She sighed as she realized her life was now inextricably entwined with that of the man holding her."Tough question Kyle, but only one honest answer." She raised her head off his chest and looked at him,pulling back a little in order to focus on his emerald eyes. "My life is where you are now. Like it or not, you"re stuck with me. If you stay, I stay. If you go, I go. We"re a "we" and I can"t imagine not being withyou."Kyle"s eyes flickered as his emotions got the better of him and he swallowed."Right answer, babe." He hugged her close. "It may be dangerous, though, Annie. And the thought of risking your life for one of my c.o.c.keyed science experiments scares me. Especially when we could stay
here and be happy little Priests and Priestesses."Annie grinned. "Right. And people could worship us for the rest of our lives. Some folks would call usidiots for even thinking of leaving."
She snuggled back down into Kyle"s arms."But? I sense a but at the end of that statement.""But," answered Annie. "I miss stuff. I miss my microwave and my coffee. I miss my bra.""I don"t," said Kyle gently cupping her breast."Uh-well, that"s a little different, and not quite what I meant. I was talking more about what it represents. This has been the most incredible experience of my life, being here with you and actually living in Ancient Sumer. If we had to stay, it would be okay because I have you and we"d be together. But if there"s a chance for us to go home, back to our own time where we...where we fit, then I think we should take it. Besides, I miss my shower and G.o.d knows I"d miss my gynecologist if I were to get pregnant."
"The medical situation worries me too. Far too many women die in childbirth here, and I"m not going to allow that."
Annie chuckled to herself at the Mr. Proud Father-to-be att.i.tude that Kyle was exhibiting. She didn"t even know if she was pregnant yet, and he was talking like it was a done deal. She loved it.
"Kyle, we"ve got to try to go home."She could feel Kyle"s shoulder shake as he nodded his agreement."Yep. We have to. I"m just about finished with all my preparations, I"ve even rigged up a little generator in case there are no storms handy, although I"m still trying to find a good reason for it.""Pardon?""How do you explain to three Priests of the Sun G.o.d in Ancient Sumer that you want them to sit on a strange device and pedal their legs as fast as they can while a linked wheel rotates in front of them?""Ah. I see your difficulty.""I knew you would."Annie yawned, jawbones cracking with the effort. "You"ll figure it out, Kyle. You"re one smart dude.
That"s why I love you..." Her voice trailed away as her eyelids drooped and her head grew heavy
against Kyle.
She barely registered the touch of his lips on her head, and completely missed the gentle stroke of his hands over her soft skin.
She also missed the look of worry that plagued his face until he, too, fell asleep.
The day of the New Year"s Festival dawned bl.u.s.tery and bright, and clouds dotted the brilliant sky. Nothing looked ominous enough to produce a thunderstorm, but there was always hope, and Annie refused to worry about it. Heaven knew she had enough other things to worry about.
There was, of course, the question of what to wear. It wasn"t a case of turning on the radio before going to her closet so that she"d know whether to pick warm or cold, nor did she have to worry about the fat end of the closet or the thin end. Here, it was pretty much "one size fits all Sumerians".
But because this was such a special day, sort of like Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and Valentine"s Day all rolled into one, the robes had to be extra special.
Fortunately, Enshilla was well prepared, and presented herself at Annie"s door with a retinue of handmaidens ready to do their best.
The light mutter of female voices echoed through the ziggurat as the town of Kushuk busied itself putting on its best clothes to honor its G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses. There would be ceremonies throughout the town at the different temples, Annie was told, and the day would climax at sunset with her and Kyle together on the balcony.
Annie snorted at the innocent pun.
Then there would be celebrations, dancing and feasting to finish the observances, and the next day would be back to normal. Annie rather doubted that, given the strength of the beer she"d recently sampled.
Probably be a lot of embarra.s.sed faces too, she thought, given these charming people"s propensity for jumping into the sack with each other at the drop of a hat. Or skirt. Or anything at all.
As she allowed the women to slip an elegant midnight blue robe around her body, Annie pondered the s.e.xual habits of her new-found friends. She realized she"d miss the easy sensuality that pervaded this society.
Even though she"d joked with Kyle about missing her bra, part of her knew she"d be d.a.m.ned uncomfortable slipping back into all the clothes the twenty-first century required. Her handmaidens chatted blithely about the men they hoped to enjoy in the ceremonies later-apparently much symbolic mating would be taking place.
"Enshilla?"
"Annilin. How may I help?"
"I have a question. How is it that with all this-er-activity going on, the Priestesses don"t find themselves with child more often?"
"Oh some do. It is considered an honor to father a child on a Priestess. But many do not wish to carry a child at that time, so they offer a less productive opportunity to their partners in the ceremony."
Annie puzzled this over for a moment.
"You know," whispered Enshilla bending close to Annie"s ear. "What your Lord Kyall would call "up the
a.s.s"."Annie"s shocked laughter spurted out of her and made two servants jump."Enshilla!" she sputtered, coughing and laughing at the same time. "Wherever did you hear that? No, wait, don"t tell me. I bet it was Ron."Enshilla looked self-conscious."You mean the Priestesses, they let their men do...do...that?""Oh yes, Annilin. Is it not so where you come from?""Well, I, uh...""Perhaps that is something we could teach you?" Enshilla looked at Annie, all innocent eyes and batting eyelashes."Yeah, yeah. Payback is sweet, isn"t it, Enshilla?"Enshilla"s mouth curved in a smirk. "Well, one good f.u.c.k deserves another, Annilin."Both women looked at each other and burst out laughing.A handmaiden tsk"ed her tongue at Annie as she moved at a critical moment and the large golden collar went slightly awry.
Annie apologized and returned her attention to the process of garbing herself for her big day.
Her robes, midnight blue as became the representative of the Moon G.o.ddess, were spangled with tiny
gold beads that glittered with every move. The skirt hung low on her slim hips, swaying in silk folds around her legs as she walked. A longer piece of blue silk was draped over one shoulder and across her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Apparently this day was solemn enough to require some sort of modesty. Of course, only one breast was actually covered, the other was arranged over the fabric and the nipple lightly rouged.
Annie sighed. She was getting far too used to being handled like this. She"d become a celestial s.l.u.t who thought nothing of allowing her nipples to be tinted. G.o.d, where was the shining star of Miss Prittikin"s seventh grade English cla.s.s now? The little girl who wouldn"t say "d.a.m.n" in her report on "Gone With The Wind"? When had she become Scarlett and said goodbye to Melanie Wilkes? And why didn"t she feel bad about it?
Her hair was being brushed as she lost herself in her thoughts, and she was pulled back by a sharp tug as one portion near her face was braided. Hanging golden ornaments were woven into the lock and the effect was quite spectacular.
Gazing into the hammered metal that pa.s.sed as a mirror, Annie thought she looked rather like a p.o.r.nographic version of a Greco-roman hippie. Or something. Whatever it was, it was rather cool. She hoped Kyle would like it.
Enshilla clapped her hands and the women left.
"It is time, Annilin. First you will be introduced to Lord Kyall as his mate, words will be said over you, blessing your union, and then you will be taken to oversee the various ceremonies at the temples. The Moon G.o.ddess ceremony will be the last prior to returning here for your own ritual."
"Got it." Annie felt a shiver of apprehension as she realized this might be her last day in Kushuk. h.e.l.l, it might be her last day on Earth, but she wasn"t going to think about that. If she did, she"d go running off and jump straight into the Euphrates river, screaming loudly. Not a good way to celebrate the New Year.
Squaring her shoulders, she raised her chin and followed Enshilla from the chamber to the central hall of the ziggurat. She was ready to meet her mate.
Her mate was nervous. In fact, to use a twenty-first century expression, he was scared s.h.i.tless.
For the umpteenth time, Kyle"s mind went over his experimental configuration that awaited them in the room off the balcony. He had covered every possibility he thought, and had promised blessings and rewards to the servants who even now were looking rather puzzled by the contraptions awaiting them. Bicycles were a long way into the future, and Kyle prayed he wasn"t seriously interfering with any kind of time line by creating a little pseudo-generator-c.u.m-tandem in a Sumerian ziggurat.
He sighed. He couldn"t do any more.
A rustle of silks distracted him and he realized that Annie was here. His heart leapt as he saw her enter the large chamber. So did his c.o.c.k.
One breast was revealed, the nipple a warm pink against the whiteness of her skin and the dark blue of her robe. He couldn"t help himself. He got hard. He doubted that the sight of her body would ever not get him hard.
He"d much rather take her off into some private chamber somewhere and spend the day making her scream. He knew just how to do it, too. A touch here, a kiss and a lick there, and she turned into thrashing velvet beneath his body.
He groaned, and was rewarded by a frown from Ronnil.
Annie"s eyes met his and he knew, instinctively, that she shared his feelings. Kyle offered up a little prayer to whatever G.o.d was watching over them at this moment that they"d be able to make it through this long day safely. And without embarra.s.sing themselves unduly. He added that just in case.
In case his overwhelming urge to sink his c.o.c.k into his High Priestess should win out over his common sense.
He cleared his throat, answered the words of welcome and the ceremonies began.
They were somber and respectful during this phase of the day, with Ronnil and Enshilla standing by their respective friends as the blessing of the G.o.ds was invoked upon Annie and Kyle.
Priests and priestesses lined up to offer words, flowers, and other ritualistic pledges to the bringers of life and fertility.
Annie and Kyle were told to hold out their arms and clasp their hands across the gilded altar, which stood alone in the center of the ziggurat"s main chamber.As they did so, servants removed Annie"s collar and Kyle"s necklace and interchanged them. Annie looked much more comfortable wearing the lighter chain piece that Kyle had been given that morning,and Annie"s heavy beaten gold collar settled perfectly onto Kyle"s tanned chest.With this exchange, the ceremony was concluded."Congratulations, my Lord, my Lady." Ronnil and Enshilla bowed to both of them. "You are now wed according to the customs of our land. May your union be fruitful and blessed by the G.o.ds. May you live many long and happy years and may your union be fertile and productive. May you share that joy with your people of Kushuk."
Ronnil finished his speech with a grin at Kyle who was looking a bit stunned. His eyes met Annie"s acrossthe altar."Did you know?" he whispered.
She shook her head, eyes as wide as his. "Not a clue."Kyle"s lips twitched. "Does it matter? We were going to do this anyway. Now we don"t have to book achurch."
Annie bit her lip as she tried to suppress a bubble of laughter and tightened her fingers around his. "I don"
t mind at all. As long as it"s legal, I"m just fine with it." Her grin widened. "Husband."Kyle"s green eyes narrowed and he felt a shiver from his loins to his throat. She was his. All his. Fromthis day forward. And all that other good stuff. "Good thing too, wife. Because I"m not letting you go.What Sumer has joined together, no man will ever put asunder."
Violet eyes met green ones and a silent pledge was exchanged.
"We"ll have a wonderful wedding night, Annie. I promise." His grip was turning her knuckles white, buthe needed her to understand that he meant every word he said."I know, Kyle. I know." She returned his clasp with one of her own and the vow was made.Chapter 18 The first stop for the newlywed couple was the Temple of the Earth G.o.d.
Annie soon realized he was going to live up to his name.
Boldly masculine in design, the temple was solid, rather plain, and staffed by priests who obviously worked long and hard tending the Earth which belonged to their G.o.d. Various kinds of grains and fruits were displayed and offered to guests, and Annie and Kyle found themselves seated on large bundles of hay, which had been decorated to resemble makeshift thrones.
Annie was reminded of a harvest festival she"d attended as a child, and was about to mention it to Kyle when a drum roll announced the arrival of the Earth G.o.d and his minions.
The High Priest representing Earth G.o.d was preceded by at least twenty splendid men.
Annie"s jaw dropped. This was Chippendale"s on a Sumerian scale. No g-strings.
Instead, the priests wore a belt to which was attached a variety of produce. Fortunately bananas would
be in another time and another place. Annie"s eyes grew large as she noticed the bunches of datesswinging either side of the bunches of...other things.Delightfully solid buns were revealed as little sheaves of wheat swayed from side to side in time with the drums.
The High Priest himself was the most magnificent of the lot. His chest was oiled and gleamed in the sunshine streaming into the huge chamber. His brown hair was long and wavy and his grin infectious.
He gazed soulfully at Annie as he plucked a grape from a bunch strung perilously near his b.a.l.l.s and
offered it to her.
She accepted it politely. He smiled and waited. Kyle smirked, obviously thinking she would be horrifiedwhen she found out she was supposed to eat it.Enshilla leaned forward and whispered in Annie"s ear.Annie grinned and nodded. She leaned over to Kyle and said in a loud voice, "For you, my husband."
She held out her hand and offered him the grape.
Applause thundered around the chamber at her gesture and the Earth G.o.d grinned from ear to ear.
Kyle gulped.
Annie smirked at him.
Kyle ate the grape, staring all the while into her violet eyes and promising himself retribution at the earliest
opportunity.
Meanwhile, the other priests were preparing themselves. This meant shedding their flora and fauna, and when Annie turned back to look, two dozen magnificent nude male bodies were facing her.
She thought it inappropriate for a just-married woman to drool, but she was d.a.m.ned close.
Another roll on the drums and a matching number of maidens entered. Well, they probably weren"t
maidens, but Annie found herself thinking of them as such. Especially when they began dancing around the naked priests in a rather lascivious fashion. They each carried a pottery container, highly decorated with gold.
The High Priest, still wearing his own regalia, began the commentary.