Maudlin's Mayhem (Bewitching Bedlam #2)(20)

I straightened up, staring at him. “You’re right on that. I admit it. But damn it, Ralph, I wish you’d think about what you’re doing. Even if she’s a construct, that doesn’t mean what you’re doing is right. You’re acting like a sleaze, and you know it. You just don’t give a fuck anymore, do you? All you see are dollar signs. That’s all that matters.”

And with that, I turned and left a lot more quietly than I had come.

As I arrived home, Thornton was standing at the kitchen door. He frantically waved for me to hurry in. Crap. What was wrong now? I raced across the lawn, hurrying inside.

“What’s going on? What happened? Is Aegis okay? Is Bubba okay?”

“I don’t know,” he said, his eyes wide. He nodded toward the stairs. “You’d better go check. I went to look in on Bubba a few minutes ago and…well—”

Fucking hell. I took the stairs two at a time, hurrying up to my room as my heart sank. As I reached my door, I slammed it open, not giving a fuck if I disturbed Mr. Mosswood or the dwarves.

I glanced around the room, scanning for Bubba. And then, I saw what Thornton was talking about. Bubba was nowhere in sight, but a man with long red hair was sprawled across my bed. He was buck nekkid, deeply tanned, tall, and muscled. He gave me a hesitant smile as I froze.

“Rub mah belleh?”

And that’s when I really lost it.





Chapter 6





I GLANCED INTO the man’s eyes. No. It couldn’t be. Nope, no, no, no, no. Nopedy-nope, even.

“Want to rub my belly, Maddy?” His voice was deep, but trembling, and he stroked his stomach with long, strong fingers. He wasn’t hard, thank gods, but even so, he was mighty impressive. I prayed he’d keep his hands on his abs. Please don’t reach any lower.

Then, realizing that I really was seeing what I was seeing, I let out a strangled squeak. “Bubba…is that you, Bubba?”

He blinked, slow, just like a cat. “What happened to me?”

Thornton, who was standing beside me, had turned red as a beet. He was looking every which way but directly at Bubba. “Want me to call Aegis?”

“Please. Please do. Call him now. And Sandy. I need them both.”

As he slipped out of the room, I cautiously approached the bed. Maybe somebody was playing a joke on me. Maybe this was really just Sandy’s way of trying to get a laugh out of me. Maybe I had slipped into an alternative universe and the gods were fucking with me.

“Sit by me?” The man who might be Bubba patted the bed. “I’m lonely.”

I licked my lips, trying to figure out what to say. As far as I knew, cjinns couldn’t turn into human form, so what the hell had happened? Had he made a wish and rubbed his own belly?

No, a voice inside whispered. That’s ridiculous. He’s been with you for over three hundred years. If he had wanted to be human all that time, he would have become human sooner. Bubba gets what Bubba wants, usually.

I gingerly sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you really Bubba?”

He wrinkled his nose, frowning. “Bubba. Who else would I be?” And then he held out his hand, examining his fingernails. As he brought his fingers to his mouth and started licking them, I could only stare, trying to figure out just what the fuck to do.

He rolled to a sitting position, turning his head to the side. His tongue darted in and out a few times. Finally, with a frustrated look, he turned to me. “I can’t reach my shoulder. How do you ever stay clean? You smell so good, I know you’ve figured out a way. Though I never see you grooming.” He leaned forward, and I knew where he was aiming.

“Stop that!”

He blinked, straightening up. “Why?”

“You can’t reach your balls, thank gods.” The thought of him “grooming” himself the way he knew how sent a freak flush through me and I stumbled to my feet. “Bubba—if you are indeed my Bubba—you can’t groom yourself with your tongue right now. Do you understand what’s happened?”

“No, only that you seem to understand me better than usual.” He gave me a squirrelly look. “What do you mean, ‘what’s happened’?”

“Don’t you see the difference?”

“What difference?” Again, the confused, suspicious stare.

I reached for his hand. “Here, give me your…paw. Please?”

He cautiously reached out and took my hand. “What’s going on? I feel strange.” He was starting to sound a little freaked out.

“I know you do, Bub. Come on.” I pulled him off the bed. He stumbled a little like a toddler trying to take steps as I led him over to my vanity. I took him by the shoulders, moving him so that he was facing the mirror. “Do you know what a mirror is?”

“The see-yourself glass? Yeah.”

“Look at yourself, Bubba. What do you see?” I stepped away in case he freaked out.

Bubba raised his eyes, staring at his reflection in the mirror. One blink. Two blinks. On the third, he let out a shriek. “Oh hell, oh hell, what the hell? What the hell happened to me? I’m so butt ugly. I’m one of you!” He whirled around, pointing at me, and promptly unbalanced himself so that he went tumbling forward, faceplanting on the floor.

“Ow! I meant to do that!” he mumbled.