Not to mention he’d just answered her question. She definitely needed to take care of this guy, but she couldn’t exactly conjure the black dust she’d used on him before when she and Charlie had attacked and taken him to the Aissawa Brotherhood for an exorcism. The Brotherhood was from Morocco, experts on exorcising Jinn from all sorts of places. Jai had called in a favor to get them to come and save her friend Nick from this guy. Ari now knew the black dust she’d used to incapacitate Nick/Beau was called Ephemeral. A natural crush of herbs mixed with a short-term enchantment, it had the power to knock a Jinn unconscious. But Ari couldn’t conjure it out of thin air in front of him. It would be kind of a giveaway.
“Right,” she murmured, trying to think fast. If this was that creepy-ass Jinn who had possessed Nick, then he was proving he was somewhat obsessed with Ari. She could use it against him.
Tilting her head a little flirtatiously, she licked her lips and watched his eyes flare at the move.
“It’s quite a coincidence us meeting in Connecticut.”
“Right,” he agreed excitedly.
“That’s what I thought. I fled Sandford after what happened and I was trying to forget you, but then you turned up and I’m like, that has to be fate, right?
We’re destined.” His eyes narrowed. “But then you kissed that guy who orchestrated the whole thing where the Aissawa Brotherhood ripped me out of Nick, and then all those Jinn turned up and you disappeared. I was trying to find you and then word started circulating—rumors about Lilif and you taking care of it. It led me right here.”
“Mmm, all very interesting,” she murmured and stepped even closer so their bodies were almost touching. “I think I like this body better than Nick’s.”
Beau’s eyes darkened and before she could say another word, she was yanked against him and his mouth was on hers.
Her first instinct was to kick him in the balls and then teach him a lesson he’d never forget. How insane was this guy to think he could just stalk her and then kiss her?
Fortunately for Ari, her smarts kicked in before her knee did and she decided to go along with the kiss and use the distraction against him. She wound her arms around his neck and let a rush of magic flow from her hands. The satin pouch she’d conjured from Michael’s herb stores was a comforting weight in her hand, but the use of magic had drawn Beau’s attention.
He shoved her away in surprise.
“What the—?”
Ari had already blown the black dust in his face before he could finish the sentence. She watched with satisfaction as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He collapsed with a dull thud against the concrete.
She glanced around hurriedly to check for witnesses and then telepathed Jai.
Five minutes later, a black Mustang pulled into the mall lot and got as close to Ari as possible. Jai and Gerard got out, hurrying toward her.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” Ari said as a welcome.
“What happened?” Jai asked, all concern as he and Gerard lifted Beau’s body and used cloaking magic to hide him from human sight. They carried him to the back of the Mustang and threw him inside rather carelessly. Ari explained what had happened and by the time she was finished, the reddening anger on Jai’s face made her nervous.
“We’ll get him back to Michael’s,”
Gerard assured Ari. “We’ll need to get the Aissawa Brotherhood here to do an exorcism, and then we figure out how to trap him in a Secretum before he can get away.”
Ari nodded in agreement. “I’ll meet you guys back at Michael’s.”
***
Jai was not happy. Ari knew this because the entire time they were at Michael’s discussing a plan of action for Beau/Nick/Stalker, Jai grunted answers at her and generally looked like any minute, he’d blow.
Thankfully, Trey was not home because as soon as Ari crossed the threshold, Jai let his annoyance be known.
“I can’t believe you did that,” he growled as he passed her to storm into the kitchen.
A little confused and more than irritated by his attitude, Ari followed, watching him as he pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and took a long gulp. “What the hell is your problem?
Your attitude at Michael’s … what was that? Were you trying to embarrass me?”
Jai narrowed his eyes and put the bottle aside. “Embarrass you?”
“Snapping at me like I’m a five-year-old.”
“How about snapping at you for the tricks you pulled to take Beau down.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Flirting with him. Kissing him. You don’t do that, Ari,” he hissed, making her cheeks burn with anger. “You are not some skeezy succubus Jinn. You’re a warrior.”
“Hey, my mother was a succubus,” she snapped.
“Exactly. And you’re not your mother. Or at least I didn’t think so.”
Sensing where this was coming from, Ari crossed her arms. “I’m not your mother, either, FYI.”
“Don’t abbreviate shit,” he muttered, taking another swig of water.
“Don’t tell me not to abbreviate shit. Don’t tell me what to do at all. I kissed a Jinn and used the distraction to bring him down. So what?” She sighed heavily. “You kiss women to put the trace on them. You kissed Fallon while I was standing in the next room.”
“It’s not the same thing.”
“It is the same thing!”
“Well, I don’t like it!”
This surprisingly irrational response from Jai made Ari freeze. She contemplated him a moment as he stewed in his own frustrations. “Why are you really mad?” she asked softly.
Jai shook his head, running a hand over his short hair. “Because it’s been a month. Only a month. Is there ever going to be a time when my girlfriend doesn’t attract some lowlife Jinn?”
This was one of the things Ari worried would put a strain on their relationship from the very beginning. His words, though quietly said with no vitriol, raised her hackles. “If it’s such a problem for you, get a new girlfriend.”
“Ari, that’s not what I meant.”
“No, what you meant is that you’re sick and tired of me being a bad-boy Jinn magnet. Fine.” She threw him a dirty look as she turned to leave the kitchen. “Next time, though, just say it rather than treating me like crap and pretending to be pissed off about something else. That’s such a girl thing to do.”