re boarding soon.”
Generally, he didn’t mind granting wishes, but he didn’t want this bitch to have anything. However, as long as she had his lamp, he was at her mercy and his wants didn’t mean anything. This could go on for years or end immediately. If he pissed her off, she could squash the lamp and destroy who he is. Had she read that far in her stupid research?
His only hope rested in greed and vanity. Humans were a remarkably consistent lot. Those two sins built the basis of most wishes. She’d screw up sooner or later.
When the flight attendant came
Similar Books
