She didn’t know why she had chosen this tunnel. It was like a small voice inside her told her to. Something was whispering in the back of her mind, letting her know she was on the right path. It was almost like someone was beckoning her closer.
This tunnel was much narrower than the other tunnel that she had walked down moments ago. She turned around, looking for Tarrick for guidance, but he wasn’t behind her. Fear of being alone in this strange, creepy tomb crept icily up her spine. Her heart thumped so fast that she could hear her pulse throbbing in her ears. She willed her feet to keep walking as the tunnel finally led her into another chamber room. This one was much larger, almost cavernous.
She shined her flashlight around the walls as she stepped inside the room. Pictures and hieroglyphics covered them from floor to ceiling. She glanced down at her cell phone, still in her hand and remembered what Tarrick said. Steeling herself, she took in a deep breath and concentrated, trying to think of the right words to say.
“Oh, mighty pharaoh, may I take pictures of the walls of your tomb to study later? I promise not to show anyone,” she said in a loud whisper. As an afterthought of politeness, she added a hushed, “Please?”
She stood in front of one of the walls, as if expecting some kind of reply, but nervously pocketed her phone. She didn’t want to offend the pharaoh and ignite the curse. She spun around slowly, shining her light around her till it came to the center of the room. There was a large stone table that stood directly in the middle of the room. She walked over to it curiously. It didn’t look like anything special to her. Was it an offering table? She squatted down to take a closer look at it. It looked like it was crudely handmade by chisel and hammer. She could see the tool markings all around it. Although, it didn’t have any hieroglyphs, paintings, or carved pictures on it, she found it interesting and was curious as to why it was made so plainly for a respected pharaoh’s tomb.
She stood and made her way to the other side of the room to continue looking at the wall art when she heard screams echoing through the cave system. The sounds of pain startled her so much, she instinctively dropped her flashlight.
“Oh no,” she gasped. “Joe and Tina.” Her heart lurched up to the back of her throat. The clatter of the flashlight hitting the stone ground echoed around her for a few seconds before all went quiet. Laney strained to listen for any indication that her friends were okay or were leaving the tomb, but all she could hear was her heart thumping hard in her chest.
She bent down to pick up her flashlight when the light flickered a few times before going out completely. Dread filled her at the sudden darkness.
“No, no, no, please don’t do that,” she whined, hitting it against her palm to try and revive the bulb. Nothing but empty blackness surrounded her.
Suddenly, light slowly illuminated inside the room as the wall torches blazed to life. She dropped the flashlight again and turned to watch, mouth agape as each torch magically lit itself on fire.
“The mummy’s curse,” she whispered, her eyes going wide.
She willed her feet to move, but she was too frozen in place. Something rushed by her in a blurring speed, causing a wind to toss her hair across her face.
“Please, I’m not here to take your treasure. I only wanted to see the images on the walls,” her voice cracked as she cried out in desperation.
“I know,” said a male voice. It was rough and deep, but with a troubling hint of irritation.
Laney’s skin broke out in gooseflesh and she shivered. The cave had turned colder with this strange new presence.
A man stepped out from behind the pillar and Laney spun her head in his direction, already gasping with fright. Patches of sun-kissed tan skin began to stretch out across his mummified body as the gold-lined linen wrappings fell off him slowly, like a ribbon roll being unraveled, revealing a sculpted chest, arms, and abs. The only bits of cloth that remained to protect his modesty was his off-white linen Egyptian kilt and the Nemes crown covering his head and skirting around his shoulders. Unlike almost all the men she’d seen since she arrived in Egypt, he sported a bit of dark scruff around his jaw. Something about him seemed ancient, and incredibly important.
His honey-brown eyes roamed her body, causing her to shiver even more with nervousness. He slowly made his way toward her, almost like a predator stalking his prey and she reciprocated by backing up slowly. ‘Why did I come here?’ she thought desperately in regret. Something bad was going to happen to her, she was sure of it. It was already clear something had happened to her friends.
Laney looked him up and down. This man, whomever he was, wouldn’t hurt her. That same voice from earlier whispered into her ear saying that she could trust him. If only she could get her heart to stop pounding so hard.
He stopped almost five feet in front of her, heavy eyed and smirking. “You are here as an offering.” His voice was silky smooth and dark, full of some hidden intention. Similar to Tarrick, he had a distinct accent, though it was a little thicker.
“I … I don’t understand,” she said. She darted a quick glance over her right shoulder, the wall was within reach. She needed a better exit strategy and not back herself into a corner. “What do you mean as an offering?” Tarrick did mention something about the mummy taking essence, but she didn’t know what exactly that would entail.
She spared a quick glance to her left before turning her gaze back to the man in front of her. There was an archway adorning a tunnel, and she hoped that it was the same one that she had come out of. She had easily gotten turned around when he came in here, with the panic of hearing her friend’s shrieks and losing the only light she’d come in with. Thoughts of a quick escape ran through her mind. However, she couldn’t will her feet to move. It was as if they had grown roots and planted themselves into the cracked stone of the floor.
He sighed almost theatrically and launched into an explanation. “I’ve been bound here, cursed by a sorcerer to walk this earth after my death rather than cross over into the afterlife. Offerings of the flesh are made by those that serve me. Enough offerings, and I can be made whole to enjoy the pleasures as a man in the flesh and not as an immobile, mummified pharaoh.”
“Pharaoh?” Her brows furrowed in confusion. Surely, this wasn’t…
“Yes. I am the Pharaoh Serkhet.”
“Why were you cursed?” she asked curiously, trying to stall him. Though, that might not be her only intention in keeping a conversation going. She had never heard of him in her lectures, and maybe she was curious. There was no way this was some kind of prank … the wind, the cold, the torches on the walls lighting themselves — it was too much.
A devilish smile spread across his face, causing chills to rush across Laney’s skin that had nothing to do with the temperature. Briefly, she thought about yelling for Tarrick, though she assumed he had suffered the same fate as her friends.
“I bed the sorcerer’s daughter on the eve of her wedding night. She was such a beauty and she was also a virgin before she met me, as per the custom. I told him that he should be proud that she was taken by the pharaoh, but he did not see it thus. The claim was that I had ruined her for her future husband, who had planned to pay a handsome sum for her hand in marriage. He spat out vile words toward me and I banished him from my kingdom. Little did I know, his words were simultaneously him seeking out revenge in the form of a curse. I had fallen ill within the day and died a few weeks later.”
Laney saw sadness in his eyes and frowned, her feelings of fear slowly dissipating. This was a mere man, stuck in immortality forever. Not the creepy, mummified zombie she’d been picturing from Tarrick’s myth.
“I guess you could say that I did deserve it. I was selfish, taking any woman who dared look my way. But I never had a woman more than once.” He took in a breath and released it. “The sorcerer had come to aid my vizier. They were trying to have me pay more attention in seeking a wife, for the sake of having an heir, but I could not. Even now, I cannot sire an heir, due to the nature
of the curse.”
Serkhet turned his gaze back to her and she saw something else twist his expression. Lust and loneliness.
He whispered words in a language that she didn’t understand. Her skin prickled, and her stomach tightened and beads of sweat formed across her skin.
When did the temperature go back up?
Moments ago, she had been shivering against the cold and now her body temperature was rising. It was responding to the man standing before her. Suddenly, he was a mere foot away. How had he moved so quickly? It was just a blur of movement and he was there, inches away and undressing her with his eyes.
Her chest heaved, and she felt lightheaded. She had decided to wear a thin, lacy bralette that morning, as one with padding was too much for this hot weather. The thin fabric, coupled with the equally thin dress shirt she was wearing, heightening her sensitivity. She could feel her nipples hardening as her erratic breathing caused them to rub against her shirt, shooting sparks of pleasure down to her sex. She could feel slick sliding between her legs and squeezed her thighs together, wishing her body wasn’t reacting so strongly right now. It had been a long time since she’d been with a man sexually, much less one with so much magnetism to him.
He closed the space between them, forcing her to back into the wall. He took in a long, deep breath, inhaling the air around him. Laney took in his features: the dark eyelashes rimming his eyes, the curve of his lips, the way his face was already contorting with lust. He closed his eyes and hummed out in satisfaction as he released his breath.
“Your smell, it’s intoxicating,” he growled.
He brushed the back of his hand down her arm, using the other to brace himself on the wall as he leaned in to breath in her scent once more. His soft lips brushed against the sensitive skin of her neck, right under her ear. Laney tossed her head back and squeezed her eyes shut as jolts of pleasure shot uncontrollably through her. She also found him intoxicating, his undeniably masculine presence. He smelled of jasmine and myrrh.
Thoughts of him taking her right here in this room ran through her mind and she opened her eyes to see him still staring at her with a cocky smile. Either he was reading her mind, or he was just that experienced at knowing what a woman wanted when she was with him. Based on his story, it could be either one. He cocked an eyebrow, silently waiting patiently for her to make the next move.
She leaned in and took his mouth with fervor. Without wasting any time, he licked along her bottom lip, silently asking for entrance. The kiss deepened, and he tasted all of her eagerly. There was so much heat sparking between them, it was overwhelming. Laney couldn’t help but pull away, just to regather herself.
“That’s right my pet, give in to me,” he crooned. His hand was migrating down to her hip, clutching possessively at the curve of it.
“I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head in confusion. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“I do,” he smiled with that same devilish air as before, seeming to think that was answer enough. He took her hand gently and pulled her into his side, escorting her to the center of the room. “Tell me, why would you want to be with that mere boy, when you could have a god?”
Who was he talking about? What boy — oh.
“Wha-what?”
“I can read your thoughts, pet. Your lust for him — what was his name? Ah, yes, Joe — was strong. However, he had no interest in you. Alongside from his greed for my treasure, his intentions for the other female were not pure.”
He leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled back. That was news to her — had Joe really been pursuing her and Tina at the same time? Tina knew of her feelings for him but had never said anything about Joe expressing interest in her.
“What did you do to them?” she asked, biting back tears. Joe may have been a less than considerate friend, but at least he was there for her throughout their journey to get to Egypt. And Tina … Tina was her best friend.
“I needed their essence to make myself whole. However, I’m still in need for more,” he said, voice dropping to something huskier. His lips trailed up the length of her neck.
“You’re going to kill me, too?” she said, feeling her breath hitch as she started to panic. Serkhet pulled away and frowned.
“Oh, no my pet. I have other needs to fulfill that can give me the essence that I require. Perhaps you would be interested in providing it for me.”
His gaze went down to her mouth and she could feel an invisible tug as her eyes met his. Her chest began to heave again as her breathing became shallow. Warning bells were firing off in the back of her mind, telling her to run, but her body wanted to stay here and receive the attention she had been wanting. No, what she had been needing.
He was pulling her into him using something like … magic? He said he could read her thoughts. Was it possible that he could control the pleasure coursing through her body, too? Maybe he was keeping her feet rooted to prevent her from running away. Logically, she knew she should at least try to run … but as long as he wasn’t going to harm her.
“Tell me you want me,” he purred into her open and panting mouth. “Tell me you’ll let me take you. I can’t do anything with you unless you allow it.”
Laney pulled back for a moment, squinting at him. Beneath the cockiness and smooth seduction, there was a desperate need lighting up his eyes. He needed her just as badly as she wanted him.
“No magic?” She questioned. There was no way she would consent to anything if he was impairing her judgement with his powers.
A nod. Gradually, the fire pulling her in to him ebbed away until she only felt the cold of the cave. Her mind wasn’t clouded by lust or need anymore, and…
Jesus, she still wanted him. The hopeful look on his handsome face, how strong and powerful he looked just standing there patiently. The fact that he wanted her too made her choice fairly easy.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Please, take—” her words choked themselves out of her throat. “Take me.”
Without hesitating any longer, he wrapped an arm around her, physically pulling her into him and planting gentle kisses on her lips. His warmth made her shudder. She could feel his desire pressing hard into her lower stomach. She leaned into him more, kissing him deeper, moaning as it sent bolts of pleasure straight to her core. He was a damn good kisser compared to Joe. Joe had been hurried and sloppy, barely even caring about her pleasure. Serkhet was right, she didn’t really want Joe. It was just a childish infatuation. She was attracted to this man right here, making love to her mouth with his tongue.
Serkhet slowly unbuttoned her shirt and slipped a hand up the back, unclasping her bra, then pulled them both off her body with ease, never leaving her mouth. He stepped back to gaze at her breasts and smiled, before deftly unbuttoning her modest cargo pants. She gave him a tentative smile and slipped out of her sandals, then hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties and loose cargos and slipped out of them. Serkhet watched her undress with a look on his face that forced a blush to rise in her cheeks. She quickly felt self-conscious and tried her best to cover herself with her arms.
“No, no,” he clicked his tongue. “You are very beautiful. I was simply admiring the view. I shall enjoy exploring every inch of you before I have you screaming for me over and over again.”
His words were strange — old fashioned and not the kind of dirty talk she was used to hearing. Still, it was kind of endearing the way he seemed almost worshipful of her.
He didn’t pause to wait for her to comment. He picked her up and placed her on top of the offering table in the center of the room before planting soft kisses down her neck, across her collarbone, down to her breasts, teasing each of her nipples with the tip of his tongue. He smiled as he watched them harden and leaned back in to claim one of them in his mouth, sucking and nipping before moving to the other. He pulled back and blew on them gently, making them extra sensitive, before sucking the nipple back into his mouth.
Laney tossed her head back and moaned
, the sound echoing through the room. She reached out to run a hand over the back of his head, cupping the nemes crown and gasped as he worked his mouth, teeth, and tongue with such expertise on her sensitive hardened buds. No one has ever paid this much attention to her this way, this slowly and carefully.
He stood up, then grabbed a hold of her hips to pull her closer to the edge of the offering table before spreading her thighs and pulling her legs over his shoulders. Inches above her mound, his mouth curled into a sharp little smirk.
Gods, yes, this is what she has been wanting.
Serkhet dipped his head in between her legs, kissing his way up the inside of one thigh and moved to kiss his way up the other. He kissed her neatly trimmed mound and traced his tongue down and around her glistening lips, causing Laney to gasp and moan even louder. He took one hand to spread her sex open for him and began to tease her with his mouth; kissing, nibbling, sucking, running his tongue up and down her slit, but never once touching the swollen bud of her clit.
She reached out to grab his head, hoping to direct him to where she needed him to pay more attention to, but he pulled away from her. The wicked smile was back, alerting her that he knew exactly how he was teasing her. His face was practically buried between her legs, but it just wasn’t enough.
He laughed as she let out a frustrated whimper. “Don’t make me bind your wrists, pet.” He stared hard into her eyes and she leaned back, biting her lip. “We have until dawn arrives for me to have my way with you.”
Dawn? She had lost track of time after entering the tunnels with the others. Surely it had been less than an hour. She had never had sex longer than thirty minutes. How was it possible to keep going that long? And what would happen at dawn?
“You are in for a night of bliss. Relax your mind and let me show you what you have been missing.”
But why dawn? What happens at dawn? Would he turn back into a mummy?
Laney tried to relax her mind, but her body was going mad with the need to release the tension she had been holding for almost two years. Two whole years of waiting for a man who had apparently never even wanted her. She had never thought Joe would not be interested in dating her until Serkhet mentioned it. She had been hinting to Joe her interests in him, never putting the pieces together about why he would never ask her out. She thought that after him kissing her before their trip to Egypt, he had changed his mind.
The Mummy's Curse: A Paranormal Romance Page 2
