Her hand reached for the tent’s flap, when she heard voices coming from outside. Where the hell could she hide in a four by five foot tent? She looked around, saw the stacked boxes of equipment by the chair, and dove behind them.
“You have to notify the authorities. The poor girl is probably dead, dropped down the hole that opened up, and broke her neck.”
“And took the golden scarab with her!”
“So?”
“Have you listened to a word I’ve said?”
“Even if she is alive and has the key, she didn’t appear bright enough to figure out how to use it. You’re worrying over nothing, Walcourt.”
“The silly fool has the curiosity of a cat. Of course, given time, she’ll figure it out, and Kemnebi will be free after three thousand years!”
“But the curse is mere superstition, pure myth.”
“Do I look like a myth, Adam?” The voice had an oily texture.
“N-no. Please, I only meant–“
“Yes, I know what you think. But you know less than a dung beetle. Do not become a liability to me, Adam. Now leave. I must think.”
She heard the muffled sound of shuffling feet, then silence. She peeked over the boxes. Walcourt lay on the cot. Her only chance was if he fell asleep. She hoped Kemnebi would wait as he promised.
* * *
His stomach growled. The sun had begun to set and his little female had yet to return. Had she been caught stealing? Or had she changed her mind? He could wait no longer. She might be in danger. He picked his way across the sand and rocks. His big body and longer stride eating up the distance.
He crouched behind the side of a metal box on strange wheels. Several men passed by, but his presence remained hidden. He wondered at their odd clothes and manner of speech. Stealth carried him to another of the metal boxes across from the tents.
The golden scarab grew warm in his fist. He looked down and saw the ruby eyes begin to glow with an inner fire. She was here, in this tent. Two silhouettes moved inside the space. One tall and male. The other shadow, female.
He called upon his beloved mother, Bast, and winced as pain lanced with the shift of his form. The cat emerged from where once crouched a man. He padded silent as darkness, and stepped through the flap, on all fours.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I thought you said I was delusional from dieting and the heat?” By now, her mummy had to know something had gone wrong with her plan. She looked up into the crazed eyes of Professor Walcourt.
“Stupid girl. You let him escape, didn’t you? You have no clue what he is, what he can do!”
“If you believe in curses and silly superstitions, why become an archeologist? A man of science?”
“I don’t believe in them! I believe in Kemnebi!” He leaned over her, rage forcing the veins on his neck to pop out. “I will not repeat this again! What were you looking for? Surely you didn’t come just to steal a few measly pieces of clothing?”
Gwen blinked. A long, sleek, black...something, moved through her peripheral vision. Too fast to know exactly what she’d seen. Her lack of attention provoked the professor.
“Stupid little bitch! Answer me!” He backhanded her.
She fell on her side, and lifted a hand–wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. “I hope you rot in hell, you piece of shit!” Two fat tears rolled from her eyes. She flinched as his arm swung back for momentum.
A huge black paw whipped from out of nowhere, swiped at Walcourt’s midsection. He staggered, gasping. The black panther stood on hind legs, its eyes fixed on the professor. The beast shimmered, coalesced into the shape of the most delicious man, her favorite mummy dearest.
“Suten Anu! Foul creature!”
“You are the creature, Kemnebi. Walking the earth in two forms, vile offspring of Bast!”
“Your schemes shall not go unpunished. I care not what finds you at my door, only that you remember my curse, Suten Anu! And feel my wrath!”
Suten Anu was pushed from the tent by invisible hands, his body taken in a swirling sandstorm contained only by the will of Kemnebi. Her magnificent mummy stood under the open flap of the tent–naked, watching the storm carry Suten Anu to the halls of the dead.
She pulled him back inside and closed the flap. “Not that I really want to cover you up, but people were staring.” She handed him the clothes she’d swiped.
He hesitated, then grabbed them from her and put them on.
“Where do we go from here?”
“Where so ever you desire, my lioness.”
“Lioness, huh?” She stood on tiptoe and linked her hands behind his neck. “I could get used to this.” He lowered his mouth to hers.
Neither saw the shadow move across the stretched fabric at the back of the tent. Nor did they hear the contented, rumbling purr.
Coming Soon from Amber Heat (imprint of Amber Quill Press): Spring 2007
Compulsion
by Cassandra Curtis
Erotic Contemporary Romance
Plump and plain Lindsay Dannon has a secret. A dark thrill, a fantasy bordering on compulsion–to be exposed, take the chance, and risk getting caught in the act of sex in public places. Her daydreams all center around her incredibly sexy but grouchy boss. Throwing him on the conference table, sliding her hands and lips over every stiff, hot inch of him, having him push her against a wall, take her until they are both breathless. Oh yes, sweet and sinful dreams are made of this.
Jack Randolph is a stickler for the fine points, a workaholic with a Victorian sensibility...or so it seems. Will she be able to contain her secret thrill, or succumb to her wanton nature and compulsion for Jack?
Shifting Tides: Beneath A Midnight Sea
by Cassandra Curtis
Erotic Paranormal Romance
Terri Fletcher knows how to flirt, how to meet men...just not how to keep one. She gets talked into attending a workshop on how to find Mr. Right. But when she comes home that night, the last thing she expects is to find him wet and naked, passed out behind her house.
Destin MacCodrum survives a strange storm at sea, and a shark attack, only to wash ashore far from his intended destination. Much has changed since his last visit to the world of the land-dwellers. Including his resistance to the lusty charms of their women, namely his beautiful rescuer.
Unable to transform without his seal skin cap, Destin suspects Terri may have hidden it to keep him with her, just as all the legends say. Together they must learn trust, while another plots in secret to destroy Destin's world beneath the midnight sea.
Available Now!
I Put a Spell on You
by Cassandra Curtis
http://www.amberquill.com/AmberHeat/PutSpellOnYou.html
...Sebastian finished his search with one room left to go. The last thing he wanted was for Tess to catch him. Maybe he’d try to come back tomorrow, when she left for the shop. His hand hesitated on the doorknob. An agonized half-shout/half-moan came from inside. He rushed through the door, not knowing what to expect. The bed lay empty and her clothes were scattered over the edge of a hamper in one corner of the room. Another groan sent him to the open bathroom door. A large mirror, half-fogged from the steam, hung above the sink.
Tess lay in the bathtub, one smooth leg dangling over the rim, the other bent at the knee. The water lapped at her nipples. Those big blue eyes of hers were closed. Her lips parted and her neck arched backward as she moaned, just a little.
His heart drummed in his chest, mouth parched as he tried to swallow, his eyes glued to the image reflected in the mirror. One of her hands rose from the water to pluck at her nipples. His own hand crept down to the bulge in his slacks. He timed his strokes to synchronize with hers. His balls tightened, blood racing to his thickened cock.
She bucked once, twice, lifting out of the tub enough for him to see the glorious wet blonde curls between her legs, her hand parting the slippery folds with deft fingers. He unzipped his pants, pulled out his cock, and rubbed the g
listening head, spreading the seeping pre-come over his shaft as a lubricant.
He pistoned himself in his hand, wishing it was her pussy grasping him tight. He’d lick her sweet juice until she begged for him to fuck her. He tried to suppress a groan, balls aching for release. His eyes closed, and he clenched his jaw muscles. No. Not here. He squeezed his rod until it hurt.
She couldn’t know he’d invaded her privacy. That he’d seen her pleasuring herself. He forced himself back in his slacks and carefully rezipped.
The sound of splashing broke the sensuous spell.
Dammit! She was getting out of the tub, wrapping a towel around her breasts. She turned and bent to pull the stopper plug. He hurried from the room, practically tripping down the stairs in his haste. Pendragon sat at the bottom of the staircase, licking his paw, a feline smirk on his whiskered face. The cat stopped mid-motion, looked at the huge hard-on Sebastian sported, and meowed in question.
Hell, he wouldn’t put it past the damn thing to attack his prized jewels. He cupped his groin and fled out the front door, feeling like an idiot...
Cup of Fate
by Cassandra Curtis
http://www.amberquill.com/AmberHeat/CupFate.html
“You’re dreaming again. All’s well. Breath slow and deep.” The voice was smooth as melted chocolate and reassuring.
The farmhouse faded and a new dream took its place.
The gentle scrape of an unshaven face on her shoulder finished the transition. But it was the warm male lips kissing the nape of her neck that made it seem all too real. A pair of strong arms snaked around her midriff and pulled her back against a taut, muscular chest.
It seemed so long since anyone had held her close and offered comfort. Bryn gave herself up to this new dream and snuggled, loving the warmth of his body. That didn’t make sense. How could a dream lover give off heat? She decided not to examine it closer, just simply enjoy it while it lasted.
The wet lap of a tongue licked her earlobe. She squirmed in his arms.
“Does that tickle?” he asked, whispering against the curve of her jaw.
“Yes…ahh,” she murmured as his lips kissed her throat and his hands began to wander. She gasped when his fingers tugged at her nipples, rolling them between thumb and forefinger.
She closed her eyes, savoring all the sensations he was causing throughout her body. She felt his hand slide down her hip to her thigh. He grasped the hem of her silky nightgown and slowly pulled it up until it bunched above her waist. He placed hot kisses on her hipbone and all along her thigh, before moving her so she lay on her back.
More Free Stories
Stroke It
By Cassandra Curtis
(Wereanimal short erotic story)
http://midnightmooncafe.blogspot.com/
Flash Fiction:
First Impressions
http://midnightmooncafe.blogspot.com/2006/09/flash-fiction-friday_08.html
Fantasma
http://midnightmooncafe.blogspot.com/2006/10/flash-fiction-friday_116058506052989323.html
The Witness
http://midnightmooncafe.blogspot.com/2006/11/flash-fiction-friday_10.html
Blood Sacrifice
http://midnightmooncafe.blogspot.com/2006/12/flash-fiction-friday_01.html
Author Bio
Cassandra Curtis spent her formative years traveling with her parents, learning a smattering of languages–usually just enough to get her in trouble. After college, she worked as a reporter and photojournalist, while continuing her love of art. Ms. Curtis now writes fiction full-time.
An avid gardener and wildlife enthusiast, she enjoys the magick found in nature. Her interests include: art, antiques, astronomy, folklore, mythology, genealogy, music, eastern philosophy and collecting magickal artifacts.
A member of both the World Romance Writers, and Romance Divas, Ms. Curtis won the 2006 Amber Quill Press Heat Wave Contest with her novella, Cup of Fate.
Links to my sites:
Website: http://www.cassandracurtis.com/
Blogs: http://www.cassandracurtis.com/blog
http://sensuouswhispers.blogspot.com
http://midnightmooncafe.blogspot.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/author_cassandracurtis
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