"Shiek" - читать интересную книгу автора (Connie Mason)

Unbeknownst to Zara, Jamal was watching from the double doors opening into his chamber. He had pulled aside the silken curtains wafting in the gentle breeze and was going to take the short walk across the courtyard to the harem when he'd seen her. He stepped out into the star-studded night, lured by the object of his erotic fantasies, her nude body a pale column of gold beneath the bright moonlight.

Moving behind a marble pillar, he watched her enter the shallow pool and wade to the fountain. He lost the ability to breathe when she turned toward him, lifting her face to the sky as water from the cherub's ewer spilled down upon her golden head.

She was a goddess, created by Allah to tempt the holiest of men, and Allah knew he had never aspired to the state of holiness. His erection rose full and hard. Release was but steps away in his harem, yet he couldn't turn away from the tempting houri bathing in his pool.

Her arms were raised, fanning her hair to catch the spray from the cherub's ewer. The simple motion pushed her breasts upward and out, providing a feast for his hungry gaze. Her nipples were distended, and he ached to lap the drops of water clinging to their coral tips. Jamal blessed the brightness of the moon as his gaze slid downward, past Zara's narrow hips, across her flat stomach to her smooth mound. She was plump and pink there, and he longed to part her pale thighs and sip of her sweet nectar.

When Zara turned her back to him, he admired the supple curve of her spine, the perfect twin moons of her buttocks, the long, elegant length of her legs. He wondered if the backs of her knees were sensitive and wanted to press kisses there and on the tender flesh between her pale thighs.

Zara would have liked to remain in the pool longer but she feared discovery. A household this size was bound to have servants wandering about, but still she lingered. Suddenly she shivered, and the hairs at the back of her neck prickled. She glanced around, feeling eyes on her that she could not see.

Probing the shadows beneath the walkway, Zara sensed but did not see him. Yet his presence was so strong, every nerve ending in her body tingled with awareness. What would he do if he found her in his pool?

Jamal knew the instant Zara sensed his presence. She became watchful; her body tensed. He heard her gasp aloud when he stepped out from behind the pillar.

"Do not let me interrupt your bath."

Zara stared at him, seeing him for the first time without his turban. His hair was dark, wavy, and clubbed at his neck with cord. He wore a silk caftan, belted at his narrow waist.

"I was just leaving."

"I insist that you stay."

She was surprised to hear him summon his servant. "Hammet, bring soap and fragrant oils. My new slave wishes to bathe."





CHAPTER 4




Zara truly did try to turn her gaze away as Jamal released the sash on his caftan and let it slide down his body. But the mesmerizing beauty of his muscular, fully aroused form fascinated her. His chest was broad and lightly furred. A narrow band of hair reached down to his groin and was lost in the dark forest between his legs. She stared at his manhood, rising full and heavy against his stomach, and suspected he was much larger than most men. Tearing her gaze away from his groin, she glanced down the long length of his legs, which like his chest were covered with fine dark hair.

Her gaze returned to his erection, and this time she did look away.

Jamal chuckled, aware of where her eyes had taken her. With consummate grace he sat down at the edge of the pool, dangling his legs in the water. A moment later Hammet appeared at his side, bearing a jar of soap, a vial of perfumed oil and a stack of linen drying cloths.

Jamal's gaze never left Zara as he said, "Thank you, Hammet, you're dismissed. I will have no further need of you tonight. And take these with you," he added, handing the eunuch Zara's filthy clothing.

Hammet held Zara's clothing between thumb and forefinger, as if offended by its stench, then left as silently as he had appeared.

"Come here," Jamal commanded.

Zara shook her head and edged away from him, her eyes wild with panic. Where could she go? What could she do? Her clothes were gone, she couldn't run about naked, not with animals like Mustafa around.