The Mammoth Book of Short Erotic Novels (69 page)

Her eyes, in particular, intrigued him and seemed brimming with understanding. She regarded him with a curious, penetrating gaze.

He loosened her crimson robe and examined her more closely. Such full breasts and the roundest belly – like he had never seen. She seemed an odd mixture of virginity and fecundity.

“You look like you’re going to have a child”, he whispered to her playfully.

Of course she said nothing in reply, as she had not yet learned to speak.

“You look soft enough to sleep on”, he continued, then reached out to stroke her belly. He thought increasingly of lying on top of her, of removing his robe completely, to feel, for
the first time in his life, what it might be like to couple completely with a naked female form.

The more he imagined himself coupling with her, the more he stroked her fat belly, until he realized she was entranced by his touch and beginning to respond.

Her legs parted to reveal her netherlips, covered in tiny golden curls. These were the lips that would part completely, and produce the treasured pearl if she was in her season.

The emperor, intrigued but no less afraid, pushed aside her robe completely. Braving what he did not know, he resolved to examine her tender secrets.

“Very human-like”, he thought at first. He caressed the tip of her mound to see if she would respond.

Respond, she did. As the emperor had never witnessed.

She moaned sweetly and offered her secret parts to him completely. She knew no modesty. The more he stroked her there, the more aroused she got. Her netherlips became engorged, separating more
like the petals of orchids than like any human female sex. And the tip of her mound seemed to please her so thoroughly that the emperor lost himself in caressing her there.

She undulated and moaned so, and her lips grew so enticingly ripe, that he couldn’t help but want to pleasure her there completely. He pressed his mouth to her tender flesh and was
overwhelmed by his own excitement. Caught up in her cries and whimpers, and the strange rhythms that flowed from her, the emperor was no longer aware of the time, of whether he should make it day
or night. Paying no mind to the condition of his robe, he set aside the cares of his people. So entranced was he by her delight, that all his senses focused on pleasuring his creature.

The more fervently his mouth explored her, the more eager were her cries.

The more her cries entranced him, the more fervently he desired to please her, unaware that the strange rhythms swelling in her were setting his destiny in motion.

In ignorance, he licked and sucked at her delicate petals, his tongue caressing every tender fold, until the urges of his pounding manhood overtook him. He knew his moment had arrived; he would
lay on top of her, with no fear of dying, and receive the blessings of heaven.

The emperor tossed aside his robe. His creature glowed all the more profoundly in the presence of his fiery heart.

He raised her legs to mount her, to guide his stiff member into the folds of her tender flower, when he observed, with shock and awe, a tiny perfect pearl push through her sacred opening!

The emperor’s consternation was great. “No”, he cried, at the same time feeling elated that she was, indeed, his bride – his for eternity – that she would not
dissolve into sea water.

Still the sight of the pearl chilled him. “How will you steal my fire?” he demanded. “How is it that I will die?”

But the creature only stared at him, round-eyed, and smiled; pleased with her pearl, delighted with what her aroused body had created for him.

The emperor picked up the pearl and examined it closely. He knew what was expected of him. He was to send for his high priest and offer the pearl to the mighty sea with a prayer of gratitude and
thanksgiving.

“And then what?” he said quietly, searching the face of his bride.

The shaken emperor clutched the tiny pearl tightly in his fist, knowing that somehow it was his doom. “If only it could have remained inside!”

He gathered his robe around him and prepared to send for his high priest. “If only it could have remained inside”, he repeated morosely.

And it was at this moment, it is said, that the great Emperor of Night resolved to betray the will of heaven.

“Drink this”, the emperor urged his bride.

He held the wine chalice to her lips, having placed the sacred pearl on her trusting tongue.

“It’s wine from the Azure Mountain. It will help the pearl slide down.”

The emperor’s bride drank the wine and found it quite pleasing, holding out her empty goblet for more.

“No”, the emperor replied. “Now is the time for tenderness and sharing.”

Outside the palace walls, the emperor’s weary subjects rose, groggy and overly tired, surprised to discover daylight had arrived so quickly. They dragged their heavy
ploughs through the fields, milked their startled cows, and poked at the sleeping sheep to herd them out to the meadows. It wasn’t long, though, before news of the arrival of the
emperor’s bride reached even the farthest hamlets. With knowing sighs, the weary people retreated back to their bedchambers for it was, in fact, the middle of the night.

The robe of crimson lay in a gentle heap atop the robe of black silk on the floor of the emperor’s sacred chamber.

The fine lace netting draped over the conjugal bed as if it were indeed a veil from heaven, protecting the lovers from the cares of the outside world.

Though the emperor knew many royal positions for tenderness and sharing, he soon found he was most content when merely lying atop his bride. For in this way, he discovered – as many lovers
have discovered since the beginning of time – he could lie with his bride filling his strong arms while their secret parts entwined in a coital union. Their mouths could exchange deep kisses
while the emperor ran his fingers through her soft, golden hair. But what thrilled the emperor most of all, was that while they assumed this entwining embrace – belly to belly, mouth against
mouth, his stiff member penetrating deep into her secret flower as her legs wrapped around his waist – the soft, round breasts of his bride could press full against the emperor’s fiery
heart. How long had he waited for a night like this to ease his torment? The emperor no longer knew. The years of loneliness, of yearning in his loins, seemed as remote now as if they had never
been part of his experience.

Many times the sands slipped through the hourglass that night, and many times the emperor discharged his fiery seed into the flower of his eagerly responsive bride. The more he shared his fire
with her, the more his creature seemed to glow. The emperor was delighted with the passion of his manhood, how it never seemed to wane; no sooner would he discharge his royal seed in her than his
member would grow thick and he would penetrate her flower again.

So lost in each other’s arms were they, so entranced with all their senses, that the emperor did not notice the high priest enter the sacred chamber until he was readily perceived to be
standing just beyond the heavenly veil.

Angered by the intrusion, and protective of the modesty of his bride, the emperor displayed a temper previously unknown to the high priest.

“Your Majesty will forgive me, I’m sure,” he apologized, “but there’s the matter of the sacred pearl –”

The emperor, stricken by a raw sensation of guilt over having induced his innocent bride to betray heaven with him and swallow the sacred pearl, answered haltingly, “What about
it?”

“Your Majesty, the sands have slipped through the hourglass twenty-four times; surely she has released a pearl by now.”

“Of course she’s released a pearl! She’s my bride, mine for eternity.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, but – ”

“But what?!”

“You never sent for me. We must offer the pearl back to the sea as a gesture of gratitude and thanksgiving.”

The emperor was more guilt-stricken still. “I’ve seen to the matter already”, he declared.

The high priest tried hard to hide his feelings of alarm.

“I told you, the matter’s been seen to!” the emperor insisted. “I saw no reason to part from my bride for even a moment longer than was necessary, so I tossed the pearl
into the lagoon myself and gave a prayer of thanks. I assure you, it was heartfelt. No doubt, Your Grace will understand my sense of urgency.”

The high priest could not hide his dismay; still, he approached his emperor with caution. “I dare say, that’s not the manner in which those things are usually done, but I suppose
what matters is that the ritual was carried out, so that heaven and the mighty sea will be appeased.”

The emperor replied hotly, “They’re appeased.”

“I beg Your Majesty to suffer me just a moment longer.”

“What is it?!” the emperor shouted.

“It’s the matter of your people, Your Majesty. They tire from the constant day. Might you consider donning your robe for a time, if only for the sake of your people?”

“I have lived my whole life for the sake of my people. Surely they can grant me a little patience in this instance!”

And that was all the emperor deigned to offer on the subject.

Finally, it came to pass that the emperor grew tired. He slipped into his robe and lay with his head on a pillow next to his bride and closed his weary eyes. But it seemed his
eyes had only been closed a moment when he felt his member stiffen and again become thick.

He opened his eyes in time to see his beautiful bride climb astride him, burying his protruding shaft deep within her hot flower.

And, indeed, it was hot. It was so hot and so deep that the emperor wished to lose himself completely in her warmth, be absorbed into her body and drift to a never-ending sleep. His eyes closed
at last, filled with the vision of her nakedness, her full breasts gently sloping down, and her round golden belly undulating enticingly as she pleasured herself on his royal member.

When the emperor awoke, he feared he was dying. He did not know how long he had slept, but he sensed it had been an inordinately lengthy period.

He was chilled to the bone. He reached down to the floor for a coverlet, but it did little to warm him.

His bride was awake and lying cheerfully beside him. A heat came from her radiant glow that beckoned the emperor close. He took her in his arms and kissed her and, without even knowing it,
drifted back into a deep sleep.

“Your Majesty will forgive the intrusion.”

It was the high priest again, shaking the emperor gently by the sleeve of his black silk robe.

“Your Majesty, wake up.”

“Yes, what is it?” The emperor tried to focus on the high pries, but his brain longed for more sleep.

“Your Majesty, we have some sort of crisis. The land has been stuck in what can best be described as a grey half-twilight for many days. The people grow restless and cold. They threaten to
chop down the entire forest for fire.”

The emperor went to great lengths to understand the high priest’s words, but all he really understood was the direness of his tone.

“Surely the blissful sleep after the wedding night has gone on long enough”, the high priest entreated him. “The robe, Your Highness. Your people could use some sun.”

“Fine,” the emperor managed to reply, and with a tremendous physical effort he stripped away his black robe and fell dead asleep.

In a moment, the troubled high priest had returned. “Your Majesty, it didn’t help. The grey twilight remains.”

The emperor’s powerful will aroused him from his deep need for sleep. He pulled his bride to him, as he suffered now from an extreme chill, but she was so fiery hot, he sprang away from
her.

“Your Majesty! What is it?” The high priest made no pretence to mask his alarm. “You look so ashen and pale.”

“It’s her!” he cried, fearing for the wellness of his bride. “She positively burns with fever!”

The emperor’s bride lay happily among the royal pillows.

“She seems quite well to me. She’s glowing and rounder than ever.”

“No”, the emperor spluttered wearily. “She’s on fire. Touch her.”

When the high priest laid his hand on the bride’s arm, he pulled it sharply away, as if he had been burned. “You’re right! She burns with fever. Yet you are the one who looks
ill.”

“I’ve made a grave error in judgment, Your Grace”, the emperor struggled to confess. “I tried to prolong my happiness and still I am dying. You see how she steals my
fire? Only now she will perish, too; my fire is consuming her.”

The high priest urged the emperor to explain.

“The pearl”, he managed to say. “I cheated heaven. I made her swallow the sacred pearl. I tried to hide from my fate by making her consume the product of our passion. I fear
now that it is burning her alive.”

The high priest ran from the chamber to summon the nearest palace ladies. “You must fetch the magician. There’s been a tragic accident. The emperor and his bride are quite
ill.”

Amid great weeping and hysteria, the emperor and his bride were draped in ceremonial robes and gingerly transported to the teakwood verandah, where they were placed on a sacred mat.

The magician was summoned and he arrived in a burst of iridescent light and a cloud of jasmine smoke.

When it was revealed to the magician how the emperor had attempted to betray the will of heaven, he demanded that the court disperse, even the high priest, and gather in the inner sanctum to
pray for the emperor’s soul.

When the magician was alone with the emperor and his bride, he gently shook the emperor, who had once again drifted into a deep sleep.

“You have been a fool”, the magician declared quietly. “You had all that heaven allowed and still you wanted more.”

“I know”, the emperor confided. “I’ve seen my mistakes played out behind my eyes in quite vivid and remorseful dreams. I have an unbearable burden in my heart. I no
longer mind that I am dying, but I have sealed the fate of my innocent bride, and who will look after my people when I am gone? See how the stars are forever approaching from the East, yet they
never arrive? It is not day, it is not night; will my people be forever trapped in this twilight? And my poor bride. She burns with enough fire to light an empire, yet she cannot shine and save my
kingdom.”