Zuleika and the Barbarian

to battle were he not so old, and feeble. As it is, Haroun remained safe within the walls of the city while my brothers marched out to defend Dariyabar, losing their lives in the process. Now he would rid himself of me, and you as well. He would take my best friend, Bahira, daughter of our vizier, Abd al Hakim, to wife, against her will. He chooses Bahira because he believes her a ewe sheep who will allow his favorite to continue to control his harem. He will bleed the people of Dariyabar to fill his own coffers, and my people will suffer.'

'Why should I not just take you for my concubine, and then continue my siege?' the barbarian khan asked Zuleika.

'If all you desire is my body, my lord, it is yours to take now,' she told him. 'But I believe you would rather have your window on the sea. Is taking me to wife so high a price to pay?'

She roused him in a way in which he had never been stirred before. Her very presence was kindling a fire in his loins. His fingers closed gently about her slender throat. 'I could have my way with you, princess of Dariyabar, and force your secrets from you one by one.' The dark eyes blazed down at her, his handsome face stern. His strong fingers tightened just slightly.

Her lips curved into the hint of a mocking smile. 'No, Amir Khan, you could not,' she told him in a soft, assured tone. 'You could take my body, but there is nothing that could pry my secrets from me if I did not wish to share them. Not passion. Not torture. Besides, if you should harm me then Kansbar will destroy you.' Reaching up, she removed his hand from her throat. 'You must not bruise me, my lord, lest I be asked questions that I shall not be able to answer.'

'Who is Kansbar? Your lover?' He was shocked to hear the jealousy in his own voice, and he put an arm about her, pulling her close in order to reassert his dominance over her.

Again, her mouth twitched with her amusement. 'Kansbar is the genie of the Golden Bowl. He is the guardian of Dariyabar. After my brothers were slain, my father gave the bowl to me as it was expected that Haroun and I would wed. My cousin does not even know the bowl exists. Kansbar, will be to your advantage if you wed me. He is a very powerful genie, and I will bring the bowl with me as part of my dower.'

'If I agree to your proposal, princess, then you must give me your vizier's daughter for my general, Sabola. Such an alliance will make my position stronger.'

'As his wife?' she queried.

'Agreed!' he said. 'Now tell me, how it is you were able to leave your palace and walk into my encampment without raising any alarm?' He pushed her gown off her shoulders, his hands caressing the soft, silky skin.

'Kansbar has put a spell upon all of our little world this night but for you and for me,' she explained. She shrugged her garment off, and it dropped to the floor of his tent.

He felt his breath catch in his throat. 'Are you a virgin?' he asked her. Her breasts brushed against his broad chest, and he admired their perfection, not to mention the exciting contrast between his pale gold skin and her creamy ivory flesh.

'Of course I am a virgin, but I have been taught all the ways of pleasing a man, Amir Khan.' Her hand reached beneath his sand-and-white striped robe. She fondled his rod with surprisingly skilled fingers. 'You are very big,' she noted. Then her hands moved to undo his robe so she might see his body as he was seeing hers. When she had succeeded she moved back slightly, saying, 'You are very beautiful for a man, Amir Khan. You are not overly handsome like my cousin, but rather you are manly. I believe that you will arouse me when the time is right between us.'

'Why not now?' he asked her, drawing her back against him, one big hand roughly fondling her breasts. By all the Gods! They were like the plumpest of summer peaches, and just filled his palm with their delicious ripeness.

'Patience, my lord Amir Khan. One should never hurry too quickly along roads to paradise, I have been told.'

'Give me your lips!' his deep, rough voice grated out to her.

Zuleika raised her head up to meet his kiss, and the sensation that exploded within her took her by surprise. His mouth was hard, yet it was soft. It demanded, but oh, so sweetly. Her lips seemed to part of their own volition. His tongue plunged into her mouth seeking her tongue. Again she was overcome by feelings that threatened to overwhelm her. So this is passion, noted the small part of her brain still functioning. It was really quite breathtaking.

He lifted his leonine head from hers. 'You kiss well for a novice,' he told her, and Zuleika laughed aloud.

'I expect you kiss very well for a lover,' she observed.

'You have never been kissed before? How is that possible?' he demanded of her, astounded. Surprised.

'I told you, I am a virgin. I was taught to practice kissing upon a sheet of beaten gold, my lord Amir Khan. This is the first time I have ever been kissed back. It is quite pleasurable.'

Now it was he who laughed, and the sound was deep and rich. It sent a delicious shiver down her spine. 'A sheet of beaten gold,' he said. 'Not silver? Or copper? Why gold?'

'I am a princess,' she responded simply.

Suddenly his hand was smoothing her soft dark head. 'Zuleika of Dariyabar, you are a conundrum I shall enjoy both exploring and solving,' he told her. He was shocked by his great desire for her, but he also had the most incredible need to protect her. She was that rarest of women, strong, yet fragile too.

'I can feel your lust against me,' she said in a soft voice. 'Let me ease it for you, my lord Amir, as I am obviously the cause of your discomfort.' Then she slipped from his tender embrace, and fell to her knees before him. She took the ruby-eyed head of his love lance between two fingers of her hand, holding it straight. Then she began to lick its length with slow, deliberate strokes of her tongue. 'I shall sup upon your juices,' she told him.

He closed his dark eyes. His temples were pounding in rhythm with his heart, and all of his pulses. When she took him into the warm cavern of her mouth, almost swallowing him, suckling strongly upon him, he wanted to scream with the incredible pleasure that she was giving him. He had never permitted a woman this privilege of his body, yet he could not have made her cease even if he wished it. And be didn't. Wave after wave of delight washed over him until his juices finally exploded, and she swallowed them almost greedily, retaining his flesh in her mouth until he finally softened slightly. His legs felt like water. Amir Khan was amazed that he did not collapse like some maiden, for he felt weak with his satisfaction. For a moment he could not speak.

Zuleika arose to her feet, reaching out first to pick up her delicate garment which she restored to her lush body. She licked just the tiniest pearl of his juices from the corner of her mouth, smiling. 'I can see I have managed to put you at your ease once more, Amir Khan. Your juices are quite refreshing, as I had been told they would be.'

'You never did that before either?' he asked, reaching for his own striped robe, and putting it on again.

'Of course not,' she returned with a smile. 'Bahira and I were taught the art of using dildos made of some magical material that grew hard and bigger as we sucked upon it. The juices within were always sugar water. Your juices are creamy, and slightly flavored with salt. They are very stimulating. Now, shall we conclude our bargain, Amir Khan?'

'I will take you to wife,' he said, 'and as you yourself have said, you will be the key that opens Dariyabar for me. And your vizier's daughter will wed with my general, Lord Sabola.'

'And you will destroy my cousin, Haroun,' she reminded him.

'Agreed. I agree to it all, Zuleika of Dariyabar! But you must know something before we conclude our compact. Once you are my wife, and Bahira is Sabola's wife, you are both bound to obey us in all things. Do you understand me?'

'Of course,' she replied. 'Wives are meant to obey their lords and masters, Amir Khan. Is that not the way of the world?'

'Will you attempt to rule Dariyabar through me, Zuleika?' he asked her bluntly.

'I will offer you the benefit of my advice, my lord Amir, and nothing more. Whether you choose to accept my advice is up to you.' She smiled prettily at him, and her teeth were very white.

He had to laugh. 'You are not very subtle,' he told her.

'I will be a good wife to you, my lord. I know that my first duty is to give you a son. I will do it as quickly as I can,' she swore. Then she took up her cloak, and drew it about her. 'Kansbar's magic will not hold past the dawn, and the night wanes, my lord Amir. Come to my father's palace beneath a flag of truce today. He will not, despite my cousin, refuse you. And you must insist we be wed as quickly as possible. Do not allow Haroun to delay our marriage while he considers ways to thwart you. He is not particularly intelligent, but he has the slyness of a