Carol was awakened by a gentle kiss on her ear. "Good morning," Nathaniel's voice said.
She really didn't want to wake up. She was warmly nestled in a bed that was soft and deep. "What time is it?"
"Zero seven hundred," Nathaniel's voice said against her ear. "You can sleep some more if you want to."
Carol forced herself upright. "No. I can't believe it's after zero five-thirty. I never sleep later than zero five-thirty."
"Maybe there wasn't a good reason to stay in bed," Nathaniel observed.
Carol looked at him and smiled. He was still nude and she could see his whole body. She had seen it the previous night of course, but she had much more intent on touching rather than seeing. Now she regarded him as she would a statue in a museum: with an artistic eye. He lay on one side, leaning on an elbow. She swept her eyes from his chiseled face passed his broad chest to flat stomach. Her gaze continued lower to his half-erect manhood and over muscular thighs. Part of her said that he was too perfect to be the man she had slept with the previous night. What would such a magnificent creature want with her?
He, in turn, looked at her as though he was memorizing every detailed of her body. He let his gaze lingered on her large sparkling brown eyes, her high, well-defined cheeks, and her flowing brown hair which was now in an appealing state of disarray. He lowered his gaze to her breasts; firm and sized so that he couldn't quite fill a hand with one. He took in the firm flatness of her belly and the carefully groomed hair between her legs. Lastly, his eyes regarded the solid but exquisitely shaped thighs and the perfectly formed calves of her legs.
Carol suddenly covered herself with the sheets. An abrupt feeling of self-consciousness had gripped her. Nathaniel was so beautiful, and she was so plain. She left the bed and searched for something to put on. The dress she had worn last night was gone, and there was nothing else. "I need something to wear." She almost pleaded.
"Why?" Nathaniel said, moving toward her in an almost predatory manner.
"I can't walk around naked all day." Carol said.
"I mean why do you need cloths right now?" He was in arm's reach now, but did not reach out to her.
"I just do!" She said, growing angry because anger was better than fear.
He took her gently by the wrist. "Why did you panic when I looked at you?"
Her face turned red and she looked at the ground. "Because I'm naked," she said.
Nathaniel Laughed. The laugh was hearty and came from deep inside him. "After what we did to each other last night, you're worried about being naked in front me?"
"That was different. It was dark and we were..." She searched for a word, "...distracted."
There was another laugh. "Oh yes, I was distracted alright," the emperor said; still chuckling. "Let me show you what distracted me."
He led her over to a full length mirror hanging on one of the suite's walls and stood her in front of it. Standing behind her, he took the bed sheet she was using to cover herself away. "I was distracted by this face," he said caressing her cheek with his fingertips. Carol closed her eyes at the touch.
"Open your eyes," he commanded gently. "Look at yourself. Look at those gorgeous eyes of yours. Look at the graceful curve of your neck," he continued, trailing soft kisses from her jaw line to her shoulder. "You have beautiful breasts," he purred into her ear as his hands massaged the fleshy globes. She wanted to close her eyes and enjoy his touch, but she couldn't take her eyes away from his hands as they kneaded her breasts and made her nipples stiffen and grow.
His hands smoothed their way down her abdomen. "Your whole body is fantastic; so well toned, but not so muscled that it doesn't look feminine. You have curves in all the right paces, but your muscles are firm and tight. Not many women can get that mix of firm muscles and softness right, but you have."
Carol watched his hands move downward from her abdomen. The palm of his left hand circled of her pubic mound in a gentle massage while the fingers of his right hand stroked between her legs. "I love the way you trim yourself down there; just the right amount of hair. I love you thighs; they're luscious and smooth."
Carol's knees were week. Nathaniel's hands were stimulating her with such skill that she thought she would faint. His fingers did not search randomly within her; they found the perfect spot inside her with confident ease. His palm on her mound moved in perfect counter rhythm to his fingers. She could feel him, hard and long, against her skin from behind. But, even as he drove her toward climax, she did not; could not, close her eyes. She was watching herself react to his Nathaniel's ministrations. In the seconds before orgasm he whispered in her ear.
"You are beautiful," he said, his tone commanding her to believe what he has said.
She shook in his arms. He drove until he was supporting her weight almost completely. When, at last, he lowered them both to their knees she closed her eyes and reveled in the aftermath of her climax. He turned her to face him. Her eyes opened to find his boring into them. "You are beautiful Carol; don't ever forget that."He hugged her then. It seemed like a long time before she stirred in his arms.
Her body was only slowly surrendering control to her mind. She had never thought of herself as beautiful. She was attractive perhaps; but not beautiful. She had had her share of boyfriends, and even a few girlfriends in her life, but she had not considered herself as anything but average in appearance. But it seemed so important to Nathaniel that she knew she was beautiful in his eyes. His wives were so very lovely. Did he consider her to be their equal?
Nathaniel helped her to her feet. "That door over there is a closet," he said gesturing towards a door on the room's far side. "Find something to wear," he said smiling. "I've had your things brought over from your old room, but you'll find everything in the closet fits."
Carol opened the closet. It was three meters wide by six meters long and was filed with all types of clothing ranging from lingerie to complex evening gowns. A rotating rack contained at least fifty pairs of shoes. She selected a red, gold-trimmed, knee-length robe made of a material that seemed to have to qualities of silk but was many times lighter. It was so light she could barely feel it against her skin. It felt as though she still wore nothing. Nathaniel was donning a fresh pair of red pajamas that must have been brought there by the palace staff while she slept.
Carol became aware of the perspiration that had covered her during the incredibly energetic lovemaking she had engaged in the previous night. "I need a shower," she said as she tightened the belt of her own robe.
"No," Nathaniel countered, "You need a bath."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nathaniel led her by the hand through the palace corridors. Four body guards fell into step around them as they left her suite. Carol became nervous at the sight of the guards. Two were male, and two female. They were armed with plasma pistols, and intricate sabers. Carol knew that the sabers were nano-blades; blades with edges were only the width of a single molecule, and forged ofcarbonized tele-forged adamite alloy. They were incredibly durable and so sharp that they could slice between the molecular bonds of their target. It would cost Carol a year of her commander's salary, including combat pay, to purchase one.
Each guard wore blood-red tunics and trousers and each had red and gold metal breast plates protecting their torsos. The female guards wore thigh-high black leather boots' the males' boots were knee high. The red marked them as the Emperor's personal guard; his blood guard. The current corps of blood guard was the first generation and was comprised equal numbers of males and females. On joining the blood guard they had agreed to marry only among each other. Their children would be the next generation of blood guard and their children the next. This, it was hoped, would produce an elite, supremely trained, cadre of guards of unquestionable loyalty to the royal family. Carol regarded the guards with not a little trepidation.
Nathaniel noticed her scrutiny of the guards. "It's sad that we have to live with so much security, but the government is young, and I've made an impressive array of enemies."
Carol had been caught up in Nathaniel's seductive lifestyle and had nearly forgotten that she was in the home of the Emperor. While the War against Chaos was over, the Old Federation's enemies still lurked behind their borders and looked at the fledgling Dynastic government with hungry eyes. She, herself had nearly been killed repelling an attempt by the Hadian Union to annex a border colony belonging to the Dynasty. At this point the death of the Emperor would likely doom the Dynasty in short order; guards would be something she would have to adjust to.
As they approached another set of wooden double doors their escorts positioned themselves on either side of the doors, joining two other guards already station there. Carol could here muffled voices and feint splashing sounds coming from behind the doors. When the doors opened they revealed a large bath.
A round bathing pool dominated the room. Carol estimated it to be ten meters across and it had a fountain at its center. A submerged bench lined its inner perimeter, and retractable rinsing hoses were spaced every other meter. It was made of white marble and ringed by a lovely assortment of potted and hanging plants that filed the room with their scent. Nathaniel's wives were all immersed in the water. Unknown to herself, Carol had stopped abruptly and blushed.
Shayal stood waist deep in the water and was being lovingly bathed by Sandra and Kalin who gently scrubbed her with soft-looking sponges. Shayal seemed utterly content as the two women worked the sponges in circles across her body. She was very fair-skinned, and this made her ebon hair seem all the darker as it was wetly mated on her neck and shoulders. Her breasts were small, but the general smallness of her body made them proportional. She was very lightly muscled, but her muscles still played sensuously under her skin. She was carrying on a conversation with Sandra and Kalin as they attended her; giving every indication that she had been bathed by them quite often.
Kalin was tall and voluptuously built with heavy, slightly pouting breasts. Her eyes betrayed some Asian ancestry but her height and robust frame made it clear that any Asian heritage was a distant one. Her hair was dark brown, and very curly. She was tall but not overly slim. This gave her a fleshy, feminine softness that was most apparent in her the graceful roundness of her bottom.
