Sunset on the Nile

Ian was amazed as he tasted the bread, he found similar in taste and texture to the bread that the local people baked in the village near the excavation site.

"What do you do here?" Ian looked at Khepri as they walked.

She gave him a quizzical look.

Ian thought for a moment. "Do you work? Do you have an occupation or a trade? That sort of thing."

Khepri smiled at Ian. "Well no, I am not expected to work. It would cause my father embarrassment for me to work. He is an architect to the King. I serve in the Temple of Anuket and it is considered an honor for me, and for my family."

"What is the name of your King?" Ian was curious. He had an idea who it might be.

She smiled. "Khafre, son of, Khufu, is the current king."

They had strolled through the bazaar and had come to a large plaza where musicians were playing at one end. Long low benches lined the plaza for people to sit. Ian found the music exotic.

Khepri got up, looking at Ian. "Wait here, I'll return shortly."

Ian studied the people around him. He saw a group of women who were obviously wearing wigs. Each had a small cone of a fragrant material in the center of their wigs. He had seen depictions similar in some of the pictures of frescoes that he had studied in school. As they passed, he could smell the fragrances. Most were unfamiliar, but pleasing.

Ian stood up as Khepri returned carrying two mugs. She handed Ian one. "Some refreshments."

Ian took a sip. It was a type of beer he surmised. Not quite what was served at the pub near the museum in London. He found it cool and refreshing with a pleasant taste.

A group of dancers began to dance in the center of the plaza. They appeared to be young girls and wore what looked to Ian like a long skirt that was loose and open almost to the hip on one side. A necklace made of beads was all that covered their breasts.

As Ian watched with interest, Khepri leaned over and whispered, "These girls are from my temple. This is a dance to honor Anuket and the Nile."

"Fascinating," Ian replied. He was almost overwhelmed when he thought that he might be witnessing things that hadn't been seen in close to five thousand years.

"It is time for you to go back," Khepri whispered to Ian.

"Go back?" Ian was confused.

"I don't know how to explain it to you. Your body is back in your bed, but you are here with me. It is time for me to get you back to your body. Ra will be reborn in your world shortly and it will be time for you to rise."

The scene of the town began to fade and it seemed that there was nothing around Ian and Khepri. He put his arms around her. "Will I see you again?"

She cast her eyes downward. "I find that I cannot stay away from you, anymore. The first few times, I came because you called to me. Now, I come because I want to see you."

Ian put his arms around Khepri and held her tightly. "Good, I am glad. I want to see you, too.

He was about to tell her that he loved her when he awoke. Ian lay in his bed remembering everything that had happened.

---

The days flowed together as the dig progressed. There were steps leading down on all four sides of the center structure. A doorway was found but was blocked with sand and mud. No attempt had been made to begin to excavate the doorway yet. Dr. Somerset thought that the exterior excavation should be finished first. At the corners of each top step, a deep hole about eight inches in diameter was found.

The columns on both sides of the door had hieroglyphics depicting the god Khepri pushing the Sun God Ra across the sky. According to Halliday, who was the expert on hieroglyphs in the group, the writing proclaimed that this was the home of Khepri and for all to pay homage to him.

Dinnertime was now an event to look forward to. Baruti's wife prepared meals that were as delicious as they were exotic. More that once, condolences were made to Baruti's children in jest. They wondered if Baruti's children were now living on a diet of lamb and rice, or kabobs.

Ian paused in his work and gazed at the temple. It didn't look very impressive, the building in the middle was a perfect cube, fifteen feet high, by fifteen feet wide, and fifteen feet long. Ten steps on all four sides descended downwards to a small plaza

The dreams continued nightly. Some were erotic, while others weren't. Ian was smitten with Khepri's beauty and grace. She was unlike any woman he had ever met before in his life. He no longer had to call to her for her to come to him in his dreams. She was there as soon as he fell asleep at night and stayed with him until the morning. Ian still caught glimpses of her near twilight, and few times he had gotten within a few feet from her before she vanished from his sight. Several times Ian was able to hold himself in the sleep state in the morning long enough to wrap his arms around her and kiss her and whisper his love to her.

Today was a special day. This was the day that they were going to begin to excavate the entrance. The consensus of opinion was that at some time, or times in the past the Nile had flooded had left the temple full of sand and silt. The temple was probably abandoned after one such catastrophic flood.

They had erected a scaffold across the entry way and had begun to dig their way in. As each day passed, they moved further and further into the small building. Three days into their excavation, the beginning of stairs moving downwards was discovered.

When the building was finally cleared of all debris Ian was put in charge of clearing the last of the sand and dried mud from the walls. He used a very fine-pointed tool and a soft brush to clean off the wall. There was much excitement when Ian discovered that parts of the original wall were still intact.

Ian's heart pounded the first time his brush revealed a piece of the original painted plaster. He gazed with amazement for the longest time at the hieroglyphics in front of him. In his mind, he was thinking of Khepri, and how some craftsman in her time had meticulously painted these symbols. Ian wondered what the man was like. What had he been thinking when he painted this portion? Was his mind on his wife or girlfriend?

Halliday poked his head through the doorway of the temple. "Ian, Dr. Halliday, wants everyone up at the camp for a meeting."

Ian looked down from his ladder at Halliday. "Right! Say Halliday, step on up and take a look."

After Ian had stepped off the ladder, Halliday climbed and looked at what Ian had uncovered. His eyes widened in amazement. "I say, Ian, good show! That's bloody marvelous!"

Once everyone was seated at the table, Dr. Somerset stood up. "Gentlemen, as you are aware, we have made a major discovery. I understand we made the front page of the Times a few days ago. I sent a cable to the museum detailing what we had uncovered."

Dr. Somerset paused and held up a piece of yellow telegraph paper with white lines of text glued to it. "I have just received this from his lordship, Sir Roger Willoughby. As most of you know, not only is he the chair of our department, but our single most important benefactor."

Ian felt a sense of foreboding. Dr. Somerset wouldn't have shut down work in the middle of the day just to read a cable from his lordship.

"Bertie, you may open your bar. I will be your first of the day, give me a large whiskey." Dr. Somerset looked at the rest of the group. "If you wish to join me in a drink feel free to do so."

Ian looked at Nigel, astonished, and quietly remarked, "Whatever the cable is, it can't be good news. I've never known him to have a drink this early."

Nigel nodded and whispered back, "I agree. The sun has to be well over the yardarm before he has a drink."

"Everyone ready?" Dr. Somerset surveyed his small group. Seeing everyone nod, he picked up the cable and began to read it aloud. "Congratulations on your find. Stop. Cease work immediately. Stop. Will be leaving here on twenty-sixth to take over. Stop."

Nigel slammed his glass to the table. "That's bloody cheeky of him. isn't it. We do all the damned work and now he wants to come out and take all of the bloody glory!"

The rest of the group sat there in stunned shock. They had begun to think of this project as theirs.

Bertie sat down next to Ian. "Right ruddy bastard, that Willoughby! Somerset has been coming out here year after year—now that he has found something that could have been the hallmark of his career, this cheeky amateur is going to come out and take it away from him. Not bloody fair!"

It was a somber group that sat there for most of the afternoon and into the evening. For Ian, the night couldn't come fast enough. More than ever, he wanted to see Khepri. He needed her.

---

The sun was at it's zenith, he could feel the heat on his back. Not a breath of air was moving, just the unrelenting sun beating down on him.

Ian watched as Khepri walked towards him. She was naked save for a gold chain around her waist, and a decorative headband. He like the gentle sway of her hips as she walked and the way her breasts slightly bounced with each step.

She smiled at Ian and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "I see that you are pleased with how I look."

It no longer embarrassed Ian to find himself naked and with an erection when Khepri appeared. "I am always pleased to see you."

"Would you like me to pleasure you now, or would you like to go for a swim in the river first?" Khepri's eyes sparkled as she looked at Ian.

For the first time, Ian noticed that they were on a large barge-like craft moored in the river. "Let's go swim first, there is time for pleasuring after."

He watched Khepri walk to the edge of the barge and dive into the water. He was impressed at how graceful she was in the water. Ian stood at the edge of the barge and dove in and then began to swim towards Khepri. The water was pleasant and it felt good after the heat of the afternoon sun.

Khepri stood up, the water glistening on her golden skin. Her nipples were dark and taut. When Ian rose up from the waist deep water and put his arms around her, she reached down into the water and put her hand on his still-hard shaft.

She looked into Ian's eyes. "I have fallen in love with you. Do you know that?"

Ian felt his heart pound. "As have I. I love you more than anything, I love you more than life itself."

Khepri released her grip on him and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him tight against her body.

"I wish this never had to end. I wish I could spend the rest of my life with you." Ian wanted this more than anything. He had no family in England to speak of. His mother and father had been killed in a Zeppelin raid during the war, and he had been an only child. There was no girl waiting for him back in England.

"Be careful for what you wish for Ian." She smiled. His name still sounded strange to her when she spoke it.

Ian felt a chill go up his back. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation, more of a feeling of excitement than anything. He had experienced a few love affairs in his life before, but never anything like this.

They spent most of the afternoon swimming and embracing each other in the river. Ian had always thought of himself as a good swimmer, but Khepri was like a dolphin in the water. She made swimming look effortless and it was all Ian could do to keep up with her.

The sun was beginning to set by the time they got back onto the barge. Khepri motioned to a small table that had been set on the deck. "We shall eat now."

"Great! I'm famished." The afternoon of swimming had given Ian a real appetite.

Khepri rang a bell and two naked female servants came out of one of the two structures on the deck carrying a trays of food. She watched Ian with amusement as he stared at the naked girls. "If you desire one or both of them for your pleasure, I can arrange it."

Ian blushed a deep red. "No, it is only you I want for that."

There were dates and figs on the trays, along with bread and a meat dish made with vegetables and a spicy sauce. There was a red wine that had been poured into finely-crafted gold goblets.

By the time they had finished eating the sun had set. Torches had been lit around the perimeter of the barge both for illumination and to warn any oncoming watercraft of their presence in the river.

Khepri took Ian by the hand and led him into the other cabin. She ran her hands up and down the sides of his body. She smiled as she watched his erection grow. Starting at his mouth, she began to caress his body with her lips, down his neck to his chest. She licked at his nipples until they became as erect as the stiff flesh between his legs.

Ian felt his manhood growing harder and harder as she kissed his body. Her hands never stopped their movements. He moaned as her tongue and lips caressed every inch of his him.

She dropped to her knees and took his swollen flesh into her hand. Her lips and tongue bathed it back and forth. She could taste his somewhat salty wetness that had formed at the tip. Khepri looked up at Ian as she opened her mouth and began to take him in.

He watched as she moved the tip across her lips and into her warm and wet mouth. Ian let out a soft moan. She was the first woman that had ever taken him into her mouth. During the war, he had heard from some of the other soldiers about some of the French women in the bawdy houses that would perform oral sex and let the men climax into their mouths. Ian had never been able to work up the nerve to go into one of these places and ask for that particular act to be performed on him.

Khepri moved her head back and forth, taking a little more of him each time until she had fully swallowed his turgid length. She could feel the heat building in her own sex. She felt pleasure by giving pleasure. With slow, practiced movements, she pulled her mouth back, sucking at the same time, moving her tongue around his stiff shaft until his swollen tip was just left in her mouth.

Ian put his hands on the back of her head. He had never felt anything like this before. The lust and desire was boiling in his body. He felt blinded by the carnal fog that her actions were raising in him.

Her movements sped up a little and matched the movements of his hips. Khepri liked the feeling of Ian using her mouth for his pleasure. It didn't matter to her, she would let him finish in her mouth if that was what he wanted.

"I want you!" Ian's voice was drunk with his desire.

She removed his engorged organ from her mouth and put her hand on it, and continuing to stroke him back and forth. "I want you, too." She stood up and took him by the hand, leading him over to the bed.

"I want you take me like the bull takes the cow." Khepri whispered. She knelt on her knees, her sex raised up as she rested on her elbows.

Ian knelt behind her and guided the tip of his rigid cock to her entrance. He grasped her hips and pressed forward. He slid into a warm, tight velvety tunnel. His aching organ was bathed with her wet and slippery juices.

He heard Khepri moan as he entered her from behind. He looked down and watched his stiffness disappear between her swollen labia. He felt her hand alternate between rubbing her stiff pearl of desire and caressing his balls.

Her hips moved with his, driving him deep inside of her. Each moaned out their lust for the other. They urged the other on to go harder and faster. Khepri looked down between her legs. She could see his wet shaft pumping back and forth. Her finger rubbed her clit faster and faster. It wasn't going to be long. She felt her peak approaching.

Ian cried out, "Oh God! Oh God!" He felt his climax starting. His hot seed began to pump deep within her.

She felt him. She felt the warmth inside as he peaked. Her own body was wracked with her own climax.

At the very same time, they both said the same thing, "I want you forever."

Ian saw stars as he climaxed. He had never had an orgasm with her. He had always awoken from his slumber before he had the chance. Most often he was forced to finish himself with his own hand to achieve the satisfaction that his excited state desired. This was different. There was a flash of light.

---

Ian woke, the sun was coming up over the horizon. "Odd," he thought. "Where is the Muezzin this morning? Where is his cry to the faithful? Are there no morning devotions this morning?"

Ian got up out of bed. Something felt different. He was still too much in the fog of sleep to be able to put his finger on it.

"Good morning, my love."

Ian looked up and saw Khepri standing before him. "What?" He felt confused.

She led him out of the bedchamber and out on to the terrace. His mouth dropped as he looked at the long line of workmen walking towards the unfinished pyramid.

Khepri smiled at Ian. "I woke this morning and found you still in my bed. That has never happened before."

Ian looked at the pyramid and then at Khepri. He put her arms around her and looked into her eyes. "Am I ..."

She nodded. "Yes, you are with me."

A joy flowed through Ian like he had never felt before.

---

Bertie sat at the table sipping his drink. "Nigel, bloody good job you did finding this temple. I just wish we didn't have to wait for Willoughby."

Nigel nodded. "Thanks. Say, whatever happened to that chap that was supposed to come out? Graves, or Groves, something like that."

Bertie shook his head. "I don't know. He never did show. What say we round up Samuels and the doctor and have a quick rubber of bridge before dinner?"

Nigel grinned. "Capital idea!"

Bertie looked over at the vacant tent. He had an odd feeling. It was like he remembered someone staying in that tent. He shook his head and began to shuffle the cards. The sun was just beginning to set on the Nile. The end of another day.

Annabelle smiled and set the book on the night stand. Thoughts of dancing girls, and handsome young adventurers danced in her head. After she had turned the lights off a smile crossed her face.

I would like to thank Selenakittyn for editing this story.