Free Sexy In A Bottle: A More Than Men Novella by Andrea Laurence Page A

he knew better. It was the blinding pain of having his powers ripped away from him for good. He’d felt something similar once, when he was captured, but then it was less severe as he’d just had his magic constrained and bent to the sorcerer’s will. Losing it forever was ten times worse. But hadn’t that been what he’d secretly wished for?
    A thousand times. But not before —
    " Valerie," he whispered, reaching out to caress her face. "Why did you do that?" he asked. "I told you there were two wishes remaining. Why the hell didn’t you save yourself first?"
    Tears gathered in her golden eyes. "I know. And I told myself that was what I was going to do. It made sense. Despite your doubts I knew we would be happy together if I wished myself well, then wished for your freedom. It just came out. I didn’t even realize what I’d said until you collapsed."
    Raj closed his eyes and let his head roll back. It hit the stone wall with a thud of pain that helped distract him from the situation. He was human. She’d accidentally given him freedom and stripped his powers in a single breath. And now he couldn’t do anything to save the woman he loved.
    If she had wished for his freedom alone, he would’ve been able to use his magic at will. He could’ve done anything for her. He could’ve granted her a million wishes. And now, he was a shivering man, powerless to do anything but sit back and watch Valerie slowly die.
    " And now it is done," he said with finality. He was human in a foreign world, and soon he would be without the one person he counted on to guide him. He had been worried that his presence would be a burden on Valerie’s life. Now he would have to face it all alone.
    " I’m sorry, Raj. I didn’t mean to upset you."
    " Upset me? Are you not upset as well?"
    Her gaze dropped into her lap as she shrugged. "A little. But this was what I truly wanted — for you to be free and for me to not take anything from you. All those things you said about not being the man I needed — they no longer matter. You’re a free man now."
    " What good is my freedom without you, Valerie?" Raj leaned forward and cupped her face in his hands. "I’ve waited thousands of years for you. And now I’m going to lose you when up until only a few moments ago, I had the ability to save you. What use is the beating of my heart when the reason for its dance has gone?"
    Raj leaned in and kissed her. He drank in the taste of her lips, committing it to memory. He would carry her with him until the day he died. Thanks to her, that would only be a short lifetime from now. He wouldn’t have to live on for hundreds of years, pining for her inside that stupid necklace.
    Valerie pulled away. A small smile curled her lips as her gaze ran over his face. It seemed an odd reaction under the circumstances.
    " What is it?" he asked.
    " You’re skin isn’t burning hot any longer. I’d gotten used to you feeling feverish all the time."
    He supposed that would be strange. A blinking sign pointing to his newfound humanity. "I was born of fire," he said. "And now I guess I am born of woman, just like every other human. And kept at a steady ninety-eight point six degrees."
    How many other things had changed? The thought struck him. Raj got up and went over to the kitchen wall where her coat hung on the hook. In the pocket was the sapphire necklace, just as it had been all week. He held the heavy pendant in his hand, the gold doing nothing more than feel cold against his palm. No searing of his skin. No agonizing pain. He carried the sapphire back to the couch and sat down beside her.
    " What are you going to do with it?" she asked.
    " I don’t know. Part of me wants to destroy it so there’s no way I can ever get trapped back inside."
    " While therapeutic, it’s probably worth a lot of money. If you sold it instead, it would give you something to live on while you get settled in your new life."
    His new life. In the blink of an eye, he had lost and