Tales of the Djinn: The Double (9 page)

“Cade,” she repeated.

He fit his hips to the right position and plunged all the way into her.

She cried out. His entry was overwhelming but very good.

“Yes,” she said, clutching his broad shoulders.

He didn’t wait. He cradled her head with one hand, gripped her buttock securely with the other, and commenced pumping. She loved when he took control of her that way. In seconds, they were both groaning, his urgent movements exciting. She could tell this wasn’t going to last long for either one of them. Their breath was choppy, their hold on each other tight. Cade shifted angles and worked his cock faster in and out. He had a gift for grinding her clitoris with every thrust, and his length and thickness pushing through her slick passage felt amazing. Sensation rose inside her, the nerves his shaft squeezed over coiling delightedly.

“Mine,” he growled against her ear.

Only he could have made that claim a turn on for her.

“Yes,” she panted, trying to beat her hips harder against his. She was so close she could have screamed. “I’m yours.”

He grunted, going deep and triggering her. Her orgasm was as powerful as it was sudden. She arched, her sheath clamping around him. Despite the constriction, he drew back and shoved again—already spilling, she realized. He could go a long time, climaxes sometimes seeming to pile one on top of another. That happened now, his head flung back with shuddering ecstasy. She slid her hands up his chest and pinched his tight nipples.

She startled him but he liked it. He gasped for breath as his eyes squeezed shut. Slowly, they both relaxed.

“Elyse,” he said throatily.

She rubbed his pectorals up and down. Cade’s eyes opened. She smiled at him.

He didn’t smile back at her. That would have been okay, except the expression he
did
have was sullen.

“Well,” she said, unavoidably miffed by that. “You’re in a mood.”

He pulled out and away from her, leaving her wet body cool. “Sorry.”

She wasn’t sure he meant the apology. He stood and rubbed the back of his neck, gazing down at her with that same hint of suspicion or displeasure. Feeling exposed, Elyse sat up from her sprawl and pressed her knees together. “Why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something you didn’t like?”

He appeared to force his face to clear. “Of course not. I’ll call for breakfast. You finish washing up.”

She watched him leave, unable to decide if she should challenge his denial. Men did get moody, especially when they were under pressure. Sometimes—at least in her experience—it was better not to know what they were thinking until they’d gained some perspective on whatever the problem was. Presumably djinn weren’t so different from humans in that respect.

“Crap,” she said softly to herself. At times like this she wished there were a handbook for dealing with males of all species.

~

Arcadius wasn’t looking forward to the upcoming “talk” with his double, but he wasn’t going to shy away from it. Deciding to avoid his usual work uniform—since his double would likely be dressed that way—he pulled a figured gray silk robe over brilliantly white trousers. Circling his waist with a wide azure sash satisfied his need for a splash of color. Because it wouldn’t do to go unarmed, he strapped on a well-balanced but showy jeweled scimitar, plus tucked a handful of throwing daggers in hidden sheaths. He cursed when he couldn’t find his favorite leather campaign boots. They seemed to have wandered from his closet, probably on his double’s feet.

His annoyance over that made him snatch up a neatly wrapped package on his way out.

He must have resembled a thundercloud as he strode through the corridors of the palace and up the stairs to Iksander’s apartments. Everyone who looked like they might want to speak to him ended up shrinking back.

As he arrived, he saw Iksander’s staff had brought breakfast. They were rolling unloaded carts through the tall double doors back into the corridor.

“Commander,” one of them exclaimed, offering a surprised bow as he caught sight of him. “Shall we bring an extra place setting?”

The question irritated Arcadius. It seemed to make him the outsider here. He hardly needed Iksander’s level of luxury, but perhaps he’d miscalculated when he forced his copy and his lover to stay in the sultan’s rooms. Rightly or wrongly, grand surroundings lent the people in them an air of importance.

“I’m sure I can manage,” he said gruffly. “Please go on as you were.”

This time, the whole crew of servers bowed and withdrew.

Arcadius rapped the decorated door but entered without waiting. He knew his way to the dining chamber. He’d eaten there many times with Iksander.

He never reached it. Cade, his copy, met him in the room of glass cabinets, where Iksander displayed the choicest part of his collection of diplomatic gifts. Cade wore the same thunderous expression Arcadius had displayed in the corridor.

“What the hell were you doing?” the other him demanded.

Arcadius presumed he referred to their brief body swap. He drew himself straighter. “I wasn’t
doing
anything. My consciousness switched with yours by accident.”

“And when you embraced Elyse while she was naked? Was that an accident too?” The other him bit out the words, his features flushed with rage.

“You sensed that?” Arcadius was taken aback by this information. “I couldn’t tell what you were doing in my rooms.”

“Perhaps what I was doing in ‘your’ rooms wasn’t as exciting.”

Perhaps it hadn’t been, or perhaps the difference was due to Cade—allegedly—having the larger portion of their spirit. Arcadius didn’t like that idea. It suggested he, the original, was inferior to his copy.

Whatever the truth, honor dictated that he give his double an apology. “I regret I was familiar with your human. Touching her was wrong of me.”

Cade’s face went dark with fury. “Damn right it was wrong of you! What’s more, you’d better believe I won’t tolerate another transgression. Elyse is
my
lover. You have no right to her.”

Cade jabbed his finger into Arcadius’s chest.

“Remove your hand,” Arcadius warned coolly.

“I mean it,” the double said. “I won’t have you manhandling her.”

Arcadius felt his eyebrows rise. “Are you forbidding me?”

“Don’t you dare take that as a challenge. We got over that childish crap when we were fifteen.”

Arcadius tipped his head to the side and smiled. “So we did. I’m simply intrigued by the notion that you view me as a threat.”

The other him’s breath huffed out. “Elyse has better taste than to fall for you.”

“Because we’re so very different,” Arcadius mocked.

“Because you’re the same old asshat I used to be!”

Arcadius intuited what the insult meant. His expression shut down with anger, his face as stony as if he hadn’t woken from statue form. He wasn’t certain what he would have said next. Something rash, he expected.

“Everything okay in here?” Elyse interrupted from the display room door.

“
Yes
,” Arcadius and Cade snapped at the same moment. The timing and the intonation of their response matched precisely. It truly sounded like they’d answered with one voice.

Elyse pressed her lips together to hide a smile. She came a step closer, her gaze sliding measuringly between them. Her reaction to their raised voices wasn’t wholly humorous. Arcadius found himself hoping she hadn’t heard the details of what they said. He actually was a bit ashamed of taking liberties with her.

“Breakfast is getting cold,” she pointed out.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Cade said gently.

“Perhaps Arcadius is hungry too,” she said.

Arcadius amazed himself by having to fight a blush.

“You’re welcome to join us,” the other him said stiffly.

“I ate,” he said, though he hadn’t. “I came to inform Elyse that, if she’s agreeable to continuing our investigation, I have another lead we can follow up. Perhaps we could meet at the bottom of the grand stairway in half an hour?”

“I won’t keep you waiting,” Elyse promised.

He nodded and began to leave, then realized his fingers still clamped the tissue-wrapped package he’d grabbed on his way here.

“This is for you,” he said, turning back and handing it to her.

“For me?” She accepted it wide-eyed.

Inexplicably unable to depart, he watched her open the white wrapping. His heart jumped as her plain human face broke into a delighted grin. “The sparkly slippers from the shop in the Grand Bazaar! How did you know I wanted them?”

“I noticed you admiring the shoes the ministers were wearing. I sent one of the guards back to purchase them.”

Elyse was dressed in a simple silk bed robe and bare feet. She bent to put the jeweled slippers on, probably not aware that the movement caused her slight breasts to sway. “They fit!” She wriggled her toes. “And they’re so comfy. Thank you for getting them.”

“You’re welcome,” he responded formally. “Though, as I said, my guards ran the errand.”

He wondered if she’d hug him. Apparently not. She squeezed Cade’s hand instead. “Half an hour,” she said, repeating his instructions for meeting up. “Down by the grand stairway in the reception hall.”

He didn’t ask if that was sufficient time. From what he’d observed, his double’s lover was a woman who knew her mind.

~

“What was that about?” Elyse asked once they’d returned to the meal spread out in the dining room. She forked a succulent bite of melon into her mouth, half her mind on strategizing what clothes she’d throw on today. She didn’t want to be late for her appointment. She had the definite impression Cade’s former self wasn’t the patient type.

Seated next to her at the long table’s end, Cade let out a weary sigh.

“Must I explain?” he asked.

He meant about the fight with his double. “I suppose not,” she conceded, giving him her full attention.

He squirmed uncomfortably on his Western-style dining chair. “Arcadius and I will sort it out between us.”

“Okay,” she said.

He was still ill at ease. “I’m sorry I didn’t think to give you a gift. I could have sent a guard to get something too.”

“You mean because you don’t have a zillion other things on your mind?”

“The other me was more thoughtful.”

Elyse put her hand on his and rubbed it. “I don’t need gifts. I just need you.” She searched for words to express her emotions. “You’re the best gift life ever threw at me.”

Her eyes welled up and he cupped her cheek. His gaze was as full as hers.

“I’m glad you caught me,” he said softly.

~

The flying carpet pilot landed Elyse and Arcadius on a hibiscus-shaded, slightly worn down street. Worn down anything was unusual for the Glorious City, but—to Elyse’s eyes—the patina of oldness was romantic. They’d traveled to the city’s edge this morning. The buildings weren’t as close together as the Old Town section. The structure she and Arcadius stood before was constructed of dark gray stone and, counting its grounds, took up half the block. Three brightly colored bicycles, the first Elyse could recall seeing, were chained to the ground level windows’ security grates.

“What is this place?” she asked.

“Bathhouse,” Arcadius answered, currently scanning their surroundings. “One of the names Yasmin gave you was listed on the work rolls as being employed here.”

“Commander,” interrupted one of the soldier guards. He gestured toward the Roman style stone arch that overhung the main entrance. “Read the inscription.”

Elyse tipped her head to look. It took a couple seconds, but thanks to the linguistic spell Cade and Joseph had worked on her, she deciphered the lettering as saying
Enter and Enjoy
.

“Hm,” Arcadius said as he rubbed his strong chin.

“What’s wrong with ‘Enter and Enjoy?’”

“It’s a code phrase. It means this isn’t an ordinary bathhouse. It’s also a brothel.”

“Oh. Well, we still have to go in. I promise I won’t faint if we bump into a prostitute.”

Arcadius actually laughed. “All right.” He took her elbow to guide her. “Just let me know if you’re uncomfortable.”

A trip down a short dark hall led them into a broad domed space. High above them, grimy stained glass windows admitted dim spokes of sun. The faded grandeur of the place charmed Elyse—no matter if it was a whorehouse. The air was steamy and smelled strongly but pleasantly of herbs. No one seemed to be around. Maybe this wasn’t a busy hour.

“Hello,” Arcadius called. His voice echoed off the dome.

A tall young man, with a stunning androgynous face, stepped through the surrounding arcade of columns. Despite his youth, the djinni had an air of knowing what was what in the establishment.

“Party of six,” he called back over his shoulder to someone they couldn’t see.

“No,” Arcadius said. “These gentlemen are guards.”

The young man’s expression turned quizzical, his gaze traveling between the commander and Elyse. Arcadius’s hand was still on her elbow. “Party of two?”

“No,” Arcadius said more firmly. “I am Commander Arcadius. This woman and I are making inquiries about a bath girl who disappeared a few days ago.”

The young man put one hand on his narrow hip, his attitude unmistakably skeptical. “The Guardian of the Glorious City wants to know what happened to Jeannine.”

“That is correct,” Arcadius said.

“You
look
like pictures of the commander,” their challenger conceded.

“Because I am him,” Arcadius said.

One of the soldier guards lost control and snorted with amusement. The young man seemed not to consider this as supporting Arcadius’s claim. He crossed strong but skinny arms. Arcadius’s naturally thunderous brows lowered.

“We understand your time is valuable,” Elyse said before the standoff could escalate. “We’d certainly pay for it while you spoke to us.”

This wasn’t enough to satisfy the man. “I don’t answer nosy questions from people who aren’t naked.”

“In the name of God!” Arcadius burst out.

The volume he used was sufficient to cause his adversary to back up a step and drop his arms nervously. At this rate, they wouldn’t get anything out of him.