The Genie's Heartwish, page 12
A nervous giggle escaped as she slapped her hand against Zak’s mouth, having forgotten his sworn obligation to tell the truth. She couldn’t imagine going through life without being able to utter the occasional little white lie.
“He understands very little English,” she claimed. The stern, surprised look in Zak’s eyes was a no-nonsense signal that he sincerely disliked the idea of being muzzled.
As several other people passed by, Laila watched Zak checking out the jeans and khakis the men wore against the gay trio’s clothing.
With his fingers splayed across his chest, Zak looked down at himself, clearly horrified. He pinned Laila with a none-too-happy glare. “These men think I am assinnu,” he accused.
Laila didn’t need an interpreter to figure out what he meant.
“You don’t have to be shy with us,” lime pants guy said, squeezing Zak’s biceps for good measure.
“You assume incorrectly.” Zak disposed of the man’s hand from his arm. “I am not enamored of men.”
“Well that’s a pity,” pineapple guy noted. Zak’s eyes narrowed. “Toodles,” the man said, giving Zak a wave of his fingers before looping arms with the other two and walking toward the mall entrance.
Zak’s voice was solemn as he replied, “Toodles,” and Laila burst out laughing.
Arms crossed over his broad cabbage rose covered chest, Zak stared Laila down. She could imagine from that one straightforward look how Zakkar Tymon commanded battalions of soldiers in his time.
“Laila...?” His tone was menacing as one eyebrow arched in question. “You did not tell me gay in your time means assinnu,” he scolded.
“You didn’t ask.” Shrugging, she cracked a nervous smile.
“In Abigail’s time the word gay meant—”
“Yes, yes, I know.” She patted his arm. “Come on. We’ve got to get you out of these clothes and into something—”
“Into something a warrior would wear,” he finished for her, scowl still firmly in place. “When I told you I felt like an ugly munus in this,” Zak plucked the sweatshirt, holding it away from his chest, “you assured me this is appropriate male costume for your time.”
Munus, she remembered, meant woman. Her eyes roved over him. “I might have exaggerated slightly, but I had no choice. I had to tell you that little fib to get you here for some acceptable clothes.”
As she spoke, Zak eyed a handsome, buff guy strutting toward them wearing tight black jeans, a body-hugging black T-shirt and a black leather jacket. Devastatingly masculine, the guy was hot. Not as sexy as her genie, but a definite testosterone-oozing hottie.
“I like the look of this man.”
“You mean, in an assinnu sort of way?” Laila’s feeble attempt at levity was met with a warning glare. “Sorry. I couldn’t resist.”
“You will garb me in that manner,” Zak stated. “Like a man who prefers to bed women instead of men.”
Laila watched as the guy called out and ran to catch up with the three flamboyant guys who’d just left them, grabbing their asses as he wedged between two of the men.
Laila giggled.
Zak frowned.
“Come on, man who prefers to bed women. Let’s go shopping.” Laila tugged his hand. Zak followed, grumbling as he scuffed along the pavement on the too-small flip-flops.
She glanced up at him as they walked. “Are you bothered by the idea of gay people? You know, assinnu?”
“No. Why would I be?”
Laila shrugged. “I just wondered because of your reaction...”
“Several men under my command were assinnu. Shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield they fought just as fierce and bravely as any other men I have known. I am glad to share mutton and drink barley ale with them, but would not be pleased to find such a man waiting for me in my bedchamber.”
That sounded perfectly reasonable to Laila.
As they entered the mall Zak asked her, “You told those men you were my girlfriend. This means?”
“I just said that to let them know you aren’t gay,” Laila explained. “A man’s girlfriend is the woman he—”
“Ahhh, the woman he fucks,” Zak said as they strode through the glass doors of the mall entrance, leaving Laila bug-eyed and slack-jawed.
“What?!”
“You were letting them know you and I are fuckers.” He gave a knowing smile.
Slapping her hands over her face, Laila muttered, “Dear God, I cannot believe you just said the F-word. Twice.”
“While I appreciate the praise, it is not necessary for you to address me as a god, Laila.”
“Trust me, I wasn’t praising you, Ego Boy. It’s just an expression, like holy cow or holy mackerel.”
“Yes, the saintly animals.” He gave a thoughtful nod.
“You can’t say the F-word in public, Zak. It isn’t nice. It’s considered very crude.”
“But in the horseless chariot you explained the various meanings of the fuck word, did you not?”
“Yes but—”
“Was it not glorious when we fucked? I thought you enjoyed it immensely.”
His words caught the attention of two elderly women who exchanged disapproving glances.
“Shhh! Oh, for heaven’s sake, no. I mean yes. I mean—” Laila did her best to moderate her voice in the echoing mall. “I’ll explain all about the F-word and girlfriends later, okay? Until then, please watch your language.”
He looked skeptical. “You have a device that allows me to see it?”
“See what?” Her features scrunched in confusion.
“My language.”
This would probably be a great time to introduce the magic of texting and things like Google Translate but that would have to wait.
“You’re making me crazy, Zak. You can’t take everything I say so literally.”
“How then should I take it? And what should I do once it is taken? Help me to understand. I am doing my best.”
She looked into the pair of dark eyes gazing down at her with such earnest and sighed. “For now, all you need to understand is that you shouldn’t be using the F-word in public.” Laila gazed left and right at all the moms with little kids in tow. “It’s not proper.” She pressed a finger to her lips in a quieting motion.
“Ahh...” he said just above a whisper, glancing at the children in the vicinity as understanding dawned in his gaze. “The F-word is not appropriate for the ears of little goats.”
“Exactly.” Laila knew she should correct Zak about the little goats thing, but it warmed her heart and made her smile each time he said it. English and Grammar 101 could come later.
The moms Laila spotted had more on their minds than just kids. Zakkar was a magnet, a veritable attraction. While he seemed fairly oblivious to the attention, the young women making goo-goo eyes at Zak brought out Laila’s green-eyed monster.
Snagging Zak’s sleeve, she whisked him into a department store where both males and females eyed her goofily garbed genie like he was a juicy prime steak.
“Oh good grief,” she muttered beneath her breath.
“This means?”
“Nothing.”
“But how can grief be good?”
Unable to keep from growling with frustration, Laila said, “It’s not important. Too hard to explain. Just keep moving.” Looping their arms, she hurried him along, away from the sea of adoring, inquisitive eyes.
Laila gazed at Zak after outfitting him in a pair of butt-hugging jeans and a long-sleeved black, button-down shirt, open at the neck and rolled at the sleeves of his bronzed, muscular arms. He looked delicious.
They waited in line at the store’s checkout counter with Zak’s new black leather jacket. The female clerk eyed him with undisguised lust. The way she said, ‘Is there anything...else I can do for you?’ with a look conveying her longing in no uncertain terms, made Laila want to smack the overactive hormonal smile right off her face.
“Do men and women always eyeball you like that?” she asked, a disgusted tone creeping into her voice as they left the store.
“Eyeball?”
Frustration gripping her again, Laila tsked. “Do they always look at you like they want to...you know...”
“Engage in sex with me?” Zak gave a nonchalant nod. “Usually. I cannot fault them. They are mesmerized by my perfect form.”
He said it so matter-of-factly, so simply, Laila realized he wasn’t being purposely arrogant. Zak was merely stating fact. She’d never encountered anyone with such self-assurance. She’d love to have his confidence.
“In my time others seduced me because of my reputation as a skilled lover,” he gave Laila a pointed look, “to which you can now attest. At times that reputation even exceeded my celebrated standing as a great leader and warrior.”
Silent for a moment, Laila visualized horny women throwing themselves at him throughout the ages. “Do the words modesty or humility have any meaning to you?”
“Yes but their meaning is not relevant in regard to my prowess.”
“Or your astounding good looks,” Laila said sarcastically as they neared the escalator.
“That is correct.”
“Oh brother.”
With a look of amusement, he reminded her, “I am most definitely not your brother.”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on, we’re taking a ride on the escalator.” She motioned toward it, catching the uncertainty in Zak’s expression as his gaze traveled up and down. The man had encountered a mindboggling amount of modern technology in a short time.
“Watch what everyone is doing,” she instructed. He gave the escalator his rapt attention. “Just do what they did, and what I’m going to do. Do not put your hands on the stairs or the escalator will chew off your entire arm and half your face.” She felt the need to embellish the truth in case he got too curious.
He nodded.
She got on the escalator, turning back to catch Zak’s fascinated expression as he stepped on right after her. He was focused and silent for the short floor-to-floor excursion.
“Another transportation miracle,” he pronounced, stepping off and looking back at where he’d just been. “I would like to do this again.”
“We will, when we go back down before we leave the mall.”
“Good. Returning to the subject of my pleasing looks, my rumored heritage as half-god has only added to my appeal.”
Smacking a playful slap to his arm, Laila laughed.
“What is it you find humorous?”
Her gaze slid to him. “You were serious?”
“Certainly. It is said that my father is Enlil, he who guards the tablets of destiny.”
“What are those?”
“The cuneiform tablets on which he writes the fate of everything on earth. Enlil is so powerful the other gods can’t even look at him.”
“If that’s the case,” Laila noted with a snicker, “how did he and your mother manage to get together?”
“It was Enlil’s will that she gaze upon his brilliant, fearsome beauty as they copulated.”
“How convenient.”
“Those who lust after me cannot be held accountable. They cannot help themselves. Such was the case with Sabit, the young virgin priestess responsible for my captivity.”
“So, you corrupted a sweet young virgin, hmm? Am I finally going to hear about that?”
“Not here.” Zak’s expression grew dark. “It stirs too much emotion within when I speak of what transpired. I will tell you soon.”
“I look forward to hearing about it.” She wanted to hear everything about the cruel, life-altering day he’d endured so many centuries ago. It was still difficult for her to believe such powerful, magical forces existed.
“Hungry?” she asked, breathing in a whiff of aromas drifting from the food court. “My brother’s place, Nevan’s Irish Pub, isn’t too far from here. They’ve got great burgers and delicious pork pie if there’s any left.”
“What is a burger?”
“Sheer gastronomic heaven.” Laila led him down another escalator to the mall entrance, eager to introduce him to some hearty, non-diet grub.
“Stop!” Zak commanded as they stepped off the escalator and walked a few yards.
Her breath catching, Laila came to an abrupt halt. “What’s wrong?”
“We must shop here. For you, this time.”
Laila looked at the broad expanse of window with the skinny, big-chested mannequins garbed in fancy bras and panties. My Silky Secrets, Glassfloat Bay’s answer to Victoria’s Secret. She swallowed hard. With her plentiful body she’d never had the nerve to set foot in one of their stores.
“No, Zak. I really don’t think—”
“You think too much. Come. We will learn the mystery of her silky secrets.” He grabbed her hand, striding inside.
“But you already made me buy new jeans, tops, skirts and dresses,” she protested.
He’d clearly changed his mind about women wearing pants when he saw the difference between the way Laila looked in her baggy jeans versus the snug fit of the new jeans revealing every ripple and turn of her curves.
“Those are for others to see. The secrets,” he motioned to the silky, satiny wisps throughout the store, “are for my eyes only.”
Laila heard may I help you? chorusing around them as Zak surveyed his surroundings. Competing for his attention, the sales clerks selected pricey items for his perusal.
“I am a man who knows what he likes,” Zak informed the handful of women licking their lips as they appraised him. “Your help will not be needed until it comes time to make payment. You may begone now.” His words were uttered firmly but kindly as he easily dismissed the attentive females.
Clearly with regret, they left Zak alone, standing together to worship him from afar.
Zak eyed a smoky lavender bra and matching panties on display. A haunting smile took hold when he spotted the matching floor-length semi-sheer robe.
“The color of a Sumerian sky on a late summer’s night.” He fingered the fabric. “Your alabaster skin will look like the moon and stars against these garments. You will wear these for me, Laila.”
His expressive words and the hungry look in his eyes convinced her it was a necessary purchase.
Before they were finished, he’d selected an assortment of sexy bras and panties. She’d be dead broke by the end of the day.
“What pleasure I will have peeling these from your lush body,” he whispered in her ear as they left the store.
Clutching her bag of silken, lacy confections close, Laila smiled. “Just as long as you promise not to remove them with your saber.”
Chapter Ten
~<>~
TUCKED IN A BOOTH at her brother’s dark wood-paneled pub, Laila heard her stomach growl. The last thing she should be thinking about, especially after purchasing skimpy little nothings from My Silky Secrets, was chowing down on a burger and fries. But introducing Zak to the best pub-style food in the Pacific Northwest was a special occasion.
“I like the look and feel of this gathering house,” Zak noted, taking in the traditional pub decor. “The aroma here is most tantalizing.” His chest expanded as he breathed in deeply. “My belly anticipates an enjoyable repast.” He finished with a killer smile.
“You’ll love it,” Laila assured. “The food tastes even better than it smells.”
While the service at Nevan’s Irish pub-inspired eatery was always good, this was the first time a server approached so quickly at the height of the lunchtime rush. Two female servers stood drooling over Zak, arguing whose table it was. Once the table issue was resolved, Laila ordered Zak a bacon-cheddar burger with fries and onion rings from the American-fare side of the menu, adding a pint of Guinness along with a slice of Irish pork pie if they had any left after last night’s film event.
It would be the best damn meal he’d had in over a century.
“You can take off the sunglasses now,” she told him. She couldn’t resist adding them to the tab as they shopped. He looked deliciously dangerous in them.
Zak removed the dark glasses and Laila heard a collective sigh. The server who’d lost her claim to the table stopped by to refill their already brimming water glasses, her hips gyrating as she moved.
The water pourer overfilled Laila’s glass.
“Thanks,” Laila said with a dismissive smile, snatching a handful of paper napkins from the tabletop dispenser to blot up the water, since the server seemed unaware the accident had even occurred. “I think we’re okay on the water for now. We’ll signal if we need more.”
The server was too busy salivating to hear a word Laila said.
“Your service is appreciated,” Zak said to the woman. “You may go now.”
The young woman bowed, she actually bowed, and then she was off.
“Will you be okay here alone for a couple of minutes? I need to use the ladies’ room, then check to see if my brother, Nevan, is in the back so I can introduce you.”
Zak angled his head. “What do ladies do in this room?”
“It’s the restroom. The bathroom. The toilet,” she whispered, refraining from giggling as she remembered Zak’s utter fascination with the amazing flushing box in her bathroom, flushing it repeatedly after Laila explained how to use it. Between that and his lengthy shower, she expected a whopping water bill.
“Fear not, little one. I will come to no harm during your absence.”
~<>~
Zakkar watched Laila walk away from the table, her bottom swaying back and forth with each step, though he could barely see the gentle movement through the baggy, shapeless breeches she wore today. He would relish watching her retreat once she wore her new...what was it she called them? Jeans.
He was amazed a woman could look so enticing in men’s costume. As she posed for him in the store, his gaze was lured to the sturdy indigo fabric hugging her curves. It caressed her belly and the vee between her thighs, clasping the cheeks of her plump bottom like possessive hands. The image had his gis at attention.
As a warrior trained in mastering the art of control, he found it extraordinary for his manhood to respond in so unruly a fashion. It was as if Laila had enchanted him, bewitched him to the point that he hardened at the merest thought of her ripe body.
