be a bright light, or a flash or something when you grant my wish?” How cool would that be?
“It’s a wish. You’re not dying, Ben,” Dae said with dry amusement. “I sincerely hope you don’t see a bright light. My advice? If you do, please don’t go into it.”
Ben scowled. “Don’t be a sarky bastard. I’ve never done this before, all right?” He closed his eyes again and took a moment to ready himself before he started.
Then he began: “Oh Djinn of the lamp, please grant me my first wish. I would like the amount of one hundred thousand pounds transferred to the bank account of Windward Zoo. In Winchester. In England.” He made sure to narrow down the zoo because who knew how these things worked? He didn’t want it going to another Windward Zoo somewhere in the world.
Ben felt a puff of soft air wash over his face, mixed with the scent of sandalwood. He opened one eye carefully then gasped when he saw a swirl of rainbow colours, like a mystic portal, directly in front of him. Beside him, Dae stood, twirling his finger in a movement that echoed the swirly turns of the entity.
“Is this impressive enough for you?” Dae smirked as he whirled his finger faster. The kaleidoscope of colour made Ben’s eyes water and he began to lose focus.
“Could you please stop doing that?” he said gruffly. “It’s giving me a headache.”
Dae huffed and lowered his hand. The portal dissipated into thin streaks of red, green, purple, and blue. “I thought you wanted a bit of a spectacle when you made your wish,” he muttered. “Honestly, some people are hard to please.”
Ben choked back a chuckle at Dae’s fit of pique. God, the man was something else. “So what happens now?”
“Now?” Dae looked at him in surprise. “Nothing. It’s done.”
Ben blinked in confusion. “You mean, that’s it? The money is in their account already?”
Dae sniffed. “Of course. There are no moths on me.”
Ben burst out into a fit of laughter. Dae looked affronted. “I beg your pardon. Is it something I said?”
Ben nodded and tried to catch his breath. “It’s not moths, it’s flies. We say there are no flies on us when we want to impress people with how quick and clever we’ve been.”
“Moths, flies, whatever.” Dae flipped a finger at him in irritation. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
Ben moved over to him and drew Dae in for a hug. “Thank you, oh wise and wonderful Djinn. That money will mean so much to the zoo. Hazel has been doing amazing things with the little money she has, but this will go a long way towards repairing the enclosures and setting up the new monkey environments and more.” He flushed. “I wasn’t sure whether I should ask for more, but that seemed greedy. I mean, I don’t know where the money’s coming from, and I didn’t want anyone else to lose out because of my wish.”
“You British people are so polite and proper,” Dae said with a fond smile. “I might have known your first wish would be for someone else,” Dae murmured into Ben’s throat. “You are a rare and incredible man, Ben Sinclair.” The feel of Dae’s form against him, his warm breath on Ben’s skin, and the knowledge he’d been able to help a place he thought of as home lent warmth to Ben’s body as he pulled Dae closer.
“Hazel won’t be able to trace it back to me, will she? I want to remain anonymous.”
Dae’s lips brushed against Ben’s cheek. “We’ve been doing this a while, and we know all the money rules. The money will reflect as a deposit from the Life Lottery of Benevolence, which is an internationally registered lottery organisation located offshore. Ergo, no tax. The winning lottery ticket will be in your desk drawer at home if anyone questions anything.”
“Wow,” Ben said, drunk on Dae’s proximity and the seductive spicy scent he exuded. “You guys think of everything, don’t you?”
Dae didn’t answer, but took Ben’s lips in a hard kiss, pressing him against the wall as his hands slid under Ben’s shirt to rest on his skin. Ben opened his mouth to let Dae in and moaned softly as their tongues met, and Dae’s warm fingers brushed against his nipples.
“God, you know how to push my buttons.” Ben groaned as Dae’s deft fingers unzipped his jeans and slid inside his boxers to cup his balls. “I could so get used to this.”
Dae’s mouth drew away