Rub

Chapter 4

four

Camara flashes fire in front of me, a frenzied strobe light of blinding white bursts directly in my face. “Aliana! Aliana!” Voices shout my name, also frenzied.

What the…

I stumble back a step, shielding my eyes from the assault. Where’s Kaami? What’s going on?

I get a glimpse of him standing off to the side of the… Where are we? On a freaking stage? What? Our eyes connect, and his lips curl. A part of my brain notices he’s now wearing the bluest, most chest-hugging T-shirt ever known to mankind with a pair of faded blue jeans, also snug in all the right places. The rest of my brain, however, is snagged by the jumble of excited voices calling my name and the camera flashes bursting in my eyes.

“Tells us your secret?” A woman shoves forwards out of the writhing mass of shouting people and sticks her phone in my face. “Why are your pastries so good?”

“Alright, everyone,” a firm male voice says, and a tall man steps passed Kaami and heads towards me, hands raised in the universal calm-the-fuck-down-people gesture. “Give Aliana some space.”

My stomach drops, and my breath catches. Jackson Maine.

Where the hell has Kaami brought us?

From the shadows, Kaami presses his palms together in front of his chest—damn, it’s impressive in the snug blue shirt—dips a fraction at the waist, and winks at me.

Parts of my body tighten and flutter, and maybe I should have wished for the best sex toy in the world?

An image whispers through my head… Me stretched out on purple satin sheets, my breath quick, my limbs bare, as a gorgeous man rises up over me, palms smoothing up the inner length of my thigh, sensual desire in his storm-cloud eyes as he lowers his lips to mine.

Kaami…

No, no. Enough of that.

I drill my focus onto Jackson Maine, watching him address the crowd of…of…reporters? Surely not? Customers? What has Kaami done?

Made you horny. That’s what Kaami has done.

“Oh boy,” I grind out between gritted teeth.

“What?” Jackson says, swinging his attention from the crowd to me. “Did you say something?”

I blink, shake my head, and offer him a wide smile. “Nothing. But…why… What’s…” I flick a look at the throng staring at us. Yeah, definitely a collection of reporters and other people. Oh God, is that Japher in the crowd? Glowering at me? Yes. Yes, it is.

I throw Kaami a quick look over my shoulder. He lifts one eyebrow.

What is going on ? I mouth at him.

“Come, Aliana.” Jackson presses his hand to the small of my back and, beaming at me, directs me closer to the crowd. They push forward, phones thrust towards me. “This is your launch, after all. Give the people what they want.”

My launch?

I don’t move. Don’t speak. I’m probably gaping at him.

He chuckles. “For this country’s best pastry chef, you have a decidedly humble approach to talking about yourself.” He bends down, his head drawing closer to mine as he smiles at the crowd. “I like that.”

A tight itch crawls over my scalp. “You like that I don’t talk about myself?”

Ignoring me, he waves at the crowd and points at a willowy woman in it. “ Gourmet Traveller mag, yes? What do you want to know about my latest discovery?”

“Where did she come from?” the woman asks, holding a smartphone towards us. “Is she your protégé?”

“I taught her everything I know,” Jackson declares, sliding an arm around my shoulders.

What? I stare at him, and my head roars like a 747 is trying to land in it.

“Is she a good student?” someone farther back in the crowd asks.

“The best,” Jackson replies, lips curling as his eyes flick to my mouth.

What? What what what?

I shrug his arm from around my shoulders and step forward, distancing myself from him as much as I can without looking like I am. I hope. “Actually, my father?—”

“And that’s time on this introduction, I fear,” Jackson cuts me off, hand once more snaking over my back as he steps up beside me— No, a little in front of me. “But Aliana will be appearing on my show soon, so watch out for that. Oh, and don’t forget my YouTube channel. If you’re not a subscriber, become one. I promise, it’ll make your mouth water.”

The crowd laughs.

He slides me a shuttered smirk. “Or other parts of you water,” he says under his breath.

My mouth falls open. Oh my God, who… What? Is he always this?—

Before I know what he’s doing, he’s leading me away from the crowd, his palm on the small of my back. Is it creeping closer to my arse, or am I imagining it? A young woman rushes up to us, offering an iPad, a bottle of VOSS water, and a metallic-red vape. “Your four o’clock is waiting for you, Mr. Maine.” She gives me a quick look and then drops her stare to somewhere off to my side. “Will Aliana be joining you?”

“No,” I burst out, striding back a step and shaking my head. “I…have something to do.”

Like find out what the hell Kaami has done.

“You don’t want to catch up with your old boss?” Jackson rakes a gaze over me, and my skin itches, like my scalp did earlier. “I know Japher was eager to see you when I spoke with him before the interview.”

No wonder he was in the audience glaring at me. What does he think of this situation? One second Jackson Maine is contemptuous of my lack of official training, and the next he’s…claiming he’s responsible for my cooking skills? And while we’re being confused about things, just why the hell does he think he’s responsible?

“I need to talk to a friend,” I mutter, turning away. Where’s Kaami? I need?—

He appears in front of me. Not in a puff of purple smoke, but with long, confident strides from where he was standing in the wings. He beams at me—obviously very proud of his work—and reaches out to brush his index finger on the pulse in my neck. “Al.”

A delicious shiver ripples through me at his touch. Or maybe at the deep timbre and secret intonation of his voice.

“Kaami.” I breathe. “I need…”

I bite my bottom lip, not only to stop myself saying to know what the hell is going on , but also because Japher is hurrying towards us, stare fixed on me.

No, change that. Stare fixed on Kaami.

“I need to go,” I finish, turning away from Jackson and my ex-boss and pressing my hand to Kaami’s chest. “Please?”

He draws in a deep breath and gently covers my hand with his. “I will take you where you wish to go.”

“You can’t go,” Jackson states, an irritated confusion in his voice. “I’m not finished. I’ve got plans for you.”

Plans for me?

Those three words should make me excited. The prince of pastry not only now thinks I’m the most amazing thing since…since…well, since sliced bread, he also has plans for me. Instead, I’m agitated. Perhaps it’s the fact he erased my dad from my baking journey? Perhaps it’s the fact he’s telling me what I can and can’t do.

I stiffen, and Kaami threads his fingers through mine on his chest and dips his head lower to mine. “Let me, master,” he whispers.

He straightens, and it might be a trick of the eye, but he suddenly seems to tower even taller. I’ve never wanted to be protected, but damn, do I like the way it feels now. “Aliana has somewhere more important to be. She will contact you when she is available.”

Jackson opens his mouth just as Japher arrives. My ex-boss flicks me a look, and my skin crawls. There is a reason I never wanted to be left alone with him in the kitchen. His gaze battles mine for a split second, and then he slides his attention to Kaami. “And you are?”

“Al’s,” Kaami replies.

Just that one word, but my heart trips over itself. It should sound ridiculous, cheesy even, but it sounds menacing. And protective. Does Kaami know what Japher is like? Can he sense the guy is a jerk? I mean, jerkness practically oozes from Japher, after all.

Japher narrows his eyes.

Kaami holds his stare. Beside Japher, Jackson snorts. “I feel invisible. I don’t like it.”

Seriously? How bloated is this guy’s ego?

“I didn’t think Aliana knew anyone in town,” Japher says. The way he’s looking at Kaami… My stomach clenches. I thought the way he looked at me was creepy, but the way he’s checking out Kaami is disturbing. I’m surprised he’s not drooling. “She never mentioned you.”

Kaami arches an eyebrow and flicks me a grin. “Probably for the best. Most people wouldn’t believe what we get up to together.”

Japher’s eyes narrow again. “Where did you say you come from?”

“Let’s go,” I say, taking Kaami’s hand. I’m ninety-nine point nine percent certain Kaami isn’t going to reveal he’s a djinn, but I don’t want to hang around to find out. The thought of someone like Japher getting their hands on a djinn…

Kaami brushes the fluttering pulse in my neck with his fingers, his eyes finding mine. “With you, anywhere,” he murmurs loud enough for Jackson and Japher to hear.

Without another word, I lead Kaami away from the two men. A few don’t-fuck-with-me strides later, we’re off the stage, and I realise we’re in some kind of dinner theatre venue. I don’t need to look over my shoulder to know Japher is watching us. His stare is an insidious weight I’ve experienced every shift at his café.

Night air kisses my face as we exit the building. It’s warm and heavy with the sounds of summer. A part of me wonders what happened to the rest of the day, the rest of me is glad to be nowhere near Japher anymore. And Jackson Maine, for that matter. Huh, who would have thought?

Just because he’s the best patissier in the country doesn’t make him a nice guy, Al.

True.

I let out a sigh and drop Kaami’s hand, studying the strange street in front of me. Where are we?

“Did I fuck up again, master?” Kaami says beside me.

The grief in his deep voice twists a knot in my chest, and I shake my head, gently touching his arm. “Not at all. I think I’m just discovering why people say you should never meet your heroes.”

His eyebrows shoot up. “One of those is your hero?”

A wry laugh falls from me, and I roll my eyes. “Sometimes we humans can be a deluded species.”

His dimple makes a wicked appearance, and the urge to rise up on my tiptoes and kiss it slams through me.

“We djinn can also be deluded sometimes. I thought my last master was a kind soul, but…” He shrugs those broad shoulders of his, and something warm tightens low in the pit of my stomach. Okay, I’m turned on. A lot. Djinn or no, Kaami is sexy and adorable and…and…vulnerable?

No, that’s not right. There’s a latent power to him that’s borderline scary, but there’s also something in the way he so quickly believes he’s failed me that makes me want to protect him.

I take his hand again and give him my own grin. “You know what? Let’s go have some fun.”

He gives me an askew inspection. “Who?”

“You and me.”

An unreadable glow pulses in his eyes for a few beats—his heartbeat? Does he have a heart? Then he smiles. Not a grin, not a smirk, but a smile, and oh crap, I could fall in love with that smile.

“You and me,” he echoes on a warm murmur.

Yeah, I could definitely fall in love…

No, no. Nope. Genie, remember? Djinn. And besides, you don’t do love or relationships. You don’t need them.

Squashing the unnerving warmth flowing through me, I cock an eyebrow at him. “Are you hungry?”

Dimples crease both his cheeks now. “It’s been a millennium.”

I blink. “Seriously?”

He brushes his fingertips over my pulse. “You have no idea how hungry I am right now, master.”

Are we still talking about food?

Mouth suddenly dry, I swipe my tongue over my bottom lip and hold out my hand to him. “Do you trust me?”

Without hesitation, he takes it. A jolt shoots through me, turning liquid and hot as it sinks into my very centre. “From the moment I saw you.”

Yeah, I could definitely fall in love. Not just with his smile, but with him.

What the fuck do I do now?