Yes, her eyes told him in silent answer.
He encircled her in his arms. He pressed his lips upon the back of her neck and kissed away her doubts. Then she felt the sensation of soft bites upon her shoulders. What was he doing? Whatever it was, she wanted him to do it more. She arched her head back and stared at the sky. There it was again, that great, milky river. It seemed so close, and as Tahar nibbled on her neck it began to flow.
Kiya rocked forward into Tahar’s body. He absorbed her weight with a low moan and held her for a long while. Gently he turned her around, to face away from him, then kissed the side of her neck.
‘I thought about you every second,’ he whispered into her ear. ‘I died when I lost you, and when I saw you on the royal terrace that day...your wedding day...’ His voice was thick, his breath warm and musky. ‘None of it matters now. All that matters is this night.’
Kiya leaned back into his embrace. If his hands had not been holding her by her waist, she was certain she would simply have floated away into the night. His soft lips continued to explore the back of her neck, and his hands set out on a path across her body. They forged a trail down her lower back, lingering upon her buttocks, where they trekked lightly up and down the soft rise. The kisses upon her neck grew deeper, and she felt a growing heat between her legs.
His hands set out again, on a trail to her waist and northward, to her breasts. They found the soft rises of her nipples and remained, grazing across them and causing them to tingle and tighten. Meanwhile his kiss became a gentle suck, as if he were extracting poison.
‘Oh, Tahar,’ she murmured, and she pushed back against him, lifting her arm behind her and running her hand through his hair. It was as if she were a harp and he was plucking her strings, making her whole body hum.
He pushed himself upward between the cleft of her buttocks, just as he had done that day in the oasis pool. She had imagined that moment a thousand times since then, and every time the memory made her skin itch with desire. Now that he was behind her again it was as if that itch were being scratched. He slid up and down the long fissure of her buttocks and she felt his alarming girth. Anxiety and yearning did a frenetic dance inside her mind, while her body rose up with a fearsome wanting.
They had been separated by circumstances, walls, and the whims of a desperate king. A thin silk dress was all that separated them now. He sucked her breast with greater intensity and her whole body began to ache with yearning. She wanted—needed—to turn around, to move her hands upon him as they moved upon her. She twisted, trying to face him, but his hands returned to her waist, keeping her facing away from him.
‘No, no, my little cobra,’ he whispered playfully, his tongue plunging into her ear.
He wanted to drive her mad. He wanted to wind her desire so tightly that she begged him for release. But his aims were too ambitious, for already he had become engorged to the point of pain. He had never wanted a woman as he wanted her. It was as if he were being drawn into her by some invisible force that was stronger than any army, more powerful than any king.
He feared to face her...feared what he might do given the opportunity to kiss her succulent red lips. This is her first time, he reminded himself, though her movements suggested that she would not be shy. Had she thought about the oasis, as he had? Had she, too, gone over and over those moments of passion in her mind, keeping that intense desire alive in her body like the embers of a nomad’s fire?
His hands dived beneath her tunic and he cradled her breasts, possessing them, feeling their lovely weight. How many times had he pictured doing this? Surely as many times as there were stars in the sky. Her skin was so soft and supple beneath his touch. He wanted to feel it—all of it—against his body.
He bent down and grasped the bottom of her dress. She gave no resistance as he lifted it up over her head, revealing her naked backside. He prayed she would not turn around, because he knew that to look at her face under the starlight would make him lose control. He needed to make this special for her. He needed to go slowly.
He unwound his makeshift loincloth and cast it aside. Naked and throbbing with lust, he positioned himself behind her once again. Her bare body melted against his and he claimed it with his hands. They tumbled over all her delicious curves and ridges. It was as if he’d unwrapped a new layer of her, and he wished to explore every last inch.
Keeping his feet planted behind her, he twisted his body around hers and bent low, his lips closing in upon her nipple once again.
‘Oh...’ she breathed as his mouth tugged in a gentle rhythm, and he felt her body stiffen with want.
They remained entwined like that until low, rhythmic moans began escaping her lips.
He detached himself from her breast and stood tall once again. The heat between their bodies had expanded and their skin had become slick with their sweat. What would it feel like to slide up and down her slippery body? To push himself into her hot, wet entrance from behind? His desire stood throbbing against her backside. There was no cloth between them, nothing to prevent them from becoming one.
He was so close.
All he would have to do...
* * *
She could not endure it any longer. There he was—so large and so hot behind her. Hastened by the moisture of her own sweat, his desire slid against the small of her back, as if begging for release. But it was she who was begging, for the searing ecstasy of his lips upon her breast had been too much to bear.
‘Please,’ she cried. ‘Please.’
She stood on her toes. And then he was there, pushing himself inside her from behind.
‘Ah...’ he groaned into her ear, and a fiery pain ripped through Kiya’s body.
It was him, the whole of him, entering her. His hands clasped her waist and he pushed, aided by Kiya’s own wetness, up through the painful tightness.
‘Oh...please...’ Tahar moaned, and then his entirety was inside her and they were one.
The pain was exquisite. Tahar moved slowly up and down, touching the deepest parts of her. The feeling was like nothing she could have imagined. She was so full of him. All of her body seemed to be crying out for the sweet agony he delivered with each thrust. His breaths grew frenzied, his movements more rapid. He nuzzled his face into her hair and seemed to become lost.
Then he froze. Kiya sensed his efforts to gain control of himself. She could feel his throbbing heat. Gently, he pulled himself out of her. Then he turned her around to face him. He grasped her face in his arms and pushed his lips upon hers.
Those lips. They were the lips she craved. The ones that pushed and probed, that funnelled his vast desire into her with such gentleness. But this time his mouth was hotter, wetter. It moved faster and more powerfully against her own. His hands toyed ruthlessly with her nipples while his tongue plunged unapologetically into her mouth.
She felt her entrance begin to throb with renewed longing and the pain melted away. She wanted him back inside her. She wanted to feel him plunge into her once again while he kissed her. She wanted him to possess her completely, to flood her with himself.
She pushed her hips against him.
He felt the push of her hips and the return of her longing. He smiled to himself. Ah, this was going to be sweet. He kissed her hard with his mouth and let his finger slip gently into her.
‘Oh...’ she breathed.
She was so incredibly wet. He stroked her gently. Softly.
His kisses became softer, too. He withdrew his tongue from her mouth. Then he traced his finger along her lips. He would return to them soon. Now he had other business. He kissed her breasts—a dozen tiny kisses finishing at her nipples—the right then the left.
He kissed down her stomach, arriving at her navel and pillaging it with his tongue. He continued kissing downward until he found himself on his knees, humble before the Goddess.
Her hands tousled his hair. What are you doing? they asked.
He caressed her lovely buttocks. Just you wait, they told her. He kissed her soft, curly mound, then let his tongue probe deeper. He could hear her suck in a breath. He reassured her, moving his hands across her muscular legs. He moved his tongue slowly up and down her folds. Once. Twice. Her fingers raked across his head. Thrice.
Her body shivered. Yes, my love, it seemed to say. She opened her legs slightly, reminding him of that day in the cave. Gods, how he had wanted to feel her fingernails in his hair then. Now he had earned it.
He moved his tongue slowly: he did not want to scare her. Her buttocks flexed. Her stomach moved up and down. Her obvious hunger made him wild with lust. He made his tongue taut and traced the soft contours of her entrance. Then he probed deeper. Her hands planted themselves firmly on his head. He pushed his tongue into her. Her hot wetness enveloped him. Her hands squeezed and her body shivered. She was nearing the edge.
Seth’s teeth, so was he. He pulled her down to her knees and their lips met again. They twisted around each other, their bodies sliding against each other, unable to get close enough. They writhed and coiled, stretching to discover every hill and valley, every plain of flesh—like two serpents inextricably entwined, tangled together beyond time.
Tahar rocked backwards, lacing her fingers with his as he lay back upon the ground—atop the Great Pyramid of Stone—desperate to feel her above him. He pulled her down until her hands were flat on the ground and her legs were straddling his waist. He could feel her hot, wet entrance. It rubbed against him, teasing him. Would she do what needed to be done? Perhaps he could nudge her.
‘I have to tell you a secret,’ he said, thrusting his hips upwards.
‘What secret?’
‘Do you remember the day in the cave? When I extracted the venom from your leg?’
‘Yes, of course. That was incredibly kind of you. It was beyond kind. It was—’
‘There was no venom to extract,’ Tahar said.
‘What?’
‘I lied. It was an excuse. I wished to get closer to you.’
He watched her shadowy expression in the starlight. It moved from confusion to surprise to indignation and finally to thrill in fascinating, irresistible waves.
Her eyes narrowed. ‘You are a wretched demon,’ she said, smiling.
‘You have no idea how badly I wanted you that day,’ he said.
‘I must punish you for your treachery.’ She positioned him at her entrance and leaned down to kiss him.
And it was the most delicious kiss she’d ever tasted. Feeling the tip of his need hover at her entrance while she entwined her tongue with his sent an ache through her body so sweet it verged on pain. She pushed herself onto him slowly, teasingly, giving and then taking back, until he groaned with yearning. She kissed him again. Then she pushed a little more. More kissing. Finally, she had sheathed him.
He let out a howling groan. Then he placed his hands on her waist and rocked her gently up and down. A strange wave of pleasure began to grow within her. It felt so good, and his gentle encouragement stimulated a haunting need. She felt her whole body begin to curl up into a tight ball of want. They continued to rock, faster and faster, until she felt as if she were careening down the side of the pyramid.
Or maybe they were careening together.
Then—crash. She shattered above him. Her body convulsed in waves of pleasure and release. What strange, wonderful feeling was this? A second later he followed her—exploding into a million pieces—and she shivered as he throbbed inside her. She collapsed upon him and they lay together, still joined, breathing heavy breaths. He pulled her onto his chest and they embraced for what seemed like minutes, hours, a lifetime.
Finally Kiya rolled over onto her back. And there was Thoth, in his full, glowing glory. She had not even noticed he had risen. She peered at Tahar as the moon’s soft glow washed his handsome face with light. Already she missed their joining. Already she craved his touch.
Together, they stared up at the great globe and the infinity beyond it. Tahar retrieved his headdress and placed it beneath their heads. He lifted her arm and placed a dozen long, lazy kisses upon it. She turned to him and stared into his eyes, breathing in the delicious odour of his breath.
‘I don’t want this night to end,’ she said.
‘It never will,’ he said. He rolled over on top of her and began kissing her again.