by Ann Cory
“You have no choice,” spout the shorter of the two.
Jasmine never responded well to that string of words, but she was at their mercy. They practically dragged her up the steps and down the long narrow hallway. She considered screaming, but decided it wasn’t worth the embarrassment of having everyone’s attention. And she worried no one would invite her on another dig again.
At the end of the hallway, they turned a corner and stopped. One of the men let go of her arm and approached the wall with a limestone archway. She tried her best to get loose from the other man’s grip when a section of the wall opened up. Much as she wanted to seem uninterested, her insatiable curiosity won over.
“Wow. You guys are really going off the grid. It might not be safe to enter there.”
“Silence!”
“Fuck you,” she retorted.
Sure, it was an immature comeback, but it made her feel better to have the last word. Against her will, she went with them inside the hidden passageway. At least now she could better see where they were going. Bright torches lined the walls as the men dragged her down a long causeway into an enormous room, where two more half-naked men in cloths stood, holding spears. The four to one ratio mildly concerned her, but she played it cool, at least they were to-die-for gorgeous. Once Mason had his fun playing king for a nanosecond, she planned to give them all a rant-filled lecture they’d never forget.
Her anger subsided momentarily and she drew in a long breath. Rows of artifacts glistened in a brilliant golden hue, and along the far wall lay a red granite sarcophagus. As her gaze swept along the large room, she couldn’t help but notice a bizarre contraption sitting smack-dab in the middle, and wondered what the hell it was. She’d never seen anything like it before. It looked like a cage molded into the shape of a headless body, with an open space where a chest would be, and another open space between the legs. If she weren’t in a pyramid, she would have thought she was looking at some sort of medieval robot.
The burly men forced her to the center of the room before releasing their vise-like hold.
Jasmine gently rubbed her arms. “Would one of you mind telling me what is going on? I’ve been more than patient and I demand an explanation.”
The only answer she got was one of silence. Irritated she tapped her foot. All four men had her surrounded.
The one with a sexy scar along his brow raised his hand and pointed toward the weird contraption. “You will remove your clothing and step inside the body chamber.”
Body chamber? She’d never read about one of those in any history book. “Like hell,” she countered and tried to move past them. They weren’t having it and gripped her arms again. “You guys have a lot of nerve.”
“They are orders from the king. You must obey.”
Jasmine had had enough. She glanced around and wondered if Mason was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle from wherever he hid watching. “Please inform the king that I demand to see his ass here right now.”
The scarred man scowled. “King Okpara will not meet with you until you are successfully detained inside the body chamber.”
Her pulse thundered at the highly formal name he spouted off. “I’m sorry, did you say King Okpara?”
The men grunted in answer. She racked her brain, wondering where she’d read the name before. Ah, yes, the hieroglyphics. On her way into the pyramid she’d read about a king named Okpara who reigned in 2130 BC. She gave Mason credit for his creativity.
“Now, remove your garments or we will remove them for you,” another guard insisted.
If they wanted her to feel insecure or intimidated, she wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. In fact, she’d give them a little strip show. Under normal circumstances she wouldn’t bare herself to a bunch of strangers, but she’d learned to temper her modesty after spending so much time in the male-dominant expedition groups.
Jasmine removed her button-down shirt, jeans, bra and panties, displaying her naked body proudly with her chin held high. As she looked into the faces of the breathtaking men, their gazes remained fixed straight ahead. Suddenly she felt invisible and unattractive. Not like she was expecting applause or money thrown at her, but still, deafening silence? Talk about a let down to her self-esteem.
Scarface pulled open the backend of the body chamber and reluctantly she climbed in. It was awkward at first. She had to position her legs over the inner molding, which left her thighs apart and her crotch completely accessible over the open space. To make matters worse, she had to push her breasts through another open space as if they were on display. And if she couldn’t be any more uncomfortable, her arms rested along the unique molding, completely stretched up and out. Summed up, she looked like she was in the middle of doing jumping jacks and frozen in motion.
When Scarface closed the back end, the chamber conformed even tighter to her body, making it nearly impossible to move. The large open squares allowed others to touch her, but not the other way around. Still, the men didn’t bother to look. She bit her lip. This had to be her most vulnerable state ever.
Fueled by a low sense of self, she decided some answers were in order. “Fine, now that you have me in here, what do you plan to do?”
The shorter man of the four glowered at her. “Your punishment will be decided by the king, and only the king.”
She swallowed hard. Had she missed the memo? “Punishment? For what?”
“You’ve been charged with the theft of the queen’s most precious jewel. King Okpara will see you now.”
Jasmine felt the wind knocked out of her. So, they had seen her with it after all. Damn. Damn. Damn. “Look, I didn’t put it on, I swear. You won’t believe me, but it closed around my wrist all on its own, and I can’t for the life of me find the clasp to take it off.”
Like some scene out of the movies, a gorgeous hunk of a man entered the room, and he was not Mason. Everything from his clothing to his proud expression screamed nobility. Had she not been bound inside the chamber, she’d have instinctively bowed before him.
He approached with a slow, sexy gait. “Greetings. I am King Okpara. And you would be?”
Her pulse quickened. For a king who reigned centuries ago, he looked ultra-hot. “I’m confused.”
He chuckled with a deep resonance. “Confused? Hmm. Not a very fitting name for such a captivating woman.”
Heat stole along her face. “Uh, no, my name is Jasmine. I meant that I’m a little confused because I expected someone else.”
He looked around the room and then back to her. “Is there another King Okpara here?”
Yeah, they were starting off on the wrong foot. In fact, if she could, she’d open her mouth and insert her foot. “No, I think you’re the one and only. I didn’t mean any disrespect.”
If he was angry with her, he didn’t show it.
“Jasmine.” The timbre of his voice as he said her name shot little rockets of excitement off in her stomach. “I would say that name fits your beauty implicitly. We have something in common already. I too, am confused. You also aren’t who I expected.” His gaze followed along her arm to where the bracelet lay wrapped around her wrist.
She wanted to shrink to the size of a pea. Not only was she guilty of wearing a priceless jewel, she was buck-naked and couldn’t do a damn thing about covering herself up.
The king rubbed at his chin and cocked his head to the side. “I wonder where you found such a rare piece of jewelry such as the one you are wearing.”
Her throat tightened. “I-I didn’t steal it, I swear. I found it inside an opening in the wall. I only meant to hold it for a moment and then planned to put it back. Honest.”
His presence made it hard to think straight.
“Yet you still wear it.”
She had to give him credit for being observant. “Well, yes, but I didn’t take it. You’re not going to believe me, but it wrapped itself around my wrist. I can’t find the clasp to remove it. Honest. If you can get it off, please take it, I don’t want any troub
le.”
His eyes narrowed into sexy slits. “You say it wrapped around your wrist all by itself?”
Jasmine sighed. It was worse than being caught with her hand in the cookie jar. How could she make him understand something she wouldn’t even believe? “Yeah, I knew you weren’t going to buy that part, but it’s the honest truth.”
He stepped closer and she sucked in her breath. There was no doubt in her mind he came from the past. Men didn’t look like him anymore. Her knees weakened at the size of his stature, so near, so impeccably handsome. Bands of gold material were bound around each of his wrists. Two more bands were wrapped around his shoulders from which a gold robe-like cape draped along his back. A gold-plated necklace covered his entire upper chest, where several peridots shimmered in the center. Marks of blue and red ink ran the length of his forearms, drawing her attention straight to his exceptionally toned biceps.
Heat from his breath teased at her nipples and sent waves of desire through her. She could hardly stand how close his fingers were. He could reach right up and caress her breasts if he wanted. Oh, how she wanted him to. Under his watchful stare, she found her mind cluttered with fantasies. Judging by the appearance of his body, and the shape he was in, she figured another part of his anatomy would be sizeable as well.
Jasmine swallowed hard again and met his gaze, enamored by the intense green of his eyes. So green they mirrored the stunning shade of the peridot itself.
He cleared his throat and parted his lips, a gesture she found made for a strong reaction inside her body. Her clit ached to be stroked. If only he’d run his fingers between her legs.
“Do you understand the seriousness of the situation, my dear?”
She bit her lip. “Yes, I think I do.”
“This particular bracelet was worn by my queen. The jewel is so powerful that it summoned me here into your world the moment you touched it. I don’t take that lightly. You will have to come back with me, I’m afraid, for I cannot allow you to keep such a sacred object.”
Her jaw dropped open briefly. Had she heard him right? Go back with him? “Where exactly do you expect me to go?”
“Ancient Egypt. Back to when I ruled inside this very temple. Before there were strangers digging up our personal affects.”
She blinked back her stunned surprise. “I can’t up and travel to your time, are you kidding me? Please, you can take the bracelet, I had no intention of keeping it in the first place.”
He shrugged his massive shoulders. “It is beyond my control.”
How could he claim to not be in control? She was the only one not in control. Under any other circumstance, she’d be ecstatic at a chance to go back in time, even if it were for a brief moment. But this wasn’t a story she was reading. This was real life, and only in her fantasies did she think going back in time was possible.
“Please understand, I cannot go back with you. It’s impossible.”
Surprise reflected in his eyes. “Then you think I am an illusion?”
She hesitated, her mind frighteningly blank. “I didn’t say that.”
“How can you look at me and not believe?”
The pain in his voice registered deep in her core. “I rarely believe anything that seems too good to be true.”
He took a step closer. His warm breath fanned her skin. “You feel me. Does that not mean anything?”
She couldn’t deny how charged her body felt being in the presence of such a great leader. How many times had she woken up drenched in sweat and her own juices after dreaming about a man who looked very much like King Okpara?
“Of course. I’m not claiming you aren’t real.” Jasmine sighed and observed him through the veil of her lashes. He was more real than any man she’d ever met. “I don’t know what to think. I want to believe this is all possible.”
“It is possible. A set of events have taken place and made a shift in both of our times. The moment the bracelet latched onto your wrist it affected my past and your future. I did not come here of my own volition. It is no mere coincidence we found one another. We cannot pretend this away.”
She felt a surge of apprehension. “How can you be certain I am meant to return with you? Anyone could have found the bracelet if they looked hard enough.”
“No. You were guided. I can be certain because I trust what is being shown to me. I need no other proof than the bracelet on your arm. It has chosen you. Where I am from, we pay attention to the signs around us. They help us seek the truth and happiness in our lives.”
Her lip quivered. “And is that what you think when you see me?”
He gave her a solemn nod. “I look in your eyes and it all becomes clear. This path was set before either one of us knew. I believe it is why you chose to study Egypt.”
She took a deep breath. She wanted so much to accept his words. Why couldn’t she be as certain as he was? Even if it were all true, people would miss her. Or so she hoped. Jasmine flashed him a sincere smile. She needed to get the idea out of his head. “Seriously, I can’t do the time warp thing and go back with you. I guess you’ll have to find a way to pry the bracelet off me.”
His long dark hair shifted as he shook his head. “I will not risk damaging the jewels.”
Damn if they didn’t share the same stubborn streak. At this rate they’d be talking in circles long into the night. She decided to try another tactic. “If I decline to go with you, what will you do to me?”
A mischievous smile spread across his attractive features.
Jasmine wet her lips and wondered how concerned she should be. “You wouldn’t hurt a woman, would you,” she asked and swallowed hard.
His eyes widened. “Certainly not. When I place my hands on a woman, it is to bring her to an unimaginable point of pleasure.”
She shuddered. His comment prodded all the right places. She felt his gaze rest on her breasts. Much as she wanted to be irritated and tell him to stop staring, another part of her welcomed the attention. Gods help her, she loved it.
Chapter Three
When Okpara had entered the chamber he’d been taken by complete surprise. His day had started like any other, until a terrible pain had swept through him. He’d heard a voice from his past, calling to him, and a strange pull started deep in his gut. In his mind he could see a figure in the pyramid and they had disturbed the queen’s hidden bracelet. The one he’d made for their wedding ceremony. He’d been summoned to the future before when a man attempted to leave the pyramid with a gold tablet, but he’d taken care of him. The only way to deal with a thief was by death.
Yet, as he entered the room and found a woman wearing the bracelet, claiming she couldn’t remove it. He’d instantly known she was the chosen one. His former lover had spoken and she wanted a new queen to take her place.
Okpara couldn’t help but admire the mysterious woman’s rare beauty. Paler than most women he’d seen, her skin looked almost ethereal. Long, coal black hair draped along her body exquisitely. Her well-proportioned curves made him want to cry out. Inside the body chamber she looked like an angel waiting to be rescued with a stroke of his cock. Her parted thighs with a tuft of dark hair teased him to trail his fingers to her warm spot and fondle her clit. The fullness of her breasts brought him to a fierce erection, and his mouth twitched at the thought of suckling her tawny nipples.
As he stepped closer, her brown eyes and full pink lips nearly hypnotized him.
Even her worry lines magnified her loveliness. He ached to have her.
She cleared her throat and gave him a thin-lipped smile. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Ask me anything,” he replied. Okpara wanted her to trust him and would do anything to please her.
“When you said she chose me, who did you mean?”
He smiled. “My former queen, Kiya. On her deathbed she said the peridot would one day guide me to the woman she believed would be the next queen of Egypt. I am certain that it is you she has chosen to take her place.”
Her
adorable nose scrunched up. “Aren’t there other women from your time who you could be with? I’m sure you’re very popular with the ladies.”
“I have had my share of women, yes, but they are not fit to be queen. Besides, I find too many women make for too many demands.”
Humor wrinkled the corner of her eyes. “In other words, you’re unable to live up to their expectations?”
Okpara laughed. “I’ve found that sating ten women in the span of a few hours leaves me exhausted for days. Since I must watch over my people and always be prepared for a battle, I cannot afford my energy to be drained.”
Her eyes grew into big brown orbs.
“Ten women? In one night?”
A smirk bowed his lips. “Does that impress you?”
She nodded. “It’s hard not to be impressed after that statement.”
Truth be told he didn’t enjoy being with so many women. He enjoyed the attention, but it no longer held the same attraction to him as it once did. Not since Kiya. No one would ever replace the queen, his first love, but he saw something in Jasmine that reawakened him to all the emotions of love, lust and temptation. Emotions he’d never expected to feel again. Such a beautiful distraction. He’d gladly give her anything she wanted. How could he convince her to come back with him?
“So,” she said and brought his thoughts back to the present. “Are you going to let me out of this thing anytime soon?”
Her sharp tongue intrigued him. What a handful she would be. He worried she might try to run away if he let her out. While the peridot remained on her wrist he felt bound to her. And he couldn’t ignore the instant attraction. Okpara shook his head. “At this time, I cannot. It amuses me to see you this way.”
She scowled. “Ugh, men. Look, I’m sorry if it hurts your feelings to hear, but I can’t go back with you. We’re from two completely different worlds.”
In all his life, he’d only known one other woman who argued with him. The rest only cared about pleasing him. A snap of the fingers and women fed him, bathed him, dressed him if he so desired. This woman proposed a challenge. She might get away with telling other men what to do, but things were about to change. First, he needed her to bend to his will and enjoy it at the same time. “That may be, but I am used to getting my own way.”