“Because I am Regent, I have you, even though I never wanted to be Regent.” Kamen wrapped her in his arms. “In fact, I was furious at Saerileth for insisting that I take up the position. Six years ago, nearly seven now, there was an attempt to overthrow the Sunjaa King. The King and his concubine were slain, and only the then-Crown Prince Jahen escaped. It was a dangerous time for the Sunjaa, and Saerileth said that only I could lead the Sunjaa properly.”
“She was right.” Ajalira had no doubt about that, but jealousy pricked her. “And why did not the Lotus suggest her own master to lead?”
“The Lord Admiral was born a commoner,” said Kamen mildly. “I wasn't.”
“Is that when you got these?” Ajalira traced over the scars on his chest. “During the uprisings?”
“Yes.” There was hesitation in Kamen's voice, and Ajalira looked up into his face.
“What is it, beloved?”
“I'm a bit ashamed, Lira.” Kamen twined his fingers in her loose hair. “I had loved Darien, and I knew he wouldn't—couldn't—love me the way I wanted him to. And I had tried in every way I could to separate him from his Lotus, and I couldn't face living with the—”
“Dishonor?” Ajalira wanted to kiss away the pain she saw starting to well up in Kamen's eyes, and she wished Saerileth and Darien both drowned at the bottom of the sea.
“You could say that.” Kamen pressed her close. “So I went back to face the enemy, knowing I would be captured. They caught me, as I knew they would, and began torturing me, trying to learn King Jahen's location and Darien's plans.”
Ajalira turned and pressed her lips to Kamen's scars, one by one. “You have the heart of a Tamari.”
“What?” Kamen's chuckle told Ajalira her attempt at comfort had been successful.
“Suicide is cowardly,” said Ajalira. “But when honor requires death, facing an enemy is the only honorable way to die.” She leaned up and kissed his mouth. “Of course, you did not dishonor yourself. I know you. You are incapable of dishonor. But that you thought you had and sought death by an enemy's hand—” She broke off, too overcome with passion to speak further, and it was late that night before either of them rose from the divan.
****
“Thank you for seeing us, Your Grace.” The Kimereth ambassador bowed before Kamen and King Jahen. Ajalira stood beside Kamen's chair, simultaneously interpreting for him. This time, though, she was present not merely as court interpreter, but as the concubine of the Regent. A silver coronet rested on her head, dipping down in a jeweled tear-drop on her brow, and she knew that the Ausir were puzzled by her position.
“You have spoken to me before,” said Kamen. “What has changed that you should press the Sunjaa further?”
“Your Grace!” The Seranimesti lord burst into the receiving chamber, and Kamen cast a wry glance at Ajalira. He had told her that it would take the Ausir three days, maximum, to come to the Sunjaa, pushing for military alliance. This was the second day since the Losiengare defeat. Ajalira let her eyes sparkle at Kamen as she interpreted.
“The Kimereth were here first!” The ambassador turned on the other Ausir. “You must wait.”
“No, we have been here longer than you.” The Seranimesti lord did not lose his temper.
“And King Jahen's answer remains the same,” said Kamen clearly. Ajalira interpreted, infusing her words with all her pride in Kamen's wisdom. “The Sunjaa will not ally with a divided people.”
“But perhaps a temporary, military alliance would suffice?” The Kimereth ambassador spoke over Ajalira's last words. “There are only two factions left. The Sunjaa could bring a swift peace by lending their strength to the Kimereth.”
“Or to the Seranimesti.” The Seranimesti lord at least waited until Ajalira had finished interpreting.
Kamen shook his head. “I acknowledge that the Losiengare are out of the fight, thanks to their running afoul of the Sunjaa. Whichever side has the Sunjaa navy behind it will win, and yet the Sunjaa will lose. No matter which of you I choose, the other will harbor hard feelings against my people. I do not want you Ausir alive today seeking revenge on Sunjaa generations from now. But you two are effectively asking the Sunjaa to arbitrate your war. This I could do, if you would make it an official appeal. If you would agree to abide by my decision, I would hear your claims and place the Ausir crown on the head of the one most deserving of it.”
The Seranimesti lord's mouth opened, but no words came out as Ajalira finished interpreting Kamen's offer.
The Kimereth ambassador took one look at the Seranimesti and said, “I am not authorized to speak so far for the Kimereth lord, but I will sail at once to present your gracious offer, Regent. If I hurry, I can catch the moonsrise tide.”
He bowed and left, leaving the still-speechless Seranimesti lord staring at Kamen. Ajalira smiled. Kamen had said that they would accept the terms, if only because by one denying it, that faction would anger the Sunjaa.
“Your Grace is generous.” The Seranimesti spoke at last. “And I trust that your decision will be the only one an honorable man can make. Unlike the Kimereth, I do have the authority to speak. I am the lord of the Seranimesti, and I will, if the Kimereth agree, abide by your decision, Your Grace.” He bowed. “But be certain, Regent, that you know all the facts before you declare an Ausir King. The evil that you do will long outlive you.”
“And the good that he does shall outlive even you, Lord Seranimesti.” Ajalira interpreted for Kamen, but she added her own words at the end.
The Seranimesti lord's eyes grew wide, and he drew himself up in obvious fury.
“What did you say to him, Lira?” Kamen whispered.
“I told him that the good you do shall outlive him.” Ajalira lifted her chin defiantly.
The Seranimesti had, as Ajalira and Kamen spoke, approached the King's dais, and he positively glowered. "Your Grace," he said to Kamen in Vadal. "This lowborn wench of an interpreter has insulted me, and I—"
Kamen rose, standing face to face with the tall Ausir. "Be careful what you say next, Lord Seranimesti. The Lady is not the court interpreter merely. She happens to be fluent in Ausir, but she is first and foremost my concubine."
The Seranimesti backed away from Ajalira, whose breast heaved with emotion. The Ausir held concubines as no better than slaves, but she was not ashamed to be Kamen's concubine.
"It might not," she said in Vadal, that both Kamen and the Seranimesti lord could understand her, "be an interpreter's role to speak so to you, Lord, but it is definitely a concubine's!”
"Forgive me, Your Grace." The Seranimesti bowed to Kamen, steadfastly ignoring Ajalira. "I will go now before either of us is driven by this ... slave to do something regrettable."
"She is no slave."
Ajalira stared in shock, for the voice was King Jahen's.
"Concubinage means something rather different here, Lord Seranimesti." Kamen's words were chunks of ice dropped into the River. "I will receive you again when I am attended by the Kimereth."
The Seranimesti was hurried out by three slaves, and Ajalira smiled proudly at King Jahen.
"Thank you, Your Grace," she said.
“I'm glad you're Kamen's concubine.” The boy-king rose from his throne and took Ajalira's hand. “Now I have someone to be like my mother, too.”
Ajalira looked at Kamen, perplexed.
“His mother was Vadal,” said Kamen. “Now I have to take my lady back home.”
“We are early, are we not?” she asked as Kamen swept her into a litter. “I doubt that dinner will be ready—”
“It's not dinner I have in mind.” Kamen laughed as he closed the litter curtains. “My Lira boasted of me to her own kind, but she spoke improperly for an interpreter. A thorough disciplining is in order.” His eyes glittered, and Ajalira felt a rush of warmth to her nymphae. She wanted Kamen, and she felt no shame at the thought. He was hers, and she was his.
As the litter bore her the short distance to the Itenu estate, she closed he
r eyes, trying to imagine what Kamen's discipline would do to her sopping pussy.
Chapter Ten
Kamen looked at Ajalira and approved of his work. He had her bound ankle and wrist to his X, a device he had had built to his specifications some years before. The X was a bed-like rack upon which his partner could be laid out and bound, either on her back or on her stomach. Tonight, Kamen had Ajalira on her stomach. There was a padded hole, like a massage table, through which her face peeked. Her eyes were full of wonder tinged with fear, and Kamen could taste her anticipation on the air. The arms and legs of the device spread out in an X shape. Hence the name. Ajalira lay completely exposed to him, and as he circled her to make sure all the rigging was secure, he slapped her ass. Ajalira yelped and squirmed, humping the pillowed area of the device that rested just below her pelvis, thus thrusting her ass into the air. Kamen stuck his finger between her ass cheeks and ran it down her pussy lips. There was no need to lick. It glided. She was ready to go, but Kamen had plans to make her wait. He loved to watch her squirm, and he knew that she liked the torturous anticipation almost as much as the reward of sex at the end.
The X was mounted on a cylindrical column upon which the entire bed could swivel. Kamen turned her around in the opposite direction so that she would be able to watch his preparations.
“What is that?” Ajalira asked, her gaze falling on the low table before her.
Kamen came around and sat down at the stool before it. Upon the table lay a cutting board, ginger root, a knife, and a basin of cool water. “You'll find out. Interpreters who add their own words to conversations that don't concern them get figged. The standard punishment for such recalcitrance.” He glanced up at Ajalira as he took the ginger root in hand. Her puzzled expression told him that she had no idea what figging was. He had thought she might, having been trained as a Lotus, but her unfinished tattoo was testament to just how little she excelled in the Lotus arts. Not because she was incapable but because she had considered herself a slave. Kamen was convinced there was nothing Ajalira could not do if she set her mind to doing it. He had never met a woman with more pride. Pride, not haughtiness. He loved her for that.
Ajalira strained against the leather straps that held her arms and legs fast. “Is this what happens to those who disobey you?”
Kamen looked up at her and winked. They both knew that he did not require obedience from her, but he wanted to use the interpretation incident as an excuse for their amorous play. This punishment would be the kind that would have Ajalira disobeying again and again, and Kamen looked forward to disciplining her wet pussy.
“You must learn the ways of the Sunjaa.” Kamen cut into the ginger root, past the length of the finger, removing a length of about six inches.
Ajalira's eyes widened. She must have had an inkling. Kamen removed the brown husk and tossed it aside, revealing the white, fibrous interior of the root. He whittled at it, slicing away every small protrusion and bump until it was a long, smooth plug. He took his time, often holding it up in front of his face, laboriously inspecting it and humming to himself, only increasing Ajalira's expectancy. She licked her lips, and when Kamen looked at her, he heard a small whine escape her lips. She gyrated against the pillow beneath her clit.
Kamen turned the ginger plug over in his hand. It was a good length and weight, a good fit for Ajalira. With his knife, he deftly cut a ring around the root, about two-thirds down the shaft. He sculpted out a concavity without marring the straight lines of the other end. The ginger finger was ready. He dunked it in the basin, holding it there for several seconds as he stared into Ajalira's wide, blue-green eyes.
“What are you going to do with that?” Ajalira's voice was a trembling whisper. Her pelvis still humped the pillow.
Kamen stood, ginger plug in hand. “Discipline you.” His cock was already hard, so he removed his tented skirt and let it fall to the ground. Ajalira's gaze dropped to his penis, and she smiled. She had never had it so good on the Dimadan, even though the Lotus trainers were masters of sex.
Kamen reached up before her and tugged at the X, bringing it down so that her body was parallel with the floor. Another swiveling joint exactly constructed according to Kamen's design. He then pivoted the X around the opposite direction so that Ajalira's head lay away from the table and her ass was right in front of him. Ajalira craned her neck to see, but Kamen slapped her ass hard, leaving a red hand-print.
“Who told you you could look?” Kamen turned a winch, and the bottom half of the X that held her legs spread apart, revealing more of her pussy lips to him. But what he wanted was her ass.
Ajalira shook her head as she rested her face back in the hole. “I am sorry. I will never talk out of turn again.”
“Too late.” Kamen spread her ass cheeks apart and pressed his thumb against her anal rosebud. Ajalira thrust her ass into the air like a cat in heat. Kamen had slipped his thumb inside her on multiple occasions, and he knew she was ready for the ginger plug. Slowly, he pressed the tip of the root against her anus, and though there was slight resistance at first, that first pop stole Ajalira's breath.
Ajalira looked back. “What are you doing to my ass, Kamen?”
Kamen slapped her buttocks. “Don't look.”
Ajalira pouted—the dearest thing Kamen had ever seen—and dropped her face back into the hole. Kamen proceeded to drive the ginger plug deeper, inch by inch, slowly slipping it in until her ring of muscles clutched the concavity and held it in place. A long, low moan sounded from the head of the X. Kamen smiled, wondering if her eyelids were fluttering, wondering if her eyes were rolling back in her head.
“It burns,” Ajalira said.
“It's supposed to.” Kamen swiveled the X horizontally and then raised it vertically just enough for him to place his cock in front of her mouth. “Now, suck it.” He jammed his penis into Ajalira's mouth, and she swallowed it, running her tongue around and over it. Blood coursed to his phallus, stiffening it to its fullest size.
Kamen took hold of her horns and fucked her face until the saliva poured from her lips and pooled on the marble floor at his feet. Tears poured from her eyes, and still Kamen gagged her. Throughout it all, Ajalira continued to grind against her pussy pillow.
“Clench your ass cheeks together,” Kamen said, slamming his cock into her mouth again. “Clamp down on the plug.”
The muscles in Ajalira's ass tightened, and she squirmed. “It burns so good.” Her words were garbled on Kamen's thrusting penis.
Kamen stopped. “Good? Well, I guess we'll have to find a different punishment for you, then, you little tigress.”
Ajalira looked up at Kamen, her mouth hanging open in exhaustion, her eyeliner smeared with her tears. He would have as much bathing and caring for her as he would abusing her in his own loving way. He had discovered long ago that many women—and men—did not like the way he played, but for those who did, no one would ever please them as much as he could. He had sensed this with Ajalira, and he had been right. He let her suck on his cock without forcing it down her throat, but as her gyrations eased, he knew the sting of the root was wearing off. It was time.
Kamen walked around behind her and slowly removed the plug. Once it was fully out of her, Ajalira gasped. Her muscles in her legs relaxed. “Oh, no, my love. You don't get off that easily.” He lay the X flat and mounted the wider, flat parts near her thighs, perches where he could squat over her. He guided his cock into her pussy, and it slipped right in. He grabbed her hips and raised her body just enough to provide the angle for maximum penetration. Ajalira's fists balled up, for she had nothing to grasp. Kamen worked the length of his phallus slowly inside her, pulling all the way out to his head, only to plunge back in at a steady pace, twisting his hips just enough to make sure he hit her pleasure spot on every reentry. His pace quickened until he was fucking her like an animal, slamming into her pussy with all the force he could summon. His heart nearly burst as she exploded in a shattering orgasm that sent convulsions through her hip
s, back and shoulders. Ajalira spouted a stream of Ausir words, and that only excited Kamen more. But he wanted to see her and hold her, so he unstrapped her without removing his cock from inside her. Once she was free, he slipped out and stood. Ajalira jumped into his waiting arms, springing from the X like some predator. She devoured his mouth, and he kissed her back with such force that their teeth clacked painfully together. They laughed, and Kamen could hardly keep hold of her for the sweat pouring off them both. He pulled her legs around to straddle him, and he popped his phallus back inside her, fucking her in a standing position.
They kissed and fucked and slapped sweaty body parts against each other until neither one could stand. At last, Kamen threw her down on the bed and shot his cum into her. His knees shook, and everything went blank, like a scroll being unwritten. As his life flowed into her, he felt death brush past him. Ajalira leaned up and kissed his lips, her passion-sparked eyes locking with his. And then he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against her brow as ecstasy claimed him, until every last drop of his seed swam into her hungry pussy.
****
Kamen filled the sponge with bath water and pressed it against Ajalira's back, letting the suds slide down her skin. Ajalira hugged her legs to her breasts and rested her head on her knees. He sponged her neck and shoulders, too, while with his other hand he massaged the knotted muscles of her back. Ajalira hummed, and the air was thick with the scent of lavender.
“I want to tell you everything about me, Kamen,” Ajalira said without raising her head.
Kamen dipped the sponge into the bubbles again, filling it with water. “I know you had a rough time at the guildhouse.”
“This is not about the guildhouse. I mean before that. I owe you that much. You have done so much for me.” She raised her head and kissed his hand. “Taught me so much.” Her sly glance at him showed her admiration for his bedroom skills.
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