Evie stood in her shower, the warm water cascading over her naked body like a gentle caress. Steam curled around her, wrapping her in a heated embrace, but it was nothing compared to the burning sensation coursing through her veins. She gritted her teeth. Not again.
A shudder ran through her body as the sensation intensified, pooling deep in her core. It had started at the dinner table, a slow simmer that had since built into a raging inferno.
Are you feeling it too?
His voice. It was barely a whisper in her mind, but to her, it resounded loud… and needy. No, not just needy—hungry. Starved.
Evie barely registered her own nod, knowing full well he couldn't see her. At that moment, logic didn't matter. The only thing that did was the fire licking at her insides, urging her forward. Her hand trailed down from her sensitive breasts, her fingers teasing over her flushed skin until they reached where she ached for him most.
She gasped, leaning against the cool tiles for support, the contrast of the cold against her fevered skin making her shiver.
Areyou touching yourself… thinking of me, Evie?
Rohmir's voice dropped lower, seduction dripping from every syllable. It wasn't fair. How was she supposed to function when he sounded like that?
A moan escaped her lips as her fingers found that sensitive bundle of nerves, circling, teasing, sending electric pleasure shooting through her.
"Rohmir..."
She moaned his name, whispering it into the steam-filled air as if calling to him, as if willing him to be there with her. Her mind drifted to the brief glimpse she had of him when he first appeared—his chiseled body, the sheer power he exuded. Even then, when he had been soft, she had seen the size of him. The idea of him fully aroused made her thighs clench in anticipation. What would he feel like? What would he taste like?
Her fingers slipped lower, teasing at her entrance.
Do you want to cum now, my little pet?
That was all it took. His voice alone sent her spiraling into bliss, her body trembling under the force of her release.
---
Rohmir's POV
Rohmir stood frozen at the entrance of Evie's room.
At first, he had been worried. He had felt her arousal through the bond—had assumed something was wrong. But as he reached her door, slightly ajar, his concern twisted into something entirely different.
She was dreaming.
Of him.
Rohmir's breath caught as his name tumbled from her lips, needy, desperate. He could see the way her body moved beneath the sheets, the way she writhed. He was mesmerized. Completely and utterly captivated.
He was already hard—achingly so. He adjusted himself, his jaw clenching as his own desire threatened to consume him. The pants he wore strained against his growing arousal, a cruel restriction.
Evie had designed him with a perfect body, but right now, the only perfection he cared about was the way she moaned for him.
He gripped the doorframe, his knuckles going white. It took every ounce of control not to step into that room, to not give in to the primal urges clawing at his insides.
It was the bond, he reminded himself. It had to be. This unnatural heat between them—this unrelenting need—it was a product of their connection, not real desire.
And yet, the pull toward her was unlike anything he had ever felt. Even when he had been alive, when he had believed himself to be in love, he had never felt this.
He swallowed hard, forcing himself to step back.
When she came undone, crying his name in pleasure, he had to shut the door and retreat.
This was dangerous.
She was dangerous.
And he needed to unbond with her before it was too late.
---
Evie's POV
Evie woke with a long stretch, the remnants of her dream still lingering like an intoxicating haze.
She blinked.
Had she…?
The wetness between her legs confirmed it.
"Oh, my God," she groaned, burying her face in her hands.
What the hell was this bond?
Pushing away her embarrassment, she rolled out of bed and headed straight for the shower. The cold water helped clear her head—a little—before she made her way to the living room.
But Rohmir was nowhere to be found.
Her brows furrowed as she glanced around the small apartment. It wasn't like he could just disappear....or could he?
Then, she spotted the plate on the table, covered with a note.
Gone out to get some clothes as you commanded. Will see you at the bookstore.
She stared at the plate, lifting the cover to reveal a breakfast she knew she didn't have ingredients for.
"How did he…?" she muttered, shaking her head.
Apparently, Rohmir was full of surprises.
As she ate, a new worry crept in.
Her bookstore.
Rent was due at the end of the month, and the money she had left wasn't enough to cover both her apartment and the store.
The choice was obvious.
No matter how much she loved her bookstore, she needed a roof over her head.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Evie finished eating, briefly trying to send a mental thank-you to Rohmir. But nothing happened.
So proximity mattered, then.
Probably for the best. She wasn't sure she could look at him without thinking about that dream.
---
When she arrived at the bookstore, she expected to see Rohmir.
But he wasn't there.
Frowning, she unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The last time she had been here, everything had changed. Her life had been normal—or at least as normal as it could be for someone struggling to keep a dying bookstore afloat.
Now?
Now she had a bound genie demon, a magical book, and a bond that made her ache in ways she had never known possible.
Shaking her head, she made her way to the basement.
Books were still scattered from Rohmir's dramatic entrance. She spent the next hour cleaning up before finally picking up his book and carrying it upstairs.
She needed answers.
Settling at a table, she flipped through the pages.
The symbols were still there—indecipherable, mocking.
Until they weren't.
She sucked in a sharp breath as one page shifted before her very eyes. The symbols moved, rearranging themselves into letters she could actually read.
Only one page.
His Fall.
Her heart pounded as her eyes skimmed the text.
"After he killed his king, he was bound by this book. Cursed forever for the treason committed against his country, against his nation, against his king. His real name shall forever be forgotten. His new name, Rohmir, shall be his prison, for whoever shall call upon it shall be his master."
Evie's blood ran cold.
He had killed his king?
She stared at the page, disbelief swirling inside her.
Had she bonded herself to a murderer?
I'm here.
Her breath caught, she looked up and there he was.
Standing in the doorway.
Watching her.