The Sultan's Bride (4 page)

He had been a man with a
voracious appetite for women and had created his realm with the palace at the
centre.  The palace had been filled with pleasures that were frequently
indulged. 
Arif
had heard his father tell the
story of the palace history so many times he could remember the words used but
did not understand what most of them meant.

By the end of the day the two
families were much more familiar with each other and shared dinner before
everyone retired for the evening.  Catherine was tired again and fell
asleep on the way back to her room.  After the previous night’s events
Peter was not about to let Sarah fall asleep before having her.

Thoughts of the harem, the
Sultan and the guide who she had not seen all day filled her head as he touched
her but her guilt about this was not enough to stop a repeat of the past
night.  ‘This place is clearly good for you,’ he murmured kissing her
afterwards.

They lay in silence for a
while before she whispered, ‘Peter, he has lots of wives.’

‘Who are you talking about?’
he asked with a laugh.

‘The Sultan,’ she
replied. 

‘Sweetheart we met his wife
though; you spent the day with her,’ he said, confused. 

She looked at him. ‘She is
his first wife, after
Arif
she had no more children
so he keeps marrying more to try for more heirs in case anything happens to
Arif
.’  Sarah shivered and Peter held her close. 

‘Even if I had the choice I
would never do that to you love,’ he said gently. 

She clung to him. ‘I would
hope not, I would hate to share you with anyone.  I knew these people were
different to us but I didn’t know just how much.’

Over the next few days the
family got to know the Sultan’s family more and more as they spent time with
each other. 
Arif
and Catherine went everywhere
together and some of the servants who knew
Arif
well
teased him about her.

‘We are not getting married,’
he decreed while they fell about laughing, ‘We are not old enough yet but when
we are Catherine can be my bride.’ 

Her eyes widened and as she
was slightly taller than him stood up straight to look down on him. ‘I will not
marry anyone,’ she declared.

‘It appears the young lady
has given you your answer,’ said the man who had guided them to their rooms on
the first day, ‘Now Miss Catherine I have been requested to take you back to
your room as Master
Arif
must return to his to get
ready for dinner.’  She walked away with him, glancing over her shoulder
and smiling shyly at
Arif
who had not yet moved.

Sarah was barely paying
attention when Catherine arrived back, telling her to go to her room and put on
the dress that she’d placed on the bed while she repaired a tear in her own
dress.  All of a sudden he was there, on his knees in front of her.

Staring at him, she struggled
to know what to say to him, there was no hope of escape; he had stopped right
in front of the chair she sat in.  Her heart pounded in her chest, why did
this man have such an effect on her?

‘It appears Mrs Stanton that
you dropped this,’ he said, holding up a needle that had fallen on the floor
while she’d been stitching.  He took her hand and pressed it into her
palm, careful not to prick her hand with it.

Pausing for a moment he held
her hand in his and looked up at her.  She could feel the heat in her skin
rise at the way he looked at her and she suddenly became aware she was holding
her breath.  ‘Thank you,’ she said with a squeak and he smiled.  A
smile that made her stomach
twist
.

‘I have never had a woman
such as you,’ he said softly not letting go of her gaze.  Her throat
tightened, if he really tried anything would she have the strength to say
no? 

‘Mama,’ a voice said and he
dropped her hand, and standing he looked at the little girl.

‘Miss Catherine, you look
most beautiful,’ he said, ‘I will leave so your mother can get ready for dinner
and I will see you another time.’ 

The little girl beamed.
‘Thank you Omar.’  He turned and left and Sarah felt herself exhale for
the first time in what felt like an eternity. 

So that was his name she
thought.   Sarah closed her eyes and thoughts entered her mind
uninvited of him touching her.
  I
f
Catherine had not been there what would have happened?  A flash of guilt
through her mind banished him briefly but she knew he would return.

He was in the Sultan’s rooms
when they entered for dinner and Sarah wanted the floor to swallow her
up.  Throughout dinner he continued to look at her and she could not hide
the flush in her skin, something the Sultan soon picked up on.

‘Sarah, are you enjoying your
stay in
Ajara
so far?’ he asked in that deep dusky
voice that in itself was enough to have further effect. 

‘I am. Thank you,’ she
said. 

‘Has Irina shown you the
harem?  The women in there can be very accommodating.’

She looked up and met his
eyes.  He was clearly teasing her which she did not think was appropriate
in front of the children.  Sarah regained her composure and glared at him.
‘No, I did not wish to see it.’  He laughed, having received the reaction
he was after.

Now she had both the Sultan
and Omar looking at her and she felt decidedly awkward.  ‘Please excuse
me, I am not really feeling that well.  I think I need to lie down.’ She
said flatly. 

‘Sweetheart?
 I can take you to our room if you need a hand,’
said Peter, concerned.  It was not like Sarah to feel off colour.

‘Omar,’ said the Sultan,
‘Please escort Mrs Stanton back to her room to rest.  I’m sure we can keep
Peter and Catherine entertained for a while longer while you get a chance to
get to sleep Sarah.’

She nodded realising there
was no way out of this.  Omar offered her his arm and she took it,
avoiding his eyes.  The walk back to the room was quiet, not a word said
and when she went to thank him for helping her to her room he held onto her
arm.

‘I know what you are
thinking,’ he murmured. 

‘It is not your place to talk
to me in this way,’ she said.  He held her hand in his and stroked the
back of it with his thumb. 

‘I am thinking it too Sarah,
I have not been able to think about anything else since you arrived.’

She took a deep breath. ‘I am
a married woman Omar, and your ways are not my ways.  Please don’t talk to
me in this way again you are being far too familiar.’ 

‘Sarah Stanton.  Oh that
I would be more familiar with you,’ he said, keeping her gaze.

Suddenly she became aware her
breathing had deepened, this man was having such an effect on her.  ‘This
is not appropriate, please,’ she said, pleading now, torn between the carnal
feelings that he had stirred in her and her desire to suppress them.

He squeezed her hand now,
stepping closer to her and she stayed still, not knowing what he would do, how
far he would go.  His hands lightly brushed across her breasts as they
went to her arms and he pushed her against a wall.

Warm lips met hers and her
tongue felt the touch of his as he kissed her.  It was unlike any kiss she
had ever had before and the stirring that had already started began to churn
wildly inside.  ‘I want you Sarah Stanton,’ he said, ‘I want to feel you,
taste you, and know what it is to be inside you.’

She pushed him away. ‘We
cannot, I am faithful to my husband and the vows I made him.’

‘This is a very different
place Sarah, one where people give in to their desires; can you know for sure
that your husband honours you in the same way?’

Then he left and she wondered
what the last remark meant.  Peter had never been unfaithful had he? 
If he had been he was very discreet and given his attentiveness the last few
nights it seemed unlikely. 

But the words hung in the air
and as she went to bed she thought more of Omar with his dark eyes that bore
into her and for the first time she explored her body with her own hands and
waited for her husband to join her.

Irina noticed how quiet she
was the next morning.  ‘Are you still feeling ill Sarah, I can send for
our Apothecary to check you over.’

‘I am fine Irina, perfectly
healthy,’ she replied glumly. ‘Something is bothering you my friend, what is
it?’

Sarah sighed. ‘If I tell you
I need you to promise that you won’t tell another soul.  You are dear to
me Irina and this is the biggest secret I could ever entrust with
anyone.’ 

‘You have my word,’ Irina
said, intrigued.

‘I’ve been having these
feelings since we got here, feelings for a man other than my husband and I
don’t know what to do about them.  I want them to stop, Peter and
Catherine are my life and I will not do anything to risk that.’

‘It’s Omar isn’t it?’ Irina
asked.  Sarah’s head jerked up and she stared at the other woman. 
‘Sarah, your secret is safe with me.  I have seen him looking at you.
 It’s not common for him to take an interest in someone the way he has
with you.’

‘Do you think anyone else has
noticed?’ Sarah asked, concerned now that if Irina had noticed, others might
have as well. 

‘No, I have known Omar for a
very long time.  I recognise the signs of interest in him where others may
not.  Sarah, everyone takes their pleasure in one way or another in this
palace.  If you want to be with him I can arrange it.’

She shook her head. ‘Aside
being unfaithful to Peter, I have nothing to offer Omar.  The only man I
have ever been with is my husband.  I would only disappoint him.’ 

Irina laughed. ‘You are young
Sarah, smart and beautiful, that is all a man like Omar needs.’

‘I can’t believe I’m even
thinking about this, at home this would never happen,’ Sarah said.

‘I would wager that it does,’
said Irina, ‘Behind closed doors people get up to all sorts of things no one
suspects.  If it happens in my little world I’m sure it happens in yours.’

Irina leaned closer. ‘With
the amount of time your husband has spent with mine, I am almost positive he
has been led down a similar path.  I don’t want to upset you and please if
it is the case don’t let it destroy your family but the Sultan is a fan of the
flesh and he will at the very least have had servant girls servicing him while
he does business with Peter.’

‘Are you jealous of the other
wives?’ Sarah suddenly asked. 

‘It was hard for me at first
but I am his first wife, I have freedoms the others don’t enjoy and after my
initial jealousy I realised I felt sorry for them.  I can come and go as I
please, I do what I want to a certain extent and I have had other lovers too.’

The look on Sarah’s face made
Irina laugh.  ‘I am so sorry Sarah, I know you feel the pull of another
man now, when your husband pays you no attention it is hard to ignore.’

‘It isn’t that he hasn’t paid
me any attention, I know he loves me but this feeling I have is so hard to shake.’

Irina smiled.  ‘I
understand more than you could ever know.’

She led Sarah down a
passageway that led to the Sultan’s chambers and showed her where she could
view the proceedings.  The three men were discussing business but also in
the room were three naked serving girls.

They were serving food and
drinks but once that was done, one was grabbed by the Sultan who kissed her and
caressed her breasts. Hassan followed suit with the third approaching Peter who
at first was reluctant to touch her. ‘Go on Peter. Take your pleasure with
her.  She is willing and I can assure you very skilled at a lot of
things.’

‘But Sarah…’

‘Your wife is otherwise
occupied and trust me, once this girl sucks your cock you will want her to
learn how to as well.’

Sarah gasped and Irina
clapped her hand across Sarah’s mouth.  They watched as Peter leaned back
and the girl struggled to open his pants.  He was already hard. 

The Sultan laughed. ‘Now you
know too why we wear robes Peter, much easier to handle.’

She licked from the base of
him to the tip, rolling her tongue around the top and he gasped before she took
the whole shaft into her mouth and throat and started moving up and down.

Peter moaned and the Sultan
laughed, pushing the girl he was with onto his nearby bed and started kissing
up her thighs.  Irina whispered in Sarah’s ear, ‘They do not have to be
the only ones to take their pleasure.’

Reaching round the other
woman she took Sarah’s breasts in her hands and caressed them.  Sarah
flopped like a rag doll and let the other woman touch her and in the dimly lit
passage way Irina released Sarah’s breasts from her dress and turned her round
to suckle them.

Sarah clapped her hand over
her mouth to stop the moan trying to escape her.  ‘Sarah there is so much
pleasure to be had here, are you sure after seeing that you don’t want to have
some of your own?’