The Djinni & The Dropout

52. Auras

Uri came down from his laughter and freely stroked my hair. He bent over and met my lips. I went from being snuggled beside him to straddling his leg and inching farther up his torso. His hands fell away from my head and secured me by the waist.

Waves of heat rolled along the surface of our skin – a sign of our fires responding to the physical contact.

Uri pulled away briefly. He nuzzled my forehead. "Naomi."

It wasn't a question or a command. I felt the truth in the utterance. I closed my eyes and leaned further into him. I found the roof of his lower jaw. Kissed him there.

"Naomi," he breathed again. This time infusing more meaning into my name.

I love you too, I wanted to say.

I was too much of a coward to say it aloud. So instead, I dragged my mouth against his skin and said, "Mmm. Uriel."

An especially hot wave passed over him.

I said against his neck, "I don't care how the other djinn label you. They can go join my father in hell. I don't care that you breathe fire or have horns. To me you're the most patient man I've ever met. You're gentle and sincere and I . . ."

Say it. Just say it, Naya. Uri said it forever ago. Now it's your turn!

I couldn't look Uri in the eyes. I just kept mine shut and hovered close to his neck where it was safe.

"And I'm going to do everything that I can to help you. You deserve to be human, Uri."

I'll tell you then, Uri. When you're human, I'll tell you exactly how I feel.

Uri steered my face up to his. "You're an incredible woman, Naomi. When you agreed to the exchange spell, I expected that you would come to hate me for it. I prepared myself for that. Convinced myself that leading someone into this and earning a lifetime of hate was worth my humanity. I had no idea that after everything, I would want you just as much as I wanted a normal life. More even."

"You will be human. And I'm not going anywhere." I kissed him deeply.

Uri's throat produced a musical moan as he hugged me closer and rolled until our positions were reversed. I felt secure and profoundly comfortable under his weight. Uri kept his kisses light, toying with me until I demanded more.

I played along, nipping his lower lip when he kissed too long and arching my back when he least expected it. In the end, I won. Uri angled his head towards my ear and requested, "May I go inside you tonight?"

Out of all the ways I've been asked to get laid, this had to be hottest.

After I said yes, Uri sank his tongue deep into my ear.

I nearly lost it.

"You have to stop this."

We paused and looked in the direction of the new voice.

Ritsu crouched on his haunches a few feet away, his tails swishing back and forth and determination flooding his shiny black eyes.

I glared at the monkey. After I had spent all day helping Uri to calm down and stop stressing out about losing control in the desert, my so-called servant had to show up and interrupt our alone time. It wasn't like Ritsu hadn't done this in the past, but now was especially not the time to piss Uri off.

To my bewilderment, Uri laughed. After a moment, it became clear that this wasn't a genuine, friendly laugh. It was soft and laced with warning.

"I'll give you five seconds to watch, monkey. After that, you should make yourself disappear until we are ready to go in the morning."