Aliya Baban and the Cave of Pleasure Read online

  “We’re not genies,” they responded in unison.

  Paran narrowed his eyes at her and a plate containing exactly the same food as before appeared in front of her.

  “Magical food is good, but not as good as that which is hand prepared,” Matuse said. “And you’re cleaning that up.”

  She picked up the second plate and gave it the same treatment she’d given the first, dropping the plate with enough force that, when it hit the first one, the sound of breaking pottery filled the room.

  Aliya sucked in a deep breath when a third plate appeared on the bed.

  “Eat.” Matuse’s voice was stern.

  She turned an evil glare on him. “Get out of my house,” she ordered, keeping her voice as hard as his. “You’ve already cost me my job. What more can you do to me?”

  Matuse stared at her, then turned his gaze to Paran and nodded before turning back to her. “Thank you, Paran. Again.”

  “I recognize a dismissal when I hear it.” Paran stood. He waved his hand and the stove and refrigerator disappeared. “At least let me stay and watch you spank her. After all, it was my food she destroyed. I deserve that small bit of compensation.”

  Matuse continue to stare at her, then gazed again at Paran, who swore softly.

  “Your Djinn side makes you too soft. She needs a firmer hand, like mine.” He disappeared.

  She continued to stare at Matuse. When he made a move to stand, she rushed off the bed, her foot sliding on pancakes and syrup, grinding the food into the carpet.

  “Wait! I want to talk to your boss. You tricked me into this. There’s got to be some Djinn rule about that.” She couldn’t believe those words came out of her mouth. But how could it be anything other than magical? The appearing stove and refrigerator, and the way he’d hovered off the ground last night. The way Paran appeared and disappeared.

  “You stroked the lamp of your own free will. No one forced you.”

  “But you left it there for me to find.”

  “You could have ignored it. You could have just touched it, and nothing would have happened. It was when you stroked it that the contract became valid.”

  His voice was calm and steady, even though she knew he was angry. They stared at each other for several seconds, and then he cocked an eyebrow at her.

  “Clean up your mess. Do I make myself clear?”

  She nodded, afraid that if she didn’t obey him, he would take up Paran’s suggestion of a spanking. She gazed down at the food and broken plates.

  “You know,” she said, trying to sound sexy. “I’m sure one wave of your hand would clean this up.”

  The look he gave her made her shiver.

  She went into the bathroom, quickly returning with a trash can and several towels, both wet and dry. She picked up the plates and food, tossing them into the trash before putting the wet towels over the mess and pressing down gently. She tried not to move it around, afraid to ground the mess in further. When she thought most of it was absorbed, she got another wet towel, placed it on top of the stain, blotted it and then covered the spot with a dry one.

  She looked at Matuse, who hadn’t moved from his spot.

  “Now, eat,” he said.

  “I don’t eat things like that. Seriously, give me my grapefruit and I’ll eat it, but I’m not eating that.”

  “A few bites won’t hurt. And you’ll make me very happy.”

  It was the last words that made her sit down and pick up the plate. If he was happy, he wasn’t thinking about spanking her.

  She took a bite, moaning softly at the wondrous taste. It had been forever since she’d eaten anything with syrup on it. “It’s still warm,” she said in surprise, taking another bite.

  Matuse gave her a sheepish grin, and before she knew it, she’d finished half the plate.

  She set the plate aside and held her stomach. “I can’t eat anymore. I’m stuffed.” The plate disappeared and she stared at the place it had been. “So this is real. All of it. Tell me what’s happening. Please.” She added the last word quickly, then looked at him.

  “Djinn are an ancient race of magical people who can spread happiness, and pleasure.”

  “I can’t say I’m very happy right now.”

  “Give it time,” Matuse said. “Over the years, we have evolved into what your world would call societies. The group that operates in this part of the country is called the Desires of the Lamp Djinn. Through our lamps, we come into people’s lives, men and women, to help them sort things out and learn to feel pleasure.”

  She snorted. “So, you’re making me feel pleasure by making sure I’m unemployed? How thoughtful.”

  “Some cases need more work than others,” Matuse replied. “Certain individuals who do their best to spread evil, like yourself, need to be taught the error of their ways. That’s where I come in.”

  “Because you’re not a Djinni, you’re a demon.”

  “Only half demon. But as I said, it does come in handy. If you prefer, I will hand the reins over to Paran, who will spank you nightly for thirty days, I’m sure.” He stood and she held up her hand.

  “Wait. No.” Maybe this man was the lesser of two evils. “So, your job is to make me right my past wrongs?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Then let’s do it. Give me the phone and I’ll call these women and get it over with. Then, you can go back and torture someone else and I can go look for a job.”

  “It doesn’t work that way. You have to mean it. Right now, you don’t. And, as I’ve said, you’re—”

  “I know. I’m yours for thirty days. Well, twenty-eight now, right? Minus yesterday and today.”

  “Nice try.” There was humor in his voice. “Yesterday doesn’t count.”

  She studied him as he stood by the edge of the bed, his hands on his hips. He really was the most gorgeous specimen of man she’d ever seen. His eyes darkened as she watched him, and she saw desire flickering behind them. That was an emotion she could deal with–an emotion she was used to.

  She got on her hands and knees, crawling across the bed toward him, stopping when her mouth was right in front of his crotch.

  Aliya lowered her eyes, then licked her lips as she looked back at him. “I’ll make a deal with you.”

  “I’m listening.”

  She ran her hands up his rippled stomach to his smooth chest, flicking his hard little nubs as she went. When her hands were on his shoulders she leaned over and licked a nipple, snaking her tongue across to the other one and sucking it hard. His sharp intake of breath made her shiver in pleasure, and with power.

  She ran her hands down his biceps to his hands. “I’ll make you come harder than you’ve ever come before. If you’ll cut my sentence down.”

  “Sentence.” He shook his head, his lips curling into a wicked grin. “Is that what you think this is?”

  “One week. I’ll fuck you any way you want. I’m very good at it.”

  Her hand moved to his groin and she stroked his cock, which was hard and ready for her. Her hand cupped him and she murmured in delight as she stroked his shaft, moving the top of the pants. The head of his cock appeared, rising up under her tender touch.

  She placed her hand inside his pants, grasping him tightly. “What a big boy you are. It’s nice to see you want to come out and play.”

  “You’re used to this, aren’t you, Aliya?” His voice was deep with desire, but she could hear something else there, too. Something that made her insides shiver. It wasn’t disgust in his voice. It was regret. “Using your body to get what you want. You don’t have to do that, you know.”

  “It’s obvious you want me. Make a deal with me. Bury yourself deep inside me. Let me have it all. You can fuck me anywhere you want.” She leaned over and licked the tip of his cock, triumph burning into her as he hissed in pleasure. Then, he turned away from her slightly, and she lifted her gaze to his.

  “No. Thirty days, no more, no less. That’s the only deal we have.”

 
Aliya pulled her hands back as if she’d been burned. She then tumbled back as he pushed and climbed on top of her.

  “Get off me.” She wiggled beneath him, fully aware that his hard cock pressed into her belly.

  “Don’t worry, little she-devil. There will be a great deal of pleasure exchanged between the two of us. But not quite yet. First, we need to talk about that spanking you so desperately need.”

  Chapter Four

  She bucked against him as he grasped her hands and held them on either side of her face. His lips were right above hers. She bared her teeth and nipped at him.

  He pulled back and laughed deeply. “You knew this was coming. Don’t act as if you don’t understand the reasons for it, either. You’re a bad girl, and bad girls must be punished.”

  “Isn’t putting up with the likes of you punishment enough?” She snapped her teeth at him again. “Get off me you freak!”

  “It’s your time of reckoning, Aliya. The trumpet of doom has sounded and sent me to help you change your wicked ways. The first stage of that is punishment.”

  Aliya let out a scream as her body turned. She now lay on her stomach, Matuse above her and her nightgown above her waist. When she felt his hands on the waistband of her panties, she struggled hard, but to no avail. He took them down to her knees easily, his free hand stroking her bare bottom.

  She knew it did no good to threaten him with the police, or with anything else. She’d learned that much in the less than twenty-four hours she’d known this horrible creature.

  His hand came down on her behind and she yelped, more in anger than in pain.

  “I bet you’ve never had a spanking, have you Aliya?” Several more slaps landed and she tried to wiggle away from him. She knew it wasn’t his hand in the small of her back that kept her in place. It was some sort of magical force field. “You’re spoiled rotten, given everything you’ve ever wanted, never disciplined for being mean to other people. Am I right?”

  “I hate you!”

  His hand came down repeatedly.

  Tears welled in her eyes when the slaps started to sting. She swallowed hard. “Please, stop. Please.”

  And he did, which surprised her.

  He leaned down, his lips right next to her ear. “Do you know what I think about when I hear those words from you, Aliya? All the women you made cry with your words and actions. It was hard for me to look into your past and see their pain. All they wanted was to be accepted for who they were, but you made it impossible for them.”

  She buried her face in the mattress as Matuse delivered several more slaps to her bottom.

  Aliya’s crying increased. “You think by changing me that it will make them feel better about themselves?” She balled the sheet in her fists as his hand came down again. “Ouch!”

  “I think if you to take a good look at yourself, you’ll see the wrongness of what you’ve done. And I sincerely hope that you’ll change for the better.”

  She lost count of the smacks as he continued to punish her. Her bottom ached, but worse than that, her pride stung. She was at his mercy, and though she didn’t want to admit it, she’d brought it on herself.

  When the spanking slowed, she sighed softly. “No more, please.”

  “Are you going to behave?”

  “Yes.”

  “No more throwing food?”

  “I didn’t throw it, I dropped it.”

  Smack, smack, smack…

  “Ouch!” She tried, and failed, to wiggle away. “No. I won’t. No more.”

  “Good.” His hand rubbed her burning behind now. “I will spank you again if I have to, Aliya. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “This will ease the burn.”

  She moaned as he rubbed cool cream onto her buttocks. A disembodied snort made her look around the room.

  Paran!

  “He watched?”

  “You knew he would, and so did I. And if he were in my place, he would not be soothing your aching bottom right now.”

  “Asshole!”

  Paran’s laughter filled the room, then went away just as quickly. She pushed her head into the covers as Matuse continued to stroke her.

  “I have work to do at the cave. I’ll be back later tonight. Of course, if you get bored today, you can always come down and play.” He stood and looked down at her.

  “You’re going to leave me? How do you know I won’t run?”

  His laugh was short and deep. “Do you think I won’t find you? I want you to spend the day thinking about your spanking. Tomorrow morning, we search for Rebecca Stevens.”

  “Why? You already know where she is, don’t you? You already know what she’s doing.” Aliya sat up, wincing as her bare bottom came into contact with the sheet. She covered herself quickly, then glanced at Matuse. The huge erection he’d sported earlier was gone.

  “I don’t get aroused by spreading pain,” he said. “And yes, I know where she is. But it’s not about me finding her. It’s about you finding her. You’re the one with the lesson to learn. Perhaps you should spend the day on the computer.”

  “Maybe I should look for a job. The mortgage isn’t going to pay itself, you know.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it. I only want you to think about what we’ve discussed. Concentrate only on Rebecca. We’ll address them one at a time, that’s the rule. When I’m satisfied that you’ve made amends, and mean it when you say you’re sorry, then we’ll move on. Come by the club tonight. I promise I won’t lock you in a room.”

  He disappeared and Aliya sniffled. Her bottom ached something fierce, and she knew it was probably deep red.

  She got up and went to the bathroom, turning to look at it in the full-length mirror. She was right.

  “Jerk.” When the word was out of her mouth, she looked around, expecting him to appear and punish her for calling him names. When he didn’t, she went to the tub and ran a bath, adding mineral oils to help sooth her burning skin. She would soak for a while and then search for Rebecca on the Internet. The sooner she found her, the sooner this nightmare would end.

  * * * *

  “I suppose you’re here to tell me I was too soft on her.” Matuse looked up from his desk, pushing a stack of paperwork to the side. He could have finished it with a wave, but he rather enjoyed getting into his job and doing things by hand.

  Paran floated above the desk, his legs crossed in front of him. “On the contrary. I think you did quite well, half-breed.”

  “Thank you very much, old man.”

  “Your sarcasm is not needed, Matuse. I was offering you a compliment.”

  Matuse put down his pen and cracked his knuckles. “The outcome of this assignment is so uncertain. She has a deep anger inside. So deep that I haven’t been able to find the cause of it in her mind.”

  “She’s buried it. She probably doesn’t even remember what happened to make her the way she is.”

  Matuse waved his hand and a glass appeared. He took a long drink of water and then looked toward the window that overlooked the club. It was early in the evening, not even eight o’clock. There were a few people milling about, but for the most part, the place was empty.

  It would be a different story later, though. The dance floor would be packed, and the upper rooms, where Djinn took women and men for private drinks to assess their need for the Lamp Society’s assistance, would also be full.

  Depending on their needs, the people would be given assignments at the real Cave of Pleasure, the house outside of town where rooms were set up to handle any fantasy, at any time. Or they would be assigned a Djinni on a more permanent basis, to work with them one on one.

  Paran joined him in his perusal of the patrons downstairs. “You have to find out what it is, you know.”

  “I know that. Do you have a suggestion on how to do it? Because, for the life of me, I can’t find anything.”

  “What did you find?”

  “One small area of her memory that is lo
cked up tight,” Matuse said. “Something that she either doesn’t remember, or doesn’t want to think about. I was hoping to find it last night, while she slept. But even then she fought me off, keeping that part of herself locked up tight.”

  “You need to relax her.”

  “Yes, I agree. Her case is not complete unless I find the root of the problem, but I also have to help her make her amends.”

  “Yes, there is much to be done. You need to be cloned. Just say the word and I’ll be there, 24/7 to help you.”

  “No, but thank you. This one I want to do on my own.”

  “Don’t reject the wisdom of my years,” Paran said.

  “You’re only a hundred years older than I am,” Matuse replied, shaking his head.

  “A hundred and eighteen, actually, but who’s counting?” Paran pointed downstairs. “Look. She surprises me yet again.”

  Matuse watched Aliya as she scanned the crowd, looking for him. She wore a short red dress that was cut so low, he thought she might fall out of it.

  “Maybe she’s here to try and seduce her way out of the contract.”

  “You mean fuck her way out. I let her know this morning that wasn’t going to happen.”

  Paran snorted. “Your words might have been more effective if your cock hadn’t been so hard.”

  “True. I may be an immortal Djinni, but I’m still a man. I’m hard again just looking at her. You have no idea how hard it was this morning when her tongue was on my cock.”

  “I have some idea,” Paran murmured. “I imagine she’s very talented. But I bet that talent is even better when there’s real emotion mixed with it. You’ll make that happen. Just don’t tell anyone I said so.”

  Paran disappeared and Matuse laughed. Despite all his jabs, Matuse knew the older Djinni thought well of him, even if he was a half-breed. That label had brought problems that Matuse had worked through quite skillfully, some of them with Paran’s help. He might also need help with this assignment, but he hoped he could make it through on his own.

  He inserted himself into Aliya’s mind, smiling when she jerked, then lifted her gaze to the window. He made sure she could see him, even though the glass was one-way. Then he pointed toward the stairs.