Instead a wonderful feeling of warmth passed over her in waves. En-hedu heard herself laugh, a tiny sound that startled her as much as it did Tammuz. She’d never laughed in bed before.
Before he could speak, she grasped his shoulders and pulled him on top of her, spreading her legs wide, using her hand to guide him inside her.
This time she heard herself moan with pleasure, and he whispered something. En-hedu didn’t hear the words, but they didn’t matter. She wrapped her legs around his body and clutched him to her.
She felt him hesitate, but then he began moving against her, thrusting himself and twisting his hips faster and faster. She moaned in pleasure, arching her back, while he pushed himself deeper inside her. Then he cried out her name again and again, his body moving uncontrollably, as he drove himself into her. She heard herself cry out, as much at the pleasure she was giving as her own, though her own secret place trembled uncontrollably as it grew even more moist.
At last he slumped against her, breathing hard, still murmuring her name over and over, telling her he loved her and that she must never leave him.
“Never, master,” she promised him, “I will never leave you.”
When he began to move off of her, she giggled and held him tight.
“No, stay where you are. I want to feel your body against mine.”
“Oh, yes,” he said, whispering the words in her ear. “Hold me tight.
That was so good… so good.”
She held him in her strong arms, feeling proud that she could please him so easily. Caressing his face with one hand, she felt glad the darkness hid her smile. She kissed him again, and suddenly he responded, his tongue penetrating her mouth and exciting her. She felt him growing hard again, so she slid her hands down his back and pulled him tight against her. That elicited a gasp of pleasure from him, as he buried his face in her neck and hair.
But only for a moment. He started moving again, growing firmer, each thrust sending a wave of pleasure through her, and she heard herself moan. Another wave of pleasure swept through her. This time it lasted a long, long time.
Only a single lamp burned in Trella’s bedroom. The feast had finally ended, at least for Trella and her household. She sat on the bed, Annok-sur next to her, holding Korthac’s emerald in her hand.
“And he asked for nothing, Trella? No gift in return?”
“Nothing. Just my favor. He didn’t mention Eskkar, didn’t even suggest that I tell him about this great gift. As if Eskkar didn’t matter.”
“What will you do with it?” Annok-sur set the precious stone down on the bed between them.
“Nothing, for now. After the child comes, as soon as I can, I’ll sell it. It will fetch enough to pay Corio’s builders for some time, I’m sure.”
“If you can find someone with enough gold to buy it, at anywhere near what it’s worth.” Annok-sur sighed. “Perhaps you should keep it.”
“No. If the people saw me wearing such a thing, they’d lose their trust in me. How could I ask everyone to make sacrifices for the sake of the wall, if I showed myself in public wearing a jewel worth so much?” Trella shook her head. “But this Korthac… something about him troubles me even more than when he first arrived. You’ve learned nothing new about him?”
Annok-sur sighed. “Little enough. His men are never out of his or that Hathor’s sight. He bought two women in the slave market, to cook and satisfy his men, but they rarely go out. When they do, they’re always escorted by one or two of his men. We’ve tried to speak with them, but they’ve been warned not to speak to anyone, and they’re too frightened to disobey. They buy their goods, or wash their clothing in the river, and return to Korthac’s inn. Aside from that, they seldom leave his house. I’ve seen them. They look wretched.”
“He’s hiding something, Annok-sur.”
“Maybe he committed some crime in Egypt, something so horrible that he fears it even here.”
“Whatever his secret, we need to discover it.”
“I don’t know what else to try, Trella. We watch his men, we watch him, but all he does is spend time at the trading carts along the river. Still, he can’t live like this forever. Even servants need time for themselves.”
Trella picked up the emerald and returned it to the pouch. “I think I’d give this away to learn what Korthac is hiding.” She knotted the lace securely. Standing, she went to the bed and knelt down. Pushing hard, she slipped aside part of the leg of the bed, exposing a tiny hollow barely large enough to conceal the pouch. When she fitted the wood back in place, the jewel had vanished. Only a very keen eye and a close examination would detect the tiny compartment. There were more such hiding places secreted about the bedroom. She’d searched the room often enough, and discovered three others, but there might still be more. The previous owner had many secrets.
“Perhaps you should send word for Eskkar to return,” Annok-sur said.
“He’s been away long enough.”
“What would I say to him? That some rich trader worries me? That I can’t fi nd out if he’s hiding something? He wouldn’t know any more than we do.” She shook her head. “Besides, he’s sent back gold as well as goods from Bisitun, and the council is happy that the lands up there are being pacifi ed.”
“And this new woman Eskkar is keeping? Suppose he begins to forget about you?”
“The child will bring him back,” Trella said, though the same doubts had visited her. “Let him have his pleasures for now. He risked his life taking the village.”
“At least Bantor will return soon.”
“That will make both of us feel better, Annok-sur.”
“Maybe we should get rid of this Korthac, if for no other reason than to stop you from worrying about him.”
“No, not yet, not until we learn more. There’s plenty of time, and sooner or later, we’ll find out what he’s hiding.”
15
Ten days after the feast of Ishtar, Korthac stepped from his house and into the lane. Well past dawn, his guards had already checked the street, and today Hathor waited there as well, looking as alert as the two soldiers protecting Korthac this day. No one in Akkad questioned his need for bodyguards. Everyone knew he often carried large quantities of gems or the gold from their sale on his person, and that made him a tempting target for any thief desperate enough to risk his life. So far no one had made the attempt. Korthac’s guards looked too alert, hands always on their swords and eyes constantly moving, searching for any threat.
For any thief bold enough to get past the guards, Korthac carried a long knife of his own, and no one doubted he knew how to use it. Even if a daring thief managed to cut Korthac’s purse and escape, the whole city would be turned out looking for the robber. Everyone understood that Korthac had made many friends in Akkad, and its traders and leading merchants would demand the soldiers hunt down the cutpurse, even if he tried to flee the city.
This morning, however, the lane outside of Korthac’s new dwelling appeared as peaceful as every other day, just the usual handful of vendors hawking their goods to those who, avoiding eye contact, hurried by.
Korthac’s lane didn’t have much foot traffic, not with the marketplace only two lanes over. Most of the more established and better quality vendors sold their merchandise there. Away from the market, goods tended to be of more dubious quality, with correspondingly lower prices. Most of the carts and booths near Korthac’s house were staffed by women, often surrounded by what seemed like gangs of children, all either shouting or crying, whose noise and antics managed to annoy anyone simply trying to get through.
Today the lane appeared relatively quiet, and Korthac started walking, one guard leading the way and the other following behind. Hathor took his usual place at Korthac’s left side, and the quartet of Egyptians began their journey to the docks.