Page 15 of Beneath My Skin

My eyes bugged out. “We?”

“Yes, we. No time to pack a bag, sweetheart. We’re getting out of here.”

“I suppose you have a convenient getaway and a plan to take us there?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Not at all. But I can buy us some time. I know a place she can’t access. You’re not going to like it.”

“I don’t like any of this,” I screeched.

His eyes crinkled at the edges in an amused reaction to my response. “Trust me. This is worse.”

“How can I trust—” My words cut off when a vacuum sucked the air from my body. I gasped, trying to breathe and finding it impossible.

Luckily, the sensation lasted less than a second. My feet landed on the ground again and my lungs inflated. Head spinning, I dropped to my knees, coughing.

“I’m sorry,” Dax said, walking in the opposite direction. “If I gave you any time to think about it, you wouldn’t come. I needed to get you here fast without any opposition.”

“You could have told me I’d nearly suffocate,” I managed.

“It’s a djinn thing. I wasn’t sure how it would affect you because I don’t entertain. Ever. You’re the first mortal woman I’ve ever brought back to my house.”

When I opened my eyes, I saw white. White walls, white carpet looking more at home in a seventies porno flick, and a bed draped in pale sheets and blankets. Nothing else. Wherever we were, it wasn’t good.

“I use mirrors to make the place look bigger.” Dax flashed an amused look at my obvious panic.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was making a joke. “You brought me…where, exactly?”

“To my bottle.”

“Your. Bottle.”

“Yes. Well, not technically a bottle. It’s the chain Jacqueline keeps around her neck. It looks like a regular medallion to the untrained eye. She found me on an antiques hunting expedition to Jordan. I’ve been in her employ ever since.” He was maddeningly calm about the whole thing.

“Dax,” I said, “please explain to me how any of this matters?” Maybe it was lingering dizziness from letting Cer grab the reins. Maybe I was finally out of my mind and my body had caught up. I was still on my knees, and if I hadn’t been close to the floor already, I would have dropped.

He rubbed his forehead. “It’s backstory. Try to keep up. It was twenty years ago when she found me, but Jacqueline has been collecting her ‘monsters’ for much longer.” His lips almost smiled.

“This can’t be real. You can’t be real. This…this is impossible. I’m having a nervous breakdown.” I laughed, trapped inside these white, white walls. “Is this in my head? I’ve lost my mind by letting my demon take over. That’s it, isn’t it? She’s still in control and this little mind fuck is because of her. Good one, Cer.” I flipped until I landed on my rear, freeing my hands to come together in a slow clap. “Good one. Joke’s on me.”

“This isn’t a joke,” Dax replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

I lifted my eyes to the ceiling and made sure to raise my voice so she would hear me, wherever she was. “If you could let me out, I’d appreciate it. Maybe we can come to an agreement and make a schedule. Where you have a couple hours once a week, maybe?”

There was no answer.

Dax strode forward. “Mariella, listen to me. Take a deep breath and try to calm down. Because you’re starting to make me nervous. Listen to me, sweetheart.”

I gulped. “I’m not your sweetheart.”

“I’m a djinn. My powers are tied to the medallion and whoever possesses it. Which means unless Jacqueline decrees it, the only thing I can do on my own is return to the bottle. That’s it. My hands are tied. Wherever I go, she can find me, and with the snap of her fingers, I’m at her side. So, to help you, I brought you here.”

“Here. To the thing around her neck?”

He nodded solemnly. “Yes.”

I snorted. “Forgive me for stating the obvious, but it kind of seems like the worst place to be at the moment.”

“She can’t get to you in here. Trust me.”

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