With slow, measured steps, Kamen walked over to the chest that sat on the far table. “Open it.”
Ajalira twisted the metal rod and flipped up the clasp. She looked at him.
Kamen indicated the chest with a nod of his head. “You'll find a brass butt-plug in there. Get it.”
Ajalira's eyes widened, but she did as she was told. As she searched, Kamen gently fucked her. She found the plug, wrapped in a black velvet bag with a drawstring.
“And that vial of oil,” Kamen said.
Ajalira shook her head.
Kamen slapped her ass. “You don't understand. Being disobedient will just get you punished more.”
Ajalira bit her lip and arched her back.
“Fine.” Kamen got the vial himself and took Ajalira back to the bed. He put her on all fours and knelt behind her, burying his cock in her pussy and holding himself there as he applied the oil to the brass plug. Once ready, he pressed the plug against her anal rosebud, and she opened her body to admit it. Little by little the shiny, brass object slipped inside her ass.
“It's cold,” Ajalira said.
“Feels good, doesn't it?”
Ajalira nodded and looked back at Kamen. He grabbed her by one of her golden horns and pulled her head back to kiss her neck. She was filled with all things Kamen: his cock in her pussy, his toy in her ass, and his tongue in her mouth. He kept a hold of her horn as he kissed her, but he also brought his other hand around and squeezed her throat. Kamen was focused only on Ajalira's pleasure. He wanted that perfect moment of ecstasy so that she would always associate it with disobedience. He loved to chastise her, and he knew she loved it, too. The butt-plug rested against his pelvis, so every time he thrust forward, the plug moved in her ass.
“This is what happens to recalcitrant concubines,” Kamen said, tightening his grip on her neck.
“I'll never disobey again,” Ajalira said, weeping in clear pleasure.
“I know you won't, because I'm going to fuck the disobedience out of you.”
Ajalira mouthed a silent moan, and her eyes rolled back in her head. Her body shook all over, and Kamen knew she was close to another orgasm. He popped up on his feet so that his cock would drive in at her pleasure-spot angle, and he thrust downwards. His thighs slapped against her ass with such force that her pale flesh reddened. Cock, plug, and choking brought her to climax, and she collapsed forward onto her breasts.
As Ajalira lay panting, Kamen knew she was ready. He removed the plug, which caused her to pout and whine, and replaced it with his cock. Ajalira buried her face in a pillow and clawed at the sheets. At that moment, Kamen realized that she had never done anal before, which shocked him, considering her Lotus training. The thought of taking her anal virginity brought the cum rushing up his cock. He slipped all the way in her and lay on top of her, cradling her head in his arm.
“Are you all right?” he whispered in her ear.
She whimpered an affirmative reply and submitted to his invasion.
Kamen snuggled down beside her and kissed her brow, nose, and cheek. He stroked her hair as he gently fucked her ass. He knew what it felt like; he had had Darien in his ass before, and Kamen was nowhere near the size of Darien. Ajalira's ass would be clenched, but in time, with gentle strokes, she would relax and might actually move herself in order to put his cock just where she wanted inside her. But Kamen did not rush it. He let her warm up to it. They kissed like first-time lovers, alternating sweet and passionate, and all the while Kamen moved inside her. He did not really pull his shaft out but kept it steady in her, only moving his hips without really slipping in and out.
Eventually she loosened up and raised her ass like a cat. This gave Kamen the opportunity to slip his hands under her hips. His fingers found her clit, and he went to work on it again. Now he dared to slip the shaft of his cock halfway out of her ass, only to drive it back in. Ajalira bucked against him, taking her anal punishment without difficulty. She had used plugs before, but such toys were only half the length of Kamen's cock. Her pussy drenched his hand, and Kamen wondered if she liked anal more than normal sex. Ajalira was almost purring. With one hand, she reached back and grabbed her own ass, pulling the cheeks apart. Kamen's shaft disappeared inside her.
“Dump your cum in me, master.”
Kamen's cock twitched and stiffened. He released her clit and her neck, instead holding her by her waist as he slammed into her. With a few long strokes, he brought about his own climax. All the strength fled his body, and his knees shook. He sprayed his seed in her ass, pumping white cum into her back passage.
As he collapsed on top of her, Ajalira said, “I cannot wait to disobey again.”
****
Oars gently breaking the night water made the only sound that accompanied Kamen and Ajalira's flight from Godswatch. The double moons, one half hidden behind the other, shone down more red than blue from the clear, starry sky. Before the small boat the Meshkenet Sea stretched away like an infinite black plain upon which, sailing through pools of dark red waters, glided Mirsa's Crown.
As Kamen rowed with his back to the sea, he watched the retreating lights of Godswatch. “That's one city I won't miss.”
“Nor I.” Ajalira sat opposite him and looked into his eyes. The moonslight made her gold horns glitter.
“Pull your cowl up,” Kamen said. “I don't want Kimereth's spies to see us.”
Ajalira did so, casting her face in deep shadow. “Do you suspect we have been followed?”
“I don't think so.” Kamen took another long pull at the oars. He loved the sea, even if he were only in a small rowboat. “But it's best not to take any chances. I wouldn't put anything past that bastard at this point.”
“I fear this whole arbitration has given you a bad impression of my people.” Ajalira reached out and touched Kamen's knee. “But I assure you, Ausir are a proud, noble, and good people. If only you could have seen the bliss of Norivea when I was a child, when my uncle, Javin, ruled there.”
Kamen released the oars just long enough to lean forward and kiss Ajalira's lips. “You forget: I'm in love with an Ausir woman, so they can't be all that bad.” He winked.
They fast approached Mirsa's Crown, and Kamen was not surprised when someone called out across the red-black water to them.
“Who goes there?” a voice called out in Sunjaa.
Kamen sighed inwardly. It was good to finally be away from all the wagging Ausir and Lefhanor tongues. “It is I, Kamen Itenu!”
“Your Grace?” the voice called back.
“Go fetch your master and tell him the Regent begs to come aboard.”
The silhouette scampered off.
“You are excited to see your friend,” Ajalira said.
“Is it that obvious?” Kamen reached out and grabbed the rope ladder, stopping the little boat's progress and pulling it alongside the hull of the massive warship. “Now that we're together, my love, it'll be like old times with me and Darien.”
Ajalira did not respond, and Kamen could not see her face for the shadows of her cloak.
“Who goes there? My mate tells me that the Regent of the Sunjaa, Kamen Itenu, the Falcon Protector, Lord of Arinport, is down there in a tiny rowboat.”
Kamen laughed. “He speaks true.” He helped Ajalira to her feet and up the ladder, and then he followed.
Darien's strong arms lifted Ajalira aboard, and the Ausir looked like a child next to him. Kamen came next, and Darien took his forearm and pulled him up as easily as he might lift a mug of beer.
“Permission to come aboard,” Kamen said.
Darien nodded once. “Permission granted.” He picked Kamen up in a bear-hug. “So you survived Arinport. My Saeri tells me those horned devils gave you a bit of trouble.” His mouth clamped shut, and he looked at Ajalira. “A thousand pardons, my lady.”
Ajalira pulled back her cowl and smiled, and Darien's lips broadened into a grin, too.
“So,” the Admiral said, “what's this coming aboard in a row
boat?” He looked over the edge and then back toward the Godswatch harbor. “The Aramina not good enough for you anymore?”
“On the contrary,” Kamen said, “but I want to throw off those Kimereth dogs. I'll travel back to Arinport aboard your ship, and my decoy—my manservant—will take the Aramina.”
“Expecting shenanigans?”
“Most likely. They kidnapped Ajalira, though I can't prove it, and I suspect now that it was the Kimereth who tried to assassinate me on the journey up to Godswatch.”
Darien clapped Kamen on the shoulder and leveled a serious stare at him. “Burdens of leadership.” Kamen was not fooled by his put-on frown, so when Darien smiled, he was not surprised. “It'll be good to sail again together. Are you hungry?”
“Yes,” Kamen said. “Lira, are you?”
Ajalira nodded.
“Come.” Darien led the couple across the main deck and up the stairs to the quarterdeck. He threw open the door of his cabin, and the soft lamplight and aromas issuing forth invited them in.
Saerileth was already there. She sat at the table eating a piece of round, flat bread. A pile of that same bread lay in the middle of the table next to an okra and lamb stew. Steam rose from the dish, and Kamen's mouth watered.
“You know, I thought about filching your cook when I got the Aramina,” Kamen said, laughing.
Darien took a seat next to Saerileth and poured himself another mug of beer. “Take my cook? You'd split the kingdom.”
“Men have gone to war over less.” Kamen pulled out a chair for Ajalira. She sat, and so did he.
Darien sat at the head of the table with Saerileth on his right. Kamen sat on Darien's left, and Ajalira sat opposite the Admiral. The mixed scents of grilled onions and vinegar assaulted Kamen's senses. He dug right in and started eating. They did not have anything like this stew in Godswatch. Ajalira, too, fell to, and some time was spent eating before any conversation resumed. The Sunjaa were not like other people; when they ate, they ate. If they were nibbling on snacks and walking around, as at a party, then they would be more inclined to talk, but when they were sitting at a table eating, that is what they did. Especially aboard ship.
Saerileth was fine with it, for she was no doubt used to it being the Admiral's concubine, but Ajalira seemed like she wanted to say something.
“What is it, Lira?” Kamen wiped the grease from his lips.
Ajalira's mouth turned up in a lopsided smile. She addressed Darien. “You call her 'Saeri'.”
Saerileth, whose eyes had been coolly observing Ajalira, looked at Darien, who took her hand in his.
“Yes,” Darien said, “we Sunjaa like to give our wives nicknames.”
Ajalira's eyes widened in shock, and her mouth fell open. Saerileth half-smiled and shook her head, doubtless playfully disapproving of so blatant an emotional reaction from a so-called Lotus. So, Kamen's secret was out.
“Your wives?” Ajalira looked from Darien to Saerileth and back to Kamen again. “But...”
“The law forbids me marrying my Saeri.” Darien spoke to Ajalira, but he looked only at Saerileth. “But she is my wife in the eyes of the gods and in my heart.”
Ajalira stared at Kamen, and he wondered if she would say anything out loud. She did. “You call me 'Lira'.”
That was his Tamari concubine, always speaking her mind. Always straightforward.
“I do,” Kamen said. “You are my only one, forever.” He reached under the table and ran his hand up her smooth thigh.
Darien laughed. “Aren't we a happy foursome, then!” He raised his mug. “To ridiculous laws and the women we got in spite of them.”
They all raised their mugs and drank. Kamen had never known such contentment. Dinner aboard Mirsa's Crown with his best friend and the woman he loved. Ajalira, whom he loved more than he had ever loved Darien. Looking at her now and feeling the way he did about her, Kamen realized that he had never truly loved Darien. It had been infatuation. It had been hero-worship. Darien was closer to Kamen's father's age than Kamen's own age. He was like an uncle to him, a role model. When Kamen had joined the navy at sixteen, Darien had been his mentor. In the years they sailed together, that mentor-ship had turned to friendship, and as friends, they, too, had become lovers. When he met Darien, he had been an impressionable youth.
“It'll be good to put back into Arinport,” Darien said. “The men are aching for a fuck.”
Ajalira choked on her beer.
“You haven't called common quarters.” It was not a question. What with the Ausir civil war, Kamen knew the men would have to be vigilant.
“Not with so many Ausir warships anchored nearby,” Darien said.
“What is common quarters?” Ajalira asked.
Saerileth smiled and answered. “The Sunjaa believe that a man will fight more fiercely for a lover than a mere crew-mate, and so they encourage communal sex among their military.”
Ajalira stared at Kamen. She was a quick-witted woman, so she had to know that Darien and Kamen had fucked in the past.
“But that does not mean we cannot have our own common quarters.” Saerileth disappeared under the table. A moment later, Darien gasped. He sat up perfectly straight, balled his hands into fists, and slammed them down onto the table.
Kamen laughed, and his own easy mirth melted Ajalira's obvious surprise. Saerileth was sucking Darien's cock under the table, but why be shocked at that? Kamen had had Ajalira strapped to an X-shaped device and had shoved ginger root up her ass. They were all adults here, and besides, Kamen and Darien were the two greatest lovers in all the Sunjaa lands, and they had the two sexiest women the Dimadan had to offer. Kamen's own cock grew at the thought. His hand traveled up Ajalira's thigh until it found her damp pussy.
Darien pushed back the table with a mighty thrust, revealing Saerileth's head bobbing up and down on his cock.
Ajalira gasped. “It is massive.”
“They don't call him the 'Water Serpent' for nothing,” Kamen said, laughing to cover his feeling of inadequacy. Who could compete with the cock of Darien? Kamen stood and picked Ajalira up, carrying her to the divan. He laid her down, spread her legs, and ate her pussy, not feeling confident enough to take off his skirt while Darien's cock was visible.
Ajalira moaned and grabbed Kamen by his dreadlocks, pushing his mouth down onto her cunt. She squeezed his head with her thighs as she locked her ankles behind his head.
Kamen realized in that moment that though he and Saerileth would not mind a four-way, Darien and Ajalira would most definitely not want it. Besides, jealousy would eat Ajalira up if she knew that Kamen had ass-fucked Saerileth years before. But Kamen was content with his Ausir concubine. He lapped up the juices from her hairless cunt.
Saerileth and Kamen needed people opposite from them, for they were both more sexually perverted than their partners. Furthermore, they were more naturally duplicitous than their mates, so they needed more good-hearted, straightforward lovers. That was exactly what Darien and Ajalira were. They were good people.
The crashing of crockery caused Kamen to look back from his dessert. Darien had cleared the table with a swipe of his arm, and he clearly did not care that he was making quite the mess. He climbed up on the table and brought his little Saerileth with him. His massive cock lay across his stomach. Saerileth took it in her hand, pulled up her skirts around her waist, planted her feet on either side of her gargantuan lover, and held up his cock as she lowered herself onto it. It was like a pillar passing inside her.
Ajalira gasped again, and Kamen looked up into her eyes. Her expression was one of disgust, and all Kamen's self-consciousness about the size of Darien's cock evaporated.
“How can she take that?” Ajalira asked, staring at the physical point of Darien and Saerileth's coupling. “It does not look pleasant at all.”
“That's what everyone says,” Kamen said. He licked her wet cunt again. “His old concubines used to run in fear of him. No one knows how Saerileth handles it.” He gave no more thoug
ht to Darien and Saerileth, and instead dropped his skirt. He pulled Ajalira onto his lap, and by the way Ajalira fucked him, he suspected she did not think of them, either.
The four of them trashed Darien's cabin in their love-throes, and Kamen could only guess at how many of the crew peeked in, lured by the sounds of the women's howls.
Chapter Nineteen
Ajalira fidgeted in the litter. She wore a Zenji short shirt, long skirt, and pallav, and she kept the silk of the pallav draped over her head and around her face. She knew that Kamen was right that here, in the heat of Arinport, wearing a cloak and cowl would be as blatant a declaration of her identity as going bare-faced, but she still disliked the garments of a Lotus. But they would soon be back home, and she would be able to resume her Sunjaa gowns.
Saerileth was handed in to the litter with Ajalira. A large, hand-shape bruised Saerileth's hip, and Ajalira knew her shock must have registered on her face.
Saerileth did not quite smile, but she allowed her face to relax slightly as she looked at Ajalira. “My master does not know his own strength.”
Ajalira remembered the night before, when, as Kamen had bound her hands and feet and fucked her on the table, Darien had bent Saerileth over a chair, grabbed her hips, and fucked her from behind like a man possessed. That Saerileth had enjoyed it Ajalira was sure. Saerileth's screams had been of pleasure. Now, however, Saerileth showed no emotion at all.
“How do you do it?” asked Ajalira.
“Take my master?” Saerileth shook her head. “I enjoy it.”
“No, I meant hide your heart. You love your master. You told me so once before, but I—I always suspected you loved Kamen.”
Saerileth patted Ajalira's hand. “No, Lady Ajalira. I have never loved the Regent, but I know that he is an easy man to love. If it were not for my master, you would have had a rival in me.”
A Lotus for the Regent Page 20
