The S-Gene (Book 1: Amelia) - COMPLETE

A/N: So late, sorry! But it’s here :)

Also, general question. I’ve never written 1st person POV. When the book was book of the week for the book club, someone suggested that the story would be really good told in 1st person POV. I’ve never tried it before, so I never thought of it. Anyone agrees, or anyone prefers 3rd person POV?

***

GENECORP:Ovulation will occur in the next 24 hours.

Oh. Well - that was a sure way to set up the romance. No mistaken it. She was swooned. She’d be a bit more irritated if it weren’t for the fact that Noah received that text as well. At least, she assumed he did since his cell phone beeped at the same time as hers.

Also, he had a face.

Same kind of face she had.

Frustration, a sprinkle of shame, and a dab of annoyance.

Amelia dropped her phone on her lap and dared to look up at Noah. “So… what do you think it means?”

He tilted his head to the side. “I’m no doctor but…”

She chuckled, flicking her tongue against the back of her teeth. Poorly timed humor, but the situation did need it a little. “Is your bubble as good as your humor? Because if so, we’re in trouble,” she teased.

They hadn’t had another incident of the bubble collapsing but… she saw that his focus could affect it and he did say he needed a bit of help to create the illusions. Could he create something that was… true enough?

Noah was…

Noah was a virgin?

Could a virgin pull off a sex illusion?

He had to have done things in the past that he hadn’t actually… done, right? She couldn’t… she couldn’t directly bring it up… it would be rude, no?

“I think they’ll be keeping an extra pair of eyes on us.”

“So… we have to…”

It wasn’t like she didn’t know. When they signed that contract, she didn’t expect that she’d sit in her house, waiting out the time, while he stayed far away from her. She knew it would imply some sort of lying and faking but…

She didn’t think they would be under such intense surveillance… or that they would get a text message reminding them to fucking have sex. Where was the magic, the love? Didn’t they say that some people fell in love and it wasn’t all business?

They said they had fallen for each other. So why the pushy?

Maybe it was because Djinn’s odds were shit and she hadn’t given him many tries… not that he wanted them anyways… Well, ifs and buts didn’t mean anything at this point. They were driven against the wall and their options were limited.

“You think you can pull off a….” She gestured to the space around them, their privacy currently being protected by one of his bubbles.

“I can probably make something… that’ll be way better than anything our acting skills could pull off,” he replied, a smile tugging at his lips.

Touché.

“Can’t be any worse than that.”

Noah was attractive, she wouldn’t have to fake that. Sex for everyone to watch? No thank you, she would pass on that. Plus, being forced to have sex with someone because that was her only way out of a hellhole? No thank you. She didn’t want that either and she was convinced that Noah would say the same.

“I’m sorry,” she said before rubbing her lips together.

He frowned. “For what?”

“All this shit. This is far from the quiet life you wanted for yourself.”

She watched his expression shift, shoulders slumping downwards. He tilted his head forward, staring down at his hands as his eyes went dull. “I’m a Djinn. I give other people their perfect life.”

“Sometimes,” she said with a cracked voice, trying to lighten the mood. He had told her that not everyone got what they asked for.

“Sometimes.”

“I say you twist the first 100 wishes you gotta grant after this hellhole. For personal enjoyment.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Amelia could tell he was trying to put on a front, and act more casual than he was. The more time passed, the closer they got to the deadline. Before they knew it, they would go back to their old world.

“Maybe you could talk to them… stay longer anyway? Until there is no more time?”

To her, it felt like Noah lost no matter which option he chose but - until she ruined it, he was happy here. Maybe he could pretend he had never met her and resume his life from before her arrival.

He wet his lips before swallowing hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. His arms and shoulders were tense as he rubbed his lips together. She saw his hands as he clenched them, almost into fists, before straightening them out.

“If I have kids… what are their choices, Ames? A life of servitude, or living here? Faking it? Or trying to have a perfect life… when… really it’s Genecorp trying to get more Djinns out in the world?”

When he put it like that…

“I wish I thought it through before I came here. I thought it was a different kind of place, I thought I could have a different kind of life… I am the same idiot as all the people who’ve owned me.”

Owned.

The word sent shivers down her spine. Ever since she got here she felt like an object, a walking womb, more than a person. No one was interested in her actual mental state, how she was doing, or who she was. No one cared.

They all wanted one thing from her.

The same with Noah.

No one wanted to find a Djinn so they could chat him up. They wanted the wishes, the power, everything. If she were completely honest… before this, before knowing more…. If she had found a magic lamp… rubbed it and a genie had come out?

She wouldn’t have asked for his sappy life story or if he was happy. She would have asked for three wishes and moved on with her life without considering what would be next for him. It was awful but it was the truth.

Could she judge the people who hurt him?

She wouldn’t have hurt him but, she wouldn’t have helped. And doing nothing was… it was as bad as the rest.

“So what’s gonna happen… if you go back?”

“I’ll go back to the way things were.” He waved her off. “They wouldn’t have let me stay here forever. The more I learn… I’m surprised they haven’t harvested my sperm or some shit. I wouldn’t want to create a life that would live here, one they could completely own.”

One they could use to make wishes was what he meant.

How many carriers or maybe supernatural beings lived here… forever?

The more she thought about it, the more fucked up this place became. Taking it down would be the right thing to do but she wasn’t foolish enough to think she could do that. They had money, power… and she had nothing.

Nothing yet anyway.

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“When you go back… without money, without anything. What’ll happen to you?”

Amelia slapped a hand on the back of her neck. “Same shit. Like you. Wasting away while working three jobs, dreaming of things I can never have.” She raised her hand. “And before you say I could have a different life if I did this shit differently…. I don’t want that. I thought I could do it, but I can’t.”

This place was messing up with her mind too much. Being worked like a dog was better than this. At least she would be able to live with herself. Sure, other people would remain here and - maybe not everyone would be happy about it but - at least she wouldn’t be encouraging it.

Even if it meant her life would change - in a bad way.

She would spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder, stilling at every noise and afraid of all the shadows. Her status as a universal carrier wouldn’t go away. But… she couldn’t have it all could she?

“Hey.”

Noah’s voice sounded close as she suddenly felt his fingers on her chin. He had gotten closer, a lot closer. He lifted her head, forcing her to look at him. “I said I’d protect you, and I will.”

How did he know what she had been thinking about? “Are you in my head?”

He chuckled. “I wish. But, no. I don’t know what’s going on up there. You wear your heart on your sleeve though. No wonder they keep a close eye on you.”

Yeah. If she could learn to fake it a little better and bottle up her emotions, they might have been less suspicious of her. Yet, she doubted that it would have gotten her out of this jam any easier. They might have pushed her into the world even more if they had believed that she was comfortable with their whole system.

“Honestly? I wish I was going down fighting a little more.”

“Amelia, you can’t stop them.”

“Yeah, well, if no one ever tries…”

“You’d need a lot more people. They have been doing this a long time and trust me, they have humans and supernatural people on both sides. That benefit from this. It’s a mutual relationship. It wouldn’t be that easy.”

“I know… but…”

“And they use that loophole. Technically, they give everyone a choice.”

Yeah. She did have a choice. It had never felt like a choice because one option seemed to include death and rape and whatnot. Who in the right mind would pick that? A life on the run from creatures she knew nothing about? Naw, she would pass on that.

“Guess they do. A shitty one.”

“For some… it’s better than the alternative.” He shrugged. “Gave me a break.”

“I’m sorry humans are trash.”

“I’m sorry some of my kind are trash too.”

It wasn’t that funny and yet, she burst into a peal of laughter. This was so fucked up. “I’m glad I met you though. So far, you’re the only person who hasn’t stalked me or hunted me down or… tried to use me.”

At least Noah made her believe that she had a biased view and some of them were alright. Shitty supernatural beings, shitty humans. Both sides had a little of everything and the dynamic here was peculiar. She could see how it brought out the worse in people.

Amelia got up from her seat and walked toward one of the cabinets. She couldn’t truly see a change but she knew she had walked out of his little bubble. She had to be mindful of her words now. She opened a small refrigerator from under the counter, pulling out a bottle of wine.

She lifted it, showing it to him. “Feel like a drink?”

“Always,” he replied with a grin.

Amelia grabbed two glasses and carried everything back to the table. She didn’t feel the veil of privacy which led her to believe he had paused it. Was he tired? She never asked him how much of his energy it took, or if it drained him.

Wow, she was a selfish dick.

She poured the glasses up to the brim and then slid his over to him. She sat back down in her chair, her hand around the stem of her glass. She lifted it, angling it towards him.

“To shitty people.”

He smiled at her. “To shitty people.”

Something told her she would need a lot of bottles to get through this little honeymoon trip.

Including this freaking ovulation bullshit.

They could talk about it later, right?

***

“Sooooo…”

How did they end up like this?

“This is?”

“In case.”

“Right.”

Except this in case had her cheeks burning red. They talked about this. They couldn’t trust the illusion and they couldn’t take a chance that their little secret was out. She wanted to be able to talk to him honestly for as long as possible.

That meant taking extra precautions. Like having a shirtless - but absolutely wearing pants- Noah in between her legs. Her also underwear-pants wearing legs. She had a camisole on, very light colored, the straps down. But not an exposed chest.

Nope.

That was a line she couldn’t cross. So whatever imagery he managed to conjure up in that head of his, it would include her not completely bare boobs to the world. Surely, he could pull that off.

So now, they were… laying there. Ready to take over in case… it failed.

Even though taking over meant - meant doing… not doing? Pretending to be doing… whatever Genecorp expected them to be doing… and now she had given herself a fucking headache.

In the meanwhile… they were by the looks of it going to be not looking at each other and they were going to lay there like frozen robots. Yup. Because that would make this awkward as fuck moment… less awkward.

If she stared at him, she would blush.

Like she’d never been close to a man before.

She had!

Shit, he looked less uncomfortable than her and he had never done that before.

Which was still fucking insane to think about.

Yes. She knew the inside mattered, it’s not all about looks, blablabla. She knew the spiel. Yet, she also knew that it could be bullcrap. When she had an itch to scratch, she didn’t scout the bar looking for a guy with a good personality.

If it made her a bitch, oh well.

Point was, Noah was good-looking. Did he never get a chance to roam and walk in front of any human woman? Or… did he hold on to the thought of love?

“Soooo are you like…. Having a half-porn movie in your head right now?”

Oh yeah, that was a great way to break the ice.

Smart girl.

She watched as he pinched his lips together, his chest shaking from the laughter he was trying to keep in. “Yeah, it’s not - it doesn’t work like that. I have a general idea of what I want the illusion to be… I don’t see it.”

“So you don’t even get free porn?”

“Did you want me to watch a porno of you?”

System breakdown. GODDAMN IT. She didn’t expect the tease back. Her cheeks burned with fire and she hollowed out her cheeks, sucking in the air.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“No, no, I’m intrigued,” he asked, pulling his chest from hers and straightening his arms, and putting more distance between them. “Were you laying there thinking I was picturing a lot of dirty things?”

“Sorta.”

“And you were comfortable with that?”

“It beat the alternative.”

“The alternative being…”

Fuckity fuck. “I didn’t mean that sex with you would be horrible. I - in this circumst- What I mean -“

“You know I’m fucking with you, huh?”

She pursed her lips, resisting the urge to smack his arm. “You know you’re a jerk, huh?”

“I thought you could use to relax. You look like you’re about to blow.”

“Why are you so calm?”

“You wanna know why a virgin is okay with faking sex?”

“Did you have to put it like that?”

“How else should I put it?”

Man, he was enjoying this a little much.

“It’s weird okay? I’ve never faked sex before.”

“Then it’s a good thing we’re not faking it - I’m sorta faking it.”

He had a point but…

“Are we sure they’re looking?”

“What do you think?”

“I think that it sounds like illegal porn, but whatever.” Did other people consider this to be acceptable? They were fine with getting it on in front of people? Could not one part of this whole process stay sacred and private?

How much did they have to include themselves in everything? God.

“I know they don’t see this, but I feel a little stupid.”

Amelia didn’t know what to do with herself. Her arms were limp by her side, and her legs were stiff, trying to not close around his waist. Also, was he always this wide? Or was it because she was seeing him so up close and bare?

Nope. Don’t think about that.

She should also avoid thinking about how nestled he was between her legs. Yet, everything was… soft. She closed her eyes shut tightly. Why was she thinking about that? It wasn’t like they made out or did anything… why should be getting… riled up?

Amelia, get a fucking grip. It wasn’t an insult.

Did she want him to… oh god. Genecorp was watching. She needed to get her mind out of the gutter. Which was easier said than done when they were stuck like this!

A flicker around them brought her back out of her thoughts. Was this… Already?

“N-noah?”

She had to be careful, she didn’t know who could hear.

His head dipped, meeting the curve of her shoulder. “I-Sorry, I’m trying,” he whispered, his breath a tickle on her skin. “Running a little low.”

Fuck. She had been right. He couldn’t keep this up forever. Was it because whatever dampened his powers were still here, but at a lower degree, or because he was rusty? She hadn’t thought about it. She was constantly having conversations with him, forcing him to put it up.

He hadn’t said anything.

“Okay,” she whispered, turning into his ear. “So-we should. Stop?”

Would it look weird if they suddenly stopped? But how far could they push this?

“Or- we give them a little something,” she began, turning her face to hide her mouth against his cheek. “If they think… we might be able to get out of this place.”

One good shot and then, a bit more freedom. They could escape this empty land and return somewhere where conversations would be easier. Even if it meant no more privacy bubble. She would much rather gain back a sense of normalcy.

“Are you sure?” He paused. “Ames, we don’t - you have to do enough. You don’t have to do this.”

“Come on Noah, we knew already…” They went into this knowing it would require a little bit of work… right?

Plus, they kissed already.

So that was out of the way.

“Let’s give them a quick show.”

It took a beat but the flickering around them died down and she knew they were now on full display. But…

She didn’t know where to fucking start. Can’t look like a fucking dead starfish though. Fuck. Fuck. Fuuuuuck. Her hands were shaking as she lifted them to grip his shoulders. That was something right?

Her nervousness had to be quite obvious because Noah took the lead. Soft lips on her cheek, pressing gentle kisses that had her closing her eyes. Don’t think, don’t think. She had agreed to this and he was trying his best.

His elbows buckled, lowering him closer to her. Man did all Djinn have such body heat or was it Noah only? Warmth. Like a thick blanket wrapping around her. His lips worked their way to her jaw, always missing her lips.

It was nothing - almost nothing.

Yet her breath was hitched and her cheeks were flushed.

As he lowered his body, he nudged himself deeper between her legs. She clenched, beginning to feel a lot more and it wasn’t soft. His teeth grazed the column of her throat before he kissed the juncture of her neck and shoulder. He suckled on the skin and her chest heaved.

Oooh.

Okay.

Yeah.

Noah peppered kisses until he reached the tip of her shoulder and she shivered beneath him. She didn’t think as her back arched, her legs rising, forcing her knees next to his hips, clutching him. There was a small motion of his hips and she hissed.

Oh lord.

She was a fucking horny teenager.

Dry humping really?

That got her going?

She wanted to smack herself, but she couldn’t. He had torn his lips from her skin and instead, was facing her, his nose touching hers. He rested his forehead against hers, forcing her to maintain eye contact.

“You okay?”

She couldn’t form words so she nodded.

Her hands slid from his shoulders to his neck and all the way to his cheeks. She held his face in place, looking as he panted, his hips never quite still. And he wasn’t soft anymore. For the love of God. It was digging into her core, forcing thrusts out of her.

It felt good.

Amelia clenched her inner walls, biting her bottom lip as she gently rubbed herself against his hardness. She met his mouth, kissing him with closed lips. It had to be a little aggressive right?

For show. It was for show.

He opened his mouth, his tongue pressing at the seam of her lips. She released his face, instead lacing her arms around his neck. That grip combined with her legs holding on to him allowed him to pick up the fake pace.

Except the sensations were very real.

She found herself panting in his mouth as he slid his tongue inside, circling hers. His skin was damp to the touch as she slid her fingers into his hair, gripping it. Amelia, remember. Focus.

But it felt good. So fucking good.

Thrusts into the emptiness. Friction. Rubbing.

Was she so desperate for a human touch that this was enough to get her going? No matter how much she tried to fill her lungs with air, it didn’t work. She gasped for air, her lips parted. There was a throbbing between her legs, forcing her to match his thrusts.

More.

Her mind was melting and she was working hard to remind herself that they were being watched. This wasn’t how she wanted to do this. No matter how smooth his skin was or how warm his lips were.

Focus Amelia, focus.

He buried his face in her neck, sweat clinging to her skin. His shoulders quaked and she held her breath as he stilled. Did he actually or was he pretending?

Her body was drumming and she couldn’t think properly. Her heart was jumping around in her ribcage, her ears deafened by the blood rushing through her body. She finally relaxed her fingers, releasing his shoulders from her hold.

When had she held on to him this tightly?

Red fingerprints were left behind on his tawny skin, but he didn’t appear to care. No, instead, bright gleaming eyes were staring down at her as he pulled away from her neck. Sweat had dampened his dark locks, gluing a few to his forehead.

And she felt that throb between her legs again.

Oh, they were in trouble.

Biiiiig trouble.