The Genie's Heartwish, page 16
Zak’s smile was devilish as he hunkered his huge frame to fit in the seat. “I thought we were long past the introduction phase of our relationship.”
She felt her cheeks flush. “We’ve only known each other for a day.” It was hard to believe. It felt like they’d known each other forever.
“And one euphoric night.” Zak’s eyes twinkled when he looked at her, his gaze slipping to her mouth and lingering there. She licked her lips in response, having a devil of a time keeping her eyes on the road.
“You think you’re irresistibly charming, don’t you?”
“It’s what you think that matters. And we both know you find me irresistible.” She opened her mouth to protest, but Zak continued. “I find you just as irresistible.” His hand curled around her thigh.
He knew exactly how to manipulate her.
Laila resisted the overwhelming urge to pull onto the shoulder of the road, hop on Zakkar and screw the living daylights out of him right there on Ocean Charm Boulevard.
She was losing it, rapidly morphing into a woman of dubious morals.
“Okay, no more stalling. You promised you’d tell me how you ended up in the bottle. If you don’t, I promise that bag of sex toys goes right in the trash.”
“All right, little one, I will spill my guts.”
By the time they’d pulled into the grocery store’s parking lot Zak had told her all the sordid details about what happened so many centuries ago. Tears slid down Laila’s cheeks as his desperately sad story unfolded.
“Please don’t cry.” Zak thumbed away her tears. “It hurts my heart to see you weep for me, Laila.”
If she hadn’t been concentrating on driving, she’d be a red-eyed, snotty-nosed, blotchy-faced basket case after hearing his heartrending tale. Zak had virtually sacrificed himself to save the honor of a foolish young woman. Laila was sitting next to an honest to goodness hero, in the truest sense of the word. And that’s just what she told him after putting the car in park and cutting the engine.
“I am no hero,” Zak scoffed, his expression darkening. “I am but a man who was caught in circumstances beyond his control. Heroes prevail. I did not.”
“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard a shred of modesty pass your lips.” Laila brushed a fingertip across his sensuous mouth. “You’re a hero of the finest magnitude, Zak. A man who bravely defended a woman’s honor to the—” She stopped short before death popped out of her mouth.
“Had I been given the option, I would have chosen death rather than becoming naught but a shade.” Zak had clearly anticipated her unspoken words.
“Please don’t say that.” She leaned over, cupping his face in her hands, stroking his jaw. “If you had died, I never would have met you. You’re the best thing to come into my life in a very long time, Zak.”
She couldn’t believe she was being so open with him.
Pinning her with the intensity of his gaze, Zak covered one of her hands with his. “You truly mean that, don’t you?”
“With all my heart.”
“And you are the best thing to come into my life in eons. You have restored vitality to my soul. Brought light and laughter back into my existence in ways you cannot imagine.”
Knowing she’d given this wonderful man a sliver of joy in his bleak, endless existence made her heart swell.
“I can’t understand why Sabit didn’t keep her promise to find a way to free you from your servitude. She owed you so much after what you did for her.”
Zak’s broad shoulders shrugged. “I wondered the same for eras as I dwelt in the shadows. Perhaps Sabit feared for her life. Perchance she tried to petition but the great goddess Inanna turned a deaf ear. It is possible Sabit met with an untimely death and was unable to plead to the priests or the gods on my behalf. It matters not now. I gave up hope long ago that I will be set free.”
What words of comfort could Laila possibly offer to soothe the gnawing ache deep in the core of Zak’s ancient, heroic heart?
He must have seen the whirling mix of emotion in her eyes. “Make me a promise, my sweet Laila.” His fingers smoothed through her hair. “During this brief time we have together, let us enjoy it fully. Do not weep for me or feel pity for my circumstances.”
“But how can I—”
Zak placed his finger against her lips. “If you wish to make me happy, then promise to be happy yourself. Let me see you smile and laugh. Allow me to savor your expressions of wonder as you speak of chocolate, as well as your passion-filled gaze as we make love. Act as if we have endless time to spend together, rather than six lunar cycles. Can you do that for me?”
When she lowered her gaze, he kissed the top of her head.
“Will you give me those sweet memories to cherish, to lock away in my heart once I must return to the bottle?”
How could she agree when her heart was breaking? When she yearned to clutch onto him and never let go? How could she keep herself from dreading the moment he’d depart from her life as quickly as he came into it?
But agree she must. It wasn’t fair to Zak for her to wear her emotions on her sleeve. If he could be brave after all he’d endured, so could she. The least she could do for this magnificent man was agree to a pretense of carefree happiness.
Zak’s gaze grew intense, the soft smile across his lips flattening to a level line. “Promise me, Laila...”
Sucking in a deep breath, she exhaled with a wobbly hum. “I promise.”
“Thank you.” He kissed her hands, front and back, lingering at her wrists.
Silence embraced them for a few moments, allowing Laila to pull herself together. Conjuring her brightest smile, she cast tears and trepidation aside. Pulling down the visor she looked into the mirror, wiping away smudges of eye makeup and fiddling with her hair.
“So,” she pretended her face was a happy emoticon as she turned to Zak, “are you ready to experience your first grocery store experience?”
“The giant food market with modern edibles and barley ale?” He clapped his knees. “Yes!”
Zak’s delight over such a small everyday occurrence touched her heart.
“It will be a superb adventure!” he told her, opening the car door and exiting.
“Every moment with you is a superb adventure, my darling genie,” she whispered for her ears only.
Chapter Thirteen
~<>~
“THE PEOPLE OF my time would never believe this astonishing bounty,” Zak said, taking in his surroundings. “Hunger would be eliminated. The yield here could feed an entire city for countless days.” Planting his fists on his hips, Zakkar smiled. “It makes my heart glad to see the problem of hunger has finally been abolished.”
Laila followed his gaze. A stranger to a modern supermarket could easily assume this was a time free of poverty and hunger. Like so many, Laila took the ready availability of food for granted.
She imagined dieting and body image issues didn’t make the list of top ten things a Sumerian worried about...
Oh gods, blood is running in the streets, the enemy is fast approaching, but I dare not flee because my ass doth look gargantuan in this toga.
“I regret to say there’s still plenty of hunger in the world, Zak. There are those with more than they can ever use, those with enough, and those who are always in need.”
He nodded, looking thoughtful. “It is a pity this inequity still exists after so many centuries.”
To maintain his warrior’s physique with its absence of extraneous fat, he must have paired a healthy diet with plenty of rigorous activity. When she asked him, he told her their eating regimen included most things in moderation.
“We were hardworking people who rarely sat about doing nothing. It was rare to see rotund people in my time.”
If Laila could master the art of moderation combined with exercise she’d never have to go on another diet and her closet would contain just one size instead of several.
“I’ll bet the women of your time had no trouble keeping weight off with all the food preparation they did daily.”
“True. They worked from before sunrise until time for slumber. Our food choices were limited to what we caught or harvested that day or to what the women found at the marketplace. There was no way to preserve foods, other than heavily salting them or steeping in turned wine. Instead of refrigeration we had fermented foods.”
As they loaded the grocery bags into her already bloated car trunk, Laila’s curiosity got the better of her.
“Did you have a wife or children?”
“No. I had planned to pursue those pleasures after I retired from soldiering. Being in my third decade, I was already growing too old for the vigorous life of a warrior. The constant sea of bloodied body parts had begun to lose its luster.”
Laila nodded silently, unable to imagine something so heinous. The stark reality of all the butchery was too atrocious to fathom.
“Worse yet were the suffering half-dead men at my command, many limbless or with their bellies split open like ripe melons and their entrails spilling out on the ground.”
A shudder vibrated through Laila. This was like those gruesome movies she refused to watch because they gave her nightmares. Zak had actually lived through it.
“I can still hear their distressed cries, pleading for merciful deaths at my hand.” Zak stiffened for a moment as he bent over the trunk, brown paper bags in his arms. “Freeing them from their suffering was not a pleasant task. But it was my honorable obligation as their leader.”
It was painfully clear Zak had seen and experienced carnage and atrocities Laila couldn’t even begin to conceive.
“I’m sorry, Zak.” She touched his arm. “It sounds like you led a difficult life even before you were locked away in the bottle.”
He pointedly shook off whatever memories lingered as he closed the trunk and placed the last of the bags in the car’s back seat. Turning to Laila, he smoothed the windblown hair from her face, tucking it behind her ears as he gazed into her eyes. She watched the troubled lines in his face ease as his expression shifted from grave to a charming smile.
She took a mental snapshot of the picture-perfect moment to keep tucked away in her heart.
“My life was good, Laila. As a warrior I had achieved a coveted rank of stature, as well as respect, both in and outside of Sumer. Battle was harsh and grueling but with victory came satisfaction and the knowledge that my actions had prevented untold violence by the Akkadians or other invading armies against my people.”
They slipped inside the car, well she slipped in while Zak fought to scrunch and fold himself, and she started the engine.
“What I most regret is not having a family. A devoted wife in my bed and a passel of children at my knee. Were you planning to have babies with Tim?”
“Yes...” She filled her lungs, the breath escaping in a trembly sigh. “We both loved children.”
“I am truly sorry.”
As she buckled herself in, Laila’s smile was wistful. “Hopefully I’ll get the chance to have a baby before my biological clock runs out.” In anticipation of his question, she added, “Which means, before I get too old.”
“You would make a fine mother. I could tell by your manner with Lilly and Kevin.”
Her thoughts were miles away. “I think Tim and I would have made good parents.”
“You loved him very much,” Zak said.
“Tim was very dear to me.” Laila smiled. “We were good friends for years after Gard introduced us. Getting married seemed like the next logical step in our relationship. We’d planned to be married after he returned from Antarctica.”
He covered her hand with his, smoothing his thumb over her fingers. “I deeply regret your sorrow.”
“Thank you.”
“Have you given thought to your three wishes yet? Your wishes can provide wealth and riches...ensuring a comfortable life for you and your loved ones.”
“Some.” While the idea of making life-changing wishes was thrilling, it was also a huge responsibility. “I want to make sure I give my wishes plenty of consideration.”
Of all the things in the world to wish for, what three would be the most important?
The end to hunger, poverty and homelessness?
World peace?
The obliteration of cancer, AIDS, childhood diseases, Alzheimer’s and...
What if she could just wish for everyone in the world to be healed and always remain healthy and well-fed? But then, if no one ever got sick and died, there’d be a monumental population explosion.
She’d like to have enough money to be financially secure for the rest of her life, but it would be selfish to limit the wish to just that. She’d want to include wealth and riches for everyone she cared about.
She could wish for an end to obesity and an end to low self-esteem so everyone could feel good about themselves.
Happiness. Now that was something to consider. A wish to abolish depression and for everyone to be contented and joyful all the time.
“I could radically change the world by uttering a few words. How do I make such a difficult decision, Zak? How do I decide what would be the best for everyone? With all your experience granting wishes, you must have some excellent ideas.”
“Fascinating. It is a question no one has asked me before.”
“Really?” Apparently all his other owners were sharp-minded and decisive. Although she doubted any of them had ever wished for the things she’d been thinking about. If they had, there’d be no more war, hunger, illness, unhappiness...
“What did most of the women wish for?”
Zak didn’t hesitate. “Gold, wealth, lavish dwellings, majestic lifestyles, clothing, jewels, things of that nature.”
“For the world?”
“For themselves. The wishes are conditional, Laila. They must pertain to the possessor’s self-interest and not be the cause of harm or misfortune to others. This means you cannot make wishes that affect everyone else.” He reached over to cup her chin. “Knowing you, I imagine you have been thinking of noble wishes like peace for mankind, the end to illness and suffering, righteous ideals of that nature.”
She took her eyes off the road long enough to spare him a quick glance. His tender smile warmed her.
“Pretty much,” she admitted.
“I regret these things are not within my power to grant. Your wishes must be for you alone. You must decide on three things that would make you happy personally.”
Hope swelled in Laila’s heart. “Could I wish for the reversal of the deaths of Tim, and Reen’s fiancé, Bob?”
She felt Zak’s hand caressing her shoulder. “I regret I am unable to restore life to those who have passed on to Kurnugi. There is good reason why it is called the land of no return.”
As Laila pulled into her driveway, she gazed at Zak for a long moment. “What about you, Zak?”
“I do not understand. What about me?”
“Can I wish you out of the bottle forever? Can I wish that you could stay here with me?” She felt the color rise in her cheeks when she caught the peculiar expression on Zak’s face. Maybe he’d feel as trapped staying with her as he did in that bottle.
“You wouldn’t have to stay with me, necessarily,” she clarified. “You could go wherever you wanted and be with anyone you wanted.” She swallowed the knot in her throat.
“How you amaze me, Laila. Again, no one has ever asked this of me.” Zak’s broad chest expanded as he took in a deep, slow breath. His smile was wistful. “No, the incantation specified this would not be possible. But I cherish your sweet, unselfish thought.” He leaned over, capturing her lips in a kiss.
This kiss was different from his others. It spoke of emotion, gratitude and so much more.
She reached up to the visor for the garage door opener while Zak deepened the kiss.
“The ice cream,” she muttered, pulling back from him, which was damn hard. “It’s going to melt.”
“Let it,” he said simply, dragging her against him, his hands traveling her body.
Her breath became ragged. Her heart rhythm erratic.
“The neighbors...they’re going to talk.”
“Let them.”
Zak’s fingers zigzagged beneath her sweater.
Amidst moans of pleasure, Laila sank down in the seat until she could barely see over the dashboard. Clutching the gearshift, she shifted into drive and gave the car enough gas to creep into the garage...
...and bang into the metal shelves full of stuff just in front of the wall.
As car-related stuff mingled with treasures from garage sales, cascading with clatters, clangs and thuds over the hood of her car, Laila managed to turn off the engine and close the garage door.
“You’re exquisite,” Zak breathed against her ear. His already deep voice was huskier still. “You intoxicate me. You stir my loins until I am consumed with lustful thoughts.”
The ice cream was still frozen but Laila melted into a puddle.
Passion fogging her brain, she seized her genie.
“Oh the hell with the damn ice cream.”
Chapter Fourteen
~<>~
“I AM TOO BIG for this tiny chariot.” Zak struggled to position himself. “I am unable to maneuver myself in this confined space. My gis cannot reach your gal-la.”
Busy fumbling with both his jeans and hers, she didn’t need clarification.
Zak’s head thumped against the car’s roof as his long legs clunked against the steering wheel, gearshift and dashboard while he tried to turn. It seemed his heavy breathing had more to do with exasperation than lust.
“By all that is holy,” he growled in frustration, “we need to depart this miniature chariot before every muscle in my body is permanently twisted.” Zak snarled as his elbow slipped and his face slammed into the glovebox. The pungent sound of cursing in another language permeated the car.
Having tried in vain to get it on in the front seat of her car, they were a jumbled mass of limbs.
Laila’s face was wedged between Zak’s knee and the gearshift. “This is obviously a sign.”
