by Jean Murray
“Hold him tight. It’s going to get a lot worse.” She milked her arm to increase the blood until it was a continual stream. Once blood filled the bowl of the cut, she pressed her hand directly over the wound.
Asar roared and arched up off the bed as the wound began to cauterize shut. Kamen strained against his strength, while she pressed as hard as she could. Dark smoke drifted out from under palm and around her fingers.
Hearing his screams of agony, her eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, pushing more of the anti-venom into his system. Once the last of the black smoke cleared, she withdrew her hands. Only then did he stop struggling, and became eerily still. The wound edges were fused, but the skin badly burned in the perfect shape of white hand print. Fluid filled blisters covered the once black skin in an angry collage.
She sat back on her rear with a big thump and leaned against the hard biting wall. The evening’s events had left her too emotionally and physically drained to fuel her anger with the deity who had put them all at significant risk.
Although she was in no condition to fight out of habit she pulled her weapons belt across her lap. The cold stone felt soothing against her sore body. Closing her eyes, Lilly invited the darkness of sleep to overtake her.
CHAPTER twelve
Asar loomed over the sleeping huntress.
By saving his life, Lilly had done more for him than anyone else in his entire existence. A human, no less. He touched the silvery white scar on his side, the only evidence that remained of his knife wound.
Why had she returned to the church?
The methodical rise and fall of her chest was hypnotic. He dared to crouch beside her and brush back her tangle of hair. Her head rolled in the direction of his palm. With her face cupped in his hand, he brushed the pad of his thumb across the pink glow of her perfect cheekbone. Her skin blanched white at his cold touch.
He lifted her effortlessly and placed her gently on the bed. Her long, luscious body stretched out to its full length. Her taut sleek abdomen sunk to expose her prominent hip bones. Shifting in her sleep, she moaned softly.
“You are beautiful,” Asar whispered, continuing to touch her hair, the only part of her that did not burn him.
“What do you plan on doing with her?” Kamen said, entering the room.
“She will return with me, once our mission is complete.”
“Willingly?”
“Since when does it matter?”
Asar scowled. The thought of her not wanting to be with him bothered him greatly. It should not. He was a god, and she, his servant. It was the way of their world.
Kamen sat and leaned on the back legs of the chair. “These women are not our usual… preference. There is nothing subservient about them. In fact, they are extremely abrasive, especially her sister, Kit. They may be more trouble than their worth.”
“Are not they all?” Asar growled at the memory of the goddess’ sharp nails against his skin. The thought replaced quickly by the memory of Lilly’s hungry kiss and hands on his body. The taste of her was the most excruciatingly erotic sensation he had ever experienced. His cock throbbed as he imagined her naked under him.
Kamen put his arm behind his head. “At least this one seems a little more trustworthy than the others.”
Asar rubbed his jaw. The question was why? “Did the sisters make it back?”
“Yeah, they are tucked safely behind the fortress.”
“Any sign of the goddess or the gate key?”
“No, the church was leveled. The Nehebkau are cleaning up as we speak.”
Asar ran an agitated hand through his hair. “It was there, damn it. I could feel it!”
Kamen dropped the chair back on four legs, nodded toward Lilly, and headed out of the room.
Asar turned around and found her sitting up in bed, seemingly confused that she was no longer on the floor. The glint of surprise in her glowing green eyes told him she had not expected him to be standing after such a severe injury. Instead of getting out of bed, she lay back down and curled on her side with her hands tucked neatly under her cheek. Her unexpected vulnerability drew him in close to the bed.
Lilly cleared her throat and looked up at him. “You are better?” Her eyes scanned his torso.
“Yes.” Despite the injury, he returned to his previous state. Empty and soulless.
She sighed deeply, and remained in the fetal position.
He interrupted the silence. “I will be leaving for a period of time. Kamen will stay behind to watch after your sisters.”
She simply nodded and curled up into a tighter ball on the bed.
Hesitating at the door, he looked over his shoulder at the huntress. “Would you like to come with me?”
Her eyebrows shot up. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she asked, “Where are you going?”
He did not answer her, but exited the small room.
Asar cursed at himself. Stupid. You are falling into your old habits. Worse, a heaviness insufflated his stomach when she did not follow. Angry with himself, he stalked toward the exit, but stopped when he heard the metal door open wider behind him. Lilly peeked around the door with her weapons belt in hand. Her other hand attempted to smooth back her tangle of hair.
“You will not need those,” he said, gesturing to her weapons. Hesitation and fear flickered in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Lilly placed the belt up against the wall and walked forward behind him. She gave it one last glance before stepping out the door.
He moved down the sewer tunnel. Her heat remained very close behind. He tried to be nonchalant in his observation of her, but the huntress nervously glanced around the environment, no doubt insecure without brandishing a weapon.
The place he was taking her had no revens. In fact, no humans either. He was taking her to his home, and only gods lived in the Underworld.
On some level he wanted to impress her, showing her exactly how important he was to her world. But that was only half of it. He wanted to touch her without pain and soak in her emotions. Maybe, just maybe, he could make her smile. She had suffered something tragic to be carrying the weight he saw in her eyes. He wanted to give her a little break from her reality. Show her life of servitude with him would not be unpleasant.
He stopped and held out his hand. Chewing on her lip, she took it.
* * *
The wave of dizziness ripped through her. At least she didn’t throw up. She closed her eyes to the blinding light stinging her sensitive eyes. Warm hands steady her. Afraid for fear of what she might see, she kept her eyes closed.
“Lilly,” Asar said low and clear.
She found his black eyes staring at her inquisitively. She inhaled sharply when she saw his handsome face. His once black skin was now infused with a rich olive color, topped with thick black, shoulder length hair. The tattoos of the ancient hieroglyphics on his forearms stood out with clarity.
Embarrassed by her reaction, she twisted in a circle focusing on the large stone palace. It overlooked a long serpentine river that wrapped around the entire landmass and slithered off in the distance.
“Aaru,” Lilly whispered.
Surprise registered in his eyes.
Taking a few steps away toward the wall, she watched the water flow off into the distance. “I use to have dreams when I was a little girl that looked just like this. My dad always told me they were dreams of Aaru.” She looked over her shoulder. “Am I dreaming?”
“You are not dreaming. This is my home.” He watched her a few moments in the uncomfortable silence between them. “I have business to attend to, but I would like you to be comfortable. Follow me.”
She followed behind like a lost puppy in the paradise island of the Underworld. Looking down at her scuffed leather clothes, she felt sorely out of place. She refocused on Asar. His now pale skin could be seen through his black linen pants. Apparently gods didn’t wear underwear. The thought of how he might look from the front made her blush. Her eyes followed his
tight flanks up into a V-shaped musculature leveled off with broad, bulky shoulders.
She bumped into him when he stopped abruptly at a door flanked on either side by servants. These at least looked human. No red eyes or decaying skin. He spoke to them in an ancient language and they quickly went to work drawing individual baths. A thin white curtain hung from the ceiling, separating the room.
She started to back away from the servants surrounding her. One female pushed her forward and started to unlace her leather vest and pants.
“Hey, I can undress myself, thank you.” Ignoring her protests, another servant pulled at the tangles in her hair. “Asar!”
He disappeared behind the white curtain. She desperately tried to hold onto her clothes, but after a few moments, not a stitch remained. Resigning herself to the fact she had no choice, she stepped into the warm bath.
CHAPTER thirteen
After completing his business, Asar went in search of his huntress. Having given her full rein of the island, he found her in the most unexpected place—at the water’s edge with her bare feet in the sand. Her golden hair, smoothed by his servants into a beautiful silk, glistened in the sun. Curled strands cascaded down her shoulders. If he could freeze time, it would be this moment. No one would guess she was not a goddess.
He approached slowly. The dress she wore had white panels that fell over each shoulder and attached at the waist, which left the entire length of her snake marked spine exposed. With a similar style in the front, the white linen covered her breasts and little else. A thick, flat gold necklace held the dress in place.
She smiled, apparently lost in the sensation of the sun and sand, and when she turned toward him, he could see the shape of her full breast from the side. To his surprise her smile brightened when she met his gaze.
His chest tightened. The first smile he had seen on her angelic face.
She walked toward him with a slight bounce of her unbridled breasts. The energy of life and happiness flowed across his skin like a warm breeze. The sweet taste filled his mouth and his chest became heavy with the weight of emotion pouring from her soul. His hunger disappeared in an instant.
“It’s absolutely beautiful here.” Her cheeks were flushed from the sun’s rays. She broke eye contact with him and fidgeted with her dress in the front.
Overcome by the emotions he absorbed from the beautiful huntress, Asar brushed the hair back from her face and rested his fingers on the side of her cheek. Her gaze shifted to meet his. His hand slipped around the nape of her neck and pulled her soft curves against his body.
Her heart thudded against his chest. Everything about her was perfect. Too perfect. It had to be a trick. Anything that felt this good had consequences. He had broken many rules bringing her here. But she was his, damn it. He wanted relief from the darkness that had consumed him over the last five years. He deserved that much. Did he not?
He leaned in to kiss her trembling lips. He waited so long to feel this sensation of desire again, but his lips stopped a fraction from hers. The last woman he shared his bed with betrayed him. His mind locked in a struggling to resolve his conflicted feelings.
Kiss her, already, the beast inside him snarled.
She made the decision for him by gently pressing her soft lips against his and then pulled away. He tightened his brow, confused and hesitant. Her eyes softened slightly before she leaned in to kiss him again, enticing him to react.
A sudden surge of outside energy raced through his body, hitting him like a freight train. He could not stop himself from seizing her with his lips, taking her sweet, loving taste inside him. A desperate need raged in his chest. His tongue thrust into her mouth, demanding more. He growled low in his chest when she sucked his tongue deeper into her mouth and caressed it with her own.
Her confident hands caressed the outside of his shirt, contracting the muscles under her fingertips. Tiny electric shocks coursed across his skin and deep into his tissues. His head wavered under the deluge of sensation.
He yanked back, severing his connection with her. “What are you doing to me?” he asked gruffly.
“I don’t know. I’m sorry,” Lilly gasped and pulled out of his grasp.
He seized her again. “It cannot be like this,” he grumbled in her ear. “Not here.” She deserved better than to be groped on the beach.
He shifted the energy in his body to transport her back to his sleeping quarters. No sooner were his feet on the floor did he seal her mouth with his own, drawing the breath of life from her lungs. He picked her up and carried her to the large golden bed, which lay open and waiting. His beastly desire consumed him. This beautiful woman was his for the taking. He had always taken what he wanted, but he feared making the same mistakes of his past. The emptiness of that mistake anchored in the pit of his chest. He did not want to lose sight of that vengeance, and Lilly would be a serious distraction from his objective.
He had acted on impulse on the beach. The flood of emotion that swept over him when she kissed him was unexpectedly shocking and filled the void in his chest, nothing more. He should have let her go when she tried to pull away, but part of him feared losing her completely.
Why did he care? He would technically own her when this was all over.
Somehow, her feelings for him mattered.
Distracted by his own internal struggles, he did not feel her movement until she knelt before him on the bed, her golden hair encircling her head like a crown, and those beautiful green eyes level with his own. After unlacing the ties on his tunic, her warm hands slipped under the cloth onto his chest. With palms pressed to his skin, she slowly pushed his tunic up over his shoulders until it fell to the ground.
Lilly raised her hands up around her neck and unclasped the necklace holding her dress. He followed the white panels lowering until her supple breasts were revealed.
The remaining air deserted his lungs. Lilly’s slow seduction would kill whatever resolve he may have had.
She leaned closer, and her taut nipples rubbed gently against his chest. She brushed her lips against his, and whispered, “Asar.”
As if his name from her lips held the password to his confinement, he seized her with renewed urgency, and pulled her mouth into his, demanding the taste of her he so strongly desired.
One of the sweetest things ever to stimulate his tongue.
His hands slid up the length of her curvaceous torso. He greedily cupped her breasts and rubbed her nipples between his fingers. She exhaled a high pitched moan. Her hands immediately went to his waist. The fabric gave way as she pushed it over his hips and thighs.
He kissed down the length of her neck to her breasts, enveloped one of the pink buds into his mouth, and rolled his tongue over the taut peak. His cock hardened at the sound of her moan and the desperate grasp of her hands. Her arousal spurred him further.
His entire body contracted when her warm hand wrapped around the length of his cock. He growled under the onslaught of pleasure with each caress. He rose up and seized her mouth again and pressed himself into her hand.
“Lilly.” Asar pulled away to look into her emerald eyes. “If we go further, you will be mine, and will carry my mark. No other man will be allowed to touch you. I will not allow it.”
“Make me yours,” she said softly, then kissed his lips.
The hollow of his chest burned suddenly with her words. Her eyes shown clear and true. Despite his fear of being hurt again, he kissed her beautiful pink lips until she gasped for breath. Her body trembled with his every touch, until finally he slipped his fingers into the cleft beneath her soft blonde curls.
She moved her knees apart with his gentle coaxing and rubbed lightly against his fingers. Her eyes closed.
“Look at me,” Asar demanded, wanting to see the pleasure build in her eyes.
His fingers rubbed in slow circles, slipping down through her folds just outside her entrance.
“Asar, please.”
“My sweet Lilly.” He rubbed her swollen cl
itoris with his thumb while drawing her nipple into his mouth, and slipped his fingers inside her warmth.
With an explosion of heat and contraction, Lilly screamed. Her body thrashed and tightened down upon his fingers.
He guided her back onto the bed and pressed his large body against hers. She wrapped her legs up and around his hips, bringing the tip of his cock into the heat of her orgasm. His body throbbed.
“You will be mine,” he said, and slid himself into her warm channel. She wrapped him in a blanket of pure ecstasy. With each thrust he probed deeper and deeper. Tiny spasms heralded the call of another orgasm. In rhythmical waves, she arched her back pushing him deeper inside. Asar groaned at the pleasure of it, almost losing himself in her screams.
Asar, being a god and no stranger to women, thought he knew pleasure, but what he was experiencing defied comprehension. Every part of his body quaked with ripples of pleasures following each thrust. More importantly, he wanted to make her happy, pleasure her beyond her dreams. He gripped her hips for leverage, and plunged deeper into her. Her gasps of sexual bliss wracked his body to the point he could no longer withhold his release.
He should have pulled out, letting his semen spill outside of her, but he could not bear to separate himself from her. There was nothing alive inside of him, yet with her, the energy of life pulsed inside the chasm of his absent heart. If he came inside her, her soul would be marked by him, but he would also be marked by her.
If he had a soul, that is.
“Come with me.” He looked into her beautiful face covered in fine sweat — a product of their love making. She did not need much encouragement. Asar grunted long and low as the tightness constricted him. He pushed against the pressure. Her entire body trembled before her face knit up in ecstasy. He roared and released the force of his orgasm and exploded deep within her. The contractions pulled from his scrotum to the tip of his penis. With each spasm his semen ejected in a heated stream inside of her. She gasped and arched her back off the mattress. Even after the last of drop had been expelled, he could not stop himself from thrusting until the sensation was excruciating. Asar’s arms and shoulders shook violently. He collapsed onto her with all of his weight.