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

Zara placed her hand in his and followed him into the hammam. Fresh soap and drying cloths had been laid out and the tub sparkled with fresh, clean water. Hammet's doing, she supposed. Jamal removed Zara's caftan and led her into the water. Then he reached for the soap.

"You have a lovely body," Jamal said as he rubbed jasmine-scented soap over her torso. "Tonight I will explore you thoroughly. Before night's end you will know my body as intimately as I will know yours."

His hands slid provocatively over her breasts, stomach and hips, and then he turned her around to soap her back and buttocks. "Sit on the edge of the tub," he requested.

Zara dared not disobey, lest he change his mind about her father. When she was seated on the lip of the tub, he reached down for her right foot. Lifting it from the water, he soaped her foot and leg, his hand straying into the damp tunnel between her legs. Zara gasped and squirmed. Jamal seemed not to notice as he finished with one leg and reached for the other. By the time he was done, Zara was trembling.

"Now you may bathe me," Jamal said, "but not with jasmine-scented soap. I prefer something less feminine." He handed her a jar that smelled of pine and spices.

Zara wanted to throw the soap in his face but thought better of it. As long as her father was Jamal's prisoner, she was vulnerable and totally under Jamal's control. He knew she would do anything to keep Youssef safe. Dipping into the soap, she began to spread it over his body. She was surprised to find that she enjoyed the feel of his flesh beneath her fingertips, so smooth and firm, so hard beneath the velvety surface of his skin. She was startled when his muscles jumped in reaction to her touch. Did her hands on his body give him the same kind of pleasure as his hands on her body gave her? she wondered dimly.

Zara skirted around Jamal's half-aroused manhood as she spread soap down his legs. When she finished she stepped back and said, "I am done, my lord."

Jamal was puzzled by her shyness. Had she never touched her bandit lover's body? "Soon, sweet vixen, you will be as comfortable with my body as you are with your own. You have much to learn despite your experience. Unfortunately, there is no time now to teach you. Come, let us break our fast together."

Hammet had their meal set out when they returned to the bed chamber. Zara ate quickly of the boiled eggs, flatbread, fresh fruit and yogurt. She couldn't wait to see her father.

"I'm finished," Zara said, setting down her fork.

"I have just begun my meal," Jamal complained. "I know you're anxious to see your father so I'll have Hammet take you."

Once again Hammet appeared as if by magic. Did he read his master's mind? Zara wondered. She watched carefully as Jamal removed a brass key from a small casket sitting atop an ebony table inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

"Slip my djellaba on over your caftan," Jamal told her as he handed Hammet the key. "You must dress modestly in public, Zara."

Zara did not object. Indeed, she was grateful for the encompassing garment. Without proper undergarments, the caftan was fit only for the harem.

Hammet led Zara through the courtyard to a row of one-story buildings built against the south wall of the compound. He stopped before the first squat building and fit the key into the lock. The door opened and Zara stepped inside.

The single window high in the wall admitted a dim beam of light. Zara spied her father immediately. He sat cross-legged on the dirt floor, his back resting against a bench that also served as a bed. Before him on a low table were the remnants of a meal and a jug of water.

"Father!"

Youssef rose to his feet and held his arms out to his daughter. Zara rushed into them, hugging him fiercely.

"I'm sorry, daughter. Things didn't work out as planned. Now we are both Sheik Jamal's prisoners. I cannot think who could have betrayed us."

"No one betrayed us, Father. Jamal saw camel tracks and signs of a recent campsite while in the hills hunting. Caravans rarely come this way. He suspected that you and the Blue Men were in the vicinity. There could be only one reason for you to be here, to rescue me. He set a trap for you."

"I have failed you, Zara. I am as good as dead. The sultan wants my head and will likely have it once I'm sent to Meknes."

"You're not going to Meknes, Father," Zara said, lowering her voice. She knew Hammet was just outside the door and didn't want him carrying tales back to Jamal.

"How can that be?"

"I've persuaded Jamal to keep you here for the time being. That will give me time to find a way to free both of us."

Youssef was no fool. "You persuaded Sheik Jamal?"