20. Keep Your Djinn Up

Jennie

I'd left his container at my work, but somehow, the Djinn had followed me home.

When smoke had poured from the jade, the last thing I'd expected was him.

How such a large, muscular man could fit in that tiny piece was beyond human understanding. His skin was periwinkle blue, his jade eyes glinted with mischief, and a dusting of turquoise freckles covered his nose and cheeks.

He was freaking adorable!

It had been hard not to take in the sheer size of his broad chest or to keep my eyes from drifting down the defined muscles to his tapered chest and lower…

When he'd first appeared, from the waist down, his body had been a cloud of glittering purple smoke, but on the walk home, he'd taken on a more human body. And although his body had legs, it was clear he didn't need them. More than once, I'd caught his feet floating a few inches above the pavement.

I wasn't sure if anyone else could see him, so I was glad we didn't run into anyone on the street.

For most of the night, I'd tried to get information out of him. After all, how often did you get a chance to learn about history through someone who was older than most of it?

Sadly, I hadn't gotten much out of him. The man had tighter lips than a grandmother who'd had an affair right around the time she'd conceived a child.

And I should know all about that since my grandma did it.

Covering my mouth, I tried to stifle my yawn. I'd stayed up too late, and now I was exhausted and trying to get ready to head for the auction.

"Are you sure this will work?" I asked.

"I'm sure." His unflappable confidence would've annoyed me if it had crossed the lips of any other man.

"Then let's do this." This was not how I envisioned spending the day before Valentine's Day, but I guess things could be worse.

The auction house was only a few blocks from my home—another reason I loved working there—so grabbing my leather backpack, I headed out the door.

My uninvited guest followed, phasing through the door. It was an ability I'd found unsettling last night until we set some ground rules. Number one on my list had been no intruding while I was in the shower—or while I was in the bathroom in general.

He'd scared the life out of me when I'd showered the night before by talking to me from the other side of the curtain. My scream had been worthy of an Oscar, but all I had to show for it was a sore throat.

I really should have been freaked out by the fact that a mythical being who shouldn't exist was following me around like a shadow. Why was I taking this so calmly?

Maybe he exuded something that naturally calmed the human who awakened him? Or maybe I just longed for any chance at excitement in my rather mundane life.

I locked the door and hurried toward my work. Along the way, the guy who lived at the end of my block, Dillon, waved from his mailbox as always.

"Working the day before Valentine's Day?" he asked, and I nervously glanced over at my companion.

"Don't worry, I'm invisible, and nobody can hear me," he assured me.

"Are you okay?" Dillon squinted at my face. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I let out a nervous laugh, uncomfortable at how close he was to the truth. "I'm just stressed."

Dillion nodded. "I thought you didn't work on Tuesdays."

"Well, normally, I don't. But there's a big auction today, so…" I trailed off, letting him draw his own conclusions.

"Do you work tomorrow?" He leaned on the mailbox.

I shook my head.

"Hmm. I see. And do you have a date for Valentine's Day?" He arched an eyebrow at me, and I didn't like the direction the conversation had taken.

I tried to laugh him off. "I don't, but I made plans to date myself." It was a lie, but he didn't have to know that. "Self-love is the most important thing, right?"

Dillon opened his mouth, when a sudden sprinkling of rain fell around us.

"I better get going before I end up soaked." I thanked the universe for the small favor.

Dillon looked at the clouds, then gave a reluctant nod and headed toward his front door. Not waiting around, I hurried down the sidewalk toward work. Before we reached the auction house, the skies cleared up, and the rain dispersed.

"Thank goodness for that little sprinkle," I breathed.

"You appeared to be looking for a polite way out of that conversation," my companion stated.

My eyes widened. "That was you?"

He nodded, his sharp gaze studying my face.

I couldn't hold back a smile as I stopped, turning to face him and not caring if I looked like a crazy lady talking to herself in public. "Thank you. I've been wanting to ask… what's your name?"

He appeared taken aback, his brows shooting up his forehead. After a moment, his jaw relaxed, and he opened his mouth to speak but merely inhaled a breath.

It wasn't the first time he'd seemed surprised by something I'd said. The guy needed to get out more.

"Nobody has ever asked me that before," he murmured. "I'm Jovat."

"Just Jovat?" I asked, wondering why I'd expected some mystical name. Perhaps it was due to the countless mythology books I spent my evenings reading.

He rubbed a pale blue hand on the back of his neck, his lips curving up at the corners. "Well, my full name is Jovat the Abominable."

That was more like what I'd expected, but I didn't see anything about him that should have earned the title. "How'd you get that name?"

"I got wrapped up in a mess a few centuries ago. Nothing too big. It's a story for another time." His blue cheeks turned a pale purple. Was he blushing? "Besides, you probably already studied it in school."

"I like it. It's unique." I couldn't hold back a smile. "Well, Jovat the Abominable, let's get moving!"

Ten minutes later, I found an empty seat, watching people settle as the auction began. Jovat hovered just above the seat next to me, no doubt invisible to strangers. I had very little hope of winning him with the meager hundred dollars I had to my name, but I'd try because he asked me to.

Maybe he'd make other people not want him, and I would have an actual chance. Surely he possessed the power to do something like that?

I imagined there were some limits to what he could do without me making an official wish, though. There was nothing to do but wait and see how things panned out.

In the meantime, I was living out one of my fantasies: collecting old artifacts I could treasure forever. I'd never been able to afford something like this, but the exercise was fun.

The bidding started on his jade home, and I lifted my hand. "Fifty!"

Heads turned, and my cheeks went red as the auctioneer scanned the room, refusing to even look at me.

"A thousand," someone said from the front row.

Well, that meant I was out.

"Will anyone give me two thousand?" the auctioneer shouted.

I sat there waiting for the next bidder to speak up and was stunned to feel my hand lift. Turning my head, I found Jovat's fingers wrapped around my arm, holding it up. What was he doing?

Opening my wallet, I angled it so he could see how empty it was. But instead, I found it was stuffed with more cash than it had ever held before. I caught the sparkle in Jovat's eyes.

He was putting the money in my wallet.

It was a smart move if he really wanted me to win this auction.

"Five thousand." Someone else raised their hand.

My heart pounded in my chest as I looked around the room. Jovat lifted my arm.

"Eight thousand." The words came from my lips, but I hadn't planned to say them.

Eight thousand was so much money.

"Ten."

"Twelve."

"Fifteen." As the people around me called out sums of money that made my head swirl, Jovat again lifted my arm.

"Twenty-five thousand." I snuck a sideways look at him.

Well, it seemed someone certainly knew their value and wasn't afraid to throw big numbers out there.

A tiny part of my heart warmed. Was he doing this to stay with me because he had to… or because he wanted to?

Jovat jerked his chin at my lap, and I could see my entire purse was bulging.

When the bidding finally closed for his jade home, I swear I went a bit cross-eyed handing over the huge stack of cash. I'd never imagined being able to buy my own collectible, but here I was, winning an auction for a piece I could only have dreamed about.

Once the auction ended, I moved to the back of the building and started helping Camilla and Megan pack the items in boxes to be sent out to the winners.

On our way back to my house, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. There was a missed call.

"I wish people would just text," I grumbled.

The phone instantly stopped ringing, and a text came through instead.

I jerked my head in Jovat's direction.

"I didn't mean to word it like that," I said, well aware I needed to watch what I said moving forward.

He gave me an innocent smile. "That wish was on me."

Why did that single sentence cause butterflies to flutter in my stomach? And why couldn't I stop wondering what his beautiful lips would taste like?