The Blue Lotus Read online

  There was a man standing in the middle of her living room. At least from the neck down she identified him as male. But his head was that of a large cat, a black leopard's head to be exact. She must have made some small sound, because he turned to face her. This caused her to scoot back farther on the couch.

  Now that Kendra had the front view of the man, she felt her jaw drop open. The man had the most delicious body. Wide shoulders thickly padded with muscle, which she could easily see since he wore nothing but a short skirt along with two menet necklaces. With all that male flesh bared for her to look at, she did that very thing.

  The man had a killer body, one that a body builder would have taken years to achieve. He was all muscle, right down to his well-defined six-pack abs. His legs were just as defined. Letting her eyes roam up his body, Kendra for the first time noticed the bow slung over his shoulder. The arrows for it, he carried on his back inside a quiver. She gulped in response.

  She had no idea how long they stared at each other. By now, she realized his head was not that of a real cat, but some kind of full head covering, a helmet of some kind, depicting a black leopard's head. Kendra could see his light gold eyes outlined in black kohl through the eyeholes. The thing was an exquisite work of art, with all black enamel and what looked like real gold.

  When he reached up to remove his head covering, Kendra flinched in response. Noticing her reaction, he slowed his movement, as if he wished not to scare her any further. For the second time, Kendra felt her jaw drop once he had fully removed the leopard head. His face was a perfect match for his body. There was not one thing wrong with his hard chiseled features, high cheekbones, fine straight nose, square chin, and full seductive looking lips. His black hair, he wore pulled back into a tail. It fell just past his shoulders in length.

  He took a few steps closer to her and Kendra felt her heart jump into her throat. “Wait ... wait, who are you? What do you want with me?” Her words drew him up short. He cocked his head in her direction, almost as if he had not understood what she had said.

  "You don't speak English, do you?” Kendra shook her head and chuckled to herself. “Of course you don't. What a stupid question to ask. Obviously you are somehow connected to the pendant, so you probably speak ancient Egyptian only."

  "Yes, but I speak your English now.” His deep baritone rumbled over her.

  Kendra's eyes flew up to his face. “You understand me? What do you mean you know English now?"

  He smiled at her. “You ask many questions, but I will try to explain how I come to speak your language. To put it simply, you spoke the words in your English to summon me, so I now know it as well."

  Leaving the couch, Kendra walked slowly around the coffee table until she stood before him. “Is that what I did? I summoned you?"

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “You possess the pendant. You had to know why it was created or you would not have spoken the words."

  Kendra felt her face flush a deep red. “Ah ... not exactly.” When he took a menacing step toward her, she automatically backed up. Anger flashed in his golden eyes. “I am sorry I summoned you, but honestly, I thought it wouldn't work."

  "Well, as you can see, it did."

  "Okay. Let me think here. Since there is a spell to summon you, there must be one to send you back to wherever you came from."

  He shook his head. “There is not. What you have started cannot so simply be undone."

  "So you are stuck here then?"

  "Yes, at least for the time being."

  Kendra felt herself relax, as his anger seemed to leave him slowly. He started to walk around her living room, touching the television, the phone, her stereo system. She figured it must be a lot to get used to, going from one time to another, and one that was so much further in the future.

  Trying to distract him a bit, she asked, “What is your name? I'm Kendra Miller. Since we will have to put up with each other until you leave, I should know what to call you."

  He stopped the investigation of her lamps he was performing and looked at her. “I am Nefertem.” When Kendra showed no sign of recognition at the mention of his name, he sighed. “Where am I?"

  "This is my house. I share it with my older brother, but he is away on a business trip right now."

  "You are alone here?"

  Kendra snorted at his shocked words. “You have a lot to learn, Nefertem.” She liked his name. It was so ancient Egyptian, just like the man himself. “This is the twenty-first century and lots of women live on their own."

  Finding it hard to believe that the men of this world would actually allow such a thing went beyond his understanding. “I will have to take your word for it. Can you tell me what city we are in?"

  "I live in Memphis."

  Nefertem felt a surge of hope course through him. There was a chance he could stop this after all. “If we are indeed in Memphis, we must go to the Temple of Ptah, Hut-ka-Ptah."

  Kendra cringed at her mistake. She should have known Nefertem would not know there were two cities by the name of Memphis. “We can't do that."

  He his eyes darkened with ire. “We have to. It is imperative I get to the temple. Once there, I may be able to circumvent the spell. It is the only way."

  Sighing heavily, Kendra went and put a comforting hand on his arm. “It is not a question of not wanting to take you there, but more like being unable to go. I don't live in Egypt, Nefertem. I live in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States. Egypt is another continent all together."

  The hope he felt before was now completely dashed. He closed his eyes knowing there would be no avoiding what would come to pass. Opening his eyes, Nefertem really looked at Kendra for the first time. She stirred him on the basest of levels. He was attracted to her, wanted her in his bed. Images of Kendra naked and panting under him filled his head. In response, he felt his cock stir to life as it filled with blood and hardened. If they were in the Egypt he knew, he would have done just that. But they were not, so he settled for looking at every inch of her instead. She had long brown hair, a slim build, and long legs. Her eyes were as green as the Nile's banks. And she was tall, which he liked. At six foot six, he had met very few women who weren't totally dwarfed by his size. Kendra had no such problem.

  Feeling a trifle uncomfortable being under Nefertem's close scrutiny, Kendra swallowed hard. She was not used to a man of his caliber staring at her as if he would like to devour her in one gulp. She didn't dislike it, just the opposite. She liked it all too much. Her breasts swelled, begging to be touched. Her pussy ached and grew wet as a mental picture of Nefertem's hard cock pumping into her flashed through Kendra's mind. If he kept this up, she would be offering to show him where her bed could be found, which would not do at all. Once burnt, twice shy, as the saying went. Her trust level in men was at an extreme low. And men like Nefertem did not offer commitments to women who looked like her.

  Clearing her throat, Kendra broke his regard. Once she had his full attention, she spoke. “You said there is a purpose for your being here. What exactly would that be?"

  Nefertem had been expecting Kendra to ask that very question at some point in time. She was an inquisitive one. While most women would have been shaking with fear to find a strange man who suddenly appeared before them, Kendra merely rattled off questions. But this question he was not prepared to answer, at least not yet anyway. She seemed at ease with him now. If he told her, it would all too suddenly change. For now, it was best she stay oblivious to what would happen at the end of this. So he did what he thought was best, he stalled for time.

  "For now, all you need to know is since you were the one who summoned me, I now serve you. In whatever way you desire."

  Chapter Three

  Nefertem watched Kendra's face flush a lovely shade of pink, in response to his words. He smiled. She also felt the attraction between them. He knew what she must have been thinking to make her blush so. If she were to invite him into her bed, he would do so because she wished it. But he had a feel
ing Kendra was not that type of woman who would use a man in such a way.

  To see if his assumption was correct, Nefertem moved to stand closer to Kendra. Barely a hand's breath of space now separated their two bodies. He looked down at her. “Anything you wish, I cannot refuse.” He let his eyes fall to her lips, then said meaningfully, “Anything.” He caressed her breasts with his eyes.

  Kendra felt her legs start to tremble, and she was having a hard time organizing her thoughts with Nefertem standing so close to her. He was so close she could feel body heat radiating from him. And how he smelled was doing terrible things to her senses. He smelled of sandalwood and man, along with an underlying floral scent, which did not take away any of his masculinity. All she had to do was go up on tiptoe, then she could press her lips to his. He was too tempting by far. Her fingers itched to feel his well-defined chest, to reach down and take his cock in her hand, to explore his hard length.

  Needing more space between them, Kendra took a step back only to have the back of her knees come up against the coffee table. Not expecting it, she started to fall backwards. Nefertem quickly grabbed her by the upper arm, effectively stopping her fall. A spark seemed to jump between them where he touched her. She had never felt the like before. He must have felt it as well, because he quickly released his hold on her.

  To distract Nefertem, as well as herself from what had happened, Kendra left him and walked to the bottom of the stairs. “We need to get you some clothes. I think some of Markus's should fit you."

  "What is wrong with my attire? It is perfectly respectable."

  Taking in the pure white linen kilt, Kendra shook her head. “Not here it isn't. You would stick out like a sore thumb if I let you walk outside dressed like that."

  "And the clothes you are now wearing are acceptable?” He pointed to her cut off jean shorts and grey ribbed knit, racer-backed tank top.

  "Yes it is. Both men and women dress in shorts and tanks during the summer.” Seeing Nefertem's pained expression, Kendra asked, “What is wrong with my clothes?"

  "They are so plain."

  Feeling slightly insulted, she turned her back on him, began to walk to the stairs and started up them. She could hear Nefertem following up behind her. “I don't dress like this when I go to work. So I do wear fancier clothes, but when I am home I want to be comfortable."

  Reaching Markus's bedroom, Kendra went to his dresser and began to pull out clothes she figured would fit Nefertem. Her brother was over six foot, but Nefertem was still three inches taller than Markus. There was also the added fact that Nefertem had a slightly bigger build than her brother. It was a good thing Markus liked to wear looser fitting clothing or Nefertem would have a hard time squeezing himself into them.

  Placing the shorts and top in Nefertem's arms, Kendra said, “These may be on the tight side, but they will have to do for now. Tomorrow I will take you out clothes shopping.” Wanting to give him some privacy, Kendra closed the bedroom door as she stepped out into the hallway.

  Removing his bow and quiver from his back, Nefertem placed them on the bed. Holding up the clothes Kendra had given him, he eyed them skeptically. He would prefer to wear his kilt, but to fit in he would shed his native land's attire.

  The kilt was easily removed, leaving him only in his loincloth. Picking up the shorts, he pulled them up his legs. There was no fastener of any kind that he could see. Some kind of material in the waistband that stretched seemed to be the only thing keeping them on his body. There was only one slight problem with them. With the loincloth on beneath the shorts, he found them all together way too tight, especially while sporting an erection. Sighing, he pulled off the shorts and removed his loincloth. The fit seemed less constricting, but they still did not feel comfortable. He had no idea whether he had donned the offending garment properly or not. Sliding the shorts down his legs, Nefertem growled in frustration. The growl came out sounding like a large cat's snarl. His eyes shot to the closed bedroom door. He had forgotten himself. A mistake such as that could cost him dearly.

  Impatiently tapping her foot, Kendra waited outside the closed bedroom door for Nefertem to emerge. He was taking a very long time to put on a pair of shorts and a tank top. But then again, she had forgotten to show him which way the clothes went on. Raising her hand to knock on the door, Kendra heard the cat like growl coming from behind it. Grabbing the doorknob, she quickly pushed the door open instead of knocking first. She gasped at what she saw.

  The man was totally naked, except for his two menet necklaces draped around his neck. The noise completely forgotten, she closed her eyes and quickly turned her back to him. But she had not been quick enough; she had still managed to see Nefertem was a large man in every aspect of his person and he was fully erect. The man was too perfect for words, and if she didn't get herself back under control she would be trying to ogle his naked body once more.

  Clearing her throat, Kendra started to apologize for barging in on him. “I didn't mean to just walk in on you, Nefertem. I thought I heard a noise coming from this room."

  "I heard nothing, but I am glad you came in. I need you to tell me how to put on these clothes."

  "That was my mistake, sorry. I should have told you before I left you alone.” Thinking he had covered himself, because the direction his voice was coming from implied he was standing right in front of her, Kendra once more felt safe to open her eyes. Cracking her eyes open slightly, she let out a small squeak and quickly clapped her eyes shut once again.

  "Why will you not open your eyes?"

  "Oh, let me see, maybe because you don't have a stitch of clothes on."

  Nefertem did not understand why his nakedness would bother Kendra so. Nudity was nothing to his people. During the hot summer months, Egyptian children wore nothing, girls and boys alike. Could it be Kendra found his body offensive in some way?

  "I did not think the sight of me unclothed would offend you."

  "That is the farthest thing from the truth.” Under her breath she added, “The problem is I like it too much."

  He had heard what she mumbled and Nefertem smiled in response. “You may look, Kendra. It would please me if you did so.” She still kept her eyes tightly shut.

  "Can you please cover yourself, Nefertem? Then I will be happy to open my eyes."

  Not wishing to distress her any more than she already was, he complied with her wishes and put on his loincloth once more. “You may open your eyes now."

  Cracking one eye open, Kendra saw that Nefertem had done as she had asked. Now safe, she opened both her eyes and looked up at him. “Let me show you what is the proper way to put the clothes on, then you can meet me downstairs afterwards."

  Needing to distract herself from the mental picture of Nefertem standing totally butt naked, Kendra went to the kitchen and decided she would cook a real meal for the two of them. And judging from the size of her guest, he would need a lot of food to fill his belly.

  Busy with her food preparations, Kendra did not hear Nefertem enter the room until he said, “Well? Will I fit in now?"

  Turning to look at him, she said, “Yes, you'll do nicely.” The shorts were not too bad, but the tank top stretched tightly across his chest, leaving nothing to the imagination. The only item of his former attire he kept on was his menet necklaces. His eyes were also still outlined in black kohl, which to her, screamed ancient Egyptian.

  "I am glad you find me acceptable, even though I find these clothes very constricting. Especially the shorts.” To emphasis his statement, Nefertem pulled at the said garment, which drew Kendra's eyes to the one area of his body she had to stay away from. Quickly she wrenched her eyes away.

  "That we will remedy tomorrow when I take you to the mall and buy you some clothes in your size."

  He nodded, then moved to the stove to smell the delicious scent coming from one of the pots sitting atop it. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, savouring the smell. His stomach growled loudly in response.

  Kendra laughed. “W
e will eat shortly. I hope you like pasta and sauce."

  "I have never had this pasta and sauce before, but if it tastes as good as it smells, I will like it very much indeed."

  "Then I had better finish cooking it. You can go sit at the table while you wait if you want."

  Moving to the table situated in the centre of the kitchen, Nefertem pulled out one of the wooden chairs and sat down. He watched Kendra as she moved about the room. There were so many things about this time that amazed him, things that made peoples’ lives so much easier. The stove for instance, food was cooked faster than having to use an open fire. He had no idea how the heat was generated, but he intended to learn as much as he could of this time. There was no telling how long it would be before he was summoned again, if ever.

  Placing a heaping plate of pasta in front of Nefertem, Kendra then went to sit across from him. He slowly copied her movements as she picked up her fork and began to eat. She watched him cautiously put some pasta in his mouth and then chew slowly. A smile of pleasure spread across his face.

  "I take it you like pasta and sauce after all.” Kendra could tell Nefertem was savouring every bite, like a man who hadn't ate a good meal in a very long time.

  "Oh, yes I do. It is very good."

  "I made lots, so if you want more just let me know."

  They spent the rest of the meal in silence. Once their plates were empty, Kendra took them away and placed them in the dishwasher. Nefertem followed her around the kitchen watching her clean up after their meal.

  Nefertem didn't know when his interest in what Kendra was doing, switched to the woman herself. He was inexplicably drawn to her, and it had nothing to do with her being the one who had summoned him. It had everything to do with Kendra herself. Before he realized what he was doing, he gathered her into his arms and claimed her lips in a hot searing kiss.