A Most Graceful Life

Author's Note: Many thanks for the warm reception so far! I really enjoy how this chapter turned out, and I hope you do, too. Just a hint of sexual activity in this one, but tune in for chapter four for the story to really get steamy.

-CJ McCormick

*****

It was always the same pesky strand of daylight. That single ray that escaped from beyond the crack in his curtains that just so happened to hit him right in the face. Stephen's eyes slowly opened, blinking a few times as he came to consciousness from his rest.

He barely remembered falling asleep last night. In fact, the last thing he remembered was solving the puzzle box he had found at work yesterday. Turning his head slightly, he saw the box was still there, sitting on his nightstand. Yet, something was different than yesterday. There appeared to be a hidden latch, something he hadn't noticed before. It was popped open.

Squinting at the puzzle box, he reached over to grab it, wondering how he never noticed this latch on the back of the puzzle.

"I wonder what this does," he muttered, still somewhat groggily.

"Good morning, Master," came a high pitched voice from the corner of his room.

Stephen dropped the puzzle box, and bolted upright in bed and then tossed his head in the direction of the voice. There was a woman in his room! She was kneeling near the foot of his bed. He could barely make out her features as she was partially covered by the rest of the bed.

"What? Who are you??" Stephen panicked, pushing up against the headboard of his bed. "How did you get in my room?!"

The woman simply smiled at him, and slightly raised her hands. "I assure you, Master, that I mean you no harm. As for why I am here, well, you have released me."

"Released you?" Stephen asked, feeling even more confused, if that was possible. "What do you even mean by that?"

"Well, it's quite simple, Master," she replied, standing up, and allowing Stephen the first full view of her. "You solved the puzzle, on the my portal, correct?"

"Portal? What's a portal?"

The woman walked slowly over to his nightstand, and picked up the puzzle box to demonstrate. "This is my portal, Master. You solved the puzzle, which released me from my confinement within." She smiled at Stephen, as if it were the most natural explanation in the world.

Stephen couldn't help but stare, mesmerized at her smile. Whoever this woman was, she was absolutely gorgeous. Even now that she was standing, she wasn't any taller than Stephen, sitting upright in his bed. He guessed she had to only be a few inches over five feet. She had light brown hair, with some hints of blonde near the tips as well. It's waviness was exceptionally attractive, as if she had spent a lot of time perfecting her hair. She also had the bluest eyes Stephen had ever seen, attracting his gaze like a beacon. She wore a slight smile, that, when paired with those eyes, could make any man breath heavier.

He couldn't help but cast his eyes down past her face. Her soft, creamy pale skin looked like it was begging to be touched, or kissed. She was slender, but with the kind of curves that could stop traffic. Normally, Stephen would try to avoid gawking at a woman, but he couldn't help himself. His eyes took in her full bust, which narrowed down to a smaller waist, before flaring out over a sexy set of hips. Stephen couldn't have designed a better looking woman if he had tried.

She was cloaked in what appeared to be a simple white robe, that showed enough skin around her neckline to make Stephen begin to sweat.

"Master? Are you okay? You're starting to sweat." Her expression changed to one of concern.

Busted!

He thought, and he felt his face begin to turn red. She had definitely noticed him checking her out!

"Umm, I'm okay. Just fine," he managed to stammer, as he averted his eyes from her body.

She couldn't help but giggle, rewarding him with one of those heart stopping smiles once more.

Suddenly, Stephen remembered he had a strange, albeit beautiful, woman standing in his bedroom, and had no clue on the reason why.

"Seriously, how did you get in here? Do I need to be calling the cops or something?" He asked, looking back at her again.

"I take it by 'cops', you mean the police, right? What a novel idea!" She seemed genuinely impressed by the thought. "But no, Master, I mean you no harm. You just released me from my vessel."

Stephen's eyes went back down to the puzzle box. It was maybe a few inches large in total, so her rationale made not one bit of sense. He started to wonder if this was all a big practical joke. Surely, that could be the only explanation, right?

"Okay, honestly now, who put you up to this? How much did Ram pay you?" Stephen asked, his expression turning to acid at the thought of being the butt of yet another joke from Ram. I'm sure he would think sticking a beautiful woman in his room and having her call him "Master" would be a great way to prank him.

For her part, though, she just looked on with a confused expression. "I'm not sure what you are talking about, Master. This isn't a joke."

"What you are suggesting is absurd, then," replied Stephen, crossing his arms. "You're trying to tell me you were trapped inside this puzzle box?" He felt almost stupid trying to rationalize this, when he was so sure it was a prank.

"Yes, I have been. By my count, it's been about twenty five hundred years since I last saw daylight," she replied, clearly counting within her mind.

Stephen pursed his lips, not finding any humor in the situation. "So, let me get this straight. You've been locked up for twenty five hundred years, inside this puzzle box, and now I've set you free, and I'm your master. Are you here to grant me three wishes, too?" He asked, acidly.

"I can grant any number of wishes, although I don't see a reason to limit it to just three," she explained simply.

"So, you're a genie then?"

"That is correct, Master," she smiled, brightly. "Our species is technically called djinn, but all females of our species are called genies."

"You gotta be shitting me," said Stephen, shaking his head in disbelief.

Before she had a chance to respond, there was a knock on his bedroom door. At this time of morning, it could only be one of the twins. And here he had this random woman standing in front of him!

"Quick, hide for me!" He asked, expecting her to dive into his closest.

She simply smiled, and right before his eyes, she began to disappear, blending into the air around her!

Stephen nearly choked at the sight of her disappearing into thin air. In a panicked move, he went to run his hand through the air where she was just standing, expecting to have it land on flesh, in a display of some cheap parlor trick.

Yet his hand hit nothing but air.

"What the fuck?!" He almost yelled, bolting upright again.

"Stephen, open up!" One of the twins said through the door.

"It's open!" He yelled, still sitting there in disbelief.

Chase poked his head in, "Hey, can you drive Chris and I to the mall? We are going to meet some friends."

Stephen was still watching the air where the woman had been standing. "Huh? The mall, yeah sure, sure," he muttered.

"Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," said Chase, opening the door a bit further.

If only you knew

, he thought to himself. "Uh, yeah, I think. Yeah, I'm good. How soon do you want to leave?"

Chase shrugged, "We'll be ready in five minutes."

"Five minutes, okay. Let me get dressed," replied Stephen, stumbling out of bed, yet careful not to walk where the so-called genie had been standing.

"Okay, cool. Thanks!" Chase replied, before shutting the door with a noticeable slam.

Stephen waited until he was sure his brother was out of earshot, before asking out loud, "Um, are you still there?"

Within a moment, the woman appeared out of thin air, once again standing near his bed, and wearing her trademark smile. Stephen gulped hard.

Were all genies so sexy?

"Of course I'm still here, Master," she giggled. "And to answer your question, once released by our masters, we take the form, and assume the looks, of your most desirable mate. Everything you see before you, I have gleamed from your mind to assume the features that turn you on the most, and appear the sexiest to you. In a way, I'm representative of what you think the perfect woman looks like."

Stephen stammered again, "What? Wait, I don't think I said that out loud! I swear I was just thinking that."

She nodded her head, and suddenly, he felt a presence in his own mind, a slight intrusion, as he began to hear words without any speech from her part,

"Yes, Master. You and I are now linked forever. Being able to communicate with you like this is part of my powers."

"I feel like I'm going to throw up," said Stephen, feeling the nausea form in his stomach.

"I understand, Master, that is quite normal. It's not every day that supernatural beings are visited upon the human world."

"Yeah, it's just... I mean... it's.. Wow," said Stephen finally, looking back into her eyes.

"Stephen!! Hurry up!!" Stephen winced at the sound of his brothers calling for him from the kitchen. He struggled to quickly dress himself, just enough to drive them to the mall. For her part, the genie just watched him with a slightly amused expression on her face, as he quickly got dressed.

"Um, listen," said Stephen, once he began to pull his shoes on. "Just wait here, okay? I'm just going to drop them off at the mall, and I should be back in like twenty minutes. Can you wait here?"

"Of course, Master. Would you prefer that I wait in this particular spot?" She asked, indicating the ground right under her feet.

"Oh, umm, no. You can sit, of course," he said, looking around at his desk chair. He pulled over several clothes that had piled up on them. "You can sit here if you like."

She just grinned, and excitedly plopped herself down on the chair, "Wee!" She exclaimed, laughing as she did it.

Stephen couldn't help but smile at her excitement. If this was the real deal, well, this was going to be interesting. Grabbing his keys and his wallet, he put his hand on his doorknob. "Just hang out for a little while. I'll be right back."

"Be safe, Master. See you shortly," she said, watching him open the door, and close it behind him.

As soon as he walked out of the room, he gave a little shake of his head.

What the hell had just happened?

There was a gorgeous woman just hanging out in his room, claiming to be a wish-granting genie, and now eagerly awaiting his return. Today was starting off as a far cry from yesterday, that was for sure.

Emerging into the kitchen, he saw both Chris and Chase standing near the door, shoes on, and impatient looks on their faces.

"Come on, Stephen, what took so long?" Chase complained.

"Er, sorry. Still trying to wake up," said Stephen, opening the door.

"Well, just don't crash us on the drive over," replied Chris. They both hopped into the backseat of Stephen's car, which he hated, because it always made him feel like their personal limo driver. Thankfully, the mall was only about ten minutes drive away.

While the twins were in the back chattering away to themselves, Stephen was left to himself to compose his thoughts. Now that he had a chance to think about what had just happened, without being rendered speechless by the genie's intense blue eyes, he had so many questions.

Where had she come from? She claimed the puzzle box, and if she really was supernatural, then he was sure it was possible. But where was she created? Had she been opened before? What was the nature of her powers? She seemed friendly enough, but did she have an ulterior motive? Stephen had read stories before of genies who would trick their owners with deceitful wishes in an attempt to free themselves from servitude, but of course, he had thought those were just that: stories. What kind of genie was she?

He also began to think of other, little aspects. Did she have a name? A family? Did she resent that she had to "serve" him? Stephen cringed at the thought of servitude. She had even called him master. He wasn't sure where she was from, or what time she was created, but that definitely wouldn't fly in today's world.

More importantly, he wondered how he would keep her secret. If this genie was now forever linked with him, how could he prevent her existence from being revealed to everyone he knew?

The questions were daunting, and ate at his mind the entire trip the mall. After dropping off the twins, he resumed his route home. Pulling into the car port, he walked hesitatingly back inside. The house was absolutely quiet, with no sign of any activity. Part of him wondered if he had just been duped. Maybe this woman was some so-called cat burgler, and trying to rob his family. Then again, even he had to laugh at that thought, as his family had very little worth stealing. But as he made his way to his door, and stood right outside it, he had to wonder if she would still be in his room when he opened the door.

Taking a deep breath, he opened and pushed forward the door.

Sure enough, a big grin and bright blue eyes greeted his face, "Master! You're home!"

"Er, hi," he replied, awkwardly.

"I'm glad you're back! That twenty minutes felt much longer!"

Stephen didn't know what to say in response, especially to someone who had just spent the better part of two thousand years locked inside a puzzle box. At least, they were finally alone in the house, with his mother being at work again. Now he could get some answers to some of his questions.

"I just have.. so many questions to ask you," he began, running his hand through his hair, sheepishly.

"Well, then," she giggled. "Feel free to ask away, Master."

Stephen went back over to his bed, and sat down on the edge, facing her. Being this close to her presence was almost intoxicating. He could just faintly smell her as well, getting a hint of jasmine, which had to be the perfume she was wearing. It was one of his favorite scents.

"So, you're a genie then?" He asked, not knowing of any better way to start.

"Yes, I am a companion djinn, or genie, Master," she answered with a bubbly tone.

"Companion genie? What is that? Are there different types of genies?"

She nodded, "Yes, there are several different types. We have our races of djinn, just as humans have different races as well. I am a companion djinn, which means I was created for being a source of pleasure and love for my intended master."

Stephen swallowed hard. Pleasure and love? "Can you explain a bit more there?"

She grinned, looking even sexier, if that was possible, "But of course. In our world, their are several different types, including djinn sorcerers, djinn demons, and mighty djinn kings, but lastly, there is my segment, which are companion djinn. Typically, we were created for powerful men, usually kings, and given over for their complete subservience and pleasure. We service their every physical and sexual pleasure, and serve as a linked companion for as long as they should live."

"Typically, we would be just one of many different courtesans or wives of powerful men, and in that way, we could manage the harem or sister-wives for the total pleasure of the king, even in such tasks as securing an heir for the king, or even simply, making sure they are well sated sexually in order to focus on other tasks at hand." She finished by giving him a sultry look, the type that suddenly made his jeans feel a little too tight.

Stephen had to sit down, not believing his ears. So not only was she a wish-granting genie, but this gorgeous woman was also here to satisfy every single one of his sexual needs? There had to be a catch somewhere, as this was too good to be true.

"So then, you're my sexual, companion genie," said Stephen, sitting upright on his bed. "What's the catch?"

A look of confusion appeared on her face, "Catch, Master? What do you mean?"

"You know, what I am missing here? This seems a little too good to be true."

She blinked, "This is your reward, Master, for solving the puzzle on my portal. Not only are we genies meant for powerful kings, but also those who are intelligent enough to solve our puzzle. That means, I am your reward simply for your intelligence and your power.

Stephen tried hard not to crack a smile on that one. "I'm afraid you've been misinformed. I'm nowhere near powerful. I mean, I have some intelligence, but enough to be rewarded by you? I don't think so. I think you have the wrong guy," he finished, lowering his head, and fully intending her to disappear back inside her portal.

What she did next surprised him. She casually rose from the chair she had been sitting in, and knelt down in front of Stephen, who was still sitting on the bed. Tenderly, she placed her hands on his knees, and looked at him until he dared to meet her own gaze. "That's not possible, Master. This magic never lies. I was made to be given to you, and you alone."

Stephen wanted to believe her, because if all this was true, then life as he knew it was about to take a very different turn. He managed a little smile to her, surprising to even him, and then he covered her hand with his own and gently squeezed.

The genie smiled at him, and squeezed his hand in return, "You are a very odd sort of master, if you don't mind me saying."

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"Well, for starters, in my time, men were a little more... confident. You seem to be a little unsure of what to make of this."

Stephen laughed, "Well, I'm sure a lot has changed in twenty five hundred years! Speaking of which, how did you get here? I mean, where are you originally from?"

"I was created deep within the heart of the peninsula men call Arabia. Are we not in Arabia now?" She asked, looking confused.

Stephen laughed again, "God, no! We are in Kansas, in the middle of the United States of America. Probably about as far away from Arabia that you can get!"

"Hmm, it would appear my portal has traveled some great distances. I wish I knew how I ended up so faraway from my homeland, but I have no recollection of what happens outside my portal," she mused.

"It must have gotten a little lonely in there?" He asked.

"A little," she admitted, quietly. "Although, time is mostly meaningless within my vessel. I will say though, that it is good to stretch for a change!" She kicked her legs and arms out for emphasis, letting out a soft giggle as she explored her space.

Just watching her interact with the outside world was enough to keep a permanent smile on Stephen's face. She was just so bubbly, and so full of life. He couldn't design a better woman if he even tried, but then again, wasn't that the whole point of her existence? To be everything he ever wanted?

"I have to say though, Master," she said, giving him a coy look. "I'm surprised you haven't used any wishes yet."

Stephen felt himself getting red in the face at her suggestion. Would could he wish for? If he asked her to get on her knees and blow him, right here and right now, would she do it?

She looked at him, and Stephen could feel the weight of her words on his mind, "Yes, Master, I would do that if you asked."

Wow, this is something else!

"Um, maybe before we get to that, are there any rules I should know about? I mean, for having a companion genie?"

She shot upright, and clapped her hands in excitement, "Oh, I'm so glad you asked! Yes, there are five basic rules that we must follow at all times."

She gave a little flicker of her hand, and all of sudden, the whiteboard that Stephen kept over his desk floated towards them seemingly on its own, suspended in mid-air. Stephen's eyes popped open watching the magical show as it came to a rest right beside the genie.