The Sun Gods Woman Part 15

One stall displayed glorious oranges and another had fresh selection of dates.

Knowing Annie's weakness, Kyle pulled her to a stop.

"Greetings, Norinka." The older woman behind the stand beamed at Kyle.

"Lord Kyall. 'Tis good that you and yon Priestess are out here with us today. She's a fine looker, and will bring fertility to the Boon Seekers, I'm sure."

Kyle smiled back and asked if they might sample her wares. More than happy to oblige, the woman selected the choicest dates and was gratified when Annie praised her produce.

"Never let it be said that Norinka has less than the best, Mistress." Pride shone from her wrinkled face. " Anytime you want some nice fresh dates, you come by and visit with me. And you don't always have to bring that handsome man of yours, either," she giggled.

Exchanging thanks and farewells, Annie and Kyle walked on, with Annie gleefully licking her fingers as she enjoyed her dates.

She caught Kyle's indrawn breath as he watched her tongue circling a fingertip.

"Let me," he breathed.

As they pa.s.sed behind a building, Kyle raised her hand to his mouth and sucked slowly on her ring finger, pulling it all the way into his mouth and out again.

Her loins heated up and her p.u.s.s.y moistened as she watched him easing her finger between his lips. The feel of his flesh tugging at hers was almost more than she could stand, and she was afraid that if he didn't stop it she'd come on the spot."G.o.d, Kyle, don't...not here," she begged, lids drooping and nipples hard as rocks.Kyle's eyes promised delights untold as he slowly licked his way to her nail and gave it a last caress."Later, Annie. Tonight.""Yesss..." she breathed, gazing into the green pools that were drowning her with waves of hot l.u.s.t.

Sheesh, did he have any idea what that look was doing to her?His lips curved.Oh yeah, he knew.The sound of voices recalled them to the world around them."Lord Kyall, Priestess Annilin...greetings."A large man was approaching them, grinning from ear to ear. "I am so glad I found you. You were planning on visiting my humble establishment this morning, yes?"

Kyle sighed. "Yes indeed, Ishkar." He turned to Annie. "Annie, this is Ishkar, our most famous brewer.It is his beverage that you enjoyed so much last night..."Kyle's voice tapered off, and Annie tried to refocus her attention off Kyle's mouth and the bulge that had appeared beneath his skirt. She scrambled around in her brain to remember last night's meal, and not the one she'd made of Kyle.

The thought brought a huge smile to her lips, however, and when she turned to greet Ishkar, the man stepped back slightly, as if staggered.

"The G.o.ddess has truly blessed you, Lord. This High Priestess is uncommonly beautiful."

Annie laughed out loud. "Why thank you, Ishkar. You are as gracious a man as you are skilled a brewer.May we truly visit your brewery?""It would be my deepest honor, High Priestess." He bowed deeply and reverently, and seemed beside himself when Annie laid her hand on his forearm and allowed him to escort her.

Kyle snorted and followed behind, ignoring the triumphant little smirk Annie tossed over her shoulder.

She couldn't know that the view of her b.u.t.tocks swaying beneath her lightweight silks was reward

enough, or that Kyle's c.o.c.k was tightening with antic.i.p.ation of the night to come.He realized that she also hadn't asked what a Boon Seeker was. But then again, he wasn't sure if hewanted to be within striking distance when she found out about them and their rituals.

The brewery itself was a surprise to Annie. Expecting a rather primitive version of the brewing process she'd read about in her own time, she was amazed at the level of sophistication that Ishkar had developed.

The small brick frontage gave no hint of the enormous open rooms inside where mats were spread to

allow the cooked mixture of barley seeds and bappir, that Ishkar called "mash", to dry.

Ishkar was beside himself at the chance to explain to the High Priestess how the process worked, and she found herself up to her pop-top in talk of sprouted barley, heated mash, flavored mash, cooked mash, in fact mash of every description.

She was proudly informed that straws were not needed for Ishkar's brew, his process used a filter andhe was thinking of applying to the Guild for permission to use the filter as his symbol over his door. Sheprivately considered herself lucky that she hadn't needed a straw-apparently other brews featured lotsof spent barley hulls. Oh yummy. Pity the twenty-first century had eliminated them, she mused. There wa.s.something that could have replaced watermelon pip-spitting as a collegiate sport.

She was taken to the large cool room that had been dug beneath the drying room and into which the

draining liquid fell steadily."And now it ferments, Lady," said Ishkar, winding down his lecture on "Everything She'd Never WantedTo Know About Brewing Sumerian Beer".

She noticed a large pile of jars with tight stoppers stacked neatly at one end of the room."And those are the finished product?""Yes indeed," he sighed."You sound troubled, Master Ishkar. You should be proud of your beer and happy-""Lady, I am very proud. But I am not selling pride, I am selling beer. And unfortunately, not very well.

My market has shrunk, and without the income I have had to cut down on the number of helpers I need. Therefore they and their families have left seeking other jobs, and I have less people to drink my brew. It is a cycle of sadness to me."

Annie nodded, understanding his problem.

She wandered around the room touching this, looking at that, thinking about Ishkar's problem, while Kyle asked Ishkar a few questions of his own.

Annie touched her finger to a spigot at the base of one of the large fermentation vats. The drop on her

finger was a little harsh and tangy for her taste, much as the drink last night had been.

An idea clobbered her behind the ear.

"Master Ishkar..." she crossed the room back to him. "The Moon G.o.ddess has sent me a vision." She

ignored the snort of derision that Kyle was bravely trying to suppress."Do you flavor your beer?""Why would I flavor it, Lady? It tastes of beer. That is how it is supposed to taste.""Agreed. But the taste itself is sharp. Have you considered adding something to sweeten it slightly? I know the fermentation process involves sweetening, perhaps you might consider trying a little date juice along with your grapes just before the fermentation starts."

Ishkar paused, obviously thinking over what she had said.

Annie had to give him points for not scoffing at her suggestion. She'd never brewed her own beer, but had known people who were enthusiasts and had picked up some of the concepts. Thankfully she hadn't been too drunk at the time to retain some of the information, because such knowledge was now coming in handy.

She felt Kyle's eyes on her and turned to see him looking at her with a thoughtful expression."Date juice?""Well, you're the scientist, you tell me. It needs something, don't you think?" She hissed at him almost under her breath, although Ishkar was too deep in contemplation to hear her words.

"You know, Lady, it might work at that." Stroking his chin, Ishkar moved over to the side of the room and picked up a large ladle and a small jar, which he took with him as he walked out.

Obviously forgotten, Annie and Kyle were left alone in the chamber, with only the sound of the dripping

beer.

"At last," breathed Kyle dramatically, slipping his hands around Annie from behind and cupping herb.r.e.a.s.t.s."Kyle," she sputtered. "Supposing Ishkar comes back?""I want to f.u.c.k you, Annie," he whispered seductively into her ear. "I want to be inside you, so deep inside you that you can't take a breath without feeling me."

His fingers rolled her nipples and pinched them, making her gasp and s.h.i.+ver and he pressed a growing erection into her b.u.t.tocks.

"I held back last night because these are my people and I feel honor bound to satisfy their traditions and

rituals." His teeth grated over her neck and brought a moan to her lips. "But tonight, it's us who'll be satisfied. Understand?"

Helpless against his onslaught, a willing Annie nodded, ready to lie down and do it now if he asked. He only chuckled, however, as Ishkar returned from wherever he'd wandered off to, waving his ladle and beaming.

Kyle's hands lingered but finally dropped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s at the last moment. Annie could only hope that Ishkar didn't notice the two prominent lumps in the front of her robe. "It might work, Lady, it might just work. We shall try it. Blessings on the Moon G.o.ddess and you for allowing her words to be heard." He bowed deeply. "Anything we can do for you, just let us know. All that we have is yours. If it succeeds, let it be known that Ishkar will never allow you to pay for a beer again."

Annie smiled graciously at the offer of unlimited keg privileges.

It was good to be a High Priestess.

Chapter 12.

Annie and Kyle left Ishkar's brewery hand in hand.

It was unusual for Annie to allow such a contact, because she'd always believed that demonstrations ofaffection were best kept private. But something inside her wanted to shout out to all of Sumer that theHigh Priest of the Sun G.o.d was hers.

She wanted to hang a sign around his neck, get a tag made for his dog collar, spray him with her perfume or leave her dental imprint on his backside. Anything to make sure the world knew who was with this man.

Then she thought it through. Was he hers? And in what sense? True, ritual had them mated for thirty days, but what then? Would she go back to the Moon G.o.ddess' ziggurat and live there? Would she be able to visit Kyle, or would he visit her? Would they have to wait for another ceremony to be together?

Would he still want her, or would he go on to another priestess?

A frown creased her brow as she realized how little she knew about her current position, and how little

she wanted to ask Kyle.

A product of the twenty-first century, Annie was as scared as any other woman about putting her man "

up against the wall" and talking relations.h.i.+ps or the dreaded "c" word-commitment.

Seems it didn't matter if one went forward or backward in time, some things never changed.

Pragmatically, she shrugged the worries aside. Ens.h.i.+lla could probably answer some of her questions, and there was little she could do to change her situation anyway.

His hand was warm in hers as they strolled the busy streets of Kushuk, and the thought crossed Annie's

mind that if the next thirty days were truly splendid, Kyle might not want to give her up, either. So good s.e.x and plenty of it was going to be the rule if she had her way.

With this rather pleasant vow echoing through her brain, Annie walked on through Ancient Sumer.

Kyle paused to speak to a man.

He was very tall, taller than Kyle, and his skin was darker. His hair was almost black, but streaked with a very prominent lock of gold. His eyes were dark pools and his body looked about as hard as a man could get, all muscles and lean, sharp curves.

She s.h.i.+vered as his eyes coolly and unemotionally surveyed her. Then with a brief polite nod to Annie,the man moved on."Who on earth was that?" she asked, watching him stride away."That was Nerin of Kushuk.""And?""Why?""He's a very good looking guy in an unusual way," she said, honestly.Kyle's eyebrow lifted and he pulled her closer to him.

"You think so, do you?"Annie snickered. "He can't hold a candle to you, Kyle, and you d.a.m.n well know it." Her grin flashed athim.

Kyle relaxed somewhat. Could he have been just the teensiest bit jealous? Oh G.o.d, I hope so, thought