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

Zara awoke from a long nap hungry and thirsty. A tall glass of fruit juice and a bowl of yogurt that someone had thoughtfully left on the table for her beckoned, and she drank greedily of the refreshing liquid. Then she ate the yogurt, relishing the sweet/tart taste.

"Ah, you're awake," Nafisa said as she bustled into the chamber. "It grows late. There is much to be done before you go to Jamal."

To Zara's chagrin, Jamal's concubines watched closely as she bathed and made herself ready for Jamal. She couldn't help thinking they were looking for flaws, so intently did they stare at her. Let them stare, Zara thought, ignoring them. If they only knew how desperate she was to leave this place, they wouldn't be harassing her.

The sun was slowly sinking when Hammet came for her. This time she didn't go to Jamal naked as he had requested. Instead she donned a gold and turquoise caftan that enhanced the golden tones of her skin. Though it wasn't Zara's nature to be submissive to a man, she wanted to appear attractive to Jamal for her father's sake. Her father's freedom was more important than her pride. One day Jamal would be made to pay for enslaving her and she hoped it would be soon. Before she lost more than her pride.

Jamal could barely stand the waiting. He paced his chamber restlessly, waiting for the door to open to admit Zara. He had possessed her just as he'd set out to do, but he felt as if he'd been the one possessed. After partaking freely of Zara's passion, he no longer desired his concubines. His need for Zara was almost obsessive and he was frightened by it.

Jamal was already hard by the time Zara stepped into the chamber, illuminating the room with her incandescent spirit and haunting beauty. Suddenly he had no appetite for the tempting food placed upon the table for his enjoyment; he wanted to feast solely upon Zara's succulent flesh, sate himself with her sweet body. His smile was almost feral as he beckoned her forward. His gaze followed her undulating body, admiring the way her lush charms were displayed beneath the turquoise and gold caftan. He wanted her and he wanted her now. Food and drink could wait.

Zara felt the heat of Jamal's gaze upon her and found it difficult to breathe. Just setting one foot in front of the other proved a chore. The look in his eyes held her in thrall. She hated the way he made her feel, despised pretending to be submissive to his wants, even though she was beginning to crave those very same delights she abhorred. She had to leave soon, before her mind accepted her role in Jamal's life and her body hungered for his caresses. She was a Berber princess, not a slave dependent upon the will of her master.

"You're beautiful," Jamal said. His dark eyes glowed with appreciation as he grasped her hand and drew her down beside him on a mound of cushions. "You have bewitched me, sweet vixen."

"That was not my intention, my lord," Zara said, though in truth that was exactly what she had set out to do.

"It wasn't my intention to become besotted with you," Jamal admitted candidly. "Food and drink pale in comparison to my need for you."

His words were more powerfully arousing than the drug she had been given the first time she'd lain with Jamal. Zara tried to ignore them but Jamal's hands upon her body were forceful reminders. When she tried to passively accept his kisses, Jamal sensed her withdrawal and would not allow it. In a very short time he had stripped her naked, driving her wild with his talented mouth, tongue and hands. He couldn't wait. He had to have her now.

He entered her swiftly, unable to prolong their joining a moment longer. He felt like an eager boy with his first woman.

"I'm sorry, my love, for being impatient. You tempt me beyond reason," he murmured as he thrust full and deep inside her. "But the night is young and we will taste ecstasy many times before the sun rises."

Zara arched sharply upward, meeting Jamal's deep thrusts with a cry of gladness despite her vow to remain unmoved by his loving. Grasping his hips, she undulated beneath him, with him, against him, until her soul left her body and she exploded violently. Moaning and gasping, Jamal climaxed in a frenzy of intense feeling, then collapsed upon Zara, burying his head against her neck as his heartbeat slowed to a steady pounding.

Once he regained his strength, Jamal reared up and stared at her, clearly baffled by the depth of his feelings for his slave. There was no explanation for the way Zara had burrowed beneath his skin to touch his heart. There were no answers to why he had allowed such a thing to happen. He harbored no special tenderness for his concubines. Only Zara, his slave, had reached him on a level that went deeper than sexual gratification.

"I don't know what you've done to me, sweet vixen, but I suddenly find myself wanting more of you than you're willing to give. Surrender to me, Zara. Give yourself wholly into my keeping. Admit it, you want me as desperately as I want you."

"I cannot help the way my body responds, Jamal. You are an expert, whereas I am a novice. But know this, my lord, my heart and mind utterly reject what I've become."

Jamal was silent a long time. When he finally spoke, his words shocked Zara.

"Would you yield all to me if I made you my wife?"

"Your wife! Nay! You cannot mean it." She felt as if she were suffocating. To be Jamal's wife would compromise her beliefs, her very existence. She could not bear the burden. "You would not be happy with me. I cannot compete with your concubines."

"Perhaps you're right," Jamal allowed. "But I've always found it difficult to resist a challenge. And you, sweet vixen, are a challenge worth pursuing.

"Jamal, IтАФ" Words stuck in her throat.

"We will speak of it later." His eyes glowed darkly, promising untold delights. "If you are rested we will explore more fully the erotic love play I spoke of before. Are you ready to learn the secret of the silver balls?"

Zara stared at him. "I don't thinkтАФ"