Chapter 20
She basked in the fiery desert sunlight, enjoying the way its radiance settled over her bare alabaster skin. In contrast to the heat, below her waist the water of the pool felt cool and refreshing, its weight and gentle rippling motion not unlike a lover’s caress against her body. The air was filled with laughter and the carefree squeals of several nymph-like figures splashing about in the water nearby, the sound of their merriment underscored by the cascading waterfall behind her. All around her was the lush greenery of the seraglio gardens, and the breeze rolling in from the ocean smelled of honey-suckle and salt. Dae closed her eyes and tilted her face back, spreading her hands out to caress the surface of the water. She was filled with a sense of utter freedom and hedonistic joy at being fully naked and exposed in the outside air.
A hand slipped around her left hip, callused fingers moving beneath the water against her skin, lazily exploring her curves before wandering over her belly. She gave a low moan of encouragement as the fingers ventured lower, teasing over her smooth pubic mound but never quite touching her sex. She kept her eyes closed so she could focus on the familiar caresses, and when a second hand wrapped around her waist to join the first, she leaned back against the lean, powerful body behind her. While the woman continued to explore her bare flesh, Dae reached back around herself to touch her in return, pulling their bodies tighter together. She smiled when she felt her lover affectionately nuzzle her neck, unable to suppress a giggle of delight when she felt lips begin planting a line of wet kisses along her shoulder up to her ear.
“My precious Tahirah,” an accented, sultry voice whispered against her. “I swore we would never be parted. We are as one…bonded and bound for all eternity.”
A shiver of excitement washed over her skin at the sound of Zafirah’s voice…the feel of her hands upon her, the strength of her body melding itself tightly against her own. An aching tension filled her, and the fingers caressing along the crease of her upper thigh finally descended and stroked her swollen clitoris, then ventured lower to part the lips of her bare sex.
As the spark of arousal warmed her lower body, Dae finally opened her eyes and turned to face the woman behind her; Zafirah’s sapphire gaze was filled with adoration and a burning desire which matched her own. Dae reached down and took hold of her wrist, pressing her fingers more firmly against her, stroking where the ache was keenest.
“I need you,” she heard herself whisper. “Gods, Zafirah, I need to feel you inside me! Please…”
Zafirah gave her a rapacious grin. “Soon, my little minx…my Consort. Be patient.”
A wave of pleasure rolled through her and when Dae’s lips parted in a soft sigh, Zafirah dipped down to claim her mouth with a slow kiss of simmering passion. Dae’s tongue darted out to meet hers, sinuous and demanding, and she turned in the taller woman’s embrace so she could wrap her arms around Zafirah’s body.
As the fingers stroked between her legs Dae felt her desire flare with sudden, primal need…a hunger too long denied satiation. When she finally broke their ardent kiss, it was only so she could begin tasting more of her partner’s flesh—licking, kissing, sucking on every inch of olive skin before her. Her hands began a feverish exploration of the muscular body held against her; she cupped Zafirah’s breasts as her lips descended, taking in the full tip of her left nipple and suckling forcefully, tasting metal on her tongue. Soon she was tugging at the emerald and silver marital ring with her teeth, reveling in the shudders of ecstasy she felt coursing through her partner’s muscles. Zafirah’s fingers rolled over her clitoris with confident skill, then teased her entrance before slipping inside. An approving moan rumbled deep in Dae’s throat, and she felt the familiar curling tension begin to build within her.
Lost in the mutual ravishing, Dae pulled away from Zafirah with a startled squeak when she felt new hands spreading their fingers over her buttocks. A second later more hands caressed her beneath the water, and she turned to find herself surrounded by half a dozen naked, female figures. The other pleasure-servants smiled at her look of surprise, then, as Zafirah’s mouth began some explorations of its own, they moved closer, their touches light and stirring. Dae could only moan in wanton delight, quickly abandoning all sense of modesty as she allowed her senses to be teased and tempted.
Delicate hands explored every inch of her naked flesh beneath the water—fingers trailing down her spine, fondling her ass and caressing down her thighs, while talented lips and tongues claimed her upper body. Carnal words of admiration and want were whispered into her ear, descriptions of the most wicked and salacious acts her imagination could concoct, promising to fulfill her every need…satisfy her every lust. Dae was soon lost in the swirling haze of rising passion, completely adrift amid an ocean of swelling lust.
She reached out to begin returning the attention, not knowing who she was touching but hardly caring. There was bare flesh everywhere around her, soft curves and smooth skin, and every movement she made seemed to feed her ravenous appetite with new and overwhelming sensations. And through it all Dae felt the Scion’s fingers filling her, felt her eyes devouring the spectacle of her as she gave herself over to this orgiastic ravishing. She felt heat against her hip, someone rubbing against her with rhythmic, grinding passion, and when she managed to focus her attention on the sensation she realized it was Zafirah. She locked eyes with her mate and was instantly ensnared by the intense, ravening heat behind those sapphire gems.
“Will you come with me, Tahirah?” Zafirah’s voice was throaty and low-pitched. “I draw closer every moment. Will you come?”
“Yesss!” It was more than Dae could endure…this longing, this ache, this relentless, coiling tension that threatened to burst within her. She squeezed her eyes shut tight in ecstasy, shaking and trembling, certain she would die if the pleasurable assault of her lovers paused for even a heartbeat. “Please, Zafirah! I can’t wait!”
“You must, my love. Control your passion…let me come for you.”
“I-It’s too much! Gods, please, I need this so much! Don’t deny me!”
“Be patient, my Consort…just a little longer. I come for you.”
Zafirah’s voice seemed to fill her, promising and reassuring. Dae’s legs weakened with the first deep spasms of release. She struggled for breath, panting and gasping, feeling Zafirah’s hands grip her tight and pull her against the slick, furious heat of her core. A cry of rapturous delight split the air, and Dae opened her eyes to watch her lover ascend.
But suddenly, the sound cut off.
The hands caressing her stilled.
Confused, Dae looked up into eyes no longer filled with passion, but with a fixed determination that was no less intense. Zafirah gazed back at her, her regal features serious. She leaned closer, her voice a distant comfort.
“The Gods themselves cannot keep me from your side,” she whispered, her breath like a warm breeze against Dae’s lips. “I will come for you, aziza. I will come.”
Dae felt the world around her become something insubstantial, fading away like smoke and shadows. Tears stung her eyes as she tried to hold on to Zafirah, to bring her back, but her hands clutched empty air. The last thing she saw before darkness descended were those sapphire eyes staring back at her, glowing with a primal inner light.
Dae woke, breathless and disoriented. It took her a moment to realize where she was, and when she finally regained her equilibrium, a cloud of bitter disappointment settled over her. She sat up in her bed, the night air chill against her bare upper body.
Gods, it had felt so real! So intense. It took Dae a moment to realize that while the dream may have been no more than a delicious fiction, the arousal it had inspired was very real. Her nipples were hard as flint, so sensitive that even the touch of the woolen blanket against them was almost painfully pleasurable. Her senses were still completely inflamed and she could feel the wetness between her legs still pulsing in expectation of release. Her cheeks grew warm when she realized the fingers of her right hand must have snuck beneath the waistband of her sleeping trousers while she was lost in her dream fantasy, for they were coated with the tell-tale honey of her excitement.
Knowing she would never be able to get back to sleep until her arousal had been appeased, Dae gleefully surrendered to the inevitable. Rolling onto her stomach, she set the edge of her palm against the slick heat of her sex and began grinding her hips in tight, hunching circles. It occurred to her that the room had fallen suspiciously silent—that is if one discounted her own quiet whimpers of need. Normally she would have expected to hear the sound of Tricia’s gentle snoring, and the silence made her wonder if perhaps one or more of her roommates had been woken by her dream-induced self-pleasuring. The thought that they were listening even now only made her inner fire burn that much hotter, and Dae buried her face into the pillow so her vocalizations could become more enthusiastic and unrestrained while at least maintaining an outward appearance of discretion.
It didn’t surprise her that her sleeping mind would conjure such a vivid erotic dream; Dae had come to realize that her recent efforts to arouse the interest of the other women in the reformatory was not without its drawbacks. All the teasing and playful flaunting of her body was incredibly stimulating, and since Dae had no outlet to vent her rising passions, it seemed only natural that her unconscious mind would seek some kind of release.
Recalling her dream fantasy, it didn’t take long for Dae to bring her senses to a peak of ecstasy. She focused on the still-vivid image of Zafirah’s eyes fixed upon her with burning intensity…the feel of her body and the hands of the other pleasure-servants exploring her most intimate and electrified flesh. She recalled Zafirah’s words from her fantasy, their sincere and determined promise, and whispered them aloud into her pillow just to taste their reality. “I will come for you. Gods, yes! Come for me!”
A heartbeat later the waves of a climax rolled through her trembling body, and Dae worked her hips furiously to hold the pinnacle for as long as she could. The pressure of her palm against her exploding core kept her cresting for several agonizingly rapturous moments, and she found herself biting at her pillow while growling whimpers vibrated in her throat.
When she finally slowed her hunching movements and enjoyed the last lingering spasms of climax, Dae felt a sweet lethargy and calm settle over her. She lay still and let her breathing return to normal. The room was still extremely quiet, and she rolled onto her back with a languorous, deliberately sensual sigh of satisfaction.
As she allowed herself to drift back to sleep, it was only the question of why it was taking Zafirah so long to reach her that marred her otherwise tranquil thoughts.
The next morning, Dae saw the looks on the other girls faces that confirmed they’d heard her night-time indiscretion. Tricia would not meet her eyes. Kaylee regarded her with an adorably sweet expression of confusion tinged with guilty curiosity, as though a thousand questions were burning on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t sort through them to find one she was brave enough to ask. Cass, however, gave her an openly wicked grin and a knowing wink; Dae figured that of the three of them, she was the only one with any real understanding of what she’d been up to in the dark. She made sure to give each of them a charming, lustful smile as they got dressed, but offered neither apology nor defense for indulging in such forbidden pleasures.
If Father Douglas learned of her actions and decided to confront her, she would face the accusation without shame or remorse. What could he really do to punish her, after all? Zafirah would be here soon, and Dae doubted any of the priests would enjoy having to explain why they’d been abusing her treasured Consort.