Skye O'Malley (19 page)

She stood very still before him. Her fingers hardly seemed to touch the tiny pearl buttons of her robe before it opened. He had not but the barest glimpse of her breasts when she twirled gracefully. The silken robe slid with agonizing slowness down the long line of her back and over the perfect twin moons of her buttocks. She turned to face him, her eyes modestly lowered. Sinking to the floor, she said softly but clearly, “As my lord commands.”

For a moment he stared at the gleaming dark head that touched his slipper. He was amazed not only by her easy skill, but by his own reaction to it. Beneath his brocaded robe he was swollen and aching, and he couldn’t quite believe it. He had always maintained a perfect control over his body.

She raised her head, and their eyes met. “Do I please you, my lord?” she asked innocently.

“Very much,” he murmured huskily. Don’t! Don’t! his saner self warned him, but he heard himself saying, “Sit next to me, Skye.” And when she nestled in the curve of his arm he bent over her and touched her lips. They parted easily beneath his, and he drew her scented breath into his own mouth. His tongue sought for hers, found it and they caressed one another with burning softness until he became aware of her hands seeking his, and placing them on her naked body.

“Touch me, my lord Khalid!” she whispered urgently. “
Please, please
touch me!”

Fighting to control himself, he allowed his hands to slide over her body. He had never felt such a desire in himself for any woman. Her skin was softer than anything he had ever known, and when she moaned with undisguised pleasure he trembled. He slipped his own robe off. You must not! She is unschooled! You will ruin everything! warned his saner self, but his lips slid down the pure pillar of her throat, and his hungry mouth captured a taut nipple, sucking passionately on it until, with an angry half-cry of desperation, he yielded to his own desires.

Swinging himself over her burning body, he impatiently parted her thighs and thrust himself into the welcoming warmth of her. She sighed and with a deeply rooted feminine instinct, she wrapped herself about him and moved her lush body to match his frantic rhythm. Her slender fingers slid down his long, smooth back, kneading his muscled buttocks until he whimpered with pleasure. Within her own body she felt a tingling tenseness that built with unbelievable intensity until, cresting, it burst over her like a giant wave lifting her high and then dashing her down into a swirling darkness.

“Skye! Skye! Ah, my beautiful beloved,” he murmured against her ear. He caressed her gently.

“I did not remember until now how beautiful making love could be,” she whispered.

“Do you remember anything else?” he questioned hastily.

“No. Only that I have done before what we just did, and that it was good.”

“I should not have taken you,” he said. “What if I had frightened you?”

“You did not frighten me, my lord Khalid, but perhaps I displeased you with my lack of skill.”

He laughed weakly. “No, Skye, you did not displease me. It is true you lack the skill of a trained courtesan, but this same lack of skills has given me a very pleasurable time.”

“Must I continue my lessons with Yasmin, my lord?”

“Yes. Your innocence has charm, my beloved, but there is no harm in your learning our ways. You will learn to pleasure your gentlemen in a variety of ways. It is your duty as a woman to be knowledgeable in the arts of love, and as Yasmin teaches you, you will show me.”

She lay on her back breathing quietly and evenly. He lay on his side so he might gaze down at her. His fingers traced a delicate pattern down her breasts and torso. Shivering, she raised her blue eyes to him. Bending down, he kissed her mouth with great tenderness, then her eyelids. “Go to sleep, Skye, and sleep in the knowledge that I will watch over you.”

Her eyes closed. He again wondered who she was and where she had come from. A noblewoman without a doubt, but from where? Her coloring ruled out the far north, and he did not believe her to be either Spanish or French. When she had first regained consciousness he had spoken to her in French and she had answered him, but he knew her accent was not native to France.
Could she be English, or one of the Celtic races? Unless she regained her memory, they were unlikely ever to know.

Khalid el Bey was not sure he wanted to know. Somehow this beautiful creature had insinuated herself into his heart. It had been a long, long time since he had felt more than just sexual satisfaction with a woman, but with Skye he suddenly felt something he had long believed himself immune to. That feeling was a longing for a real home, and it took a wife and children to make such a home.

He smiled at his fantasies. Surely he was getting old, for the first sign of age in a man like him was the longing for rest. He gazed again at the woman by his side. Was it possible? Did he really love her? What if he married her, and she later regained her memory? But that was unlikely. She would not regain her memory, or so his physician said, unless faced with the very thing that had shocked her in the first place.

Still, he would not move swiftly. He would allow Skye to continue her lessons. It could do no harm. And later he would make a decision about their future. He closed his eyes, sighed, and fell asleep.

CHAPTER 9

Y
ASMIN WAS SHOCKED
. “Y
OU TOOK AN UNSKILLED WOMAN TO
your bed? What on earth possessed you, my lord Khalid?”

He turned on her. “You presume on our long association, Yasmin. Skye belongs to me, and I will do with her as I choose. I do not need your approval.”

“I only meant—”

“You are an insolent slave,” he said cuttingly. “I have rarely found it necessary to use the whip, but you tempt me now, Yasmin. You tempt me greatly.”

She had gone very white. Flinging herself to the floor, she implored his forgiveness. “Get up,” came the cold reply. “You will continue Skye’s lessons, Yasmin, and if I should ever hear of your mistreating her in any way, I will sell you. Go now!”

The Circassian scrambled to her feet and fled the room. Her heart was thundering. In all their years together he had never spoken to her that way. Yasmin was deeply frightened. Was he in love? Allah forbid! The worm of jealousy gnawed at her heart, and Yasmin began to hate the woman called Skye with an impotent fury.

She dared not act openly against her yet, but once Khalid sent Skye into the House of Felicity, she would be at Yasmin’s mercy. Yasmin thought with pleasure of a Syrian merchant who visited them twice yearly, and whose delight was in watching two women perform before he took them both. Knowing Skye’s revulsion at another woman’s touch, Yasmin intended to punish her by forcing her to participate in such a show. For now, however, Yasmin would bide her time.

She smiled at Skye as she entered her room and bid her good day. “Today,” she said, “we will review yesterday’s lessons, and go on to the study of anatomy, both male and female.”

Skye nodded. Annoyed by her poise, Yasmin sought to shock her. “Tomorrow I will bring a girl from the House of Felicity with me, and she and Ali will begin to demonstrate to you the various positions of love.” She stared hard at the younger woman.

“That should be very interesting,” replied Skye with infuriating calm. “I would learn quickly and well so I may please my lord Khalid.”

Yasmin had to bite her lip to keep from shrieking. Skye’s lack of emotion was totally unnerving. Would she be one of those cold creatures who felt nothing at the height of passion? If that was the case then she would have to be taught to simulate emotion, for nothing frustrated or angered a man more than an unresponsive female. Yasmin realized that it might be harder to train Skye than she had previously thought. But train her she would, and when she was through Skye would be the most magnificent creature ever to grace the House of Felicity. Then Khalid would realize Yasmin’s great value to him, and finally make her his first wife. She had waited so long for an opportunity like this, doing his bidding unquestioningly all these years, seeing to his interests.

Catching herself, she ceased daydreaming, called for her eunuch, Ali, and threw off her silken robe. “A thorough knowledge of both the male and female body is essential, Skye,” said the naked Yasmin. “With small-breasted women such as yourself, the breasts are usually very sensitive, and most women are highly sensitive on the little button that lies hidden beneath the Venus mound. Demonstrate, Ali!”

Yasmin lay among the pillows, the young eunuch propped on his side next to her. Fascinated, Skye watched as he caressed the soft globes of Yasmin’s breasts, using both his hands and his mouth. He worked slowly and as Yasmin’s breasts became harder and firmer, a small moan escaped her. Ali shot Skye a small triumphant smile,
which his partner missed. One hand moved lower to Yasmin’s Venus mound. A finger probed delicately, rubbing gently, and another soft cry escaped the writhing woman.

Ali bent his head to touch with his tongue where his finger had lately been. The woman beneath him cried aloud her passion, and suddenly Skye closed her eyes and shuddered. In her mind’s eye she saw a blond man and a blond woman intertwined together on a bed. It was evil! Her mind strained to remember, but she could not quite do so, and then a shriek of pleasure from Yasmin brought her back to the scene before her.

The older woman lay panting, her lush body covered with a fine sheen of perspiration. The eunuch lay on his back, his eyes closed. Gradually Yasmin regained her composure. Finally she spoke. “You have now seen one way in which a woman’s body can give pleasure and be pleasured, though of course it is more important that you give pleasure. I will demonstrate that shortly, but first I want Ali to caress you as he has just caressed me. It is necessary that I see how you react in such a situation. Exchange places with me.”

For the second time Skye felt uncomfortable. When Khalid el Bey had made love to her the other night it had been right, but she didn’t want the sly Ali with his obviously knowing hands and mouth touching her, and with sudden defiance she said so. Startled at first, Yasmin was speechless, but she quickly regained her voice.

“I did not ask you whether you wished to do this thing. I have commanded you to obey me. How dare you even contemplate disobeying me? Our lord Khalid has put you in my charge, and if you disobey me I shall have you beaten.”

“You do not dare to mark me,” shot back Skye. “You are a slave as I am, and my lord Khalid would punish you greatly should you destroy my value!”

Yasmin smiled nastily. “It will not destroy your beauty should I have Ali beat the soles of your feet. The bastinado is an extremely painful but effective punishment for fractious slaves.”

Skye paled, but said evenly, “I will not allow that creature of yours to touch me, and if you hurt me I shall tell my lord Khalid of your cruelty.”

“What cruelty do you speak of, my lovely Skye?” Khalid el Bey stood in the door a moment before entering it. With inborn instinct Skye flung herself into his arms. “I won’t do it, my lord! Please don’t make me! Please!” His eyes softened, his arms tightened protectively about her, and he dropped a kiss on the top of her dark head.

Yasmin made an exasperated noise. “You tell me to train her in the arts of love, and when she will not obey me you condone it!”

“I will not allow Ali to touch me in
that
way!”

“I cannot gauge your sensuality if I cannot see it!”

Khalid el Bey hid a smile and said to Skye, “Will you allow me to caress you so Yasmin may learn what she needs to know?”

“Yes.” It was said softly. Without another word he slid her caftan from her body and drew her down amid the cushions. His hands were incredibly gentle as they cupped and caressed her sweetly rounded little breasts, and she sighed with delight as he teasingly skimmed the soft, smooth skin with his skilled fingers. A warm hand fondled her belly and slid downward to touch that most sensitive of spots. She cried out her pleasure, and his mouth quickly covered hers in a burning kiss. As the pleasure faded slowly away, she opened her eyes to find him staring down at her, a strangely tender expression lighting his amber eyes. Then he turned his head, and she was struck by the hawklike beauty of his profile.

“Do you know now what you must, Yasmin?”

The older woman was very still, her green eyes huge and almost black in her pale face.

“She responds well to a man’s touch, does she not, Yasmin?”

“To your touch, my lord Khalid,” came the reply.

“From this moment on, Yasmin, you will not force Skye to anything she chooses not to do. You will teach her all you know, and she will practice her skills on me alone. Only I will correct or chastise her. Do you understand?”

“Yes, my lord.” The woman shot Skye a look of pure hatred.

“Then that will be all for today.” Yasmin and Ali were dismissed. Khalid stood up and, holding out his hand to Skye, said, “Dress yourself, my sweet. In the garden there is a rose called ‘Love’s Delight’ that has just come into bloom today. I would show it to you.”

They were alone. Skye drew on her caftan slowly. She slipped on her sandals. His deep voice cut the silence surrounding them. “What was it about your lessons today that disturbed you, my Skye?”

“When I saw Ali making love to Yasmin,” she said, “I became uncomfortable, my lord. It was as if I had seen … something like that before, and it was evil. Yet I could not
really
remember. It frightened me. The eunuch, despite his state, was so sure of his power over Yasmin. He smiled at me in such an arrogant way, and I knew then that I could not bear it if he touched me. Have I displeased you, my lord Khalid?”

He put an arm about her. “No, Skye, you have not displeased me. Whatever you may have been in your former life, you were certainly not a wanton, and that pleases me. I think, perhaps, that I shall have to change my plans for you. Come now, and see the roses.”

“You will not send me away?” Her voice was frightened.

“No,” he held her by the shoulders and looked down into her upturned face. “I shall not send you away, my little lost love.” And again she was puzzled by the tender look in his eyes.