by Jill Myles
My throat suddenly dry, I swallowed hard, then said, “Um, Zane?”
He appeared at my side. “Yes?”
“Those men out there-”
“So you see them now.”
I faced him. “What do you mean, ‘now’? Have they been there the whole time?”
He steered me away from the door, whispering against my fabric-covered ear, “Slavers. They’ve been following us since the hotel, doubtlessly tipped off by someone who works there. You’d fetch a fortune with that red hair.”
Slavery in this day and age? I couldn’t imagine being sold into a brothel-it was too TV-movie-of-the-week.
“What do we do now?”
Zane rubbed my shoulder comfortingly. “We go out the back way.”
I slid my hand into his and allowed him to lead me past the counter. “Back door?” Zane calmly asked the sales clerk.
The shopkeeper pointed one finger toward the far end of the store, saying nothing.
Zane’s smile flashed across his face. “My thanks, friend.” He laid a handful of bills onto the counter. “You didn’t see any American women in here.”
“Egyptian women only,” the shopkeeper agreed, his eyes bright at the sight of the money.
Zane led me into a dirty storage room, cracked open the back door, and glanced out. “We’re clear. Just an alleyway filled with garbage.”
He led me through the filth-strewn alley, the burqa flapping around my legs. “How did you get that wad of money you gave him?”
“Same way I got rid of the red eyes. You want details?”
Ugh. “I’ll pass, thanks.”
He chuckled. “Someday you’ll get over that charming squeamishness of yours, Princess-and that’ll be a shame.”
I snorted in disbelief. “If that means you expect me to dive into your arms at some point, forget about it.” But just speaking the words aloud caused my body to throb.
Zane led me through a maze of dark alleys and back streets. I had no idea where we were and clutched his hand. If I got separated from him I’d have no idea how to get back to the hotel, and the thought of being alone and lost in a city where I could be nabbed by slavers was first and foremost in my mind.
The vampire seemed to know where he was going. We hailed a cab and took a wild ride through the streets to the outskirts of the city. There, he led me through the maze of streets until we came face to face with a pair of camels standing in a dark courtyard. One looked over at me, chewing hay with a stupid look on its face. “Here we are,” Zane announced.
I hesitated. “Don’t tell me-our transportation?” A nondescript man stood between the camels, holding their bridles with an expectant look.
Zane grinned in the darkness, his white teeth flashing. “How’d you guess?”
“A lucky hunch,” I said, my voice muffled through the burqa.
Zane handed the man a wad of bills, took the reins of the first camel, and got it to kneel. “Ladies first.”
I sighed and stepped forward. “Don’t these things spit?”
Zane grabbed me under the arms and helped me into the saddle. “They do. Just don’t provoke it and you’ll be fine.”
His hands on me caused my banked desire to burn full-blown once more. I lost track of my thoughts and clung to the blanket-covered saddle with my knees as the camel stood again. “No provoking. Gotcha.”
As Zane mounted his camel with expertise, I focused hard on things other than the Itch. Kittens. Puppies. Bottled Water. Hamburgers. Ice cream. Licking ice cream off Zane’s hard, flat stomach-
My mental imagery needed a little work if I was going to stay calm and cool. Though he was a jerk sometimes, he had a boyish charm. Except for the room-entering incident, I suspected Zane was being courteous in his own way. He’d stopped when I’d asked him to stop, he was concerned with my welfare, and he’d been helpful. Either he was a genuinely good guy with a bad rap, or he had something up his sleeve.
Zane turned to look at me. “Everything okay?”
“I’m fine.” If confused.
He tapped the rump of his camel with a crop. The camel lurched forward and began to head out into the surrounding desert.
I thumped my legs against my camel’s sides, and it trotted after Zane’s mount.
Despite all his antics and issues, Zane had been someone I could count on since we got to Egypt.
“Zane?”
He turned to look back at me. “Yes?”
“Thanks. For everything.”
The grin that crossed his face was devilish. “You can thank me later-preferably between the sheets.”
I resisted the urge to throw my riding crop at his head.
Barely.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“We’re here.”
Frowning under the sweaty burqa, I gazed at the desolate landscape. “If by ‘here’ you mean the middle of nowhere, then I’d agree,” I said, halting my camel with a tug on the reins.
We’d passed a few small villages in the middle of the night, passed a few tourist attractions, and traveled deeper into the desert. At least I assumed it was the desert, because there was sand and cliffs and rocks. The Nile glittered behind us, my only hint that we were still along the river. Somewhere. We could be on the outskirts of Cairo still, and I wouldn’t have any clue.
Zane dismounted from his camel. “The tomb’s just a few hundred yards ahead. You might want to walk your camel in, since the footing’s a bit slippery.”
I slid off the side of my beast and fell into a heap on the ground. “Can I take off the burqa now? I’m dying of heat under here.” The veil was plastered to my forehead.
“That should be fine,” Zane said, stroking the nose of his camel to soothe the creature.
I yanked the baby-blue fabric over my head and wadded it into a ball, sighing with relief as the night wind touched my skin. I closed my eyes and tilted my face to the breeze. “That feels wonderful.” I cracked an eye and looked over at Zane. “Speaking of, it’s over eighty degrees out here and you’re still wearing the trench coat. What gives?”
He ignored me, leading his camel up the trail. “You wanted to see the tomb, right? It’s this way.”
I made a face at him. “Fine, fine. I’m coming.” Taking the camel’s reins in hand, I followed Zane up the sandy path-if you could call it that-between a pair of large dunes. There were no trees, no archaeological ruins, nothing to mark this spot of land as different from the rest of the desert, but Zane seemed to know where he was going.
On the other side of the dunes I saw a tall cliff wall of sandstone and granite in the distance. “Is her tomb in there?” I called.
Zane just turned and grinned at me. “Wait and see.”
A million or so sand-filled steps later, we stood at the base of the cliff. It didn’t look like a tomb. It didn’t look like anything, in fact, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Zane handed me the reins to his camel. “Be a good girl and find someplace to tether these, would you?”
Before I could retort, huge yellow camel-teeth snapped at my hair. I jerked away. “It’s amazing you’ve managed to last this long without some woman killing you, Zane.”
“Like you, Princess, I’m already dead.” He walked toward the rocky tumble at the foot of the cliff, scanning the ground for something.
I peered after him despite myself. Sucks really seemed to have the short end of the stick in the Afterlife; vamps had perfect night vision. Zane searched the tumble of rocks for a few minutes, taking his time. When it was obvious that we wouldn’t be making progress for a while, I went off in search of a hitching post.
The soil at the base of the cliff was covered with stones worn down from the cliff face long ago. It made walking treacherous, and I stubbed my toes a few times in my sandals, cussing the whole time. When I spotted an outcropping that looked slender enough to tie a rope around, I hurried over and secured the beasts.
As I returned to Zane, I heard a soft slither on sand,
then a sibilant hiss.
I froze, hardly daring to turn my head, and saw a big cobra leering at me in the darkness, its tongue flicking, less than twelve inches from my bare leg and foot. I remained as still as possible, my hands twitching against my sides. Could I draw one of my guns without having the snake attack? Would the bullets even work on a snake?
Zane’s hand brushed my arm and I smothered a yelp. “Are you done playing around out here?” he said. “The tomb’s this way, and I only have until dawn.”
I pointed a trembling finger at the snake, which rose taller to knee height. “S-s-snake.”
He sniffed dismissively. “You’re afraid of that?” He squatted in front of the snake, stared at it, then stood. He took me by the elbow and steered me away from the snake, which remained frozen in place. “You’re an immortal, Princess. It won’t kill you.”
My gaze remained glued to the immobile snake. “It’d hurt like hell though.” The creature still did nothing-no tongue flicking, no biting, nothing. “What did you do to it?”
He grinned down at me like a mischievous little boy. “Charmed it. I’m an expert at charming, wouldn’t you say?”
Blood throbbed through me in a heady rush, and my knees went weak. I understood how the poor snake felt. Forcing myself to pry his fingers from my heated skin, I moved away. “You’re not as charming as you’d like to think.”
“No?” He slid his hands around my waist. “That sounds like a challenge to me.”
“Give it your best shot,” I scoffed. “I’m sweaty and I smell like camel. If you want to try to seduce me now, bring it.” Two could play his little game.
His hands slid upward, stroking my ticklish sides through my damp T-shirt. “Even with your hair plastered to your head, you’re still achingly beautiful, Jackie.” The light, feathery touches sent a flush of heat through me that had nothing to do with the temperature outside. “I like seeing you sweaty,” he whispered, pulling me closer until I was pressed against his jacket, my nipples brushing the leather and visible through my shirt. “I’d love to spend all night tasting your flesh. Licking you everywhere. Making you sweaty with need.”
Oh. My.
Like the cobra, I was entranced by the seductive words, helpless to pull away.
“Do you know where I’d kiss you first?” His fingertip slid to my mouth and parted my lips, seeking entrance to the hot well of my mouth. I took the tip of it between my lips and bit gently at it, entranced by the suggestion. “Not here,” he said softly, his reddening eyes locked onto my blue ones. “That’s where a conventional man would give his woman her first kiss. I’d want to give her something she remembers. Forever.”
His fingers brushed up the front of my chest to my breast. The backs of his fingers slid over the fabric there, gently teasing the aching peak into taut hardness. “I’d kiss her here,” Zane said, his mouth moving lower to follow his hand. “The skin is sensitive here, and sweet, like the most delicious of desserts.” His dark eyes stared up at me, waiting for me to tell him no, to protest or push away. But I didn’t.
His lips closed over my nipple, and he kissed me gently. Despite the fabric that separated my flesh from his mouth, I felt burned to my core. A low, aching gasp caught in my throat.
Zane moved across my chest to my other, neglected breast. “My second kiss would be here,” he said, teasing the second peak with the barest hint of tongue.
I thought I’d burst into a spontaneous orgasm right there. Heat throbbed between my legs, and my pulse pounded so loud I could barely hear his soft words. Zane slid lower down my body, until he was kneeling on the ground. His mouth hovered near the apex of my pelvis, scant inches away from the flesh that yearned for the same treatment.
“And the third kiss?” I asked, my breath catching in my throat.
He looked up at me, that delicious smile curving his beautiful mouth. “The third kiss, she has to ask for.”
I stumbled backward, breathing hard. “I’d, uh, like to see the tomb now.”
“Your wish is my command, Princess.” His mocking tease grated on my frayed nerves, but he got to his feet and dusted off his coat like nothing had happened between us.
I wanted to weep at the unfairness of it. “I just want to get this done so I can go back to the hotel and take a shower.” A nice cold one.
Zane just laughed and took my hand. “This way, then.”
Zane’s lighter sparked, then flickered into a small thread of flame, illuminating the darkness around us. I sucked in my breath at the unnerving sight of his sharp features lit up in shadow. “Here we are.”
“Light something bigger, would you?” I rubbed my arms and stared around me at the dark hole that was Nitocris’s tomb. I clamped my jaw when it threatened to chatter; Zane would have totally made fun of me.
I’d settle for him wrapping his arms around me and chasing the fear out of me with a nice, steamy bout of sex. But a girl has standards to uphold … Damn Itch. I hated it and the way it messed with my mind.
The tomb was damn spooky. I wasn’t scared by much; I didn’t scream in horror movies, and I wasn’t even afraid to skydive. But this? This small, dusty tomb in the middle of the stifling desert? This hole of choking darkness, the heart of evil as I knew it?
Yeah, the tomb scared the hell out of me.
Outside, Zane had pointed out a small, square passage in the rock wall, the edges surrounded by archaic symbols of scarabs and ankhs that I recognized as Egyptian. He’d gestured for me to crawl down inside and I had, not knowing that the descent would be a hundred feet into the earth in a small, cramped passage where I couldn’t even stand upright, leading into total darkness.
I definitely hadn’t thought that one through.
I sneezed as dust tickled my nose, and rubbed my hand against my face, imagining spiders and creepy-crawlies hovering in the darkness. Ahead of me, the lighter flame spread as he held it against a rag-wrapped torch. To my vast relief, the darkness retreated a bit as he held the torch out to me. “Here you go, Princess.”
I took the outstretched torch, relieved. “Thanks for the light. It’s a bit creepy in here.”
Zane laughed at the expression on my face. “I can’t imagine why. The tomb of the most ancient and evil of all vampires? Not nearly as scary as Remy at a shoe sale.”
I gave him a wry smile and held the torch up to get a better look around. The walls were smooth, the room narrow enough to be well-lit by my torch but long enough that the far end lurked in shadows. The ceiling was low, with lotus columns between the carved-out floor and the ton of rock above our heads.
The tomb was empty save for some rat droppings in the corner and a few heaps of scattered, rotted fabric. Like every other Old Kingdom tomb, it had been ransacked millennia ago.
“It’s odd,” I said, stepping forward and staring around me. “Most funerary dwellings in the Old Kingdom were either pyramids or mastabas. Your queen doesn’t seem like the type to want to be hidden away in the middle of nowhere in a cliff-face tomb.” I shot him a questioning look.
Ever easygoing, Zane shrugged carelessly, his arms crossed in a stance of boredom. “Nitocris decided to end her mortal reign with a bit of a bang. Killing all of your closest advisors and then destroying your mortal form doesn’t exactly earn you legions of followers. She had a few priests who were devoted enough to entomb her here.”
I continued my hesitant exploration of the room. A large blocky shape-a sarcophagus, I assumed-dominated the shadowy far end, and I decided to leave exploring that for later, concentrating on the wall paintings instead. “They must have liked her a lot if they came to decorate the place ahead of time.”
“They didn’t. Most of the tomb paintings were done after Nitocris was entombed and had risen again.”
The hairs on my neck prickled. Spooky. I stared at the large figure painted on the column in front of me. It was your typical Egyptian tomb mural, a woman in a sideways pose, her hands upraised. Closer inspection revealed a black cloak flowing down the w
oman’s back. Her upraised hands were covered in red, which I assumed was blood. “That’s odd.” I pointed at the woman’s cloak. “I’ve never seen that in all the archaeology texts I’ve studied.”
“There’s a lot down here you won’t see in books, Princess. Now finish your exploring so we can leave already.” His tone was curt.
I turned in surprise and looked at him. “Don’t tell me this place gives you the willies, too?” It made me feel a bit better to know I wasn’t the only one freaked out.
“Not exactly,” he said dryly. “More along the line of bad memories.”
“Do I want to ask?”
“Probably not.” He leaned against one of the beautifully painted pillars and gave me a lazy look. “So find what you need and let’s leave.”
I gave him a one-finger salute and moved to the next series of pictures. More Egyptian scenes of the Afterlife, sprinkled with some rather disturbing elements. I turned away from a depiction of Nitocris holding aloft the severed head of an enemy and looked back at Zane. “I’m not going to find anything here, am I?”
“Depends on what you’re looking for.”
“Thanks for the cryptic answer. You know exactly what I’m looking for: clues to where this damn halo might be.”
He shrugged his shoulders and lit up a cigarette. “Don’t ask me. I’m just here to enjoy the scenery and to make sure that you pass our lovely prize over to the queen.” His eyes rested on my breasts, outlined by the sweaty black T-shirt that clung to me. “Nice scenery, by the way.”
“Fuck off. When I’m interested, you’ll know.” I turned away from him so he couldn’t see the hardening of my nipples. Oh God, was I interested. One more of those sexy, full-lipped smiles, and I’d be lost. Be strong, I reminded myself. Be strong for Noah.
If I didn’t have sex for another day, would I spontaneously combust? It was starting to feel that way; I was way overdue.