Pharaoh's Desire (20 page)

Kama blushed. “Am I so transparent?”

Dyzet grinned. “Yes, but who can blame you? I wish I had the attention of a handsome man who adored me.”

Kama laughed with delight. “You’ve lifted my spirits, Dyzet. I think I am ready to continue our lesson,” she declared. “The owls shouldn’t be allowed to have all the fun!”

“Oh no. I think you have tortured my ears enough! Let us try again on the morrow. And next time,” she said, “I want you to put your heart into it.”

“You have my promise.”

Dyzet stood up and placed her lyre aside. “Speaking of promises, I told father I would help him with the maps today. I must take my leave.” She pecked Kama on the cheek. “I shall see you on the morrow.”

Kama yawned as she watched Dyzet leave. She had tossed and turned in bed last night, and today, her body was reminding her. She retreated to Amonmose’s chambers for a nap.

When she arrived at the private chambers that she and Amonmose now shared, she noticed the drapes were pulled back, letting the warm afternoon sun bathe the room in its brilliant glow. When she had left this morning, the drapes had been closed.

Something fluttering on the floor caught Kama’s eye. A gentle wind from the window pushed a tiny, white lotus flower along the floor. It tumbled into another and then another, and Kama realized a trail of petals beckoned her to the bedroom suite. Tentatively, she followed the path, her heart racing in anticipation. She stopped dead. There, lying comfortably on the bed was the object of her affection. He lounged on his back, legs crossed at his ankles and his hands clasped behind his head.

She let out a yelp of delight.

“Gods be praised, you are a sight for weary eyes,” he said.

Kama ran to him and jumped on the bed, pressing kisses all over his face and throat. Amonmose wrapped her in his arms and claimed her lips with a long, slow kiss. He ran his hands down the length of her form.

“I have missed you,” he murmured against her soft lips.

Kama felt herself yielding to his tender touch, a touch she had longed for. After leaving without so much as a goodbye, he was back in her arms—
wait!
She pulled away and pounded his chest with her fists.

“How dare you!” She scowled. “You think you can leave in the middle of the night with no word and return here expecting me to fall into your arms? What kind of woman do you think I am?” She sat up and glared at him.

Amonmose flashed her his famous arrogant smile. “I
know
what kind of woman you are. You are the kind of woman who inflamed my desire from the moment I laid eyes on you. You are the kind of woman who makes my heart thunder and my loins harden. You are the kind of woman who has caused me to ride day and night to get back to you.” His look turned smoldering. “You are
my
woman.”

Kama’s pulse quickened, and she momentarily forgot her protests.

Amonmose caressed her bottom lip with his finger. “Did you miss me?”

“Yes,” she said. “But I am still angry with you for leaving without telling me.” She crossed her arms in defiance.

He propped himself up on his elbows. “What if I told you that I was on an important mission, one that required total secrecy?”

“I would still be upset.” She pouted.

“And what if I told you I had to bring something back that I could entrust no one to retrieve but myself?”

“Not good enough.”

“Very well. But what if I could promise that you’d never be cross with me again once you found out what I have brought back for you?”

Her interest piqued. “I am listening.”

Abruptly, he stood up, pulling her with him. “Come with me, and I will show you.” She took his hand, and he swept her into his arms. “You will not be disappointed.”

Kama followed Amonmose from their bedchamber through the familiar hallways of grandiose statues, majestic paintings, and regal carvings.. She knew this area of the palace better than any other and surmised where they were going. Amonmose, as she had guessed, stopped outside the door to her room.

“Why are we here?” Kama asked, confused.

“There is something in here I want you to see. It’s a secret, and I wanted you to be the first to know of it.”

Kama smiled. So, he had arranged for her room to be decorated? Perhaps he had returned with beautiful fabrics or some ornate furnishings? But why decorate her chambers when she was sharing his bed? Was he trying to tell her something?

Kama entered the room, expecting to be impressed by the new décor. She instead found herself looking into the eyes of a woman who bore an incredible resemblance to her mother. “What—what sorcery is this?” she asked, voice airy and unsteady. The specter had the same dark, kohl-lined eyes, the same long nose, and the same determined chin. Her hair, however, was white as the moon. Stunned, Kama stood rooted in place, her eyes wide.

The woman rushed to her and threw her arms around her, hugging her fiercely. “Daughter…” Her words choked off.

But it was her mother’s voice, and Kama began crying as she squeezed her back. “Mother.”

The woman nodded against her shoulder, and they sobbed in each other’s arms, oblivious to anyone else in the room.

Mutema sniffled and pulled back, holding Kama at arm’s length so she could see. “You have ripened as a woman since last I saw you. You glow, and your eyes shine brighter than a star.”

“H-how did you find me?” Kama asked, still unable to stop her tears.

“I didn’t. I…believed you were dead. Amonmose found
me
.”

“But how—” Kama turned around, but Amonmose had disappeared from the room.

Mutema let her go and settled herself on Kama’s old bed. She patted the space next to her. “Sit down,” she said, “and let me fill in the details for you.”

Kama listened as her mother told her the story of her first meeting with the Pharaoh. When Mutema told her she thought Amonmose was the magistrate, Kama laughed, but she immediately sobered when she found out her mother was to be evicted.

She clasped Mutema’s hand in hers. “I am so sorry.”

Mutema gave her a sad smile. “I knew no misery so great as when I learned of your death. And now, I know no joy so abundant since learning that you are alive.”

Kama hugged her mother and kissed her on both cheeks. She stared at her for a moment and then touched her mother’s hair tentatively. “How did your hair turn so white?”

Fresh tears gathered in Mutema’s eyes as she spoke. “I believe every seed of despair has been
 
planted there. When I learned that all three of you were dead, I could not eat; I could not sleep; I could not stop crying. I would have done anything to take your place.”

“Oh, mother…”

Mutema touched Kama’s long, tightly braided locks, fighting for her composure. “Enough about me. I am happy to see you are well. Although Latmay did tell me you were a horrible patient.”

Kama scoffed and wiped at her eyes. “Well, you have to consider the circumstances under which I came here. I was told that I was to be the Pharaoh’s concubine. Latmay seemed kind, but how could I befriend my captors?” She paused, her voice cracking. “What had I done to deserve being alive? Satati perished before my eyes. I could not save her, and it could just as easily have been me.” Kama pulled the Pakhet amulet from beneath her tunic. “She gave this to me the day before her wedding. It is all I have to remember her by.”

Mutema squeezed Kama’s hand. “No. You have more than that. You have fond memories of her, and that is how she would want to be honored. You cannot blame yourself for her death.”

Kama nodded. “I know, but…somehow, I feel I am betraying her memory by…giving myself to the man responsible for her death.” Kama looked at the floor, as she struggled with her words. “I tried to hate Amonmose. But when I finally met him, he did not seem like the monster I’d imagined. He seemed dignified and respectable, even likable. I want you to know, he did not force himself on me. In fact, it was just the opposite. He wooed me.

“I have never met a man with such confidence and charisma. I was drawn to him, and I could not fight my attraction,” Kama confessed. “You must be ashamed of me…”

Mutema brushed her hand over Kama’s hair, soothing away the guilt. “I know what it means to fight your attraction for a man. You never knew this, but Akahmen and I were lovers.” Kama’s eyes widened in shock, and Mutema smiled. “He made me feel like a queen. He understood me. And he loved me. Sometimes, no matter how much a woman’s head denies it, the heart will always tell the truth.

“I would never be ashamed of you, Kama. Just like the fire, your passion is something you cannot control. And it seems the same is true for the Pharaoh. Your beauty caught his eye, so he spared you. I too, feel torn between loathing him and forgiving him.
 
But I am grateful that He risked his life to find me and bring us together.”

Kama was silent for a moment. ”My uncle and my cousin are dead, yet I am still alive as the object of affection for the man who killed them. How can that be right? How can you not be ashamed?”

“Kama, listen to me.” Mutema took Kama’s hands and squeezed them hard. “Wars are fought every day. Women lose husbands, lovers, brothers, fathers, and children in battle all the time. Amonmose cannot bring Akahmen and Satati back from the dead. but I believe he is sincere in his devotion to you. Right now, that is all that matters.

Kama absorbed her mother’s words, and for the next few hours, the two reminisced about their lives before and after the fire. They cried and laughed, then cried some more, until Mutema was too tired to speak and they both agreed to get some sleep.

Amonmose stretched his aching muscles, exhausted but pleased that Mutema was finally here. He hadn’t been sure she would accompany him back to Thebes. Like Kama, she had a fiery vitality and a bold streak of willfulness. Mutema’s obstinacy barely bubbled beneath her polished exterior; Kama wore her emotions more like a banner. That was what had attracted him to her in the first place. If she had been an agreeable maiden, she would never have made such a fuss that night in Aswan, and he would have never noticed her. Never would have had his spirit drawn so far into another. He smiled to himself. It seemed they were perfectly matched.“What makes you smile so?”

Amonmose was so deep in thought he had not heard Kama enter the room. The sight of her made his heart stop. He’d missed her more than he’d ever thought possible. The novelty should have worn off, but each time he saw her, he wanted her as badly as the last.

“Your beauty,” he said simply.

Kama’s eyes wandered the length of his tall frame. “I was thinking the same of you,” she said.

He laughed and shook his head. “A man cannot be described so. It is reserved for women and jewelry.”

Kama shrugged. “When a man has a face such as yours, sun-kissed skin, and a body fashioned by the gods it, there is no other word for him.”

He gave her a smoldering look, his amber eyes darkening. “You flatter me.”

She walked slowly toward him, then leaned over and traced the outline of his mouth with her finger. “It is you who flatters me, Pharaoh. Each time you possess my body and fan the flames of my passion, you flatter me. You have charmed me completely. And I am honored to be the object of your desire.”

Amonmose felt his manhood harden. Kama had never spoken like this. He kissed her hard, stroking her tongue with his. As he lifted her up and swept her into his arms, she gasped, letting her hands linger at the back of his neck as he set her down on the bed.