The little Englishman chuckled. “How,” he asked, “did a renegade Spaniard-tumed-Arab end up with an Irish wife?”
“Irish? Skye is Irish?”
“God almighty, man! Didn’t she tell you?”
“She doesn’t know, my old friend. Several months ago I bought myself a rather bedraggled and frightened waif from a corsair captain. He had gotten her from an outbound captain who claimed to have captured her in a skirmish. He knew nothing of her history. When Skye regained her full senses she had no memory excepting her name.”
“And so you married her! Lord, man, you’re a romantic at heart.”
“Wrong!” Khalid el Bey poured the Englishman a tiny cup of sweet Turkish coffee. “I had intended to make her the finest and most expensive whore the world had ever seen.”
Robert Small sucked his breath in sharply. “Did you indeed, laddie? And pray tell what stopped you?”
“I fell in love with her, my friend. Not with just her face and luscious body, but with the woman I began to see emerging. She is without guile, and generous as well. She is also the least greedy female I have ever known, and when she looks at me with those marvelous blue eyes of hers I am lost, Robbie! Very soon, the thought of anyone other than myself touching her enraged me. I found that I wanted children and a loving wife, like a normal man.”
“God help you, then, my friend, for you have a weakness now, and your enemies will use it against you. As long as the great Whoremaster of Algiers showed no vulnerability he was inviolable.”
“Don’t fret, Robbie, I have no enemies. Even my women respect me.”
“Don’t be a fool, Khalid!” It was said sharply. “All wealthy and powerful men have enemies. Look closely to yourself and to that beauty you’ve married.”
For a few minutes the two men sat silently sipping their coffee, then Robert Small spoke. “I’ve made you richer again, Khalid. The ships we sent to the New World have returned laden with precious metals, jewels, and furs. The ones that traveled south returned with spices, slaves, and gemstones. I have, as usual, saved the cream of the female slaves for you to see.”
Khalid el Bey was all business now. “Did we lose any ships or men?”
“No ships, but three men were lost on the Swan, off the Horn. It was a particularly bad storm, the captain tells me, but he didn’t lose one slave.”
“Good! And you, Robbie, how was your voyage?”
The captain chuckled and stretched his short frame out on the pillows, his hands behind his head. “Ah, Khalid, I wish you’d been with me. How often you’ve warned me of men’s greed, and the vulnerability that greed brings in. And you were right! I found us a mine manager in the Spanish Americas who is a younger son with no hope other than to end his days a rum-soaked wreck. His oldest brother, their father’s heir, married the girl he loved, and then ar- ranged for him to be sent from Spain. He burns for vengeance, and so he has agreed to help us obtain six shiploads of gold for a per- centage and passage back to Europe. It was a cheap price to pay, Khalid. We filled three ships this trip, and I’ve already sent three other ships.”
“And how did this young don cover the theft? And how can we be sure he’ll not betray us?”
“The first theft was covered by causing a mine to cave in. It’ll take months to clear it out, by which time we’ll have returned for the second load from the other mine. It will not matter if the Spaniards learn then that they have been robbed, for we’ll be all long gone by that time. The young don has a half-Spanish, half-Indian mistress he intends to marry and take to Paris with him. He can live quite well on what we pay him.
“The mines he oversees give up the purest gold I’ve ever seen, Khalid! The other ships in our fleet have carried back the finest furs imaginable, along with basketsful of turquoise, coral, jade, ame- thyst, emeralds, and topaz. I have, as usual, saved a choice selection of furs and gems for you, along with some excellent Indian pearls and spices from the Southern fleet. Everything else has been disposed of through our regular channels, and your monies are already with your banker.”
“You are generous, Robbie, and quite thorough, as always. Per- haps you will allow me to do a little something for you now. Your ship was sighted by friends of mine this morning, and I knew you would be with me by evening. Go to the House of Felicity, and you will find a surprise waiting for you.”
The Englishman grinned delightedly. “Ah, Khalid, you didn’t have to go to any trouble.”
The Whoremaster of Algiers grinned back, “She’s quite to your liking, Robbie. Go along now so I may rejoin my own lady.”
The captain scrambled to his feet. “If my surprise is that good I’ll not be seeing you for several days, Khalid,” and he was quickly gone.
Khalid el Bey stretched his long body in a catlike movement and called, “Skye!” She appeared immediately from behind a wall hang- ing, and sat down next to him. “You heard,” said her husband.
“Yes, my lord. If this story is true then you are indeed fortunate to have such a partner.”
“You can trust Robert Small with your life, my Skye. He is the most honest man I know. He has never cheated me. It is simply not in his nature.”
“What awaits him at the House of Felicity? Have you found him some petite creature to soothe and comfort him?”
Khalid laughed. “No! Though Robbie is a bit of a man, he likes big, tall women. The maiden awaiting him stands six feet and has breasts like summer melons. I’ve been given to understand that Robbie’s rod is as big as any man’s, so they will both enjoy them- selves.”
They laughed together, imagining the little man and his Amazon mistress locked in sweet combat. Then as easily as they had begun to laugh they stopped, and she was in his arms again. He kissed her until she ached for him. His hands slid beneath her sheer pale-blue silk caftan, his long fingers teasing her nipples until she whimpered.
“Look at me, Skye,” he commanded softly, and she struggled to raise her heavy-lidded eyes to him. “You are my wife, beloved, and I love you.”
Now, for the first time, she looked deep into his warm amber eyes and realized mat she felt deeply toward Khalid. With this startling realization, the heartache that had assailed her continually ever since she’d awakened to her new life in Algiers seemed to dissolve, leaving her feeling as light as a feather. She loved! This was what love was, and she could remember it! Her eyes filled with happy tears and she said wonderingly, “Oh, Khalid! I love you, too! I do! I know that now!” And pulling his dark head down to hers, she kissed him deeply. He, feeling her certain, unwavering love, found his passion bursting into an unquenchable flame.
Beneath his eager touch the silk of her robe tore away and bis hands and mouth began their worshipful adoration of her. He loos- ened her lovely dark hair and spread it over the apricot velvet pillows. Then his long fingers gently traced her high cheekbones, moving down the fine line of her jaw to capture her small chin.
‘Tell me again, Skye,” he said softly.
Her sapphire eyes caught his amber-gold ones and held them unwaveringly. “I love you, my lord Khalid.” she said firmly. “I love you!” Then she kissed him again, her little tongue teasing his mouth. He could feel her small round breasts rubbing against his chest and, unable to refuse the invitation, he lowered his head and nibbled on the hard, quivering nipples. His tongue pushed into her little navel and she eagerly thrust her torso toward him. He moved lower yet, his mouth seeking that most secret core. Tasting her seashell-like fragrance, his tongue darted like wildfire over the moist dark pink flesh. She whimpered, half in agony, half in ecstasy, her fingers catching at the dark hair of his head as he relentlessly pushed her beyond endurance. Amazingly, she did not shatter into a thousand pieces. She soared higher than she had ever done before. Then with great tenderness he kissed the soft inside of her thighs, pulled himself up over her, and gently took her.