The W Word - Part 1

            David turned the book over in his hands. It was old, possibly mid-nineteenth century. Despite its age it was in excellent condition. Howard had been in such a hurry to give it to David and leave, there had been no time to ask where it came from. Instead of a title printed on the cover, there was an embossed detail of two men embracing with all of their limbs. This graphic depiction of male affection must have been what attracted to Howard to the book. Usually Howard wasn’t much of a reader, even returning movies that were discovered to have subtitles.

            David set the book down carefully on the table in his study where he did most of his book restorations. He gently opened it to look for evidence of the title or author. To his disappointment all the pages were blank. He was about to dismiss the book as a rather decorative but unused journal, when something unexpected happened.

            The book began to tremble and hum. David was so startled his hand could not have let go of the book faster if it had become hot enough to burn skin. Was this some kind of prank Howard was playing on him? Visions of the book spraying something horrible like tear gas, red paint, or any other damaging substance that could be conceived on a TV reality show seared through David’s imagination. Not wanting his body to take the brunt of the damage he stepped back away from the table. David struggled to maintain his footing as the world seemed to shift out of focus. For several lurching seconds everything seemed to be in a state of suspension before finally returning to normal. Almost normal.

            Standing in between David and the book, so close they almost touched, was the most attractive man he’d ever seen. He was just slightly leaner and shorter than David, but at 6’2” and a fit 205 pounds, so were most people. The man wasn’t David’s usual type. He preferred a man with a polished, meticulous appearance that just begged to be disheveled. A bonus with a well-dressed man was that all those layers of professional attire were so much fun to tear off. The man in front of him wasn’t wearing enough clothes to put in disarray. Although the little scraps he did have on allowed David to get an excellent view of his finely developed body and flawless olive skin. The man looked almost feral, with amber eyes that David had only ever seen in wildlife. His untamed hair was just long enough to get in his eyes and a shade of dark red that usually came from a box. Despite these radical departures from what David liked, the man was attractive enough to transcend types. Had David met him anywhere, other than out of literal thin air, he would have done something about it.

            Regardless of how attractive he was, it did not make it acceptable for him to materialize out of a book. David began to even put more distance between himself and the man than he thought necessary for geysers of paint.

            “Mm…” The man slowly looked down David’s body and then back up again. “You are a definite upgrade from the last man. I don’t think I’m going to discover any love handles under that tailored shirt and I can see you still have all your hair.”

            “Who or what are you?” David asked.

           

            “Everyone always asks the exact same question. You could try to be more original—but I’ll forgive you since you’re good to look at.”

           

            David continued to inch towards the door.

            “Now, now, no need to be afraid. I have come to make all your wishes a reality.”

            “My wishes?”

            “Yes.”

“Wishes?” David was having difficulty processing that word.

“You wish for things and I grant them…It’s not that hard.”

            “Like a fairy god mother?”

            The man fixed David with a withering look. “Do I look like a fairy god mother?”

            “Sorry—I—”

            The man waved his hands around in way that David assumed was supposed to be placating. “It’s a lot to take in, I understand. But no need to be alarmed, I’m a jinni,” he said as if that made sense.

            A jinni? Images of 1001 Arabian Nights, The Wishmaster, monkey paws and oil lamps entered David’s mind. Make a wish and inadvertently slaughter all those you hold dear.

It was time to leave.

            “Don’t go,” The jinni said, reading David's body language. “You don’t have to worry about giving it too much thought, I’m not stingy with my wishes. I’ll give you an unlimited number.” The jinni looked genuinely confused at his hesitation.

            David vaulted out of the room and down the stairs, heading for the front door as fast as he could. He hoped the jinni would be trapped in the house, or could only go so far from the book. David had to try to escape, rather than let it mind control him or devour him or whatever other terrible thing it was going to do.

            “You know for a man your size you are exceptionally skittish,” the jinni said, startling David as it materialized in between him and the door. “Howard was wishing for sex within seconds.”

            David barely avoided running into the jinni. His heart pounded as he searched for another method of escape.

            “Please calm down, you have nothing to fear,” The jinni said. He searched David’s face for a moment and then he sighed. “Humans can take so long to convince.”

            David contemplated trying to escape out the back door, but if the man could just appear at random he wasn’t sure how likely that was to be successful. Hitting him probably wasn’t the best idea either. While he didn’t look like he could take David in a fight, if he was in fact magical (David’s head hurt to even contemplate that word) then strength probably didn’t matter much in determining the outcome of a skirmish.

“Why don’t we sit down and talk for a few minutes? We could have drinks? The alcoholic kind? That seems to help some humans with their nerves.” The jinni talked with his hands which contrasted with David’s image of the scimitar wielding demon he was familiar with. Of course since all his sources on the subject were fictional, David didn’t know how reliable they truly were.

“I’m not dangerous,” The jinni continued. “Howard was still alive when he gave you my book, wasn’t he? You saw for yourself that I didn’t harm him at all.”

            “Howard was very eager to get rid of you.”

            “Good things are only meant to last so long or else they become boring. Like any really good fling, brevity is what makes it memorable. Also, I think I was a little more than Howard could handle.” The jinni ran his hand teasingly down David’s chest. “I don’t think you’d have the same problem daddy.”

            “Aren’t you supposed to call me ‘master’ or something?”

             “Um no…” The jinni gave David a look that was hard to read. “This is a temporary liaison, not a master slave thing.”

            David was beginning to think he wasn't going to be able to get a way, at least not now. Later when the jinni’s guard was down he would make his escape and then find a way to seal it back in the book. He would have to find Howard. He was going to kill him the moment he saw him again. Then he would get the info he needed on how to trap this thing and then kill Howard all over again.

For now David would have to stay calm and play along with the jinni. However, David was having difficulty shifting gears from fight or flight to casual conversation. David needed an excuse to concentrate on something else for even a moment to get his nerves under control.

“Let me pour us those drinks,” David said, remembering the jinni’s suggestion. Absently he wondered if the jinni was old enough to drink. It occurred to him how absurd that thought was.

            David went into the kitchen to mix the drinks with the jinni trailing behind him. David assumed he wanted to keep tabs on him to make sure he didn’t try to flee again. As David poured the gin into the lime and soda he doubted he would ever be able to pour that particular liquor again without thinking of some unnecessary pun. At least this type of gin was willing to stay in its bottle indefinitely.

           

            “You know, most people are happy to receive unlimited wishes. You can have anything your heart desires as long as I’m here,” the jinni said, accepting his glass.

            David took a seat on the living room sofa as far away from the jinni as possible. “How long will that be?”

           

            “Usually about a week.”

            “That’s all?”

            “You don’t have to sound so relieved.”

            “Sorry, um—why a week?”

            “We already talked about this.” At David’s blank stare the jinni continued. “We jinn are in the business of spreading dreams and happiness. If we over stay our welcome then the magic starts to sour.”

            “Literally? Your spells start to have negative effects?”

            “No not literally.” The jinni rolled his eyes.

            “There has to be a catch here somewhere.”

            “You worry too much. I can fix that. Just say the words ‘I wish I worried less’ and it will be taken care of.” The jinni leaned forward in anticipation.

            “No thanks.”

            Disappointed, the jinni took a sip of his drink. Then he smiled, and despite the recent events and the sarcastic attitude, David found it unexpectedly disarmingly.

“We’ve been so busy with you trying to run away and all, we never had a real introduction,” The jinni said. “My name is Devlin, pleased to meet you.”

            Devlin held out his hand but David just stared at it. Finally he said, “If I tell you my name does that give you power over me?”

            Devlin withdrew his hand and flounced back against his end of the sofa. He looked more like an impertinent undergrad than a dangerous, man-eating jinni.

            “I already know your name. It’s David. I was trying to be polite.”

            “Sorry,” David said. Devlin didn't respond, instead keeping his face averted and his jaw sullen. Not having to make eye contact freed David’s eyes to wander. Contemplating only the appearance of the other man, David almost wished he was just some college student. He would have had no problem taking him home.

            “Look, this is all a bit of a shock for me,” David said. “I don’t think I’m ready to make any wishes tonight, I need to adjust to all this. Maybe if we spent some time getting to know each other first…” David stopped himself when he realized how much that sounded like a pick up line. David needed to steer his mind away from anything in that direction.

            “I would like that, I would like to become friends,” Devlin said, moving closer. He appeared to be responding to the wrong set of signals, the ones David was trying not to send. “I can be very, very friendly.”

            It didn’t matter how friendly Devlin was capable of being, and he had no doubt that was very, very friendly indeed. David was not going to have sex with the jinni.

           

* * *

            The alarm went off at 7 a.m. David disentangled himself just enough from Devlin to allow an arm to reach the night stand. It took him several tries to locate the snooze button. He moved as if he had fallen asleep only minutes before.

David had always thought that nothing could top spending an intimate night with someone he truly loved. He had considered there to be no greater experience than the mingling of two souls, reverently touching in well-practiced fervor. Last night he learned that was wrong. Sex with Devlin, over and over and in many ways, beat out anything—or anyone—he had ever done before.

            Devlin stirred and opened his eyes just enough to look up at David. A few errant strands of hair must have obscured his vision, but he didn’t bother to brush them aside. He smiled sleepily before closing his eyes again. David's heart unexpectedly fluttered, Devlin looked so innocent in his sleep. It completely belied what he was or what they had been doing on and off for half the night. For a moment David wondered what it would be like to have sex with Devlin if he really loved him. A complete impossibility of course, David would have to be satisfied with the experience he’d already had.

            The alarm went off again, nine minutes over as if they had been seconds. David groaned and switched it off. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up stiffly. He ached in muscles he previously wasn’t even aware he possessed.

            “Well, it looks like I have to get ready for work. I wish I could just spend the day in bed with you, but I have a lot to do today.”

            “Granted.” Devlin said.

            “What?” David said in confusion. Devlin looked much more alert now and was making small motions in the air, almost as if he was conducting a quiet part of an orchestra.

            “I just granted your wish.”

            “What wish?” David asked, but even as the words left his mouth he found he really didn’t care about that anymore. What was there to worry about when the bed was warm and soft and there was a gorgeous creature inviting him back under the covers? He needed to catch up on his sleep, although as he pressed against Devlin’s firm body, skin touching skin, David thought he might have other more pressing needs to take care of first. He would make sure to thoroughly take care of each and every one of them. After all, he had nothing else to do today.

* * *

            At 7:09 a.m., exactly 24 hours from the time David turned off the alarm, he pulled away from Devlin as if he had been shocked.

            “What did you do?” David accused as he exited the bed.

            “If you didn’t like that you could have just told me to stop, I can do it many different ways,” Devlin said impishly.

            “Not that! What did you do to me? I missed work—I didn’t even call in.”

            “Don’t blame me. You made the wish. You wanted to stay in bed with me all day, so I made that happen. Where’s the gratitude? The hours and hours of sex I threw in for free. I could have just made you sleep.”

            “Oh my God…I made a wish. You didn’t…” David sank down on the edge of the bed suddenly overcome. “You didn’t blow up the building I work at or something did you?”

            “Of course not.” Devlin folded his arms across his chest. “I’ve never caused anyone any serious harm. It’s against the rules.”

            “So everyone is fine?” Davis said with relief. His next attempt at placating his fears was less successful however. “Do my coworkers know I didn’t show up?”

            “You didn’t wish for me to make them blind, so I would say that’s a ‘yes.’”

            “Isn’t blinding people harming them?”

            “I was being sarcastic. I can’t do more than temporarily blind someone. I was trying to make a point.”

            “Thank God.”

            “Or me, but that doesn’t seem to be something you're likely to do any time soon.”

            “Thank you? Why would I thank you? You might have gotten me fired. Plus you kept me imprisoned all day!”

            “Imprisoned is a strong word, it’s not like I didn’t let you up to go to the bathroom. I gave you what you asked for and you didn’t complain about it at the time.”

            “Because you had me under mind control!”

            Devlin just turned away from him before disappearing under the comforter.

            “I’m going to head to work now—if I still have a job when I get there. We’ll discuss this more when I get back,” David said to Devlin’s unresponsive back.

            After a quick shower that was sorely needed after the activities of the last day and a half, David dressed and headed in to work.

            Work was better than it could have been, but not by much. Even at the end of the day David’s ears were still ringing after the session he had in the department manager’s office. He was still employed, but he suspected it was only because his skills would be difficult to replace.

            By the time he returned home he was feeling a little bit different about what had happened with Devlin. David wasn’t happy about the outcome, but it was true that all Devlin did was grant David’s wish. He hadn’t purposefully tried to get him in trouble at his job. It was quite possible he didn’t know how important it was to call in to work, since he wasn’t actually human. David planned to apologize when he got inside. There was no sense in being on bad terms with a potentially dangerous mystic being.

            As David was putting the key in the lock he could hear music inside. It was so strange to come home to someone else in the house. He was accustomed to things being exactly the way he left them. Maybe it was a good thing that his life was being reordered a bit.

            “Hello, Devlin?” he called out as he got inside.

            “Hi,” Devlin said as he rounded the corner from the dining room. He was, if possible, even more breathtaking than before. He was wearing a perfectly tailored grey suit, all angles and power juxtaposed with his attractive face and wild hair. It made him look even younger than before. David had always been intrigued by men that became successful early in life. It didn’t matter if it was because they were exceptionally driven or because they had everything handed to them. There was something that David had always found appealing about the spoiled type. He wondered if Devlin had a way of sensing what he liked or if it was just a coincidence.

            “I’m sorry I yelled at you this morning,” David said. He wanted to make sure he said it before he forgot and carried the jinni off to the bedroom—or just knocked him to the floor where he was at.

            “It’s all right, if the wishes aren’t worded just perfectly they can go awry. It takes practice,” Devlin said waving it off. “I hope you don’t mind that I looked through your CD’s.”

           

            “No, that’s fine. This album is one of my favorites.”

            “I guessed. You have a lot of CDs by this artist.” Devlin smiled then gestured towards the dining room. “I made dinner.”

            “Seriously?” David said in awe. He set his briefcase down and then took Devlin in his arms and kissed him. This must have been what a man would have felt like coming home to June Cleaver.

            “Of course if you’re not hungry we could always do something else,” Devlin whispered, his breath teasing the side of David’s neck.

            “And waste all of your effort? No, I’m starving,” David said breaking away before he was too tempted. He followed the scent of food into the dining room.

            “It wasn’t that much effort,” Devlin said with a shrug. David imagined it wouldn't be too hard for a jinni, although he still appreciated that there was food ready when he got home. “I must say though that even I wasn’t familiar with some of the things in your pantry.”

            David laughed. He suspected the jinni didn’t get to say that often.

            “How old are you?” David asked.

            “You don’t want to know,” Devlin said with an ambiguous smile. “I suspect I’m not going to get much of the feasts I’m accustomed to while in this house. Unless you have a hidden larder I’m not aware of?”

            “Maybe not, but I can assure you it’s all very healthy.” David had no idea whether Devlin was referring to what Jinn traditionally ate or what most of the human’s he met ate. David’s diet was very different than Howard’s staples of fast food, chips and beer.

            Devlin had put effort into the mood. Candles were lit, a table cloth had appeared from somewhere and there was an incredible spread of delicacies across the table. Most of the things David had made before. He saw potato latkes, mushroom blintzes, cashew polenta, chickpea and seitan cutlets and even pumpkin muffins.

“How did you know what I like…?” The suit, the music, and now his favorite foods—David felt uneasy. Was the jinni able to sense his thoughts?

“I got ideas from a cookbook I found in your kitchen. There were bits of paper marking some of the pages. I assumed those would be what you liked, was I wrong?”

“No. I love all of this stuff,” David said, relieved.

“I’m glad one of us does. These recipes seem to be missing the best parts.”

David smiled. It wasn’t the first time he had heard that criticism. It wouldn’t hurt the jinni to live with a health nut for a few days. “You could have made something you liked more.”

“Eh, I’m willing to try anything once.”

They sat down across from each other to eat. It was strange having another person eat with him at his house. When David dated he usually went out somewhere. Dated? It did feel like a date and not that bad of one. Their conversation was pleasant if riddled with some misunderstandings, usually on David’s part. Devlin had a surprisingly good grip on modern American culture. It shouldn’t have been such a surprise, mathematically speaking, a person a week was  52 different homes a year. In 10 years that was 520 homes, in 50 years Devlin would have been immersed in the lives of 2,600 men. There was no telling how old he actually was, so his experience in the human world could span several millennia.

Despite his misgivings, Devlin seemed to like most of the food, if how much he ate was any indication. He especially seemed to like the muffins. David was starting to think this week might not end as badly as he first feared.

            After the meal David took an arm load of dishes into the kitchen. He was surprised to discover the kitchen was a mess. Devlin apparently wasn’t the type of jinni that could just nod and make the food magically appear. While the amount and variety of dishes Devlin had served had been astounding, he had used an equally astounding number of dishes.

            “Did you actually cook all this?” David asked. Devlin had followed him into the kitchen, although unlike David he didn’t bring any dishes with him.

            “Sort of, I have to have access to all the required parts—pans, utensils, food—then I use my power to expedite the whole process.”

            “Can you expedite the cleaning process?”

            “Only if you…wish?” Devlin said looking at David expectantly.

            David hesitated but only for a moment. It was a relatively small and harmless way to test things out. Nothing too bad could come from just washing the dishes. Devlin had said he was incapable of causing any real harm. All David had to do was pay attention to his wording.

            David took a deep breath and said, “I wish for the dishes to be cleaned up and the leftovers from our dinner to be put in the fridge.” David was careful to be as specific as possible.

            Devlin nodded and then made the same motion he had before like he was conducting, or possibly miming cross stitch. David wondered if the motion  was necessary or just part of his personality. The magic started without delay, David watched in awe as the food vanished off the plates, presumably to reappear in the fridge. All of the dirty dishes floated into a pile in the middle of the kitchen floor. David waited expectantly for the food particles to evaporate from them before they floated peacefully up to the cabinets where they belonged. It wasn’t to be.

            One moment there was a stack, a mountain, of nearly every dish, pot, and spatula David owned and then in the next instant there was a pile of incinerated ash. The back door opened and then with the aid of a convenient gust of wind: there was nothing. The door closed and Devlin turned to him and smiled, but the smile wasn’t quite as harmless as before.

            “All done. You no longer have unsightly dishes scattered all about your kitchen and dining room.” He dusted off his hands as if it had been hard work.

            David could only gasp. They were… just gone? Like that? In a few seconds? Some of those had belonged to his grandmother.

            “That’s not what I meant!”

            “Then you need to be more specific,” Devlin said as if David was the one that had made the mistake.

            “You knew what I meant! This will cost a fortune to replace!”

            “Not my fault,” Devlin said with a shrug.

            “Undo it!”

            “I can’t. It’s against the rules,” Devlin said, he appeared amused by David’s distress.

            “I think we’re going to have a few rules of our own around here. I’m inclined to take you over my knee and spank that little butt of yours for this.”

            “Try it,” Devlin said crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. “It’s not as easy as you imagine.”

            That was a dare if David ever heard one. He reached out to grab Devlin by the upper arm, only to have him vanish from his fingers and rematerialize on the other side of the room.

            “You can only catch me if I want you to,” Devlin said with a smirk.

            David silently counted to three to control his temper. When that proved inadequate he counted to ten.

            “Look it’s really not my fault, I don’t specify how the wishes go, I’m just the instrument. The magic always takes things very literally and for some reason humans tend to word things in the worst way possible. I’m sorry you lost your things, but they were just that—things,” Devlin said consolingly. It was less than helpful.

            “Just give me a moment, I need to be alone.”

            “Do you wish me to leave?”

            David gave him a look that caused even Devlin to wilt.

            “Never mind, we’ll talk when you are in a better mood. I’m going to go watch TV.”

            Once Devlin was gone David tried consciously to calm down. He tried to reassure himself that it could have been worse than it was. He could have wished for the kitchen to be cleaned up. Then there could have been a big empty space where there was once an unsightly collection of counters and appliances.

            Then a bad thought occurred to him. With dread slowing his movements, David approached the fridge. When he opened the door, what he saw made him grimace and lean his head against the freezer door.

            Devlin had put all the leftovers in the fridge like David had asked. But he had neglected to use any Tupperware. Further, they looked like they had been distributed by a blender with the top off.

            Trying to fuel his outrage into something more productive than trying to pummel someone that was able to become immaterial at will, David got to work cleaning up the mess.

            After the many hours it took David to clean the fridge, he stopped by the store to pick up a simple replacement set of dishes, silverware and a few other essentials. He would have to make a comprehensive list later once he figured out exactly what was missing.

David was developing a nervous habit of compulsively checking his phone for missed calls, just in case he hadn’t heard it ring. He had made several attempts to contact Howard, but had been unable to reach him. He was just deciding to stop by Howard’s place on the way home when his cell rang.

            “What’s the emergency?” Howard said sounding cautious. “It’s not often I have 16 missed calls and four voice mails from you.” David heard less guilt than he had anticipated in Howard’s voice.

            “It’s this little situation you got me into,” David said vaguely, wanting to cause some unease in the other man.

            “Oh God what now? This has been the worst week and now something else has happened...I don’t know how much more I can take. First the bees and then the name change error. I’m afraid to answer my phone because it’s just going to be more bad news.”

            “Bees?”

            “Yes bees. Everywhere I go they’re all over me. They even keep getting in the house—by the hundreds. I want to have it fumigated but apparently no one does that anymore since bees are endangered. Good riddance! It’s a miracle I haven’t been stung yet. Oh God… there’s one in the car with me…”

           

            “Would this have anything to do with Devlin?”

            “Devlin? Who the Hell is Devlin? Ah…shoo! Go away!…Am I Devlin? It better not be me.”

            “Huh—what?”

            “Some bastard thought it would be a lark to change my name to ‘Rich.’ I don’t know if it was for identity theft or what, I just randomly got a letter in the mail informing me of my new name. It’s a huge mess getting it changed back.”

            “I see.” David paused. “Would this be why you gave me the book?”

            “What book? I didn’t give you any book. I knew it—identity theft. Someone is buying books in my name—or names. Ack! Shoo! Damn it, there are three of the little buggers trying to sting me now…stupid bees! Got to go.”

            David put the cell back in his pocket. He took his time collecting his purchases from the car. It was time he had a talk with the jinni.

            Entering the house he found Devlin on the sofa sprawled in front of the TV. He had removed his jacket and loosed his tie, several buttons were undone to reveal his chest and collarbone. If he was attempting to distract David out of his bad mood he failed, he was dwarfed by a much more prominent change. David’s 27” CRT had morphed into something that was sleek and flat and possibly wider than Devlin was tall.

            “Welcome home, I made some improvements,” Devlin said looking pleased with what he had done.

            Ordinarily David might have been pleased as well. However, since Devlin was the one to supply the television, he required more reassurance about its origins first. Once he knew for certain that it wasn’t compiled from the deconstructed pages of his favorite books, family albums or the bones of the neighbor’s child, only then would he then be able to appreciate the Goliath of a TV.

            “I’d like to have a talk with you. Would you mind turning off the TV?”

            Devlin switched the set off and sat up. He didn’t appear surprised that David wasn’t thrilled with his acquisition. 

            “I just spoke with Howard. Do you remember Howard?”

            Devlin smiled. “How could I forget him?”

            “He doesn’t seem to remember you at all.”

            “Don’t look so suspicious. It’s part of the deal. Once I pass to the next person the previous one forgets everything that happened. You still get to keep all the things you wished for though.”

            “Why is Howard being plagued by bees?”

            “He wished to be more attractive.”

            “To bees?”

           

            “It’s not my fault if he didn’t specify to what.”

            “And the name change?’

            “He said he always wanted to be Rich. I made a lifelong dream come true with that one.”

            “I see.”

            “Do you want to hear about what else he wished for?”

            “No. I’ve heard enough,” David said. “I’ve come to a decision about all this.”

            “Hm?”

            “There will be no more wishes. Not from me anyway. I’ve not seen one example of a wish where the person wouldn’t have been better off if they had never made it in the first place. So if you need to you can move on to the next person.”

            “I can tell you lots of wonderful examples. Like the time—”

            “No. I won’t hear it. No more wishes. That’s final.”

            “But it’s what I do!”

            “Then you can do it somewhere else with someone else.”

            Devlin stood up. “Maybe you just need some time. Maybe a little convincing—”

            “Don’t try it.”

            “Fine.” Devlin looked bothered for just a moment before he shook it off. David didn’t trust the sudden acquiescence, it was too quick. “Wishes aren’t everything,” Devlin said further causing David to doubt his sincerity. The statement would have been more believable if it was not a jinni that said it.

Devlin stretched, allowing a little of the skin above his hips to show. David’s eyes were drawn to it despite his attempt to resist. He wondered if Devlin was going to stick with the young professional image, or if he was going to work his way through all of David’s top masturbatory fantasies. David paled at the thought of Devlin discovering the TV vampire crush he’d had briefly. It wouldn’t do to wake up relieved of all his unsightly blood.

           

            “There are other things we can do while I’m here.” Devlin slipped his tie over his head and tossed it on the couch. “Why don’t you put those groceries away while I work on coming up with some ideas?” Devlin began slowly undoing the buttons on his shirt cuffs.

            David contemplated him for just a moment before he picked up the grocery bags to take them to the kitchen. He had completely forgotten about them. Devlin was bad for his concentration.

            After briefly considering going elsewhere, David returned to the living room. Devlin didn’t look like he had even considered the possibility that David wouldn’t do as he had asked and that irritated David. He tried to hold onto that irritation as a defense against how little clothing remained on Devlin.

Apparently running out of things to unfasten on himself, Devlin started working on David’s buttons. With his teeth. David could feel his hot breath through his clothes as Devlin used his talented mouth to undo all of them right down to his fly.

            Maybe David should have stopped him. He did try to live his life as ethically as possible. Although he doubted intimate relations with a jinni was going to factor in too greatly with his attempts at ethical consumerism and sustainable living. David had to repress a giggle as he thought of offering fair-trade wages for the services Devlin was—at this very moment—starting to provide.  

The W Word - Part 2