Title: Pharaoh’s Bed
Author: Mukami Ngari
Series: Nubia Love
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Love Africa Press
Release date: October 18, 2019
TAGLINE: Can you love someone who ruins everything you cherish?
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BLURB:
Maa's dreams come true when the prince of Aksum chooses her to be his bride. However on the night of their marriage ceremony, the evil Pharaoh Lamani of Kemet invades Aksum with his army. He takes the throne and Maa as his concubine.
She should hate him, but each time their eyes meet it feels like she has known him all her life. Like the hauntingly beautiful Lamani should be hers.
Can she love someone who ruins everything she cherishes?
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EXCERPT
The giant led her into the throne room and paraded her before the man casually sitting on Prince Omek’s throne.
“Here she is, Pharaoh,” the giant said.
Pharaoh?
One look at the wadjet on his head, and her mouth dropped in horror.
Pharaoh Lamani.
She had heard many stories about him, and all of them were horrible, to say the least. First, people said he was an evil sorcerer. They also said that the big pyramid he was building was overlaid with blood, the blood of his enemies, and that when he died, a thousand servants would be buried alive beside him.
But even in the worst of stories, the story teller never failed to mention that Pharaoh Lamani was sculpted by Ari, the show-off god. Standing before him now, Maa could see why.
Only a god could be blamed for how good-looking he was.
He had the rich, dark colour of fertile Nile soil, and his painted eyes were as haunting as they were beautiful. One moment, they promised her all the treasures of the land, and the next, they warned her to run away as fast as she could.
And now, she found herself wanting to look again.
She felt a hum in her blood as her eyes wandered to his sculpted chest and down to his powerful thighs barely covered by leopard skin.
Pharaoh Lamani chuckled; he had caught her staring. She tore her gaze away. He rose from the throne and took measured steps towards her. Her heart raced in anticipation. She took a step back, and another, and then bumped into a statue.
Moments later, the pharaoh towered before her in an intimidating stance.
He smelled like freshly cut cedar wood.
“The spy was right.” His voice rumbled in a deep growl. “I have never seen such beauty.”
Maa suddenly felt faint, and her head started swimming. That voice. He had the voice from her dream.
“Where is my husband?” she managed to ask.
“I gave your husband a choice, to stay and fight or to run for his life. He chose to run.”
It did not sound true. Omek was the bravest warrior in Aksum. There was no way he would run like a coward and leave his kingdom in the enemy’s hands.
“He never even looked back.” The pharaoh’s eyes lit in amusement.
“He would never do that. He is a brave warrior,” she whispered.
Her mouth had gone dry. She did not want to believe he was the voice in her dream.
It’s a spell.
He had put a spell on her. This good-looking sorcerer had wielded magic on her, and that’s why she was feeling warm in all the wrong places.
“How well do you know your husband, Princess?” he asked.
He searched her eyes as if looking for something or calling something forth. Maa’s toes dug into her sandals.
“Aksum is ready for you, my pharaoh.” A short man with a fair complexion interrupted them.
Maa thanked the gods for the distraction. She did not want to be alone with this sorcerer. Whatever spell he was cooking on her was already taking root of her body and her senses. He was making her feel … things she didn’t want to experience. Not for a man other than her husband.
“We should not keep them waiting, then,” the pharaoh said, his gaze still scorching through her.
Don’t give in to his spell.
“Tear your silks,” he ordered.
Maa looked behind her. Perhaps there was someone else in the room wearing silks.
“You, Princess.”
What a strange request.
“No. Why?” she asked out of curiosity.
“Well, I have to make the people believe that I truly conquered Aksum.” He winked.
It took a moment to sink in. Good grief, he wanted the people to think he had bedded her, their new princess. He wanted to humiliate her.
She had heard before of brutal conquerors who bedded the queens and princesses of the lands they conquered as a show of dominance. She had just never thought it would ever happen to her.
“No … I’m not tearing my silks”
“Or would you rather I truly conquer Aksum, hmm? Because I can, and I will ... and I really, really want to” He licked his lips as his gaze lingered hungrily up and down her body.
That was all the motivation she needed—he looked like a man who meant what he said. Maa fumbled as she quickly felt for the hem of her silks. She tried hard to tear at it, but the cloth would not rip.
“It can’t tear,” she said triumphantly.
The pharaoh drew her to him, and their bodies clung together. He made a little tear at the chest, and then he felt for the hem and tore through it.
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