Pharaoh's Desire (16 page)

Amonmose reveled in Kama’s cries of pleasure, and he swelled with pride because he, alone, was responsible for her rapture. Her caresses urged him on, made him want to immerse himself deep inside her and explode. But he could not. He’d promised to satisfy her, and earn the sweet nectar of her approval. Each gasp of delight was like music from finest harp. Each touch from her hands set him on fire. He wanted their first time together to be a memory that Kama would never forget.

With the tenderest of touches, he pressed kisses along her stomach and navel. Her smooth skin was warm and delicate against his lips, and he took his time gently nibbling and teasing her flesh. His strong fingers momentarily caressed her flat abdomen then dipped below to the blackberry patch between her legs. He heard Kama’s gasp of pleasure as his hands parted her thighs and gently caressed the bud of her womanhood. His fingers danced in a circular motion, creating an erotic rhythm.

“Tell me you love me, Kama,” he whispered softly. “Tell me you are mine.” He slipped a finger into her sweet wetness and began softly thrusting it back and forth.

Kama arched her hips in response, tightly closing on his finger. “Tell me,” he said again, softly kissing her parted lips as he continued stroking her. “Tell me you love me.”

Kama reeled from his touch, a blazing heat soaring through her. She would have agreed to anything to keep him there, keep him moving. “Yes…yes,” she gasped. “I love you!”

Even though the words came forth unwittingly, she knew she meant them.
 
He must have as well, because his pace quickened, fingers slid deeper. Kama surrendered to the thrusts and felt the storm building inside her. Screaming, she succumbed to the tempest as her body exploded in wild delirium.

Amonmose spread her silky thighs wider and lowered himself onto her ripe body. She felt his member throbbing between the heat of their bodies.

“Kama, I need you,” he said huskily, grabbing her hips possessively.

She felt him smoothly thrust himself inside her. She cried out in pain and pleasure and clung to him as his deep strokes rhythmically rocked her body. She resisted, anticipating and fighting the pain, but her resistance melted as his teasing movements coaxed her to open again like a flower receiving its first rays of sunshine.

Kama felt the stirrings of white-hot pleasure as his thrusts became longer and more rhythmic. This was her first time with a man, yet she instinctively followed Amunmose’s lead. Even unpracticed, she started to catch his movements and soon undulated her hips, matching him thrust for thrust.

Amunmose’s deep groans filled the air.
 
He grabbed handfuls of her hair as he pushed himself deeper, faster, harder into her.
 
Flames of desire snaked through her as her whole body blazed with an intense heat, shook with a mounting pressure. The pressure peaked, and she erupted, a tidal wave
of ecstasy consuming her body with a sweet warmth.

Immediately after, she felt Amunmose’s final deep thrusts.
 
Then, his body shuddered against hers, finally collapsing exhausted atop her.

Afterwards, they lay breathless in each other’s arms. Amonmose was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, his heart thundering, but slowing with each breath. He held Kama tightly against his chest and kissed her softly on her cheeks and brow.

“I am sorry, my love,” he whispered. “I did not realize it was your first time.”

She looked up at him with surprise. “How did you know?”

“A man can tell if a woman is experienced,” he said gently.

She lowered her lashes in shame. “I lied that day of the hunt. I’d hoped by telling you I was not a woman of virtue, I could deter your advances.”

He hugged her closer and spoke into her braided hair. “You truly have no knowledge of men. Nothing short of you growing a horn in your forehead would have stopped me from wanting you.”

She smiled. “I admit I still have much to learn. Is it like this each time?”

He caressed her cheek. “I am told a woman’s first time usually hurts. But the next time will be even better for you.”

She shook her head. “Not the pain. I wondered…is it always so beautiful when a man and a woman join? Will I always experience such…enjoyment?”

Amonmose propped himself up on one elbow and gazed at her. “When a man is sure of himself and experienced in lovemaking, there is no limit to the pleasure he can give a woman.”

Kama lowered her eyes again. “And what of a woman? How can she pleasure a man?”

Amonmose raised her chin with a finger, forcing her to look at him. “I am consumed by you, Kama. You occupy my thoughts morning, noon, and night. You need only look at me and I am instantly pleasured.”

She moved closer and pulled him into a tender kiss. “I, too, have thought of nothing but you. This feels like a dream.”

“We are kindred spirits, because I have had dreams about you as well.” He grinned lasciviously and settled his hand on her hip. “About doing wickedly delicious things to you.”

Kama smiled playfully. “Show me. I want to know everything about lovemaking.”

Amonmose rocked back, laughing, and quickly moved in for a kiss, lest Kama take offense. “There are many more positions that will give you pleasure, my love.” He stroked her cheek. “I am afraid you are not ready to master those techniques yet, but once you are more experienced, we will try them all.” He smiled at her. “Be patient, my beauty, and I will teach you.”

Her black eyes sparkled like diamonds. “I promise you will not find a more willing pupil.”

The next few weeks passed like a whirlwind for Kama. She and Amonmose stayed in his chambers all day, locked in each other’s passionate embrace. At night, they took long walks in the garden and replenished their bodies with wine and food. Amonmose read poetry to Kama and taught her how to swim. Kama told him stories about her childhood and played the lute for him.

Amonmose was a thoughtful and gentle lover. He made love to her with a tenderness that betrayed his true strength. Each time their bodies joined, Kama experienced an unexplained rapture that only he seemed able to bestow. He learned every intimate detail of her body. Since their first encounter, he’d kissed every inch of her skin, even the backs of her knees, the crooks of her elbows, and the
bends
of her wrists. The anticipation of what he would do to her each day sent shivers up her spine.

Once, when one of Amonmose’s servants came to change the bed linens, Kama hid behind the long drapes, hoping the old woman would not notice her, or worse, look at her with knowing eyes. Amonmose chuckled as he slid behind the drapes after her.
 
“Kama, there is no need to worry what an old servant will think. The only opinions you need be concerned with are our own.”

Amonmose was Pharaoh, his opinion law. And if he would show no shame, then neither would she. Kama lost herself in Amonmose’s world, and in time, she forgot about Kerma and the family that had been torn from her. Her life was at the palace, and she was content to be the perfect companion for the Pharaoh.

Chapter Ten

Amonmose patted his dog on the head and rubbed it behind its pointed ears. He had three others, but none so fine as this pure bred, Ibizan hound, with narrow flanks, a short curled tail, and a coat white as the moon. As he walked, the animal easily kept pace with him, its elegant gait matching the Pharaoh’s majestic stride. Something about its bearing reminded him of Kama.

He smiled, thinking over their recent weeks together. She was everything he thought a woman should be. Sensuous. Kind. Beautiful. Smart. None of the females he’d been with in the past could compare with her. In fact, no one in his palace could compare with her. She was honest and genuine. She was fierce and independent. She was uncompromising.

When he asked for her opinion, she gave it freely, not caring if she risked his displeasure. When she wanted something, she simply asked, without the application of feminine wiles and manipulation. It was, all of it, refreshing.

For a fortnight, he’d secluded himself in her company. But, duty called, and Nadesh kindly advised that the Pharaoh hold court today.

Reluctantly, Amonmose had left Kama this morning while she slept. She was lying on her stomach, with the tempting rise of her backside peeping from beneath the bed linens. He dressed quietly, not wanting to disrupt her deep slumber, his manhood nevertheless demanded to be sated by her body once more. He stared at her, resting and at peace, and decided to let her be. Before leaving, he kissed the delicate slopes of her shoulders and gave instructions to Shu that no one was to wake her.

When Amonmose walked into the audience chamber to hold his long neglected meeting, he was met by an abundance of guests. He’d hoped to quickly handle business and then return to Kama, but it was clear the day would be long. Several foreign ambassadors were there offering tributes, and the slow dance of diplomacy began. These ambassadors were trying to build relationships, secure military loyalties, and have access to greater trade resources. As Pharaoh for over twenty years, he’d seen every type of gift imaginable, from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Once, a foreign prince presented him with a talking bird. He was greatly amused by its ability to mimic any voice, but Nadesh considered the creature a danger to the security of the kingdom. The bird was hardly an enemy of the state, but since it was capable of repeating everything that was said, it was summarily disposed of as Nadesh requested. Today’s offerings were tame by comparison. But still, as a precaution, Baal stood by his side, prepared for any surprises.

Hours later, the commoners and dignitaries filed out, and Amonmose was alone with his advisors. Meketen and Hai launched into detailed reports on each of their areas of responsibility, while Nadesh brooded quietly. Amonmose watched him scowl at the floor throughout the long meeting.

“Nadesh,” Amonmose said, more loudly than necessary.

His grand vizier jerked his gaze up.

“I would be interested in buying some horses from Zahra. Could you see to it?”

Nadesh’s dark eyes sparkled with interest. “I’ll arrange for her to visit you immediately.”

“No, no.” Amonmose raised a hand. “You can take care of the details. The last time I saw Zahra, she wanted to offer me more than just horses.”

Hai and Meketen laughed, but Nadesh pursed his lips into a reluctant smile. “As you wish.” The tightness of his features betrayed an inner turmoil, one that Amonmose could ascribe only to Zahra’s ill-fated visit. There was no mention of the night Zahra appeared in his chambers, but Amunmose felt certain Nadesh was aware of it.

When Amonmose arrived back at his chambers, he found them empty. He could still smell Kama’s essence lingering in the air. It was a soft, feminine scent he couldn’t explain only recognized and loved. Amonmose removed his head-cloth and placed it on his dressing table, setting aside with it the rest of a pharaoh’s formalities.

Walking into the bedchamber, he noticed the bed linens were still rumpled and smiled to himself. Kama slept as wildly as she lived, tossing and turning in the night. Many times she started on one side of the bed and ended up on the other by morning. He slept like a mummy in a coffin. Was there ever so mismatched a pair? As he approached the bed, Amonmose saw a note set on one of the pillows.

Meet me in a secret place—where life begins anew and grows without the rain. Find me if you can. I promise the fruits of your labor will not be in vain.

He grinned widely. Of course, she was in the garden. He quickly folded the parchment and left his chambers in search of her, Baal dogging his heels every step of the way.