Li'ir approached the inner sanctum with caution. If the speed with which Jade had entered and exited his chamber was any indication of his mood, then she perceived he would be annoyed at the very least.
Her eyes lit on his rigid frame, and she knew it was a deep seething rage that held him in such an unnaturally still state.
"My Prince," she greeted, bowing before him.
His dark glance flicked to her prostrate form for all of a few seconds before dismissing her.
"Shall I call Nahid to you?"
His brow furrowed.
Nahid. The favored one. And yet for some reason the thought of her did not bring the usual rush of pleasure. There was only one body in his mind, only one voice screaming in agonized bliss.
"Yes."
Let Nahid come. Let her talented mouth and skillful hands wipe away the memory of a girl with hair the color of blackest night and eyes that sparked like jewels.
Nahid entered unobserved, her grand entrance ignored. Her eyes flashed golden fire at the slight snub.
She, the favorite, about whose body men composed songs, she whose smiles stopped men in their tracks, she who could give pleasure with a single look, ignored. Ignored by the one man who she ached to please more than any other; ignored by the one man she shouldn't love, but did.
She guarded him jealously from the other women in the harem and for the most part had always succeeded. Until recently she could count the number of days she had not slept in his bed on one hand. He enjoyed the other women like a glass of wine with dinner, but she was satisfied in the knowledge that she was his night cap. Until recently...
A slight frown marred her brow as her concern was revealed in an unguarded moment. She quickly smoothed her face back into the serene passionate mask he would expect to see, but her worry did not disappear as quickly as her anxious expression.
This new woman, with her pale skin, dark hair, and defiant nature, had somehow managed to enslave him. Even while she lay sick and unable to attend him he had refused to take Nahid or any other to his bed. This woman who could destroy his desire for all others.
Nahid feared and hated her in equal amounts. But she would not let thoughts of that woman keep her from enjoying Akim this night.
Nahid bowed low before him before rising to her full height.
"My Prince." Her words were accompanied by her slip pooling at her feet.
At last his eyes focused as her naked form was revealed, but his face didn't hold the normal welcoming delight she was used to seeing. If anything he appeared confused, as if her body had come as a surprise and not necessarily a welcoming one.
Nahid knew without vanity that her body was one that men would kill to possess, would die to keep. And yet he continued looking at her with that same blank expression.
She moved into his arms and was greeted by his passionate kiss. But though his mouth moved over hers with the same skill and possession, she could tell that his heart wasn't in it; that he was just going through the motions.
She gently drew away.
His apologetic eyes lifted to her sorrow filled ones.
"I am not the one you want." A statement not a question. She knew as sure as she was breathing that it was true. And her hatred increased.
"No."
His arms lifted from around her body and she recognized it as an invitation for her to go. No, not an invitation. An invitation implied she had a choice. And given the choice she would lie in his arms all night and pretend he felt something for her.
Instead she drew her body from his warm embrace and glided from the room as gracefully as she had come.
Li'ir noted Nahid's departure with displeasure. For the second time that night she entered Akim's chambers certain she would find him in a disagreeable mood.
She knew before he spoke that he would ask her to summon Jade to his bed. It was not yet an hour since he had last cast her out and he wanted her back.
Li'ir pursed her lips in disapproval as she turned to complete her task.
Jade rolled onto her back in what had to be the eighth adjustment in as many minutes. She couldn't get comfortable. The majority of her discomfort lay between her legs, but she knew better than to even think of touching herself. They would restrain her through the night and then she would be uncomfortable for two reasons instead of just the one.
Heaving a heavy sigh she rolled again. The move brought Li'ir's angry countenance into her line of vision.
"Li'ir," she greeted. "What brings you here at this time of night?" she asked with no small amount of mocking irony in her tone. She knew by Li'ir's presence that she would have to go back to Akim. She also knew she wasn't ready. She was so aroused it didn't bear thinking about.
"Come," was the only response she received.
Jade followed at a sedate pace trying to get her mind in order before presenting herself to the prince again.
She bowed as she entered. She could feel his eyes all over her as she lay prostrate before him. His passionate gaze was a caress and though she couldn't see him she could sense him. A hectic throb started between her legs and she prayed for strength as she rose to her feet.
As her eyes met his she could see the banked fire in his eyes, as well as the more obvious wariness. That was good, she thought. At least neither of them had an apparent advantage.
Akim knew better than to command her to pleasure him. She would put on another one of her meaningless shows, he was sure of it.
"Come here," he commanded, encouraging her to draw near. Though her natural inclination was to run, she did as he commanded and stepped closer.
"Pleasure yourself for me," he instructed.
Jade gave a self-deprecating smile. She had longed for just such an opportunity earlier, but it would have been for her pleasure, not his.
Still temptation beckoned.
It was to her advantage that she was already slick with desire. She spent a few minutes tweaking her nipples and rolling the sensitive nubs between her fingers. She parted her legs so he could see how wet she was.
She continued on sighing and moaning until finally she screamed as she climaxed. She stood there panting, leaning heavily on the bed.
She wasn't prepared for the hand that wrapped around her wrist and pulled her down on the bed. He towered over her, and his dark face indicated his lack of amusement.
"A man who understands true pleasure also understands artifice." He let the gentle rebuke hang between them and her cheeks glowed a dull pink in the light.
Her ploy would have been laughable if it hadn't been so damned insulting. She must think him a complete fool to be taken in by so weak a display of passion. She clearly didn't realize her chest flushed when she orgasmed or that her thighs trembled. Neither sign had been in evidence at the end of her production.
A high pitched scream and a look of delight was the response he expected for expensive trinkets; a rather more intense display of gratification was expected when your world had just been ripped apart by an explosion of mind numbing pleasure.
He hadn't bought a second of it.
He slid his fingers between her thighs and started stroking her. He could tell by how easily his fingers slid through her tight channel that the initial pleasure had been genuine. Her hips arched once involuntarily towards him, but she didn't do anything more to participate.
He felt his frustration grow.
He wanted the woman he had had the night before back in his bed. A woman who did not wait for him to give her pleasure, but would take it if he was too slow in the offering. A woman who wanted to try everything, refusing him nothing. A woman who would give him a blow job to improve his mood. That was the woman he wanted in his bed, and the caricature of feminine desire before him was just a lackluster imitation.
His tongue traced the delicate curve of her cheek down to the sensitive crease of her neck. Where she had tilted her head back in delighted pleasure the night before, now she just lay beneath him letting him do whatever he pleased.
"Participate," he growled in irritation.
Her hands immediately lifted to his shoulders and started restlessly stroking his muscular back and down his arms gripping him as if she would fall off the edges of the earth if he didn't hold her tighter.
Her head titled back as if on cue, and her insidious voice was poison in his ear. "Oh My Prince," she paused as she tried unsuccessfully to bite back a moan of pleasure, "Mmmm, that's so good."
Only she knew that the moan of pleasure had been real, although she had laced enough insincere words around it to cause doubts, to grate on his nerves.
"Now," she begged prettily. "I can't live without your big hard cock inside me."
The words were straight from her heart, but combined with the aimlessly roving hands still sweeping over everything they could reach he took them for a sham. He sat up abruptly restraining her offensive hands.
"What do I have to do?" he barked.
She stared up at him blankly.
"What must I do to get back the woman I had last night?"
A small smile played about the corners of her mouth before she thought better of it and hid it away.
