Jinni's Wish, Book 4 Kingdom Series by Marie Hall Page A

smelled of honeysuckle and myrrh, and
though the Queen’s private gardens were not nearly as private as
he’d have liked, in a year of visits, they hadn’t been caught
yet.
    “ I could die now and be happy.” Jinni
moved his hungry gaze across the graceful beauty of her still
face.
    “ Could you, my love?” Nala feathered her
fingertips on his brows, but there was a distracted air about her.
She touched him, but her mind was a million miles away. She’d
suffered this ennui before, and always it would pass if he gave her
time.
    “ Mmm,” he nodded, but eyed the heavy
golden robe she’d draped herself in. “Though I wouldn’t mind less
clothing.” He plucked at the heavy fabric with a frown.
    Lately she’d taken to covering every inch of
herself, save her face. Gone were the days she’d meet him in little
more than a scrap of chiffon. They’d not even lain together in over
a fortnight.
    “ Are you on your woman’s time?”
    She flinched. Perhaps he shouldn’t have
asked it. True, he’d missed her touch. But simply being with her
was enough.
    “ Forgive me, Nala, I meant no--”
    She tossed her silky black hair behind her
shoulders. “No, my dearest, you have done nothing. I’m simply…” She
worried her bottom lip between blunt white teeth.
    The languor of a moment ago faded. He knew
her well. Knew the secret smile that played about her lips in the
grand halls when they’d pass. How when he touched the small of her
back, her entire body would tense and writhe with pleasure. How one
kiss upon the nape of her neck would make her slick and ready. Her
knew her pleasure, but Jinni also knew her pain.
    He’d seen it creeping in these last months.
She laughed less, her green eyes hardly twinkled, even the rosy
blooms of her cheeks had dulled down to a muted whimper.
    Heart seizing as the reality of what was
happening made him jerk to a sitting position. “You will not lie
with me. You cover yourself. You’re leaving me, aren’t you?”
    The words were a bitter taste on his tongue,
made his stomach sick and palms sweat. In some part of his head,
he’d always feared this day might come. But not yet, not so
soon.
    Nala squeezed her eyes shut. “No, my love,
I’ve not come to break things off. I love you.”
    “ Then look at me, Nala,” he gripped her
suddenly cold hands, his stomach no less queasy, “what is the
matter?”
    Her eyes were moist with unshed tears. “It
is not what you think.”
    So if she was not here to break it off, and
if she still loved him, then what was… He hissed as a cold sweat
covered his body, made his heart clench. “You’re pregnant. That’s
why you won’t lie with me, that’s why--”
    She placed her finger on his lips. “No,
Jinni, I am not pregnant. I know how to prevent that.”
    Reflexively, he dropped a kiss on the tip of
her finger. “Then what is it, Nala? I do not wish to intrude, but
something is wrong and you must tell me.”
    Again she closed her eyes, but this time she
lifted her arm and slowly pulled the sleeve back. Horror clouded
his vision. Jinni gripped her purple and blue mottled wrist,
planting one kiss after another upon the obvious finger impressions
embedded in her fair skin.
    “ Who did this?” he growled, fire burned in
his gut. “Who did this to you!” He gripped her shoulders, forcing
her eyes to open.
    “ I… I…” She hung her head letting her hair
hang over her face like a drape, shielding her from his eyes. “You
cannot do anything about this, Jinni. Please. Don’t.”
    He clicked his jaw, knowing in the depths of
his soul who it was. Because there was only one person he could not
kill in return. One man he’d sworn an oath of loyalty to. The only
man who could lay his hand upon Nala without fear of retribution--
the King himself.
    Jinni stood. The fire of heat turned into
something sharper, colder, filling him and heating his veins with
its icy kiss. “How long has he done this?”
    Nala grimaced. “Jinni, please. Please