Devi (12 page)
Authors: Unknown
Damian scrubbed his body until he was content there was no lingering sign of sex on him. Climbing out, he wrapped a towel around his waist and used another to dry his thick, black hair. He stripped his bed and remade it quickly.
Well, I am learning how to make a bed in seconds, that’s for sure.
Moving through his apartment, Damian looked over the artefacts he had collected over the years. As his gaze touched each one, he noticed that a few of them seemed to be in better condition than he recalled.
Draping the extra towel over one shoulder, he moved towards the statue that currently held his attention. Picking it up carefully, he knew something was different. When he had acquired the small sculpture, it had been missing the left hand and the Ankh—or Egyptian cross as it was also known, which had a loop at the top—it was rumoured to hold. The one he held now was complete. There was an Ankh in the left hand and the chipped-off black varnish that had covered the wood was refurbished and shone with an illustriousness that amazed him.
Sekhmet was complete.
Setting the figurine of the goddess down, Damian backed away with a mixture of disbelief and extreme hope it wasn’t just his imagination and returned to his room to dress. “I’m seeing things. I know that now, because there is no way a statue from around 2600 BC could restore itself.”
Rushing, Damian got ready for his day and left his apartment without looking at the statue again. He climbed into his Jeep Wrangler and drove off to work.
* * * *
“I’m going, Father,” she declared.
Sighing, he turned his dark head to look at his child. While he had many children, this one was special to him. One of his favourites, perhaps
the
favourite. His own protector.
Sitting on his throne accompanied by his falcon, he nodded. “Very well. I would ask but one thing of you before you go.”
Golden eyes narrowed suspiciously. “And that would be?”
“Allow me to mark your shoulder so you don’t forget.” The black eyes were straightforward as they held hers.
Without hesitation, she nodded. “Agreed.”
While he knew she was not going to let him stop her from going, he was aware she was immensely fond of him. They were close, considering how many siblings, and half-siblings, she had. There were times it seemed only she understood him.
He rose and moved towards her. Halting in front of her, he reached out and touched her left shoulder with his hand. The entire hand resting against her smooth, dark skin. A flare of blinding light exploded from beneath his palm and when it had faded, he removed his hand.
His gaze moved over the mark on her shoulder. “Very well, it is done.”
Eyes which had long been known to spew fire were gentle as they looked upon him “I will return. Especially if you have need of me.” Her words were soft but sincere.
“I know. Just as I know I will be checking in with you. I am sending along a falcon with you.” An elegant flourish of his strong hand and another bird had appeared, this one landing on her own shoulder, the left one.
“As you command.” She accepted his decision with a nod. Looking down at her clothes, she shrugged and waved her hand. Leathers vanished and she was redressed in blue jeans and a red three-quarter sleeve tee with black hiking boots on her feet. The thick black hair she possessed was captured into a high ponytail.
“Goodbye, Daughter. Until we meet again,” he said.
Smiling, the goddess inclined her head in a rare show of respect for the King of the Gods. A minuscule gesture brought her two lionesses to heel and she walked away with the falcon on her shoulder. Before they reached the wall, they disappeared, leaving the throne room empty except for Ra and his companion.
Walking back to his throne, he took his seat and glanced up at his falcon. “Things are sure going to be different without her around.” Ra wondered exactly what was going to happen with his child, Sekhmet, back on Earth. Especially considering the last time she’d been there all of mankind had very nearly been wiped out of existence, courtesy of her vengeful nature.
* * * *
The last lingering fog of the morning that surrounded the mirror-surfaced lake parted, leaving in its wake a still figure. Sekhmet took a deep breath and smiled as the sun shone down upon her dark beauty. On each side of her was a lioness and, as she nodded, they ran through the tall, lush grass, acting childish. Simultaneously, the falcon on her shoulder took to the sky, eager to get an aerial view of its new domain.
With surefooted motions down the path of crushed rocks, the silent woman walked up to the door of the large house that sat on the property. It was immense, easily over forty rooms in the “M” shaped mansion. She stopped in front of the huge ornate door and a grin almost crossed her face as the door swung silently open.
“Welcome home, Goddess.” A deep voice came from inside.
She surveyed the interior of the home. Very plush, wealthy. It would work for her. “Thank you,” she said sincerely.
The man who stood in the shadows was massive. He looked as if he were carved from teakwood. After all the years with him she could easily pick up on the slight strain that hovered around the corners of his full mouth. He wasn’t fond of her newest whim.
“Don’t worry so much, Talios. And while we are here, you must not call me that. If there are people here, call me Mistress.”
He nodded. “It will be as you wish it…Mistress.”
This time a smile did cross her face. “Relax, Talios. We are here to have some fun.” She winked at him and walked off; her cats suddenly back at her side as she flowed up the polished stairs. After ensuring everything on the upper floors was to her satisfaction, she headed back down.
Entering her room back on the first floor, Sekhmet found everything to her approval. Talios had never let her down, he knew what she liked. The large bed was on its raised dais and covered in silks and the softest Egyptian cottons known. The golden carpet beneath her feet was plush and she sank into it. There was a small pool of water off her room. If one ventured beyond the crystalline water, there was a large meadow full of lush grasses. She knew her lionesses would be pleased with that. In fact, they all would. This was perfect for her. She loved the desert, but thrived at an oasis, which was exactly how she would describe this setup.
* * * *
Damian sat behind his desk as his students took their mid-term exams. Occasionally he looked up at them but for the most part he kept his attention on the papers in front of him. He wasn’t worried about cheaters.
“Damian.”
His eyes flew up at the sound of his name. No one was in front of his desk. He swept the room quickly and found nothing aside from students shifting in their desks as they took the exam. Mentally chastising himself, Damian looked back to the papers before him, struggling to ignore the hard ridge pressed against the zipper of his jeans that the voice caused.
“Damian!”
Body trembling, he lay his pen down on the desktop. Rubbing his hands over weary eyes, he fought for sanity. “What is happening to me?” His tortured whisper fell from his lips.
“Nothing is happening to you.”
The smooth tones filled his head. A light caress stroked along the bulge in his jeans, causing it to jump. He could feel her touch on his cock as if he wore no clothes. The touch of each finger as it curved around his shaft, the different tensions she used as she stroked him. The combination of touch and her voice almost made him forget he was in a classroom.
Her voice was the voice of the woman who tormented him in his dreams. The one who wouldn’t show herself to him, and yet she helped him find the most exquisite pleasure ever known to man when she spoke to him in the land of Morpheus. Damian felt the sweat building as his body tightened. This was neither the time nor the place for his mind to be enticing him like this.
Lifting his eyes, Damian scanned the room again, searching for the person who belonged to the voice. “
Leave me alone!”
He screamed in his mind.
“Is that what you really want? Me to leave you?”
The voice was taunting. Her touch moved faster, bringing his release closer.
“Yes!” he hissed, barely keeping it quiet. Who knew if the yes was to her question or her touch? Something had to stop or he was going to embarrass himself in front of his class.
“As you wish.”
Just like that, the sensation disappeared. The presence he had been aware of for the past two months…gone. And he was left feeling empty, bereft, and totally alone. Not to mention, unfulfilled and sexually frustrated.
Blinking slowly, Damian watched as Kathryn approached with her completed exam. He could feel his penis softening as she approached. Grinding his teeth, he accepted her paper in silence. She sent him an inviting smile before walking off with a noticeable swish to her hips.
Soon all the exams were finished and he was alone in his small office. Groaning, he leant back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. Still a bit lost without that feeling he’d had, Damian wasn’t sure what to do. Go to the doctor? Let them tell him he was loony?
“I just don’t get it. Maybe it is because of all my extra research into the mythology that my mind has made something up.” He tried to logically go through what could be occurring to him. “Although, that doesn’t explain the statue in my place.”
A knock on the door startled him. “Come,” he announced as he sat back up in his chair.
It was another professor in the history department, Professor Angela Ryder. She dealt with Greek history.
“Afternoon, Professor Ryder. What can I do for you?”
“Damian,” she said with an easy smile as she closed the door behind her. “I was wondering if you could help me with some research. It branches into Egypt and I would love to get your expertise.” Her rich green gaze moved languidly over his body.
“Of course,” he said immediately, observing the woman before him. She was close to six feet in her heels. Blonde hair and a body many would kill for. Then there were her eyes—they told of her intelligence and yet smacked of untold passion. “I would love to help.”
“Great.” She sat across from him. “We could meet for dinner and I could give you the overlay of what I am looking for, if that works for you.”
“Tonight?”
“Oh, yes,” she cooed. “Tonight would be perfect.”
“Great. Tell me where to meet you and at what time,” Damian responded, recognising the lust in her stare. This could just be what he needed to rid himself of his mind’s tricks. A real person, not a figment of his imagination.
About the Authors
Taige Crenshaw has been enthralled with the written word from the time she picked up her first book. It wasn’t long before she started to make up her own tales of romance.
Her novels are set in the modern day between people who know what they want and how to get it. Taige also sets her stories in the future with vast universes between beautiful, strange and unique beings with lots of spice and sensuality added to her work. Always hard at work creating new and exciting places Taige can be found curled up with a hot novel with exciting characters when she is not creating her own. Join her in the fun and frolic, with interesting people and far reaches of the world in her novels.
Email:
[email protected]
Aliyah Burke is an avid reader and is never far from pen and paper (or the computer). She is married to a career military man; they have a German Shepherd, two Borzoi, and a DSH cat. Her days are spent sharing her time between work, writing, and dog training/showing.
Email:
aliyah@aliyah-
burke.com
Taige and Aliyah love to hear from readers. You can find their contact information, website and author biography at
http://www.total-e-bound.com
.
Also by Taige Crenshaw
Blackstone Haven: Power of Attraction
Blackstone Haven: Power of Instinct
Club Immortality: Burning Touch
Club Immortality: Silk & Shadows
Also by Aliyah Burke
Also by Taige Crenshaw and Aliyah Burke
Total-E-Bound Publishing
