Meeting Aiser

Dr Ellie Stevens had no idea what she was letting herself in for when she walked into the British Museum that evening. In fact, she was slightly surprised that Professor Alexander had even remembered to send her the invitation to this, his famous mummy unwrapping at all; then she recalled the brisk and efficient girl with the clipboard and thought that her job was probably exactly this, to follow the professor around and do the things he had promised. Nice job.

Ellie couldn't see Kaiser and hoped this wasn't going to be a wasted evening when a warm hand took her arm, and she looked up and he was there beside her, looking down at her through fringed black eyes. He had the most absurdly thick eyelashes she had ever seen on a man.

"I thought you were just being polite to my father," he said. He must have moved silently and stealthily as a cat, Ellie thought, to have reached her like this without her being aware of it.

"I'm not really the polite type," she replied. She didn't know how she knew it, but his eyes held a smile, though his face was as impassive as before.

"No," he said, "I can imagine. If you've never seen a mummy unwrapped before we should sit quite close to the front." And, his hand still on her arm, he manoeuvred her effortlessly through the crowd, acknowledging the people who greeted him. He was wearing a white cotton shirt again, and khakis, his sleeves rolled up over brown elbows. When they sat his forearm brushed against hers, and then stayed there, relaxed on the arm of his chair. Women, Ellie noted, looked at him constantly, but if they planned on catching his attention they failed. He leaned his head slightly towards her, his eyes on the stage and the painted mummy case that lay on a covered trestle table. Professor Alexander stood at the side in animated conversation with two men.

"My father," he told her softly, "has a theatrical streak that he would die rather than admit to. You should have seen his 'exorcisms' to calm our workers on a dig a few years ago when we discovered a new tomb." Ellie saw that small movement again at the corners of his mouth, and heard the amusement in his voice.

"Ah," she said, "so he's the exhibitionist in the family?" Unexpectedly Kaiser turned his face to her, and his dense black eyes were very bright.

"I," he said gently, "have my moments." It made Ellie laugh; it made her wonder. Before she could reply his father moved forward to the front of the stage and leant casually on the lectern and, as if he were at home with his family, started talking, easily, eloquently, comfortably, and Ellie, to her surprise, found her attention engaged.

Physically, the two men were very similar: Kaiser had inherited his father's black hair and dark complexion, and height. But the professor was broader, thicker, while the man beside her was built with the lean lines of a hunting cat: long legs stretched gracefully, not awkwardly, in front of him; his hands with their long, sensitive fingers curled easily around the arm of the chair. Ellie shivered and thought of Francis, previously the most beautiful and graceful man she knew, golden and elegant, and wondered what he and Kaiser would look like together: light and dark, day and night, angel and devil. Only Francis wasn't by anyone's standards uncomplicated or even always morally correct; and Kaiser?

"The mummy case is wood; typical of an 18th dynasty burial, but painted with a gold lacquer and then enamelled. The face painting is on linen, again typical, and tells us that the deceased was high-born but not royal. We might expect to find amulets and other charms and implements useful to the deceased on their journey through the underworld interspersed through the mummy wrappings, assuming, of course, that the body hasn't already been robbed." Kaiser's father was enjoying himself enormously, and held the attention of the room effortlessly. Ellie knew she too would have been absorbed if it weren't for this man beside her. His physical presence, unexpectedly, disturbed her. Their shoulders were pressed lightly together, and Ellie wondered now which one of them had moved first. She hoped it had been him. The bare flesh of his arm lay against hers, brown against her golden tan, and built on elegant bones. His thighs were hard and she suddenly imagined kneeling between them, her palms spread flat on his taut body. Ellie took a slow careful breath and held it and then let it out gently. As if he could read her thoughts Kaiser turned his head and looked full into her eyes, and everything that she felt was echoed excitingly there.

And then the audience was clapping and talking excitedly and moving, and Ellie realised a little dazedly that the professor had stopped talking.

"A break," Kaiser said, and even his dark voice now was inviting. "Then my father will start on the mummy." Ellie felt like they were the only two people still sitting, and made a move to stand. Kaiser moved with her, amusement somewhere in his face.

"Doctor Alexander!" a voice called peremptorily, and a small man with a few strands of grey-red hair combed neatly over his scalp waved and pushed his way towards them.

"Damn!" Ellie heard Kaiser swear under his breath. He introduced Ellie to Eric Rudge, the Director of the British Museum, and Ellie found herself swept by cold grey eyes and then dismissed. It was not the way men usually looked at her. Rudge had leapt into a complaining technical conversation with Kaiser, who, Ellie thought, was exasperatingly amused.

"Excuse me," she murmured and backed away.

It was cool and peaceful in the bathroom. Ellie washed her hands and then studied her reflection. Her golden blonde hair was loose and casual, and her deep blue eyes bright in her tanned face. She wore little make-up, as she thought appropriate for an academic, but frankly she didn't need it. She smiled at herself, her red lips curving delightfully, and then snapped the smile off her face as the door opened.

It was Kaiser.

They stood for a long moment looking at each other, and then his hand reached out casually and switched off the light. Even though it was bright outside there was only one window in here, high up on the wall and the natural light was dim. He moved soundlessly, a dark shadow, and then Ellie felt his hands on her shoulders, then sliding down slowly till her hands were held in his. Her skin had shivered under his touch. He had given her every opportunity to move away and she hadn't.

He drew her into a cubicle and shut the door. If he had tried to kiss her first it probably wouldn't have happened, but he didn't. Almost soundlessly he slid his hand under her light skirt and touched her very softly through her pants. It was impossible, Ellie thought, somewhere, that such a small touch, not even flesh to flesh, could start such a blaze of desire. One part of her mind watched, interested, as the rest of her yielded utterly to this strange and bewitching man whom she barely knew.

Her head was back against the wall, and one hand was clenched on his arm, but not to stop him. His fingers were gentle on her thighs, sliding the silk aside, and then touching her. She had been watching his hands: long and brown and hard, and yet he stroked her with such delicacy. One finger slid inside her, and her hips moved with him to take him deeper, and she heard her breath leave her body. She pulled him closer, her left hand sliding up his arm to his shoulder, and she realised the taut and compact muscle that lay under the loose cotton of his clothes.

Then his finger withdrew and his hands lifted her easily, so that her long legs wrapped effortlessly around his hips, her back braced against the cubicle wall. And then he bent his head and he kissed her, not on the mouth, but on her exposed throat. His lips she had already explored with her eyes, and now she felt them on her skin, heated and delicious. There were no artificial scents about him, just hot skin and soft cotton. He took one hand away from her, so that he was holding her up one handed, and Ellie heard the sound of a zip and then his hips moved closer, and she felt his cock against her.

He felt very big, and she wanted to feel him first with her fingers, but he was pushing already, trying to get inside her. It should have been impossible: this was sex with practically no fore-play; he was big, bigger than any man she had ever felt; and yet, as he moved patiently, inch by inch, Ellie felt her body yield and take him.

Her head went back with the pleasure of it and she let out a cry; his hand covered her mouth instantly, and the scent of him was all around her. They never spoke a word, but it wasn't silent sex. Both of them were breathing hard, until Ellie broke away and pulled him tighter still so that her face was pressed against the side of his throat, and her fingers dug hard into his strong shoulders. His skin was slick with sweat, and his hips were slamming against her, and she could feel her orgasm, so close, closer and then it was there, and her teeth were in his neck, and he too was pressed and shuddering against her, and in that moment, the lights came on and female footsteps walked across the floor.

Shaking in the aftermath of climax, they froze against each other. Ellie listened, her heart thudding still as the woman went into a cubicle at the other end, away from them, and sat down and peed noisily. She felt Kaiser tighten his hold on her, as if warning her not to laugh. It was hard. They were tangled together, Ellie held between his hard body and the wall, and this woman sat, feet away and oblivious. She finished and then washed her hands, and then it went quiet. Little clicks told Ellie that she was re-doing her make-up, probably quite a lot of it, and she wondered if Kaiser would drop her. It felt like he could hold her forever. Finally footsteps clicked against the tiled floor and then the door shut behind her.

For the first time, Ellie heard Kaiser laugh.

He continued to hold her, until Ellie herself moved and then he let her gently to the ground. She could feel his semen on her thighs. He was unashamed and unapologetic, and though he had zipped up he still looked like he had just had sex: his shirt, perhaps, pulled over one shoulder, or his mouth, softened for once, or his eyes?

"Get out of here," Ellie said softly, and then unlocked the cubicle door and gave him a push. She heard the main door shut behind him.

When Ellie came out minutes later she was prepared to go back into the lecture room and sit next to him, cool, refined, controlled. Instead she found Kaiser waiting for her outside, and he came forward and unexpectedly took her hand.

"Did you actually want to see the mummy unwrapped?" he asked, "or shall I just describe it to you?" He was very confident: an attractive thing in a lover. He started telling her exactly what Professor Alexander would be doing now, and what he would be finding, his voice even and remarkable, and Ellie could have protested but didn't, and so found herself in a taxi on her way back to his flat, wherever that was.

Kaiser sat very close to her, one arm around her shoulder drawing her near, and the other stroked her arm, the back of his thumb pressing against her breast. Ellie knew it was deliberate, but knowing didn't stop her response. She was very conscious of the driver. He continued to tell her about the opening of the mummy, and all the time his fingers moved delicately closer to her breast, until they were brushing her nipple. He would feel now how hard it was, how aroused. His voice never stopped, but his hand cupped her breast, his thumb circling on her sensitive flesh and Ellie thought she would faint with the forbidden pleasure of it, here in the back of a taxi.

Her eyes met those of the driver in the rear mirror and her excitement leapt. Kaiser had both hands now on her breasts over her thin t-shirt and made no attempt to hide what he was doing. Dear Lord! Ellie thought, let's get to his flat soon, or he's going to do it here, and I don't believe I would stop him! She was trying to maintain some sense of where they were; definitely heading west, at least. Kaiser took her hand and placed it on his cock, and Ellie hovered and hesitated and he pressed her fingers there. He was very hard again, and hot even through his clothes. They were locked together but there could be no doubt about what they were doing. Christ, he's big! The driver coughed.

"Fulham High Street," he said, "which end do you want?"

"Just before Putney Bridge." Kaiser, damn him, sounded perfectly controlled; as if he didn't have his hands on her breasts, as if her fingers weren't stroking him avidly. Ellie pinched him lightly and had the satisfaction of hearing him gasp. He bit her neck. At least she knew now where they were going.

Kaiser paid for the cab and met the knowing smirk of the driver blankly with just the merest hint of a raise in his black eyebrows. His hand was in Ellie's again. He hadn't kissed her on the mouth.

He lived in a mansion block on the main road. His apartment was small and very lived in: a litter of books and papers lay over all the available surfaces, and warm, presumably Egyptian, rugs covered all the wooden floor. All his books were related to his work, Ellie realised immediately.

"So what do you do to relax?" she asked. He had taken off his shoes and followed her in, perching himself on the edge of the large desk.

"This is my life," he said, "not just my work. But I do get a lot of social invitations." Ellie remembered the women looking at him everywhere he went.

"I'm sure you do," she said. The room smelt like his skin: of heat and sun and warm leather and exotic spices. Was he genuinely only interested in Egyptology, or was there another side of him, hidden?

He reached out a hand and clasped her wrist and drew her closer. With him sitting, they were the same height, mouth to mouth. The dream enfolded Ellie again. She had to touch him. Ellie's hands went to his throat and then slipped the rest of his buttons free. His chest was smooth and brown as his arms, his muscles toned and taut, without any excess flesh. Her mouth followed her hands, and her teeth found his flat nipples while her fingers fumbled impatiently with his trousers, and then the cotton parted and his cock sprang up, thick and solid.

Ellie had felt it, but had not seen it. It was as beautiful as the rest of him: smooth and straight and dark gold-brown without a trace of raw red. It felt very hot in her hand, and as she stroked down she found that her fingers couldn't meet at its base. Looking at his size it seemed impossible that this had actually been inside her. She knelt and licked delicately over the tip then opened her mouth and took his cock in. He tasted wonderful. She sucked him, not wanting to stop, her fingers stroking his balls, her palm pushing his muscular thighs apart and she could feel his hips moving gently, as he held himself back from thrusting deeper into her throat.

She wanted to taste his cum. He hadn't made a sound other than his harsh breathing, even now when she was moving over him, taking him deep then pulling back till just the head was in her mouth. She swirled her tongue hard around him, and then explored more gently and found the places where he was most sensitive and concentrated there, tormenting him wickedly. She could feel the trembling of his stomach muscles as he fought for control, and she drew her mouth down lower and licked his balls, her hand pumping him harder, and could feel he was about to cum. He was probably the only man she had ever been with who didn't insist on telling her. Moving quickly she covered his cock with her mouth and felt him tense and then he was cumming, hard, in her throat. She swallowed and then looked up and met his unfathomable eyes.

After that Kaiser carried her to the sofa and undressed her and brought her down to the soft cushions. He was on top of her, his hips between her wide spread thighs, his hands fingering her hard nipples. Neither of them was gentle. With his hands still on her breasts, Kaiser moved lower and used his tongue between her legs, pushing into her, biting against her thighs and Ellie knew that the marks of it would show the next day on her fragile skin. She was so wet, so excited, desperate for his violent caresses, his black hair silk against her skin. He took her clitoris between his lips and with heart-stopping expertise drove her to a swift and heavy climax. Ellie's back was arched up over the sofa, her fingers clenched into the cushions and before she could come down off this peak he moved and took her thighs over his arms so that she was pressed wide open to him, and then she felt the pressure of his massive cock against her.

She was so wet and in any case they had done this before, but all the same he seemed bigger, both longer and thicker and the intensity of what he was doing to her left Ellie dizzy. This had to be the most sexual sex she had ever had. And then he was fully inside her, and moving slowly, too slowly. She wanted him to ram it into her like he had in the toilet, and she pushed her hips hard up against him. He lifted his head.

"No," he said, and with one hand pushed her hips down, still moving with excruciating and deliberate slowness. He was heavy on her, and the room smelt of sex and sweat and semen. His back was flexing beneath her grasping fingers, slick with fresh sweat. It was impossible to think; impossible to do anything other than submit to this spellbinding man who had tapped somehow into her most primitive and visceral emotions.

She was desperate to cum, desperate for release from the power of this, and then something moved on the sofa and she looked up into the still orange eyes of a large cat, sitting and watching them disdainfully. Ellie felt fear and it mingled with the need she felt for this man's body in hers. He was still moving slowly and strongly but she knew with certainly that he too was finding this overwhelming. Then the cat reached out a malicious paw, and stretched its claws and ran them painfully down Ellie's arm; and at the same moment Kaiser thrust once hard against her, and Ellie fell, shuddering, through the red pleasure of climax into darkness.

When Ellie's breathing had slowed and she felt capable of opening her eyes the cat was still there, though reduced now to a large but undoubtedly domestic animal.

"I take it," she murmured, "that this is your familiar?" She felt him laugh silently. She could feel the cat had drawn blood from her arm.

"This is the cat Bastet," he said, "the Egyptian's cat goddess." He dropped his face and kissed her scored flesh. "She knows that you will be bad for me."

He lay still over her, heavy and warm on her body. Ellie could feel their skin sticking together.

"Bad for you?" she echoed as if it didn't matter. Kaiser raised his head so that he could look at her face. His black eyes were still inscrutable but his mouth had softened, and he looked suddenly younger.

"My mother," he said, "is famous for her premonitions." His lips twisted in wry humour. "But when I saw you for the first time at the Egyptian gallery I knew that I had to have you, and that if I did it would end badly."

"Well, you've certainly had me," Ellie said lightly. She wondered what he was trying to tell her. The cat finally lost patience and jumped off the back of the sofa. "I can't imagine you having a mother," Ellie continued. "You mean you didn't just spring fully-formed from the head of Zeus? Or am I mixing my ancient civilisations?" She couldn't imagine why he didn't laugh more often, but then perhaps it was better for the sake of women everywhere that he didn't. "She didn't," Ellie asked forbiddingly, "really name you Kaiser?"

"Worse," he told her. "My real name is Walter; Walter Julius Alexander. Walter for my uncle, Julius as it was my mother's maiden name. I'm glad," he said without a pause, "that you find it so amusing." It was the first time Ellie had seen him smile: a wide, open smile, revealing the even white teeth that she had felt in the soft flesh of her throat and her thighs.