Nimmet, Goddess of Love

by Anastasia Rabiyah

  She chewed her lip.

  His hands withdrew, leaving her body tingling with warmth. Turning her head to where she thought he might be, she heard the sound of buttons sliding through tight fabric. Then clothing dropped to the floor in a muffled hush.

  The bed creaked as he sat beside her. "Do you?"

  "Take the blindfold off."

  He came beside her, one hand massaging a breast before he tucked his fingers under her body. Wet lips touched her ear, causing an aroused moan to pass over her lips. His chest pressed against her side and his hard penis, the tip colder than her body, touched her skin. He pushed his hips against her. His shaft slid between her butt cheek and the mattress.

  "Yes," she murmured. "Hold me alongside you."

  His cock withdrew. In a forceful action, he gripped her shoulder, turning her to face him though she saw nothing. The chains rattled, making her wish she could pull her hands down to touch him.

  "Curl against me."

  She did. The shackles on her ankles restricted her movements, but she found enough purchase to press her legs to his. Muscular arms encircled her waist. His breath tickled her forehead in heated waves. He ground his body into hers, his erection just below her navel.

  "Do you want me to do anything else?" he asked, his lips so close to her mouth that they touched her lips.

  "Take the blindfold off."

  "Not yet. You will hate me if I do."

  "Take it off."

  His lips parted and he grazed the tip of his tongue across her lower lip.

  Sima sucked in a breath, fighting the desire to kiss him.

  The stranger withdrew his mouth. His arms guided her tight beside his body. He moaned. Wet semen dribbled onto her abdomen and the realization made Sima quake with desire. He made no move to take her, to push her any further. For hours, they lay entangled. The stranger held her until a tone sounded at the door.

  "I’ll be back tonight to feed you." He got up, taking his heat away, robbing her of the delicious closeness. The blanket dropped across her body, cold, shocking.

  She trembled. "Don’t leave me, please."

  He patted her leg and walked away, his bare footsteps sounding as he passed. The metal door opened, tones beeped and then he was gone.

  "Bastard," she grumbled. She slid her face against the pillow in an attempt to loosen the blindfold. The fabric rolled in on itself, climbing up her cheek. Sima lifted her head then swiped it down hard until, finally, one eye peeked from the black shroud. "Where the hell am I?"

  She squinted in the gray light, making out details. A keypad glittered with small lights beside the sliding, metal door. The faux finished walls barely hid their brushed aluminum texture. Two paintings hung at the wall to her left, but the darkness made them nothing more than nondescript rectangles of black. To her right, drapes shrouded what might be an immense window or even a door to the next chamber.

  She struggled and thrashed until the blindfold rolled over her other eye. The fabric crinkled, falling from her forehead onto the pillow. Sima groaned out her frustration, but there was little else she could do other than wait.

  Chapter Thirteen – News

  Razi bent to pick up the plastic records Lensi dropped. Her television blared out the evening news. She chuckled at him, sending a wave of embarrassment through his mind. "At your service as always," he muttered. The documents in hand, he stood straight to toss them on the table and froze. His gaze caught on the news reporter’s cold face.

  "…the Irnia police state that her body was found outside the southern boundary. An autopsy is yet to be performed, but judging from her wounds, Chief Eplen indicates Sima Alonwei may have been killed by Unangi rebels."

  "No." Razi stumbled backward and sat hard in a wooden chair. The legs skidded across the floor a bit. "No. She can’t be…dead. No."

  The screen denied him, offering up a view of the body. Chestnut hair streaked with dry blood hung across the gravel road. Her black clothes looked soiled with mud. The dead woman’s feet lay turned at odds, bearing those boots he’d admired when he first saw her.

  "Oh, that’s going to cause a stink." Lensi clapped the docs together, reordering them. "Alonwei won’t have anything to pay off Leuj with now. Another war, another occupation. Guess the Unangi have to atone for the Shiemir’s daughter as well."

  Razi glared at the television. His stomach turned, leaving an empty pit inside. I should have held her there. Why did I let her go? Why didn’t I go looking for her? "Shit. Oh, Lensi, shit."

  "What?" She pulled off her hair veil, grimacing. "You look pretty pissed. What’s up?"

  The screen changed scenes again, this time revealing the bushy-browed officer Razi recognized. The title beneath his face indicated that he was Chief Eplen. Beside him stood the man who fired the shot, killing Ailen. "They murdered her."

  Lensi sidled up to him, laying a plump-fingered hand on his shoulder. "What are you not telling me, Raz?"

  "The woman," he choked out. "The one I told you about; she paid for me. That’s her."

  "Moquai Alonwei? The Shiemir’s daughter?"

  "Yeah. That’s her, that’s Sima."

  Her mouth hung open, her eyes wide in shock for a moment. "You need to stay here then. I can’t risk you going back to the Oemir’s palace. If he finds out you’re connected to her, he’ll have you killed."

  Razi wiped one eye, angry at the moisture gathering there. I’m not crying. I didn’t even know her. He shook his head, trying to let go of the image of her sprawled across the ground. "Aw, shit, Lensi. I could have saved her. I knew who she was. I should’ve called the Tarafian authorities. Police killed Ailen. I saw it happen."

  Lensi cuffed him. "You’re gonna get me in trouble."

  "What do you mean? They didn’t see me. I got out."

  "Do you know how many Unangi refuges I’m hiding here? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is that you know what you know? Leuj is corrupt, Raz. He’s always been, but I have to work around that. I have to play him and keep him off guard."

  "Refugees?" He clasped her hand. "What are you talking about? I know you help Hicklan’s Wards get out, but refugees?"

  "Where else are they supposed to go? Leuj authorized the army to take wards for Hicklan now. They still pay, but it’s coming close to stealing. Soon they won’t pay; they’ll just kill whoever gets in their way." She bent down, eyeing him. "Did you know they found Hemec in the mountains?"

  "Fuel?"

  "They’ll rout the Unangi, take their lands, and suck the mountains dry. That’s what Irnians do. I won’t let the people die, Raz. They’re innocent. The rebels can’t stop Leuj. I can’t stop him either, but I can get some out."

  He stood, gripping the edge of her table, shaking his head, his mind turning. "The woman." He breathed out. "The one in his garden."

  "When he can’t get what he wants, he substitutes."

  "Lensi, I think there’s more to this. You have to let me go tomorrow."

  Sister Lensi turned her back on him to roll down her bed. She kept shaking her head no. "I don’t know, Raz. I don’t know. It jeopardizes so many lives. I can’t afford to lose Leuj’s trust."

  "What if Sima isn’t dead?"

  "She’s dead. You saw her. Shot on the outer road. Stop thinking about it. Let me get you a shuttle to Alga in the morning. She left you money, Raz. She wanted you to live. Take the chance and run." Lensi unbuttoned her dress, sliding it over her ample hips. A cream-colored shift hid her body.

  As she turned, Razi glanced at the shadowy blaze of large nipples the thin fabric revealed. "I can’t, Lensi. What if she’s still alive?"

  She sat on the edge of her bed, her freckled face flushing as she stared up at the ceiling. "I don’t know." You really felt something for her?"

  He tensed, and started for the door. His fingers met the cold handle. "I only spent a night and a morning with her."

  "Yeah. You felt it though. Just that something." A knowing glint highlighted her eyes.

  "Shut
up, Lensi. Let me go with you tomorrow. If I can’t find anything, I promise I won’t ask again." He turned the handle, hoping she’d agree.

  She nodded. "One day. After that, you’re on the next shuttle to Alga. No arguments."

  "I promise." He stepped out into the crisp night air, aware of the shimmering lights along the walk. Behind him, he heard her television click off before he shut the door. He strolled across the copper-lined, metal path to the barrack housing behind the gardens. Razi wondered how many Unangi people Lensi had hidden away in those buildings. He found the room she’d assigned him and pushed open the door.

  Modest furnishings greeted him when he flicked on the single halogen light, a small bed, a study table and chair and a bookshelf holding the Revelations of Habiri, the church’s bible. He sank onto the bed, the empty feeling in him threatening to take over.

  "You’re alive. I can feel it. I will find you."

  Chapter Fourteen – Freedom

  Leuj sent a boy in to replace Sima’s blindfold. He watched her on the monitor outside the room. She struggled, screamed and even tried to bite the hapless servant before he managed to catch the black fabric over her eyes. As soon as she couldn’t see, Sima thrashed against the pillow attempting to get the fabric off. Leuj ran his hand through his hair. "She will be hard to tame, to change."

  Determined, he passed through the opening. The metal door slid shut, a tone sounding to announce its seal. "Sima, stop."

  "Take it off," she ordered. "You said you would!"

  He sat beside her, placing a hand on her smooth cheek. His touch seemed to calm her somewhat. "You’ll hate me."

  "I already hate you. Stop being a coward. Let me see your face." Her bare breasts rose and fell with every harried breath, tempting him. "Bastard."

  Clucking his tongue, Leuj stroked her lips with his thumb. "Such foul words from such a beautiful mouth. I didn’t know you had a dark side." He leaned over her, bracing one hand beside her shoulder. With the other, he pushed the blindfold over her forehead. Sima’s hazel eyes flickered with hatred.

  "Surprise," he whispered.

  "Why have you done this?" Her rage showed across her face, narrowing her eyes, twisting her brow. "Why?"

  "To give you your freedom. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?" He stroked her hair, catching the end of a thick lock between his fingers. Leuj rubbed the silky strands together, soothing himself.

  Sima yanked the chain lead, rattling its links. "This is freedom? This? I’m not free." Her shackles clacked together.

  "As my wife, you will know no greater freedom." He bent until his lips touched hers. Kissing her made his flaccid cock spring to life. He forced her lips to part, his tongue probing. As she’d done the first time he kissed her, Sima jerked her face away.

  "What need do you have for another wife?"

  Out of breath, he gazed at the curve of her cheek. Color shone across her face, angry, bright pink. He felt the urge to grab her chin, to force her to look at him, but he resisted. "My wives hate me. You’re right. I don’t need another. I want you, though. I have since the moment I first saw you."

  "What do you want me for? Your bed? As a trophy to warm your arm when you go on trips?"

  Oemir Leuj closed his eyes. He leaned back, then laid beside her. "No. That’s not what I want."

  Sima turned her back to him, though he knew it strained her wrists to do so. Every heated breath she released made her quiver and in turn, he felt the need to claim her body. Her silence pained him. He ran a hand over her shoulder. "If you won’t be my wife, be my lover."

  "I don’t love you. I find you disgusting."

  "You let me hold you. I saw you reaching to kiss me." His fingers slid over her elbow, dropping to the curve of her waist. What would it be like to force those hips in any direction I wanted?

  "That isn’t love."

  "You feel something for me, admit it." He pressed his hips against hers to let her know what he felt at that moment.

  Sima humphed a bitter sigh. "I argued with you about Taraf’s borders, about Irnia becoming a free nation. We yelled in the midst of a public gathering, and I threw my wine on your pants. You think that qualifies as some sort of affection?"

  "I think you are a woman with convictions. I admire that." He grazed his lips across her shoulder blade.

  She tensed. "This is the only way you could get close to me. By tying me up, covering my eyes so I can’t see what a foul man you are."

  "I’m a wealthy man. My city thrives. The people in Irnia have what they want, when they want it. How does that make me foul?"

  "Take the shackles off."

  Leuj groaned. "Not yet."

  "Yes yet. Take them off." She bumped her ass against him.

  "In the morning."

  "No, not in the morning. Take them off now. I’m not your prisoner. I’ve done nothing wrong."

  "You did."

  Sima turned her head to glare over her shoulder. "What did I do?"

  "You failed to give me a chance." Leuj smiled, his fingers gripping her hip. "I know what you want, how you want to be touched. I’ve paid a high price for the information."

  "I’m sure you did. What do you want me for? Say it."

  "Have you ever been in love, Sima? Ever wanted something or someone so bad that you’d give anything?"

  She frowned, her hazel eyes narrowing. "No." She rolled on her back, then on her side to face him. "And no, that’s not what love is. You don’t obsess like that. Love happens without chasing it, without shackling someone to a bed and teasing them. What’s wrong with you?"

  Leuj rolled off the bed and swept fingers through his hair.

  "Take the shackles off."

  He peered over his shoulder at her. "I will when I come back. I promise." She looked fine lying across Jahid’s old bed, her hands just above her head and her tempting lips stuck in a loathing pout. The covers barely hid the nest of hairs between her legs. He wanted Sima as much as ever, but her words irritated him.

  Leuj backed to the metal door, memorizing her shape. He wanted it in his mind when he met with Shiemir Alonweir as fuel for his anger. "The boy will feed you. He’ll tend any needs you have."

  "I need my freedom." She closed her eyes as she chewed her lower lip.

  "You will have it when the time is right." The tones sounded and Leuj backed through the entry. He willed her to open her eyes, to look through him in that seething way, but she did not.

  Chapter Fifteen – Dragon Lily

  The boy fed her dinner. In the morning, the same servant returned and spooned delicate bites of fried egg in her mouth. He sliced up a strawberry tart and offered her a piece. Sima smiled. "How long have you worked for Leuj?" She opened her mouth to receive the offering. He knows I love strawberries. The bastard. She wondered how long the Oemir had been paying spies to find out what she wanted, what she favored, and just how far his informants had gone to dig up personal information about her.

  The servant pursed his lips. His slanted, brown eyes revealed nothing. She decided he was probably Unangi. The color of his skin reminded her of Razi.

  She finished her meal in silence, her mind turning to the night in the brothel, the fire Razi ignited when he touched her, when he looked at her. No one had ever made her feel passion to such depths. I should have…

  The tones sounded at the door. Metal slid away. Oemir Leuj stood in the entry, his cheeks flushed with color, his fingers curled into fists.

  "Oh, good morning," Sima called in mock cheerfulness. "I’ve been a good, little girl. Do I get to take my shackles off now?"

  He visibly tensed. Leuj crossed the room in five long strides to stand over the foot of the bed. "Get out," he told the servant. The boy dropped the spoonful of tart on the tray and bolted. The metal door sealed the room.

  "You look a little grumpy." Sima tapped her toes against her ankle, rattling the chains below. "Like someone just peed in your coffee."

  "What did you buy at the brothel?" he asked through clench
ed teeth.

  Her heart caught in her throat. He has Razi. He’s got him. Damn, I shouldn’t have used my debit. Damn! She forced a smile and felt the fake way her cheeks bulged. "Why? You want to learn something new? Curious about my sex life?"

  "What was it, Sima? The little man at the counter destroyed your records. All we have is a figure, a shen amount. Are you hiding something?"

  "I’m sure he remembers what I bought. Why don’t you pay him for the information? No sense asking me anything when there’s always a way around it."

  Leuj stalked to the window. He prodded the keypad in the wall until the drapes glided across their runners. Bright morning sunlight in shades of orange and gold illuminated the gray room.

  The Oemir turned his back to her, his fists touching his hips. Sima watched him fume. "By the way, you’re back," she called. "Take them off now. My wrists are raw."

  "Then you shouldn’t fight them. Why is it so hard for you to hold still?" He looked like a stature standing there, unyielding and stoic in his cream-colored haberes and vermillion shirt.

  "Why is it so hard for you to let me go?" she shot back.

  Leuj cleared his throat. Past him, Sima noticed the ornate gardens outside. Intricate patterns stretched across the landscape in knotwork designs. Crocuses bloomed in a wide field outside the glass, their colors aligned in shades of purple, white and yellow. In the distance, she saw a woman in dark clothes approaching. Behind her, three men pushed barrows.

  "That’s what I’m trying to tell you, but you don’t understand."

  "Maybe I’d understand if you took the shackles off. It’s not dignified to have to pee in a bottle for your little serving boy."

  He brought both hands to his temples. "Tell me what you bought."

  "No. You promised to take the shackles off. A man who doesn’t keep his word can’t be trusted. Of all people in political power I’ve met, you’re the one I trust the least. Prove my instincts wrong."

  "Do you want to trust me?" He turned to face her, his eyes less severe. His fingers burrowed in his hair.