A Lotus for the Regent

by Adonis Devereux

  Ajalira whined but nodded.

  Kamen dove back in, fingering and licking her pussy like a glutton, and Ajalira responded by fucking his face, bucking her hips against his mouth. Kamen had to widen his kneeling position to keep from being thrown backward. He braced himself against her by wrapping his arms around her thighs. He used his left arm to hold her still while his right forefinger and thumb spread the top of her pussy apart, giving Kamen's tongue free entry to her clit. Ajalira went wild.

  Kamen stopped and slapped her ass. “I said not yet. If you keep this up, I'm going to punish you with my cock. Did you see how big it is?”

  Ajalira's mouth turned into an O-shape, and then she bit her bottom lip. Kamen jammed his tongue into her vagina and drank her juices, though she had not had an orgasm yet. He pulled back long enough to lick his thumb, which he placed against her button and massaged it, and then returned to his oral drilling. Ajalira raised her ass and pulled Kamen in deeper by pressing her heels into his back, but he could not breathe, so though he desired nothing more than to give her pleasure like she had never known, he had to come up for air. He extricated himself from Ajalira's legs and stood up, though he kept a hold of her, not letting her feet touch the floor. He reached over, yanked at the edge of the bed sheet, and wiped his face.

  “Are you ready?” Kamen asked, bracing himself against Ajalira so that his stiff cock lay against her ass.

  “Make me come,” Ajalira said.

  She was on the edge already. Kamen held her by her buttocks and pulled back just enough for his cock to rest against her wet pussy. And then he slid all the way in. Her vagina was tight, not ready for a cock of Sunjaa size. Ajalira's eyes rolled back in her head, and she came. Kamen held her ass as she shuddered and squeezed him.

  Once her orgasm passed, Kamen fell into a gentle fucking rhythm, taking his cock almost all the way out, only to slide it home again. He wanted to feel every inch of her, inside and out, and though his cum surged toward the tip of his penis, he managed to hold back the initial burst by going at a steady pace. Ajalira moved like the ocean against him, sliding and gliding all around him. He was a sleek, fast ship in her waters, and she opened to him as he parted her. They moved together flawlessly, with a sexual grace surpassing anything or anyone Kamen had ever known.

  Ajalira could not touch Kamen, so it was up to him to do everything, which was the way he liked it. He learned forward without breaking stride and nibbled at her nipples. They were soft and sweet, and her skin smelled like ginger. Ajalira moaned and increased her pace. She wanted to come again. Kamen obliged her by sucking on her nipple long and hard, drawing as much sensitivity into it as possible before biting down on it. When he did, Ajalira cried out and came.

  Kamen moved up to her face, and though with eyes closed she opened her mouth for a deep kiss, he only gave her a peck. Ajalira's eyes opened in surprise. Kamen stood straight up and slammed his cock into her as hard as he could. He held her ass tightly to keep her from slipping away and to prevent too much strain on her wrists. He wanted her bound, but he did not want her injured. Though not nearly as strong as Darien, Kamen was strong enough to hold this Ausir woman up long enough to fuck her thoroughly. He fucked her at such a pace that his blood burned and his heart pounded in his throat and ears. Sweat covered his chest and arms, and he felt his grip slipping on Ajalira's wet ass. So he paused to wipe his hands on the bedspread. He then perused her face and hair, his hand following his gaze. He touched her hair, played with her damp tresses, and ran his fingers along her horns.

  “Lovely,” Kamen said. He caressed her face, too, and as his fingers strayed toward her mouth, Ajalira parted her lips. Kamen slipped his middle finger inside, and she sucked on it. Kamen's cock swelled inside her pussy, and she must have felt it, for she bucked against him again.

  Kamen stood up, but this time he did not wildly fuck her. He kept to his earlier, easier rhythm, but as his hands clutched her buttocks, it was easy for him to press his middle finger against her anal rosebud. Ajalira's eyes widened, but her surprise quickly melted into pleasure. She closed her eyes and pursed her lips as Kamen explored more of her ass. And then he popped the first knuckle inside her ass. Ajalira arched her back, driving Kamen's cock deeper inside. She had amazing stamina, able to twist her torso in such a way as to fuck Kamen with more ferocity than he thought possible for someone in her position. It was like she was on the verge of forever falling off a galloping horse, and yet somehow she stayed on. She would be exhausted after this. Kamen just went with it, slipping his finger in a little more as he slammed into her pussy again and again. Her vagina squeezed against his cock as she came, and this time Kamen felt her cum drip down his hands. Kamen did not stop, for he felt himself on the edge of exploding, too, so as Ajalira gloried in her orgasm, Kamen thrust two more times, leaned up, and kissed her lips. As his tongue penetrated her, he felt the pressure in his cock give. He emptied his seed into her in thick, hot spurts, and he did not break their kiss until every last drop of his semen swam inside her.

  As the passion faded, fatigue threatened to claim Kamen. He had never fucked a woman in this manner before, and now he knew why: he had almost no strength left in him. Mere exertion aside, he had just dumped a load of cum inside her. But he could not leave her tied up, of course. He untied her and took her into his arms. He took slow steps on unsure legs to the bathroom, where he ordered her bath drawn. Until it was ready, she sat curled up on his lap, her arms around his neck, her face resting on his chest. And once the bath was ready, he rose and placed her in it, washing away all her sweat and the day's grime.

  Chapter Nine

  Ajalira luxuriated in the water, and the touch of Kamen's hands on her shoulders sent shivers through her. Her muscles ached delightfully, and she was, for the first time in six years, perfectly happy.

  “My love.” She leaned against his hands, and then those hands were gone. She opened her eyes just in time to see him sliding into the water with her. He pulled her against him, leaning her against his broad chest.

  “Say that again, Lira.”

  “Lira?” Ajalira turned to look up at him.

  “Ajalira is long,” said Kamen, chuckling. “But if you prefer, I will call you so.”

  “Lira is fine.” She leaned back against him again. “But what did you want me to say?”

  “I wanted to hear you call me 'love'.” Kamen brushed the top of her head with his lips.

  “Do you know what 'Lira' means, my love?” Ajalira snuggled against Kamen. “Or did you merely like the sound?”

  “I thought of calling you 'Aja'.” Kamen traced over her horns with one wet hand. “But 'Lira' seemed to suit you better somehow. Still, I don't know the meaning of either word.”

  “We Ausir are not particularly poetical people.” Ajalira shook her head. “I was born while my parents were aboard ship, just as the sun rose. So they named me Aja-Lira, that is 'Water-Morning'.”

  Kamen's earlier chuckle blossomed into a full-blown laugh. “Well, at least 'Morning' is better.” His laughter became a smile, a smile half-sad, and Ajalira's heart ached. “You are the morning of my life, Lira.”

  “A sad dawn then it is.” Ajalira turned all the way around to face Kamen and ran her forefinger over his black brows. “I am Tamari, and we seal every oath with blood. I … could not so seal my oath to you, except with a blade.”

  “Hush.” Kamen leaned his brow to hers. “I told you no more of that, or you will make me think my love is not enough for you.”

  “Not enough?” Ajalira threw her arms around Kamen's neck. “Kamen, you are more than I could have dreamed, even before I went to the Dimadan.”

  “Then no more of this.” Kamen kissed her lips.

  “Then tell me why your eyes are always sad, beloved.”

  Kamen grasped her by the waist, turned her backward once more, and leaned her against his chest again. “It is an old habit, an old wound—one healed by you, my fair one.” When he smiled then, there was no sorrow in him tha
t Ajalira could hear in his voice, none at all.

  “You loved once before.” Ajalira was glad that he could not see her face. Jealousy, she knew, blazed in her eyes. “And you see your old love often.”

  “Sometimes,” said Kamen.

  “And you cannot have your love.” Ajalira closed her eyes.

  “No.” Kamen crushed her against him. “I have my love.”

  “I cannot compare to her.”

  “Her?” Kamen chuckled. “No, it was a he whom I loved.”

  “He?” For an instant Ajalira's shock was too great for further speech. She knew that some Sunjaa men fucked other men, but she did not know whether this were better or worse for her regarding Kamen's love. “Then how comes it you do love me, for I am a woman?”

  “I like both,” said Kamen. “It so happened that the first time I loved, I loved a man. He did not—could not—love me.”

  “He was a fool!” Ajalira could not comprehend that. “Not to love you? That is impossible. He must be blind, deaf, and moronic!” Though a part of Ajalira rejoiced that this mysterious man had refused Kamen's love, part of her was furious that anyone should have hurt him so.

  “My sweet lady.” Kamen buried his face in her hair. “He is a good man, but he likes only women.”

  “Will you be satisfied with me, then?” asked Ajalira. If he could, then she would be glad that his first love had not been a woman, for then there would be no comparison between her and him. “You will not want him again?”

  “You are all I want, Lira.”

  Ajalira relaxed into Kamen's arms. There was truth in his voice, and he had never lied to her. He never would.

  “Time to get out.” Kamen rose and pulled her up with him. “The water is getting cold.” He swept them both out of the tub and back onto the enormous bed where she had slept these past seven nights.

  “Did I shock you?” he asked, lying down beside her. The dampness of their skin was cool in the warm night air. “Does it bother you that I loved a man?”

  “Not exactly. It is not that you loved a man.” Ajalira curled up next to him, enjoying the warmth of his body. “But, Kamen, I admit that I am jealous of—who was it?”

  “Darien.”

  “Saerileth's master?” That explained how Saerileth would know so much of Kamen.

  “Yes.” Kamen shook his head, and his damp dreadlocks tangled with her own loose hair. “She saved my life twice, despite that.”

  “Of course she did.” Ajalira's jealousy shifted. She knew now that Kamen had not loved Saerileth, but she suspected that Saerileth had loved—still loved—Kamen.

  Kamen ran his fingers over Ajalira's bare back. “I don't want you to worry, Lira. Darien is and always will be dear to me. We fought side by side. He was my captain. But you saw the way he was when he witnessed our joining. He does not have any feeling for me that isn't brotherly, and I can at last say the same.”

  The gentle touch of Kamen's hands on her back made Ajalira feel like a purring cat. “I did not know that I would be tired after coupling.”

  Kamen seemed to understand her need to speak no more of Darien, and he switched from his fingertips to his open hand, rubbing it across her rapidly-drying back. “Not tired? What did you expect of me, my love?”

  “I have never...” Ajalira's voice trailed off, and she buried her face in the pillow.

  “I like to play rough,” said Kamen. “It can be a bit overwhelming.”

  “No.” Ajalira rolled over to face him. “I loved everything about the way you took me. It was that I have never—never climaxed before.”

  “Abrexa's cunt!” Kamen sat all the way up, leaning over her with wide, shining eyes. “You what?”

  Ajalira's cheeks burned. “Not once.”

  Kamen leaned down and kissed her mouth, parting her lips with his tongue. When he finally pulled away, his eyes were dancing. “Lira, my love, you are all, all mine.”

  Ajalira locked her hands around Kamen's neck and pulled him down to kiss her again. “Only yours, Kamen.”

  ****

  Kamen stirred, and Ajalira smiled. Ausir rarely required as much sleep as humans, and she loved the way he slept, sprawled over two-thirds of the bed, lying mostly on his belly, and yet with one hand always touching her.

  Without further warning, Kamen sat up, his tousled hair the only sign he had been sleeping. His eyes were bright, his body coiled to spring.

  “Good morning, Lira.” He pulled her close. “Have you been awake long?”

  “Not too long.” She nestled into his arms.

  “We have much to do today.” Kamen rose from the bed, and Ajalira admired afresh his gorgeous body. His chest in particular drew her gaze. Its scars were not, to her Tamari eyes, blemishes, but rather the badges of a warrior.

  “Lira?” Kamen turned to find her staring, and she smiled.

  “Just wondering about your scars.” She rose and ran her fingers over them. “You are so beautiful, Kamen.”

  He laughed. “You will make me forget I am Regent.”

  “What must you do today?”

  “We are moving house. I've been living in the palace ever since I became Regent, but that was only because my house was not a home. With you there now, it will be.”

  A loud rap at the door cut off Ajalira's answer.

  “Your Grace?”

  “Yes?” Kamen was already fastening his skirt around his waist.

  “The Lord Admiral is about to depart for Masnaport, and he wishes to make certain of your instructions.”

  “Order a litter,” said Kamen, kissing Ajalira's brow. “You can go ahead to our house. I will be there as soon as I can.”

  And he was gone, out the door and back into the life Ajalira already knew was full of more responsibility than even a King should have to bear.

  “Lady Ajalira?” A deferential serving girl stood hesitantly in the doorway. “Does it please you to dress?”

  Ajalira nodded, but she furrowed her brow. Why should this girl even be here? As court interpreter Ajalira did not rate someone to dress her.

  “Which gown, my lady?”

  “You choose.” Ajalira took up a brush and began to comb through her hair.

  “Please, my lady, that is my task, too.” The girl took the brush from Ajalira.

  “But—why?” Ajalira had not had anyone assigned to dress her hair either.

  “You are the Regent's concubine.” The girl's skill was evident in the way she untangled Ajalira's stubborn hair. “You are the highest lady in all Sunjaa lands.”

  Wonder stole Ajalira's voice. She had been considering her position as that of a slave, and only Kamen would view her as anything else. She had not expected that she would be treated as if she had just married the most powerful man in the west. Kamen's kindness and his generosity both pierced her, and she wished he were still in the room that she might kiss him again.

  ****

  After four days of living in the Itenu house, Ajalira still found the treatment she received astonishing. She was treated with honor and respect, and even King Jahen had seemed to think of her as Kamen's partner, not his property.

  “Mistress?” A slave bowed as she passed into the garden. “The Master has returned and is asking for you.”

  “Take me to him.” Ajalira smiled as she followed the boy. She had, upon her first arrival in the house, seen the number of slaves and resolved to ask Kamen to free them. He had laughed and told her she could do that herself, if she liked, but that he would ask her to make sure that was what they wanted.

  The wails that had ensued when she had “threatened” them with liberty had been enough to reconcile Ajalira with the practice, at least as far as Kamen's household went.

  “Lira!” Kamen picked her up off her feet and twirled her around the room. “The Losiengare made their move yesterday, and the battle is ours.”

  “What happened?” Ajalira clasped her arms around his neck as he slipped her back to her feet.

  “Well, just as you said,
they had built up a force just outside the waters where I told them not to go. Yesterday, they sailed back into our waters and tried to take all the ships we had docked in the port.”

  “And?” Ajalira knew that being prepared for the ambush was only part of victory. There was still the Ausir technology to overcome.

  “And they sailed into a trap of my own.” Kamen kissed her nose. “I had several useless, unseaworthy hulks freshly painted and put in the harbor. Darien kept his own fleet in a cove just southwest of Masnaport. After the Losiengare made their move, they conquered all the junks—and they had none of their smoke bombs left for when Darien, seeing the signal sent up from the city, sailed around behind them. There were a large number of Losiengare ships. I expect they have little left in the way of a navy after this.”

  “So it was a pitched battle?” asked Ajalira. The repetition of Darien's name did not seem to touch Kamen, and she was glad.

  “No, I didn't want to risk so many Sunjaa ships when the region is so unstable.” Kamen moved to sit on a low divan, and he pulled her down to sit with him. “I had the harbor mined, and when Darien sailed up, the Losiengare tried to turn on his fleet with their own as well as the 'new ships' they had taken. Of course, the new ships could not sail worth a spit, and they foundered, setting off the mines in the harbor. The Ausir,” said Kamen, kissing her nose, “are not the only ones with some seafaring technology.”

  “So they are wiped out?” asked Ajalira, reflecting on the repercussions for the Sunjaa and the other Ausir. It was a jolt to her to realize that she thought of the Sunjaa first.

  “As I said, I doubt the Losiengare have much of a navy left. A few smaller caravels perhaps, just whatever they had left patrolling their own harbors. They didn't keep a single ship from the battle. Darien chased down the stragglers.” He cradled her face in his hands. “If I hadn't known in advance, if I hadn't been able to prepare for assault—the Losiengare would have stolen all the ships in Masnaport.”

  “I am glad about all of it,” said Ajalira, pressing her cheek into Kamen's palm. “Because of their intended treachery, I have you.”