Genie’s Boy

Chapter Two

Raj

Now that I had him here, in my personal room, I had no clue what to do.

My intention was to interrogate, though now I had forgotten why.

I’d seen him many times over the years, popping up here and there mostly through brief encounters.

It wasn’t until recently that this behavior had changed in both frequency as well as persistence.

Having him this close, I noticed things that hadn’t previously caught my eye.

His eyes were the deepest shade of emerald I’d ever seen.

His intense gaze, currently locked on me, was unnerving, framed by his strong, firmly set jawline.

How was it I’d never noticed another with this much detail?

No man nor woman had held my attention for more than a moment, and never in a sexual nature.

Yet here I stood, fighting the insane urge to kiss him. Must find my words…

“What’s your name?” Why had I asked that? Everyone knew his name and who he worked for. But somehow, that was the only question that came out.

“Genie.”

“Genie.” No clue why I had repeated it. “Well, Genie, as you know, I’m Raj.” Even to my ears, my words sounded scripted. “I’m determined to get to the bottom of this. Why is it that every time I turn around, you’re not only standing there, but staring directly at me?”

The mysterious man shrugged, no change in facial expression whatsoever. “I told you…”

I cut off his overplayed tirade. “Yes, you watch everyone. Blah, blah, blah.”

His brows furrowed and he growled as he flew across the room and gripped my throat.

“You’ll do well not to cross me, boy.” Though he did his best to sound angry and powerful, his eyes darted from mine to my lips before he released me and was back across the room in two strides.

His stern words rattled me, though not in fear. Truth was, I couldn’t deny the excitement that coursed through my veins while at his mercy. If Genie’s eyes traveled south down my body, there was no way he’d miss how my body had responded to his touch. What the hell was wrong with me today?

As expected, he didn’t miss a thing. The curl of his lip when his gaze landed on my groin only served to fuel my desire.

“Now…” He sat back down. “Where were we?”

So full of himself.

But if he dominated me as he had again, I couldn’t be held responsible for what it did to my… err…um… pants? Taking a few moments to contain my overenthusiasm and put the errant soldier at ease, I stared out the window at the children playing in the field below and counted to ten.

“Are you still with me, Raj?” Genie’s voice startled me. Lost in thought as to how and why his presence had such an effect on me, I’d forgotten I wasn’t alone.

“Yes, sorry.” I spun around. “Why are you following me?”

He took his time and kept me on edge as a million reasons scattered through my brain.

I was being watched and he was waiting for the opportune moment to collect me.

I’d somehow pissed him off and he was waiting for me to make what would be my final mistake.

Or he waited to pounce, attack his prey, and haul me off to his lair.

Why did that last option bring me so much enjoyment? And another round of counting to ten began…

“I wonder…” Genie paused and tapped his finger against the chipped tabletop. “If you could handle the truth.”

Gulp.

“Would you believe me if I said our running into each other was purely coincidental?”

I shook my head, there was no way. As it was, it had become a daily occurrence.

“I thought not. Well then, here's the truth, I only hope you can handle it.”

Mentally, I prepared myself for what was to come. Don’t show emotion, Raj, no matter what he says.

“I'm enamored by you. I've watched over you since your parents…” His voice stopped.

Our eyes met again. I didn't dare let my mind wander to that horrific event. I’d been young, yet there wasn't a day gone by that I didn't recall how their lifeless bodies were left there, purposely put on display by our morbid leader. It was more than I could bear.

“Let's just say, I've kept a keen eye on you and I’m never far from your side. I will always ensure you’re safe and taken care of.”

“That was you?” My mind darted to all the instances where things appeared over the years. Extra coins I knew I hadn't had and more blankets when I got cold. New clothes when I outgrew the old and food when the cupboards were bare.

“Because, my dear boy, I care a great deal for you. Probably more than I should, but I can't tell my heart how it should feel.”

Genie’s eyes never left mine as his deep words sank in. He bared his soul to me, yet I couldn’t grasp that another felt so deeply for me. And one I knew nothing about.

“How you feel? What do you mean? Like I'm the son you never had, or was it born from guilt?

I don't understand.” My head dropped, my stuttered words choppy and incomplete.

“Did you know my parents?” Some days it was harder than others to remember what they looked like, let alone hear any happy stories about them.

I longed for that connection, but with no photographs it was hard.

Feeling loved wasn’t a concept I grasped.

Very few took the time to so much as say hi to me.

Most scoffed and made snide comments about my parents as they passed me by.

No one spoke of how hard my parents had worked, sowing the fields for mere penance, taking on odds and ends jobs for those very same people who uttered unkind words about them.

No, it only mattered that they’d broken the law, even though it was to keep their family alive.

“Guilt led me to you, but fate had other plans, it would seem. Trust me, I wish I could have prevented your parents’ deaths, but that unfortunately was out of my control. I spoke with them, your parents, before their execution and promised to keep you safe.”

“You spoke to them?” My legs weakened and I collapsed onto the bed as my mind replayed his words.

Maybe he was right, if he were indeed telling the truth, and it was more than I could handle. But I was willing to listen and judge for myself. My parents had been wonderful, loving members of this community.

Genie sighed. “I did, sweet boy, and know I have and always will keep my promise to them. Though I must confess, over time my feelings for you have strengthened as I watched you grow and become the man you are today. What once may have been meant as more of a guardian role has become much more. My feelings for you are those of a lover, knowing you’re the one I want beside me as we move through this life. ”

Genie leaned forward and rested his face upon his hands. An action of a man I believed spoke the truth and feared my reaction to his words.

“What does any of this mean? I don’t understand.”

“That, my dear boy, depends on you.”

“This is too much, too fast.” My head spun.

He’d sprung so much on me at an alarming speed I had no way to digest it.

Did I find him attractive? Yes. Had I ever found another attractive or been attracted to them?

No, but I also avoided eye contact when walking through the marketplace.

But I wouldn’t deny there was something about Genie, though what it was, I had no clue.

Possibly spending more time together would help, but wouldn't that be frowned upon?

A member of the Maharajah's security with a commoner.

Surely, that would never be allowed, especially with one who has a tainted past such as mine.

“There's much to show you and many things to share before we could even begin to consider anything between us.

Things that will be hard for you to hear, let alone believe, but trust in this—I would never lie to you.

I didn't lie when I told you the Maharajah didn't ask me to watch you, as he hadn't. I did so of my own choice.”

This was all too surreal. He used words like us, between talk of secrets. Not trusting, that I knew how to do. What Genie wanted was a far reach for me, but in my head, albeit faintly, I heard my mother’s voice pressing me to believe his words. For her, I would do anything.

“I'm drawn to you and no matter how hard I’ve tried to walk away from you, I can’t. It’s come to the point where I refuse to fight it any longer. I will always take care of you, but I cannot force you to feel the same way as I do. Though I hope in time you'll learn to love me as I do you.”

“You-you—” I shook my head to clear the stutter. “You love me? You don't even know me.”

Shunned. That action I was familiar with. Love and attraction, neither of those had crossed my mind, nor did I have a single clue how to react to them.

“That, my dear boy, is where you’re wrong.

I know everything about you, how sometimes in your sleep you whimper and call out to your mother.

There are nights I've watched you cry yourself to sleep, exhausted and shivering. Once you finally slept, I covered you and stood guard, ensuring your safety and willing the demons that haunted you away.”

“Ensuring my safety? How-how do you get into my room?” Again, with the stuttering. What was it about Genie that had me both questioning his motives while wanting to be pulled into his arms at the same time?

“One of many things to share with you when the time is right, and I believe you can handle the truth without running away.” Genie’s soulful eyes held none of the arrogance I’d once associated with him.

Nothing but love shone through, yet I still couldn’t grasp that single word my mind was stuck on.

Love. He was a stranger to me, though it appeared I wasn’t to him.

Love.

Something I’d not felt since…

Shake it off, Raj, and get to the point.

“So, let me get this straight. You come in here nightly and watch me sleep and you don’t see anything wrong with that?” There, make it hard. Get angry, fight back. Don’t give up the sheep and fatted cow until you’ve reached your worth in trade. Not that you have anything to trade for his hand.

Wait, did I want his hand?

“I’ll warn you once to curb your tongue, boy. Or you’ll likely find something you’re not prepared for stuffed into it.”

The gasp and subsequent shivers after Genie’s growl shocked me, but I couldn’t let him get to me.

Not yet. Answers were needed more than exploring the strange reaction my body had to his dominant responses.

Maybe there was something to his words to explore whatever this was between us.

Save those thoughts for another day and focus.

“Watch my mouth? I'm a grown man, an adult. I can speak how I want to whomever I wish.” There, I managed to get the words out without groveling. Though the fine line I walked was frayed, just a bit.

Genie crossed the room just as quickly as he had before, only this time, instead of grabbing my throat, he pushed me back onto the bed.

His arms bracketed me and firmly kept me in place.

His arousal pressed against mine, and it took all my strength not to thrust upward.

There was no escape, and no way he didn’t feel how his actions affected me.

“You will do as I say and watch that mouth of yours, boy, or I’ll put something in it.”

“Y-yes, yes, sir.” What was the hold this man had on me, aside from the physical? Currently I wanted to apologize and subsequently drop to my knees, beg for his forgiveness, and willingly submit to things I had no idea how to do.

His lips furled, a mix of snark and snarl.

“That's much better. Continue this way and you and I will get along just fine.

Good boys get rewards. Learn to curb that sharp tongue of yours and open your eyes and you will see how beautiful our life could be.

I've never done you any harm, nor will I, unless of course you request it.”

“Sorry.” The tone with which the word came out didn't scream sorry, though he didn’t call me out on it.

“But how can you watch over me and keep me safe while others are being arrested and thrown in the dungeons?

How long will it be before the Maharaja sets his sights on me?

Look what he did to my parents. Feeding your family shouldn't be against the law.” With every word uttered, my arousal depleted, and the renewed blood flow to my brain cleared my thoughts.

“No, it shouldn't be. You are correct, but under current rule everything is subject to change as he so desires.” Genie’s dislike for his employer was clearly conveyed through his words.

“Don't you work for him and carry out his wishes?”

“Wishes?” Genie slid down beside me and ran his fingers through my hair, immediately putting me at ease. “In a sense. But there's much more to this than you know. Do I work for him willingly? No. I am not there of my own free will as I am in this very room with you right now.”

“I don’t understand.” Was he holding something Genie valued captive? A family member or a treasured item?

“You will in due time, sweet boy.”

Silently, we sat side by side as his words sunk in, though I struggled with what they meant.

Trust wasn’t something that came easily to me.

I was a loner. Betrayal was constant in our village, and I couldn’t risk that.

Not when I knew all eyes were on me, Raj, the son of thieves.

Any commoner would throw me to the wolves to save themselves and not think twice about it.

“Do you trust me?” An ironic question from Genie given my current state of mind.

“I trust no one.” That sounded crass even to me, but it was the truth.

“Understood, and I appreciate your honesty, so let me rephrase that. Will you trust me long enough to let me feed you? I’d like to have dinner with you.”

“What if we’re seen together?” Drawing attention wouldn’t bode well for either of us. Not only given Genie’s stature within the hierarchy, but two men dining together was frowned upon.

“I know just where to take you.”

“I haven’t agreed to go anywhere with you.” Yet. But I left that word unspoken. I wasn’t quite ready to hand myself over to him no matter what capacity it was in.

“I promise to be the perfect gentleman and keep my hands to myself. Unless you deem otherwise.”

My thoughts froze and my pants tightened at the idea of what that could entail. Why was all this happening to me?

It appeared Genie enjoyed stunning me, based upon his smirk. He stood and held out a hand. Up I went, directly into his arms.

Wait, had I answered him?

“I’ve waited far too long to hold you.” As I sank into his embrace, all thoughts of what, why, and basically anything I’d initially planned to question him about faded away.

A perfect fit, my head on his chest, ensconced in the safety of his arms. Our size difference was intimidating until he held me with such care and compassion as he was now.

As though I were precious to him. But how long could it stay like this?

Time to give up the dream, Raj. Slowly, I opened my eyes and found we were no longer in my room.