Chapter 26

"What does that mean? What layer? Put it back!" I tried to pull away, but Brady held firm.

His smile was wide, his eyes incredibly bright, and that neon blue seemed to shimmer just beneath his irises. I couldn't help but stare at them, but then his words hit me again, and I shook my head. "You lied to me!"

"I didn't lie." His fingers trailed my back, causing a sensation far more powerful than ever before.

My breath caught, and my eyes widened. What had I done? I'd started it, the bond? Did that mean I was stuck with him? "You didn't tell me." I started to panic. "That's the same as lying." I felt strangely like I'd just gotten a tattoo I didn't want. I wiped my mouth, as if I could undo the damage, but it didn't stop.

The pull grew and stretched. I could feel it, just beneath my skin, drawing me to him, urging me forward.

"Would it help if I lied again and said I was sorry?" His eyes danced.

I glared at him. "I want you to leave." Each word felt vile and unnatural. "I don't want to be around you right now."

Brady's smile dulled to a smirk. "And why is that?" Even as he spoke, he lifted us both and deposited me onto the bed.

He didn't stay, to my surprise. I didn't know whether I whether to be relieved or disappointed. Once again, my logical brain and the traitorous rest of me went to war. One wanting to run, and the other wanting to beg him to come closer.

Brady slowly walked to the other side of the room, his eyes darting back to look at me. He gripped a chair from the table, spun it around to face me, then lazily took a seat. "Better?"

No. I moved backwards, as far as I could go without falling off the mattress. Every part of my body rebelled against the action. I felt like an apple, fallen from a tree. Staring over at Brady, his body exposed, his dark eyes fixed on me, he was the Earth, and the laws of physics themselves worked against me.

"Take it back," I said, my voice strained.

"I wouldn't even if I could, Sweetheart." He continued to stare. "It wouldn't be so bad if you didn't fight it. Why put yourself through this?" He leaned forward, and his eyes flashed electric blue. "It gets worse." His voice was smooth, like a song specifically meant to draw me to him. "You feel it in your veins." He showed me his hands, then motioned up his arm. "It tightens you up and itches your skin. Like a burning fire. Compelling you. Telling you what you need to do."

Every word he spoke only increased the sensations coursing through me. My fingers scratched the cover beneath me, then gripped it as if I needed a tether. Inside my head, I kept repeating the same thing, over and over. Locked together for eternity. It helped to keep me stable. If nothing else, I knew I didn't want that. I wanted to live. I needed my chance for a normal life. It was what I'd dreamed of, and it hadn't even been allowed to begin.

Brady leaned back and smirked. "I've got to hand it to you, Sweetheart. You're tougher than you look." He placed his hands behind his head and stretched back. Each muscle flexed as he did, and I tried not to look, but I couldn't help it.

He was beautiful.

"Stop it," I bit out.

Brady's eyebrows lifted. "I'm not doing anything."

"Yes you are!" I took a deep steadying breath. "I need some time alone. Go away."

Brady chuckled. "Do you really want me to leave?"

No. "Yes! Go! Go away!"

His head tilted. "Alright then." He stood up, and the chair scrubbed against the floor as he slid it back into place. "I'll be outside."

I ground my teeth as he slowly left my view, and the moment he did, a switch flipped. Desperation filled me up like a water balloon. The longer I sat there, the more it expanded until it became too much. "Wait!" I cried out. "Brady!"

He sauntered back in like a cat, and his smile spoke volumes. "Yeah, Sweetheart?"

"Oh! Shut up! Turn it off!"

"Can't do that, either." He continued towards me, and I threw up a hand.

"Don't come any closer!"

Brady let out a laugh, deep and rumbling. It echoed through the room and seeped into my skin. I made a noise as the sensations grew.

He sighed. "What is it you want me to do? Be here, or don't be here?"

I bit the inside of my cheek and stifled a frustrated scream. "I want you to turn it off!"

"There's only one way to turn it off, Sweetheart."

The way he said it made the air thicken. Images filtered through my mind. What would it feel like to touch him? He was right there. He was willing. More than willing. I could just– No! "You're lying Brady. You've got magical fucking powers. Use some and make it stop."

He grimaced, and the bone along his jaw jumped. "As you wish." Each word was dry, the humor completely gone.

He waved a hand, and the feelings eased. I heaved a breath as I allowed myself to relax.

Brady watched me closely. "Why?" The solitary word came out so scorned, my heart stuttered.

His jaw clenched, and his hands formed two fists on either side of him, but his face held no anger. Those deep eyes seemed to cut right through me as I read the hurt within them, the rejection.

I couldn't answer.

Brady waited another long moment, before giving a curt nod and walking away, out of the hut without so much as a backward glance in my direction.

The need didn't return at his absence, but a new feeling took its place, much worse. Guilt. Hurt. My chest ached, and I couldn't stand it.

Without thinking, I climbed out of the bed and followed his steps. I found him sitting on the sand, muscles stiff as he looked out over the ocean.

"I'm sorry," I said weakly as I approached him.

He stiffened further. The muscles along his neck bunched, and his shoulders did the same, but he didn't acknowledge me, didn't speak at all.

"Brady?"

He made a noise as he jumped to his feet and whipped around to face me. "Do you know who I am?" he asked, then snorted. "Of course you don't. Let me tell you." A smile spread across his face but there was no humor behind it. "I'm an anomaly, Sweetheart. The chosen one." Sarcasm dripped from each word. "It's never been seen before. I was born with more magic than most grown Jinn possess, and for my entire life, I trained. Harnessing and growing." He formed his hands into a ball and an orb of blue light filled the space between them. "Many women would kill for a chance to be mine. Do you have any idea how many came, just to check and see if they were the one?" The orb disappeared, and he looked at me. "You're the equivalent of a queen, and you don't even want me." His eyes flashed. "You think I'm a monster."

I stared at him for a full minute, unsure of what to do. His mention of other women was like a knife to my heart. It hurt, and I couldn't seem shake the feeling away. The back of my mind still whispered warnings, that this was all a trick, that everything he'd said was a lie, but the words had become faint. Because deep down, I believed him. "That's not true."

Brady snorted. "Since when? You fight the bond with every fiber of your being. You deny it so fiercely, you exceed the limits of what you should even be capable of."

"I'm just not ready." I took a step back. "My normal life just started."

"You are my life!" Brady snapped. He took a step forward and gripped me. One arm wrapped around my waist while the other forced my face up to look at him. He leaned down until his lips hovered just above mine. "You deny me, not because you don't feel it, but because you can't accept me."

His voice carried so much hurt, I felt it in my very soul. Pieces of me began to shatter and crack, breaking apart until I could barely breathe. "That's not true," I repeated, but it was. His words matched the thoughts I'd been having since he'd told me about the bond.

Brady sneered, then let me go. "It is."

I reached for him. "I just–" The words stuck on my tongue. "I'm scared."

You would have thought I'd slapped him. Brady jerked, and his gaze fell the the ground. "Exactly." He lifted his head up to look at me. "Because no matter what I do, you're always going to see me as a monster. It wasn't me." He took a step closer. "That wasn't me, Amelia."

"I know." The statement shocked me. It was true. I believed him. As much as I didn't want to, I couldn't deny that his story added up. It made sense. "I believe you, because that's when it stopped. Your story. After that night, the monster didn't come again."

Brady continued to stare a hole straight through me. "That's because I never left." His voice was gruff. "I've been waiting a long time, Sweetheart. You can't even imagine. It's torture. That feeling you had, it's so much more than that, and I carry it with me always. There's no turning it off. There's no spell to dull it."

The guilt hit me again, and I chewed my lip. "What can I do?"

Brady's eyes flashed. "Accept me," he took another step forward, back within arm's reach. "Accept me, Sweetheart. End my suffering. You can have your life. I'll give you a life you never imagined."

My heart clenched inside my chest, and I couldn't believe what I was about to say. "Can we take it a little slower than that?" I felt insane. I was insane. Nothing about what I was about to say could be considered normal, but regardless, I said it anyway. "I'll accept you, but no bonding yet. We can date, get to know each other better, then maybe later–"

"No fighting it," Brady cut in. "I'll give you time if you stop demonizing me inside your head. You have to treat me like you would any other man."

I nodded. "No magic. You aren't allowed to use your powers on me. If I decide to do this, then it needs to be me that makes that decision."

His eyes darkened. "Agreed."

Im dating a genie, I thought to myself, letting my eyes roam over him once more and not bothering to fight the feelings it caused.

Brady continued to watch me like a wounded animal, and I knew the first thing I needed was to make him stop. It was too painful. For as infuriating as his teasing was, I'd prefer him to torment me everyday for the rest of my life rather than have to feel his pain another moment.

I slowly stepped forward, my eyes locked with his, and Brady held completely still as he watched me approach.

My hands hit his stomach, running upwards to his chest then settling over his shoulders. I pulled him, and Brady obliged me, lowering himself down where I could reach him. His expression remained stoic, but I could feel the heat simmering just beneath his surface, barely contained. I touched my lips to his in a soft kiss, then leaned back to look into his eyes. "I'm not afraid because I think you're a monster, Brady." He didn't move a muscle, didn't make a sound. Brady held my gaze with his intense dark orbs and listened intently to what I was saying. "I'm afraid because I don't."

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