His Little Courtesan (3 page)

"To hell with the bloody rules. I'm going to make
love to you."

"Without my permission?" Jane's eyes
twinkled, enjoying the power that came with her newly discovered sexuality.

"I will not beg to have you in my bed. You are
mine to enjoy as I desire," Philip murmured, biting the curve of her neck
gently.

"And you, my darling, need to cool down."

With a giggle, she pushed, and sent him falling
backward into the lily pond. She stuck out her tongue and ran at full speed
back to their quarters, laughing loudly as the playful joy emerged from
nowhere.

"That was very naughty of you, young lady,"
Philip scolded, as he entered the room several minutes later. He grabbed a
towel from the bathing area to mop off the water. "That was an invitation
for a spanking."

"Was it, Papa?" Jane asked slyly. What was
wrong with her? "Isn't that a means of touching me?"

"You sly little weasel," Philip growled with
his mouth in a half grin. "You think you're so smart. Let's see," he
glanced around the room. He snatched up a breadboard and brushed crumbs from
it, before smacking it on his palm. "This will solve the rules about no
touching."

"Uh oh," Jane ran to the other side of the
bed. "That is not fair."

"What is not fair is how you tease me. Bad Little
Monkey." He started around the bed.

"No!" Jane squeaked, diving under the frame.
Philip's fingers brushed her foot as she narrowly escaped his grip. "Haha,
you missed me!"

"Do you think you can get away from me?"
Philip asked, pushing the bed frame over the wood floor in Jane's direction.
The bed moved easily with the layers of thick felt under the posts, and Jane
soon found herself cornered against the wall.

"Over or under, little girl. Either way, you're
mine. Your bottom is going to be so red!"

"That is what you think!" Jane's laughter
increased as she quickly jumped onto the post to her right, and scrambled out
of the open window.

Philip overtook her in record time, and tackled her to
the soft grass.

"What has happened to us," Jane asked, still
laughing as he pinned her wrists over her head and straddled her naked hips.

"We are free. India has allowed us to behave like
children again. Except one of us is quite naked. Do you remember the last time
you pushed me into a pond?"

"How could I forget? You were getting ready to
leave for the university. When you caught up with me, you held me down in this
same manner, only…" Her voice trailed off.

Philip leaned closer to her. "Only what?"

"You were not going to kiss me back then, but you
will now."

"I will?" His mouth was so close that she
could feel the heat of his breath.

"You will," Jane whispered, running the tip
of her tongue along his lips, flitting upon them like a bee to a flower. The
tip of his tongue touched hers back, flirting and teasing. They then collided
into a breathless embrace.

"You're breaking the rules." Jane stretched
her throat for him to nibble.

"Rules were made to be broken."

"I'm telling Usha."

"Do you really want me to stop?" he asked,
pulling her thighs apart as they were bathed in the moonlight. He lifted her
ankles onto his shoulders and slid his cock smoothly into her moist entrance.

"Nooo..."

"How many times did you break the rules last
evening, Jane?" Usha asked the following morning, when the four wives and
Jane met for the morning meal.

Jane looked up from her plate. "Pardon?"

"Lynette? Go teach Jane how to cut a
switch."

"But, Usha…" Jane stuttered, as Lynette
grabbed her by the arm and began to pull Jane with her into the trees.
"Lynette? Am I in trouble?"

"You broke the rules, so yes," Lynette
laughed. "Don't worry, it will not hurt for long."

"But I tried to stop him. At first, anyway."

"Usha knows these things, so do not fib to her.
Was it fun?"

"It was very enjoyable." Jane giggled.
"I never thought he would be so proficient in personal pleasure!"

"Uncle Philip has been coming here for years and
training in the art of love. That news does not surprise me."

"Wait!" Jane held her friend's arm and
frowned. "Has Philip been coming here and spending his time with other
women? Consorts?"

"Indeed! But we call them courtesans,
remember?"

Jane paled. "I'm being trained as a
courtesan," she whispered.

"I know!" Lynette answered enthusiastically.
"Our goal is to reach the proficiency of the professionals. They have been
trained almost from birth in the art of sexual pleasure, and are called upon to
teach the young men the skills they need to pleasure us. Uncle Philip should be
well-versed in the skills of divine lovemaking by now. Jane? Why are you
crying? Janie?"

Jane raced to the guesthouse and threw open the trunk.
She grabbed a simple white cotton shift and threw it over her head, slipped on
a pair of drawers, and then left through the other door. She ignored Lynette's
calls, and ran through the side yards to the palace proper. The guards offered
slight genuflections as she ran by them and towards the throne room.

"I must see Raj Rama immediately!" she
demanded.

"He is not available, Marchioness. He went into
the city with your husband. We expect him back shortly."

She did not bother to correct their assumptions of her
marriage. "Damn!" Jane stamped her foot. "May I please just wait
for him?"

"It is not allowed."

Jane stamped her bare foot again, then looked around.
She waved them away and then ventured outside into the heat, finding it easy to
slip outside the gates and hide in the bushes outside the castle walls. There
she waited for the royal carriage.

Approximately an hour passed before the sound of the
six horses clopping against the cobble-paved road reached Jane's ears. She
jumped out of her hiding place and waved it down. Philip ran to her, with Rama
right behind him.

"Baby? Are you all right? What are you doing
outside of the gates?"

"I never want to speak to you again! Uncle
Rama!" Jane broke into a sob as she tossed her arms around the prince's
waist and clung to him. "Please take me away from him."

"Are you injured? What happened?" the Raj
asked, pressing her to him.

"I'm begging you," she looked up into his
dark brown eyes. "Take me away."

"Bring her inside the carriage," Philip
said. "I will walk to the palace."

"No, you will ride with us. Come, child,"
Rama ordered, taking Jane's hand and pulling her into the elaborate coach.
"What has made you so upset?"

"She is dressed. Did you have a problem during
your lesson, honey?"

"I never,
ever
want to speak to you," Jane hissed angrily in Philip's direction. "It
is over with us. You are never to touch me again."

"What did you do?" Rama asked.

"I have no idea. Are you suffering from hysteria
again? We engaged last night—"

"Philip! You were not to be touching her during
this phase of the lessons," Rama scolded, shaking his head. "I told
you that it would only bring about confusion. So much energy is wasted on
youth!" He sounded exasperated. "What is done, is done. Did you not
satisfy her need?"

"Yes, she was satisfied several times. My body
overtook my mind. She is my weakness."

"She is not your weakness, your body and lack of
self-control are. I will get to the bottom of this, my friend. Girls this age
often react to their feelings."

"I did nothing wrong," Jane sobbed into the
older man's shoulder. "She wanted to switch me because he touched me and I
responded. Then—"

"Usha was going to punish you for making love to
me? That is absurd! Rama?"

"No, it would not have been punishment. It would
have been discipline, to teach her how to control her impulses. Is that why you
do not wish to speak to your papa?"

"He is not my papa or anything. He is a cheating
bastard."

"Jane!"

"Don't you 'Jane' me, you loathsome dog,"
Jane shouted. "All you did was fuck anything you could get your hands on
while you were away. Now I know why you spent so much time here, instead of
staying at home with me. How dare you! You were so worried about another man
looking at me while you frolicked around this continent, getting your jollies
in as many ways as you could." She glared at him with hatred. "I
cannot believe that you abandoned me for months at a time, just so you could
have your 'exotic needs' met. We are no more, Philip!"

"What is she talking about?" Rama asked,
holding the hysterical girl against his chest.

"I have no idea. Janie, I swear to you that is
not true. Where did you come up with such a thought?" Philip asked,
touching her knee.

Jane's slap echoed within the carriage's walls.
"I said that you are never to touch me again."

"Philip." Rama lifted his hand. "Allow
her some space. Clearly this is a misunderstanding of sorts. Let it rest for
now. Meanwhile, Miss Jane, you and I are going to have a talk about your
language and your temper."

"I hate him," she wept.

Rama rocked her and kissed the top of her head.
"Your heart is hurting and it feels like hate, but true hatred poisons and
kills. We are almost home. I will retrieve Lynette, and…"

"I do not wish to speak to Lynette or any of your
wives. I am sorry if you think me as rude, but I cannot tolerate any more of
their lessons. I want to go back to England immediately. Alone."

"Don't you remember what happened during your
last trip? You would not have survived your misery if you hadn't had Philip
caring for you. No, you are not going back. You will take some time to compose
yourself, and then you and I will talk and solve this dilemma. Philip? Would
you care to go to the cottage and supervise its final preparation? I know it is
modest, but I wish you to be comfortable there."

"I will leave right away." Philip's voice
held a note of despondency. "Is there really a purpose, if Jane and
I…"

"Jane and you are too intertwined to be parted. I
know she is angry and hurt right now, but I also know of love, my friend. Time
is the greatest healer of all wounds. Go to the cottage and find a place of
sanctuary there. Pray and meditate. Your peace will come."

Rama took Jane by the hand and led her inside the
palace, raising his palm to prevent any questions from being thrown his way. He
led her into his private chambers and sat her upon the sofa.

"Drink this slowly," he ordered, handing her
a glass of lightly spiced brandy. He sat down by her side. "Tell me, what
has broken your heart so much that you would depart from the one person who
fulfills your destiny?"

"He came here to have relations with women, and
left me alone."

"He is a man, and I am certain that he had
pleasure prior to his knowledge of your upcoming nuptials. Would you hold that
against him?"

"Not those women, Uncle Rama. Women here. Ones
who taught him the art of lovemaking."

"What women, Little Monkey?"

"Lynette told me that he was well-versed in your
Kama Sutra because he had been engaging with these courtesans for years. I know
what that entails! How could I have been so wrong about him? I thought he loved
me."

"Ahh, now I understand. He does love you, my
dear. His training, however, had nothing to do with his relationship with you.
His mentors were older, experienced women, who feared neither social disgrace
nor pregnancy. They are well-respected and honored. I am responsible for
leading him to them. Please listen carefully," Rama said, taking her drink
and setting it aside before lifting her hands in his. "The Kama Sutra
teaches the erotic practice of holding life together. My people believe that
need
is within our control, and that attraction is created and maintained through
various erotic means. Philip needed to learn how to attract, and maintain, a
relationship with you. He was lost and fearful, and the courtesans provided him
with the tools he required to be the husband you deserve."

"So all
this time, Philip was finding a way to be with all of those old women instead
of coming home to me?"

"You are
not listening to me. He was learning how to become himself again. The
university and the death of your fathers changed him inside, Jane. I knew him
as a boy, just as you did. These teachings gave him the strength and courage to
regain himself and pursue happiness. With you."

"Is that
how you men justify having sex with all these women? Unbelievable!"

"No, my
darling. I know this is difficult for you to understand because of your
culture. You have always been the one thing that caused him the most happiness,
and the most pain."