"I shall not sell your knight off, for it would be a poor reward for his dutiful and faithful behavior toward his master's wife. I will set him the task of teaching my son Mohammed how your crusaders fight. It could prove useful to the lad one day. Does my decision please you, Noor?"
"Yes, my lord, and thank you," Rhonwyn said, daring to look up into his handsome face.
"I am said to be kind to those who please me," he murmured, and he bent to kiss her small ear. Then he let the tip of his tongue explore the delicate whorl of flesh.
What is he doing? Rhonwyn thought, feeling the hot wetness in her ear. She shivered. Edward had never done that. "Oh!"
His teeth gently worried the fleshy lobe. He pushed the mass of her hair aside and began to kiss the soft nape of her neck, intrigued by the tiny golden curls that sprang from it. They had perfumed her body with a mixture of rose and lily. It was an intoxicating fragrance that set his pulses racing. He nipped tenderly at the back of her neck.
"Oh!" She started nervously.
"Did your husband ever taste you, Noor?" he asked her. He took one of her hands and licked the palm slowly. Then he began to suck each of her lingers in turn, finally taking three of the digits into his mouth at once, murmuring his approval as he did so.
She was astounded by his behavior. It was surely depraved. Why did he not simply use her and be done with it? Then he surprised her further by laying her flat, his tongue licking at her body in long, leisurely sweeps. "Please!" she said.
He raised his dark head a moment. "Please, what?"
"Don't do that, my lord! Oh, please, don't do that!"
His tongue was laving over her breasts now. She could actually feel the flesh swelling. Her nipples puckered as if they had been touched with ice. Rhonwyn knew the panic was rising up in her, and to her surprise he seemed to sense it, too.
He said, "Why are you afraid, Noor? I am not hurting you. I am merely tasting your flesh, and I find it utterly delicious. I intend to bath your entire body with my tongue. There is nothing wrong in what I do."
"It is strange to me," she said weakly.
"Do you find no pleasure in it?"
"Nay!"
"You will eventually, my beauty, when you stop fearing the unknown and start to enjoy the pleasure I can give you this way," he told her. Then he continued onward.
Rhonwyn closed her eyes and attempted to ease her fears. He was right. She was being foolish. He wasn't hurting her at all. The fleshy tongue was warm, and she began to feel a tiny tingle when it swept over her skin, leaving it wet and then cool. He moved over her belly and then across her Venus mons, which caused her to cry out, startled and not just a little nervous to be touched so intimately.
He raised his head and laughed softly. "You are not ready yet, my exquisite Noor," he told her.
"R-ready for what?" she quavered.
"In time, my precious," he said mysteriously, and then began to lick her right thigh. His tongue moved down her leg to her feet, which he kissed most passionately. Then he sucked each of her toes in turn before beginning on her left leg.
"You are mad," she managed to gasp.
"Your flesh is an opiate of which I cannot get enough," he responded. Then he turned her over onto her belly and licked the soles of her feet until she giggled. He bathed her legs and her buttocks, running his tongue up the split between the twin moons of her bottom and raising another surprised cry from her. He only laughed again and continued onward until her back and her shoulders were damp with his excesses. He finished by giving her neck a final nip, then turned her over again.
"You're shivering," he said low, and brushed her lips with his lightly. "Have I begun to melt the ice that surrounds your cold northern heart, Noor?" He ran his tongue along her lips tauntingly. "Now, my beauty, it is time for you to begin your lessons in pleasing your lord and master." He leapt from the bed, pulling her up with him.
"Undo the wrapping about my loins," he commanded her.
"You will be naked," she said foolishly.
He chuckled. "I will." He reached out and undid the delicate chain about her hips, laying it aside. "Come now, my beauty. Why do you demur? You know what a man's body looks like. There should be no surprises in store for you."
"You are constantly surprising me, my lord caliph," she admitted to him, blushing as she spoke.
"The wrap," he firmly pressed her.
With hesitant fingers Rhonwyn loosened the cloth and then pulled it away from him, laying it aside. Her eyes were carefully averted.
"It pleases me to see how modest you are, my Noor, but you may look upon the object of your defeat without fear. Come, my beauty, and touch it. I want to feel your hands upon me."
She shrank back from his words, her hands instinctively going behind her back.
"What? You have never touched a manhood? Allah! Allah! You are practically a virgin, Noor. Come now." Reaching out, the caliph drew the resisting hand forward and placed it upon his smooth groin. He could feel her desperate to pull away, and so he kept his own hand (irmly on hers. "There, now, my beauty, let your fingers explore and caress me."
She knew she should not, but the temptation was simply too great. She bad always been curious about Edward's manhood, but had never been brave enough to touch him. Now here was this man inviting her to do so, and she couldn't resist, particularly when he lifted his hand off hers. She brushed her fingertips across his mound. Her hand closed gently about his manhood. It pulsed within her palm, and she could feel it swelling with each passing moment. Unable to stop herself, she caressed its great length, her breath coming a bit more quickly now. He was warm and hard in her hand.
"That's it, my beauty," he encouraged her. "Now cup my twin jewels in your palm. They are cool to your touch, are they not?"
She nodded slowly.
"They are filled with the seeds of life, Noor. When you are ready I will plant those seeds within you, my beauty. Cease your sweet torture now. In a moment or two I shall not be able to restrain my desire for you, and you are far from ready to meet my passion."
Her hand dropped away, and she hid her head in his shoulder. Those last moments had been very exciting, and she could feel her heart beating faster than it had previously.
"Your Christian men put women into four categories, Noor. Wives, mothers, whores, or saints. They do not share the secrets of pleasure with their mates. We men of Islam do, and we do not confine ourselves to only one woman. Such a thing is unnatural for a man. No one woman can satisfy all a man's passions."
"They tell me you have three wives, my lord caliph."
"I do, although the two younger I may dismiss, for they are quarrelsome creatures ever at odds with the lady Alia and the other women of my harem. Indeed, they may have been responsible for the death of a particularly lovely girl I had decided to favor. Baba Haroun is still investigating, and he will get to the bottom of the matter, I promise you. He is very protective of the lady Alia."
"Lady Alia is a gracious lady and was kind to me," Rhonwyn told him.
"She has already spoken in your favor, my Noor, which is why I will be patient with you." He tilted her face to his again and began to kiss her with far more passion than he had previously. Her instinct was to fight him, but something else overcame Rhonwyn, and she instead melted into his embrace, her mouth softening beneath his.
Why am I doing this? she silently asked herself. But she had no answer. All she knew was that this man was strong and gentle, and her will to resist was growing weaker. What if all they told her was true? That she could not escape Cinnebar. And what if Edward would not have her back? She had surely disobeyed him by involving herself in battle, as he had forbade her. Oh, God! I do not know what I am to do! What was the matter with her?