“What are you talking about?”
“Us.” She gestured, pointing first to him and then her. “I love what I do, relationships never work for me. I’m gone all the time and most times I’m out in the field on some dig, very hard to reach.”
He calmly watched her nervously explain her thoughts. She pulled on a robe. “And the thing is, I’m falling for you in a big way and now I’m worried about where that will lead.”
Dagan rose from the bed and pulled on his pants. He stared out the window at the darkened sky. “Kur and I have a destiny. At some point, we will fight the final battle and it will be I who puts him down.”
“Noble rubbish,” she said.
He inclined his head. “Perhaps, but my duty just the same.”
“I’m sick of hearing about duty. How did you get caught up in this nonsense anyway?”
He sighed. “When Ninmah discovered what had happened to the village, she called a session with the Pantheon. All the gods were present to hear the news.” He began to pace. The thirteen-inch color television that sat on her dresser came on by itself. On the screen were what looked like an angry mob in a large coliseum. It was a bright day and the sunshine fell across the landscape with white, fluffy clouds suspended weightless in the sky.
A tall brunette stood in the center of the room. Calm chocolate eyes full of compassion and patience scanned the entire crowd. Her earth-tone coloring included the full-length toga that dragged along the pristine floor as she circled the room. Her hair fell to below her knees and a delicate crown of beautiful flowers encircled her head. She held her hand high, signaling for everyone to be quiet.
“A great catastrophe has befallen mankind. Because of his impetuous foolishness, Enki has doomed the humans to be hunted and used to further the creature’s agenda.”
The woman’s voice purred like a contented cat and her gaze raked over Enki who sat perched on a stone-white chair on the next level.
“I curse your thoughtless act. For being the Lord of Wisdom, your wits had certainly abandoned you the day you created this menace.”
The crowd roared its agreement.
“What can be done, Earth-Mother?” a stately-looking gentleman asked.
An ethereal woman slowly made her way through as the crowd parted and each member bowed. When she reached the place where Ninmah stood, she turned to address them.
“My Lord Enki, do you think we have anything to offer the creature which will appease him?”
With all his regal stature, Enki rose from the stone seat. “I have attempted to give him whatever he wishes, Inanna, but he refuses everything. His heart, such as it is, is filled with hatred, and vengeance is what he craves.”
“Kur will not stop until he has had vengeance, and even then, there is no guarantee he will not kill every human just for spite,” she said. “We have no choice but to call forth an army to fight this beast until it is defeated.”
Reese turned to Dagan, who stood quietly watching the television, a frown creasing his handsome face.
“What is this?” she asked, pointing to the screen.
“My memories,” he whispered.
A striking young man stepped forward. His green eyes flared with anger and something else hard to name. “I offer my services and my life, Earth-Mother, to hunt the creature until it or I am dead.”
Inanna reached her hand out to him, but he moved away. He bowed to Ninmah and strolled toward Enki.
“How brave,” Reese whispered.
“Brave, yes,” Dagan said. “He is one of the most honorable and courageous men I know.”
“I sense there is more to this story. Who is he?”
“Shara, Inanna’s first born.”
“Why didn’t he let his mother touch him?”
His jaw clenched for only a moment. “She didn’t want him to do it, but how could she refuse her own son of taking on the task when she had called for warriors to fight?” He sighed. “Although he was the first, many others accepted the challenge to hunt the beast.”
“Like you.”
“Yes.”
He faced her. “I can’t give up what I do. It’s too important. Kur has killed too many and he will continue to do so until he is stopped.”
“So we’re left with nothing.”
Dagan pulled her into his arms. “Not nothing. We can have tonight and memories.” His tender kiss undid her. She melted gladly into his embrace.
When he broke the kiss she said, “I need something to drink and a power bar.”
“It so happens that I have prepared a special wine for you.”
“You did? For me?”
“Come, let us partake in some refreshment.”
She grabbed his hand and linked their fingers, walking him down to the kitchen. “Did you…is that the goblet from my case?” she said incredulously. “That’s an ancient artifact—”
He touched his fingers to her lips. “It is Basco’s chalice. It belongs to my people, my race. The chalice has been around long before the oldest of us.”
She lifted his fingers from her mouth and kissed his palm. “Oh. But why did you take it out of the case? If it’s that old, don’t you run the risk of damaging it?”
He chuckled. “Not likely.” He lifted it to her lips. “Taste the sweet wine.”
She drank. The rich taste was so intoxicating, she tipped the goblet to drink more. Her body felt invigorated, flushed. Her heart beat at a rapid pace and the need for something grew. What was going on?
“What kind of wine is that?” Her lips tingled and her eyes closed as a barrage of desires flowed through her. She urgently needed to taste Dagan’s lips, inhale his breath, and lay her head against his chest to hear the pounding of his heart. Reaching out she lightly ran her fingertips along his bare arm, his torso, but that wasn’t enough. Feeling all her inhibitions melt away, she smiled and crooked her finger.
“Come with me my Sumerian god. I want to see your mighty scepter.”
He grinned wickedly.
She raced into the living room and when he rounded the corner, she had already thrown herself onto the plush rug.
Divesting himself of the pants he’d put on earlier, he dropped to his knees at her feet. Slowly, he inched his way up her body, straddling her until he had a knee on either side of her head. Since he had such long legs, he knew her breathing wasn’t restricted nor was she uncomfortable. Her eyes were wide and wild as she rubbed her hands up and down his buttocks and back.
Grabbing his cock in one hand, holding it up for her to see he said, “Come now, my servant, will you please your god?”
The twinkle in her eyes and the smile that graced her face made his stomach drop.
Beautiful.
He leaned forward so the tip of his cock reached her mouth.
No female had ever touched him thusly. None would think of doing so, yet this woman, this human, gave him the unexpected. At that moment, Reese ran her fingertips through his legs and caressed his tightened balls.
After snapping his fingers to light the candles he’d set up in this room, he extricated himself from Reese’s potent mouth and repositioned himself between her thighs. With strength of will, he pushed into her at an excruciatingly slow pace. He swore he would explode.
As before, the candles on three sides represented three things. At their heads sat the white candles which represented the soul, to the right were the red candles representing the heart, and to the left were flesh-colored candles to represent the body. Gazing deeply into Reese’s half-lidded eyes, Dagan murmured the sacred words.
When his cock was fully imbedded within her and they were one, she moaned.
“You are a god.”
On his knees and holding her thighs over his arms, Dagan watched as he pumped into her luscious body. If he hadn’t been turned on already, seeing that would have done it.
His desire and the
fury
now overrode everything. He no longer wanted slow but needed to fill her, love her, possess her. He lowered her legs and with her under him thrust hard and fast.
“Dagan,” she screamed. “I’m going to—I can’t…”
She cried out and her ecstasy squeezed and milked him until he growled and convulsed, spurting his seed within her to coat the walls of her womb.
“I need to catch my breath,” she murmured after several minutes.
Slowly she rose, turning her back to him. He stared heatedly at the line of her spine and her sumptuous curves. Quickly, his cock filled, so he picked Reese up and hauled her to the couch.
“What are you doing?”
He plopped down on the furniture with her in his lap and turned her to face and straddle him. With a wicked grin, he guided himself to her opening.
“Not again, I can’t, not yet.” But the minute he filled her, Reese sighed and rode him hard. She needed little coaxing as she rose and lowered herself like a piston. His hands massaged her ass and he blew when she did.
Reese gently fell to the side. “I’ve never, I mean, not like this.” She peered at him through a thicket of hair that had fallen in her face. “What did you do to me?”
“Which time?” he said with cocky satisfaction.
She punched his arm.
He laid his head back. Each of the Naruki had one
blethred
. They could have many lovers but only one true life mate. He’d known the time would come for him, but he never suspected she would be human.
Reese slowly opened her eyes. She’d fallen asleep again, but at least they’d made it back to the bed. Dagan lay still and blissfully sleeping, so she rolled away from him and scooted out of the bed. She fished around in the dim light to find her robe and slipped it on. She needed food.
She flipped on the small light over the sink and added a new filter and coffee to the coffee maker then switched it on. The rich aroma filled the room. Her stomach grumbled. The clock above the counter said it was 3:45 a.m., a little early for a big breakfast, but she could make some cinnamon rolls. From the cabinet by the stove she pulled out a glass pie dish. Rummaging through the refrigerator, she found the cinnamon rolls and opened them, placing each one cinnamon side up. She turned the oven on four hundred and eased the rack with the food in before closing the door.
The long island counter stretched across a portion of the kitchen giving her ease to walk around the room. She placed a knife next to the icing cup and grabbed a mug out of the cabinet. Taking a moment to deeply inhale the air as she poured the coffee, Reese thought about tomorrow—or was it today?
She needed to get to her too confined, cramped office downtown where her team would be waiting. They had a lot of work to do to get the ball rolling on this new project. If she could get enough interest, she may be able to entice a couple of the private collectors to team up and invest in the dig. The Turkish government may be a snag though. She’d have to see who she knew at the Department of International Affairs. Maybe Professor McClanahan would have some contacts she could tap.
She knew by the time she got to the office at nine o’clock, Joe would already be there working on the proposal and examining the aerial topography to determine the best place to start digging. He was her eager beaver, always willing to give up sleep and whatever girlfriend he had at the moment, to work. Joe loved it as much as she did.
Reese placed her hands on her head, the heels of the palms at her temples and pressed before rubbing her eyes. What would she do about Dagan? She’d grown too used to having his arrogant ass around. In such a short time, she knew there was something more to their relationship than just sex. She felt it inside her, squeezing her heart, filling her lungs. When she pictured his cocky smile and mesmerizing eyes, she also thought of waking up next to a hard muscled body tucked against her.
“What are you thinking? He’s the son of gods and you’re a small town archeologist. How would that work?” But she wanted it to work.
She thrust her hand into the mitt and removed the rolls from the oven. Setting them on the stove, she turned to fetch the plate and icing when she saw Dagan standing gloriously naked in the doorway. Her mouth watered, she couldn’t help it.
“I love that smell,” he said as he moved toward her. “It reminds me of you.”
He reached up to twirl a lock of her hair around his finger. The light created sharp angles and planes on his features and he looked like the fierce warrior she knew him to be.
Dagan leaned down and took her mouth with his demanding lips. She opened and he swept his tongue inside. He growled low in his throat and it made her tingle. The vibrations sent shivers across her skin. It was primeval and the barest hungry emotion.
Putting his hands on her waist, he picked her up and set her butt on the island counter. Her robe fell open, baring her chest. His next kiss was long and ravenous which allowed him time to pinch and flick her nipples. The rough skin on his fingers caused such sweet friction and elicited a moan she couldn’t suppress. Placing his large hand in the valley of her breasts, Dagan eased her back onto the counter so she lay with her legs dangling over the edge.
“Hmmmm, what’s this?” He picked up the small, sticky cup.
A certain gleam danced in his eyes when he tilted the cup and the liquid sweet dribbled over her already sensitive nipple. She watched as he moved to the second nipple and repeated the torturous procedure. He bent forward and took the first nipple into his mouth, using his tongue to lick all the sugary substance from her before taking it between his teeth and rolling it.