let him feel it, know that she knew he still held it. But there was no bitterness within her, just a quiet acceptance of his character flaw.
With that knowledge of her gentle acceptance came power. He would never cross the line to break her heart again. What could he do with this off-the-hook woman but love her? She was such a gift, and he'd almost thrown it away. His hands trembled as he held her face as though it were made of fragile glass.
"Let me heal my wounded lover tonight," she whispered, rubbing her palms over his hands until they burned. "Let me show you some things that the old queens taught me... just for you, my king."
Carlos closed his eyes, almost unable to bear the sensations her voice produced as it murmured the truth. It bound his heart to hers, just as Ausar promised it would, removed all worry from his gizzard, and fed him with confidence. In six levels' deep, he was supposed to be aligning her chakras to his tonight, but for the life of him, he was in silver bondage to hers. The last pulsing one she owned outright.
She gently withdrew from him and pushed him to rest back on his elbows. Then she stood without effort and picked up the Caduceus. "I can probably only do this once. I was saving this just to heal you. After it goes back to the queens, I don't know."
Damali smiled and gazed at him tenderly. "I love you, baby." He didn't need to know that some of Nefertiti's techniques would be with her forever, or that they were taught in an avatar seduction class. He didn't need to burden his mind trying to figure out what was taught by the queens, or how much of their private business she'd told them, or they'd learned, or even worry that what she was about to do was taught in part by his competitor.
While truthfully it was a combination of all of the above and she'd learned a few more things being out in the world, the important fact was she was saving that knowledge for him.
Tears filled her eyes as she looked at him, realizing just how much she loved him, and how close she'd come to losing such a gift. That was why he never needed to question the new things she was about to show him... things he hadn't taught her... and then attribute all that exquisite knowledge to another man. Cain didn't own it, she did. What he really didn't need to know was the mystical Caduceus also contained the magic of male ego placebo. She thrust it into the sand and let it form a gentle golden light beneath him.
"I love you," she whispered again. "Trust me and relax."
"I love you, too."
Warmth penetrated his Light-encircled body as he watched Damali move a few feet away. She had danced for him before, but her sultry Egyptian eyes had never held such serene authority. Moon and surf was her backdrop. This woman was in control. The steady sound of the waves lapping the shoreline was like distant instruments as she began to sing. She'd sung to him before, too, but never like this. Midnight-blue heavens framed her while she moved and swayed as though water itself, dropping a scarf at each stanza until it was hard for him to breathe.
A small golden scarab ring that he'd never seen her wear caught his eye as her hands passed her beautiful face. For a fleeting moment he wondered if it had been a gift from Cain, then banished the thought with complete trust. It had to be an amulet, he knew his baby better than that. But she also wore a new scent... something incredible that he'd never smelled on her. The hint of her signature ripening was threaded all through it and wafted toward him as she danced.
He'd been so upset, he hadn't really processed it all before... and Cain hadn't been able to take her when she was wearing that?
Soon where she had been or what she might have done peeled away from him with each dropped veil. Whatever she was doing was healing more than his soul or mending his heart. She'd put the shield of Heru around his ego and given him an erection made of steel. When she dropped the last scarf and he saw her tattoo, it no longer mattered. "You went in there like that for me . . ."
"This is all yours,"