I could think of one thing he wanted to do less—bond with me. But I held my tongue.
A humorless smile curved his lips. “Ah . . . but I see you do not believe me.” He shook his head again, laughing softly. “I cannot say I blame you . . . and now I shall risk driving you away completely. But I would have there be honesty between us, however bitter that honesty may taste.”
I pulled part of my bottom lip between my teeth, and Heru’s eyes flicked lower for the briefest moment. Honesty—I wasn’t sure it was something we could have, not completely. I wasn’t sure if I could tell him that Nuin would die before I left this ancient time, or that Set would be possessed by Apep, and the possession would last millennia. And then there was the whole twins issue . . . how would he react to finding out that thousands of years in the future, we would—had to—have children? And our children wouldn’t exactly be normal. I’d already turned his life upside down. I wasn’t sure either of us could handle any further upsets, not yet.
Heru cleared his throat. “My other two wives—they are here, as are our children and many of my aging human descendants from past unions. I would have you meet them, have you learn something of the sacrifice I—and others—would be making should you and I truly be together.”
I was shaking my head before he’d finished speaking. There was no reason for him to give up any kind of relationship with his children, and where his wives were concerned, as much as it pained me to admit it, relations with them would return to normal as soon as I was gone. It would be as though I’d never existed in this time. It had to be that way.
“But—” I stopped myself and squeezed my eyes shut in a protracted blink. “Please, continue,” I said and reopened my eyes.
The faintest hint of a smile turned the corners of Heru’s mouth upward. “Many Netjer-At men value human women for one thing alone—their ability to bear our children.” He paused, his stare turning challenging. “I am not among them. I only take wives I genuinely care for . . . I genuinely desire . . . and I love them as best I can during the short time I have with them.” He did smile this time, a sad, wistful expression. “Their lives are so fleeting, but it is that very quality that helps me remember that every day matters, that every moment deserves my full attention.”
As he spoke, I realized that, while I still felt extreme, wrenching jealousy toward every single woman he’d ever been with, I also felt gratitude toward them for helping to shape him into the man I loved so desperately, a man who’d been hardened by time, but who wasn’t oblivious to its passing like so many of the ancients of our kind.
His eyes searched mine. “Bunefer has been my faithful wife for fifty-seven years, and in that time, she bore me eight children. Five survived to adulthood, the youngest of which manifested two years ago; she is the first child of mine to do so in over a century. Bunefer is quite elderly now, and though our relationship has changed over the years, I still hold great affection for her and consider her one of my closest friends. I will mourn her passing for centuries.” His eyes shone with the love he felt for Bunefer, and tears pricked in my own eyes. “I believe she will like you very much—she and Aset have always been very close.”
My eyes widened.
“And then there is Seshseshet.” He exhaled heavily. “Sesha is . . . well, she is much like you in many ways—pensive, guarded, filled with single-minded determination”—he smiled, and for once, the expression touched his eyes—“and quite beautiful. We have been together for nineteen years, and during that time, she has given me six children, four of which remain with us.” He paused, but his eyes never left mine. “I would have you stay in my home with my family . . . with me.”
Stunned, I opened my mouth but couldn’t seem to find any words. All I could manage was to slowly shake my head. Stay in his home . . . with his family . . . his wives?
“I have already spoken to Nuin about this, and he is amenable, so long as you are. You would have your own private sleeping chamber, but this would also give us a way to come to know each other better . . . to understand how our lives and the lives of my family would be changed if we bonded.” Again he paused, and the skin around his eyes tightened minutely. “What do you say? Are you willing to try this?”
I inhaled and exhaled several times, pondering how to respond while I studied every angle, every line of his face. On my fifth inhale, I did the unthinkable—I nodded. “Very well . . . I am willing to try.”
Relief filled Heru’s eyes and visibly altered his stance; his shoulders relaxed, his chin lowered, and his lips curved into a genuine grin.
What did I just agree to? I adjusted Rus’s weight in his sling, anxiety already rising. I wasn’t ready for this, for meeting them. I felt the desperate need to delay and said the first thing that came to mind. “But I would like to clean myself up before you take me to meet them.”
“There is a small bath house in my home. We could—”
“Before I meet them, Heru . . . and I need to fetch a fresh dress—”
He didn’t miss a beat. “Your priestesses will no doubt be waiting for you on the other end of the passageway, in the Oasis. We will gather a clean dress from them before sending them on to my home with your belongings—”
I felt my eyes go wide and my heart flutter wildly. This was all happening too fast. “But—”
“And then I will take you to a small, secluded pool where you may bathe under the sun, and—”
I shook my head, feeling my chest tighten with rising panic. “Heru, I—”
“Bunefer and Seshseshet will love you,” he said, reaching up to run his fingertips along my jaw and down my neck, curling his fingers around the back of my neck. And though his eyes were usually filled with a gleam of repressed longing when he looked at me, he was now letting the emotion show in his open expression.
My breath hitched.
“And my children will love you,” he said so very softly.
Part of me expected him to declare his own feelings, to put my mind at rest by telling me, once and for all, he’d decided to bond with me. It was the selfish, hopeful, and apparently, delusional part of me.
Ever so slowly, he leaned in, bringing his face closer to mine. His lips brushed across mine with the faintest pressure, just enough that I could feel them curve into a smile.
I was afraid to move, afraid to breathe, afraid to do anything that might shatter this moment.
Heru pulled away just as slowly, the slight smile still curving his lips. “Come, little queen.” He stepped around me, pausing at the mouth of the tunnel and looking back at me while holding out his hand.
I maneuvered my left arm through the folds in my robe until my hand was free. Tentatively, I approached Heru and placed my hand in his.
He grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners and his irises sparkling with genuine pleasure. I’d never thought of the skin between my fingers as an erogenous zone, but the slow, sensual way his glided between mine changed my mind completely. His grin turned sly, knowing, and just the tiniest bit wolfish. Oh, he knew exactly what he was doing and could read the effect he was having on me as clear as day. Even though he wasn’t bonded to me, I was still fully bonded to him, and that made even the most benign touch feel decadent and rouse more than a hint of desire.
Heat flooded my neck and cheeks even as things low in my abdomen tightened in misguided anticipation. I licked my lips, unable to break eye contact with him.
Heru’s pupils expanded, dilating with desire that mirrored my own, even if it was paler on his end due to our one-sided bond. His eyelids slid closed, and he inhaled deeply. He said a word I didn’t know, but based on his harsh tone, I assumed he was cursing. When his eyes snapped open, his irises were almost entirely black; just the thinnest circlet of gold surrounded his pupils.
“You enjoyed teasing me in my time as well,” I said, allowing a small smile. I raised my chin a little. “Be careful, Heru. Your self-control may be strong, but it is not limitless . . .”
His eyes nar
rowed, holding a glint of challenge. “Perhaps you overestimate my desire for you.”
I cocked my head to the side and barely held back a smirk. Mutual desire was one thing that had never been lacking between Marcus and me, and Heru being a younger Marcus, well . . . “Perhaps, but I do not think it would be a wise theory to test.”
Heru pressed his lips together in a thin line and made a rough noise low in his throat. “Perhaps you are right,” he said, starting toward the passageway and pulling me along beside him. “Perhaps . . .”
33
Over & Over
As we plunged into the shadowed tunnel, I couldn’t help but laugh, just as my heart couldn’t help but beat too quickly. Cooler air enveloped me, and I sighed in relief. Shade, like water, was a rarity in the Sahara, and I basked in the momentary lack of sunshine.
Up ahead, the other end of the passageway was a point of brightness that expanded quickly as we walked. Through it, I could see sunshine and greenery and, as Heru had predicted, the silhouettes of three women—the Hat-hur priestesses who’d all but begged to stay with me, despite claiming to believe that I wasn’t actually their goddess. I still wasn’t completely convinced . . .
I couldn’t see much beyond the shield of date palms and low, desert shrubs that sprouted a few yards beyond the tunnel’s exit. It was almost like they’d been planted there on purpose to block unwelcome, unexpected visitors from catching a glimpse of whatever lay beyond them in the Oasis. Knowing Nuin and his slight flair for eccentricity, I figured the Netjer-At “homeland” would be populated by structures at least as unique as the people who inhabited them.
I nodded to myself, certain that the thick shield of palms had been placed strategically.
As Heru and I emerged from the passageway, Denai smiled and bowed her head. “We will accompany you to Nuin’s residence, Alexandra. I am sure you wish to bathe and rest.” Her eyes slid to Heru, lingering on our joined hands, and she arched an eyebrow. “And you must wish to return to your home, Heru.”
However loyal she was to me, she didn’t wholly approve of all the time I spent with Heru. I thought it was less because I was being potentially unfaithful to my “husband,” and more because of Heru’s past relationship with Ankhesenpepi, who Denai seemed to despise—as did almost every other woman I’d spoken with, aside from Nuin’s primary human wife, Ipwet, who I tried to avoid as much as possible.
I offered Heru a weak smile. “Actually, Denai, I will be staying at Heru’s home.”
Denai’s face transformed, going from disapproving to flabbergasted in an instant.
I choked on a laugh, coughing and barely holding back a grin. “I just need a clean dress . . .”
Straightening her back, Denai held her head high. “I see. And what of us? Where would you have us stay?”
Heru cleared his throat. “You are more than welcome to stay in my home as well.” The corner of his mouth twitched. “That way you can continue to protect Alexandra’s virtue.”
Denai ignored his barb and returned her attention to me. She’d relaxed, and the usual, good-natured sparkle had returned to her eyes. “Would this please you, having us remain there with you?”
“Very much, Denai.” I scanned the two other young women, Sia and Kemi, and smiled. “Very much, indeed.” And I meant it. I was nervous as hell about moving in with Heru, two of his wives, and his brood of kids, and having the priestesses’ familiar faces around would do a lot to ease my nerves. Plus, I simply enjoyed their company. They were loyal, trustworthy, and kind women I’d come to consider close friends.
Sia, who as soon as I’d requested fresh clothing had started rummaging around in a bundle attached to one of the three donkeys lounging nearby, handed me a rolled-up dress of fine, white linen. A moment later, she added the belt Denai had made from some of the turquoise and quartz beads that had come from my destroyed bead-net dress and my pair of turquoise- and gold-embellished leather sandals.
Kemi fished through another bundle, pulling out a jar of the paste that passed as soap in this time—a mixture of natron and ash very similar to what I used every morning and evening to clean my teeth.
I accepted the offerings with a smile and murmured thanks.
“Are you certain you do not want to accompany us and wash up there?” Denai’s hands were on her hips, and she was making a really valiant effort not to eye Heru suspiciously.
“Yes, Denai, I am sure,” I said, laughing softly. “I would very much like to make a good first impression.”
She sighed dramatically. “Very well. We shall inform Heru’s wives of your imminent arrival and aid them in setting up our quarters.” She bit her lip. “But I hope you will not take too long . . .”
“She will take as long as she takes,” Heru said, tugging on my hand as he stepped toward a down-sloping, palm-lined path that ran along the rock wall.
My kitten chose that moment to start kneading my chest.
I slipped my hand free of Heru’s, earning raised eyebrows and parted lips, and looked at Denai. “Will you take Rus? I am certain he is starving, not to mention dying to run around.”
Denai grinned. She loved the little furball almost as much as I did. We made the exchange with a lot of help on her part, considering everything I was holding, and I gave her my thanks before rejoining Heru.
He watched me with guarded eyes as I approached.
I stopped in front of him, studying his face and trying to puzzle out the reason for his sudden reticence. Behind me, I could hear the priestesses and donkey making their way along another of the paths leading away from the mouth of the tunnel. “So . . . where is this pond you mentioned?”
Heru continued to stare at me, a million thoughts seeming to whirl around in his eyes.
“Heru?” I touched my fingertips to his forearm. “Is something wrong?”
Exhaling, he shook his head. “I thought . . .” He cleared his throat. “For a moment, I thought, perhaps, that you changed your mind . . . that you would choose to stay at Nuin’s residence instead. I have never felt so—” Again, he shook his head, his brow furrowed. “It does not matter.”
He took hold of my hand once more, the gentle slide of his fingers between mine just as sensual as it had been before. “Come. I will show you the most perfect, hidden pool for washing . . . you will love it, I think.”
At this point, a tub of water behind a boulder would’ve looked like the most perfect, hidden pool for washing. I snorted as he led me down a path lined with limestone reaching up toward the clear blue sky on one side and a mass of date palms and shrubs on the other. But my mouth fell open as we rounded a curve and the secluded hideaway came into view.
Heru had brought me to a small spring surrounded by limestone boulders that seemed to have been artfully arranged around the water and the tiniest burbling waterfall trickling into a wide pool that glittered with sunlight. It really was the most perfect, hidden pool. It looked like it had been relocated from some fairytale land into the heart of the Sahara.
“How is this real?” I said, laughing in wonderment as I stared around. He’d been right; I loved it. And if it was any indication of what the rest of the Oasis was like, I was almost tempted to forgo washing up in favor of getting a good look at the rest of the place. Almost.
I tore my eyes away from the delicate waterfall and looked at Heru. “It is perfect . . . this place . . .”
He smiled, genuine pleasure gleaming in his eyes. Releasing my hand, he reached for the items I was carrying and set them on a low, flat boulder beside the pool. And then he returned to me and started unwrapping the thin fabric looped loosely around my neck. He tossed what had been my cowl onto the ground before taking hold of the sides of my multi-layered linen robe.
My hands found his wrists, gripping them tightly as I held them in place, and I looked up into his darkening eyes. “What are you doing, Heru?”
He raised his eyebrows, feigning casual unconcern, but nothing could hide the desire—the challenge—in his eyes.
“I am merely helping you disrobe so you may bathe.”
Staring at him, I held his wrists for a moment longer. And then I let go.
My robe, more a sun- and heat-protectant than anything else, was pulled over my head and had joined the cowl on the ground within seconds. I stood before Heru in a thin, white linen shift that had been clean when I’d donned it that morning and the supple leather slippers I’d been wearing throughout the eleven-day journey, wondering if he would attempt to remove the rest of my clothing as well.
He took a step backward and started attending to his own over-layers. They landed on the rocky ground beside mine, but he didn’t stop there. He toed off his own hide moccasins as he worked on unknotting his linen kilt.
I couldn’t move, couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. I could barely breathe. Watching him was the only thing I was capable of at that moment. My breaths came too fast, like I was doing something strenuous instead of just standing there, staring at him as he undressed and loving every single nanosecond.
Not that he seemed to mind. His eyes never left mine, never judged . . . only promised.
At least, I hoped they promised.
He dropped his kilt on top of the pile of discarded linen garments and stood before me, completely nude. And he said nothing. He watched me watch him, watched me taking in the sight of him. His expression went through a play of emotions, starting with curiosity and eagerness only to move on to excitement and desire . . . to need. His chest, like mine, was rising and falling too quickly.
“Alexandra . . . please . . .” His voice was hoarse, asking, demanding.
Returning my gaze to his, I removed my shoes, then crossed my arms in front of me and gathered my shift at my hips. I pulled it over my head in one smooth motion, eternally grateful to the priestesses for being so gung-ho about hair removal. The ancient Egyptians were not fans of lice, and made sure to eliminate as many habitats for the little buggers as possible. What had been a few moments of stinging pain led to a shorter, if more memorable moment of absolute glee. The gleam in Heru’s eyes as he scanned me . . . his body’s response . . . at this point, I was ready to kiss all of the priestesses, I was so grateful.
Time Anomaly: A Time Travel Romance (Echo Trilogy, #2) Page 26