The Captive Flesh (21 page)

Oh, yes. Gabriel had been trained well, as Kasim was training her still. She was learning much and discovering more about herself with each day that passed.

Kasim said nothing. Content, it seemed, to let her look at Gabriel. Not a muscle of his face moved. It might have been carved from marble. Not a breeze stirred his outer robe of emerald velvet. It did not dare, Marietta thought, with a shiver. But she detected
Kasim's wry amusement. Very slowly and deliberately, Kasim folded back his deep cuffs, then positioned himself on the low table which had been placed next to Gabriel. Comfortably seated, his booted feet apart, hands on his hips, he ordered Marietta to stroke Gabriel's shoulders.

She began to do so, trying to subdue her churning thoughts by concentrating on the marvellous configuration of bone, muscle and sinew that made up Gabriel's upper body.

‘I wish you to test this slave for me,' Kasim said with grim humour. ‘I have not used him before. I confess, the thought of doing so is singularly enticing. But is he worthy to receive my attentions, do you suppose? Tell me, Marietta, how does his skin feel? Is the skin of his neck the same texture as that on his chest?'

Marietta slid her palms across Gabriel's shoulders and then up the thick column of his neck. Kasim watched her every movement, searching her face for signs of emotion. She hated the game that he was making them play, but she dared not refuse. Besides, she clutched at the chance of any contact between herself and Gabriel.

Gabriel's skin was warm, stretched like living silk over the firm muscles. It felt wonderful. She could smell his scent of clean hair and sandalwood and, under the other smells, a spicy musk that was his alone. She slid her fingers under the warmth of his hair, feeling the weight of it tickle the backs of her hand, then pinched his earlobes gently. Finding the hollow at the base of his skull she circled it with both thumbs. There was the slightest pressure against her hand as Gabriel moved towards her touch. She knew that if he had been allowed, he would have rubbed against her like a cat.

‘Well?' Kasim said impatiently.

‘It … it feels … good, my lord,' she stammered.

‘Hmmm. No more than good? I think you must explore further. I need to be convinced that this slave is excellent, outstanding in fact. Move your hands down. Feel his chest. Is it firm? Well-muscled? And the nipples – suck them. How do they taste?'

Gabriel's face remained impassive as she trailed her fingertips over the bulge of his pectoral muscles where the nipples, small and copper-coloured, pointed slightly downwards. At the indentation near his breastbone she paused. Under her fingers she felt the rapid beat of Gabriel's heart. So he was not as calm as he outwardly appeared. She marvelled at his control.

The beautiful tender mouth was relaxed, the lips parted slightly. She felt a rush of heat as she imagined that mouth fully open and pushed out, forming a receptacle for Kasim's penis. Bending her head, so that she might mouth his nipples, she felt again the slightest movement of Gabriel's neck. Then came the merest brush of his lips on her hair. Her heart turned over at his daring.

‘First his arms. Work down to the nipples. Are those arms strong enough to bear his weight as he takes mine on his back? Tell me quickly, for I long to bury myself inside him. Can you imagine how he would feel, Marietta?' He laughed harshly. ‘Of course not. How could you. And yet … perhaps …'

She hardly heard him. She had tensed, afraid that Kasim had seen the moment of tenderness. But he gave no sign. His face was self-absorbed, bright with some new thought. Turning his head, he rapped out an order. At once a slave ran to do his bidding. Marietta's hands trembled as she reached out to caress Gabriel's biceps. This change of mood unnerved her. What new refinement
was Kasim planning? She knew that gleam in his eye.

Despite her trepidation she felt the oddly familiar stirring of excitement, the fear, that concentrated her pleasure. The slave returned and gave something to Kasim. Marietta caught only a quick glimpse of the object. It seemed to be a contraption made of leather, something attached to a pad with straps.

‘The arms?' Kasim said, distracting her.

‘His arms are indeed strong, my lord,' she managed to say.

‘Good. Good. The nipples?'

Slowly now she sank to her knees in front of Gabriel. She reached out to lap at his nipples, careful to restrict the contact to her mouth only. There was but a short space between them. Gabriel's leather-pouched penis was jutting out strongly. If he moved it would graze her soft belly, nuzzle the halo of the pubic curls. Her breasts were so close to him. Her nipples were no more than a finger's width away from his skin. It would be easy to sway forward, to press herself to his chest. She felt a surge of desire for him. Her nipples grew hard. They were still sore from the spanking and they tingled and burned. She longed to draw the tips of them across his silky skin, to feel the heavy heartbeat pulsing against her rigid teats. But she knew that Kasim would never forgive such blatant behaviour.

She must be content with a smaller, less visible, rebellion. She closed her mouth over one of Gabriel's nipples, then circled it defiantly with her tongue and bit down gently before releasing it. Oh, it was worth risking another spanking. The little rush of Gabriel's indrawn breath was sweet music to her.

‘The nipples are sweet, my lord,' she said, hiding a smile.

‘And that full leather pouch he wears is jerking as I watch!' Kasim said. ‘Have a care, Marietta. Lest you take too much upon yourself. I alone order your actions.'

She drew back a little. ‘Yes, my lord. Forgive me,' she said, instantly contrite.

Kasim had missed nothing after all. She held her breath, expecting him to order her to stand up, move away. Perhaps he would punish her while Gabriel watched. Or he might order Gabriel to spank her buttocks. At the thought her cheeks grew hot and there came a liquid pulsing between her thighs.

But Kasim said only: ‘Remove the leather pouch. I want to see the phallus. To judge this slave's readiness.'

Marietta untied the thong around Gabriel's waist and drew the pouch free of his straining member. Released from restraint the rigid cock jutted upright between Gabriel's spread thighs. It was so strongly erect that the swollen plum had slipped free of its skin and was glistening with clear liquid. The plum was large and dark in colour and the ridge around it was prominent and collared by ruched skin. Dark blond curls clustered around the thick base of the cock-stem. The heavy sac could be seen, hanging in the space between his legs.

At the sight of Gabriel's genitals Marietta felt a subtle pressure inside her. Something seemed to open and then flow outwards. Warmth spread into her belly and between her thighs. Since her first sight of him in the marketplace she had wanted to feel that thick stem slide inside her …

‘A magnificent organ indeed,' Kasim pronounced. ‘Stand away now, Marietta. That treasure is not for you. When you are completely submissive, when you
hold nothing back from me, then you shall be given your full reward. For now, you may watch. And if you please me, you shall take a turn at this fine rump. Come attend me. Disrobe me. Free my manhood.'

Kasim dropped the object the slave had handed him. The leather phallus, attached to a triangular-shaped pad, fell to the carpet. Gabriel saw the movement and understanding showed in his face. His mouth set in a stubborn line.

Marietta knew that Kasim planned something for her, but she did not know what. She backed away from Gabriel regretfully, managing to throw him the briefest of smiles before she went to stand between Kasim's spread knees. While he shrugged off his outer robe she drew off his knee-high boots, then unbuckled his belt. Next she removed the emerald leather trousers. She unlaced the front of the velvet tunic, but Kasim stoped her slipping it over his arms.

‘Enough. Stand behind me, Marietta. Let your body form a backrest.'

She did as he asked and Kasim moved to the edge of the table, so that his buttocks were resting on the polished wood surface. Then he leaned back against Marietta. Lifting his heels, he placed his feet on the low table, then parted his knees. His sex was now displayed prominently. His erection swayed slightly, standing up from his belly and jutting out towards Gabriel as if eager for his touch.

Marietta saw the look of desire cross Gabriel's features. Her heart constricted. She did not know who she envied more, Kasim or Gabriel. She braced herself to take Kasim's weight. The velvet of his tunic prickled against her breasts, sending little shocks through her sore nipples as she adjusted her position. Looking down over Kasim's shoulder she could see his broad chest,
bisected by the loosened laces of the tunic. The emerald fabric fell away from his pale body and lay in deep folds on the wooden table. She looked lower to the slope of his muscular belly and the line of dark silky hairs that trailed downwards from his navel. The powerful thighs, raised up and allowed to fall open, were corded with flexed muscles. At his groin the hairs grew in a thick bush, masking the place where his cock-stem joined his belly.

Kasim's position was almost one of submission. The role of master and slave might have been reversed. But though Kasim might be displayed as enticingly as any slave, he was still very much the master. His beautiful pale hands were pressed flat to the table. Only the slight movement of the sinews on the back of one hand betrayed his tension.

Marietta had forgotten everyone else in the room. The pool of lamplight was bright around the three of them, but the rest of the room was in partial shadow. Now and then a sigh or a groan could be heard. Sometimes a whispered endearment. Even so, it was easy to imagine themselves alone.

When Kasim ordered it, she looped her arms under his armpits and took his weight as he relaxed. Her hands fitted into the slight hollows at the joining of his shoulders with his chest and his head fell back on her shoulder. The realisation of their peculiar intimacy came over her gradually. She felt consumed by Kasim's proximity; never had she been so close to him. All contact had been restricted, until this moment. She knew the feel of his fingers on her flesh; or probing inside her; his hands as they spanked her, rubbed oil into her, chained her to the pillar. There had been the occasional brush of his lips against hers, but the luxury of his whole self he had held back, always.

Now she held him in her arms for the first time and was astonished at the emotion that welled up inside her. Moments ago she had been sure that she would never feel tenderness towards Kasim. Now that very emotion stabbed her through, fragmented her, swept her up and dashed her down on some bleak shore. She shuddered. It was altogether terrifying.

The dark waves of Kasim's hair, silky-textured, perfumed with ambergris, spilled against her skin. Her cheek lay next to his. She felt the rasp of his newly emerging beard, the clean line of his jaw. Moved to impulse, she pressed her lips to his forehead and could not suppress a smile of triumph when he jerked against her with shock.

Kasim lifted his head abruptly. ‘Gabriel. Crawl over here, and pleasure me,' he ordered. There was an unfamiliar quality to his voice but Marietta thought that only she noticed it.

Gabriel dropped onto all fours, buttocks high in the air, chin down. His flaxen hair brushed the carpet as he crawled towards the low table and settled himself on his knees facing Kasim. His strong hands slid up Kasim's calves, massaging them and pressing them inwards, moving the bare feet even nearer to the undersides of the raised thighs. Kasim gave a sigh at the increased tension in his legs as his cock was thrust out even more prominently. It jerked as if it had a life of its own.

Gabriel brushed his fingers down the dark pubic curls and cupped the tight sac, stroking the firm pad behind it. Then, with the other hand, he grasped Kasim's stem and squeezed it, continuing to milk it, until a drop of clear fluid appeared at the tip.

Raising his body up, but staying in a half-kneeling position, Gabriel leaned over so that his long hair
swayed forward to brush Kasim's belly. He began licking the sex-head, then sucking it with soft and relaxed lips. He slid up and down the plum, lipping over the swollen rim, anointing it with saliva until it was shiny and a deep purple-red in colour. For a while he restricted his attention to the plum, using his mouth to draw on it, pulling sweetly on the tender flesh. Deliberately he restrained from sliding his mouth down the shaft. He licked around the rim, flicking his tongue to the underside of the cock-head, exerting pressure on the site of the healed scar-tissue where the skin had been removed in infancy.

Gabriel's fingers strayed over the whole exposed area between Kasim's thighs. Sometimes his touch was gentle as he stroked the swollen sac or circled the puckered bottom-mouth. By turns he was rougher, digging his fingers into the insides of the thighs, holding on to the base of the shaft and pumping it hard.

Kasim's hips moved as Gabriel pleasured him expertly. His eyes closed and his hard mouth parted on a series of breathy moans.

Each of those sounds seemed to go straight to Marietta's womb. She felt how Kasim strained against her. Saw how his long white fingers clenched and unclenched. He was beautiful in his passion. She wished that she, and not Gabriel, was the instrument of it.

Gabriel shifted position suddenly, grunting with pleasure as he jammed his head down hard on the cock-stem. Kasim's back arched as he rose up to meet the downward shafting. Gabriel's hands cupped Kasim's buttocks and dragged them apart, digging his fingers into the firm globes. Kasim moaned loudly and tried to draw away, but Gabriel held him firm. The downward motion became more rapid. Gabriel drew
the cock deeply into his throat and ground his lips down hard against Kasim's pubis.

‘Stop …' Kasim groaned as his hands curled into fists.

But it was too late. He threw his head back. The cords stood out in his neck. His stomach jerked as he spasmed.