I shook my head and made a mocking face as Sari gestured us toward a cunningly concealed doorway. “I’ve created a monster.”
Stepping from the shop into the hallway was a disorienting experience. About three steps after I’d cleared the door, I suddenly felt like I was turning inside out and upside down as the air seemed to spin around me in a kaleidoscope of shimmering colors. When everything settled a handful of seconds later, I was still standing in a hallway, but now it was a feast for the senses.
Vibrantly-colored hangings decorated sections of the walls, which were a rich golden oak that was silky-smooth to the touch. The floor was sandstone, its pale color the perfect neutral base to showcase the brilliant hues above it. A light, exotic scent I couldn’t identify contrasted with delicate hints of crisp apple, filling the air.
“Be welcome in my home, Lumi and Zahra,” Sari spoke somewhat formally although her voice was warm.
“What...how...was that a portal?” Lumi was flustered, a state I rarely saw her in.
Sari smiled approvingly. “Clever girl. Yes, it was. One that’s keyed to allow only a few people to use it. I added access for the two of you yesterday after Zahra’s fitting.”
Lumi was stunned. “But...you never...I mean, the only people I’ve ever heard of visiting you here are...” she floundered to a halt.
“My lovers?” Sari finished for her.
“Yes!” Lumi blurted out, blushing.
“True enough, as far as it goes.” Sari’s smile was positively wicked as she slowly raked her gaze up and down Lumi’s body, lingering over her breasts and the vee between her thighs, visually caressing her.
Lumi shifted, almost squirming as her nipples visibly thrust against the material of her top and her thighs squeezed together.
Sari’s knowing look changed to one of interest as she shifted her gaze from Lumi to me. “And you, Zahra? Does this surprise you as well?”
“Yes, because you’ve only known me for a short time. I wasn’t aware of the grapevine story that the only other people you allow in here are your lovers.”
Sari stepped closer, although she was still just outside my personal space. “What would you do if I asked you to become one, Zahra?” Her voice was low and intimate, curious and promising at the same time.
I considered her question while studying her the same way she did me. Something—instinct, maybe—told me that sex with Sari would be different, with far different results than anything I’d experienced with previous partners. Finally, when the tension had heightened to an almost uncomfortable point, “I could be persuaded.”
Lumi’s explosive sigh punctuated Sari’s next question to me. “And Lumi? Would you accept her as well?”
A sly grin stole across my face. “Lumi? Care to answer that question for her?”
Sari’s gaze swung between us as Lumi snorted. “Would she? Damn girl’s been getting me all hot and bothered, teasing the hell out of me for the past several weeks. I swear the next time she so much as touches my arm I’m going to go off like an explosion of Roman candles, permission to cum or not.”
Sari’s eyebrows flew up in shock. “You mean...”
Lumi met her gaze head-on. “I mean exactly what you think I mean. We’ve been taking it slow, getting to know each other. She’s let me take my pleasure elsewhere on occasion until she’s ready, but the tables turned pretty quickly when I first propositioned her. She ended up tying me in pleasurable knots.”
Sari turned back to me with a speculative look on her face.
“As I said,” my sly grin was still very much in evidence as I forestalled any further questions, “I could be persuaded.”
SARI LED US THROUGH the hallway into a spacious living room. Comfy-looking sofas and chairs were scattered around, inviting us to sit down and relax. Some were in conversational groupings. Others were set far enough apart to allow a measure of solitude while still being part of the goings-on. One oversized armchair with thick cushions and a throw pillow occupied a nook with a small side table and lamp, a book laying on the table in easy reach. It looked like that was Sari’s go-to spot to curl up and read.
We continued until we reached a series of doors in another hallway. Sari opened the first one and gestured inside. “Lumi, I believe this one will suit you. Feel free to make use of anything in here or the attached bathroom, which is through that door in the far wall. You’re welcome to stay here overnight after the Fête.”
She included us both in her next comment. “Let me show Zahra her room, and then I’ll show you both something which I think you’ll enjoy as much as I do.”
With that, she led me down the hall as Lumi walked into her room to hang her garment bag from a hook on the closet door and put her overnight bag on the bench at the end of the king-size bed.
Sari opened the next door on the right to show me the room I’d be using. It was stunning; the view of a secluded sunlit courtyard and the shadow-dappled glade beyond it through the floor-to-ceiling windows took my breath away. A closer look revealed that one of the windows was a sliding panel that acted as a door.
“This is gorgeous!” I complimented her.
She laughed. “You haven’t even looked at the rest of the room yet.”
I laughed with her as I looked around. King-size bed, vanity, a couple of chairs positioned to see outside while reading or having a tête-a-tête, and a doorway that led to what I presumed was an attached bathroom.
Sari gestured to the garment bag already hanging from the closet door. “Your gown, shoes, and jewelry are in there.” Her hand swept out, encompassing the room. “Anything in here is yours to use to get ready.” Her glance landed on my overnight bag and the clothes in my arms. “Go ahead and set those down, then we’ll collect Lumi on our way to the final spot on our tour.”
“No need to collect me. I’m right here.” Lumi strolled into the room as she finished speaking. “Wow! Damn, that’s a hell of a view!” She whistled in appreciation before turning to Sari. “You say you’ve got something that can top this?”
“Indeed.” Sari led us farther down the hallway until she reached the door at the very end. There was no doorknob, only a hand-sized square of a slightly darker color placed approximately chest-high. She put her left hand in it, and the door silently swung open.
Chapter Eleven
Zahra
A SHARP BUT NOT UNPLEASANT smell came through the open door, along with some wisps of steam. We stepped inside, and I inhaled deeply as I looked around at the softly-glowing natural cave with its scattered hot springs.
“How in hell...” Lumi’s awed whisper faded to silence as she stared, marveling at the sights as much as the fact that Sari had this hidden away.
“I have my ways.” Sari winked at her. “This is all my private property, and accessible by invitation only. Which means we won’t be disturbed while we soak—something I suggest we all do. These are mineral hot springs, and they’re excellent for soothing aches, pains, and bruises as well as relaxing.” She pointed to the smallest spring. “That one’s the hottest. The largest one is the coolest, although it’s still quite warm. The others fall in between.”
With that, she took off her shoes then unsealed and stepped out of her ivory-colored armor before heading to the hottest pool.
I watched her walk, noting the sensuality of her smooth stride and the way the steam caused her dusky skin to glisten. A sideways glance showed me that Lumi was watching as well. Judging by the way her nipples stood at attention and her subtle shifts, she liked what she saw.
“Strip, Lumi.” My quiet directive snapped her attention back to me as she removed her shoes and unsealed her armor. “Slowly.” Her pace slowed as she removed one shoulder strap at a time, holding her top up with one arm as she did. Then she relaxed her arm and let the fabric slide farther down her breasts before catching it.
A glance at the springs revealed that Sari was intently watching. Her dark eyes showed her arousal as Lumi followed my directives. I kept an eye on Sa
ri's reactions in my peripheral vision as I turned my attention back to Lumi while quietly shedding my new boots and armor.
“More.” That told Lumi to loosen her grip on her top and let it slip even further until it hung on her nipples. She stood there, biting her lip in anticipation and pleasure as I reached out and ever-so-slowly pulled the fabric sideways, teasing her as it rasped across the stiffened peaks, her arm preventing the material from falling off them. She shuddered as the last of the fabric left her body and dropped her arm, standing there bare-chested and proud.
She was a sight to behold, even half nude: smooth golden skin with no tan lines, waist-length blonde hair that curled in the steam from the hot springs, plump breasts with gorgeous nipples that had flushed dark pink with her arousal, leading down to a taut and toned abdomen that flared out in a generous sweep of hips. A pocket Venus come to life.
A subtle motion from the hot springs caught my attention. I looked sideways and saw Sari bite her lip as she rested her crossed arms on the edge of the spring. Her gaze never left Lumi. Judging by her position, she'd pressed her breasts against the rock under the surface.
I stepped close behind Lumi and bent slightly so only she could hear me speak. “Still good with letting her join? I know you two have played casually before, but not like this.” Lumi’s slight nod and quiet verbal response of, “Still good,” were the confirmations I needed before things went any further.
I caught some of Lumi’s hair in one hand as my other arm wrapped around her waist, hand splayed on her stomach. I used her hair to tease her as I dragged it around and over her breasts and nipples in ever-changing patterns, never staying where she wanted it most for long. Her breathing quickened, and her muscles tightened under my hand as the tantalizing pleasure danced across her moisture-slicked skin.
I slid my hand down to her waistband while still teasing her nipples. “Unseal them.” I heard an intake of breath, but it wasn’t from Lumi. I looked up to see Sari intently watching as she traced a languid trail back and forth across the upper swells of her breasts with the fingers on one hand.
My red hair mingled with Lumi's blonde as I leaned my head against hers and spoke in low tones right next to her ear. She shivered as the heat of my breath teased across it, then shuddered as she registered what I’d said.
“Yes,” she answered, her voice barely audible. “Gods, yes.”
I released her hair, letting it brush across one nipple as it fell, and set my hands on her hips. I slid my hands under the waistband of her booty shorts and hooked my thumbs over it, then pushed the body-hugging garment down one teasing inch at a time, letting my palms trail along her skin as I did. When her shorts were still barely covering the blonde curls I caught a glimpse of, I knelt behind her and lightly nipped one ass cheek. She started, but otherwise held still as I continued to slide her shorts down her legs.
When they pooled around her ankles, I lifted one of her feet and then the other as I pulled her shorts away and tossed them to lie with her top. I watched Sari as I lightly trailed the fingers on one hand up the length of Lumi’s leg, then stood while continuing to gently drag them from her hip over to her stomach then up between her breasts. I didn’t stop there. My path kept going over her collarbone and up the side of her neck until my fingers reached her ear. As I traced the sensitive outer shell, Lumi shivered against me. I pulled her hair behind her and gathered it in one hand, so it didn’t fall forward again.
I anchored her against me with my free hand, then bent my head and kissed the side of her neck before tracing upward with a delicate tongue until I reached her ear. Her breath caught as I captured her earlobe between my lips, nibbling and lightly nipping it before I kissed my way to the nape of her neck.
While my lips and tongue teased her in that sensitive spot, my hand slid up her midriff to the undersides of her breasts. I let one knuckle sweep lightly across, back and forth, occasionally dragging all my fingertips up between her tits before drawing them back down to dip low over her belly and brush against the top edge her tight curls. As soon as she reacted to that touch, I withdrew and teased her breasts some more.
When frequent light tremors rippled through her skin, I swept my hand up and over one breast, catching her nipple on my palm as it went. She gasped at the fleeting contact and her back slightly arched as her body sought more pressure on that sensitive nub. “Not yet,” I admonished her.
She stilled and straightened. Her eyes closed and her breaths came quicker as my fingers traced patterns over and around her breasts, circling her nipples but never quite touching them.
A splashing sound in front of us signaled me to check on Sari. Her eyes were almost black with lust as she stared, both hands now playing with her breasts. As I watched, she thumbed her nipples before squeezing them between her thumbs and forefingers, twisting and rolling them as she did.
When I turned my attention back to Lumi, her skin had broken out in gooseflesh from my teasing. Using my hold on her hair to tilt her head sideways, I raked my teeth lightly up the tendon in her neck as I cupped her breast and rubbed her nipple with my thumb. She gasped and pushed into my touch, plump flesh filling my hand.
I squeezed it lightly, playing with it as I gently flicked her nipple with a fingernail. When she shuddered, I switched to her other breast and gave it the same treatment. All the while, my mouth moved over her shoulder, neck, jaw, and ear as I nipped, kissed, and tongued her golden skin, adding to the sensations coursing through her.
I twisted her hair around my hand, anchoring her head as my other hand left her breast and cupped her jaw. I turned her head to the side and kissed her while my hand slid back down her body until my fingers tangled in her curls. She gasped again, and I used that opportunity to engage her tongue in a lazy duel while my fingers slid lower, slipping into slick wetness as I reached her clit and started toying with it.
Lumi moaned, although our kiss muffled it. Sari moaned, too. I broke the kiss long enough to look at Sari, who now had one hand underwater while the other continued to play with her nipples.
“Sari.” She looked up at me, startled. “Hands above the water.” The look of shock on her face was priceless. I saw the debate in her eyes—this was a woman used to giving orders, not taking them, even in the bedroom—but something, perhaps the promise in my eyes of more to come, convinced her to do it.
Lumi also reacted to me giving Sari an order. She was wetter than before, and her hands twitched at her sides as she tried to keep from touching me. “Please,” she breathed, watching me with hungry eyes.
“Please what?” I continued to rub her clit, circling down until one finger slipped just inside her slick pussy before withdrawing and sliding back up that bundle of nerves, which made her legs shake under her.
“Please let me touch you.”
I shook my head slightly. “Not yet. Not until you’ve cum at least once. And tonight, I think we’ll make it at least twice since we have a third.”
Lumi’s eyes went black with lust. Sari’s pupils widened until her irises were barely visible. Both of them gulped, chests heaving as their breath came heavy and the veins on their necks visibly throbbed in time with the blood pounding through them.
“Watch,” I told Sari. “Don’t look away. And keep your hands above water.”
I didn’t check to see if she complied. Her earlier capitulation told me she was intrigued enough to play along—at least for now.
Chapter Twelve
Zahra
I UNWRAPPED LUMI’S hair from my hand just long enough to tunnel my hand into it near her scalp and grip it firmly. She inhaled sharply as her back arched, breasts thrust up toward me.
I bent and traced my tongue around her areola, fingers still playing with her clit, before I drew a nipple into my mouth and flicked it with my tongue. I clamped down on it with my lips and the barest hint of teeth, holding it captive as I sucked and lashed it with my tongue while simultaneously sinking two fingers deep into Lumi’s pussy as I worked her clit wit
h my thumb. She cried out, her back arching even further to thrust her breast deeper into my mouth while her hips started to ride my hand.
I gripped her hair a little tighter and rapidly flicked her nipple with my tongue as I withdrew my fingers from her pussy and dragged them up her clit. Her back straightened and her legs shook as I relentlessly teased the sensitive knot of nerves at the top before plunging my fingers back into her wet heat. Her gasps and moans of pleasure filled the steam-filled cave.
I lifted my head to switch breasts and looked at Sari. “Is this what you want? This kind of pleasure, freely given and taken?”
She gulped and nodded. “Yes. But I also need to be the one giving it. I...I can’t just receive.”
“Understood.”
I turned back to Lumi and sucked her other nipple into my mouth, giving it the same kind of torturous pleasure the first one had received. All the while, my fingers never stopped toying with her clit and pussy. She was dripping wet—I knew it wouldn’t take much to push her over the edge. I wasn’t ready for her to cum, though, and she knew it. It was one of the things she’d asked me for when we first started playing.
I let go of her nipple and blew across it then licked the other one and blew across it as well. Her areolae pebbled as her now-red nipples begged to be touched some more. I swirled my tongue around them again as Lumi’s panting breaths caused her breasts to heave enticingly.
“Sari, come join us.”
I heard the water splash as Sari climbed out and padded over to us, water running off her skin, which steamed in the cooler air.
“These pretty nipples are begging for more attention. Think you can take care of that?” I wordlessly directed her to take over my grip in Lumi’s hair just before she captured one of Lumi’s breasts in her hand, squeezing and plumping it before she slowly sucked the nipple into her mouth.
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