Chapter 30
The door to Caspar’s bedroom was open a crack.
Malek found Caspar on the bed, his nose between the pages of a romance novel.
Caspar’s gaze darted across the page, faster than anything Malek had ever seen.
When he knocked, Caspar flinched as if he’d been knocked out of another world.
As soon as he saw Malek, though, Caspar discarded the book on his nightstand.
“Oh, hey.”
“Hey.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Jocasta’s on the gang angle.”
“So we’re back to finding items for our Forgotten King?” Caspar asked with a grin.
“Oh,” Malek closed his eyes as if he was wounded. “Don’t call me that. It sounds so much bigger than what I really am.”
“And what are you?”
Malek shrugged. “I’m just tired right now.”
“Then come in. Close the door.”
Malek swallowed and nodded. Natasha and Katja were still at the table talking the last time he saw them, and William was long asleep. There would be no one disturbing them tonight. And Malek was determined to keep it that way.
When Malek took a step forward, Caspar sat up on the bed and removed his shirt, tossing it on the floor. He went down to his waist, about to undo his jeans, when Malek leaned in front of him. Malek ran his hand along the edge of Caspar’s pants and down to his ankles.
“You’re getting so tall,” Malek said with a laugh.
“Maybe I’ll be taller than you.”
“But only by a fraction.” Once Malek removed Caspar’s pants entirely, Caspar lay back against the covers and watched Malek with greedy eyes.
His dick strained against the fabric of his boxers.
Malek grabbed his shirt around the hem and shucked it off.
He was about to slip out of his pants when Caspar reached out a hand to stop him.
“No?” Malek asked. “You don’t want to—”
“I do. Very much.” He bit his lip as if to contain his desire. “But I want to know about your tattoos, first.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. They remind me of something I heard about in the dream state I was in.”
“And what was that?”
“The Illustrated Man,” Caspar said unsurely. “Someone kept talking about an Illustrated Man and how important he was.”
“He’s a legend in the communities.”
“You mean between families?”
“No. In all of djinn lore, there’s an Illustrated Man who grants people the freedom they need.
” Malek sat on the bed as he summarized what he could remember of the lore from his grandmother.
The last time he’d spoken about it was with Erwin Abernathy, the medieval scholar.
As soon as he mentioned the name again, Caspar’s eyes lit up.
“Do you want to see him?” Malek asked. “The last I heard, he was teaching around Montréal. We could…”
“Maybe. I’ll think about it. Tell me more about your tattoos, though. Don’t let me distract you.”
“Kind of difficult.” Malek flipped over his hand so Caspar could see the mandala tattooed there.
Caspar traced his finger around it like he’d done before, his touch electric over Malek’s skin.
After he’d shown Caspar his back and explained the song lyrics (and Caspar didn’t laugh at the Celine Dion reference), he showed him the family crest. Malek explained the complicated triptych on his shins, and then gestured to the tattoo on his ankle.
“This is from our first tour,” Malek said. “When Abe and I decided to stay together.”
Caspar ran a hand over the mark. He didn’t seem jealous, but intrigued. The space between their bodies disappeared as Caspar finished tracing the tattoo to the one space left on Malek’s body not tattooed.
“You thinking of getting anything else?”
“Maybe something in Arabic. I’m not too sure yet,” Malek said.
“Yeah?”
“Or maybe French. I don’t know yet. I think I want something to remember this case by, if we get out of it.”
“We will. I still mean what I said at the table.”
“And so do I.”
“Good,” Caspar said. “Because I think you’re the Illustrated Man I was looking for.”
“I’m not—” Malek tried to argue, but Caspar kissed Malek, silencing him.
His kiss was forceful as he licked Malek’s lips apart and allowed their tongues to touch.
Caspar cupped Malek’s chin, sliding their bodies together as if they were both touch-starved.
Skin against skin felt like heaven to Malek.
He reached out and cupped Caspar’s knee the way Caspar had been cupping him, then pulled away with a gasp.
“What’s wrong?” Caspar asked. “You didn’t hurt me.”
“I know. But look.”
Malek gestured to Caspar’s knee where his hand had been. The golden skin was tinged with purple. Malek touched Caspar’s knee again and watched as Caspar’s skin glowed and turned purple from Malek’s touch. Just like a bruise—but not.
“Does it hurt?”
“No,” Caspar said in amazement.
“It’s our bodies together, then. Bonding. I’m blue. You’re red. And together, we make purple.”
“Oh.” Caspar smiled, seeming to understand as much as he could.
He grabbed Malek’s hand and put it on his other knee, staring in awe at the shades.
Malek dragged his finger from Caspar’s thighs up to his navel, then drew a heart.
He followed up with more doodles and marveled as their skin changed together.
“Has this happened to you before?” Caspar asked.
“Once.”
“With Abe?”
“Yes. Only it was green. It doesn’t happen to all djinns.
Only ones whose temperaments match.” Malek took a deep breath, knowing that Caspar wasn’t even at his full power, and yet this was already happening.
“And it doesn’t happen all the time. Only when we’re scared, angry, or aroused do we get close to being incorporeal, and therefore, our skin is easier to manipulate. ”
“Hah, guess what one I am,” Caspar asked as he explored more skin, watching it change. “How long does it last?”
“Not long.” Malek gestured to Caspar’s knees, which had already faded.
Malek kissed around Caspar’s shoulder until his stomach became a pale gold again.
Caspar laughed when Malek’s finger glided along his ribcage and left a purple mark in its place.
Their erections were both hard and bumped into one another, but Malek was still content to play.
He wrote the word “maybe” in Arabic against Caspar’s skin.
“What’s that?”
When Malek told him, Caspar grew quiet. “Can I try something with you?”
“If you find space between the tattoos, then yes,” Malek said. “Go for it.”
“Turn over. I want to see your back.”
Malek slipped over onto his stomach, holding himself up with his elbows. He waited as Caspar straddled his back and sunk into his skin. His fingers drew lines on the blank sections of Malek’s skin. He had no idea what Caspar was drawing, only that his touch felt amazing.
“What are you drawing?”
“Zayt.”
“Hmm?”
“One of the few words I remember my mother writing down a lot. It looks pretty, and I always thought it sounded beautiful. Do you know what it means?”
“Yes. Cooking oil.”
“Oh, fuck. Of course it’s something so pedestrian. At least I didn’t get it tattooed on me. And this isn’t permanent.”
“Draw something else,” Malek requested. “I like the feeling of you on me.”
“Oh yeah?” Caspar’s low, sultry tone returned. “I don’t know if I can find the space.”
“Get creative.”
Malek held his breath until Caspar peeled his boxers down, allowing Malek’s hips to move freely.
Malek lay naked on the bed, his ass the only space not tattooed in some way.
Caspar let out a low breath, thick with desire, as his hands cupped Malek’s cheeks.
Caspar planted kisses over Malek’s spine, kissing up to his neck, until Malek felt Caspar’s cock nudge him.
“Are you going to draw something on me with that?” Malek asked.
“No,” Caspar said, his normal jovial tone replaced by something more serious. “I’m drawing a heart. Very, very simple. Then I’m going to kiss you, over and over.”
Malek gripped the sheets as Caspar drew a heart on each butt cheek and then kissed the spots he’d just marked. Caspar slipped his hands between Malek’s legs, gripped his cock, then his balls, and gave a few gentle tugs.
“God, you feel so good.” Caspar shuddered.
He braced himself between Malek’s legs and spread Malek’s cheeks as he continued to place soft kisses around his hole.
Malek’s breath caught in his throat as his desire formed knots in his stomach.
He was about to lose himself, and he was barely being touched.
Caspar spread his cheeks further apart, and used the flat of his tongue to coax Malek into moans on the bed.
“Oh, wow,” Malek cried. “Oh, fuck.”
Caspar licked down from Malek’s hole to his balls, and then brought Malek’s cock to his mouth.
Caspar could only lick Malek’s head from his position, but it was enough to send Malek’s body into shudders.
He grasped the sheets and mumbled his praises, especially when Caspar’s mouth came back to his hole.
His tongue plunged inside, around, and sent Malek into hysterics.
“God,” Malek murmured between his groans of pleasure. “I thought I was going to come in here and fuck you tonight.”
“Oh yeah?” Caspar hummed his mouth over the head of Malek’s cock. “You still want to?”
“Only if you’re not willing to fuck me here.”
Caspar laughed. He coated one of his fingers with spit and slid it into Malek, rocking back and forth as he did. He repeated his actions for several more moments. “I think I like this. Besides, it’s not like it’ll be our only time. Right?”
“God, I hope not.”
“Good.” Caspar kissed Malek’s cheek and thigh, and then lightly struck Malek’s skin. Malek let out a low breath between his teeth as he imagined the purple handprint that would be left on his skin. “There’s lube in the drawer here, by the way. Condoms too. Jocasta really thought of everything.”
Malek let out a low laugh. They parted ways only long enough for Caspar to grab the lube, but Malek told him to hold off on the condom.
Since they were both supernatural creatures, there weren’t any diseases that could be spread between them.
Considering how easily, and how reverently, Caspar had just worshiped his body, Malek had a feeling that he’d want no barriers between them.
When he turned to see Caspar on the bed, cock in his hand and eyes aflame with desire, Malek had that thought confirmed.
“How do you want me?” Malek asked.
“On your stomach, like before. But maybe…” Caspar gestured for Malek to be closer to him, so Malek grabbed pillows from the bed and tucked them under his stomach.
He hadn’t bottomed in such a long time—since before Abe, really.
The thought of Abe made him sad, so he pushed that away, along with all of his apprehensions that had been growing during the day.
“This good?” Caspar put a hand on Malek’s waist. When Malek nodded, Caspar sank lower and grasped Malek’s cock.
Caspar added lube to his palm so he could work Malek’s uncut cock in his hand before entering him.
Caspar ran his thumb along the crown of Malek’s cock, teased the skin, and kissed Malek’s neck as he worked.
“Stop teasing me,” Malek finally said, voice low and out of breath. “I want to feel you.”
Caspar planted a few more kisses on Malek’s back before lining up his cock. The head entered easily, and the rest of his cock slid inside in a matter of seconds. They both moaned out loud and covered their mouths.
“Shit, we gotta be quiet.”
“I have a feeling they know what’s going on,” Caspar said, but still whispered.
He rocked out of Malek, then back inside.
Malek’s gasps and moans were made using only a fraction of his voice.
When Caspar rocked into him and hit Malek’s spot, Malek had to bite his fists to keep from groaning.
Caspar noticed and thrust his hips even faster.
Over and over, Caspar struck Malek until he saw stars.
When Caspar kissed his neck and raked his nails down his back, Malek imagined nothing but purple and gold until he came.
Caspar came shortly after with a whimpered moan. He pulled Malek close to his body, kissing him fiercely until they both needed to clean up. When they crawled back into bed, Caspar scooted close to Malek’s side, a devious grin on his face.
“You know, I’m thinking of getting a tattoo.”
Malek laughed. “Yeah? Well good. I know a place. I’ll take you. When all of this is done.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Caspar said as he snuggled closer.
The promise of a future was enough to get Malek through the night.