A Totally Bound Publication
One Perfect Wish
ISBN # 978-1-78430-344-0
©Copyright L.M. Brown 2014
Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright December 2014
Edited by Sue Meadows
Totally Bound Publishing
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination
and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or
places is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form,
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The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs
and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator
of the artwork.
Published in 2014 by Totally Bound Publishing, Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road,
Lincoln, LN6 3QN
Totally Bound Publishing is a subsidiary of Totally Entwined Group Limited.
Warning:
This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This
story has a heat rating of Totally Burning and a Sexometer of 2.
ONE PERFECT WISH
L.M. Brown
Playing the part of another man’s husband to fulfill a wish is easy, but what happens at midnight
when the magical day is over?
Scott Baxter is a workaholic with no time for love, until a djinn pulls him out of his life and
deposits him into the bed of Cameron Kirk. Cut off from his life, Scott isn’t happy about the
idea of being forced to help the djinn grant an unspecified wish, but he soon finds he has no
real choice in the matter. The djinn, who has turned his life upside down, has powers that
prevent Scott from leaving and ensure he does nothing to ruin Cameron’s day with his
‘husband’.
Reluctant at first, Scott finds that as the day progresses he starts to enjoy playing the role of
Cameron’s husband. He connects with his unexpected lover in a way he never has with other
men.
Scott searches for clues to help him track down Cameron after the day is over and he returns
to his own life. He doesn’t want the day to end, but the wish is out of his control and when
the magic is finished his time with Cameron may be over too.
Dedication
For my long-suffering editor, who has put up with all my long epics before finally getting
this nice short story from me.
Trademarks Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following
wordmark mentioned in this work of fiction:
Arabian Nights: One Thousand and One Nights
Google: Google, Inc.
ONE PERFECT WISH
6
Chapter One
Scott Baxter woke with a strange feeling something wasn’t quite right. Half asleep and
with his eyes still closed, he tried to figure out what could be different. The bed seemed too
soft and far more luxurious than the cheap hotel mattress he vaguely recalled crashing on the
night before. A thick duvet covered him and he could feel warmth similar to the heat that
usually came from another body close up against him. He couldn’t recall ever waking in a
hotel with such contentment as he felt this morning.
After working nearly forty-eight hours straight, he had flown back to England on the
red eye, practically sleepwalked to a taxi, then had finally fallen into bed exhausted. Long
overdue for a break, he told himself he’d take one after his latest consulting project had been
completed. He told himself the same thing every time, even though he knew his boss would
have another job lined up for him before the final work had been finished on this one.
“Morning,” a sleepy voice murmured into his ear.
Scott froze. His unexpected bedmate moved and Scott noticed he had some serious
morning wood pressed against his arse.
He opened his eyes. Only his companion’s arm wrapped around Scott’s chest stopped
him falling out of bed from the shock. Had the relentless pressure of his job finally caused
him to snap?
The hotel room had vanished and instead he appeared to be in someone’s house. The
drapes over the patio doors had been pulled back and a snow-covered garden stretched
toward a frozen pond. Light snow fell from the cloudy sky. The landscape outside the doors
seemed more like January than May.
“Scott, are you okay?”
Scott didn’t know what to say. Had he been drugged and kidnapped? And if so, why?
He wasn’t anyone important and his family didn’t have the money to pay any ransom.
“Ah good, you’re awake,” a second voice said. Like the first, this voice also belonged to
a man, though he seemed to have a slight accent Scott couldn’t place.
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Scott wondered how many men he had climbed into bed with last night, before he saw
the second speaker stood at the end of the bed with his arms folded across his bare chest.
With baggy silk trousers and golden metal cuffs on his wrists, he could have stepped straight
out of Arabian Nights.
“What the hell is going on?” Scott shouted as he tried to untangle himself from the arms
of the man sharing his bed. His companion wasn’t exactly helping him and instead seemed
to be frozen in place like a statue. He poked the man with a finger. His skin felt normal, yet
the other man didn’t react at all.
“You’re here to fulfill a wish,” the man at end of the bed told him. “I’m a djinn and I’m
here to explain your present situation.”
Scott stopped contemplating the statue man beside him. “Excuse me?”
The djinn nodded. “I’m sure you’ve heard of my kind. We grant wishes to those who
summon us. Well, I’m here because someone wished for you.”
A headache started behind Scott’s eyes. He didn’t have time for this nonsense. “I don’t
believe in magic.”
The djinn shrugged. “Your belief isn’t necessary to my job. You have been wished for,
and therefore here you are. It’s only for today, so I suggest you enjoy yourself and make the
most of the opportunity. This place is certainly an improvement on the dump I found you
in.”
“You’re out of your mind.” Scott finally managed to climb from the bed. He realized he
was naked and searched for his clothes. “I’m calling a taxi and getting the hell out of here.”
With snap of his fingers, the djinn produced Scott’s mobile phone and tossed it to him.
“Good luck with that. Do you even know where you are?”
Scott ignored the sarcasm. He opened the drawer of the bedside table, trying to find
something with an address on as he called his usual taxi company. The irritating automated
voice telling him the number was not available did nothing to improve his temper. He tried a
second number with the same result. Then he worked his way through his friends, only to
find every number he tried gave him the same annoying message. If it weren’t for the crack
on the bottom left of the casing, he’d have thought the phone wasn’t his.
“Okay,” the djinn declared after Scott had tossed the phone aside. “Here’s how today is
going to work. You and Cameron over there are married.”
ONE PERFECT WISH
8
“What?” Scott gaped at the frozen man in the bed.
“Married,” the djinn repeated.
“This guy wished for us to be married?” Scott had no intention of tying the knot and
had spent the last ten years happily playing the life of a single man, albeit a single man who
didn’t have much time for dating.
“Not exactly,” the djinn hedged. “But for today you will be enjoying wedded bliss. I can
even produce a marriage certificate if you wish.”
“The only thing I wish is for you to send me back to my hotel.”
“You’ll be returned at midnight, and before you start complaining about all the things
you need to do today, rest assured, no time will have passed when I return you. It’ll be as if
today never happened, though you’ll retain all your memories of your stay here.”
“I think I’d rather forget my brief lapse of sanity,” Scott muttered.
The djinn stepped up into his face and glared at him. “I suggest you lose the attitude
and listen to me. From Cameron’s point of view, you’ve been married for six months. You’re
madly in love with each other and today happens to be one of your rare days off together.
Today you get to enjoy domestic wedded bliss with a man who adores you. Then at
midnight I’ll send you home.”
“And if I don’t want to play along with this ridiculous charade?”
The djinn’s smile became truly evil. “Then you’ll never go home.”
“Midnight has to come eventually.”
“Not while time stands still,” the djinn explained. He pointed to the window and Scott
saw Cameron wasn’t the only thing frozen in time. Each falling snowflake hung suspended
in mid-air. “Every time you attempt to say or do something to shatter Cameron’s perfect day
with you, time will freeze, just as it is now. Your return home will come a lot swifter if you
do what I tell you.”
“Maybe I should spend the day hunting for your magic lamp so I can wish myself
home.”
“That won’t work.”
“Why not?”
“Well, for one thing, I don’t have a lamp. I’m bound to a ring and that particular item of
jewelry isn’t here for you to find, no matter how much time you waste searching. And, of
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9
course, any time you do spend trying to locate my ring will be frozen, and will therefore
prolong your stay here.”
Scott huffed and sat down on the end of the bed. “So what you’re telling me is I’m stuck
here for a day, playing husband to some guy I’ve never met, and I won’t be able to go home
until he’s had his full day with me.”
“That’s right.”
“What’s to stop me from simply walking out of here?”
The djinn gestured to the interior door with a smug smile. From the expression on his
face, Scott could tell that leaving the room wouldn’t work, but he had to try anyway. Sure
enough the moment he stepped through the door he found himself back in the bedroom, as
though he had walked in from the patio. When he tried leaving via the patio entrance, he
ended up on the other side of the room.
Scott glanced back at the man in the bed. “If I’m married to this guy, he’ll be expecting
sex, right?”
“Of course.”
“I’m not some kind of man whore.”
The djinn snorted with obvious contempt. “What was the name of the last man you
slept with?”
“Huh?” Scott’s mind went blank. He had vague recollections of a young junior
executive in the New York office, but his name escaped him completely.
“You don’t remember? How about the one before then? No? Your sexual relationships
consist of nothing except one-night stands.”
“They do not. I’ve dated people.”
“Your longest relationship is six weeks, back when you were in college. Since then your
love life has been a string of sordid encounters that last no longer than the time it takes for
you to get your rocks off.”
“You’re missing my point.”
“Which is?”
“I’m not going to jump into bed with this guy, just because you say so.”
The djinn gestured toward Cameron. “If you really don’t want to have sex with him, he
won’t force you. All you have to do is make up a believable excuse, ill health perhaps, and
ONE PERFECT WISH
10
he’ll spend the day pampering you instead of making love. It’s up to you how you let the day
pan out, though you will stay here for the full day regardless.”
“Fine, I’ll stay here and play happy families for the day, satisfied?”
“Quite.” The djinn snapped his fingers and Scott found himself back in the bed, with
Cameron, his husband, wrapped around him. “Have fun,” he advised, right before he
vanished into thin air.
“Are you awake?” Cameron asked.
“Yes,” whispered Scott, conscious of Cameron’s erection once more. If he planned on
playing the ill health card, now was the time to do so. Yet he remained silent. Maybe the
djinn was right and this wasn’t so different from a one-night stand. Perhaps he could pretend
they’d hooked up at some club and come back here to Cameron’s place the night before.
Yeah, if he kept telling himself that, he could make it through the day without losing his
mind completely.
Cameron reached down and cupped his testicles, squeezing them slightly. Scott
whimpered at the contact. Cameron touched him right where Scott liked it most, almost as
though he knew. Any lingering thought of declaring himself sick vanished. It had been so
long since he’d been with another man, even for a one-night stand.
Scott soon surmised that Cameron probably did know what Scott liked and how he
liked it. In Cameron’s mind they’d been married for six months and together for goodness
knows how long. Scott, meanwhile, had no clue what Cameron liked. He didn’t even know if
he preferred to top or bottom, though from the way Cameron pressed up against him, he
suspected he might be more amenable to topping his lovers.
Cameron sucked on his neck as he continued to fondle his balls, stroking his length and
tugging his cock to life with an expertise Scott had never known with his previous hook ups.
“I’m glad we decided to stay here today,” Cameron whispered. “If we’d gone away
we’d be stuck on the motorway about now and I couldn’t do this.”
Scott chuckled at the idea of them getting frisky in a car. No, this was much better.
Maybe he could get into this fantasy. A day getting laid by a man who apparently
adored him didn’t seem so bad. It had been a long time since he’d taken a day off and he’d
never been one to turn down an offer of sex with a good-looking man. This didn’t have to
mean anything.
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11
Scott pushed from his mind the thought that he didn’t even know what Cameron
looked like, having caught barely a glimpse of him during his escape from the bed. Instead
he forced himself to relax and let Cameron touch him as he wished.
He closed his eyes and moaned as Cameron quickened the pace of his strokes. He
quivered in his arms. It had been a few years since he’d been fucked, yet he found himself
open to the idea of letting Cameron inside him.
“Need to see you,” Scott pleaded.
Cameron changed his position and eased Scott onto his back.
Scott blinked and studied his fake husband properly for the first time. Cameron gazed
back at him from under a mess of rumpled blond hair. His husband had a bad case of
bedhead.
Cameron’s blue eyes sparkled with desire and Scott’s chest tightened as he tried to
draw breath.
The full pink lips begged to be kissed and Scott leaned up to capture them with his
own.
“Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” he whispered after they had reluctantly separated.
Cameron laughed. “You’re acting as though you’ve never seen me before.”
Shit! Scott had a feeling he might be making a few gaffes during the day and if he
wasn’t careful this would be one of many. He scrambled for something to say to smooth over
his goof. “Each time I look at you, it takes my breath away.”
Cameron snorted and smacked him lightly on the chest. “Idiot.”
“What?” Scott asked, hoping he wasn’t digging the hole bigger.
Cameron climbed on top of him and rubbed their groins together. “You’re such a corny
bastard,” he teased.
Scott had never thought of himself as corny, yet his line seemed to have steered him
away from trouble, so he didn’t intend to argue the point.
Cameron rocked against him, slowly and deliberately. Scott had been hard from the
first touch of Cameron’s hand and he ached for release.
“What do you want?” Cameron asked.
“You,” Scott answered immediately.
Cameron laughed. “I know that. Would you like me to ride you or fuck you?”
ONE PERFECT WISH
12
Any capability of forming words disappeared as Cameron scooted back a little and
slipped his hand between Scott’s legs, inching his way to his hidden pucker. He rubbed his
index finger against Scott’s entrance.
Scott pushed against the thick digit, whimpering when Cameron moved his hand away
without offering him any sort of relief.
Cameron grinned at him. “I think I know what you want this morning.” He eased
Scott’s thighs apart and knelt between them.
Scott strained his neck to see Cameron’s cock. Here he was, spreading his legs for
another man without even bothering to consider what he would be letting himself in for.
Thankfully for Scott’s arse, Cameron wasn’t hung like the proverbial horse or likely to split
him in two when he fucked him. Not that he was small. In fact Scott suspected he might
actually be perfect in girth and length. He could only see one problem.
“What about—?” Scott halted when he saw time—and Cameron—had frozen again.
The djinn hovered at the side of the bed, though he stood facing away from the couple.
Scott could see his ears had turned bright red and he suspected the man might be a little
embarrassed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt, but you’re about to mention condoms.”
“What are you, a bloody mind reader?”
“I already told you, I’m a djinn. You and your husband have been going bareback for
quite a while now. I would advise against spoiling the mood by bringing up latex and
causing Cameron to wonder whether you’ve lost your mind.”
“Um, okay.” Scott wondered how he could tactfully suggest the djinn bugger off before
he ruined the mood entirely.
Before he could say anything the djinn vanished without another word and Cameron
moved again. “What about what?” he asked.
“Er…” Scott fumbled for some way to finish his sentence that wouldn’t make him
sound like an idiot. “Lube!” Saved, he thought as Cameron grabbed the bottle from the
bedside table and poured a generous amount onto his palm.
“You’re acting very strange this morning,” Cameron commented as he coated his dick
with the lubricant.
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
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13
“Just because I want you to use lube?” Scott couldn’t imagine any reality where he
would let a man fuck him without the stuff, but then again, he couldn’t see himself as
married either.
“It’s like you’ve forgotten I usually prepare you with my tongue first.” Cameron shook
his head and frowned. “I don’t know. There’s something different about you today. I just
can’t put my finger on what.”
Scott grinned and grabbed Cameron’s hand, placing it on his erection. “How about you
put your fingers right about here and don’t worry about it?”
Cameron stroked him once before reaching down to his entrance again.
Scott had never been particularly enthusiastic about being fingered. He much preferred
to rush ahead to the main event. Yet he found himself enjoying being expertly teased and
thoroughly explored by Cameron. Each crook of a finger sent shivers rippling through his
body.
Finally, Cameron seemed to tire of tormenting him. He lined his cock up with Scott’s
nicely stretched hole and slowly eased his way inside.
Scott savored the sensation of being entered without anything between them, knowing
this wasn’t likely to happen again once today was over and his life returned to normal.
Cameron filled him completely and held still while Scott took the time to adjust. Scott
frowned as he realized he wasn’t struggling to accommodate Cameron, as he would have
expected after going for so long without being fucked. It was almost as though he regularly
took someone up the arse. Then again, if he’d really been married to Cameron for six months,
he supposed he probably did. He guessed the djinn must have worked some magic on him to
ensure Cameron didn’t suspect anything untoward.
Scott wrapped his legs around Cameron and urged him to move. He grabbed
Cameron’s arse and kneaded the flesh as he encouraged his lover to quicken his pace.
As they moved together, Cameron appeared to read his every thought. He changed
angle just as Scott desired. His strokes quickened or slowed before Scott could even make the
suggestion. Cameron touched him in the places Scott liked to be touched, the spots Scott had
discovered long ago, but no lover had ever been around long enough to learn. Cameron
appeared to know Scott’s body as well as Scott did.
“Come for me,” Cameron demanded as he continued to pound Scott’s arse.
ONE PERFECT WISH
14
Scott reached for his dick, but Cameron nudged his hand aside.
“No hands,” he ordered. “You know I love it when I make you come without a touch.”
Scott had never managed to come untouched before. He always needed a hand with
it—literally. Yet Cameron clearly seemed to think otherwise.
Cameron moved position again, this time nailing Scott’s prostate with ease. The
stimulation wasn’t enough to send him over the edge. It had never been enough to make him
come. Yet, his orgasm built with every stroke. Cameron was touching something at the very
core of his being, in a place no other man had managed to discover.
“Look at me,” Cameron ordered.
Scott faced his lover and the moment their eyes met he lost control. He was dimly
aware of the heat of Cameron’s release filling his arse and his husband collapsing across his
chest.
“Oh fuck,” he managed to gasp out between breaths.
Cameron blinked up at him with a sated smile of contentment. “I love you,” he
whispered before laying down his head on Scott’s chest.
Scott opened his mouth to reply, but once again Cameron had frozen. “What the hell
have I done now?” he asked the irritating djinn.
“Nothing, just don’t say the words unless you mean them.”
Scott sighed with frustration. “If we’re married, like you say we are, won’t he be
expecting me to say them?”
“Cameron is already asleep and won’t know whether you’ve said the words or not.”
Scott supposed at least that got him off the hook for another lie on top of the rest he
would no doubt be telling during the course of the day.
The djinn disappeared and time began to move again.
Sure enough, Cameron had fallen fast asleep. He snored contentedly, clearly not
bothered about the fact they would be extremely sticky when they finally emerged from the
bed.
Scott tried to be bothered about the mess, but found he didn’t care. It wasn’t as though
he’d be around long enough to have to wash the sheets.
L.M. Brown
15
Chapter Two
Apparently Cameron’s idea of wedded bliss was lots and lots of sex. When he had
woken after their first round of shagging he had immediately lured Scott into the shower for
round two.
Scott gazed up at Cameron from where he knelt on the tiled shower floor.
Cameron’s erection stood rigid as Scott leaned in to take him into his mouth. Cameron
clutched at his hair, tugging the thick strands as Scott sucked at his length and played with
his balls.
“So good,” Cameron praised. “Love it so much when you suck my dick. Oh yeah, right
there, that’s it, oh God, oh God, Scott, I’m gonna come!”
Scott didn’t pull back. This was also a first for him, tasting another man’s essence.
Always safe in the past, when he’d given someone head he had insisted his partners use
rubbers. When Cameron spurted into his mouth, Scott drank down everything he gave him,
savoring the bitter taste. He continued to lick at Cameron’s shaft, caressing the soft flesh with
his tongue.
“Kiss me?” Cameron asked.
Scott stared up at him and slowly released the cock from his lips with one final long
lick. He rose and pulled Cameron into his arms, leaning in to kiss him.
Thoughts about whether he was doing this right, of whether he was kissing Cameron
how he was supposed to, raced through his mind. Still, Cameron didn’t seem to mind and
kissed him back with unbridled enthusiasm.
Scott’s erection, which had returned long before Cameron had woken up, had reached
the point of desperate again and when Cameron reached down to take him in hand Scott
nearly wept with relief.
It only took a couple of strokes for Scott to come and when he did, Cameron swallowed
his cry of relief in another breathtaking kiss.
He collapsed into Cameron’s arms, his legs no longer able to support him. Luckily for
Scott, Cameron appeared to be far steadier on his feet and he kept Scott from doing anything
ONE PERFECT WISH
16
stupid like falling over and smashing his head on the tiles. Scott tried not to think about how
he actually quite liked being held by a man who seemed to care about him. The last thing he
should be doing is getting used to this sort of treatment. He reminded himself this would all
be over at midnight.
Cameron held him until he had recovered. After Scott thought he could stand on his
feet again, they washed up and Scott followed his fake husband through to the kitchen,
where Cameron set to work fixing them breakfast.
Scott sat at the counter and tried to figure out what door went to which room. It
wouldn’t do to open the door to the closet while searching for the dining room.
Cameron didn’t seem to notice his distraction. He turned on the radio and hummed
along to the music as he shimmied round the counter. “Dance with me?” he asked. He didn’t
wait for Scott to reply. He pulled him from the stool and into his arms, twirling them both
round the kitchen with moves that might have been graceful if Scott hadn’t been blessed with
two left feet.
“Have you forgotten everything our instructor taught us for the first dance at our
wedding reception?” Cameron teased.
“I guess so.” Scott howled as he banged into the edge of the fridge, stubbing his toe in
the process.
Cameron tried to smother his amusement with little success.
Scott hobbled back to the stool, where he inspected his abused toe.
“Want me to kiss it better?” Cameron asked. He reached out and poked the appendage
with a total lack of sympathy.
Scott heaved a long-suffering sigh. “I’ll live.”
Cameron grabbed the toe and squeezed gently. Something burning on the cooker drew
his attention away from tormenting Scott and he hurried back across the room in an effort to
save the bacon going from crispy to charcoal.
“You’re cooking us a full English?” Scott asked.
“Yep,” Cameron confirmed. “And don’t give me any crap about it being fattening. We
don’t do this very often so let me spoil you for once.”
Scott raised his hands in mock surrender. “Not a word of complaint will you hear from
my lips, well, unless you give me mushrooms, of course.”
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17
Cameron rolled his eyes. “Like I’d ever dare to forget your utter disdain for
mushrooms. Don’t worry. The evil things won’t be allowed anywhere near your plate.”
Scott could tell from the way Cameron spoke he knew very well Scott’s dislike for
mushrooms, which he supposed made sense in the circumstances. He found it a little strange
to be in the company of someone who knew him so well. He suspected Cameron knew a
great deal about him and he felt a little uneasy when he realized he didn’t know anything
about his husband. Even worse, he couldn’t ask without making himself appear like the most
forgetful man on earth, or a completely selfish pig who took no notice of things like how his
husband liked to drink his coffee. He didn’t even know if Cameron drank coffee at all.
Cameron froze mid-motion and Scott wasn’t in the least surprised to see the djinn pop
in again.
“What now?” he asked.
The djinn gestured to Cameron. “He drinks tea, milk with one sugar.”
“Are you sure you can’t read my mind?” Scott didn’t like the idea of the djinn poking
round in his head.
“No, but you were about to make you both a coffee, which would cause Cameron
unnecessary confusion and put a blight on his day by worrying what’s wrong with you.”
Scott wasn’t convinced. “First the condoms, now the coffee. Forgive me if I’m a little
skeptical about how you knew exactly what I was thinking.”
The djinn sighed. “All right, I can read your mind, not that I’d want to if I had any
choice. In case you weren’t aware, your mind happens to be an appalling mess.”
“I’ll have you know I’m a very organized man.”
“Your life is a chaotic shambles and your mind is likewise.”
With those parting words the djinn disappeared once again, leaving Scott to wonder
where he might find the teabags. A cabinet door swung open to reveal their location. Scott
jumped up and hurried to the cupboard before Cameron noticed the furniture had taken on a
life of its own.
They ate breakfast at the counter. Cameron rubbed his bare foot against Scott’s ankle,
which gave him an instant erection. Since they hadn’t bothered to dress properly before
moving into the kitchen, Scott’s boxers did nothing to hide his growing desire.
“We should do this more often,” Cameron suggested in a hopeful tone.
ONE PERFECT WISH
18
“Definitely,” Scott agreed, surprising himself when he realized he meant it. For a few
minutes he had forgotten he was only here for the day.
“What would you like to do this morning?” Cameron asked.
Scott waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
“Besides the obvious,” Cameron added.
Scott found himself at a complete loss for what to say. What the hell do married people do
together on their day off? “How about you choose?”
Cameron grinned. “That’s what I hoped you’d say.”
“Uh oh.”
“There’s no backing out now.” Cameron jabbed his finger at Scott’s chest, the warning
clear. “I’m going to take you sledging.”
Scott nearly choked on his tomatoes. “You’re kidding me.”
“No. I remember you telling me you never had chance to go sledging when you were a
kid, so today I’m going to take you to the hill where I used to go.”
“Do we even have a sledge?” Scott asked, hoping Cameron hadn’t bought one the
previous day and shown it to Scott already.
“We’ll stop by my parents’ house first. They’ll have my old one in the garage.”
Scott wondered what he had let himself in for when he’d agreed to Cameron’s plan. He
wasn’t the type to waste time messing about like a kid, not when he had work to do. Then he
remembered his work wasn’t here. He had a phone he couldn’t use, no briefcase full of
papers, no laptop, and no deadline because by the time tomorrow arrived, today would
never have happened.
“Okay,” he agreed. “Sledging it is.”
* * * *
Cameron’s parents lived on the other side of the village. As they walked across the
square, Scott goggled at everything. The place was a far cry from his life in the city. He’d
grown up in a tower block and had never really seen the countryside until he had become an
adult. Even then he’d mostly just traveled through it, rather than spending any time
exploring what he thought of as a wilderness.
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19
Scott had no idea of the name of the village and knew asking would raise questions he
couldn’t answer. He did mentally note as much as he could, wondering whether he might
actually be able to find the place once he had returned to his regular life. With snow and ice
obscuring signs, he couldn’t gather as much information as he would have liked, yet he
couldn’t shake the idea of coming back here again. He found himself curious about who
actually lived in their quaint little cottage and where Cameron might really reside. For all
Scott knew, he could be living in the same building as him.
The thought of seeing Cameron again after this day ended made Scott smile. He didn’t
know his husband’s last name, but he intended to discover it before midnight.
“You’re quiet,” Cameron commented as they walked down the road.
“Just thinking.”
Cameron nudged him. “What about?”
Scott could hardly tell him he’d been thinking it might be nice to hook up with
Cameron again after today. “I’m hoping the roads between this famous hill of yours and the
casualty department aren’t blocked with snow.”
Cameron laughed. “Do you think you’ll be that bad at sledging?”
“Does this sledge come with working brakes?”
“Just a thin rope to slow you down when you reach the bottom.”
“And how will I know I’m at the bottom if I have my eyes squeezed shut?”
Cameron wrapped an arm round Scott’s shoulders and pulled him close. “Don’t worry,
I’ll keep you safe. And remember, if you do sprain anything there’ll be plenty of snow and
ice to pack it with.”
Scott elbowed him lightly in the ribs. “Git. You’d better get ready to pamper me for
weeks if I damage anything today.”
“Likewise,” Cameron retorted with a grin and they continued on their way.
Other than Scott walking right past the gate to Cameron’s parents’ cottage, they arrived
at the house without incident. Cameron teased him about having his head in the clouds as he
pulled him down the icy path.
“Mum? Dad? Are you in?” Cameron called as he stuck his head round the door.
“I’m guessing yes since the door’s unlocked,” Scott said as Cameron entered the house
with Scott close at his heels.
ONE PERFECT WISH
20
Cameron gave him another odd glance. “Not necessarily. We’re not exactly crime
capital of the county here. You tend to forget this isn’t the city.”
Scott hadn’t forgotten anything of the sort. He simply hadn’t believed there were still
people out there who could leave their home with the door unlocked and come back to find
everything as they left it.
“Cameron, is that you?”
Scott followed Cameron into the living room where a younger version of his lover
sprawled across the sofa.
“Bloody hell, Chris. Aren’t you dressed yet?” Cameron asked. “Lazy git.”
Chris stretched his arms above his head and yawned. “I’m not going anywhere today.
I’m relaxing and enjoying my last days of freedom in the way I want.”
“You’d better not let Jodie hear you say that. She’s already gone through my best man
speech with a red pen, removing all references to balls and chains.”
Chris laughed. “I can’t believe I’m getting married next week.”
“That makes two of us,” Cameron teased. “I thought Jodie would have come to her
senses before now.”
Chris shot him a glare. “Are you here for a reason, or just to insult me?”
Cameron ruffled his brother’s already messy hair and grinned. “We’re just going to get
the sledge from the garage. Do you know where the key is?”
“Probably on the hook in the kitchen, where it usually is. What do you want the sledge
for?”
“We’re going sledging this morning,” Cameron explained, as though this should have
been obvious.
“Are you crazy? It’s sodding freezing out there.”
“How would you know?” Scott couldn’t resist asking. “You look as if you’ve only just
got out of bed.”
“I don’t need to go outside to know it’s cold. Look at all that horrible white stuff.”
Cameron shook his head and disappeared through to the kitchen, returning a minute
later with the key. “Come on Scott, let’s go have some fun.”
“You don’t need to go out in the snow to have fun,” Chris reminded them. “Oh, sorry, I
forgot. You’re a boring married couple and therefore you don’t get that sort of fun anymore.”
L.M. Brown
21
Cameron smacked him round the back of the head. “I’ll have you know, we have plenty
of that sort of fun.”
“Once a week and never on a Sunday?” Chris asked.
“Try twice before breakfast and once since,” Cameron retorted. “And don’t think I
won’t remember this conversation when I’m redrafting my speech for Sunday.”
Scott chuckled as Cameron dragged him from the house and round to the adjoining
garage. Sure enough, a big wooden sledge hung from hooks on the wall. They pulled the
contraption down with relative ease and carried it out into the snow. Cameron turned to lock
the garage behind them while Scott held the thin rope, ready to drag the sledge to the hill.
“Any particular reason why the garage is always locked but the house isn’t?” Scott
teased.
Cameron shook his head. “You know, I’ve never thought about that before. I guess my
family’s a bit weird.”
Scott laughed as he followed Cameron in search of the apparently perfect sledging hill.
“Look at it.” Cameron pointed at what appeared to be a small mountain, at least to a
city boy’s eyes. “Not a soul in sight and all that pure untouched snow for us to sled on.”
Scott studied the completely deserted hillside. “I’m surprised there aren’t any kids out
here already.”
“Me too,” Cameron agreed. “I’m sure they’ll be here later. But in the meantime, we
have this perfect slope all to ourselves.”
Scott wasn’t sure about the perfect part. Maybe he’d agree if it came equipped with a
ski lift to get them to the top. The walk upwards in the deep snow was slow going and his
jeans were soon soaked through as high as the knees.
Finally, they reached the top and Cameron lined up the sledge. Scott watched him
curiously, yet made no move to join him.
“You do know you have to climb on here,” Cameron pointed out.
“I thought you’d go first to show me what to do,” Scott replied. “Seeing as you’re the
expert.”
Cameron patted the wooden sled. “We’re going down together.”
“What? There’s not enough room on there for two grown men.”
ONE PERFECT WISH
22
“There is. We used to pile on three at a time when we were kids with our dad on the
back and us boys in front.”
“I’m guessing you and your brother were a lot smaller then.”
“Maybe so, but the two of us will fit on here. Come on, you in front, me steering from
the back. Don’t be a chicken.” Cameron made a clucking sound until Scott gingerly perched
on the sledge.
Cameron climbed on behind him and pulled Scott back against his chest.
“I’m starting to see the appeal now.” Even through their thick winter clothes, Scott
could tell Cameron liked being flush against him too.
“Ready?” Cameron asked.
“As I’ll ever be.”
“And we’re off,” Cameron yelled as he launched them off the top of the hill and down
the slope.
Scott gave a rather unmanly squeal as they raced down the hill. He followed this up
with a yell as they toppled from the sledge and into the deep snow.
“I guess I’m a little out of practice,” Cameron admitted. “It’s been more than ten years
since I did this.”
Scott scrambled over to Cameron and climbed on top of him. “You mean there’s a safe
way of stopping the sledge?”
“In theory.”
“I bet if I’d been in charge of the sled I’d have kept us upright.”
“Oh yeah, what terms do you want on this bet?”
“Loser has to give the winner a blow job?”
Cameron snorted. “Like we won’t both be getting at least one more before the end of
the day anyway.”
“What terms do you want then?”
“The loser has to wear a cock ring all day tomorrow.”
Scott completely forgot he wouldn’t be here tomorrow at all. He nodded and they made
their way up the hill.
“This is how it’s done,” Scott declared as they swapped positions and he boosted them
off the hill. Unfortunately, Scott failed to take into account that if they started from the exact
L.M. Brown
23
same place they had during their first run, they would follow the same path the sledge had
previously taken, and it would be much harder, if not nearly impossible, to steer them onto
another route. Consequently they found themselves tipped into the snow once again.
“Tomorrow is going to be so much fun,” Cameron teased as he rubbed Scott through
his jeans.
Scott groaned in pleasure. “I’m surprised you aren’t going to make me wear the thing
today.”
“Definitely not,” Cameron assured him with a quick kiss on the lips. “I have plans for
you today.”
“Do tell.”
Cameron kissed him slowly as he continued to grope him. Scott was vaguely aware of
Cameron pulling his zipper down, his hand slipping into his boxers, fisting his cock and
stroking him.
“Like this?” Cameron whispered between kisses.
“What if someone sees us?” Scott asked. Visions of school kids coming to the hillside
and catching them fornicating in the snowdrift crossed his mind.
“We’re pretty well buried in the snow here,” Cameron pointed out. “If anyone comes
sledging they’ll not see us until they’re on top of us.”
“That’s not exactly comforting.”
Cameron gave him a smug glance. “You really think you can last more than a minute?”
he asked.
“Not a chance in hell of that,” Scott admitted as Cameron whipped his dick out of his
boxers and quickly took him into the warmth of his mouth. What in the world had happened
to him? He didn’t remember ever being this horny, not even during his teenage years.
How had he gone from a businessman who hooked up with the occasional random
man as and when the need arose, to the husband of a man whose idea of a fun time was
playing in the snow?
Scott closed his eyes and let Cameron have his way with him. His husband certainly
knew how to give a good blow job. He sucked down his entire length, deep throating him
with an expertise Scott envied. With his lips and tongue, Cameron swiftly brought him to the
brink.
ONE PERFECT WISH
24
Whether anyone could see them or not, Scott was pretty sure the entire village heard his
cry of completion as he came down Cameron’s throat.
Cameron sat up and licked his lips. “Want to go again?” he asked.
Scott panted and gasped for breath. “I don’t think I can get it up again yet.”
“I meant the sledge.”
Scott pulled Cameron back down on top of him. “Let’s leave the sledging to the kids,”
he suggested. All it took was a few heated kisses for Cameron to agree.
L.M. Brown
25
Chapter Three
When they arrived back at their cottage they found the answering machine blinking
with a new message. Cameron hit the button and groaned as the owner of what Scott
guessed to be a local restaurant regretfully canceled their reservation for the evening.
Apparently the heavy snow had blocked the narrow road leading to the lodge and with more
forecast later, the owner had decided to shut up shop rather than risk his staff being trapped
by the inclement weather.
Cameron sighed after the message had finished playing. “I guess we’re staying in
tonight.”
Scott shrugged. “I don’t mind. I’m sure I can whip us up something halfway edible.”
Cameron gave him a strange grimace. “How about I do the cooking?” he suggested.
“Since I’m pretty sure my talents in the kitchen far outweigh your own.”
Scott had a feeling he had missed something again and when the world froze once more
he guessed he was right.
“What have I done this time?” he asked the djinn.
“Your husband works as a professional chef,” the djinn informed him. “Considering
your appalling lack of talent in the kitchen I’d recommend leaving him to sort out dinner.”
Scott ignored the insult to his culinary skills. “I’m married to a chef?”
“Didn’t I just say that?” the djinn asked impatiently, before vanishing once again.
Scott could see Cameron was still waiting for him to say something. Yet again he found
himself forced to think on his feet to come up with a suitable explanation for his previous
remark. “I don’t like to think of you cooking at work all the time and then being forced to do
the same on your day off as well.”
Cameron smiled brightly and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m a chef because I love
cooking. I especially enjoy preparing meals for the man I love, so let me pamper you as I
wish.”
Scott nodded, albeit a little reluctantly.
ONE PERFECT WISH
26
Since they were dripping melting snow all over the floor, they made their way to the
bedroom to change into dry clothes once more. Or at least that was the intention. Instead
they ended up back in bed, snuggling beneath the duvet.
“Are you going to be back here for the wedding?” Cameron suddenly asked. “I know
you have a lot on at work at the moment, but I’d really like for you to come.”
Scott cringed internally as he realized if this day actually formed part of his life the
answer would probably be no. For today though, he had no other commitments looming on
the horizon, and none of his replies would make any difference to what happened after
midnight. “I’m sure I can take the day off if you really want me there.”
“Of course I bloody well want you there. You’re my husband and I want you at my
side.”
“Then at your side I’ll be.”
Cameron leaned up to meet his eyes. “Really?”
“Of course,” Scott assured him. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Sunday afternoon, two o’clock at St. Paul’s Church. Now you’ve promised, you have
to be there. No backing out at the last minute.”
“Cross my heart.” Scott made a cross with his finger over his chest. “Wild horses
couldn’t keep me away.”
Cameron smiled and curled up against him once more. “You make me so happy.”
Scott quashed the slight feeling of guilt at making promises he had no intention of
keeping. He reasoned with his conscience that it wasn’t his fault he’d been put into this
position. The djinn had insisted he play the part of being married to Cameron for the day,
and if keeping his husband happy meant telling a few little lies, he wasn’t to blame.
“Don’t palm your guilt off on me,” the djinn said.
“Would you stop popping in like this,” Scott complained. “And what are you talking
about?”
“You’re playing the role of husband and making Cameron happy today, but it doesn’t
mean you have to lie to him all the time.”
“You think I should tell him the truth?” Scott asked. “I thought that would shatter the
illusion you’ve created.”
“He’ll think you’ve gone crazy if you tell him the truth.”
L.M. Brown
27
“Then what do you expect me to do about keeping up this charade if you don’t want
me to lie?”
The djinn rolled his eyes. “Are you telling me you’d rather be stuck in your miserable
office on your own, working on a Sunday, instead of sitting at your husband’s side at his
brother’s wedding reception?”
“Of course not, but I have commitments.”
“You, Scott, are a workaholic.”
“I work hard, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
The djinn gave a contemptuous snort. “If you were really married to Cameron you
wouldn’t last a year with your current attitude.”
“But we’re not married, so what does it matter?”
The djinn shook his head sadly. “You don’t have a clue, do you?”
“About what?”
“Cameron is the other half of your soul—the one man who could make you truly
happy. While this wish may not have been of your creation, surely you can recognize the
love of your life when I shove you into his arms?”
Scott tightened his arm round Cameron. He had no idea if the djinn spoke the truth, yet
he couldn’t deny the attraction he felt toward his fake husband. It wasn’t all physical either.
He enjoyed spending time with him, and a small part of him did wish their life together
didn’t have to end after today.
It was impossible of course. Apart from the issue of having no idea where he was or
how he had gotten here, the djinn had made it clear that come midnight Scott would be
whisked back to his own life. It wasn’t as if he had any other options. Even if he could
somehow track Cameron down again, it didn’t mean this life they had would suddenly
become real.
Scott found the thought of spending more time with Cameron deliciously tempting. He
wondered if Cameron really lived in this idyllic little village, or whether he resided
somewhere else entirely. Did he work as a chef, or a bureaucratic pen-pusher in some dismal
office? How much of this wish-created world was actually real?
ONE PERFECT WISH
28
The djinn had been rather vague about the wish that had brought Scott here, but the
more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that Cameron had made a wish to
meet his soulmate and the result had been this surprisingly wonderful day.
* * * *
When they finally emerged from the bedroom, Scott tried to view Cameron as a
potential partner for the rest of his life. Surprisingly, he discovered imagining a life with
Cameron to be remarkably easy.
“What are your plans for the afternoon?” Scott asked as they finished washing and
drying the pots from their lunch.
“I thought maybe we could watch a film or something,” Cameron suggested. “No
laptops today, remember?”
Scott nodded. If there was a laptop in the house he hadn’t seen it. He’d always thought
not having access to the internet and his office would be like losing a limb, yet he felt
completely liberated. He hadn’t taken a day off like this in months. Even on days when he
didn’t go into the office he could be found beavering away at his computer for hours at a
time. The thought crossed his mind that maybe he was enjoying the day so much because he
was long overdue for a break. Then he looked into Cameron’s eyes and admitted the truth.
Today wouldn’t be anywhere near as much fun if he’d been spending the time off with
anyone else.
Cameron pulled him down onto the sofa and grabbed the television remote control. He
flicked to the planner and the recorded programs and scrolled down the list. There were
loads of unwatched films and television shows to choose from. When had he and Cameron
last spent time together like this?
“See anything you fancy?” Cameron asked.
Scott ran a teasing finger down Cameron’s chest. “Besides you?”
“Well, that’s a given, but I meant to watch.”
“There’s a lot there. When did we last do this?”
“I don’t know. Maybe before we got caught up in the plans for the wedding.”
Scott frowned in confusion. “Are your best man duties that time consuming?”
L.M. Brown
29
“I meant our wedding,” Cameron amended.
“But we’ve been married six months.”
Cameron sighed. “Of which we’ve spent barely six weeks together. I’m working all
hours to try to get the capital to start my own restaurant and you’re flying out of the country
every other week.”
“Maybe we need to make more of an effort to spend time together,” Scott suggested.
Cameron voiced his agreement and before he knew it Scott had made plans to take the
following weekend off work especially for the wedding. Despite knowing he wouldn’t be
around after today at all, Scott found himself wondering what it would be like to have a
proper break ahead of him. He silently admitted the idea felt great, especially if he would be
spending it with Cameron.
As they watched the movie Scott thought about what he had on at the office and
whether it would actually be feasible to take some time off. In reality he probably could
without any real detriment to his career. The more he considered the idea slowly forming in
his mind, the more he liked it.
If Chris and Jodie really were getting married on Sunday, Scott could surely track down
Cameron at the wedding and introduce himself. Cameron might not know him, but if they
were truly meant to be together, this would be the best way to find him once Scott returned
to the real world.
“Now you’re getting it,” the djinn popped in just long enough to say.
ONE PERFECT WISH
30
Chapter Four
Scott and Cameron spent the afternoon curled up on the sofa. Scott tried not to let his
surprise at Cameron liking many of the same films and programs as him be too obvious.
Finally, when the film had finished, Cameron slid out of Scott’s arms and retreated to
the kitchen. Scott followed him and sat on one of the stools so he could watch the chef at
work.
He propped his chin on his hands as Cameron sliced and diced at a speed that would
have left Scott with missing fingers had he tried to do the same. Scott pulled out his mobile
phone and snapped a few pictures of Cameron as he worked. He had no idea if they would
still be on his phone tomorrow, but he hoped they were.
Cameron, who apparently didn’t like to see idle hands, put Scott to work on setting the
table in between bouts of taste-testing the sauce.
Scott, who had never set a table in his life, went to town in the dining room. He found
an embroidered table cloth, which vaguely resembled one his grandmother had owned,
together with place mats, napkins and candlesticks.
When Cameron popped his head in to see how he was getting on he was rendered
speechless.
“Impressed?” Scott asked as he lit the last of the candles.
“How is it I didn’t realize my husband is secretly a romantic?” Cameron asked as he
approached him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
“It’s a closely guarded secret,” Scott whispered. “And if you tell a soul, I’ll deny this
ever happened.”
Scott pulled Cameron into his arms and kissed him deeply, exploring his lover’s mouth
with slow strokes of his tongue. Cameron moaned into the kiss and twisted Scott round to
push him up against the wall. Scott, who had always preferred to be in charge, willingly let
Cameron take over.
Cameron’s eyes darkened with lust and he reached out to flick off the ceiling light. The
candlelight cast an even more romantic atmosphere in the room.
L.M. Brown
31
“Undress,” ordered Cameron, his voice husky with desire.
Scott’s hands shook as he undid the buttons of his shirt. “What about dinner?” he
asked, hating the idea of Cameron’s efforts being wasted and the meal going to ruin because
they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
“I’ll go serve up in a minute,” Cameron replied.
Scott stopped removing his shirt as he tried to figure out Cameron’s plan. Were they
eating or shagging?
Cameron seemed to read his mind and gave him a wicked grin. “Strip naked and take
your seat. I’ll go bring in our dinner.”
Scott began to realize Cameron’s intentions and he hurried out of his garments. By the
time Cameron returned to the dining room he had sat down at the table, feeling a little self-
conscious, especially when Cameron joined him, still fully clothed.
“Aren’t you going to undress?” he asked.
“Not until after we’ve eaten.” Cameron scooted his chair closer so his jeans brushed
against Scott’s bare leg.
“And is there any particular reason I’m eating in the buff?”
“Not really.” Cameron gave him a wink. “I just like looking at you this way.”
“And what if I enjoy staring at you when you’re naked?”
Cameron ran his hand up Scott’s thigh, lightly stroking him. “I know you do,” he
whispered into his ear. Scott’s erection, which had never completely subsided the whole
afternoon, nudged Cameron’s arm as his fingers ghosted over his abdomen. “And maybe
next time we can swap places, but tonight I want to tease you until you can’t stand it
anymore. You’re going to beg me to fuck you across the table.”
“I’ll beg right now if you want.”
Cameron shook his head. “You aren’t desperate enough yet.”
Scott gestured to his cock. “I beg to differ.”
Cameron left his hand on Scott’s leg as he picked up his fork with the other and began
to eat. “There’s begging and there’s begging. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll know the
difference.”
Scott was being treated to yet another side of Cameron and he was intrigued to know
more.
ONE PERFECT WISH
32
They ate quietly and Scott savored the taste of the first home cooked dinner he’d had in
years. Cameron’s talent in the kitchen certainly surpassed his own and he was highly
impressed with the meal he’d whipped up at the last minute.
Cameron’s hand never left Scott’s body. He stroked his leg, rubbed his arm and
brushed his hair back so he could quickly nibble on his ear. Scott’s cock ached for attention,
but Cameron never attempted to touch him there. Yet with every other touch, he found
himself moaning with desire and squirming in his seat. He could tell Cameron took great
delight in pushing him closer and closer to the edge. Scott did attempt to stroke himself once,
but a sharp slap on the wrist from Cameron made it clear he was supposed to wait for
permission before easing the pressure.
By the time they finished the meal, Scott felt as though Cameron’s breath on his dick
would be enough to make him come.
“Don’t move,” Cameron instructed as he gathered up their plates, glasses and cutlery
and took them through to the kitchen. When he returned, he cleared the rest of the table and
moved the candlesticks over to the sideboard.
Scott attempted to help with the clean-up, but Cameron pointed at him and told him to
stay put.
When Cameron had finished, he crooked his finger for Scott to stand in front of him.
Scott did as his lover bid without even thinking about questioning his order.
“What do you want?” Cameron asked.
“What do you think I want?” Scott countered.
“I know you want to come. I want to know how.”
“At this point I’m not sure I care how, as long as I come,” Scott muttered. “You’re a
terrible tease.”
Cameron grinned widely. “I know, and you’re my favorite person to tease because
you’re so easy.”
“Can we stop talking and start fucking?” Scott asked. He suspected he might sound a
little desperate, but since Cameron wanted him that way, he hoped pleading gave him the
desired result.
Cameron kissed him quickly and hoisted him up onto the table. He spread Scott’s legs
and stood between them, stroking the inner thighs. “Touch yourself.”
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33
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to?”
“Masturbating at the dinner table,” Cameron scolded. “Tut, tut. What would your
mother say?”
Scott glanced behind him pointedly. “Aren’t we still at the table?”
“But we’re not eating now,” Cameron reminded him.
Scott supposed there was a difference, even though he was sorely tempted to point out
to Cameron that his teasing throughout dinner had nearly caused him to come regardless of
whether it happened to be appropriate or not.
“Touch yourself for me,” Cameron repeated as he stepped back a pace.
Scott didn’t need to be told a third time. He reached down and took himself in hand.
Despite his arousal, Scott didn’t immediately come when he touched his cock, though it was
a close call.
“You’re so gorgeous when you come,” Cameron told him.
Scott moaned softly as he stroked himself. “I wouldn’t know.” He gripped the edge of
the table with his free hand, his knuckles turning white as he tried to prolong the show.
“Oh, you can take my word for it,” Cameron whispered, his own voice as breathless as
Scott’s.
When Scott glanced down at Cameron’s groin he half expected to see his lover
pleasuring himself. Instead Cameron remained fully clothed, though his erection appeared as
though it might be making a break for freedom before much longer. The hard ridge of his
arousal was clearly visible. “See how hard you make me?”
Scott nodded, too far gone to form words.
“The sight of you like this is enough to make me come.”
Scott’s eyes widened at what Cameron implied. He stroked himself faster, no longer
attempting to put off his orgasm.
“That’s it.” Cameron urged him on, every word sending shivers down Scott’s spine.
“You’re so close now. I’m so close now.”
Scott cried out as he came, ribbons of cum spraying his chest. He hadn’t yet come down
from his high when Cameron pulled him into his arms and kissed him. Scott scrambled for
the zipper to Cameron’s jeans and tugged it down. He reached inside and found Cameron’s
briefs damp and sticky, his cock soft and spent.
ONE PERFECT WISH
34
Cameron pulled out of their kiss and placed his hand over Scott’s. “I told you I was
close.”
“But I didn’t even touch you.”
Cameron pushed down his jeans and briefs and pulled off his shirt. “You can touch me
now if you want.”
Scott wrapped his legs round Cameron and pulled him into another steamy kiss. He
never wanted to stop touching Cameron and from what he could tell, the feeling was entirely
mutual.
“Damn it,” Cameron muttered. “I must be getting old.”
“What’s the matter?”
Cameron glared at his still soft cock. “I want to fuck you over the table so badly, but I
think it’s going to take longer than it used to for me to get it up again.”
Scott stifled a laugh. “How about we do that tomorrow?” he suggested. “Maybe over
breakfast?”
Cameron’s lips twitched and Scott couldn’t hide his amusement any longer. They
laughed until tears ran down their cheeks, though Scott couldn’t have said what he found so
hysterical if his life had depended on it.
They retired to the bedroom, touching and kissing with every step. As far as Scott was
concerned, if this was married life, where did he sign up? After spending less than a single
day with Cameron he had become a total convert to the institution.
“You know something?” Scott said as Cameron slowly made love to him in the comfort
of their bed.
“What?” Cameron regarded Scott with curiosity.
“I didn’t think I’d enjoy today as much as I have,” Scott remarked without thinking.
“You thought you’d hate spending an entire day with your husband?” Cameron teased.
Scott grinned. “If you’d asked me before I met you if I’d ever consider getting married,
I’d have said no. I guess it’s true what they say about finding the right man making all the
difference.”
Cameron moved inside him with languid, deep thrusts. “I’m glad I’m your Mr. Right,
because you’re definitely mine. I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life.”
L.M. Brown
35
Scott sighed. He was starting to wonder what he would do without Cameron. No, he
couldn’t think about that. The possibility of finding him at his brother’s wedding and getting
to know each other properly was what he had to concentrate on. If there was even the
smallest chance of getting this amazingly loving man in his life for real, he had to grab the
opportunity with both hands.
It wasn’t long before Scott lost the ability to think coherently at all. All he knew were
the sensations from Cameron loving him. His lover filled him thoroughly, and with slow and
deliberate movements, Cameron guided him toward the stars.
Scott’s entire body felt out of his control. The simplest touch of fingers brushing against
his neck caused a chain effect and ripples of desire tore through him. He wanted to beg to be
allowed to come, yet he couldn’t form the words.
Unable to stand the teasing a moment longer, Scott flipped Cameron onto his back so he
could ride him at his own pace.
“Impatient?” Cameron teased as he grabbed Scott’s hips and tried to slow him down a
little. Scott wasn’t having any of it. He quickened his movements and Cameron swiftly got
the message that Scott had taken control. He relinquished the same with a smile and let Scott
have his way.
Cameron groaned loudly. “You feel so good. I’m not going to last much longer if you
keep this up.”
Scott grinned. “And that’s a problem why?” he managed to gasp. “We’ve got all night.”
Cameron’s response was physical and loud. He screamed as he came in a hot rush,
buried in Scott’s arse.
Scott moaned at the exquisite sensation of heat as he fisted his cock. It only took a
handful of strokes before he felt the beginnings of his orgasm tingling at the base of his spine.
One more tug and he came with a guttural shout, shooting ropes of creamy cum across
Cameron’s heaving chest.
Afterwards they slept a while, Scott curled up against Cameron’s side.
Cameron was still fast asleep when Scott opened his eyes. The moment Cameron’s
snores stopped Scott realized the world had frozen once more. The djinn stood at the patio
doors, watching the snow, which was falling heavily again. Suspended snowflakes the size of
pennies hung in the air and the garden was hard to see.
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“What is it?” Scott asked, reluctant to even look up from the comfort of his lover’s arms.
“I thought you might like to know it’s nearly midnight,” the djinn informed him.
Scott shot up in bed and checked the bedside clock. “Shit!”
He jumped from the bed and ran for the door. He only had ten minutes left until
midnight. He had no idea where he was, what Cameron’s surname was, or anything that
would make sure that on Sunday he made it to St. Paul’s Church, ready to meet the love of
his life for a second time. How had he let the entire day slip away without finding out such
essential information? The phrase time flies when you’re having fun sprang to mind. That had
certainly been the case for him today. Time had gotten away from him and now it was nearly
too late.
The djinn vanished and time moved on once again. Scott heard Cameron calling out to
him from the bedroom. Damn it. He had hoped the world would stand still long enough for
him to find the information he needed. He should have guessed the contrary djinn wouldn’t
be so kind. He supposed he should count himself lucky he’d at least given him a warning his
time was almost up.
Since he hadn’t seen anything in the living room, dining room, or kitchen, Scott ran for
the cozy little study, hoping to find something there with a name and address on. The desk
was neat and tidy, with not a single sheet of paper on it. He wondered whether the djinn had
deliberately hidden what he needed. There wasn’t a single piece of mail in sight. Every sign
in the village had been obscured by snow. Not a soul had appeared to call out a greeting to
Cameron during their walk through the village. He couldn’t even recall seeing anything at
his in-laws’ residence. Trying the drawers, he found to his frustration they were locked and
the key didn’t appear to be anywhere in sight.
“Scott, what are you doing?” Scott glanced up at his husband, who stood in the
doorway, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “It’s the middle of the night. Come back to bed.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Scott answered distractedly.
“What’s so important it can’t wait until morning?”
“It’s nothing, you go back to bed and I’ll be with you soon.”
Cameron joined him at the desk and pulled him into his arms. “If it’s nothing, it can
wait until tomorrow.”
L.M. Brown
37
Scott shook his head and disentangled himself from Cameron’s embrace. Cameron
drew in a sharp breath and Scott cringed at the way he’d inadvertently elbowed him in the
chest. “Sorry,” he apologized as he carried on searching for the key.
“For heaven’s sake, what are you looking for?”
“The key for the damn drawers,” Scott snapped. “Where the hell is it?”
Cameron took a step back, his eyes wide. “There aren’t any drawers to the desk,” he
reminded him quietly. “They’re fake, remember?”
Scott wondered why the djinn hadn’t stepped in to stop him making this error.
Cameron stared at him as though he’d grown tentacles. “I forgot.”
The words sounded like a question, even to his own ears, and from the expression on
Cameron’s face he wasn’t buying the excuse either.
Chimes rang out from the living room.
His time was nearly up.
The djinn materialized in the doorway, but Scott ignored him. He grabbed Cameron by
the shoulders, a little harder than necessary.
“What is this village?” he asked.
“What are you talking about?” Cameron tried to step back, clearly more confused than
ever.
“The name of the village we’re in,” Scott shouted. “Tell me what it is.”
Cameron attempted to break free of his grip. “This isn’t funny.”
“Where are we? What’s your full name? Tell me now!”
“You know damn well where we are and what my name is.”
Scott blinked back the first tears of frustration. “Please, Cameron.”
How many times had the clock struck now?
“The day is over,” the djinn announced and with the final chime of the clock, the world
froze for the last time. Seeing the confused horror on Cameron’s face felt like a punch to the
gut.
“No.” Scott shook his head in denial. “How am I supposed to find him again? I need to
know his name at least.”
The djinn didn’t say anything and a moment later Scott stood in his hotel room. He
wore the clothes he’d crashed in after he’d left the airport.
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38
“You have to tell me where to find him!” he yelled at no one. “Come back!”
He continued to shout until the banging on the wall from the next room reminded him
there were other people in the hotel.
Scott sat on the edge of the bed and replayed the last day over and over in his mind.
Had he imagined the whole thing?
There was one way he might find out for sure and Scott quickly located his phone and
checked the contents. The photos he had taken of Cameron were gone, if they had ever been
there at all.
“Okay, think about this,” Scott told himself. “Chris and Jodie’s wedding is set for
Sunday at St. Paul’s. All you have to do is be there.”
He didn’t have much to go on. He hoped it was enough to locate the right church.
L.M. Brown
39
Chapter Five
Google helped narrow down the list of potential churches, and while he came up
against a dead end while searching for wedding announcements he felt he had made some
progress by the time the sun came up the next morning. He discounted all the churches
located in cities and a couple more in coastal towns. He still had a lot of potentials to work
through.
His phone bleeped with a new message. Scott groaned. He didn’t even need to see the
screen to know it had come from someone at the office. He hadn’t missed the constant
interruptions during his day with Cameron.
By nine o’clock he had three voicemails and nearly two dozen text messages from
various colleagues. He ignored them all save for the one from his boss. He sent him a quick
text to confirm he had arrived back in England, adding he intended to take the rest of the
week off. The third voicemail was his boss’s response, which Scott didn’t bother to listen to.
After checking out of the hotel and hopping into a taxi to the train station, he spent the
journey north continuing to narrow down the churches by studying dozens of pictures of
villages, hoping to see something vaguely familiar. Unfortunately most local websites
featured pictures taken during the summer months and everything appeared completely
different when blanketed with snow.
By the time the train pulled into the city, Scott had reached a decision. If he had to
travel to every St. Paul’s Church in England, he’d find the place before the wedding on
Sunday.
* * * *
“You’ve lost your mind,” Scott told himself as he stood in yet another village square. As
picturesque as it appeared, there was nothing even vaguely familiar about the place. He
pulled out his list and crossed another name off. “This is a waste of time. You’d be better off
trying to find that bloody djinn.”
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40
Unfortunately, no matter how many times he’d called and cursed the djinn during the
last few days, he had not shown himself to him again.
Scott walked dejectedly back to his car and pulled the map book from the glove
compartment so he could figure out which church to try next. With his destination chosen he
put the details into his satnav and set off back down the road.
* * * *
By Saturday, Scott had begun to wonder whether he’d dreamt the whole thing. He had
kept his phone switched off, but he knew he couldn’t put off the inevitable forever. He finally
decided to sort his way through his messages and discovered he hadn’t lost his job. It had
been a real possibility, but his boss apparently thought Scott was having some sort of stress-
induced breakdown. He had assured Scott that as long as he showed up for work on Monday
morning he’d overlook the fact he’d ditched most of the last week and failed to turn in his
report. Scott found he didn’t care if he had been fired. His job no longer held the place of the
most important thing in his life.
He had just reached the end of the texts, most of which he continued to ignore, when a
new message arrived. He didn’t recognize the number and nearly disregarded it completely.
When he changed his mind and opened the message he breathed a sigh of relief that he
hadn’t hit the delete option.
There was no indication as to who the message had come from, but Scott had a feeling
the djinn had sent it. He had never received a wedding invitation by text before, and when
he tried to RSVP the message bounced back at him. It didn’t make any difference. He had
every intention of being there and he immediately started making plans.
By tomorrow evening he intended to have Cameron back in his arms and hopefully in
his life for good.
* * * *
The village Scott found himself in hadn’t even been on his list. If he’d been relying
solely on Google, he’d never have made it there at all.
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41
It was nearly noon by the time he arrived in the village square. He parked the car and
set off at a brisk walk down the narrow footpath toward Cameron’s cottage. He could tell the
place was empty before he reached the door. The front lawn looked as though the owner
hadn’t mowed the grass all year. The windows were dirty and when he peered into the living
room he could see the place was devoid of furniture. The cottage had clearly been empty for
quite some time.
“Damn it,” Scott shouted. “Where the hell is he, if he isn’t here?”
The djinn remained silent once more.
Scott sat on the front step as he assessed his options. He could go to Cameron’s parents’
house, yet he felt a little uncomfortable at the idea of barging in on them right before their
son got married. That he had spent most of the week planning how to gatecrash the wedding
itself didn’t occur to him.
Deciding it would probably be better to go to the house, rather than the church, Scott
made his way back across the village.
Cameron’s parents’ house at least seemed to be occupied and after hesitating on the
step for several minutes Scott finally rang the bell.
The door swung open and a stranger stared at him in hopeful anticipation. “Are you
the DJ?”
Scott shook his head and the stranger’s expression turned to one of disappointment.
“Sorry.”
The man sighed in frustration. “Whatever you’re selling, come back another time.
We’ve got a wedding in less than two hours, a missing DJ, and a groom who’s spent half the
morning in a fit of depression.”
“Chris is depressed?” Scott asked without thinking. “That doesn’t sound like him.”
Even though he’d only met him the once, depressed wasn’t a word he’d have used to
describe the young man.
“You know Chris?”
“Er, we’ve met once.” Scott hoped he didn’t ask where or when.
“Are you here for the wedding?”
“Yes, but I don’t want to intrude. I’m actually looking for Cameron. I thought he might
be here since he’s the best man.”
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42
Scott could tell from the narrowing of the man’s eyes he had said something wrong. A
cold feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.
“I’m Eddie, Chris’ best man.”
“But I thought Cameron was…” Scott spied Chris in the hallway.
“Who are you?” Chris asked.
“He says he knows you,” Eddie replied before Scott could speak.
“I’m Scott Baxter.” Scott held out his hand. “We met briefly once. I guess you don’t
remember me. I thought I’d stop by and say hello to Cameron if he’s around.”
Chris and Eddie exchanged a glance and Scott’s feeling of dread intensified.
“Who’s at the door?” a female voice called from the living room.
“It’s a friend of Cameron’s,” Chris replied. “Come in, Scott.”
Scott forced his feet to move and stepped over the threshold. “Is Cameron here?”
Chris shook his head. “You’d better come through here.”
Frozen in place, Scott couldn’t bring himself to take another step. “Where is he?”
Chris nudged him on the arm. “Come into the living room.”
Scott held his ground. “Just tell me where he is, please?”
Eddie finally broke the uneasy silence. “Cameron passed away over a year ago.”
The woman who had called out stepped into the hallway. Scott recognized her as
Cameron and Chris’ mother immediately from the pictures he had seen in the cottage he had
shared with Cameron.
It took a moment for the words to register and when they did, Scott didn’t believe them.
“That’s impossible, I saw him less than a week ago.”
Another frustrating exchange passed between Chris and Eddie.
“I’m not crazy,” Scott insisted.
From the expressions on their faces, Chris and Eddie clearly thought otherwise. Chris’
mother’s reaction, however, caught them all by surprise. She ran forward and pulled Scott
into her arms as though embracing a long-lost relative.
“Mum?” Chris asked hesitantly. “Do you know this guy?”
She nodded and guided Scott firmly into the living room. When Chris and Eddie tried
to follow them she shooed them away. “Scott and I need to have a little chat.”
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43
Scott had no idea what was going on, but he hoped Cameron’s mother had the answers
to his questions.
“Are you all right?” she asked as she sat him down on the sofa. “I imagine you’ve had a
bit of a shock.”
“A bit?” Scott rubbed his temples, hoping to fend off the oncoming headache. “I have
no idea what’s going on.”
“Then let me explain. I’m Clare Kirk, Cameron and Christopher’s mother.”
Scott shook her hand and waited for her to shed some light on what had happened to
Cameron.
“Do you believe in magic?”
“A week ago I’d have said no,” Scott admitted.
“And now?”
Scott examined his hands and as he did the glint of Clare’s ring caught his eye. He
frowned, thinking the jewel-encrusted piece a little gaudy for the woman sitting beside him.
It seemed out of place on her tiny hand and all of a sudden he knew. “You made the wish,
didn’t you?”
Clare nodded. “I didn’t mean to, but the djinn came to me while you were in the
hallway a few minutes ago and explained what had happened.”
“What did happen?”
Clare twisted the ring on her finger. “I found this ring in a junk shop a few weeks ago.
The moment I picked it up time froze and the djinn appeared. He told me he could grant me
a single wish, yet what I wanted most of all he couldn’t give me. He couldn’t bring Cameron
back to us.” She choked back a sob and Scott reached out to take her hand. “I put the ring
back on the shelf and left the shop. Yet when I arrived home it was there on my dressing
table. I kept putting it away, but each time I did it reappeared. I even tried throwing it in the
village pond, since it wouldn’t stay in the dustbin. I’d find it in my jewelry box, or in my
purse. I never saw the djinn, but the ring kept finding its way back to me.”
Clare took the ring off and passed it to Scott. “Last Saturday I made a wish and I hadn’t
even noticed the ring was with me at the time. Chris and I were talking about his wedding
and about Cameron. I told him I hoped he and Jodie would be as happy as his father and I
ONE PERFECT WISH
44
are. Then I said I wished Cameron could have had the chance to know the joy of being
married to the love of his life, even for a single day.”
“And the djinn brought him back for that day?” Scott guessed. “But why couldn’t he
bring him back permanently?”
“He can’t bring him back at all,” Clare reminded him.
“Then how did I spend a day with him this week?”
“Was it this week? Are you sure?”
Scott wasn’t. He hadn’t seen a newspaper or a calendar and the weather had been
reminiscent of mid-winter rather than late spring. There had been no heavy snow since
March.
“From what the djinn said, he created some sort of temporary world and put the two of
you in it.”
“Can he do the same again?” Scott asked.
The djinn appeared before them to answer the question in person. “No, I can’t.”
This time Scott realized the world, or at least Clare, wasn’t frozen. She was as aware of
their unexpected guest as him.
“Why not?” Scott demanded.
The djinn took his ring from Scott and put it on. “Temporary worlds are just that,
temporary. The world I created for you was not a whole world, merely a small portion of this
one. Nothing existed outside of the village, which is why your phone didn’t work while you
were there.”
Scott patted the pocket containing his phone. “If that world was real, what happened to
the pictures I took?”
“I removed them, of course,” the djinn told him. “I can’t be having proof of magic
floating around like that.”
“They were all I had of him,” Scott snapped. “You let me believe I could spend the rest
of my life with him, and then you took away everything, even my photos.”
“You retain your memories, just as I promised you would.”
“I want him back. Send me to the temporary world again. I don’t mind living in the
village forever, not if it means being with Cameron.”
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45
“You wouldn’t survive for long. There would be no food supplies coming in. There’s no
hospital or fire station, nothing of the outside world at all. Most of the houses were shells,
devoid of life, which is why no children were on the hillside with you and Cameron. Only
those whose lives touched yours and Cameron’s that day existed in the world I placed you
in. You might be able to live in a pocket for a day, but not forever. The illusion would be
shattered for Cameron the day he went back to work.”
“He doesn’t work in the village?”
Clare shook her head. “No, he used to cook for a restaurant in a nearby town.”
“Can’t you make this pocket world bigger?” Scott asked the djinn.
“My powers are not as great as you might imagine. The world I created for you and
Cameron stretched the very limit of my abilities.”
“Isn’t there anything you can do?” Scott’s eyes watered as he stared up at the djinn.
“You took me from my life and put me into another world. Can’t you take him from his and
bring him here?”
“I’m sorry, but in this world, here and now, Cameron is dead. I cannot give him back to
you.”
Scott didn’t even realize he was crying until Clare pulled him into her arms and patted
his back.
“Here,” the djinn said. He removed his ring and placed it on the table in front of Scott.
“My wishes aren’t supposed to hurt anyone, so the least I can do is give you a wish of your
own. Just one, so make it good.”
Scott didn’t even want to look at the ring. Like Clare before him, the one wish he
wanted to make couldn’t be granted.
Finally, he pulled back from Clare and wiped his eyes. The djinn had gone. “I’m sorry, I
don’t usually get all weepy like this.”
Clare hugged him quickly and dabbed at her own eyes. “Don’t worry about shedding a
few tears. Goodness knows, I’ve cried buckets over him myself. I’m so glad to have met you.
Tell me, did you enjoy your day with Cameron?”
“Very much. I came here hoping for more of them.”
“I’m sorry. You’re welcome to come to the wedding if you’d like. I think Cameron
would have liked you to be there.”
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46
Scott’s heart ached as he realized the plans they had made could never be fulfilled.
“Cameron invited me to the wedding. He was supposed to be best man.”
“Yes, he was,” Clare agreed. “Chris and Jodie were meant to marry last year and
Cameron was to be best man. Poor Chris is really missing his big brother today.”
“What happened?”
“There was an accident a couple of days before the wedding. There had been a lot of
heavy snow and the roads had become hazardous. A motorist coming through the village
lost control of his car and hit Cameron head on. He didn’t stand a chance, even if…”
“Even if what?” Scott prompted when it seemed Clare had become lost in her thoughts.
“I just remembered what Cameron was like those last few days.”
“What do you mean?”
Clare smiled. “He’d been walking around with this daft grin on his face and his head in
the clouds. The whole family noticed the change in him and Chris was convinced he had a
new man in his life. When I asked him if there was anything he wanted to tell me he simply
smiled and wouldn’t say a thing.”
“Do you think maybe he remembered our day together?”
Clare shrugged and gave him a watery smile. “Maybe he did. I’d like to think he didn’t
die without knowing what it’s like to be in love.”
Someone knocked on the living room door. “Mrs. Kirk, we need leave soon, are you
ready?”
Clare jumped up and rushed to the mirror over the mantelpiece. “Goodness, look at the
state of me. I need to go clean up. I can’t ruin Chris’ big day by showing up with panda
eyes.”
Scott stood. “I should leave.”
“Aren’t you coming to the wedding?”
“I think I’ll take a walk round the village and maybe slip in the back if that’s okay?”
Scott walked toward the door. He deliberately ignored the djinn’s ring. What use were
wishes when Cameron was out of his reach forever?
Clare nodded and gave him a quick hug. “Thank you for making Cameron so happy,
even if it was just for a little while.”
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47
Scott suspected she knew he had no intention of going to the wedding, or of ever
returning to this little village once he had left.
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48
Chapter Six
Despite his intention to stay away from the wedding, Scott found himself in the church
grounds, wandering amongst the graves. It took him a while to locate the one with
Cameron’s name on. When he found the headstone he sank to his knees and brushed his
fingers over the lettering. Somehow, that made everything real.
Scott didn’t talk to Cameron as he sat on the grass. He remembered their day together,
reliving every detail in his mind. He cursed the cruelty of fate—and the djinn—for giving
him the chance to connect with the other half of his soul, only to tear them apart forever.
The ceremony in the church got underway. Scott made no effort to join them. Everyone
else might be there at the wedding, but for him, the day felt more like a funeral.
A glint of gold alerted him to the presence of the djinn. The ring sat on top of the
headstone. He grabbed it and tossed the wretched thing across the cemetery.
“I don’t want your damned wish!” he shouted. “I want him back.”
The djinn didn’t appear or reply.
Scott left before the wedding party came out of the church. He got in his car and drove
as fast as he could from the village. He’d return to the city and throw himself into his work.
Maybe in a few years’ time he might even have forgotten Cameron altogether.
He didn’t believe the lies he told himself. There was something about Cameron that he
knew he wouldn’t forget. The connection he had felt for his fake husband had been instant.
He’d never imagined he could fall for someone quite so quickly, yet the thought of spending
the rest of his life without him seemed to be unbearable.
If only he’d met Cameron sooner.
Scott slammed his foot on the brake and whispered a small prayer of thanks there was
nothing on the road with him.
He spun the car round and drove back the way he had come. The wedding appeared to
be over and the wedding party had left for the reception. Scott ran in the direction of where
he had thrown the ring. He nearly didn’t see the djinn standing next to Cameron’s headstone.
“Changed your mind?” the djinn asked as he twirled the ring on his little finger.
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49
Scott thought for a moment the djinn intended to disappear, taking his ring and Scott’s
one chance at happiness with him.
With a flick of his wrist, the djinn tossed him the ring. Scott caught it one handed and
held it tightly as he wished as hard as he could.
“You have to say the words out loud,” the djinn informed him.
“Can you grant this one?”
The djinn smiled. “It’s an easier one to pull off than Clare’s wish.”
Scott took a deep breath. “Then I wish for you to send me back in time to the week
before Chris’ wedding last year, but before Cameron’s accident.”
The djinn bowed low. “Your wish is my command.”
Lightning flashed in the summer sky, blinding Scott momentarily. When his vision
returned he found himself still in the cemetery, yet the ground was covered in snow and
Cameron’s headstone had vanished. Had he really traveled back in time?
“Yes.” The djinn answered his unspoken question.
“So this isn’t some little pocket world like last time?”
“No, this is the real past.”
“Is there another me out there?” Scott tried to remember where he had been at this time
the previous year. He had a vague feeling he might have been in Rome. Wherever he had
been he knew he would have been buried in his work, without the vaguest notion that the
other half of his soul was about to be lost to him forever.
“Unfortunately, yes,” the djinn confirmed. “Try not to bump into yourself if you can
help it.”
“This is really weird.”
“Just remember that you, the other you, has to live your life exactly as you have until
this point, else otherwise you’ll find yourself with a whole bunch of problems.”
“What sort of problems?”
The djinn gave him a warning glare. “Just don’t interfere with your own past. Find a
new job, meet new friends, and make a fresh life for yourself and Cameron.”
“But what if I accidentally bump into myself?”
“Don’t.”
“But what if—?”
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The djinn poked him hard in the chest. “You retain your knowledge of where you were
between now and then. Stay away or risk losing Cameron all over again, and this time it will
be forever.”
Scott rubbed his chest and nodded. He supposed sometimes it really was better not to
ask. He’d miss his job, but he had the feeling maybe it was for the best. From what Cameron
had told him, they hadn’t spent much time together during their six months of marriage. A
more local job, instead of one that had him jetting all over the world, could be the best thing
for them both.
“You think?” the djinn asked. “I’m glad to see you picked up a few hints during your
time with Cameron. Now go, get out of here, find your man, and for the sake of both of you,
keep him at home on Friday night.”
With those parting words the djinn vanished, leaving Scott standing in the middle of
the cemetery. When he opened his fingers the ring had gone too.
Scott immediately figured out he had to get moving if he didn’t want to freeze to death.
He had dressed for a late spring wedding, not hiking through the snow.
Progress was slow going and he’d probably ruined his shoes, yet Scott eventually
arrived at the cottage, relieved to see it was no longer neglected and vacant.
He trudged up the path and knocked on the door. Movement inside gave him hope he
wasn’t going to turn into an icicle. The door opened and Chris stood on the other side of it.
Once again he had no idea who Scott was. If Clare’s guess about Cameron remembering their
day had been correct, the same could not be said about her other son.
“Yes?” Chris studied Scott from head to toe. “Are you lost?”
“No.” Scott shook his head and took a step forward. Unfortunately Chris made no
effort to let him in. “Is Cameron in?”
Chris turned to glance over his shoulder. “Someone for you, Cameron,” he called.
Cameron stepped into view. He stared at Scott, speechless. The glass he held slipped
from his fingers, shattering on the wooden floor and spilling the contents.
“Are you okay?” Chris asked his brother. “You’ve gone really pale.”
“Scott?” Cameron whispered.
“Surprise?” Scott tried, wondering how much Cameron remembered of their day
together.
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Chris looked at Cameron, then Scott, and back to his brother again. “Scott, as in dream
guy, Scott?”
Cameron flushed bright red.
“Have my ears been burning?” Scott teased as he tried to inch his way inside and out of
the snow.
Cameron stared at him with wide-eyed wonder. “How is this possible?”
“It’s a long story,” Scott answered. “Aren’t you going to let your husband in?”
“Husband?” Chris asked. “You never mentioned you were married in this dream you
had.”
Cameron’s blush intensified again. “Didn’t I? I guess it must have slipped my mind.”
“What else did you forget to mention?” Chris chuckled as he teased his older brother.
This was the young man Scott remembered. Not the groom with sadness in his eyes on what
was supposed to be the happiest day of his life.
Scott hadn’t thought Cameron could turn any redder, yet he managed to.
“I could take a wild guess.” He waggled his eyebrows and winked at his fake husband.
Chris finally stepped aside and Scott hurried into the warmth of the cottage, closing the
door behind him.
“What’s going on through there?” a male voice called from the living room. “Are we
playing cards or not?”
Chris walked past Cameron and through the doorway. “Apparently dream guy is
joining us,” he announced in a loud voice. Scott guessed from the laughter and heckling in
response that his ears should definitely have been burning.
Cameron finally moved from his spot. He stepped over the broken glass and spilled
beverage to approach Scott.
Scott rolled his eyes at the teasing coming from the other guests. “So, you told your
brother and your mates about me, but you didn’t tell your mum?”
“You’ve met my mother?” Cameron completely missed Scott’s point.
Scott nodded. “Sort of. She probably won’t remember me.”
“I’m confused.” Cameron frowned, his brow furrowed. “Who are you?”
“My name’s Scott Baxter, and I have it on pretty good authority I’m the love of your
life, or something like that.”
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“That doesn’t really explain anything.”
Scott sighed. “I guess it doesn’t. How much do you remember of the day we spent
together?”
“Which one?” Cameron asked.
“What do you mean?”
A movement in the doorway caused Cameron to pause. “Come through here.” He
grabbed Scott’s hand and led him into the dining room.
Once they were alone he continued. “Yesterday I had no idea you existed. Then last
night I had the most amazing dream of being married to you. I woke up with the memories
of having spent several years in a relationship with you, including six months of married
life.”
“You remember all our time together?”
“Yes. It’s like I remember living two entirely different lives. It’s weird as all hell. How
much do you recall?”
“I only have the memory of one day. We’d been married for six months and the day I
spent with you was the week before your brother’s wedding. We went sledging, watched a
movie, you made dinner, and we had a lot of sex in between.”
“That was the last day I dreamt,” Cameron confirmed. This came as no surprise to
Scott. “Chris is getting married this coming weekend. I thought maybe the dream was my
brain telling me I wanted to tie the knot as well. Yet you say you dreamt the same day. How
can two people dream the same thing?”
“It wasn’t a dream,” Scott explained.
“Of course it was. It had to be.”
Scott wondered how much he could tell Cameron before he threw the crazy man out of
his house. Then he realized he could tell Cameron everything. He trusted him with the truth.
“Do you believe in magic?”
“Is that a trick question?”
“No, but it would make things easier for me if your answer is yes.”
Cameron smiled. “Fine, yes, I’ll believe in whatever you want, if it’ll make you happy.”
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Scott took a deep breath and proceeded to explain about the djinn, Cameron’s mother’s
wish, and his own journey through time. By the time he finished Cameron was completely
speechless.
“I’m going to die on Friday?” he finally whispered.
“No,” Scott assured him. “We aren’t setting foot outside this cottage on Friday.”
“You really think you can cheat fate?”
“The djinn wouldn’t have sent me back here if we couldn’t.”
Cameron seemed to accept his story. Scott wondered if he would have been so open-
minded if their roles had been reversed.
“Okay then, I’ll trust you to keep me safe.” Cameron squeezed Scott’s hand and took a
deep breath. “What do you suggest we do now?”
Scott waggled his eyebrows. “I’ve not seen my husband in nearly a week.”
“I have guests,” Cameron reminded him, “who are probably listening at the door right
now.”
Scott had forgotten there was anyone else in the cottage.
“Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
“Are you sure?”
Cameron nodded and tugged him toward the hallway. “You’ve got no home, no job,
and no possessions save for the clothes on your back. The most sensible thing for you to do is
move in here, right? So, if you’re going to be living here it’s simply a matter of time before
you meet them anyway. We might as well get it over with now. If it helps, according to my
memories, they all like you and vice versa.”
“You don’t think maybe this is moving a little fast?”
“Maybe for you,” Cameron agreed, “but I’ve known you for years. If you want to take
things slow I can make up a bed on the sofa for you.”
Scott shook his head. “In case you’ve forgotten, I had no memory of our life together
during the day I spent with you. Yet we still spent most of the time naked.”
Cameron chuckled. “Well, when you put it like that.”
They left the dining room and Scott breathed a sigh of relief when they found no one
eavesdropping at the door.
Cameron glanced down at the melted snow on the floor.
ONE PERFECT WISH
54
“Sorry.” Scott cringed down at his clothes. “I didn’t exactly dress for winter.”
Cameron brushed aside his apology. “We’re about the same size. Go change into
something dry and then I’ll introduce you to the rabble.”
“Don’t you want to join me?” Scott teased.
“Very much.” Cameron brushed his hand across Scott’s arse. “But not while my brother
and friends are in earshot.”
Scott laughed and hurried down the hall to the bathroom. He washed up and went to
raid Cameron’s wardrobe. Cameron was correct about the clothes. The jeans were a little
tight, but otherwise they were about the same size. Dried and dressed, he mustered up the
nerve to face Cameron’s friends.
Cameron jumped up and rushed to his side as soon as he saw him. “This is Scott,” he
announced. “He’s going to be moving in here.”
Scott gave the group a nervous smile. “Hi.”
“Well, he’s definitely gorgeous,” one of the men commented.
“This is Brett,” Cameron said. “He used to date Cathy back in school. Despite his
amazing dress sense and love of shopping, he’s actually straight. I know—it’s tragic.”
Scott smiled at Brett. “It’s good to meet you. Er, who’s Cathy?”
Cameron frowned for a moment. “Sorry, I forgot you won’t know her. She’s one of my
sisters.”
“We have three of them,” Chris added. “Cathy, Cara and Clarice. Our mother loves
those C names.”
Scott chuckled. “I guess I have some catching up to do. What’s your dad’s name?”
Cameron sighed. “Craig.”
“Mum’s going to be so disappointed when she finds out Cameron is breaking with
tradition too. I think she hoped he’d find a man named Cuthbert, or something else starting
with a C.”
Scott felt welcomed into the group almost from the moment he’d walked into the room.
Brett appeared to be the most outspoken of the friends, while Gavin definitely had the driest
sense of humor. Chris took great delight in teasing his brother, while Eddie was apparently
the voice of reason. Cameron quietly confided in him that Gavin and he were the closest of
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55
friends. Scott found it strange to be told this, yet after a few minutes in Gavin’s company he
recognized the truth in Cameron’s words.
“So, what do we call you?” Gavin asked. “Scott or Dream Guy?”
“Dream Guy,” Brett answered before Scott could open his mouth.
“I think I prefer Scott.” Cameron pulled Scott up against him and kissed him on the
lips.
Cameron’s friends, despite every last one of them being straight, whistled and catcalled
as Scott deepened the kiss.
“Okay, I think we’re going now,” Eddie announced. “I’m all for gay rights, but I don’t
need a front row seat for a floor show.”
Cameron pulled out of the kiss to say goodbye to his friends. No, Scott corrected
himself, the guys were their friends.
Chris stopped at the front door. “What do you plan to tell Mum and Dad about Scott?”
“I’ve no idea. While you guys might be crazy enough to accept the truth, I’m not sure
they will.”
Chris raised an eyebrow. “I’m still not sure I believe the guy you dreamed about just
turned up here. I keep thinking this is some elaborate prank the two of you have concocted.
Maybe you should say he’s an old friend from college or something.”
Cameron promised to consider his suggestion, though Scott could tell he didn’t relish
the idea of lying to his parents. Chris and the others left, leaving the two of them alone at last.
“We’ll figure something out,” Scott promised. “Maybe your mum has some memory of
the future too. She might remember the wish and everything.”
Cameron shook his head. “I hope not.”
“It would make it easier if she did.”
“Easier for us,” Cameron clarified. “But not for her.”
“What do you mean?”
“If she remembers the wish, she’ll remember me dying too. I wouldn’t want her to have
the memory of my death, not for anything.”
Scott hadn’t thought about it that way.
Cameron shook off his melancholy mood and took Scott’s hand. “We’ll decide what to
tell them tomorrow.”
ONE PERFECT WISH
56
Scott nodded and let Cameron pull him toward the bedroom. “Last chance to tell me if
I’m going too fast for you.” He kicked the door closed and pulled off his jumper.
Scott drew in a sharp breath as Cameron tossed his pullover to the floor. “I want this.
The day we spent together was the best of my life, and I don’t mean just the sex either. I had
fun like I haven’t had in a long time.”
“Sledging,” Cameron recalled. “We can do it again, if you enjoyed it as much as all
that.”
Scott laughed and shook his head. “Maybe we can do that tomorrow. Right now I want
you naked in this bed.”
Cameron hurriedly undressed, his entire body flushed with desire.
Scott stripped out of his borrowed clothes and climbed onto the bed.
Cameron followed him after rummaging around in the drawer. They both grimaced at
the condoms. “We’re getting tested as soon as possible,” Cameron insisted. “It was great
making love to you with nothing between us and I want that connection again.”
“Me too.”
Cameron toyed with the box for a few moments, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“What is it?”
“The world the djinn sent us to was real, right?”
“Yes.” Scott wondered what Cameron’s was thinking.
“Then we were actually there and we really went bareback.”
“I was clean last time I got tested,” Scott assured him. “I’ve always been careful, so you
shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”
Cameron smiled. “I’m not worried. And for the record, I’m careful too. You don’t want
to know how long it is since my last guy, time spent with you in another world,
notwithstanding.”
Scott kissed him. “It’s never going to be longer than a day or two again. Hell, an hour or
two on the days we’re not working.”
Cameron laughed and eased him down onto the bed. Scott frowned as he felt
something strange under his back and he pushed Cameron back a little so he could sit up
and see what it was.
“What is it?” Cameron asked.
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“Just some papers.” Scott barely glanced at them as he tossed them aside. He intended
to get back to where they had been a moment ago as soon as possible.
“I don’t keep any paperwork in here.” Cameron reached over to pick up the papers. As
he read through the first page his frown turned into a wide grin.
“Something amusing?” Scott asked.
“I think your djinn has given us a little something extra.” Cameron turned to the next
sheet.
Scott twisted round so he could look over Cameron’s shoulder. “Test results?”
“Which say we’re both clean.” Cameron showed Scott his results.
“Do you think we can trust them to be accurate?”
Cameron laughed. “After all that’s happened to you, the one thing you aren’t sure is
real, is this?”
“Good point.” Scott took the papers from Cameron and threw them across the room,
together with the box of condoms. “Now, where were we?”
“Right about here,” Cameron whispered as he eased Scott back onto the duvet once
more.
Scott wrapped his arms around his lover, holding him close as they tasted each other.
Moaning with desire, Scott spread his legs to allow Cameron to settle between them.
With a sigh of contentment, he savored the feel of Cameron’s hardness rubbing against his
own.
“I feel like I know your body as well as my own.” Cameron ran his fingers over Scott’s
abdomen. “I’m tempted to remind you that you’re supposed to be wearing a cock ring today,
since you lost our bet, but I want you so badly I can’t bear to wait even until tomorrow.”
“I wish I could say I knew you as well as you appear to know me,” Scott admitted. “I
guess I have some catching up to do.”
“You’ll learn.” Cameron continued to seek out Scott’s most sensitive places.
“What do you like?”
Cameron grinned wickedly. “What don’t I like would be a better question.”
Scott’s hips bucked as Cameron’s fingers finally reached his cock. “Tell me.”
ONE PERFECT WISH
58
“I like to touch you.” Cameron demonstrated by tracing a long line along Scott’s hip.
“And I adore watching you touch yourself. I enjoy teasing you with my fingers, and also
with my tongue.”
“Rimming?”
Cameron licked his lips and nodded. “I can’t get enough of your taste.”
“Do you ever bottom?” Scott asked. “I remember you asking if I wanted you to ride me,
but I get the impression you prefer to top. Am I reading you right?”
“See, you know me better than you think. You’re right, I usually top you. It’s not very
often I bottom, but when you need me to, I do. You’re the only guy who’s ever been inside
me, if that alternate life counts. Did I mention how weird it is to have memories of things that
didn’t really happen? I guess what I should be saying is, you will be the first.”
Scott made mental notes of what Cameron told him, knowing it would take him
months, if not years, to learn his lover’s body as well as Cameron knew his. Luckily for them
both, they now had the time.
Cameron sat up and knelt between Scott’s legs. He reached down and nudged his limbs
apart, spreading him wide open for his hungry gaze. Scott felt a little self-conscious, but he
forgot all about being uncomfortable when Cameron ducked his head and licked him from
the base of his cock to the tip. He tongued his freshly shaved balls, drawing them into his
mouth and sucking them.
“I get the impression you planned on getting laid today.” Cameron sat back and urged
Scott to turn over.
“Might have.” Scott wasn’t going to reveal exactly how long he’d spent in the bathroom
this morning, readying himself for this moment. Cameron would no doubt discover soon
enough the amount of time Scott spent on his personal care. Actually, he probably already
knew that too.
Once Scott was on his knees, Cameron parted his buttocks and teased his entrance with
his fingers. Scott pushed back against the digits, but the moment he did Cameron pulled
them back.
“Patience,” he teased.
Scott shot Cameron an annoyed grimace over his shoulder. “You’re forgetting it’s been
a week since I’ve seen you. What’s it been for you? A few hours?”
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59
Cameron didn’t seem to be bothered about rushing and instead of giving Scott the
fullness he craved, he slowly licked the line from directly behind his balls all the way to the
small of his back. Scott whimpered as Cameron’s tongue ghosted over his entrance, teasing
him mercilessly. When he did the same thing for a second time Scott felt sure his almost
husband was the most sadistic bastard ever to walk the Earth.
“Cameron, please,” he whined.
Finally, his lover seemed to take pity on him and while it wasn’t his cock, the warm wet
tongue inching its way inside was a pretty good substitute.
Scott keened and moaned as Cameron explored him intimately, alternately licking,
sucking and nipping at the flesh round his entrance. Scott gripped the base of his dick in a
futile effort to hold back his orgasm, but he left it too late. The moment his fingers brushed
the sensitive flesh he spilled across the sheets.
Cameron kissed his back and held him as his body shook with the force of his orgasm.
“I’ve got you,” he crooned.
Scott let Cameron guide him down onto the sheets, carefully avoiding the sticky patch.
“Is it always like this?” he asked. “The day we spent together was pretty intense for me, and I
thought maybe it was all part of the magic, now I’m not so sure.”
Cameron brushed Scott’s hair back from his face. “Maybe what we have is a different
sort of magic,” he suggested. Scott found he rather liked that idea.
They rested for a while until Scott remembered Cameron hadn’t come yet. He’d been so
lost in his own pleasure he’d completely neglected his lover. Scott reached down, took
Cameron’s length in his hand, and stroked him purposefully.
Cameron buried his face in Scott’s neck as Scott explored every contour and ridge of his
penis. Cameron moaned and whimpered at his touch. “I’m not going to last long if you don’t
stop soon.”
Scott gave him one last tug before he pulled back. Without words he guided Cameron
between his legs, spreading himself wide once more. This time Cameron didn’t need him to
beg for his cock. He slid inside as though this was where he had always belonged.
Cameron waited patiently for him to adjust. “Welcome home, my love.”
ONE PERFECT WISH
60
Scott wrapped his legs around Cameron’s back and held him in place. When Cameron
moved, Scott met each of his thrusts with perfect timing. He closed his eyes and savored
every single feeling Cameron wrought from him.
“I’m not letting you go,” Cameron declared. “You’re mine now, forever.”
“Forever,” Scott agreed as his erection rose once more.
This time they strove to reach their peak together, each battling not to come before the
other, until finally neither of them could hold back a moment longer.
Scott cried out as Cameron shook with quiet intensity. With his lover still buried inside
him, Scott came for the second time, even more powerfully than the first.
Cameron collapsed across his chest, his breathing ragged. Scott, similarly breathless,
took several minutes to recover enough to form a coherent sentence.
“That was amazing,” he finally managed. “I’m going to get spoiled by you, I can tell.
I’m going to want this every day.”
“Marry me and you’ve got it,” Cameron replied.
“Are you serious?” Scott asked. “You don’t want to wait and find out if I’m totally
different to the guy you have in your memories?”
Cameron shook his head. “I don’t need to wait. I know you’re the same person and
you’re the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. I can feel it. Can’t you?”
Scott could. The connection had hit him right from the start. Cameron was the one for
him, and whether they waited a week or a year, he knew in his heart it was true.
“Our wedding was so perfect,” Cameron continued. “I can’t bear it that you don’t have
the memory of sharing the day with me.”
Scott smiled and kissed Cameron on the lips. He tried to keep it light, but with little
success. With limbs entwined they rolled around the covers, each chasing a kiss deeper than
their last.
“Is that a yes?” Cameron finally managed to ask.
Scott, who had ended up straddling Cameron, pulled his lover into a sitting position
and took his face in his hands. He grinned and nodded. “It’s a yes. I want to share that
perfect wedding with you.”
Cameron wrapped his arms around him and Scott sighed in contentment.
“Everything is going to be perfect.”
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61
Cameron chuckled. “Perfection might get boring, don’t you think?”
Scott shook his head. “Whatever fate throws at us, I doubt boring will ever come into it,
after all, how many men can say they were set up by a djinn?”
“And my mother. Without her wish we wouldn’t be here at all. How can I ever find a
way to thank her for bringing you into my life?”
“I’m pretty sure seeing you as happy as I’m going to make you will be the best way of
thanking her. Even though she probably has no idea of her part in this, I’m very glad she
made her wish.”
“Me too,” Cameron replied. “And I’m glad you made your wish too. Let’s make sure
we don’t waste the chance we’ve been given.”
“What about you? If the djinn stood before you right now and offered you the same
chance, what would you wish for?”
“Nothing,” Cameron answered immediately. “I have everything I could ever want right
here in my arms.”
Scott smiled and kissed Cameron again. He might have no job, money, clothes or
possessions, but with Cameron in his life, he had something infinitely more valuable. He had
nothing left to wish for either.
Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:
My Boyfriend’s an Alien
L.M. Brown
Excerpt
Chapter One
Zakrynious tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for his turn to appear before the
elders of his people. The queue to the transformation chamber—the only one on the entire
planet of Trimmeron—stretched as far as the eye could see. He’d been standing there for
hours and he still couldn’t see the doorway at the front of the queue. At least this would
probably be the last time he’d have to go through the ritual of transformation. Then again,
he’d thought that before.
“What are you hoping for, Zak?” Strathryn, the young Camyl’on directly ahead of him,
asked. Zak hadn’t met him before today, but they’d been waiting so long Zak felt as though
they were old friends. “I want to see what life’s like on Marinatia.”
Zak laughed loudly, prompting a few glares and admonishments from the others in the
queue. “Rather you than me.”
“What’s wrong with Marinatia?”
Zak shook his head. “Everyone who goes there comes back smelling of fish. Once
you’ve turned mer, there’s no way to ever get rid of the stink.”
Strathryn snorted back his laughter as the line moved on a few more inches.
Zak had not expected this latest transformation. Already close to maturity when he’d
last been brought before the elders, it had been something of a shock to find himself back
here once again. He had frequently wondered during the last few days what he would end
up as this time. He could discount his own race and those he had already changed into
during his puberty, but there were still incalculable possibilities.
As one of a race of chameleon-like beings, each of their kind took on several new
appearances during their years of puberty up until adulthood. They remained in their new
guises until whatever powers causing the transformations determined them ready to change
again.
Zak had spent his last transformation on the icy mountains of Gr’chn and although he
had enjoyed his time amongst the hospitable mountain people, he had been eager to rid
himself of the coarse, furry hide they had developed so as to more easily endure the harsh
climate. He much preferred his own softer furred body.
When Zak had reverted back to his natural state on the previous world, he had
expected to have full control over his body and the ability to change appearance at will.
When he’d realized he didn’t, he had rushed to catch the next spacecraft back to Trimmeron
so he could take the potion the elders provided to trigger and ease the next transformation.
Luckily Gr’chn was an Alliance world and the locals didn’t think anything of the fact that he
was suddenly a different species.
He had once asked his father why they had to go through with the transformations. His
father had told him the story of one of their youths who had refused to drink the potion to
trigger the change to a new form. The transition had come anyway, and had been extremely
painful for the youth, so much so that he’d had to be cared for by their healers for several
days afterwards. The healers were still working on a way for their healing waters to help
anyone else who dug their heels in about taking the potion. Unfortunately, the
transformation ritual was shrouded in secrecy and the elders refused to reveal the contents of
the potion to anyone. Without the knowledge of the ingredients, the healers were working
blindly as they searched for answers.
Finally, after another two hours of waiting, Zak reached the doorway. At least now he
could watch those transforming before him, which would help to pass the time.
Zak could see his parents, Aristania and Cor’shi, sitting in the chamber along with
family members of some of the other youngsters. He gave them a small wave and they
looked back at him proudly. He had barely seen them for more than a few days together
since his first transformation. Such was the way things had always been for those of his kind.
To enable the youngsters to learn about each form they took, it was customary for each
young man and woman to be fostered out to a family on the world native to their new body.
The line crept forward and Zak’s turn to stand before the elders finally arrived. He
didn’t have a great deal to say. The elders had already received their report from his foster
parents on Gr’chn, which told them all they needed to know. They had also extracted from
him copies of his own memories of his time on Gr’chn, adding his experiences and
knowledge to their collective database.
All Zak had to do now was drink the vile concoction that would trigger his next
transformation. He prayed it would be the last time he’d have to drink the revolting
substance. When he reached maturity, around the age of forty, he would revert back to his
natural form without being in control of the transformation for the last time. If he ever
needed or wished to take on one of his other forms, that being any of those he had taken
during the years of his puberty, he would be able to do so at will, and without the need of
potions.
“Drink up, Zakrynious,” the elder said as he passed him the heavy goblet. “Many
others await their turn after you.”
Zak gulped the lukewarm liquid down as fast as he could and waited for the potion to
take effect.
The transformation never hurt, it simply happened. His first clue that the change had
occurred was the realization that he stood shorter than he had been a few moments before.
Not a great deal shorter, just enough for him to notice he no longer stood eye to eye with the
elder before him.
He looked down at his hands and frowned as he observed their new and strange color.
Pale ecru and smaller than he had been used to, they also had two more fingers on each hand
than his natural form had. He wriggled the extra digits, already anticipating them being a
nuisance until he became used to them.
“Well, this is quite unusual,” the elder commented. He coughed nervously and looked
behind him to the other elders. “I’ve never seen anything quite like this before.”
Zak glanced toward his parents in the audience. They stared at him with expressions of
surprise and perhaps a little curiosity. He turned back to the elder and waited for him to tell
him where he would be living for the duration of his transformation. Until he knew which
galaxy he would be residing in, he had no idea which spacecraft to go to.
One of the other elders stepped forward and peered at him closely. “Most irregular,” he
mumbled.
“What is it?” Zak asked. “What’s the matter?”
“Why, we don’t know what you are,” the first elder replied. “I don’t recall seeing one of
those before.”
“I thought we always took the forms of races who would play a large part in our lives.”
Zak looked from one elder to the other, waiting for one of them to explain what had
happened.
The elder patted him on the arm kindly. “That‘s true. Now we just need to figure out
what you are, so we can make arrangements for you to be fostered.”
Zak nervously shifted on his feet.
“Perhaps we should deal with the remaining youngsters before we try to figure out
what he is,” one of the female elders suggested.
The elders readily agreed and Zak scurried over to sit beside his parents, where he
could wait out of the way of the others.
Eventually the rest of the youngsters had taken their new forms and had left for the
ships that would take them to their new, albeit temporary, homes. Many had cast him
curious glances when passing him by. When the room had cleared except for his parents and
the elders, Zak found himself the center of attention once more.
The very oldest of the elders, who was rumored to be nearly twelve thousand years old,
stepped forward with a database access portal in his hands. “Let’s see his teeth,” he ordered.
Zak opened his mouth so they could look at them. He wondered what they expected to
find.
“No fangs,” the elder muttered. “We can discount several races with that bit of
information.”
Zak wondered how long this would take. Although he didn’t feel as self-conscious as
he had immediately after the transformation, he was far from comfortable being stared at by
the half dozen elders as though he had become some sort of experiment.
They continued to poke and prod him for some time to come. Zak let his thoughts drift
to more pleasant topics—like dinner—as he waited for them to figure out what in the world
he had turned into.
“What’s that?” one of the elders suddenly asked, pulling Zak from his wandering
thoughts.
Zak looked at the elder who had spoken. He pointed toward Zak’s abdomen. Zak
glanced down at the front of his robes. The robes were designed to be loose fitting, just in
case the wearer’s new form was somewhat larger than expected. His robes now engulfed his
smaller body, but there seemed to be something extra down below that hadn’t been present
before.
“Undo your robes,” the elder with possession of the database ordered.
Zak, like most of his race, wasn’t shy about being unclothed. He disrobed quickly and
looked down at his new appendage. He had never seen anything like it before. No form he
had ever taken had caused him to grow an extra part to his body just there.
One of the elders reached forward and poked the mysterious protrusion of flesh with a
finger. Zak drew in a sharp breath and jumped backward. Never had a touch to his flesh felt
like that. A shiver had gone through every part of his body and the rod between his legs
seemed to stretch and extend even more.
“It can’t be,” the elder with the database said as he rapidly tapped the screen, searching
for who knew what.
“Can’t be what?” Zak asked, drawing his eyes away from the sensitive flesh for only a
moment.
The elder ignored him for several minutes before finally giving him his attention. “I
believe you may have turned human.”
Zak had never heard the word ‘human’ before, but apparently several of the elders had
and they gasped in astonishment. Or maybe horror? What was a human and how had this
happened?
“Are you sure?” Gandr’ah asked.
“Not entirely. I’ll have to check the records for the last time this occurred.”
“The last time?” Gandr’ah pulled the elder aside though Zak could still hear their
words. “You mean this has happened before?”
“Once, to my knowledge. It must have been around seven hundred years ago. Just can’t
quite recall the name of the boy who turned human. No one had any recollection of the
world humans reside on and the youth was nearly fully mature before he even arrived on the
planet. He seemed to enjoy life there. From what I remember, he returned to the place
immediately after he reached maturity and hasn’t been heard from since.”
“Do you think he could still be there?”
“It’s possible. Why? What are you thinking?”
Gandr’ah nodded toward Zak. “He needs to foster with someone and if the planet isn’t
part of the Alliance, it would be better if he stays with one of his own kind, rather than the
natives.”
Zak waited as the elders nodded in turn. It seemed his fate had been decided for him,
though he still had no idea of the name of the place he was destined to be traveling to.
After more discussions and looking up references, the elders decided Zak would leave
for Earth—the rather boringly named planet of the humans—on the next available ship. Since
Earth didn’t form part of the Alliance, the elders explained that it might take a little while to
find a craft going in the right direction.
They had eventually found the name of the only other man to have ever turned human
buried in the archives. They’d sent a message to Darresh to let him know to expect Zak’s
arrival on the planet in the not too distant future.
In the meantime they would take the unusual step of implanting in him the knowledge
Darresh had provided to their collective database to prepare him for life on Earth.
* * * *
Two weeks later, Zak said goodbye to his parents and stepped onto the spacecraft. The
journey would take around sixteen hours and when he arrived he would be met by Darresh,
the only other Camyl’on who had ever taken human form.
Zak watched the holographic entertainment display as the ship took him to Earth. He
hoped the music would distract him from the images in his mind. After the elders had used
their technology to implant in Zak all the knowledge Darresh had provided them with, Zak
had reached the conclusion that humans were little more than animals. He had been far from
impressed with what he had seen. Primitive and barbaric were two words that sprang to
mind. The idea of turning round and fleeing back home seemed quite tempting. If only
running away were one of his options.
Why ever had Darresh wanted to return to the place?
The elders had told Zak a message had been sent ahead of him to Earth, but from what
he could see of the human race, it would be amazing if Darresh had survived to receive the
news of his impending arrival.
He supposed he was lucky that Darresh had turned human before he himself had,
because he didn’t know if he could have handled traveling to such an inhospitable world on
his own, with no friendly face to greet him.
About the Author
I live in England, in a quaint little village that time doesn’t seem to have touched. No,
wait a minute—that’s the retirement biography. Right now I am in England in a
medium-sized town that no one has ever heard of, so I won’t bore you with the
details. Keeping me company are numerous sexy men. I just wish that they weren’t all
inside my head.
Email:
L.M. loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and
author biography at
Also by L.M Brown
Mermen and Magic: Forbidden Waters
Heavenly Sins: Between Heaven and Hell
Heavenly Sins: Between Good and Evil
Totally Bound Publishing
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