Chapter 6
Jarod stood in the crowd gathered outside the Temple of Inshal, an anonymous figure lost among the multitude, looking up at the high terrace jutting from the central glass dome of the magnificent structure. His men stood around him, grim-faced and silent as the citizens of El’Kasari cheered the two women who had just emerged from the inner sanctum to stand hand in hand, waving to the people. Everybody was in high spirits, excited by the celebration of their beloved leader’s nuptials, and they jostled for positions around the Temple enthusiastically.
Ignoring their cries of exultation, Jarod fixed his eyes on the shorter of the women, assessing her in the fading light. He recognized her at once from the portraits Lord Everdeen had shown him of his daughter, and the last feeble hope he’d clung to that she was being held against her will vanished at this first glimpse of her in the flesh. Dae looked exactly as he would expect any young woman to look in the wake of her wedding, an unmistakable glow of joy and love radiating from her expression. He sighed and folded his arms over his chest.
“Well, that’s it then,” Tiberius, standing just behind him, said darkly. “It’s done.”
Quinn echoed his thoughts. “We’re no longer rescuing a common slave, we’re kidnapping the wife of the most powerful woman in the whole damn desert.”
Jarod glanced at each man in turn, scrutinizing their facial features. Their distaste over the joining was to be expected, he supposed, but it needed to be carefully monitored lest it jeopardize his plan. Having spent quite a bit of time among the Jaharri, and even more in the Tasurik Empire to the far west, Jarod retained few of the prejudices of his homeland, but his men were less enlightened. Even Quinn, who had served as his second for many years and detested the slave trade every bit as strongly as he did, had never overcome his aversion for same-sex couplings.
Still, they all appeared to have taken his warning regarding their prejudices seriously. Jarod guessed the tension he was sensing from the group stemmed more from frustration at the sudden complexities in what should have been a simple retrieval mission than it did the actual joining ceremony. “It's a complication, certainly,” he admitted, “but one we've already factored into our plans. We can't allow events beyond our control to distract us from our goal.”
“I know, but still…” Tiberian leaned closer and dropped his tone, nodding to the taller figure on the terrace above them. “That woman doesn’t look like someone I want to get on the wrong side of. I’d prefer to keep my head long enough to spend my commission, boss.”
“If we play this out the way we discussed, the Scion won’t be in any position to make a move against us. Just keep calm and follow my orders, and we’ll be back in the Heartland before you know it.”
Still, switching his attention to the Scion, Jarod couldn’t help but silently concur with Tiberian’s assessment: she cut an impressive figure. Though currently all smiles standing beside her new Consort, Jarod knew Zafirah by reputation to be among the finest warriors in all the desert. This was no small achievement, for the Jaharri were a race toughened by the demanding and brutal environment of their homeland, honed to battle-ready perfection by the frequent skirmishes and infighting that occurred among the tribal factions. Because the Scion Peace technically unified the tribes under a single ruler, those battles rarely resulted in too much loss of life, but they were often bloody and vicious affairs nonetheless. Jarod had every intention of avoiding a face-to-face confrontation if he could. “Do we know when they intend to leave the city?”
“I’ve been listening to the talk around the barracks,” Quinn said. “With all the excitement over the marriage, it’s been easy enough to eavesdrop on their plans. They should be departing for the Herak camp three days from now. They'll be carrying their supplies and tribute with them, enough for a two week stay. It’ll mean a slow pace.”
“And their escort? How many?”
“Thirty scouts and forty cavalry…and the tribe will have warriors of their own, so they’ll be well defended.”
“Mm…no matter. Those numbers will be more a burden than an aid to them by the time we make our move. Besides, I fancy our chances of making a clean getaway are better out in the deep desert than trying to infiltrate the palace and flee the city.”
“When do we leave?”
Jarod considered the timeline a moment. “If we can gather the supplies we’ll need tonight, we can set off at dusk tomorrow. That should afford us time to find a good vantage to observe the camp from a distance…then we hunker down, watch, and wait. This may be our only opportunity to secure Lord Everdeen’s daughter, and I won’t take the chance that the Scion will alter her plans if her new Consort wishes to return to the city earlier than we expect.”
He had only gleaned a little information from the locals regarding how the girl—whose parents had described her as the most sheltered and innocent of maidens—had formed such a deep relationship with the lusty Scion, and many of the stories he’d heard contradicted one another so greatly Jarod couldn’t be certain what to believe. Nevertheless, watching the couple as they retreated once more into the Temple, he didn’t try to convince himself that the young lady was acting out of a sense of self-preservation or fear. No, their affection for one another was obvious and genuine.
Of all the many complications Jarod had encountered along his lengthy career, this was by far the strangest.
He only hoped that the Scion would not react to the theft of her Consort with blind emotion. If she wanted to follow him east to reclaim her mate, so be it; it would be Lord Everdeen who faced her wrath, not himself. But if Zafirah pursued in a swift fury, without consideration to the lives of her own troops, she might manage to catch them before they could escape.
Jarod didn’t want to end his life strung up on a stake in the desert wastes, a warning to other outlanders of the price they would pay for disrespecting the Jaharri.
* * *
As the full moon rose higher in the heavens and filled the Temple's inner sanctum with its soft, silver light, the guests attending the joining ceremony began filtering out of the chamber to join the other citizens in their revelry. The evening had been a long one for Dae. It seemed every person in attendance wished to exchange words of felicitation and praise with her, and after a while their faces became a blur. Inaya and the other pleasure-servants were among the last to leave, each woman in turn offering the Scion and her Consort a final hug or a lingering kiss before they departed, along with words of blessing and promises that soon they would join the couple in honoring their union in a more fitting and intimate fashion.
Dae looked up at Zafirah as the temple emptied, feeling a shiver of anticipation chase its way down her spine. Zafirah took her hands in her own and drew her closer, gazing down into her eyes with a look of tranquil love mixed with a healthy dash of excitement.
“Alone at last.”
“Mm.” Dae wrapped her arms around Zafirah’s waist, relishing the contact but eager to feel her partner’s bare skin against her own. She slipped a hand under the layered bodice Zafirah wore, spreading her fingers to feel the warmth and firmness of her flesh against her palm. “I know it’s a tradition, but this whole ‘week of celibacy’ thing is just plain cruel.”
“A burden hardly made more bearable by your insistence on sharing a bed.”
“I sleep better when you’re close to me.”
“Naked.”
Dae gave her an unrepentant grin and moved her hands up Zafirah’s back, tracing the ridges of her spine. “That helps, too.”
Zafirah chuckled low in her throat. “Well worry not, my insatiable love. We need never endure such a separation again.”
Dae felt Zafirah’s fingers move to again loosen the knot behind her neck, and when it was freed she arched her back to allow the cloth to fall away. The cool air felt wonderful against her hot, tender breast, but Zafirah’s hands exploring her were even better. Gentle fingers moved over her right breast in ever-tightening circles, then switched to the left, and Dae bit her lower lip when they drifted perilously close to her sensitive new piercing. “That feels gooood,” she moaned, watching her partner study her stiff nipple.
“Does it pain you?”
“It’s pretty tender, but on the whole, it wasn’t as bad as I feared.” Dae felt the warm spark of arousal kindle in her belly, and, after so many nights denying herself the pleasures of Zafirah’s touch, her eager hands were soon tugging impatiently at the taller woman’s clothing. They maintained their embrace, trading light caresses and kisses as their clothing fell away. Moonlight shone through the glass panes of the ceiling, highlighting the taut muscles of Zafirah’s body in a pale glow. Dae traced her fingers over a faded scar running in a diagonal line across Zafirah’s upper arm. “I suppose you’re more used to enduring pain than I am.”
“True, I may be more accustomed to bearing injuries inflicted in battle, but that hardly lessens the sting of such an intimate wound.” Zafirah’s warm lips descended on her neck, kissing and sucking, and Dae tilted her head to the side to encourage her explorations. Warm breath tickled her ear as Zafirah whispered, “I shall take care not to allow my passion to tempt me to a fuller appreciation, at least until we have both had time to heal a little first.”
Dae only broke their embrace so she could take Zafirah’s hands in hers and tug her toward the altar. “No more waiting,” she whispered, pushing Zafirah onto the raised platform and taking a long moment to appreciate the view of her crawling into the center. Her butt looked so sexy Dae couldn’t resist giving it a playful swat when the opportunity presented itself, laughing when Zafirah quickly grabbed her and dragged her up beside her. The raised altar was covered with satin sheets dyed midnight blue and strewn with large, comfortable cushions. It was even larger than Zafirah’s bed, with ample room to accommodate at least a dozen people, and Dae found herself wondering what sort of religious rites were typically conducted upon it. The pictures conjured by her imagination hardly cooled her rising ardor.
Zafirah’s sapphire eyes had turned opalescent in the silver moonlight, and gazing into them Dae felt her heart beating faster in her chest and a giddy smile tug at her lips. She had contemplated her wedding night many times in the months prior to her abduction, listening to her mother’s awkward words of advice with a mixture of anxious dread and hopeful anticipation. Any sense of trepidation had long since been drowned in the whirlpool of lust and excitement she’d experienced since Zafirah had first taken her to her bed, and Dae was no longer burdened by her youthful naivete regarding sexual matters. Zafirah’s hand cupped her cheek, her expression at once adoring and filled with simmering heat. As one they closed the gap between them, Dae’s lips parting even before they met Zafirah’s in a slow and passionate kiss.
They continued kissing deeply, tongues twining and caressing in a languid duel that slowly grew more fervent. When her freshly pierced nipple accidentality brushed against Zafirah’s breast, Dae broke their kiss and gave a soft hiss at the resulting flash of pain.
“Sorry.” Zafirah’s expression turned instantly apologetic, and she bent to place a gentle kiss on Dae’s full upper chest. “As much as I may admire the, uh…'bounty' nature has blessed you with, until the piercings heal perhaps we should take extra care in our lovemaking.”
Dae giggled. “Yeah, they’re going to make this a bit trickier, huh?”
“Oh, I think we shall manage.” Never one to let physical limitations stand in the way of pleasure, Zafirah quickly repositioned their bodies, moving behind Dae and pulling her shorter frame against her. Her hands slipped around Dae in an explorative embrace, fondling her breasts but carefully avoiding her tender flesh. “Better?”
“Mm, much.” Dae shifted to accommodate Zafirah’s movements, drawing her legs under her so she could sit in a wide, kneeling stance. She felt Zafirah's right hand slowly descend her abdomen until her fingers were tracing tantalizingly close to the fire between her thighs, while her left coiled itself in her long blonde hair and drew it back over her shoulder. A moment later she arched her back and moaned as Zafirah laid a trail of hot, wet kisses along the exposed back of her neck. Dae clutched at the arm encircling her body, feeling the wet heat of her lover’s center pressing against the curvature of her buttocks and begin a lazy grind. Zafirah’s fingers continued to tease her, wandering back and forth along her upper thighs and lower belly but never quite making contact with her impatient sex.
Having grown accustomed to daily, sometimes hourly, ravishings since she and Zafirah became intimate, Dae hadn’t appreciated their week of abstinence one little bit, and her moans of encouragement soon took on a more demanding undertone. But Zafirah wouldn't be rushed, and despite her eagerness, Dae found herself relishing the torturously slow pace she set. The languid exploration only sharpened her arousal to a finer edge. When two fingers finally dipped into the slick crease of her sex and flitted against her swollen clit, she moaned and rocked her hips forward, seeking firmer contact.
Lost in Zafirah’s loving caresses, Dae froze when she noticed movement on the balcony above them. She uttered a startled squeak, muscles tensing, when she made out the figure of a woman clad in distinctive white robes standing in the shadows, watching. Perhaps realizing her presence had been noticed, the woman stepped into a patch of moonlight, revealing herself to be Sakinah. The High Priestess offered no words of explanation or defense over her intrusion; she merely stood there gazing down at them with a softly sensual, enigmatic smile.
The motion of Zafirah’s hips slowed when she noticed Dae’s distraction, her fingers stilling their caresses. When Dae glanced back at her to ask the obvious question, she was met with a crooked smile from her mate. “Did I not mention it is also customary for the High Priestess to oversee the consummation of a joining?” Zafirah purred.
“Uh… No, y-you neglected to mention that little fact.”
Zafirah’s hips resumed their undulations, and Dae’s eyelids fluttered and closed as fingers circled the stiff nub of her clitoris. “No need to feel self-conscious, aziza. Sakinah witnesses many such acts of passion in the commission of her duty. Compared to some of the rituals held by the devotees of Inshal, our lovemaking is hardly a spectacle.”
Dae’s eye’s snapped open; twisting around, she raised a challenging eyebrow at her mate. “Oh, really?”
“Uh…”
“‘Hardly a spectacle?’”
Zafirah’s movements ceased and she blinked at her. “I only meant to say—”
“Oh, I think I understand what you’re saying,” Dae growled, her expression turning slightly feral. In one swift move she grabbed Zafirah by the shoulders and twisted them about, pressing her back onto the midnight blue satin sheets. Before her mate could protest Dae had mounted her right thigh and pulled the long length of Zafirah’s left leg around her waist. A quick hip-thrust set her center firmly against the wet heat of Zafirah’s sex, and Dae leaned down to claim her lips as she took control of their lovemaking. She drew back an inch, her face very close to Zafirah’s, staring down into her eyes hungrily. “I don’t mind her watching, my love…but I certainly don’t intend for her to be bored by our performance.”
Zafirah relaxed beneath her, surrendering herself fully to Dae’s mercy. “Then by all means, Tahirah, lead the dance.”
Though more accustomed to a certain amount of privacy during their lovemaking, Dae wasn’t exactly inhibited by the thought of someone watching her have sex. Since the Jaharri did not bar entrances with doors the way her own people did—and since Dae often got quite carried away in the heat of the moment—she’d often had to endure the ribbing of the other pleasure-servants. The palace guards and servants sometimes teased her about how enthusiastically vocal she became, too, so once Dae recovered from her initial surprise, Sakinah’s voyeuristic presence hardly made her feel abashed.
In fact, looking up at the High Priestess as Zafirah wrapped her left leg tighter around her hip and used it to pull her firmly against her, it was rather thrilling to feel her gaze upon them. Hunching her hips to grind her center against Zafirah’s slippery petals, Dae felt the intoxicating friction between them build. Hearing Zafirah’s breath catch in her throat, a week’s worth of unsated tension caught up with her…and when she saw the subtle movement of Sakinah’s right hand wandering down her belly to cup her own sex, Dae felt a delightful surge of exhibitionist thrill.
“You know,” Zafirah purred, “it would be entirely acceptable to invite her to join us…if such a thing would please you.”
“Join us?”
“Certainly. Sakinah’s legend as a lover rivals even my own. Of course, she is known to be quite selective when choosing her partners…but I am certain she would be most honored to share herself with us on such an auspicious occasion.”
Dae looked up at Sakinah, who was staring back at her with a ravenous, intensely lustful expression. A series of images skipped through her mind as she considered the suggestion. Zafirah had only brought up the subject of asking a third party to join them a few times since they became intimate, and even then she’d kept her tone deliberately casual. Dae knew her more experienced lover was afraid she wasn’t yet ready to explore more daring forms of sexual expression, and while Dae certainly appreciated her consideration, some part of her couldn’t help but find it frustrating as well. True, sometimes these new levels of intimacy were a bit overwhelming, and true, on occasion she found herself struck but a sudden attack of self-consciousness and shyness, but Dae had never felt so filled with joyous excitement and freedom as when she was able to bring a new fantasy to life.
But as much as she was hoping to get more intimately acquainted with the ravishing High Priestess, Dae still valued the traditions of her homeland enough that inviting a third party to join her and her partner on their wedding night seemed somehow disrespectful.
“That sounds, uh…tempting. But if it’s okay, I think I’d prefer tonight if it was… just the two of us.”
Zafirah smiled up at her. “Another time, perhaps.”
“I’d like that.”
Watching Sakinah’s expression—her promising smile and the low-burning anticipation in her eyes—Dae had a sense the High Priestess had read the content of their exchange even from a distance. She seemed to understand she wouldn’t be receiving an invitation to come down and play, but took no offense at the rejection. Dae saw the hand which had been moving against her lower body abandon its task and gesture gracefully toward one of the archways leading out of the inner sanctum. Another young woman dressed in the robes of a lesser priestess immediately appeared and hurried to Sakinah's side. Dae’s hips moved with more deliberate purpose when the High Priestess set her hands on the girl’s shoulders and gently guided her to her knees. A moment later her ethereal features tensed in an unmistakable expression of pleasure, and though the balcony blocked much of Dae’s view, she had no trouble at all picturing the young woman’s worshipful devotions. Dae adjusted her position a fraction, taking care to ensure her movements were as visually stimulating for their audience as they were physically pleasing for herself and her mate.
When her attention returned to Zafirah, she found her watching with heated amusement.
“Showing off?”
Dae blushed and glanced away. “Maybe. Or maybe I just like riding you more than I do that horse you keep putting me on.”
Zafirah grinned and let her gaze drift down Dae’s body, which already glistened under a fine sheen of sweat. “Based on the way you move, my love, you shall gain proficiency in horsemanship with remarkable ease. And if it helps you, I am always happy to let you practice your ‘riding’ technique on me.”
“Mm, I like that idea.” Dae was enjoying Sakinah’s attentive presence more and more, and though not normally prone to thoughts of vanity, she couldn’t deny that she wanted to put on a good show.
Before long Dae’s breath had quickened to ragged panting as she ground herself in a fluid rhythm against her mate. She watched Zafirah’s face as they approached the edge together, taking as much pleasure from her partner’s responses as from the sensations themselves. She was rapidly losing control, her hands feverish with mounting excitement as they explored every inch of Zafirah’s firm, powerful body. The wet pressure grinding against her clitoris was driving her mad with need, her thigh muscles straining to maintain their pace.
Zafirah’s cries and pleas grew louder and more desperate as they moved with common purpose, and Dae echoed them with her own so that the chamber was soon filled with a concert of passion. She felt a familiar tension grip her, the first tremor of an overdue climax, and fought to keep it from overwhelming her; Zafirah was close and Dae wanted them to reach the crest together. Only when she saw her lover’s crystalline eyes grow suddenly glassy and distant, only when she felt the body beneath her curl and spasm in exultant release, did Dae surrender her own senses to the crashing waves of ecstasy that swept all other concerns from her mind.
Zafirah’s hands gripped her buttocks and pulled her tight as Dae let loose a sweet pealing cry, quivering like a plucked bowstring. Ripples continued to race through Dae’s body, lacing it with hot and cold flashes. When she finally collapsed beside her spent partner, breathless and dazed, she spared a glance up to the balcony just in time to witness Sakinah tense orgasmically against the priestess kneeling between her thighs. Even in the wake of her own climax, Dae felt a fresh flood of arousal grip her at the sight of the lovely High Priestess shuddering through her release. She couldn’t help but find it intensely flattering to know that the sight of her and her mate in the throes of passion could so inspire the lust of another.
That thought led quite naturally to another—of how much more enjoyable it might be to invite a new lover to warm their bed…to share their passion and desire fully with another. Dae still held the belief that a wedding night’s festivities should be reserved for just the two celebrating it, but as the last climactic spasms faded, she decided that as soon as they returned from their trip to the Herak, the time would be right to invite one of the other harem girls to join her and Zafirah. She felt Zafirah’s hand against her own and happily allowed their fingers to tangle together, sighing in satisfaction.
“That was wonderful.” Her voice sounded husky, as it so often did after a session with Zafirah.
“Indeed…but for our consummation to receive the maximum benefit of Inshal’s blessing, it must endure until the full moon’s light no longer bathes the inner Temple.” Zafirah rolled onto her side so they were facing each other, and Dae saw a familiar heat flare once more in her eyes. Rising onto her hands and knees, Zafirah began moving in like a panther stalking its prey, her smile predatory. “Besides, I have a reputation of my own to consider. It must never be said that Zafirah Al’Intisar left her Consort wanting on the night of their joining.”
Zafirah began kissing and licking her way up Dae's thighs, making her giggle and squirm when the tip of her tongue flicked over the ticklish skin behind her knee. Dae moaned in approval as Zafirah settled between her thighs, watching her moisten her long fingers with her tongue before running them over her throbbing core, spreading her delicate outer lips. The Scion kept eye contact with her as she moved her head forward, and Dae cried out when her tongue slid between her labia and an electric current seemed to emanate from it to compliment the movements of her fingers.
“Mm…I love the way we taste together,” Zafirah remarked when she lifted her face away for a moment. Dae looked down and saw her lips glistening with their combined juices; she licked her own lips hungrily, thinking she’d never wanted to kiss Zafirah more than she did at this moment. But before she could move to fulfill her desire, Zafirah’s open mouth descended upon her once more, and the sensations she elicited drove the thought from her mind.
Zafirah was soon busy licking and suckling, one moment dancing her tongue across Dae’s clit, the next gently sucking at her outer lips before lapping at her innermost reaches. Dae’s hips thrust wildly when Zafirah ran her fingers up and down the hidden shaft of her clitoris, then slowly inserted two inside her and, crossing them at the knuckle, slowly rotated them in and out. The penetration felt utterly wonderful and Dae’s only regret was that she hadn’t thought to ask her lover to bring a few of her erotic toys to share this evening.
Lying back on the altar Dae reached one hand down to clutch at the back of Zafirah’s head so she could pull her mouth against her more firmly, moving the other to cup her right breast and tug at her unadorned nipple. She writhed in unabashed bliss, watching through slitted eyes as Sakinah continued observing them. The High Priestess was still enjoying the ministrations of her servant, who didn’t seem to have paused at all since bringing her to climax. Her fixed attention on their coupling only heightened Dae’s lustful abandon, and she urged her lover on with loud and explicit words of encouragement.
The moon was moving slowly across the heavens, and Dae guessed it would be several hours before it would complete its journey across the Temple’s glass ceiling. As the first tingling sparks of a second climax seized her muscles, Dae promised herself that Sakinah—and Inshal as well, if the Goddess were indeed watching—would never forget the sight of their carnal performance this night.