Mac Tire � Son of the EarthPart 7 - ...And A Time to Love"Ah hashkeh!" Dom murmured again, against Lij's neck. "Come!" They moved to the bed in the shelter of each other's arms, unwilling to let go. As they sank into the warm depth of the furs, Dom shivered; but not from cold. Dom had longed for this - for the taste, the smell, the touch of his love. Every sense was heightened with desire. Lij stared at Dom's face in fascination. There was no longer any grey in his eyes, they were deepest black. Dom laid his mouth gently on Lij's lips, brushing, tasting, longing. Then he kissed him. The spark ignited into a flame. Lij threw his arms around Dom's neck, and Dom pressed his body against his mate. Lij was muttering something in a language Dom did not understand. "Ah, gods of my mother!" he cried as Lij's nimble fingers reached for a nipple and squeezed it hard through the thin fabric of Dom's robe. "Not yet! Let me..." Dom did not want to rush. He had waited for this, but it looked - and felt - as if it would all be over in a minute. His feelings threatened to drown him. He rapidly threw off his robe and pressed his naked body against Lij's trembling form. Lij moaned as Dom's soft hands caressed his back. "Too much! Dom! I...please..." Dom continued to drop small bird like kisses onto those lips. "Just...just feel me...touch..." Dom's fingers ran down Lij's flank into his groin, and he pressed himself into the hand, needing...wanting...more. "Dom!" softly, into his spouse's neck. "Take me now - I cannot wait." Dom reached down between their bodies, and found Lij open to him. Growling like a caged tiger he pushed himself in, while Lij keened into the air, grasping Dom's shoulders in a vice-like grip. "More! Faster, Dom. More!" Dom's lips were wet with expectation and desire. He pushed his tongue into Lij's mouth, and sighed at the taste and heat of his love. It was too much. Careless of who might be listening through the thin cover of oxhide over the door frame, they cried their joy into the darkling night. Dom was careful of Lij's injured chest, and laid himself down with his head on his lover's shoulder. They were both till trembling from the depth of their passion, and the need which even now, was not quite satisfied. But after such period of abstinence neither man had expected more than a few moments of delight. "Lij - I...I still..." Dom whispered into the dark. "And I, Dom. We are greedy are we not, to need so much of each other? I want...when we have...I must...I wish to..." "And I need you in me, my love. I have been thinking of nothing else for weeks." Dom brushed the hair from Lij's face, and kissed him tenderly. Lij smiled, hooking his leg over Dom's heedless of the fact it was his injured one. Dom felt nothing except complete happiness. He was with Lij, and that was all that mattered now. They lay for a while in each others arms. Lij shifted his body to align himself perfectly with Dom, and they soon drifted off to sleep. *** Lij was walking through the passages of a stone building. The floors were flagged with the same grey stone and the walls were lit by torches placed along its length. He turned left into a large room. There was a fur covered bed in it, and an odd life-size statue of a woman carved in wood. Big of breasts and belly, she stood, defiantly staring at him. Then, from a shadow in the corner a figure emerged that froze his blood. It was Anubis, Guardian of the Dead. Jackal headed with a human form, he was dressed in a while kilt and gold brushed sandals much like those Lij wore at home. His skin was as black as polished ebony. He stood in front of Lij and bared his teeth, whether in a scowl or a smile, Lij could not tell. "Egypt! Thou art welcome here, Son of the Sun - here, where there is no sun. Here shalt thou light up the dark places, and the creatures that dwell therein shall bask in thy glory. Here shalt thou find both sorrow and joy. Beware the serpent. It seeks thy warmth and life as thou seekest the sun. It is jealous of thy radiance. Defeat it and thy joy shall be greater than thy sorrow. Thy heart will be cleft, but it will mend again, and thou shalt be rewarded for thy sacrifice. These things are cut out of time - there is no order in them. Beware of the serpent, Egypt. I have spoken!" The form retreated. "But what of my children? What of them?" Lij cried urgently as the creature melted into the shadows. "What of my land...my kingdom? What of...?" Out of the darkness came a feral laugh that nearly stopped his heart. "All is well, here, Little Father. What will be has already happened. Time is as nothing to me. It is too late to busy thyself over these things. Thy children love thee, and thy kingdom is safe. Concern thyself about those around thee, not those who wait for thee. Farewell, Egypt." Suddenly a scream rent the night. Lij woke shivering, to find his throat was sore. The scream had been his. Dom sat up and reached for him, drawing him into his arms. "A night terror, Lij? Was it...?" Lij nodded, too terrified to speak. Then the dream receded. "It is always he, Dom, when I..." Dom tucked Lij's head under his chin and kissed the dark hair gently. "Tell me." In a halting voice, Lij began, but stopped as Ayveen came rushing through the doorway. "Are you well? My guard heard..." "Guard?" Dom interrupted, lifting his chin. She had the grace to blush. "The village guard was passing the doorway when he heard a loud scream. He came for me. I thought one of you was hurt..." She broke off, embarrassed, and looked away from the bed. "I am sorry to have disturbed your rest. I shall leave you in peace. Are you well, Lij?" she asked, quietly, noting his pallor. "I am well, thank you. It was a night terror; nothing more. I ...we...are grateful for your concern." She smiled at him. The colour was coming back into his cheeks, and Dom was holding him. There would be more love before the night was out, she was sure. Walking over to the stool, she picked up the phial of oil that was lying forgotten on the flagstones, and placed it nearer the bed. "Goodnight, my dears." She left without another word. Dom continued to hold Lij, smoothing his hand over his cooling skin, bared to the night air. They talked softly, Lij relating his dream, and Dom trying to understand it. "The stone place might be Tara. That is a large building with many twisting corridors. But I have never seen the carved statue - and what - or who - is the serpent? Sowrawn?" Lij shook his head and stood up. "It is a mystery that will unravel itself in time. Brooding over it is profitless. Let us not think of it, now. There are far more pleasant things to ponder on, and to do." He retrieved the oil, and the damp towel, winking at Dom. Dom laughed. "Very true, a stor! I own I have been thinking of little else since you woke me. And, although I blush to say it, parts of me must have been awake and willing even before that!" Dom lowered the furs and woollen blankets to show he was hard and eager beneath the coverings. Lij knelt at his side and wiped the dried semen off his spouse's body with the damp cloth, and then wiped his own. Then he knelt astride Dom, staring rapt into his face. "When the wave came through the bulkhead and swept me out into the storm, I had two regrets, Dom - I would never see you or my children again in this life." Lij leant forward and kissed Dom, winding his small fingers through the thickness of his fair hair. Dom did not ask - though he wanted to very much - which Lij had thought of first. "And I, love. Lij, I..." Lij's mouth descended again, and Dom was silenced. Lij's erection pressed hard and damp into the flesh of Dom's belly, and Dom yearned for Lij to take him, to pound into him, to own him. He was Lij's - completely and utterly. "Lij, I want you so much, so..." Lij smiled and bit a nipple. Dom's nipples were very sensitive. He had come to climax from Lij just sucking on them. "Lij, no. You know I...no!" Lij laughed and relinquished his prize. H moved down Dom's body, nipping and kissing as he went, and when he reached his goal, he licked the heavy sac, teasing the balls within with the tip of his tongue, then sucked them into his mouth. Dom groaned. "Have pity, Lij. Oh, gods of my mother..." as Lij gently released Dom and moved his mouth further back, teasingly licking Dom's opening. Dom was boneless with desire, and Lij, tasting all the familiar secret places of his lover's body, made the high pitched keening sound deep in his throat that never failed to excite Dom even more. "Do not, Lij, or I will come!" Dom gasped as Lij's mouth moved upon him until once again he lightly touched Dom's hardness. Lij just buried his face in Dom's groin, breathing in his essence, and kissing him gently. Dom's hands on Lij were soft and light, and Lij revelled in their touch. He reached for the phial, and pulling the stopper out with his teeth, not wanting to move, poured some into the palm of his hand. Instantly the place was suffused with the scent of home - exotic warm and spicy. Lij groaned. "Oh, my Dom! I need you now. I want to be inside your body - feel its warmth." Dom sighed, and said just one word. "Yes!" He placed his arms out to the sides of his body, and brought his knees up in surrender, opening and offering up himself to Lij's desire. Lij moved swiftly, his hands on his own body a blur. Quickly pressing his oil covered finger into Dom's heat he whimpered in his need to be united with his man. Dom's knees collapsed outward. His skin in the flickering light of the fire was as red as blood. His eyes like cobalt, sparkling with love. He looked up at Lij, his eyes huge and dark, his lips wet, and fell, again. Lij thrust himself, not ungently but firmly inside Dom, who received him with a groan of acceptance that threatened to send Lij spiralling into the void far too quickly. "Shush, my life! I...oh, Isis! Dom!" Li panted as Dom's arms embraced him, and his legs wound around Lij's slender waist drawing him further in. "Do not try...to be gentle, Lij. I need to feel..." Lij knew, as he drove himself into Dom's slick heat that this would be impossible, in any case. Every muscle and fibre was trembling with urgency, but Lij controlled it. He angled his body as he knew Dom 's needs better than he knew his own, and set up a rhythm that had Dom sighing, then weeping with ecstasy. They cared nothing for the guard outside the door. Let him hear! Dom's body was unravelling itself to the movements of Lij's body inside him. Lij, keeping himself in check by sheer willpower alone watched Dom's face as the grimace of almost-pain, changed into the softer lines of joy. Dom looked up and as the last few thrusts tumbled him over the edge, was lost in the intensity of feeling in the eyes of his beloved. Lij, joining his love in completion, felt his feelings overwhelm him. �My love,� he whispered into the night. They lay there, trembling, kissing, smiling, murmuring words of love to each other until they fell asleep. It was not until a considerable time had passed that the guard peeked through the curtained door at the sleeping men. There was, upon his face, a look that even the most discerning person would have found it difficult to interpret. *** They awoke before light. The place was dark, the fire having died down to a gentle glow. Dom rose and after wetting the towel and dabbing at himself with it, dressed and went outside to the barrel outside the door, for fresh water. There was no one there that he could see, except a man walking towards him from the other side of the compound, so Dom filled the cauldron, and was about to go inside when the man spoke quietly across the short distance separating them. "Will you be requiring any herbal drink, now, either of you? Are you still in pain?" Dom watched the man approach him. He was tall and well built, with a shock of red hair plaited loosely and tied with a hide thong. His face which seemed friendly was decorated with a blue patterned strip that reached across his nose and onto his cheeks, finishing just short of his ears. Dom recognised the tattoo immediately. "No, I thank you. We are both much recovered. We will break our fast with the food left from yesterday, and try to find something useful we can do for you to thank you for your kindness to us." The man indicated that Dom go back inside, and followed him in. "Ayveen has sent fresh foods for you", he smiled, offering Dom the basket he was carrying. Lij turned in his nest, and waking, looked at Dom and the stranger with a sleepy smile. "Good morning to you!" the man said heartily. "I bring your morning meal. Fresh bread and butter, and some sliced meats and dried fruits. There is not much fruit about here in the winter season, but you''d know that", he said, turning to Dom, still smiling. "My name is Cassawn, and I am the chief hunter of this vill." Dom nodded his response to the man's given name. "I am Dom, and this is my...this is Lij." The man smiled at Lij and nodded. "You are a bound couple?" he asked, picking an apple out of the basket by the fire and biting into it heartily. Lij looked puzzled at the term, but Dom answered, proudly, "We are, Cassawn. These many years." Cassawn sat, uninvited on one of the stools, as Lij went to rise from the bed, but remembered in time last night's loving, and the marks and stains that would be left on his body. He stayed where he was. Their visitor seemed unaware of any need to depart and leave the men in peace. "Many years?" he chortled, staring at Lij with a knowing twinkle in his eye that Dom, for one, did not care for overmuch. "He does not look old enough for that. Was he ten when you married?" Lij's chin went up, and the look caused the man's smile to falter and him to offer a quick apology. "I am sorry. I did not think before I spoke. You will excuse me, I have duties to perform." The man left hurriedly, and Lij threw back the bedding, a scowl on his usually serene features. "Ten, indeed! Do I look so young then, Dom? Do I?" Dom's shoulders were shaking. Lij stared at him - he was laughing. "Oh, Lij, my Lij! Your face!" Dom hiccupped, sitting quickly on the stool so recently vacated. "Of course you do not, my heart. It is just" - here the smile left Dom's face to be replaced by a loving look - "it is just that you are so very beautiful, my Lij. No one could guess your age by just looking at you. You are unmarked by the passage of time, whereas I..." Lij had finished dressing and came over to here Dom sat, his boots in his hand. He sat on the other stool, pulling them on. "Whereas you, mo hraw avain, are more lovely to my eyes than the cala lily." Dom smiled at him. " It is well known that love is blind. For I am not a handsome man, and..." Lij stared at him in astonishment. "And who dares say so? You are to me all I could desire....except for a meal, for which I hunger. My other desires having been satisfied, for the time being." Lij ran his hand down Dom's arm, as was his habit when greatly moved, and pulled forward the basket. Dom wondered whether to tell Lij what he knew of Cassawn, and of the still untold news Dom had brought from Egypt. He decided there would be plenty of time for discussions of this nature - now, they needed good food, and a warm drink. Dom poured the mead and extra honey into the beakers topping it up with hot water. They unpacked the basket, and ate their meal in companionable silence. ** Ayveen stood as Cassawn entered the hut where she had spent the night. "Did you find out anything? Why they are here - where they are going? Anything?" The man walked to the fire and spat into it. Picking up an oat cake he bit into it, viciously, and grinned at her. "No, lady, but I will. Oh, I will. And more also, than they know they have revealed to me. You may depend upon it!" |