Soul Reborn (Key to the Cursed Book 1) (9 page)

Asar dropped his
robe and lowered himself into the bath. He needed to clear his mind, and the
only way to do that was to wash Lilly’s sweet scent from his skin. Having severed
his ability to absorb her emotions, he searched frantically for the hate and
contempt he had grown so fond of over the years. Not difficult to find, the familiar
darkness came raging back with the hunger. The beast inside him violently
protested, demanding he reconnect with Lilly to feed his need. He refused,
despite the painful ache in his chest. He needed to stay focused. The goddess
Kepi and her conspirators would pay severely for what they had done. She had
robbed him of everything, his soul and his beloved son.

After searching these
past five years, the gods had given him his first solid lead in finding Kepi.
Instead of capitalizing on it, he had become a victim of his own blinding
hatred and allowed the goddess to get the better of him. Again! The thought
sent acid burning through his veins. He steeped in the pain and shed more of
the residual positive emotion. He wanted to be free of it. To leave nothing but
his rotting shell.

A servant entered
the water behind him. Without looking back, he barked his commands. “I want my
skin scrubbed. The harder, the better.” The scent of Lilly only seemed to get
stronger, and he wanted nothing of it left on his skin. “What are you waiting
for?”

The water rippled
around his waist and he felt the heat of the servant at his back. Instead of a
hard course sponge, soft hands touched his back, and caressed his flank. Asar growled.
No one touched him in that manner without his permission. He whipped around in
the water to reprimand her, only to find the mischievous eyes and beautiful
smile of his huntress.

“Lilly,” he said,
surprised and immediately stepped back. Just the sight of her dissolved his
acrid mood. Tightening his body, he willed his anger to swell in his chest. He
wanted to punish her for affecting him the way she did.

She stepped forward
and placed her hands on his chest. “I assume I’ve over stepped my bounds.”

He grimaced. Her
touch sent a multitude of electrical shocks through his system. Losing his
struggle—and quickly—Asar needed to act.

Push her away. Tell
her to leave. Teleport her ass right out of here
.

Pulling her lower
lip between her teeth, she picked up the sponge and laid it on his chest. “Seems
like I’m breaking all sorts of rules since meeting you.”

He inhaled sharply.
The rough sponge grazed his nipple and down his abdomen. His cock hardened
instantly, despite willing it not to. Unable to stop himself, his gaze
gravitated to the mark on her chest and the long curve of her naked body. The
anger mixed with sexual tension fueled a dangerous mix of lust.

Like a lion taking
down prey, Asar brutally grabbed her by the hips and locked her tight against
his pelvis. His aggressiveness startled her. Her hands went to his chest.

When she accused
him at one point of wanting to take a bite out of her, she was not far from the
truth. All he wanted to do was sink his incisors into the tender flesh of her
neck. In the gentle curve of her shoulder he grazed his teeth up the length of
her neck to her ear. Low in his throat, he vibrated a growl of warning. He
fully expected her to push him away. He
wanted
her to push him away.

Against her nature as
a fighter, Lilly opened the most vulnerable part of herself to him. Her soft
probing hands slid up his chest and around his neck, and pulled him in tighter
to her throat. It was all he could do not to follow through on his threat. He
closed his eyes fighting his beastly desires under control. Despite all his
anger and hatred, he did not want to hurt her.

The heat and
sweetness of her soul seeped into his body. The ache of his hunger subsided,
along with the rage he so desperately wanted to hold onto. How was this happening?

He pulled away to
look into her bright green eyes, which were confident, but guarded. Her
boldness was like putting her hand into a lion’s cage to see how it would react.
Would it bite or accept what it was given?

He would not mind doing
a little of both at the moment.

Keeping her tight
to his body, he crushed Lilly against the stone tiled wall of the tub. He
reminded himself she required a gentler touch. Relaxing his grip, he slid his
hands under her round bottom and pulled her legs up and around his hips. His
hardened cock pressed into her soft, wet flesh.

Lilly’s sultry gaze
remained steady with only quick glances down to his lips. She waited
instinctively, the desire on her face evident. Whether she sensed his state of
mind or not, she gave him control. Slowly coaxing the lion out of his den.

Damn if it did not
do him in.

He shifted her
weight into one hand, and grasped behind her neck. He hovered above her lips
and drew in a breath when she exhaled. With it came a prickling energy filling
his lungs. The depth and rate of her breathing remained even and level, despite
the tremor shimmering through her body. The warmth of her arousal encircled his
hardened flesh, but she remained agonizingly still, taming the beast.

Asar’s resolve
broke first. He closed the distance between their lips and hungrily sealed
their fate. Instantly, she tightened her legs around his waist and rocked
against him. He arched back with a gasp. She seized the opportunity and slid
her lips and tongue down the side of his neck, caressing and nipping his most
sensitive areas while continuing her seductive grind against his pelvis.

He cursed and
shifted her higher on his waist to seat his cock in one smooth motion. Despite
his size and the urgency of his thrusts, she accepted him entirely. Her orgasm
broke quickly and aggressively, strangling him in pure pleasure. A primal roar
escaped him as he came in sharp spasms.

Racked by heavy
tremors, he dropped to his knees in the bath, and buried his face in her neck. The
pain and hunger in his chest dissipated, his anger nearly forgotten.

She started to run
her fingers through his hair. He inhaled a rare breath and sighed, feeling the
rush of her life force surge within his dead body. Every cell tingled with energy.
Much to his surprise, he did not need to consume her soul to sate his hunger.

Only when her
breathing slowed and his muscles relaxed did he slide her back onto her own
feet. She sunk all the way into the water, dunking her head beneath its surface.
Coming back up, she blew out a breath and smoothed her wet hair back from her
face. She grabbed the sponge and reached out to him.

Asar caught her
wrist. “You do not have to do this,” he said, harsher than he intended. Lilly seemed
completely unaware how she twisted and abused his mind and body in the most
erotic way. She asked nothing of him. In fact, he held all the cards.

“Trust me. I’m
doing this for purely selfish reasons.” She grinned and slid her soapy hand
down over his still rigid cock. His balls tightened instantly.

He sucked in air and
arched his neck. The corner of her mouth twitched. She moved onto another area
of his body, and traced the lengths of his corded musculature. Watching her meticulously
wash every inch of his skin gave him a strangely invigorating rush.

Truly beguiling.

Lilly handed him the
sponge and turned her back toward him, pulling her hair to the side. He cocked
an eyebrow. A god wash a human? Inexplicably, he found his hand with the sponge
against her skin, following her spine down to her bottom. His other hand joined
the slow caress. How shockingly intimate and sensual. He turned her and started
to wash the fine curves of her breasts and hips. Completely lost in the
sensation of his lathered hand against her skin, he failed to notice when the
last of his dark emotions evaporated completely.

When he finished
his exploration of her tight body, Asar pulled her into his lap. In uncharted
territory both physically and emotionally, he remained quiet for several minutes,
unsure what to even to say to her. Once the euphoria ended, he would again descend
into his dark abyss— he knew this.

Thankfully, she
seemed lost in her own thoughts. He gently brushed his thumb over his mark on
her chest. Did she regret her decision? Unfortunately, her eyes gave no
indication of her feelings.

He shifted her
slightly to make eye contact. “I need to meet with someone before we return. When
you come to serve me, you will see them with greater frequency.”

She swallowed and
gave a simple nod.

Chewing on her fingernail,
Lilly paced the floor of Asar’s room. She would rather face a swarm of revens
than meet more gods. Who was she fooling here? Asar was out of her league on a
multitude of levels. She chastised herself for getting too consumed and drawn
in by him. She never had great luck with men, and the last one turned out to be
a disaster. This one would be no different. What the hell was she thinking?

Obviously, she’d
fried her brain out on the beach because she had slept with a man—no,
correction, a
god
— who threatened her and her sisters. How could she
trust him to follow through on his promises? He could change his mind as he saw
fit and she’d be powerless to do anything about it. She yanked her nail out of
her mouth and sighed.

Despite all her
regrets, she’d love to repeat what had happened in the bath just an hour ago. Her
clit tingled just thinking about the orgasm he gave her. His body couldn’t be
any more perfect. And, god, the size of his penis would make any woman beg to
be bedded. Although he seemed different since they first met, how long that
would last? He was very quick to remind her of her place.

His servant.

Trying to calm her
nerves, she looked out over the veranda at the beach and slow moving water. It
was peaceful here, nothing like what she had to return to. A flash of guilt
washed over her. She left her sisters unattended. How much time had passed? What
if something happened and she wasn’t there to take care of it? Surely, if Asar knew
about it, he would take them back immediately.

“Lilly.”

Asar’s strong voice
sounded behind her. Taking a deep breath, she turned with a small smile on her
face. A gorgeous brunette female and an equally handsome male in a dark black
robe stood next to Asar. Despite their placid facial expressions, they unsuccessfully
hid the astonished look in their eyes. The two gave each other a furtive glance
before the female smiled.

Uncertain as to the
proper protocol for meeting deities, Lilly fidgeted. The male looked at Asar
with a half-eaten smile that communicated some unspoken male message.

“My name is Nebt,”
the female said, “and this is my husband, Inpu.”

Lilly smiled. “It’s
very nice to meet you.”

Nebt held out her
hand in an odd sort of way with her palm down. Lilly glanced at Asar. Shake the
goddess’ hand or kiss it? He just nodded his head.

Taking a deep
breath, Lilly reached out and gently touched her palm to Nebt’s. A slight
tingle manifested between their hands and the goddess’ eyes narrowed— had Lilly
just been sized up?— but Nebt’s smile never wavered. Finally, Nebt pulled her
hand away, looped her arm through Lilly’s, and led her down a long corridor,
away from the men.

“So. Have you
enjoyed your stay here in Aaru?”

“Yes, it is
beautiful. So peaceful.”

“I guess you will
find in your future it can become quite boring.”

Lilly jolted in surprise.
“Asar told you of our arrangement?”

“No, you did.”

“You read my mind
when we touched?”

Nebt shrugged. “Your
soul actually, but yes.”

Lilly wanted to
tell the goddess to stay out of her private thoughts, but then again maybe they
didn’t regard privacy the way humans did. So much for keeping any secrets in
this place.

“You have your work
cut out for you.”

“I have my family
to protect. I’m sure you understand my reason for doing it.”

“I was not referring
to your noble sacrifice. You are in love with a man incapable of returning it.”

Lilly pulled up,
stopping the goddess. “You must be mistaken. Yes, there is a mutual attraction,
but it would stupid of me to think something like that could ever work between
us.”

“So, it was just
sex then?”

Lilly felt her
words jumble in her mouth and her face flushed. “No, of course not. It was…
God, I don’t know.” She put her hand over her mouth. “I suppose it looks worse
when you consider I’m going to be his servant when this is all through. I don’t
want you to think I did this to secure my position. I’m the last person to
degrade myself in that way, but it felt right at the time…” Lilly pressed her
hand to her forehead. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Nebt regarded her
with a most curious expression, then touched her arm. “Despite what Asar says,
he does not consider you his servant by any means. He would have never brought
you his home, let alone introduce you to his family. I am very surprised you
are here. Asar has been very unapproachable since Kepi betrayed him. He holds
his vengeance very close and has been feeding off of it for a very long time.”

Lilly took a deep
breath, feeling slightly reassured Nebt didn’t think of her as a whore. “Asar
told me she stole the gate key and his son, but to be honest, I saw the way he
looked at her. She has a greater hold on him than that.”

Nebt’s face paled. “I
wish that was all she stole from him.” The goddess started to walk again, her
once placid face now stricken.

Lilly gently
stopped their progress. “What did she do to him?”

Nebt averted her
eyes. “I do not think it is my place to say.”

“If I knew, I might
be able to correct it.”

“You take on too
much burden for one human to shoulder. You have your sisters and father to help.
Asar will survive.”

Lilly flinched. Nebt
had seen everything.
Everything.
“Yeah, well. What’s one more thing when
they all revolve around the same goddess?”

Nebt regarded her
for several moments before leading Lilly over to stone bench. “Asar has always
had his wealth of women, no offense. I think he viewed Kepi as a project of
sorts. She had made mistakes— broken the laws of the Pantheon— but he tried to
give her a second chance. Gave her anything she could possibly want, thinking
that it would cure her evil ways. She had manipulated him so well, he could not
see straight.

“After Kepi seduced
his son, Asar finally saw her true nature. He sentenced Kepi to purgatory refused
her entry into the afterlife, and fed her soul to the beast. Her body was
entombed for an eternity in the other world, your world, several thousand years
ago.”

Lilly gasped. “Until
we unearthed the tomb five years ago.”

“Unbeknownst to
Asar, Kepi had planned her escape prior to her entombment. We are uncertain who
helped her place a curse on her tomb, allowing her release. Five years ago, she
came back to Aaru, stole the key to the gateway, bound his son to eternal death-like
sleep, and hid the sarcophagus in which his body is encased. Worse, she used an
ancient spell to extract Asar’s heart, his soul.” The goddess grabbed Lilly’s
hands and squeezed. “If you know anything about our culture, you must
understand the soul is the single most important entity in our world, our being.
You are nothing if you have no soul.”

Lilly understood
the basic Egyptian belief the soul bound itself to the heart. But, how did Asar
remain vertical after having his ripped out? “How is it that he still has
physical form and powers?”

“He is a god. He
does not require organs to sustain his life, but without his heart, he has no
essence, no sense of life, love or positive emotion. He needs his soul to fulfill
his duty as guardian of the underworld. Without it, he is nothing.
Nothing
.”

Lilly shook her
head. “I understand what you are saying, but I feel Asar’s emotions, his desire.
I’ve felt it in his touch and kiss.”

Nebt’s features
softened. “What you are feeling is
your
emotions. He is absorbing your
essence—your emotions—and mirroring it.”

Lilly swallowed against
the sudden tightness in her throat. Whatever Nebt had meant to convey, Lilly
heard,
he used her
. She turned away to hide the welling of tears in her
eyes. “So, none of this is real?”

Nebt grabbed her by
the shoulders and forced her to turn. She cupped Lilly’s tear stained cheeks in
her hands. “On the contrary, there is something special he sees in you. He
wants to feel the emotions with you. Desperately! You have conquered his
attention, something we have not been able to do for years. But I must warn
you, his vengeance for this goddess runs deep. He is blinded by his hatred and the
need for revenge against those involved in his suffering. And I stress
everyone.
I only say this, as I do not want you to get hurt.”

Lilly wiped back
her tears. Nebt’s message rang loud and clear. Asar’s hit list would include
her and her family if he discovered their connection with the goddess’ release.
“What if I seek his revenge for him? How do I get his soul back?” Maybe then he
would have the capacity to forgive her.

Nebt glanced down the
long stone corridor and spoke barely above a whisper. “Now is not the time to
discuss this. I will bring you the information you seek.”