"Scratched," Sophea corrected him, but she suffered Gabriel to look at the wound. Amusement filled his eyes as he gravely pronounced that Sophea would suffer no ill effect from the injury.
"See? Now you sit right there and concentrate on that wound," Sophea said, and gave a little shout of annoyance when he started to get up. She plopped herself down on his lap. "You annoying dragon man! Sit here and heal!"
He looked at where her breasts swelled enticingly beneath her tight shirt, and felt an answering swelling in his trousers. "There's no way I can possibly concentrate on my neck with you sitting there tempting me into doing things that I doubt you want me doing in public."
"Oh. Good point. Sitting on you makes me want to kiss you and touch you and nibble on your ears, and … and … yeah. Point taken."
She got up just as the captain strolled past them, pausing to raise an eyebrow at Rowan. "Do you need assistance?"
"No. It's not a deep wound, and it should heal," he answered.
The captain nodded and continued past, giving orders to his crew to clean up the mess once the demon bodies disappeared.
He turned back to them, adding with a wave toward the shore, "We are ahead of schedule. Maat has come on board and will proceed with the third challenge shortly. The journey is now at an end, and your trials will soon be over." His black eyes moved from Rowan to Sophea and back. "Let us hope the ending is one you seek … and not a punishment."
Eighteen
"Boy, he really is a little ball of sunshine, isn't he?" I commented as the captain hurried off to greet the goddess Maat and her entourage. "Wait, don't answer that. You probably shouldn't talk or move until your neck is healed."
Rowan came perilously close to rolling his eyes, but instead clearly decided to heed my advice and closed his eyes, his face filled with concentration.
"That really is amazing to watch," I said, marveling at the way the cut flesh stopped bleeding, then began to seal itself up into a raw, red scar. Judging by his hand, I figured even that scar would fade away. "I wonder if you can teach me to do it."
"I will try," he said, his eyes still closed.
I looked down at him, this man who had come into my life and shaken me to my core. "Are you-did you mean what you said?"
His eyes opened at that, confusion fading into understanding, which melted away under the onslaught of little sparks of golden fire in his eyes. "Yes."
"Oh," I said, my breath catching a little.
"Oh?" His lips thinned. "Is that all you have to say? ‘Oh'? Not even a ‘how nice,' or ‘golly, that's great,' but ‘oh'?"
"I'm sorry," I apologized with a giggle. "I don't really say golly. I'm more a ‘great Caesar's ghost' sort of girl."
He rose and took my arms in his hands, giving me a gentle shake. "Woman, now is the time for you to tell me just how madly in love with me that you are, and how you cannot conceive of living your life without me, and how you want to spend all of your days with me, and more, all of your nights. Not this ‘oh' business that leaves me feeling vulnerable and angsty."
I laughed out loud at that. "I never thought I'd hear you admit you were angsty over anything." I tipped my head back, and said against his lips, "I do love you, you know. It scares me to admit that because I loved Jian, too, and he was taken away from me before I really got to know him, and I don't want to lose you. Promise me you won't leave me, Rowan. I really don't think I could go through losing a second husband."
His breath was hot in my mouth, his tongue hotter, and his fire hottest of all. It wrapped around us like a blanket of desire, causing the heat building in me to burst into an inferno of need and wanting … and love.
"We're on fire again," Rowan said, nibbling on my lower lip, his hands drawing intricate patterns on my behind. I had slipped my own hands under his shirt, and was stroking the muscles of his back.
"You got that right," I answered, doing a little nibbling of my own.
"The captain will not be happy if we scorch the deck."
"Screw the captain," I said heedlessly.
Rowan swung me up in his arms, obviously ready to carry me down to our room where I very much hoped we'd engage in wild, steamy sex. "I'd much rather screw-"
"Ah, these must be the dragons you spoke of." A woman's voice interrupted Rowan's statement and my smutty thoughts.
Rowan turned to face the newcomers, setting me down in the process. "Er … hello."
The woman was dark-skinned, petite, and had wild, curly shoulder-length hair and a wide, genuine smile firmly affixed as she bustled forward. Behind her came the three men, followed by the captain and a couple of his officers. After that, the deck filled up with returning passengers, all of whom chatted excitedly.
"The captain told us you two championed both challenges," the woman said. I figured she had to be Maat, especially since there was a feather tucked into her springy curls. "Well done. Duat needs champions like you. If you choose to remain here, we will be most happy to find you a position in our court."
I wasn't sure if she was speaking for her three lackeys, who were even now setting up a table with the stacks of books, or if she was using the royal we.
"Thank you," Rowan said, making her a bow that made my stomach go tight with pleasure. "We will take your offer under consideration."
My shiny pink behind we will, I thought to myself, but didn't contradict Rowan in front of the others.
"Now then, shall we form an orderly line?" Maat said, turning to face the rest of the passengers. She clapped her hands for silence and repeated her request. "You will approach me one at a time, making sure your Ka is in your possession, and then I will weigh it against my feather. If it is lighter than my feather, you may pass on to the divine realm or your choice of destinations. If your Ka fails or you do not have possession of your Ka, then you must remain in Duat. In that case, we will send you to Osiris, who will find employment for you. Is everyone ready?"
Enthusiastic cheers answered her and people jostled and jockeyed to get to the front of a straggly line.
Mrs. P, I noticed, scanned the three men, disappointment sharpening her expression. Her shoulders sagged a little as she took up a place at the railing.
"Hello, hello. I'm sorry I'm late. I was dead, you see, and I had to travel back to the ship, and my, that was a journey, let me tell you." Gilly materialized out of nothing, her face expressing happiness. The other priestesses greeted her with calls of welcome. "Oh, is it the third challenge already? I'm so glad I didn't miss it."
"Where on earth have you been? Wait, you were dead?" I asked, staring at her. She looked perfectly normal.
"Yes! Hullo, Aset. You look pretty in that outfit. Yes, Sophea, I was dead. Someone pushed me over the edge of the railing, and I hit my head underwater, and the next thing I knew, Osiris was greeting me and telling me to get back to the ship. It was all very exciting, although I do wish I'd been asked if I wanted to be a spirit."
Rowan's body tensed as she spoke. I glanced around to see if there was a threat that he perceived, but I saw nothing other than Ken and Barbie moving over to the other side of the deck, standing together and speaking quietly.
Gilly drifted off to join her priestly sisters in line.
"Is anything wrong?" I whispered to Rowan.
"I think very much so, yes," he answered, and he glanced across to where May and Gabriel were greeting Constantine and Bee.
"About … ?"
"Everything," he said, annoyingly mysterious.
"Where can he be?" Mrs. P sighed, gripping the railing and staring out onto the shore. "He knew I would be here. He knew I had the shiny for him."
"Your boyfriend?" I asked her, and without thinking, said, "Where exactly is the ring? You're not wearing it that I can see."
Her brow was lined with worry. "I hope Isis has not tried to stop him … hmm? Oh, it is here." She gestured toward her stomach.
"You swallowed it?" I asked, startled.
"No, I had my belly button pierced using it. That way I knew it would always be safe."
"Clever," I admitted, giving her arm a little pat. "Don't worry about Osiris. The captain said that Maat was here early, so maybe Osiris didn't get the word that you'd be ready to release him just yet."
She sighed again, and I left her to her melancholy thoughts, moving over to stand next to Rowan.
"I am a bad person," I announced softly to him.
He was watching the other dragons, now in conference, his gaze moving from them to the captain to Ken and Barbie. "No you're not. Is this the point where I should ask you why you think you are?"