****Okie dokie, here we are again! Sexual content in this chapter, so you have been warned!!****

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Later that night Charlotte lay back on her blankets and rolled over restlessly, trying to get into a comfortable position. Ardeth had said he would come to her, but she had lain awake for hours and there was no sign of him. She felt ashamed of the fact that her body was longing for his touch, and she wondered what people would think of her if they knew. She really would be labelled a whore, she thought, even in England. Especially in England, she corrected herself and grimaced. She hoped she'd never have to go back there again, especially if she wasn't married. That thought made her frown. Why wouldn't she be married? She and Ardeth would be returning to his village for the ceremony as soon as they had finished here. But some small niggling doubt was lurking in her head, and she had no idea why. Perhaps it was intuition, but if that was so, then something was going to happen to stop the wedding. She sat up abruptly and chewed on her lip. Why was she having these awful thoughts? Hopefully it was just because Ardeth wasn't there with her, she thought.

She gave a startled yelp when a figure suddenly slid into the tent, relaxing when Ardeth got close enough for her to see. "I seem to have made a habit out of startling you," he murmured, pulling his weapons and outer robe off with little effort before he joined her, pulling her to her feet so he could embrace her.

"I thought you weren't coming," she said softly, closing her eyes and breathing deeply when he pulled her tight to him and pressed her against his entire length.

"As if I could stay away. I am late because some of the men started a fight," he explained, nuzzling at her jaw gently, his beard tickling her skin.

"They...they were fighting? Why?" she asked, leaning her head further back as he trailed small kisses down her neck, his tongue flicking out to feel her pulse beating frantically beneath the skin.

"Ah...one of my men, Aslar, was lecturing Khalid on the proper behaviour of one of our people. Khalid took offence," he explained, nipping at her soft skin and eliciting a moan of approval. "You like that, my heart?"

"Mmm," she murmured, unable to say anything else as he nipped at her again, reaching down to lift her gown slowly over her head, his eyes feasting on the flesh he revealed where it gleamed like pearl in the faint light from the moon. He wished he could light a lamp so he could see her in more detail, but it was too risky. Their silhouettes would be drawn clearly on the canvas walls and people would see them, and that was something he would not allow. His hands took the weight of her breasts, and he smiled when she gave a soft whimper at the feel of his strong fingers caressing her so softly. His head bent and he teased one hard peak with soft licks, swirling his tongue around it as it hardened even more, ragged sounds coming from her throat as he showed her mercy and sucked on the velvety flesh. Tremors of pleasure shot through Charlotte and she clutched his shoulders, feeling her legs starting to give way under the tender assault. Ardeth chuckled softly at how easy she was to arouse, and he swept her up in his arms and bent down over the bedroll, placing her on it and then straightening to pull his own clothing off.

Charlotte watched him, awed at how well sculpted his body was. His torso was made up of hard muscles, well defined ridges outlining them, and the dark skin covering them adding an erotic touch. She licked her lips as he moved his hands to his pants, untying them and then letting them drop down his muscular legs. Her eyes went to his groin and she blushed hotly as she looked at what it was he had been using to make her feel so good only that morning. To her eyes he looked monstrously huge and her mouth dropped open.

"Something is wrong, my love?" Ardeth asked, dropping down next to her, totally unashamed in his nudity. He chuckled again when her eyes remained fixed to his arousal and he tilted her face up to him, raising one eyebrow. "You never looked this morning did you?"

She shook her head, swallowing nervously. "Is it...er..."

When she stopped he frowned and dropped a small kiss on her parted lips. "Go ahead."

"Is it normally that big?" she asked, blurting out the question and then blushing again.

Ardeth shook his head and grinned. "I am not fully aroused yet, my love, so it will be getting bigger than that. However, it is not all that large you know."

"It looks huge," she said, dropping her eyes and looking at the thick shaft of flesh resting against his thigh. "How on earth did it fit?"

He laughed. "It is nothing to be scared of, Charlotte. Touch it, and you will see that I go weak," he murmured, taking her hand and licking the palm before moving it down over his stomach and onto his most sensitive area. "Now, curl your hand around me," he instructed, hissing out a soft breath when she did so and his flesh swelled even more. "Explore my body, Charlotte, as I did yours. I am yours now, you must get used to me."
She bit her lip uncertainly, but she couldn't deny that she was tempted, and she tightened her grip a little, her eyes shooting to his face and seeing him clench his teeth. "Did I hurt you?" she asked urgently, loosening her grip again.

"No, it did not hurt," he said, squeezing her fingers around him again so she held him tighter still. "That feels good, my love." He still held her hand and he started a stroking movement, releasing her fingers and urging her to continue, his head going back as he strove for control.

The forbidden feel of touching a man like this stirred Charlotte's senses, and she bent down, kissing his chest and working her way to one nipple where she began nuzzling him with her lips. The sounds he made urged her on and she sucked on him, using her teeth gently as his moans increased. She knew she was pleasing him by the steady pulsing in his hard flesh, and she intensified her stroking, kissing her way down his stomach until she was looking closely at his arousal again. Her eyes widened as she traced her fingers over his erect flesh, and then she moved them over the head, collecting the small bead of fluid there and gazing at it curiously. Before she even thought about her actions she tasted it, licking her fingertip, surprised that it wasn't unpleasant at all.

Ardeth watched her do this and he groaned harshly, making her look at him. "Is it...alright?" she asked.

"You wish to taste me, Charlotte?" he asked, his voice husky. She nodded and bit her lip hard, looking guilty. "There is nothing wrong in wanting to taste me as I have tasted you. If you wish to do so, you may."

"Will you like it?" she asked, still unsure.

"I assure you, my lady, I will love it," he said, chuckling softly as he brushed one hand over her cheek and then gently held the back of her head, guiding her to him when she bent over his erection. He hissed when her tongue flicked out and touched the tip of him, licking tentatively over the hot tight skin that was swollen beyond endurance. He didn't know if he had the strength to continue much longer, but her innocent touch was too much to resist, so he gritted his teeth and screwed his eyes closed.

Charlotte licked at him, feeling the strangely smooth texture of his flesh, the salty flavour filling her mouth and inflaming her senses. Without conscious thought she took him in her mouth and sucked gently on him, using the way he had caressed her before as her guide. The way he started writhing under her ministrations made her realise she was doing something right, and she let her other hand delve lower and cup him in her palm, kneading his sensitive body.

Ardeth wanted nothing more than to continue what she was doing, but he knew he was close to spilling himself and he wanted to be inside her when he did, so he reluctantly pulled her head away. His eyes narrowed as he watched his erect flesh come out of her mouth, and he dragged her up over him, thrusting his tongue into her mouth to kiss her passionately. He let his hands wander down over her hips and pulled her legs wide open so that they settled on either side of his hips, his own aroused flesh leaping up between her thighs. Eager to be sure she was as aroused as him, he ran his fingers down over her buttocks, stroking the smooth skin with increasing pleasure before delving between her legs and seeking the soft petals that hid her from him. Gently stroking his fingertips over her, he opened her up so he could probe inside her sweet body, her tightness engulfing the finger he pushed into her. He moved his finger slowly in and out of that tight warmth, drawing forth her essence and spreading it over the small nub there, rubbing her insistently as she started moaning against his mouth. When he felt her tighten even more he positioned his hard flesh underneath her and pulled her hips down onto him, sinking into her inch by inch and feeling her grip him like a hot, wet glove. She fit him, he thought hazily, while he still could, his eyes closing as intense pleasure shot through him.

Charlotte whimpered as he completed his possession of her, looking slightly startled through the fierce desire she felt. Ardeth smiled at her and stroked her face. "This is different, yes?"

She nodded and bit her lip when he moved his hips sharply upwards, causing spirals of pleasure to skitter across her nerves. "Move on me Charlotte," he said softly, gripping her hips and teaching her how to move to bring them both pleasure. She eagerly complied, following his lead and rocking on top of him, feeling him hit deep inside her with every upstroke, deeper than he had been the night before she was certain. The sense of fullness seemed to intensify the more she moved, and his fingers plucking at her nipples had her moaning in frustration as pleasure seemed to dodge away from her.

Ardeth watched her through slitted eyes, and he could see when it was getting too much for her and she was losing any sort of rhythm, so he grabbed her hips and rolled them over, smiling tenderly down at her when her eyes popped open.

"It is easier this way, my love, when you need more," he whispered, claiming her mouth in a deep kiss as he started thrusting into her hard and fast, his hips snapping forward.

She felt herself stretch almost painfully as he pumped into her in rapid strokes, but it was obviously what she had needed, and she arched up to meet each stroke, whimpering into his mouth. His brows were drawn down in a fierce frown as he worked to bring them both to climax, and a smile of triumph broke out on his face when she went stiff underneath him, her muscles going into violent spasm around his shaft and throwing him over the edge with her. His mouth was still covering hers and he swallowed her cries of fulfilment, groaning harshly along with her while his body shuddered and his release washed inside her in a wave. He managed to weakly roll them again so she was laying on top of him and then he released her lips, breathing unevenly as he stared up into her flushed face. "I believe this will get better every time we do it," he said, smiling wickedly at her deepening blush. "I have never known such pleasure, my lady."

"Really?" she asked, her voice husky and shaking slightly with the diminishing tremors still running through her.

"Really," he assured her, stroking her face and smiling. "Let me rest a while, and we shall do that again."

"Again? But...well surely you're...er..." she stammered, groaning in embarrassment and hiding her face against his shoulder.

Ardeth chuckled and ran his hands over her smooth back, tracing her soft skin. "I am not satisfied yet, my love. I would be happy to do this until dawn painted the sky, but I must leave before then. However, there is still time," he murmured, nuzzling her neck and smiling as his body started to quicken again.

Charlotte gasped as she felt him and would have spoken, but he took her mouth again and rolled her beneath him, wiping all thoughts from her mind with the first thrust of his once again aroused body.

*****

Grayson stood in his tent, a small lantern lighting up the three bracelets that he had laid out in front of him. He knelt there and smiled. If only his ancestor could see that the plan he had formed so many centuries ago was now coming to fruition. He took a small knife from his pocket and unfolded the blade, running it swiftly over the pad of his thumb so that the skin split open and blood started to drip steadily from the cut. Dropping the knife, he pressed his thumb on the inside of each bracelet, making sure that a good amount of blood touched the silver, before sitting back and watching carefully. As it had been written, his blood seemed to boil on the delicate metal and then spread with alarming speed over the inner surface until a thin red skin was formed over all the writings. He continued watching as the blood slowly seemed to disappear and then he picked one of the bracelets up, looking carefully at the inside and smiling with amazement. The prophecy had been correct, and the ancient blood that ran through his veins had revealed the displacement spell that had been hidden for thousands of years. Imhotep could now be raised from the dead with no need of a journey to Ahm Shere.

Grayson knew basically what Imhotep looked like from Evy's descriptions, and he knew that over the centuries the family resemblance had changed completely, but he wondered if the priest would know him as his own blood. He couldn't wait to find out.

*****Dan, Dan, Daaaaaaaan! What will happen next? Will the professor do something bad? When will I post again? Ahh, all these unanswered questions!!! LOL. Hope you enjoyed it so far and I'll try and update soon!*****