"Your birthday presents, Prince Akim."
Jade lowered her head at these soft words. She was more ashamed than she could say. Herself, and four other girls from various countries had been kidnapped as possible birthday presents for some rich prince in a small principality she had never even heard of. That didn't mean they didn't have the money or resources to carry off international crime though, mainly people trafficking.
They were told on their arrival that one of them would be the lucky girl selected to join the prince's harem. The other four would be returned to their homelands.
Dressed in diaphanous cloths and precious stones and metals, the girls felt vulnerable and exposed. Jade had seen clearly the gentle curve of her breasts through her clothes and was embarrassed to be so publicly exposed, but hadn't dared draw attention to herself by being defiant. Like the other four girls, she still had a chance to go home.
Five beautiful virgins, none wanting the honor that would be bestowed on one of them. They were told to be respectful and to follow orders while they were guests or they might not be returned home after all. All five of them had been especially selected because they had no living relatives, few friends, and most importantly no one to raise the red flag if they were never returned. Their fear was real and tangible, but they did as they were instructed and tried to catch the eye of the prince.
The first girl, taken from France, stepped forward. "I am Amelie," she offered in her soft voice, her head dipping as a sign of respect. She stood for his insulting perusal not daring to move as his finger brushed the tip of her breast and his eyes roved over her lush curves. When he finished his inspection, Amelie stepped back into line with the other five girls.
The second girl, taken from Thailand, stepped forward. Her small body trembled with fear and she could not even find her voice to say her name. A whip landed softly against the back of her thighs in warning. Finally she opened her mouth. "I am Kindra."
As the prince stepped nearer to Kindra she folded under the pressure and stepped away from him. Another slash of the whip was her reward, but she was past caring as she turned to run for the door. Where she thought she could go was uncertain, but her need to flee was too strong to ignore. She was caught halfway to the door and thrown to her knees before the prince. His displeasure was obvious as he looked down at her huddled weeping figure.
"Get up," the words left his mouth and filled the air with a tense silence. They did not bode well for Kindra's future.
Jade bit down on her lip as the temptation to defend Kindra warred within. She knew it would not go well for either of them if she stepped forward.
Kindra slowly dragged herself to her feet, tears still coursing down her cheeks. "Am I so abhorrent to you?" the prince asked, although the answer was clear to anyone with eyes that he was a vision of male perfection.
The slow shaking of her head confirmed that Kindra did in fact have eyes.
"Why then do you seek to flee?" The hard glitter in his eyes was too much for Kindra and she started her heavy weeping all over again.
Their keeper, who had been silently watching the proceedings, and cracking the whip when necessary, stepped forward and spoke. It was clear by her words that she had no heart. "Send her to the public pleasure halls. There let her learn of the opportunity she passed over." There was no emotion in the words. No malice, no hatred. These were the words of a woman who cared only for her prince.
The prince considered her words, and with a nod of his head, and four little words, Kindra's fate was sealed. "Let it be so."
Two guards grabbed Kindra by the arms and dragged her from the prince's presence. Her frightened cries grated in Jade's ears and before she knew her own mind she spoke.
"Wait!" Jade could have kicked herself as the word left her mouth. Damned in that one word.
The prince lifted his hand signaling for the guards to give pause, although what this slip of a girl could have to say that would change his mind he couldn't imagine.
Jade took a deep breath, trying to draw strength from the air itself. She hadn't done anything wrong. It was impossible for her to have kept quiet while Kindra was being consigned to a fate worse than death. The five girls had formed a friendship during the days of their brief captivity and in all good conscience Jade couldn't let her suffer for a situation that was not of her own making.
Some serious ego stroking was in order. "If it pleases the prince, he should show mercy to a stranger in a strange land," her lowered head and soft green eyes called for clemency. She worked hard to inject her voice with just the right note of reasonability to give him the impression that maybe he had acted a little rashly.
Akim was not fooled by her softly spoken words. The clenched fist at her side said more clearly than anything else how she felt about his decision and what she would like to do to him.
"It does not please me," he rejected her words with a casual toss of his hand. He crossed over to her, marveling at her beauty and purity. "What is your name?"
The fist clenched tighter. "Jade." She raised her lowered head to stare into his eyes. "My name is Jade."
"Jade." He said the name slowly, rolling it around his mouth to see how he liked it. It suited her eyes. "Be at peace Jade," he offered his hand sliding down her arm to meet the clenched fist.
Jade could have kicked herself as she realized why he had not been swayed by her soft and persuasive words. Her own body had betrayed her. She quickly checked her natural reaction, which was to pull her hand away from his. She let his fingers play there until he had teased her clenched fist open.
His hand slid back up her arm and cupped her breast. He watched her closely and was surprised at the two reactions he saw reflected in her. One said very clearly that she was not fighting him because of his position over her, but in different circumstances she would do him mortal harm for daring to touch her. The other said that she liked his touch and was surprised by this.
"What are you willing to do to save your friend?" He asked the question with only half interest, lightly pinching her nipple between his thumb and forefinger.
Jade took a deep breath, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. "What do you require?"
"You." Akim moved his other hand up the gentle curve of her thigh before turning it inward to explore the depths of her. He slid a single finger into her body pushing past her body's natural rejection and forcing the digit in. Jade bucked against the move trying to pull back and he secured his hand on her arm to hold her still.
His eyes bore into hers as he made her submit to that one finger sliding in and out relentlessly. She wasn't wet, but she was so tight and hot that Akim felt full to bursting just touching her. The defiant fire flashing in her eyes told him just how passionate she would be when aroused.
Without warning he pulled the offending finger from her and released his hold on her arm. "Just you." Jade didn't like the sudden darkening of his eyes or the wicked gleam that sprang to life as he finished. "On your knees."
Bowing before him as she had been taught, Jade fell to her knees bringing her head to rest on her hands. Akim's laugh split the air and she could even hear their keeper, whom she had previously thought incapable of feeling emotion, stifling her chuckles. Jade raised her head in inquiry.
Akim drew her face up until it was on a level with his crotch and she was suddenly afraid she knew what he had meant as he began to unfasten his pants.
Jade scurried back rising swiftly to her feet. "No," she adamantly refused.
"Suit yourself," Akim replied, giving her free reign to pleasure him or not, and appearing for all the world as if he didn't care either way. "But know that your decision decides her fate." That same finger that he had just pulled from her body was now pointing at the still defeated Kindra, who was too timid and tender to be in such an emotive situation.
