Nimmet, Goddess of Love

by Anastasia Rabiyah

  "Not really. I just want these damn things off."

  Leuj’s hands fell lax at his sides. "All right. Fair enough." He crossed the carpet and reached over her head to enter the key code. He smelled like Aston #5 cologne, a woody, tingling scent Sima loved.

  The shackles on her wrists clicked open. She shook her hands, splaying her fingers to return the circulation to them. "Don’t forget the ankles."

  His green-eyed gaze flickered over her red wrists, and she recognized the pained look in his eyes. Leuj swallowed hard, his adam’s apple bobbing. "Of course." He walked along the bed’s edge before bending over to release the lower shackles.

  Sima sat up and drew her knees to her chest. She snatched up the bedsheet, draping it hastily over her nakedness. "Do I get my clothes back?"

  "No. They’re gone."

  Glaring, she swept the corner of the sheet over her shoulder. She climbed off the bed and teetered toward the window, her legs unsteady. Past the glass, the dark clothed woman pointed, directing her workers. The men carried flats of dragon lilies to an empty bed, knelt and started placing the rare plants in place.

  Only one man looked Unangi, his darker skin like oxidized copper in the sun. She stared at him, intrigued by his familiarity. Broad shoulders topped off a firm body barely disguised beneath the earth-colored work uniform he wore. When he bent over to drop his dragon lily flat atop the empty ground, she held her breath. Nice ass. Only seen one like that. She leaned into the window, her eyes wide. The worker turned to get another flat, and Sima saw his chiseled face.

  Bumps prickled her skin, making the hairs on the nape of her neck stand on end. Hot hands gripped her shoulders. A chest crushed into her back. Hips ground into her ass. She felt the bulge of Leuj’s manhood, but for once, it didn’t press against her with need.

  "She’s a Habiri Sister," he breathed against her earlobe. "Lensi Chand."

  She didn’t care about the woman. All Sima saw was Razi standing there in Leuj’s garden, his dark eyes shifting as if he sought something or someone. He’s looking for me. Waves of heat moved through her body. Her nipples stood at attention. She silently cursed the privacy glass standing in his way. I’m here. Right in front of you. Save me. Get me out of this madman’s palace!

  Leuj dug his thumbs into her shoulders, massaging deep. "You’re tense," he muttered. "I don’t want you to be. Let me help."

  Chapter Sixteen – By Blood

  The scent of the flowers reminded him of his mother. Razi tried not to think of her or the way their little shack smelled when it rained. Just like dragon lilies. She used to gather them from the hill by the stream. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "At least it’s not raining today," he called over his shoulder at Lensi. She gave him a sharp look that warned without words to get on with his snooping.

  Leuj wasn’t in his garden this time, but Lensi assured him in the shuttle ride over that the Oemir always came out to see her. Razi stared up at the tinted, one-way glass, wondering if the creepy leader was behind it, looking down on him from some well furbished office. He felt like he was being watched, but couldn’t decide where from. He scanned the side of the metal-made wall. Gilded serpentine columns decorated the building. The only way in would be through the guarded doors.

  Razi swept a hand through his dark hair and turned, heading for the flowerbed. He spent a half hour planting the lilies, waiting, hoping for some chance to find a way in.

  "Good morning, my Oemir." Lensi’s soothing voice drifted through the garden.

  Swallowing hard, he glanced across the walk. Leuj stood beside his usual bench, exchanging pleasantries with the Habiri sister. He had an unkempt look this day, his blond hair hanging in his eyes and his clothing obviously rumpled. He spoke with his hands, fingers twisting in the air as he relayed his story.

  Holding his breath, Razi bent as he sliced a gash in his palm. Pocketing the work knife, he stood, his gait steady. Sister Lensi held Leuj’s attention with soft intensity. "Sister," Razi said. "I’ve gone and cut myself."

  Lensi sucked in a startled breath when her gaze fixed on the blood. Her skin paled, showing off the freckles across her face. "That looks bad." She sighed before turning to Leuj with a pleading look. "My Oemir?"

  "Yes?" Leuj had both hands on his hips, his green eyes cold, unyielding.

  "Can I take him inside and dress the cut? I wouldn’t want it to get infected." She moved forward, touching Leuj’s shoulder in friendship.

  "Of course, of course. Follow me." The Oemir glared across the garden, his gaze tracing the new plantings. With a snort, he led them toward the rear courtyard.

  Razi followed behind Lensi. The topiaries begged for his attention, fine plantings resembling gargoyles. Little carved stones served as mulch covering the soil in their massive ceramic urns. Statuary stood at intervals, angelic nudes, their arms upraised to some unseen heaven. He thought his boots made too much noise when they passed the guards at either side of the entrance, so he tried to step lighter.

  "There’s a guest room off the study, just there." Leuj pointed across a wide room filled with azure upholstered seats. A television took up an entire wall and beside it stood the silver door to the room. "Off to the left is the bathing area and sinks. Yeman keeps bandages in the cabinet."

  "I can do it myself," Razi offered. "I wouldn’t want to trouble you further, Sister."

  Lensi almost choked. He knew she didn’t want to be alone with the Oemir, but he needed to look around, to find some secret way in. "Very well, Raz," she murmured. "But do hurry. I’ve seven more rows that need planting and appointments to keep this afternoon."

  Razi nodded. He held back the urge to run and managed to approach the door with some sense of manners. The metal slid open. He glanced over his shoulder. Leuj looked past Lensi to the gardens. He mumbled to her, something about clumsy wards then moved to sit. She shot Razi a cold glare just before she joined the Oemir on his couch.

  The guestroom smelled fresh. The perfume of bleach cleverly submerged with a lemon scent tingled in the air. Razi rushed to the bathroom, soaped and rinsed the cut, and hurriedly bandaged it with gauze from beneath the counter. He rinsed the blood from the white marble sink until the pink ran clear. The large washroom had two toilets, a walk-in shower large enough for a crowd and mirrors spanning both walls. He’d seen luxury before in his previous position as an escort, but nothing to this extreme. His gaze fell on the vent above the toilet. "Maybe that?"

  He crossed the plush rug and stood on the toilet. The vent shaft was at least an arm’s length wide. "My shoulders will never fit through that." There wasn’t anything else, no side door, not even a servant’s exit.

  Razi hopped down and exited the washroom. The bed in the guestroom stood far against the wall. Beside it, the edge showing beneath the lip of the tangerine colored curtains, he spied what he needed. A servant door. He sprinted across the carpet, ducked behind the curtain and worked the simple latch. Musty air filtered from the gray passage. Trail lights lined the ceiling like a beacon. Razi listened for Lensi.

  "…the east ground with citrus…" She was holding his attention.

  He shut the door and started down the corridor. Metal lined the walls, floor and ceiling, but his steps made no sound. Most wealthy people didn’t want their servants announced. He sprinted until he came to the first viewscreen. It showed an empty guestroom, much the same as the one he’d left. Sighing, he ran on. The second screen showed a sitting room with two black lacquered tables and various pillow topped chairs. Papers were neatly stacked across the surface, and a wide desk spanned one wall overlooking the gardens.

  Far ahead, a loud thunk echoed in the hall, startling him. He debated turning back, but curiosity urged him forth. Jogging, he noticed the sound getting louder. It seemed someone was trying to hammer something. A third viewscreen flashed ahead. Razi skidded to a clumsy halt in front of it. He gasped when he looked in on the guestroom.

  The woman wore a bedsheet tied loose around her sh
apely figure. In both hands, she held a chair above her head. The legs crashed into a wide pane of window that overlooked the flowerbed he’d been planting in. Spiderweb cracks showed across the tinted glass. She drew the chair back and slammed it forward again.

  Chestnut hair swept back, revealing the determined look on her face. He sucked in a breath. Her mouth was set in a resolute way. The chair hit a third time.

  Door tones sounded.

  "Sima," Razi whispered.

  She turned almost as if she heard him. Her glittery eyes flashed and narrowed. Below him in the room, the Oemir entered. "Put the chair down!" he shouted.

  "Bastard! Let me go!" Sima howled. She chucked the chair in his direction.

  The Oemir dodged her attack, stepping toward her. He reached for her wrist, but she scrambled backward until she reached the shattered window. Sima took a step toward Leuj, then threw her weight into the glass.

  Razi raced down the corridor, determined to get back to the courtyard, to the garden and the place she would fall if she managed to break through. He bypassed Sister Lensi.

  "Raz! What the hell…?"

  He didn’t hear the rest of her reprimand. He cut through the beds, past the angel statues, trampling tender flowers underfoot. The glass shattered up ahead; he heard her scream. Then he saw Sima tumble out the window.

  She fell against a bed of rosemary. As soon as she hit, it seemed she was up and running, lines of blood trailing on her bedsheet.

  "Wait!" Razi called.

  She looked over her shoulder. Their eyes met. A familiar fire swept over him. His lungs constricted and his body burned.

  Sima’s mouth hung open as she tried to stop, skidded and then fell in a heap. She recovered slowly, crouching, readying to stand.

  The Oemir shouted orders from the guestroom.

  Razi ignored the man’s bellowing voice. He crossed the flowerbed, skittered over the courtyard and stopped beside her. "Wait."

  "Get me out, Razi," her voice sounded just above a panicked whisper.

  He bent down and gathered her in his arms. "I’ve got you, Sima. I’ve got you. Don’t worry."

  A tear streamed down her cheek. "What are you doing here?" she gasped out. "You should be on the beach or in your mansion. Anywhere but here."

  "I came for you."

  She leaned her head against his chest as he started to walk. "I’m no one, Razi."

  "Not to me." Lensi’s shuttle waited at the curb just beyond the rose plantings. He stared at it, wishing he could get to the vehicle in time, that he could set her in his lap and work the touchscreen fast enough to get them both away from Leuj’s palace.

  Guards shouted behind him. More ran across the path, their uniforms blanking out his view of freedom. Razi stopped. He clutched her to his body, his chest heaving. For a moment, he felt her mouth against his neck, hot lips kissing his skin. Then Oemir Leuj came stalking to his side.

  "Ah, you caught her for me." The blond-haired tyrant reached out.

  "She’s bleeding," Razi murmured. "She’s hurt."

  "Give her to me. I’ll take her to the meds. It’s nothing, just scratches from the glass." His face reflected his concern though.

  "I’ll carry her for you, my Oemir. Your clothes…"

  Leuj scowled. "I, uh, yes. Yes, you carry her for me. Be careful not to let her down or she might run again."

  Sima nuzzled his neck, wet tears chilling his skin. "Don’t give me to him. Don’t, please."

  "You’re bleeding," Razi soothed. "Just relax. I’ll carry you to the meds and everything will be all right. Why’d you go and jump through a window anyway?"

  Leuj pursed his lips. "She’s touched in the head. Crazy woman is always running away. Maybe she needs a Tagian marker."

  Razi held back his anger. "Markers are for animals."

  Chapter Seventeen – Salvation

  Drops of blood tapped against the fine marble floor. Oemir Leuj stared at them as they waited outside the medic’s door. He knew he was scowling, but he couldn’t help it. Sima wouldn’t turn, refusing to look at him. She clung to the Habiri Sister’s ward, a filthy Unangi gardener, as if she cared more for him than anyone in the world. He curled his hands into fists. The tones sounded and Dr. Jesek’s long aid-chamber revealed itself.

  The Oemir nodded at the ward to carry her inside. The obedient man did so, crossing the metal threshold. Blue scan lights flashed over Sima and her bearer. Leuj’s upper lip lifted to a snarl. He followed, flinching when the light flowed over his skin, looking past it at his inner workings, seeking any foul disease or injuries not visible to the doctor’s naked eye.

  Jesek came scurrying across the planked metal walk, his touchscreen in hand. "What on Kyleena happened to her?"

  "She leapt through a window." Leuj leaned against the wall while the gardener set Sima on an examining table. She glared at him for an instant, setting his mind afire with emotions he’d never understood. How can this woman affect me like this? I should hate her for it, but I don’t. He reached out to touch her face. Sima’s eyes narrowed further, and she turned away to lie on her side.

  "Don’t leave me with him," she whined at the gardener.

  The Unangi man shot Leuj a questioning gaze. "My Oemir? What should I do?"

  Dr. Jesek came between them, bending over her to tug away the sheet. Red lines crossed her shoulder and a few more jagged ones cut into her lower back. Leuj knew the wounds weren’t life threatening, but he felt responsible for them. "If she wants you to stay, then stay."

  The doctor ran his hand-held scanner across Sima’s body, a secondary diagnostic to be certain. "She will need minor sutures. I can do them with a laser once the nurse cleans her wounds." He pursed his weathered lips, his blue eyes cold in his wrinkled face. Wisps of gray hair fluttered in the air blowing from the ventilation shaft above his head.

  "After that, I want her fixed with a Tagian marker. I will not have her running away again." Leuj watched her react, the tightening of her muscles across her shoulders, her fingers reaching for that damned gardener’s hand. The Unangi had sense enough to hold still as she gripped his fingers, and he showed no sign that he cared one way or the other about her predicament.

  "I will run," Sima whispered. "Marker or not, I will escape you."

  "Why?" Leuj sat on the bed and stroked her hair. "Sima, I care for you. I have your best interests at heart. Why do you run from me?" He slipped his fingers across the uninjured shoulder as the doctor stepped away to fetch his nurse. The heel of his hand pressed into the tightness, willing it away with even strokes. "I will treat you like a queen if you let me."

  "I’m not worthy of such treatment." She glanced over her shoulder, her hazel eyes rimmed with tears. She’d not cried in his presence before. That she would do so now startled him. The Sima he knew did not cry. She raged, she fought, or she fled what she could not change.

  His hand stilled against her skin. "Rest for a little while. I’ll be back to check on you." He stood and stomped out of the room, unable to deal with the feelings her tears caused.

  She is mine. No one knows she’s alive; no one suspects. I can’t let her go. She’ll see that I care for her. It will take time, more time. The tones sounded when the door sealed. Leuj walked down the hall, backtracking to the sitting room where Sister Lensi waited with wide green eyes and a face flushed almost red.

  "What happened, my Oemir?" She stood up, grasping her skirt in a tight fist and waited.

  "My lover threw herself from the window. She’ll be all right, minor cuts, nothing to worry about. I’m sorry to burden you, Sister. May I keep your ward overnight?"

  "My ward?" Her tone confused him. She glanced around the room as if she didn’t understand his question.

  "Yes, the Unangi man. He seems to…comfort her." He turned his gaze to the gardens where the two other workers busied themselves loading tools into the barrows.

  "Of course, my Oemir. Razi is an old friend. I will need him back though. He’s a hard worker."


  "In the morning, Lensi." He felt his cheek twitching as he gritted his teeth over his predicament. "I promise."

  Her silence troubled him. Sister Lensi had every right to ask a thousand questions, but she said nothing. Finally he turned. "What is it?"

  "I’ve crossed the threshold into your palace after so many months of invitations, and for once, I’m speechless. I’d best be going." She curled her veil around one ear as she offered a nervous smile. "Good day, Leuj. I’m sorry for the circumstances." She walked away.

  He watched her hips sway from side to side, a favored view, something he looked forward to only slightly less than their shared banter. As she stepped into the light, framed by the vibrant flowers, he had a sickening thought. Maybe this will be the last day I see her. A tear spilled down his cheek. The awkward sense of melancholy that filled him whenever she left was not unusual, but today, it twisted his gut. "Sister!" Leuj took a few steps, his mind unclear. "Lensi, please."

  She paused.

  He caught up to her and laid his hands on her shoulders. She didn’t flinch as Sima did; she didn’t turn with a cold stare. Instead, when her gaze met his, he saw something else, pity.

  "You’re my only friend, Lensi. The games of politics force me to distance myself from people. I’ve always trusted you, from the moment I saw you in the chapel’s gardens. You’re a good woman. I just wanted to tell you that."

  Her sturdy fingers came against his face. She traced his cheek, her expression mingled with wonder. "My Oemir, forgive me for saying this, but you are a vile man. Not one shred of good has come from your forced rule. You could be a great man, if only you tried."

  The softness of her thumb traced his lower lip for an instant. He held his breath until she withdrew. Never had another person touched him in a tender way without his orders to do so. "You hate me, don’t you?"

  She stared into him, her pert, round lips tempting in their unique way. "I should hate you." Lensi bit her bottom lip, chewing at it for a long time, the little tic he found so endearing in Sima.