Three Wishes

Christine couldn’t believe her good fortune. She stood looking around the Victorian style house she had bought and smiled. She had a place to call home now. After her recent nasty divorce, Christine decided she needed a change of scenery and had moved from California to Virginia. This house she had moved into several days ago had belonged to an elderly woman who had died recently and had no living relatives. Some of the woman’s things had been left behind up in the attic and after getting her own stuff settled into the house, Christine decided it was time to clean up the attic.

Making her way to the attic door on the second floor, Christine pulled the key from her pocket and unlocked the door. Walking up a short flight of stairs, she looked around the dusty room.

“My god, it’s going to take me weeks to clean up this mess,” Christine said to herself. The large attic room was filled with stuff. Trunks and bookshelves lined against the wall, old furniture and what looked like children’s toys sat out in the middle. Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs.

Christine made her way over to the attic window and after struggling with it for several minutes, finally got it open to let in some fresh air. Turning around, she decided that the furniture would have to be the last to leave. She would have to see about hiring some help to get the furniture out of the attic. Dressed in old jeans and a tee shirt, her long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, Christine tackled a large trunk next to her. Opening it, she found lots of clothes that looked 50’s style. After seeing only clothes in that trunk, she moved to the next trunk. This one was filled with more personal items of a young girl. Picture albums, letters, etc. It was a shame that the woman had no relatives. Christine hated to throw all this stuff away. Christine made her way slowly around the room. It was just after lunch when she discovered the loose floorboard. It squeaked loudly when she stepped on it. Frowning, Christine dropped to her knees and tested the board with her hand. It moved slightly. Looking around, Christine found a screwdriver that she could pry the board up with. After working with the board for several minutes, it finally popped up and Christine pulled it away. When she looked where the board had been, she found a small compartment. She saw that something was inside the compartment. Intrigued, Christine reached in and pulled out what appeared to be a very old, ancient lamp. It was very plain looking. It was black and Christine thought it had some kind of writing on the side of it. Standing up, Christine took the lamp over by the window to get a better look at it in the light. The lamp was very dusty, so Christine took the end of her shirt and began to rub the dust away.

“Oh crap!” Christine tossed the lamp away from her as smoke began to issue from the spout. The lamp skidded across the attic floor and bounced off of one of the trunks. Smoke continued to come forth and began to swirl around the room in front of Christine. Her heart began to thud in her chest when a handsome man stepped out of the smoke and stood before her. Christine blinked several times before she sunk to the floor and fainted. She never saw the handsome man quickly step forward to catch her.

When Christine opened her eyes, she found herself lying on her bed. She frowned, she didn’t remember lying down. Then she remembered. Sitting up quickly, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the handsome man again standing next to her bed.

“Whoa!” Christine backed up until she hit the headboard.

“Please, do not fear me.” The man’s voice was soothing. “I intend you no harm.” He was tall and incredibly handsome. His long black hair was brushed away from his face and hung down to his shoulders in thick curls. He had deep brown eyes and nice full lips that were framed by a neatly trimmed beard. He wore only a black pair of billowy pants, his chest bare.

“Who are you?” Christine managed. “And where the hell did you come from?”

“I am Tariq,” the man answered and bowed before her. “I am the Genie of the Lamp.”

Christine laughed almost hysterically. “Genie of the Lamp? You’ve got to be kidding me. This is the 21st century, buddy, there is no such thing as Genies of the Lamp.”

Tariq raised an eyebrow. “I promise you, Genies do exist. At least I do.”

Christine stopped laughing. “So what happens now, do I get 3 wishes?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“Anything I want,” Christine asked, still skeptical.

“Anything, but choose wisely, my Mistress. And your last wish cannot be for 3 more wishes.” Tariq warned.

“I can’t believe this. Do I have to chose now?” Christine asked suddenly.

“No. You have ten days to make your wishes, until then I am yours to command, my Mistress.” Tariq bowed slightly at the waist.

“My name is Christine,” Christine said, climbing off the bed and standing before Tariq. Tariq took Christine’s hand and kissed it.

“Christine,” he said softly, looking at her intently.

The man who stood before her claiming to be a Genie fascinated Christine. Without realizing it, she began to examine him. She was so intent on looking him over that she didn’t hear his sharp intake of breath when she placed her hand flat against his smooth chest.

“Your skin is so soft,” Christine exclaimed, running her fingers across the expanse of his chest. Christine missed the smoldering look of desire in Tariq’s eyes as she moved around to stand behind him All the while her finger tips flittered across his broad shoulders and along his back.

Tariq allowed her examination of him. He understood her curiosity, but was surprised at her boldness. From the moment he saw her, he knew there was something different about Christine. He’d seen many women in the past 3,000 years, but none of them had caught his interest in the way Christine had in the very short time he’d been in her presence. Her touch was exciting him. He would have to stop her soon if she continued to touch him in such an intimate manner or he wouldn’t be held responsible for his actions.

Christine moved back around to face him. “You look and feel like a normal human man to me,” she began, then her eyes widened as a thought formed in her head. “Do Genies have. . .” Christine reached for his waistband, but Tariq caught her by the wrist.

“Yes, I do,” Tariq answered gruffly. Christine looked up and gasped softly at the desire she saw in Tariq’s dark brown eyes. “Do not toy with me, Christine,” he warned gently. “I may be a Genie, but I was human once and I still have the desires and needs of any human man.”

“I’m sorry.” Christine blushed. “I didn’t even think.”

Tariq fought down the desire to pull Christine into his arms and kiss her senseless. He saw her breathing quicken and his eyes dropped down to watch the rise and fall of her breasts. His dark eyes narrowed as his hand tightened on her wrist.

Christine was fighting her own battle of conflicting emotions. She had no idea who this guy was, or whether or not he was a Genie, but one thing was clear to her, there was a sexual tension between them that was threatening to burn them both alive. Her whole body hummed and tingled at his closeness. He had a firm but gentle hold on her wrist and his thumb had begun to softly stroke the inside skin of her wrist. She could feel him gently pulling on her wrist, pulling her closer to him and at the same time she could see in his face that he was battling his desire for her also.

“May, maybe we should go downstairs,” Christine stammered. At first Christine didn’t think he was going to release her. His jaw tightened and his body tensed, then suddenly he relaxed and smiled, releasing her wrist.

“As you wish,” he answered, bowing slightly