lips lightly against his staff, teasing him until he squirmed under her touch, the urge to penetrate her body growing ever more demanding.
“Take me in your mouth,” he commanded, unable to restrain himself. He used the same voice he would give orders to any soldier.
“Oh, yes, my lord. Whatever you command.” Still taking her time, she closed her mouth over the tip of his member, and used her tongue to force a moan of pleasure from his lips. Slowly she took the full length of his manhood into her mouth, her hair now scattered across his loins, until her lips touched his hard stomach.
“You are a witch.” No other woman had ever managed to take the full length of his aroused staff into her mouth.
She lifted her head and took a breath. “If I’m a witch, why do I do your bidding?” Before he could reply, she began stroking his staff, this time using her cheek against the tip.
Waves of pleasure rushed through him. He’d taken plenty of women while away from Sumer, but none of them compared to her. Unable to restrain himself any longer, Shulgi reached down and pulled her toward him.
With an easy movement, she knelt over him and guided his staff inside her body. Kushanna sighed in pleasure as she sank down on him. She clasped her hands behind her neck and leaned back. Without moving her hips, she used the powerful muscles deep inside her womb to squeeze his rod.
“Do you like that, my brother?”
“Oh, yes, Shanna,” he panted. “There is no one like you.”
“Then let me take you to the pleasure of the gods.” She began to move up and down, grinding her hips, thrusting herself harder and harder against him, keeping him deep inside her.
He felt the warmth of her body as he gazed upon her breasts, swaying above him. Faster and faster she rode his manhood, twisting and pushing against him, until with a cry he burst inside her. Even that did not satisfy her. She kept moving, squeezing him, until he protested and pushed her aside.
“Enough. Any more and I won’t be able to ride for days.”
She brushed the tangle of hair from her face and stretched out beside him, cradling his head against her breasts. “Tonight you will be strong again for me, I promise you.”
His arms encircled her as he lay there, scarcely able to move. Shulgi breathed in the warm musk of her body. His eyes closed, and he let himself relax. Within moments, the feel of her face against his shoulder lulled him back to sleep.
When he woke he found Shanna dressed and standing beside the bed. She wore a soft gown of pure white, and her slaves had combed her hair artfully to frame her features. A tray of fruit, bread, and ale rested on the table. She leaned over and kissed the sleep from his face.
“It’s time you woke up, my brother. Sumer’s noble merchants and traders will assemble here at midday, to hear of your latest conquests. And you don’t want your body to grow weak from too much time in bed.”
Shulgi smiled at that. The long days spent on the back of a horse had tightened every muscle, including, it seemed, his manhood. He’d never spent his seed so often, and with so much force before. For a moment Shulgi considered telling her to remove her dress. He shook the temptation from his mind and pushed himself into a sitting position.
She handed him the ale cup, and he drained its contents. Some day, he knew, Shanna might hand him a cup of poison with as much grace and concern. But not today. And not while there remained so many lands to conquer.
“Tell me of the desert.”
Her voice had lost its pleasure-slave tone. The cunning queen of his empire had returned. He tore a hunk of bread from the loaf. The sour-sweet taste seemed like nectar after the foul-smelling desert fare.
“The last of the Salibs are destroyed. Except for the lands Chief Kapturu claims, the desert is ours.”
“Then there will be no more slaves arriving in Sumer?”
For the last year, captive Salibs, mostly women and children had paraded through Sumer’s lanes, to be sold as slaves throughout Sumeria and even as far north as Akkad. Shulgi’s profits from those sales had nearly equaled the gold and gems taken from the desert-dwellers.
“Kapturu’s horsemen still range the desert fringes, and will continue to supply slaves, though the number will be fewer and the cost higher.”
“We need all the gold we can raise, Shulgi.”
He nodded. “I’ve brought another thousand gold pieces with me, plus three sacks of gemstones. Perhaps that will satisfy you for a time.”
She shook her head. “Another month, perhaps two. But more gold will be needed in the coming year. Unlike Trella in Akkad, we lack a steady supply of silver.”
The mine at Nuzi had flooded the northern lands with the precious metal. Silver coins with the mark of Akkad paid the wages of Eskkar’s soldiers.
“Have you exhausted all the gold from Sumeria’s mines? It seems you spend my spoils of war as fast as I win them.”
Kushanna saw the look of frustration on his face. All the established mines within Sumer’s reach had been confiscated months ago, and their ores used to pay his own soldiers. But the output had always been small, and Kushanna’s demands had exhausted most of them. Hundreds of slaves had died extracting what little remained. Nuzi was a recent find, and could be expected to produce large quantities of gold and silver for some time.
“Don’t chide me with such a frown, brother. My agents have been busy on your behalf. Your captured treasures have bought you support in every Sumerian city. Hundreds of voices throughout the land now clamor for war against Akkad. Your victories in the desert, along with the gold we’ve spread around, have won support for your cause. Larsa, Uruk, Isin, all the cities are raising troops of their own, eager to share in the spoils of Akkad conquest.”
“Just so they’re ready to follow my standard into battle.”
“That campaign, too, is already under way. With the Tanukhs under your command, Sumer will field the largest part of any combined army. Because of that, the rest of the cities already accept your leadership, willingly or not. They understand it’s best to direct their wrath against Akkad than each other. The heavy bribes we’ve paid to their merchants and traders help see to that.”
“Especially now that they know what happened to the Salibs.”
“It’s more than that, Shulgi. Sumer continues to grow. We’re now twice as large as Nippur, and the other cities are even smaller. Their rulers know they will fall under your sway sooner or later. The wise among them will seek to gain as much influence from you as possible. And as much gold and power as they can wrest from Akkad’s defeat.”
Kushanna had indeed done well. Shulgi had thought it might take another year or two before all of Sumeria acknowledged his leadership. Instead in less than a single year he had already accomplished far more than his father ever dreamed.
“Then it’s time to issue a call for more of their soldiers to join me in the desert. The sooner they learn how to fight under my command, the better.”
Hundreds from the other cities had already flocked to his standard, desperate men searching for loot, young men seeking glory, petty thieves and outcasts seeking escape from their crimes. Razrek had accepted them all, feeding them into his training camps. Already many had turned into competent fighters and even subcommanders.
“Yes, my brother, that can be done. I’ll dispatch messengers tomorrow.”
“Any news from Akkad?”
“Of course. I have a dozen agents living there, and reports come from every trader who visits. Eskkar continues to recruit men and train them in the north. He shuffles them around from training camp to training camp, trying to keep their numbers secret. But more than a few have deserted, thanks to your gold. We know all about his spearmen and cavalry. But no matter how hard the barbarian tries, he won’t be able to raise more than three or four thousand fighters, perhaps a little more.”
Shulgi already had more than that number in his own camps at the edge of the desert. With the hordes of Tanukh horse fighters, Eskkar of Akkad was greatly outnumbered.
Kushanna saw the look. “Don’t count your victory yet, brother. Eskkar is trying to make up for his smaller force with greater training. His force of infantry spearmen is reputed to be fierce, and his horsemen grow more
