Read Visions of Fire and Ice (The Petiri) for Free Online Page B

drink to the bar. “I have business to attend here.”
    “I know your kind of business, Amunkha. It’s the kind that leaves people dead,” Ramose whispered harshly.
    “So, you left your pretty companion already?” Amunkha asked, ignoring Ramose’s words, his voice silky smooth. “Perhaps I should ask if she would wish a late dinner.”
    The words cut through Ramose like a knife in his belly. A knife which had no business in his life.
    “I thought tourists were beneath you.”
    “No,” Amunkha shook his head, his eyes thoughtful. “I don’t think she’s a mere tourist. Something—”
    The bitter taste of anger on his tongue reminded Ramose of his mission. The Napshua . Keeping the woman safe was primary until he had that arm bracelet back in their custody. “I want you out of Cairo by tomorrow morning. And leave the tourists alone. “
    Ramose turned and stalked across the foyer, fighting to hide emotions he normally held under tight control. What in the gods’ names was happening? For centuries, he’d been known for his stoic leadership of his people, yet Tamara’s scent still coiled inside him, a sleeping serpent, waiting to steal the last ounce of his strength. And it wouldn’t take much.
    He bypassed the revolving door and let his palm slam open the flat glass doors beside it, then, once outside, he stopped, taking in the cool night air.
    Breathing in the desert air, especially at night, had always calmed him. So different from Petiri, yet so similar. Old oxygen pushed from his lungs, filling with the soft, silky breeze of the desert evening. While the scent was normal, it didn’t ease the discomfort. On the contrary, he already missed the loss of Tamara’s scent, the perfume of lilies. He’d always been partial to the scent, but he hadn’t realized how aroused it could make him.
    He glanced up into the starlit night. The moon hung low and bright, recovering from an earlier eclipse. One he’d been too busy to note. Instead, his eyes had been filled with the human woman.
    The premonition had told him his life was about to change. And it had.

Chapter Seven
    Tamara leaned against the inside of her hotel room door, letting her brain digest the night’s events. Her body still burned with an unexpected desire for Ramose. She wasn’t disappointed he hadn’t kissed her. That would be stupid. Nobody kissed each other only hours after they meet. Or did they?
    She frowned. It was time to be honest with herself, and there was no doubt, had he kissed her, she would have gladly participated. Even now, her lips ached to feel the warmth and pressure of his, to taste the masculine mouth.
    Tamara groaned at the wave of heat rushing in her blood and shoved away from her support, heading to the phone. She spent enough time in dreams of which she had no control. No need to add self-induced desires to the list. She dialed her cousin’s room. Julie answered on the fourth ring.
    “What? I’m busy.”
    Tamara heard Jeff laughing in the background. She could just guess how busy her sweet cousin was.
    “Julie, why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded.
    “Tell you what? Oh, that… Well, you know how things work. I shouldn’t tell people their futures. It’s not right. It takes out—”
    “Free will, I know,” Tamara snapped, dragging her fingers through her hair. “But, damn it, you left me there. What if he’s an axe murderer or something? You told me to be careful.”
    “What makes you think he’s an axe murderer? He was in your dreams. Did he kill people?”
    “Yes.” Tamara didn’t hesitate. He had killed people in her dreams. Most of which she was sure deserved it in the end. Images of him fighting, bravely meeting the aggression of others head on flitted in her mind’s eye. Naked from the waist up, sweating, the tattoo on his face nearly pulsating with his power. “But it’s not the same man. It can’t be.”
    “Maybe it’s his reincarnated self. You know, most people who are reincarnated