As Long As by Jackie Ivie Page A

on an ordinary, common, boring basis. And then she needed to stick her feet firmly to it.
    All, while studiously ignoring how her chest hurt.
    Geena had never considered a love interest in her life. She’d worked hard to be unlovable. Unapproachable. Cold. She couldn’t afford to feel anything for a man. And with Sokar? Why...he shouldn’t even be an option. He was a psychopath. A demonic killer with amazing reflexes, unbelievable speed, impressive mental acuity, jaw-dropping abilities as an illusionist...
    Geena stopped adding to the mental list. There was too much to consider, even before the vampirism and immortality stuff. What had he claimed? He was three thousand, eight hundred years old?
    Oh. Give me a break .
    No way. The man was mid-twenties. Barely. Extremely fit. Nicely put together. Sinfully handsome. She couldn’t seem to forget how amazingly skilled he was in the sex department, either. A thread of heat slid through her and pooled in her lower belly.
    Wrong.
    This was so wrong.
    Despite how it felt just to be near him, Sokar was firmly in the ‘ DO NOT TOUCH ’ arena. It didn’t matter how amazing making love with him had been. Nor how much fun it was to argue with him. His nearness made her thighs turn to mush, her innards quiver, and her breath catch. The touch of his hand to hers right now warmed the area around her heart so severely, it swelled. Her chest grew even more painfully tight...
    Ah! She had to cease this. It wasn’t helping. She was not willing to fall in love with Sokar.
    Period.
    They arrived finally at an impressively ornate metal door with a combination locking mechanism at the center. Geena watched silently while he spun the dial. Turned down the lever. Pulled it open. She jerked backward as a huge Egyptian statue loomed out of the blackness. Life-size and set atop a pedestal, it would have been the crown jewel of acquisitions for any number of museums. The figure presented in a walking position, barefoot, holding a spear. The skin was glossy black enamel. The kilt and headdress were painted white. Everything else was gold; the spear tip, breastplate, arm bands, belt. And its eyes were inset with light greenish-yellow stones.
    Sokar caught her backward stumble easily. He waited until she regained her footing before releasing her. He was probably laughing but it didn’t sound in his voice.
    “This is one of my ka statues. It is meant as a replacement during reincarnation. In the event the body has been destroyed.”
    “I didn’t major in it, but I got a liberal amount of Egyptology in my education. I’ve seen ka statues. I have never seen one in this condition.”
    “There will also be ba statues. They have a human head and the body of a bird. They represent the soul and its ability to move.”
    “You have those, too?”
    “Yes.”
    “Well. It doesn’t look much like you, but I think they did a great job on the big, bad, and scary part.”
    She smiled. He grunted and looked away.
    He led the way around the statue and into what looked like miles of tunnel. Dimly lit. She couldn’t see an end. It was also instantly hotter. Dry. The air conditioning must not extend this far. Geena’s shoulders dropped. Why was everything against her?
    “Sokar?”
    “Yes?”
    She tipped her head up to his. He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “How far is it?”
    “That depends on our destination. Which tomb do you wish to see first? Mine? Or my father’s?”
    “You realize that asking that question makes you sound crazy. Answering it is going to make me sound just as insane.”
    He sighed loudly.
    “Yours,” Geena inserted before he’d finished.
    “About six kilometers.”
    “That far?”
    “Yes.”
    “That will take some time.”
    “We have time.”
    “Well. It’s going to get hot and sweaty if we walk, isn’t it?”
    “Sweaty?”
    “You don’t sweat, either?”
    “I...might.”
    “Might?”
    “I am uncertain. I feel the heat. That means I will probably sweat.”
    “You are