Master of Desire (3 page)

not only admired her mother greatly, but she also admired her mother’s
 
sway
 
over her  father. All Teesia’s life, people had said  she favored Jalal, both in looks and temperament, and she’d never been prouder to  be her mother’s daughter than she was today.

“Daughter Teesia,” her father Enrick began  in his deep, authoritative voice, “you have reached the age to be given in marriage, and the man I have chosen for you is  Ralen of Charelton.”

Pure joy flooded Teesia’s body from head to toe. She’d
 
known
 
it would be Ralen—she’d just
 
known
 
it! And whereas Maven had at first  resented being awarded in trade forborder protection, Teesia had no such concerns. It was the way of their world, and shewas only thankful that her fervent prayers to Ares these past two years had been answered—she was to be wed to her dark  warrior from the corridor, a man whom she knew, both from experience and intuition, would pleasure her infinitely.

“Very well, Father,” she said, still smiling wide, certain her happiness must be evident in her eyes. “When shall I be given?”

Enrick delivered a soft grin, clearly pleased that she liked his choice. Much talk had been made about the looks exchanged between  Teesia  and Ralen at the feast two yearspast—but only
 
she
 
knew about the delights  he’d delivered in the hallway. “You shall be given tomorrow, daughter.”

She drew in  her breath. Tomorrow! That was highly unusual. “So soon?” She was anxious to begin her new life, certainly, but there was so much to be done first!

Enrick nodded. “Ralen and his entourage camp outside Myrtell even now, awaiting the Giving Ceremony. He and I met only yesterday and he seemed eager to take you as his wife, so we agreed to dispense  with the customary waiting period.”

Teesia nodded, but said, “What about my Orientation?”

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Her father only laughed—probably at the enthusiasm in her voice, or the fact that she was broaching the subject before everyone  in the great hall without a care for their

presence.

It was Jalal who answered with her motherly yet regal smile. “Not to worry, dear.  You and I shall discuss everything shortly. Perhaps, though,” she said with a glance to  her husband, “we should adjourn, as there
 
is
 
much to be accomplished before tomorrow morning.”

“Agreed,” he said, then looked down  on Teesia. “Tomorrow at dawn,” he  announced in a loud, ceremonial voice, “you shall be  given to  Ralen of Charelton, daughter!”

The crowd filling the  hall cheered their approval, and Teesia’s heart felt near to  overflowing. All her dreams were about to come  true! She couldn’t wait to take Ralen as her husband, and she couldn’t wait to discover the joys to be had in his bed.

* * * * *

“What about my Orientation?” Teesia asked again, kneeling at the center of her fur-

covered bed as her mother entered the room.

“Well, obviously, you will not have the usual three nights, so your Orienter will

have to work fast.”

“Who is it and when will she be  here?”  The Orienter was always another  female,  someone close to the bride-to-be, and her  job was to teach the royal bride what she needed to know about sex before she entered into marriage. For most royal and wealthy girls who were kept so ignorant of sex until  Orientation, it was a large task—but given  what Teesia  already knew, she’d hopefully  not miss out on too much. Thank goodness Bella had broken the rules for her!

“Soon, soon,” Jalal answered with a light laugh. “And you shall see who your

Orienter is  when she arrives. For now, daughter, might I suggest you practice your

Maran tiles?”

Teesia let out a heavy breath, trying  to  absorb how quickly everything washappening.  And yes, that was a good suggestion. Maven had had three whole days tokeep practicing the sacred game in between  her nights of Orientation. Ares above, maybe being given over to Ralen tomorrow  wasn’t so wonderful, after all—a girl needed time to prepare! Then yet another thought struck her. “But if I practice the  Maran tiles,  who shall pack my things?” There was simply no time!

“Relax, my  dear,” Jalal said in a calm, soothing tone. “Willa has already emptied your chamber of most of your belongings  and set about putting them in trunks. Youdidn’t even notice?”

Teesia looked around her. Indeed, other than the  fur bedcover, leather wall hangings, and a thin silk nightslip, her  maid had emptied the room of everything personal. It was startling in a way—to think she’d never again see the bedchamber of

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her girlhood as it had always been, filled with her clothing and hair ribbons and everything else that was distinctly her own. “I’ve a lot on my mind suddenly, I  suppose,” she said, feeling sheepish.

Her mother  sat down  beside her and took  her hand. “You must be calm now,

daughter, and trust that all is as it should be. Tomorrow you go with the  man with  whom you’ll make your life. Use today to prepare for that life, and to anticipate it. Everything important has already been taken care of—your only task for today and  tonight is to ready yourself to be a wife.” With that,  Jalal leaned  in  to deliver a kiss to Teesia’s forehead, then  rose from the bed.

Opening the heavy wooden door, she looked  over her shoulder with the reminder,  “Practice the tiles, Teesia,” and was gone.

Teesia was determined to heed her mother’s  advice.  Like all royal girls, she still didn’t know how the ancient Maran tiles fit in with the marriage rituals, but was always

told she would learn soon enough. She settled before  the same set of tiles Maven had  used to learn the game  before
 
her
 
betrothal,  and  tried to focus—both on  playing and relaxing.

Her whole world was changing,  but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be civilized and adult about it. She wanted more than anything for her  new husband to think of her as  the woman she’d wanted to be for him that night two years ago. To this day, she didn’t  know why he’d left her in the corridor without taking their encounter further, but soon  she would learn all there was to know about  him. And she didn’t want him to mistake  her for any sort of young miss or little girl.  She wished to be all woman for him in every  way, and that included  behaving in a mature and confident manner.

She had just finished the first practice  game—successfully clearing the board of nearly all the tiles!—when a prim knock came on the door.

She almost thought she recognized the knock, but couldn’t be sure. She blinked and looked toward the door, hopeful. “You may enter,” she called.

Her beautiful friend Bella swept into the room, a charming smile gracing her face.  Voluminous red hair spilled over  her shoulders and eyes as green as the rare and  ancient marbles from  the Before Times glimmered in the pale light admitted through  the high, thin windows. Her silken frock  was green, as well, the shade of summer leaves, draping her womanly curves in such a way that no one could miss them.

Teesia pushed to her feet. “Bella! Is it you? Have you been chosen to orient me?”

Bella’s smile widened. “I have, my sweet little Teesia.”

Teesia padded quickly across the smooth stone floor and gave her friend a long, heartfelt hug. Bella’s arms folded warmly about her as their bodies pressed together,and she’d never felt more content. It was fitting and perfect that her dear older friend be her Orienter, especially given how much Bella  had already taught her about the ways ofsex. “I’m so glad it’s you.”

Bella held her at arm’s length and gave  a conspiratorial grin.  “Fortunate, given our shortness of time, that I’ve already oriented you quite a bit on my own, yes?”

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Lacey Alexander

Teesia nodded. “Indeed. Otherwise, I’d be left completely unprepared for Ralen.”

At the mention of his name, Bella’s smile took on a wicked slant. “He is a strong, virile man, my Teesia. Everything  you could hope for in a husband.”

Teesia let out a dreamy sigh as  she plopped backward on the bed, the juncture of her thighs swirling with fresh desire for  the man who would soon be her husband.  “Mmm, I know.” She’d told Bella about Ralen  stroking her pussy at Rawley  two years ago. That’s when she’d learned the word
 
orgasm
 
from Bella—which had explained theheights of pleasure his fingers had lifted her  to.

“But never fear, my girl—we will have you good and ready for Ralen’s cock, I promise you that. Good and ready for him in every way he could want.”

Teesia lay back on the bed, turning on her side and propping her head on one fist.  “What else can you tell me to make me ready, Bella? Is there more I don’t yet know?”

Bella joined her, lounging lengthwise next  to her, the green silk clinging to her ample breasts and curving hips like dramatic  ocean waves. “Do you have any questions  I haven’t answered? Anything  you’re not clear about?”

Teesia tried to think through it all. She knew from Bella how their bodies would come together, and she knew about the fleshy  little knob at the top of her pussy called the clit, which was the source  of orgasm. She knew about the cock, how it grew—and mmm, she  remembered with pure delight and longing the way
 
Ralen
’s had grownagainst her  bottom in the hallway! She also  knew how it would spurt seed, into her or onto her, depending  upon her husband’s whims. She knew about sucking his cock, too, and that he, in turn, would lick her pussy,  and that  all of it would culminate in insurmountable pleasure for them both. “There’s only one thing,” she said, wondering if Bella would dare break one last rule.

“What’s that, sweet Teesia?”

“What significance do  the Maran tiles have? What will happen when I play the game on my wedding night?”

Bella’s eyes sparkled with a hint of wildness at the mention of the Maran game— but then she disappointed Teesia, as she always did when Teesia  asked this particular  question. “You know good and  well that you are not meant to  find out until the game is  played. If you knew, it would…” She let out  a lascivious little  laugh. “Well, it would  wreck your concentration, to say the least, and affect the outcome of the game.”

Teesia gave her head the persuasive tilt  that so often prodded  information from her  friend. “Not even a hint?
 
Please
.”

Bella let her head drop back to the fur bedcover with a sigh. “All right—I’ll say only this. The Maran tiles will bring you more hot  and decadent pleasure than I have ever known.”

This surprised Teesia, so she leaned over to look into  Bella’s eyes. “
You
 
have never known these pleasures? The ones
 
I
 
shall soon know?” Bella was a widow with many lovers, so it seemed impossible.

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Master of Desire

The woman’s curls fanned out about her like a wild mane. “You forget, my girl, only the royal experience
 
this
.”

Bella had been married to a well-to-do clothier before his untimely death—she was a very well-respected and financially comfortable woman, even now, having taken upthe business herself. But she wasn’t royalty  or even part of the truly wealthy. Bella was so elegant and beautiful that Teesia sometimes forgot certain boundaries separated them.

“So then, it’s something truly unique—something the average woman cannot do?”  Teesia pried.

Bella let out another  rich trill of  laughter. “Oh, the average woman
 
could
, my sweet—and someday I may just  indulge in  such wantonness myself—but not many  have
 
this
 
treat, no. And, I daresay…” She stared up  at the ceiling, looking thoughtful. “I  suspect it will be better for you than it would for me, for there comes a certain added pleasure in having such delights thrust  upon you unexpectedly, without thought or decision.” Finally, she rolled to her side, graceful as a cat, and peered into Teesia’s eyes. “Trust me when I tell you, Teesia, to enjoy every minute of this pleasure when  it comes. Savor it.”

Bella let out another long, languid sigh, as  if  imagining the joys to be had after the Maran game, and Teesia couldn’t hold back  a shiver. Her pussy wept with curiosity and anticipation.

“Now, though,” Bella said, sitting up, “we  must make you clean and tidy for your husband.”

Teesia sat up, as well, going a bit rigid.  “Clean? I am quite clean already, thank you.”

But Bella only laughed, then walked to  the large wooden door, opening it wide.  “Bring it in,” she said to someone outside,  and Teesia watched as four strapping young men who worked about the fortress carried  in  one of the rare and valuable bathing tubs from the Before Times. She noticed it was  the grandest of those in the fort—a crisp white with shiny, curling brass legs.

“There is more to this tidying than you  know,” Bella said with a conspiratorial wink in her direction as the boys began filling the  tub with ewers of hot water. Bella sprinkled in red rose petals to scent it  as the  surface slowly began to rise.