Mirage (8 page)

He heard her moan again as he lowered his head to take a nipple in his mouth. He sucked it, gently at first, then more urgently. He moved to the other one, drawing a similar moan. He filled his hands with her flesh, and buried his face in her cleavage.

Then he lifted his head abruptly. “My turn, again.”

“Umph,” was all she said.

“Lift up.” He tugged at her thong. “This has to go.”

“But that was my next turn,” she said as he whipped off the soggy bit of fabric.

“You don’t get any more turns.” He buried his nose in her bush.

“Why not?” She could barely articulate the two simple words as she opened her thighs.

“Because I said so.” His tongue dipped between her folds and his mouth filled with saliva as he tasted nectar more intoxicating than anything he’d even known. Sweet, sweet honey, with a deep undertone of salty sex.

She made a funny little growling noise deep in her throat and spread her legs wider.

“No,” he said. “That’s enough of that. It’s my turn again and I want you back on your hands and knees.”

“No! It’s
my
turn! And I want you to fuck me.” Her voice sounded different. Insistent, sexy, yes, but also endearingly sweet.

“I said
up
. Hands and knees.
Now
!”

He saw her throw him a startled look.

In a softer voice, he added, “You won’t be sorry. I promise you.”

She rolled over and got up on her knees, a little pout on her pretty lips.

“Turn around this time. Like this.” He guided her hips so her ass was facing him. “Good. Now bend over.”

She did, without another word.

“You can rest your head on the ground, if you’d like,” he said gently. “You might be in this position for a while.”

She laid her cheek on the
didashah
and said, “Why?”

“Because you’ll like what I’m going to do to you next. Just imagine there are hundreds of people sitting around us, watching. And you’re the star attraction.”

That shut her up. She held herself perfectly still. Her round ass was pointing to the stars, her legs were spread, and Tor had full access to every inch of her body.

He kissed the tip of one buttock, rubbing his nose along it until he reached the wetness of her cunt. She was literally oozing nectar, like a split honeycomb. He flicked his tongue into her wet folds, loving the taste. Then he got down to work.

Tor knew how to please a woman. He knew what to lick, kiss, nuzzle, nibble and what to avoid until the time was just right. His efforts were rewarded almost instantly when Julie pulled away, saying, “Stop, stop, stop or I’m going to come all over your face. Oh my god!”

“That’s the idea, sugar pie.” He grabbed her hips and pulled her into his face to launch another round of attack.

“No, oh, oh, oh…Don’t! Oh, no,
no
! Fuck!
Yes
!”

He held her tightly as she bucked and pushed back at him, every muscle straining, trembling, then suddenly growing slack. He inserted a finger in her vagina, pleased at the strength of her contractions, keeping it there until the last pulse.

She collapsed in a heap in front of him, breathing hard.

“Whose turn is it now? I lost track,” she said as she rolled onto her side and smiled the smile of a satisfied woman.

“Mine,” he said, joining her on the stage. She rolled onto her back and opened her legs to meet him as he covered her.

He pushed into her effortlessly—he was a big man and had learned to be gentle with women. He didn’t like hurting them. But Julie was loose and wet from her orgasm and seemed to suck him in. Still, she made a sort of squeak as he hit bottom.

For a few seconds he thought he’d lose it, and he held himself rigid.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! This was worth the wait!

He strained against the exquisite pleasure of being imbedded in this woman’s body. He wanted the moment to last forever. It was too good to bring to a crashing close.

But he also wanted to come. Quite desperately. He wanted it now—right now. He was crazy with need. But not yet! He didn’t want it yet.

Perhaps she sensed his dual needs. Without moving a muscle, she seemed to will him deeper inside, to suck him in as far as she could. He felt trapped. Out of control.

He was caught in a state of limbo, afraid to move. The fact she somehow pulling him in deeper—seemingly without moving—wasn’t helping. He was going to lose it…

Abruptly, he pulled out and rolled off.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Come on. I want you over here.”

He leaped off the side of the stage and held out his arms to lift her down. Then, taking her hand, he led her to the first row of seats at the side of the arena.

Sitting down, he pulled her on top of him so she straddled his body, facing him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. He needed to cool down a bit.

“Just think about all the people who once sat in these seats,” he said into her hair, breathing hard. “Two thousand years ago.” He filled his hands with her breasts and squeezed.

“I know. I
was
. When you were giving me the orgasm of my life back there.”

He laughed. “Were you turned on by the thought of getting it right there up on the stage?”

“You know I was,” she said as she nipped his chin with her teeth.

Now he was ready. He took a deep breath and lifted her hips, guiding his cock back into her honey pot. This time she moaned and squirmed to accommodate him more deeply.

“And now,” he said as he slowly began to raise and lower her body onto his, “just think how many couples have sneaked into this place to do exactly what we’re doing right now. Almost two thousand years of clandestine fucking. Under the stars. Queens, concubines, emperors, slaves.”

“Bakers, lawyers. Murderers. Thieves,” she said just before she thrust her tongue into his mouth. She rolled her hips and snaked her fingers through his hair. Grabbing fistfuls, she whispered near his ear. “Oh, Tor. I think you’re going to do it to me again.”

She began to make little yelping noises, but he was oblivious to everything but his own need. Lifting her higher, dropping her harder, he felt her growing hotter and hotter, sweeter and sweeter, until his entire body seemed to explode in a thousand shattering lights. From a great distance he heard the roar of his own pleasure echoing in his head.

Julie shivered in the night air, her ears ringing. She wondered if she was deaf now—Tor had bellowed so loudly. But then she knew she was all right when she heard his labored breathing. And then her own.

Her arms were still wrapped tightly around his chest, and for a moment she couldn’t feel anything below her waist. She tried to wiggle her toes, and was rewarded by a sharp cramp in one foot.

“I have to get off,” she said, trying to balance on his lap as she disentangled her arms and legs from his. “I’m stuck. Help!”

She laughed at the awkwardness of two spent, sweaty people trying to regain their composure and struggle to their feet on the dusty arena floor. Her legs trembled with weakness when she took the first few steps.

She hobbled over to the stage, where she could see her shoes sitting beside Tor’s robe. But she couldn’t find her dress or her underwear.

“What did you do with my clothes? Or are you planning to hold me here as your sex slave?”

Wearing nothing but a pair of sandals, he walked toward her, grinning.

God, he’s gorgeous! Deliciously perfect, in every way.

The shadowy light emphasized the best parts of his body—the lean belly, the muscled chest and arms, the long, solid legs. Julie liked chest hair on a man—within reason, of course—and Tor’s was just right. She especially admired the way a thin line of hair ran from his sternum down to his belly, then straight into his groin. Although his penis was flaccid, it was still pretty big. Larger than she’d ever had before. She liked it, although she guessed she’d be sore for the next few days.

The light was too dim to make out the details of his intricate tattoo. She thought she saw a figure of a man and a ship’s sail, but couldn’t piece together anything else. It looked awfully good on him, though.

“I’m sure they’re around here somewhere,” he said as he picked up his
didashah
and shook it out. Her bra and panties fell onto the ground, and Julie winced as she thought about how dusty they’d be. She crushed them into a damp ball and shoved them into her purse.

To hell with underwear. I’m going to be as comfortable as he is.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t realize.” He found her dress and she shook off the dust before slipping it over her head.

Then she put on her shoes, watching Tor pull on his robe. When he had it straightened out, he said, “Ready? Let me find the key. If I’ve lost it we’ll be stuck here.”

“Not the worst thing that could happen,” she said with a grin.

He pulled the key out of a pocket and held it up in front of her, smiling. “I’m afraid we have to go back to the real world now. Allow me to escort you home.”

They didn’t say much on the walk back to the Palm Guesthouse. Julie felt tired and she wondered if Tor did, too. They’d certainly sucked a lot of energy out of each other.

But the main reason for her silence was because she was becoming emotional. She didn’t want her one night stand to have any inkling of the silly things going around in her head. The very idea that she would never see him again threatened to bring tears to her eyes.

When she tried to rationalize her feelings, she found she couldn’t. She knew she should be celebrating what had just happened, not mourning because it would never happen again. But she wanted it to happen again.
Really, really
wanted it.

To break the silence she asked him to tell her about Aleppo, in the northern part of the country. She’d never been there, and wanted to hear about it.

He described the fabulous old
souk
, the crazy drivers who kept trying to run him off the road, and the magnificent citadel in the heart of the city. Although she was genuinely interested, she found she wasn’t really paying attention. She kept thinking about whether she could ever see him again.

When they reached her hotel they turned to each other and Tor said, “So you’re leaving for Damascus tomorrow?”

He looked into her eyes.

Blinking hard to control her tears, she found it difficult to meet his gaze.

“Yes. We’re catching the ten o’clock bus.”

“I hope you enjoy the rest of your tour, then.” His voice was flat.

Her stomach sort of fell. It was a completely impersonal statement. He could have been talking to anyone.

“You, too. Keep safe. And don’t try to drive in that dress.” She smiled, even though she felt like sobbing. That was when he kissed her.

Instantly her arms were around his neck and she rammed her body into his. He responded with equal force and she felt his erection rubbing against her hipbone.

“We can’t do this here,” she whispered. “If anyone sees us we’ll be stoned.” She was all too aware of the strict Muslim rules that forbade public show of affection between men and women.

“Let’s go up to your room,” he said, panting.

“We can’t. My mom’s there. What about your place?”

“No. I’m sharing a room with two other guys. No privacy anywhere.”

“Fuck!” She groaned into his chest, reaching up to entwine her fingers in his hair.

“Yeah—fuck,” he said as he released her. “You’d better go in before I throw you down in the street and have my way with you.”

“Oh, baby, how sweet that would be. I’m so sorry…”

He pushed her away, then raised a hand to tenderly touch her cheek. “Good night, Julie. It’s been more than great. It really has.”

She looked up at him. The street lights backlit his tousled hair, turning it into a bright halo. His grey eyes looked soft. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced a small smile. She knew her eyes were shiny with tears, but at the moment she didn’t care. “Good night, and goodbye.”

Then she turned on her heel and bolted through the door, not looking back.

Julie tried to be quiet when she let herself into the room she shared with her mother. But of course Hannah heard her.

“Julie? It’s so late. I was worried!”

“It’s okay, mom. I know. I’m sorry.”

“Where were you?”

“Just walking in the ruins. With Tor.” She heard the tears in her voice and made an effort to control herself. “I’ll tell you about it tomorrow. Please go back to sleep.”

Normally, she would have jumped in the shower before going to bed. But tonight she wanted to keep Tor on her as long as she could. His sweet saliva on her face. His sweat on her skin. His dried come everywhere between her legs. It was all she’d ever have from him.

After brushing her teeth she climbed between the sheets and began to replay the evening from the moment she first saw him waiting downstairs. She wanted the sweet indulgence of reliving everything—every gesture, every word, every nuance of sensation.

A few minutes later she heard the water pipes running in the wall behind her head. Then the sound of someone vomiting. Through the thin walls, it was almost as if the sick person was heaving right next to her.

More running water. Someone moaning, then a toilet flushing. After thinking about it, she remembered who her neighbors were.

Tina and Tanya. Sick as dogs. Oh great—I sure hope they’re over it by the bus ride tomorrow.

“Mom?”

“Mm?”

“Have you had to listen to this all night?”

“Uh huh.”

“Christ. Will either of us be able to get any sleep?” She folded the thin pillow over her ears and tried to turn back time.

Julie must have slept in fits and starts because she didn’t feel all that bad when the alarm rang at seven. By eight-thirty she was showered, fed and packed. Now that she’d seen everything she wanted to see in Palmyra, there was nothing more for her to do but sit in the lobby until it was time to board the bus. She tried to write in her journal, but people kept interrupting her.

Tina and Tanya hadn’t come down to breakfast, so Hannah checked on them to make sure they were both still alive and ready to travel. The two of them finally showed up just as everyone else, including Bish, had gathered outside in front of the hotel.