Page 54 of Bewitched By the Djinn
His hand snaps out, gripping my wrist. “Wait.”
A shiver races down my spine. “What?” His skin against mine, even though it’s just our hands, is more satisfying than scratching an itch, like a mixture of relief and pleasure.
His grip tightens. He muffles a groan, his thumb rubbing against my palm. “You should step away from me because I am not sure I can let you go.”
Hunger fills me.Step away. Step away. I can totally do that. I force my feet to move. His hand drops from mine. I swallow hard.
“Something is there,” he grits out. “Ifrit.”
My brain freezes at the word, not quite comprehending. What? Here?Now?
Murky shadows in the darkness twist and roil, shaping into solid form. Forms? I squint. Are there more than one?
“Run,” Bennet murmurs.
He doesn’t have to tell me twice.
I spin on my heel and bolt, surging in the direction of the tug of my magic, feet pounding against the damp cemetery ground. Bennet is right beside me as we dodge between the tombs, weaving through the maze of white stone.
I’m glad I wore leggings and my sneakers—the better to sprint with.
A blast of light, bright and jagged, scorches past us, barely missing my shoulder. I yelp, throwing myself behind a low grave marker as lightning explodes against a nearby statue, melting part of the marble into an oozing puddle.
“Keep moving!” Bennet grabs my hand, dragging me along.
I stumble and then run alongside him. The magic is getting stronger, pulsing through me along with the heady desire. The juxtaposition is alarming. Fear. Pleasure. I can barely focus on the task at hand. “We’re almost there.”
We must be close to the portal. My heart hammers as we push forward, darting between tilting grave markers and cracked tombs, the scents of ash and decay thick in the air.
Finally, we skid to a stop in front of a tall, imposing mausoleum near the back of the cemetery, its stone surface carved with strange, looping symbols.
Bennet’s eyes flick to me and then he shuts them, breathing in slowly. “I’m finding it very hard not to touch you.”
This is it. I cut my magic off, like snapping a door shut. “Is that better for you?” Because it isn’t for me.
He swallows, hard. “No,” he grinds out.
The ifrit are getting closer, wind pushing at my back. I press at the stone marker. There’s no door. “How do we get in?”
Bennet reaches for the tomb, his palm next to mine. But nothing happens. His lips twist in frustration. “It needs something—it’s locked?—”
I brace myself for the ifrit’s attack. We’re out of time.
Then, suddenly, the symbols on the tomb shift, glowing brightly. They rearrange, forming two dancing flames.
I stare. “What does that mean?”
Bennet makes a strangled sound. “I may have an idea. But we need to act quickly. Do you trust me?”
“I don’t really have a choice, we’re about to be barbecued.”
The shadows behind us have grown into a dark moving cloud, gathering speed and size as it approaches, lightning flashing within.
“Cassie,” Bennet snaps, grabbing my shoulders and taking my attention from the rapidly approaching fog of doom.
Then he kisses me.
Chapter
