“You’re a little ill-mannered you know that.” He pushed her now and she stumbled back into the wall in surprise, unable to believe that this jerk was actually accosting her. He pressed up against her before she could move, the smell of coffee on his breath turning her stomach.

“What is your problem?” Ari hissed, eyes wide with disbelief. She pushed against him but he wouldn’t budge. “Are you kidding me? You’re actually coming on to a Bitar client under your father’s roof?”

She saw a flicker of something in David’s eyes but it didn’t stop him from sliding a hand down onto her hip, his other hand stroking her cheek. Ari turned and bit at him which only made him laugh. “You’re not just any client, Ari. You’re something else. An Important. Why? What makes you so special? My parents won’t tell me.”

“If you don’t get off me, I’m going to kick your ass.”

“Try me.” he squeezed her hip harder.

Fear began to coalesce within her and Ari tried to glance around to see if anyone was about but the hallway was deathly quiet. She couldn’t even feel the hum of Ms. Maggie’s energy. Crap, just when she needed the damn Ifrit to smack this idiot upside the head with a vase. She pushed again but he just pressed harder against her, his nose now trailing along her neck. Ari shivered, terrified. He wouldn’t try to do anything, right? Not here?

“You know,” David whispered in her ear. “There are rumors going around that Jai has an unhealthy interest in you.”

There are? Her heart leapt at the thought.

“I think I might finally win a round with him if I took something he clearly wants for himself.” His hand disappeared under Ari’s shorts and her blood instantly ran cold as she stilled.

The sticky, thick blackness spread across her lungs making it difficult to breathe, but as the ugliness ripped itself apart from her, leaving Ari floating out of her body as if she were merely a spectator, she didn’t much care that breathing was difficult. It was happening again. The voice that rumbled out of her was deeper, darker and much more frightening than she could ever be. “I command you to release me.”

David instantly let go of her and stepped back, his eyes wide and afraid.

Ari grinned evilly at him. “You will never touch me again,” she commanded. “Nor any other woman without her permission.”

“I will never touch you again, nor any other woman without her permission,” he repeated, dumbfounded. He flexed his fists as if checking he was still in control of his own body.

Task done, the anger that had unleashed the darkness began to ease and Ari fought to snap back in control of herself. Her frantic breaths filled the hallway and furious tears glistened in her eyes. She’d just used the power of the Seal against a nobody. Oh god, oh god, oh god.

Think, Ari, think!

Shuddering, Ari wrapped her arms around herself and glared at the piece of scum who had forced her to do something she was ashamed of. “I command you to never tell anyone I commanded you at all. I command you to keep this encounter with me to yourself.” Her voice was her own but it shook with the demand.

David nodded, his jaw clenched in fury now too. “I understand.”

And just for good measure… “I command you to never question anyone about whom and what I am.”

If it was possible his face turned purple with frustration and anger. “Understood.”

Warily, Ari stepped around him, her eyes glued to him as she backed off. Feeling cold for the first time, she whirled around and began to run to the training room.

She was still shaking as if the world were trembling under her feet when she reached the doorway to the room and saw Jai, Trey and Charlie inside talking. The sight of them forced Ari to calm down. She had to pretend that she hadn’t just commanded a Jinn against his will (even though he had been trying to make her do something against her will). And no matter what was or wasn’t between her and Jai, she knew he’d go crazy if he found out David had just tried to intimidate her physically. As she stood there watching the three of them, Ari realized that despite their faults they all had something that was honorable about them. Maybe it was having been brought up in a small town that made it so difficult to compute that a guy she had met only once and hadn’t even exchanged words with had just tried to molest her? Feeling her stomach flip, Ari grew angry at herself for not having reacted faster before the ugly power of the Seal had taken over for her. She drew in another shuddering breath. She had to act cool or the guys would know something was up. She was supposed to be upset with Jai anyway after last night, right? And she and Charlie were still on unstable ground. That left Trey, who didn’t know her well enough to know when something was seriously up with her.

The guys all turned at the sound of her approach and she gave them a vague, uncomfortable nod. “Did you start without me?”

“No,” Jai replied, his eyes surprisingly searching considering what had went down between them the night before. Ari gulped when his eyes narrowed. Damn. He saw too much. “You OK?”

“I’m fine,” she brushed him off coldly and hoped he’d think it had to do with last night. “Can I spar with Trey today?”

Trey grinned at her. “Of course you can, sweetheart.” He winked at her flirtatiously and it amazed Ari how one guy’s flirting could be harmless whereas another’s could be so sleazy. She shivered again, and this time Trey frowned. “Sure you’re OK?”

“Ari?” Charlie asked now, eyeing her carefully. “You look pale.”

Feeling like a nervous filly about to take flight, Ari glanced from one to the other. She needed girlfriends. She was so sick of being outnumbered. Turning the tables on them, Ari shrugged. “I didn’t sleep well.” She glared at Charlie and then Jai and they both blanched, assuming they were to blame for her sleeplessness. “Trey?”

He nodded, looking a little confused. “This way, Mademoiselle.” His tall, athletic body took off in front of her, heading towards a large mat in the back of the room. Ari followed, ignoring Charlie and Jai.

Sparring with Trey eventually relaxed Ari until she no longer felt guilty about what she’d done to David. She’d made sure no one would ever find out about what she’d done and a tiny part of her believed that he’d deserved that loss of control. A tiny part of her wished she could take credit for being such a badass.

So lost in thought Ari let her guard down and Trey swept a leg out across her shins, knocking her off her feet. She slammed on to her back with a silent ‘oomph’. Too busy trying to suck in the breath that had been knocked out of her, Ari was oblivious to Trey’s playfulness until he was straddling her, holding her pinned to the mat. He was a strong, exciting weight on her and Ari flushed, a breathless giggle falling from her lips as he growled at her.

“What are you doing?” she squirmed, sure her face was beet red from being held down by one of the nicest and most gorgeous guys she’d ever had the good fortune of meeting.

“Attacking you.” Trey wiggled his eyebrows comically like a master villain. “Isn’t that the whole point of this exercise?”

“And what am I supposed to do?”

“Uh, get me off of you. Isn’t that the whole point of your exercise?”

Charmed, Ari relaxed completely. “Maybe I don’t want to.”

Trey’s grin couldn’t get any wider. “Are you flirting with me?”

“Maybe.”

His head dipped closer to her face and Ari lost her breath again, eyes caught in his steel grey ones. “While I would love to take you up on the flirting,” he squeezed her wrists to demonstrate his sincerity, “I think it might end up getting me killed.”

Ari felt a little disorientated from the warm weight of his legs across hers and his strong body perched so tantalizingly near. She’d been thinking how great it would be to want someone as easygoing as Trey, instead of loving someone as hardheaded as Jai. “What?”

Trey grinned again and raised his head to look across the room. Whatever he saw made him chuckle and he bent down to whisper in Ari’s ear, “Jai would kill me. Don’t give up on him, Ari.” He sat back up, smiling at the obvious confusion in her eyes. “So, I get that Charlie is in love with you and everything but do you think he might be bi?” he asked hopefully.

Startled by his complete change of subject, Ari could only shake her head.

“Bummer.” Trey looked genuinely disappointed. “He’s got that whole moody, damaged thing going on. It’s hot.”

“What’s going on?” Jai’s deep voice rumbled above them and Ari flinched, catching sight of his angry upside down face.

“Nothing,” Trey replied easily, letting go of Ari and helping her to her feet. She swayed a little. “Just sparring.”

Jai gave him a stony look and Ari ignored the annoyance in her chest as Charlie approached wearing the exact same expression. She blew an exasperated breath of air out at them. “We were just messing around.” And then just to be contrary Ari shared a secret smile with Trey hoping it would irritate the hell out of her best friend and guardian.

No matter that Jai knew what Trey was up to he still wanted to kill him. He walked away from Ari, Charlie following in his wake, and the two of them begun to spar a little harder, punching their anger into the magic. When he’d turned around to see what had distracted Charlie he had not been expecting the rush of pure molten jealousy that had cascaded over him. The sight of his best friend straddling Ari, of her grinning flirtatiously back up at him, had stuck him in the gut like a knife. It had winded him.

It had hurt.

Shit.

As soon as he saw the look in Trey’s eyes when he approached, Jai had known that Trey was deliberately trying to provoke him. And Ari… grinning back at Trey like she’d have welcomed his attentions. Jai realized that perhaps for the first time he and Charlie were feeling the exact same way. Not sure who he was madder at, himself or Trey, Jai put his all into the sparring and was genuinely pleased to see Charlie defending himself so well. Sparks of kindled magic and the glow of ember lit the air as they dodged and attacked. Charlie was a quick learner.