The Voyage of the Silken Siren (The Corsair and Xanaphia)

Yusef let Aurelia's questions wash over him, noting them away for later reference. For the moment, his attention was on her actions and her behavior, and they felt off. Badly off. Starting with the amount she'd just drunk in front of him, before pouring them both another serving, and ending with the way she was talking without letting him get a word in edgewise and then drinking more. Not that he had anything against drinking in and of itself, but... not like this. He drank for entertainment and socialization, not with the grim air of a man (or woman) determined to put away as much as he (or she) could in as quick a time as possible.

"Overreact?" he echoed, taking the bottle from her. Then he held up his hand, his finger and thumb nearly touching "Aurelia, Fayette was this close to sailing back over there and burning that fucking ship to the waterline. Fayette - who I normally count on to be my level-headed advisor - had already rounded up a torch-wielding mob of murderers to take with me. The only reason - the only reason - I didn't was because, and I can't stress this enough, Rudain would kill all of us!"

He raised the bottle in a passion, knuckles white on the neck, unsure what he was about to do with it. He settled for taking a long swig, then wiped the purplish residue away with the back of his hand. "So, let me hit your questions first. Nishi and Seith are already looking into apprenticeships for the orphans who don't want to stay as crew, and the only reason Gwynn isn't is because she picked up a job for tonight. Senzang has a list of supplies from both Nishi and Fayette, and he's working on getting everything together. Don't worry about the costs, because I've seen him get the better of djinn in bargaining. Twelve of the orphans want to remain in the crew, and Igama's taken over showing them the ropes. Literally."

Bringing the bottle to his lips again, he drained it entirely. "Now, let's talk about you. Those bastards..." He couldn't finish the statement, because the memory of what he'd witnessed - voluntary as it had been - made him shake with fury. "I... that is... I... fuck!" The bottle shattered against the wall as he grabbed her forearms. "I should have stopped you, Aurelia. We could have found another way, and I should have stopped you. I..." Swallowing, he looked away. "I'm... sorry."
 
Aurelia stood straighter as the bottle smashed into the far wall, lingering emotion just waiting to explode out of her. His grips on her forearms didn’t help matters and the first words out of his mouth sent her over the edge.

“Should have stopped me?!” she interrupted, not giving him a chance to justify his words or intentions. Wresting her arms from his fingers, she didn’t back up or away, instead got right in his face, “How did you think you were going to stop me, Yusef? You forgot yourself. You aren’t my master, or my pimp, or my lover. You don’t get a say in my affairs. I employ you. I pay you. I do not answer to you.” There was a moment of tense quiet as she stared into his eyes, her features stern and unmoved. Finally she turned from him and braced against her desk.

“Clearly this is my fault. I let you get too familiar, I flirted back, I…” She sighed in regret for what might have been. “I think it would be better if you stayed away from the Siren. There are too many Captains on this ship as of now. Gwynn would benefit from your leadership experience. And we can move past…” She waved her hand aimlessly, “All of this.”

“If there is nothing else, I am going to bed. I am absolutely drained.” She confessed, rubbing her neck as she remembered the feel of Rudain’s fangs in her throat.


“It is an honor to be here, Emirah Rayka Pishini,” Gwynn acknowledged bowing low. Before her was an older woman with olive skin and long thick black hair. She wore a fine crimson gown, accented with gold and well fitted to her curvy form.

“It is a pleasure to have you,” Rayka insisted, taking Gwynn’s hand, “Or least, it will be my pleasure.” Both women giggled, before the emirah turned her attention toward Karim, “And who is this?”

“That is Karim, He is my…” Gwynn considered her answer for a moment. They hadn’t really discussed what their relationship was. If it even were a relationship. Mostly they just flirted and banged. “He is my bodyguard.” That much was true, at least.

“And are does he offer any other services?” Rayka inquired, rather obviously appreciating his figure. Gwynn shot him a curious look.

“That is up to him.”
 
"Maybe you don't answer to me," Yusef snapped back, "but you do employ me! As security, no less. And given the state you're in I..."

But Aurelia cut him off, coldly reminding him that whatever it was that had been developing - all of the warmth from befire the party - had been a mistake. A mistake she could rectify by banishing him to the other ship. "Fine," he growled. "Excuse the fuck out of me for being cincerned about the health and safety of mt employer. Because, yeah. That was a fucking mistake, wasn't it?"

Turning in his heel, he stalked towards the cabin door. "Whores and sellswords," he snarled as he tore it open. "Both of us, just fucking grinning and faking it till the next payday. What was I thinking?" The door slammed behind him, and he stomped towards the stairs that led below decks.

"How is she?" Fayette called, breaking off her conversation with Phaedra.

"Fuck you!" Yusef yelled, making an obscene gesture.

Fayette watched him storm below decks, and blew out a long, slow breath. "So, not so well."


Kaarim was still making the mental adjustment, getting used to the idea that Gwynn was a prostitute. It shouldn't have been a surprise, not really. Not on a ship like the Silken Siren. But, somehow, he'd formed the opinion that her job aboardship was muscle and legbreaker. It was what had made pursuing ner so appealing, thinking that it would take more than mere coin to bed her.

Not that the revelation bothered or offended him, mind. Hells, it just made her that much hotter. But he was starting to feel concerned that he was losing his edge. Usually, he could read people better than that. Take the Emirah, for example. An older but not old woman, still quite attractive. Wealthy and posessed of a title of minor nobility, with a few masculine touches in her decor. Objects that were out if place. Most likely a widow, long enough ago that any grief had faded but sentiment lingered.

And they were discussing him now. Specifically, the Enirah was eying him with the same hungry look she'd given Gwynn. "And does he offer ony other services?"

"That is up to him," Gwynn replied with a little shrug that dud interesting things to her cleavage. She wore her usual ship clothes, and the Emirah hadn't asked her to change.

But... services. The Gids knew he'd bedded enough women, but it had never crossed his mind to ask for payment. Usually he just found a mistress or two or three, wealthy and lonely women who adored attention and a dashing mercenary swordsman and who also tended to drape him with gifts. At least until their husbands and fathers and brothers learned of the arrangement.

Of course, put that way it certainly made him sound like a prostitute. Didn't it. So he drew himself up straighter, in a way that he knew taughtened his bwlly and showed off his well-defined muscles, and smiled. "Emirah," he declared, bowing low and kissing her hand, "I offer many services, in tandem with Gwynn and seperatly." He watched her expression carefully, smiking a little at the way her eyes shifted.

"What sort of services?" she asked.

"Why, for one, I can read the future in a basin of water." He caught Gwynn's questioning glance, and winked. "Is there one to hand?"

The Emirah laughed. "It is not, I confess, the service I anticipated. But yes, a basin of purest alabaster, a gift from my late husband."

"It is a magnificent gift," Kaarim said honestly, reflexively assessing the value. "Although its beauty pales before that of the recipient." He biwed again, palming the little phial of pomegranite extract he carried as a seasoning for poor wine, and gestured. Three drops splashed out unnoticed, giving the water the sudden appearance of blood. The Emirah gasped.

"I must have silence," he declared, making a show of examining the water. "The spirits move." Circling his hands above the water, he made a sound of alarm. "I see, but I dare not speak!"

The exoression the Emirah gave him was one of amusement, but she played along. "You must! I command it!"

"Then I will tell all, my lady. I see..." He peered closely, seeing onky pomegranite-scented water. "I see... a pale and a dusky body entwined. I see strong hands, gently removing a robe of scarlet silk from a body envied by the gids for her beauty, and a northern barbarian with hair of crimson fire..."

"And what does this northern barbarian do?" The Emirah asked, glancing at Gwynn as she licked her lips.

Kaarim looked up. "She ravishes you, my lady. You are helpless before her savags lusts, consuming you as if in a fire."

The Emirah attempted to look resigned. "If that is my fate, then attend me Kaarim. I shall meet this barbarian as befits an Emirah if the Jeweled Isles."
 
“Is that so?” Gwynn whispered, circling behind Rayka. She swept aside the thick strands of raven hair, letting her breath ghost over the Emirah’s neck and shoulder. “What does a delicate, pampered noblewoman know of fire? Of consuming desire? Of animalistic passion? Of feral lust? Of teeth and nails and hunger?”

She met Kaarim’s eyes for a brief moment, before catching Rayka’s earlobe in her teeth. He was one hell of an act to follow up, clearly he had some skill in this. The performative nature of it. It wasn’t all he had skill in, she knew, but that ability to make a woman feel as if she were the only woman in the world was impressive. Hell, it was what won her over, wasn’t it?

“I am no stranger to such things,” the Emirah asserted, even as her voice quivered. Gwynn’s tongue traced her earlobe.

“You think so. Perhaps, you are right, perhaps you are not. I can assure that by the end of this night, you will not be. You will know it all, as you know your own mind.” Gwynn’s hands had been light on her waist, but they tightened as Gwynn moved her head down, letting lips brush Rayka’s perfumed skin.

One hand caressed her neck and cradled her chin, tilting her head towards the ceiling. Gwynn introduced teeth to lips and tongue, scraping a throbbing vein. Her breath was hot on the residual saliva and the Emirah hissed softly. Rayka’s voice was a sultry whine, transforming into whimper as Gwynn’s teeth worked the tender flesh.

Fingers trailed up Rayka’s face, a thumb brushing her thick, full lips. The Emirah’s mouth opened, inviting the digit into the hot opening. Soon Rayka was biting Gwynn’s thumb, while Gwynn bit her shoulder. A moment more, and then Gwynn stood up straighter, leaving Rayka to mewl in loss. Instead Gwynn’s slender, strong fingers worked at the buttons on the Emirah’s gown.

“I will have you, my Emirah. I will have your taste upon my tongue and your desire upon my fingers. I will have the writhing of your body and the desperate look of hunger in your eyes. I will have everything, until you are possessed by longing.” Her gown slipped and slid until it puddle about her feet, revealing a luscious figure of soft curves, standing in contrast with Gwynn’s firm form.

“I…” Rayka gasped as one hand cupped a breast and the other traced her stomach, “As my conqueror desires.” The Emirah craned her neck to kiss Gwynn, sighing against her moist lips. Another set of moist lips were parted by Gwynn’s fingers. Two long digits, collecting the burgeoning arousal.

“I desire your release, Rayka,” Gwynn demanded, teeth nibbling on her jaw. One finger pushed into her slit, opening her sex until there was sucking sound, a tempo echoed by Rayka’s moans. Her breast was soft weight in Gwynn’s hand, her nipple a hardened nub. Gwynn kneaded the supple mound, thumb moving the nipple in a circle before pinch slightly. Cupping her slit, Gwynn’s fingers went deeper, harder, faster.

“Mmm…more…” the Emirah pleaded, lip trembling as the word flitted out. Gwynn fit another finger into her in compliance. Rayka spread herself to take more, her honey drooling down her thighs, her musky scent mingling with the incenses. “Gwynn…Gwynn!” A breathy gasp and wide eyes accompanied the clenching of her cunt, Gwynn hands never stopping, never slowing, never faltering as bliss danced in her mind.

Gwynn held up the sagging Rayka, bringing a lust soaked finger to her own lips. “Will you taste it, Emirah? The pleasure this barbarian can extract from your body?”
 
Well, wasn't this nice? Kaarim had really just intended to add a little spice to things, because he figured the Emirah would pay better if Gwynn did more than just get her off. And given his experience with prostitutes in the past, he'd sort of assumed that Gwynn would get down to business and wrap things up quick. Honestly, it was why he preferred bored wives and eager daughters. Enthusiasm.

Well, and gifts. Gifts were nice ss well.

He certainly hadn't expected Gwynn to be so erotic in a business arrangement. But, by the womb of Afodisia, sbe'd been electrifying. And all she'd done is kiss and finger the noblewoman. Gods of hell, he wanted her! Both of them.

The Emirah took Gwynn's wrist, softly stroking the redhead's fair skin as she brought the glistening fingers to her lips. "It pleases me," she said, gently sucking the fingers clean. "I can only hope it will equally please the one fated to ravish me." She turned, making an imperious gesture. "Seer! Attend me!"

It took Kaarim a moment to remember that was his role. "My lady," he replied with a bow. "How may I serve thee?"

"The doom you have foretold fast approaches. Have you seen more?" She looked him over. "For I have heard a whisper that I am to be betrayed and delivered a prisoner to she who seeks my honor."

Eying her splended body, Kaarim stooped and lifted the silken sash of her robe in one hand. "It is true, my lady," he whispered, lightly wrapping the Emirah's wrists in silk and ttying the sash off. "I have betrayed you to your fate."

"Then I am undone!" the Emirah cried, clearly enjoying herself. "And what was the price if this... this treachery?"

Kaarim pushed her backwards, letting her fall upon the silks of her couch. "Only this, Emirah," he whispered in her ear, one finger tracing a damp trail from her dripping slit and over her belly. "That once your captor has tired of her sport, I might slake my lusts on the flesh if a nibkewoman."
 
Kaarim added another layer to her performance, an aspect Gwynn had not expected when she invited him. She wasn’t just serving the Emirah’s pleasure (under the guise of serving her own) she was putting on a show for her lover. She wanted to impress, and even entice Kaarim. And it was working, from the hunger in his gaze as their eyes met.

“Your body will be a garden in which seeds of ecstasy will be planted. Both your ecstasy, and others” Gwynn promised, crawling over Rayka’s body. There was a hungry kiss, proof that Gwynn was not merely performing, but enjoying herself as well. A kiss that left the Emirah quiver as the redhead pulled away, a string of their saliva connecting them. Gwynn’s lips traced and trailed down the noblewoman’s form, leaving kisses and bites in their wake. Each breast was teased, tongue flicking the nipple before teeth captured it, waiting for that moment of exquisite agony before releasing it. Then she was between her legs, with a dusky thigh resting on each shoulder.

“I wonder, how does your surrender taste?” Gwynn questioned, the query floating over the nude figure of the Emirah to find its home in her ear. Before she could answer, Gwynn’s tongue was inside her, running a circle along the inner perimeter.

Kaarim had announced that Gwynn, with her savage lust, would ravish the woman, and there was a bit of pressure to live up to that promise. But Gwynn knew pressure, and it could not distract her, only narrow her focus to what needed to be done. Narrow her focus to every slight moan and slight from the captive Emirah, and the way her hands gripped the cushions beneath her. Two fingers entered her, and then a third, twisting and thrusting while lips suckled her throbbing clit. Rayka’s soft legs wrapped Gwynns head, seeking some escape from the ensuing nirvana, some control over the situation she was fast losing control over. But nirvana caught up with her delivered into her body by Gwynn’s skilled hands and mouth. Rayka lie before a twitching, gasping figure, light beads of sweat forming on her brow.

“Would you like a taste of what your betrayal has wrought, seer?” Gwynn asked, half turning to face Kaarim, sticky lust sticking to her face.
 
The lush bidy of the Emirah was flushed and beaded with sweat, and Gwynn glistened with the noblewoman's pleasure, and Kaarim couldn't remember the last time he'd been so turned on. So, watching their client's reaction, he tangled his fingers in his lover's crimson hair and drew her into a lingering kiss. His lips moved over hers, tasting another woman's pleasure.

Then, with a smile and a wink, he spun Gwynn in his arms. "I have her, my lady!" he exulted, gripping her wrists lightly. "What shall be done with this northerner who would defile a lady of the Jewelled Isles?"

"Oh, my," the Emirah answered, still looking a little dazed. "Then you have nit forsaken my, my faithful seer?"

"I have not, radiant font of beauty and wisdom."

The Emirah rose, hunger in her gaze as she stroked Gwynn's cheek and throat. "Then prove it," she murmured, cupping a firm, pale breast. "Strip this barbarian, and bind her. I would... punish her."

Kaarim took his time at the task, making a production of stripping Gwynn's halter away and peeling her leather breeches from her long legs. The Emirah stroked the creamy flesh that was displayed, hands and fingers tracing lines of old scars. For his part, by the time he was tying Gwynn's wrists to the ouch with silk scarves, he desperately wanted to fuck her. Or the Emirah. Both, really.

"Now, savage," the Emirah declared, lifting another scarf in her hand, "you will bear my displeasure." She brought the scarf down like a gentle lash, the silk caressing Gwynn's curved back. Again, this time settling over the curve of her ass and between her legs. And again, across her back and shoulders. There wasn't enough force to hurt, just to ghost over sensitive skin. Then she bound the scarf iver Gwynn's eyes, blindfolding her for a moment.

Something thick and hard and warm pushed into her cunt, weight pushing her breasts into the couch. "You are mine, barbarian," the Emirah declared. "But if you can tell who is having you first - your traitor or I - then perhaps I will be merciful." A scarf slipped around her throat and tugged. "Perhaps."
 
Gwynn was pleasantly surprised to discover how much she enjoyed being watched. That Kaarim might be aroused by her performance. Clearly the Emirah was enjoying it, the proof slick on her skin as Kaarim kissed it from her. And she could feel Kaarim’s appreciation, prodding her as the kiss. Felt it once more as he spun her, holding her captive now.

She hadn’t expected this, but it fit with the game, and it was fun to play. So she struggled against Kaarim’s silken grasp, letting her breasts sway and jiggle. Rayka held one in place, the noblewoman’s hands a delicate counterpoint to her lover’s grip.

Everything Kaarim did dripped with sensuality, apparently as he stripped her nude, his hands seemingly everyone on her at once. Goddess, she was rather looking forward to this punishment, a tightening in her stomach and thighs driving her to nearly beg. And the silk of the couch on her bare skin just added to her torment, as supple and sumptuous as the Emirah’s body had been. But even silk could smart, as it was whipped across her bare back. A small sting, equal parts pain and pleasure as it struck her skin. Gwynn hisses and sighed with each lash, squirming beneath her captors.

And now she was fucked, but by who? Not knowing was insanely hot in the moment, feeling, focusing on the phallic object thrusting in and out of her. There was a hand on her back, soft with slender digits, but it was not enough to narrow down who was currently using her. Kaarim had been her lover for just over a week now, and it was hard to say if she knew him by touch yet. But, really, did she need to get this right? More punishment of this nature was incredibly tempting.

“Is it…the seer?” Gwynn moaned, moving her hips back against her mystery lover.

“Wrong,” Rayka whispered in her ear, her full breasts heavy on Gwynn’s back. The scarf on her neck was tightened, disrupting her breathing. Lightheaded form the lack of air, she clenched around the invading shaft. “Have you divined what her punishment will be, seer? Will she been used for both of our pleasure, or left to writhe for her rapture while she watches you ravish me?”
 
"Neither, my lady. At first." Kaarim checked the blindfold, ensuring it was secure. Then his hands traced Gwynn's skin ad the Emirah's bare back, gently tugging the client away. "She shall be left there, to suffer in anticipation if her punishment as I claim the reward you offered me."

The Emirah turned, running her fingers over his muscled chest. "And what reward was that, my seer?"

Kaarim caressed her bare body, his fingers drifting lower and slipping into her dripping slit. "Entrance into the temple of your delights, my Emirah." He nipped gently at her jaw, turning her head so that she could see the onyx phallus still buried in Gwynn's sex. "Let her hear the pleasure of our coupling, and anticipate what her fate will be when we are done."

"The spirits have shown you this, my seer?" the Emirah whispered, her sticky hands sliding into his pants. Her eyes widened a little as she found his cick. "Is it the will of fate?"

"It is, my Emirah," Kaarim answered.

She layed back, her body warm against Gwynn's as she ooened her thighs. "Who are we to defy fate?" she smiled, spreading her slit and stroking her clit. "Enter, then, my seer."

Kaarim shed his clothes and crouched before her, pausing to turn the onyx pkallus in his lover before resting his head against the Emirah's lips. "As you desire, my Emirah." There was a slow, wet sound as he pushed into her, and she mianed and lifted her hips slightly to meet him. When his full length was buried in her, he moaned with delight.

"Come, my seer," the Emirah gasped. "Take your pleasure... in me... as the spirits have decreed."
 
Gwynn struggled, unable to see what was happening, unable able to anything but listen the Kaarim and Rayka, and take note of the shifting of their bodies. Fuck, she wanted to get off. Wanted to cum. She was already horny as hell, from servicing the client, while her lover watched, encouraging her. But instead she was left alone, something she hadn’t even seen inside her. The cushions beside her depressed and the Emirah soft leg brushed against her. She could hear the client’s moan, the wet meeting of flesh in flesh, and Kaarim’s moan in response. Gwynn added she needy whimper to the chorus of lust playing out beside her.



Rayka wrapped her arms around Kaarim’s neck, pulling him in to kiss, as her body accepted every inch of him. Flesh collapsing as he withdrew from her, only to swallow him once more as he drove back into her wetness. “Is it everything you wanted, my seer? To find rapture upon my altar?” Her hips moved with his, offering more of herself with each stroke into her depths. Her arms tightened, exploring his back, fingers tracing the muscles as they flexed and worked. His hard body perfectly complemented and completed her supple figure.

“It occurs to me, that either way, you intended to have me,” She teased, nibbling her earlobe as her calves caressed his thighs. “Either against my will, allied with the barbarian, or with my enthusiastic consent, as my savior.” Her breasts dragged along his chest as they moved against each other, hard nipples standing in contrast to the pliant flesh. “Was this your plan all along? To have me?” She kissed before he could answer, longing lingering on her lips.
 
Kaarim met the Emirah's lips with his own, accepting her tongue as she kissed him deeply. Her hands and thighs moved over his bare skin with an urgent hunger, tracing the lines of his muscles as he resisted her bidy's demand to take her faster. Harder. "Yiu are as perceptive as you are wise, my lady," he murmured, maintaining a steady rhythm with his cock. "My plan all along was to have you." His erection rubbed along her clit as he slowly thrust in, filling her. "Willingly," he added, nipping at her throat, "or not."

He didn't miss the shiver of delight at his words, or the way she arched into him. "Does the thought please you, my Emirah?" he wondered aloud, increasing his speed a little.

"Yes," she groaned, nails digging into his shoulders.

He thrust into her harder, the meeting of their bodies driving her into the mattress. "An Emirah, used as a common whore by a manshe trusted?"

"Yes..." she moaned, spreading her legs wider to take him deeper

"A noble lady of the Jeweled Isles, reduced to a common pleasure slave?"he asked, gripping her wrists and holding them above her head as he took her harder and faster.

"Yes!" the Emirah shouted, clenching around him.

Roughly he dragged himself from her. The Emirah started to protest until he half lifted, half threw her across Gwynn's bare bidy. Immediarltely the Emirah's hands began to stroke and caress the flesh of the redhead she straddled, then moaned as Kaarim drove deep into her from behind. "Fuck her," he growled, biting the nobkewoman's shoukder. "Use her for your pleasure, as I use you for mine."
 
Fuck she was so close, a third orgasm this evening, and this gorgeous rogue was teasing her. Maybe not as badly as they were teasing the writhing, whimpering redhead beside them, but still. Clearly he knew how to make two women thirst for his touch.

Teasing Gwynn was the best outlet she could have asked for her building frustrations, aside from the rather obvious option of release. Still, she poured herself into the task, twisting and thrusting the onyx toy into the redhead’s twitching folds. Her juices had drenched the phallus, and her thighs, making the toy slippery as it moved in and out of her. Kaarim’s rhythm within her didn’t help matter, making it hard to concentrate on fucking Gwynn, while she was getting fucked so well.

Gwynn helped where she could, moving her hips against the toy invading her. With the Emirah on top of her, and Kaarim holding her in place to get fucked, it was difficult to do much, but she had to try. She was going crazy with need, wanting just a bit of pleasure for all she had given this evening.

“More…please Edana, more…” Rayka prayed, meeting Kaarim, thrust for thrust. Gwynn’s whines echoed her, her hips also moving against the phallus stroking in and out of her. Both women chasing their climax, bodies tensing as rapture threatened to break on through. Gwynn started first, her pelvic muscles contracting such that the onyx toy couldn’t be moved within her. Her wordless cry as erotic melody to the Emirah’s unrestrained moans and cries. Rayka followed soon after, taking a page from kaarims book and biting on Gwynn’s shoulders as the bliss carried along her nerves throughout her body. Both women slumped into the mattress, sweaty and exhausted.
 
He heard Gwynn's wordless cry as her orgasm took her with such force that she shook both the Emirah and himself. "Shall I cum in you?" he gasped, meeting the Emirah's thrusts with his own. "Shall... shall I... fill you... with my... my seed?"

"Edana," the Emirah cried out, the word indistinct as her teeth left red marks on Gwynn's creamy skin. "As... as the spirits... as the goddess..." He drove into her and felt her ckench almost painfully tight around his meat. "Yes!" she shrieked. "Fuck me, my seer! Fuck... fuck your... Edana!" Her walls clenched and released, clenched and released as her juices drenched his cock and balls abd dripped down Gwynn's ass. He followed her into pleasure, his cum pumping into her throbbing cunt as his grip tightened and he forced his cock into her depths.

Finally, he collapsed onto the couch beside Gwynn. The Emirah remained astride her back, gently stroking and kissing the redhead's smooth skin as her body shivered with the last crumbs of her pleasure. "You should stay with me," the Emirah husked, toying with a strand of sweat-soaked hair. "I will buy out your contracts, drape you in silks and cloth of gold, and you will live in luxuries such as few have dreamed of."

She sighed, allowing her lush body to mold against Gwynn's firm back and rear. "It has been long since I worshipped at the altar of Edana, but I would annoint you my priestess and priest."
 
The Emirah’s suggestion left a bitter taste in Gwynn’s mouth, just threatening to spoil the lovely evening the three had spent together. It didn’t seem as if she meant anything sinister by her remarks, and perhaps had she a different past, Gwynn might have found the offer tempting.

“You are very generous, Emirah, but my captain would absolutely fall apart without me,” Gwynn explained rather diplomatically, drawing on the memory of recent pleasure, “But we will be sure to visit, next time we are in Garabahad.”

Despite pouting and playful protests, Rayka and the couple parted on good terms, with a sizable sum. “I do believe you earned that,” Gwynn teased, offering half to Kaarim, “You could make some decent money doing this.”

The playful mood between them was dampened as they returned to the ship. Whispers about what the captain had put herself through, and how it was affecting her. Second hand details about the shouting match she had with Yusef, which ended with him storming off. Gwynn hadn’t realized how honest she was being when she made the remark to the noblewoman, but she could only sigh when she realized it would fall on her to help Aurelia pick up the pieces. She left Kaarim with a wistful kiss. “Don’t wait up for me.”

Aurelia sat at her desk, brushing through wet hair. Briefly she glared at Gwynn as she entered.

“How are you doing, Captain?”

“I’m sore and I’m tired Gwynn. And I am tired of being asked that.”
“So, tonight went…”

“It went the way it was supposed to go. Most of the orphans will be off the ships in the next couple days, at least the ones we aren’t taking on as sailors.”

“And what happened with Yusef?”

Aurelia sighed heavily, shaking her head, “Fucking arrogant asshole. Presumes to tell me what I should do. Fuck him.”

“Sounds like he was worried about you.”

“Worried he couldn’t get his dick wet more like.”

“If that’s what you truly believe,” Gwynn answered with a shrug, coming to sit next to her, “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Don’t tell anyone until it’s absolutely necessary but… We are leaving in three days.”

“Not a week? And why not tell anyone?”

“Not a week, no. Three days. Rudain wants me for a concubine and well, saying no directly doesn’t seem like a particularly safe option. They are giving me a week, so I want to be gone before they expect to hear back. But I don’t want them to know I am leaving, so everyone has to act as if we are staying the week until we sail off under the cover of darkness. We can lay low on Korikinou for a little while if need be.”

“You think Rudain will lose interest if you disappear?”

“It’s the best hope I have, in the moment.”
 
"Well, you look like the cat that ate the canary," Senzang commented, puffing on his pipe as he leaned against the mast.

Kaarim smiled a satisfied smile. "Something like that. The cat that ate an Emirah, perhaps."

The older man shook his head, then breathed out a long stream of purple smoke. "You'll want to be careful with that," he commented. "Yusef's on the warpath, all blood and thunder and foul temper. Throwing a tantrum, near enough."

Kaarim considered that, looking at it in the light of Gwynn leaving to go and speak with Captain Aurelia. "Trouble in paradise?" he asked, seating himself next to the older man and taking his tabacco pouch. "Tigers bristling at one another, I suppose?"

"Something like that," Senzang agreed, snapping his fingers to ignite Kaarim's pipe. "Our employer, against the Captain's advice, took on a contract."

Kaarim puffed contentedly at his pipe. "Oh. Jealousy."

"Not just jealousy." Senzang blew a smoke ring, then sent a stream of smoke through the center. "I don't know the details, mind. But the contract was with one of the Demon Princes. The Evening Star Rising In The Scorpion."

"Edain look upon us with favor," Kaarim breathed. "How badly did it go?"

"She's alive," Senzang commented. "And appeared to be physically intact. But... well." He breathed out a stream of smoke. "Her client was a Demon Prince."

Kaarim mulled that over. "Is he trying to get us to go murder a Demon Lord?"

"Not any more, no."


Yusef threw his bottle aside, fuming and furious, and tossed himself into his hammock. "Stupid bitch," he slurred, anger churning his gut. "Stupid fucking bitch. I'm jus' tryin' to... to do my fucking job." He covered his eyes with his forearm. "Advised against it in the first place. I did. And she fuckin' blames me 'cause she's a stupid, stubborn cunt!" Finally, as fatigue washed over him, fury gave way to sleep.

Hours passed, and he awakened. For a moment he was disoriented, the large bed and spacious chamber unfamiliar to his sleep-befuddled eyes. He felt around, baffled by the silken blankets and soft cushions, until finally he realized what was wrong. Except for himself, the bed was empty. With the realization came memory. Angry words exchanged with his senior and most favored wife. A petty dispute, escalating into bitter recriminations and shouting, ending with her storming from his chambers to seek the sanctuary of the harim.

He rose from his bed. It was still dark out, with many hours till dawn from the look of the moon. He considered calling a servant, then thought better of it. What he had to do, he would do without other eyes. So he lit a lamp himself and carried it to a table by the window that looked into the Garden of Peace and Plenty. After several long minutes staring out into the shadowed garden, he took up a pen.

"My dearest and fairest love," he wrote, "Queen of my heart, mistress of my soul. Oh beauteous one without whom the day is darkened and the nights are endless, I write in the agony of my soul to seek forgiveness for my rash speech and foolish words. The only excuse I may offer is that of madness, for my soul delights in your beauty and - knowing that I am unworthy of the divine glory of your countenance - I am subject to fits of passion and jealousy unbecoming a Caliph and a husband."

He dipped the quill in ink, then returned to his calligraphy. "I abase myself before my goddess, my living embodiment of the wisdom of Afodisia and the beauty of Edana and the grace of Besheba, offering my prayer that you will forgive my harsh and cruel words. I am a fool, and would that I could turn back time and undo what has been done, and I beg you to set me some task that I may perform to prove my devotion and my sincerity."

Again, the quill dipped into the ink. "I remain your most devoted husband and willing servant, oh Onyx Queen. Look with favor upon me, Caliph Suleiman Harmah al-Udain, Lord of ul-Aquan, once more."

Satisfied, he scattered sand upon the parchment to dry the ink, then rolled it and sealed it with wax and his personal signet. Then he sketched a small sigil on the table and spoke a few words, calling forth a minor peri to do his will. "Take this," he commanded, handing the scroll to the tiny creature. "Bear it to the Onyx Queen, and place it in her hand." He looked at it hard. "Go!"
 
She moved through the palace, draped in a white dress that left shoulders and back bare. Golden bangles adorned her arms, and a matching chain covered her throat and trailed down her back. Why had she been so mad? After reading his words, she couldn’t for the life of her recall.

She swept the curtain aside, standing in the door way watching his eyes, alight with longing and delight.” Your words could have moved mountains or quelled a hurricane. Your prose melted my anger and defenses, leaving me helpless and captive to your love once more.” She let her dress spill off her skin and onto the floor. She considered joining him in bed, until an idea dawned upon her. She began methodically removing her jewelry, placing them on dresser.

“Don’t move.” She commanded as he shifted on the bed to embrace her. Anyone else would have lost their head for thinking to decree to the Caliph, but the Onyx Queen was singular in her position. “Anticipation is your penance.”

Aurelia blinked herself awake, trying to make sense of the strange dream. A life far removed from her own, by both years and wealth. It had been over a hundred years since a man ruled as Caliph in al-Nithiel. Yet she could recall with vivid certainty his caress upon her skin, and his lips on her mouth, and the ecstasy of their love making.

She shook her head. A trick of the mind, nothing more. The same trick that had Yusef posed as the Caliph and her husband. A strange manifestation of her guilt over yelling at him. Right or wrong, it didn’t matter. This was not a time for infighting. She needed allies now more than ever.

She couldn’t go to him now. There were things to be done, first.


“So, who do you think is the best in bed?” Mei asked, lounging in the hot spring after having scrubbed herself pink.

“Of us? Clearly me,” Phedra declared, running a razor over her legs.

“In the free company,” Mei elaborating, glaring at the songstress.

Nehime squeezed excess water out of her hair, “I am going to guess Kaarim. Gwynn was smart to lock him down quick.”

“The pretty boy? Pfft,” Phedra snickered, rinsing off her calves, “No, I am sure he coasts on by with his looks. I am going with Senzang. He’s been around, I bet he has picked up a trick or two. Plus, as a chirugeon, he knows all about the body. Every sensitive spot, where to touch a person to make them just melt.”

“Maybe,” Mei agreed, considering it, “What about Yusef?”

“Eh, Lita and Ayanna said he was pretty good, but kinda rough. I mean, I guess if you are into that sort of thing,” Phedra explained.

“Clearly the Captain was,” Nehime joked, “I mean we all saw her try and get another taste of him.” Phedra frowned at that. She remembered how that night end, how Yusef and Aurelia argued in her room and he stalked off in an angry huff.

“It’s not like we have to guess. We can always find out, first hand,” Phedra joked, banishing the bitter memory from her mind. “I mean, I could, and let you guys know at the end of the week.”

“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do all alone. Clearly you will need some help,” Mei insisted.

“I’m sure we could all pitch to assist. And well, having second and even third opinions will give us a better picture of the overall standings.” Nehime affirmed.



“Like this?” Mei asked, showing Eitoku her fighting stance. Intentionally wrong, with the hopes he would physically adjust her. Hopes that were rewarded as he stepped behind her.

“No, you really need to plant your feet better,” he instructed, his hard body just brushing against hers as his feet spread her legs slightly further apart. Mei took advantage of his proximity to press her ass against his crotch, smirking slightly as she half turned to face him.

“Is this right?” She cooed.

Eitoku laughed incredulously, “You’re fucking with me, right?”

“Not yet,” Mei giggled, leaning back against him now, “but a girl can hope, right?”


When Yusef returned to his room on the Siren, he would discover it was not empty. Not with an unfamiliar body lying in his hammock , wrapped in a woolen blanket. A face came into view, turning towards him, with guilty in her eyes and her bottom lip between her teeth.

“This…isn’t my room, is it?” Nehime called, affected embarrassment in her voice. She shifted and sat up, running her hand through long brown hair, as it spilled over her shoulders and down her back. “Sorry, I’ll get out of your way.” Bare legs found the floor as she moved out of the hammock, moving the blanket away to expose her naked body to him. Slender, soft curves that were lifted from ancient sculptures of goddesses.

Far from being shy about being seen like this, she smirked at Yusef, inviting him to drink in her figure, “That is, unless you don’t want me to leave…”
 
"I do not get that woman," Eitoku declared, dumping a dipper of water over his head.

Kaarim looked up from his book. "Shouldn't be that hard. Just negotiate a little harder. Up tye offer a little."

"What? No, no, that's not what I mean." Towling himself off, he strapped his weapon belt back on. "Mei is clearly skilled in at least one fighting style, and yet she makes fundamental mistakes. Her stance is terrible, and there is no power in her posture."

Kaarim stared at him, incredulous. "You... are you serious?"

"Yes." Eitoku leaned againstthe railing. "She should learn quickly. And yet, she is the worst student I've..." his words trailed way as he glared at the slim-built, laughing swordsman. "What, may I ask, is so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing, "Kaarim sniggered. Perhaps she'd be better suited to a different style? Wrestling, perhaps, with takedowns and pins and submission holds..?"

Eitoku considered that. "A good thought. Perhaps war-fist is too close to her existing style. Wrestling may suit her better."

Kaarim bit his lip, but humor twinkled in his eye. "It might," he agreed in a strangled voice. "When is your next lesson?"

"Tomorrow evening, after her watch ends."

A snort escaped Kaarim. "Yes. That should work out well."


Fayette counted stones one by one into her cups, then scooped up a handfull. "So," she asked, letting them clatterinto her bank. "How many of the crew have violated our client's order about fraternization?"

Senzang regarded the stones on his side of the board. "Kaarim and Yusef, for certain."

"No shit." She watched him play, capturing two of her stones in the process. "Anyone else, you think?"

"Muhyadeen, I believe. So, half." He looked up. "I haven't, and I've never known you to be interested in either gender."

"Not really, no," Fayette declared, trying to ignore the vivid, unbidden fantasies she'd had of Qitarah and of Seith. "What about Eitoh?"

"He's not much for fkirting, and I can't imagine him trying to hire one of our teammates." He played a final stone. "My game, by the way."


Fucking wierd dreams. Fucking wierd dreams where he'd been Caliph, and that crazy bitch boss had been a queen. Fucking wierd vivid dreams, fueled by his memories of fucking said crazy bitch, making him wake up with the memory of her taste on his lips and the reality of his seed wet on his belly and thighs. Damnit, he hadn't had a wet dream since he was thirteen!

He'd spent most of the day at the other ship, as ordered. Working to get it seaworthy on their acellerated schedule, and grateful that Gwynn had remained aboard the Siren and Kaarim had stayed with her. Because he was not in a mood to watch those two eye-fuck all day. But he'd had to return to the Siren that evening to recover something he'd forgotten. An old journal, passed dow n from generation to generation in his family.

And now he had to deal with Nehime, the ship's hairdresser, naked in his hammock.

By any rational standard she was beautiful. And by any standard at all, she displayed all her charms for him. Nut brown skin and oaken hair, full breasts and full hips and supple, smooth muscle. All of it shown to best effect by an air of cakculated innocence that could have gotten a rise out of a statue.

He sighed. "What do you want?"

She liftec an eyebrow, body swaying as she crossed the room and ran her fingers over his chest. "Why, you." A pink tongue traced chocolate lips. "Perhaps I found my way into the wrong room..." Her fingers sgroked lower, tracing the muscles of his abdomen. "Or, perhaps, very much the right room..."

It was tempting. "Thank you. But I'm not in the mood."

He tried to flinch away as her hands slid into his pants, only to have his back hit the wall. She followed him, warm hands stroking his cick as herbare body pressed against his. "Oh, don't worry," she told him with pursed lips. "I can help with that. I'm a professional…"

And at that moment, the door opened.
 
“So, how was Eitoku?” Phedra asked, dropping into the cushion beside Mei.

“Incredibly dense,” Mei whined, leaning against the brunette.

Phedra’s hazel eyes lit up at the assertion, “Oh, really? Like, what are we talking about here?” She held up her hand, making a circle with her thumb and forefinger. Watching Mei’s eye’s she gradually made the circle bigger.

“Not like that. I spent the pass hour brushing up against him every chance I got, and he still tried to focus on the lesson. I don’t even think he got hard.” Mei grumbled. Phedra ran fingers through her hair.

“Sorry hun. Maybe he doesn’t like women? We can send Oliviero in, to test that,” the bard suggested.

“I am going to try once more, tomorrow night before I write him off. Who are you going after?”

“I convinced Igama and Muhyaddeen to play some cards with me tonight. So if I play my cards right, both.”

“Cards, huh. Count me in then.”


“Two pair, 2’s and 4’s!” Mei declared, laying her cards out. Muhyaddeen nodded at the reveal and smiled, showing off his own flush. Phedra smirked, playing her full house of eights over nines, before turning her attention towards Igama. The stone faced warrior glanced at all the hands around played down his four jacks, finally letting a smile lift his features.

Muhyaddeen had already lost his shoes and turban, so he took his shirt off, joining Igama to eagerly watch the women shed their garment. Both woman had their dress left, and once both gowns were puddled on the floor, it was quite clear that it was all they had left.

“Well, that wasn’t a very long game ,” Igama chuckled.

“Well, we might be out of clothes, but we can wagers acts in lieu instead. For instance,” Phedra insisted, turning towards Mei. Olive fingers caressed fair cheeks before the two came together, lips opening and locking together. There was a slight string of saliva connecting them as they parted, “What do you say?”


The day had been fruitful, and Aurelia had managed to find apprenticeships for all the orphans in her care. Supplies for both ships has been procured, and would be delivered the next day. She even managed to pick up a bottle of fine Arak, aged nearly twenty years. Intended to be an olive branch to Yusef, though, she’d be lying if she said she didn’t wish he would share it with her.

Daydreams had consumed her mind since this morning, remnants of the dreams she had last night. Mostly because it was far more pleasant to think on that, rather than the job she had taken on. Anyone who had even been hungry had done things for money they wished they hadn’t. Right? Still, she let her mind wander, recalling the warmth she felt in her dream. Laughing to herself as she tried to imagine Yusef writing such flowery prose. Such tender, romantic, heart stilling prose.

She checked on the Síodúil Cluanaí, but he wasn’t around. Fayette said he went back for the last of his things on the Siren, so there she went. By now everyone was either working for the evening, or lounging on the Cluanai to attract clients for the evening. Which would be nice, to have some time on the ship alone with Yusef, away from the rumors and snickers and giggles. Except, the giggles that were coming from Yusef’s room…

"I can help with that. I'm a professional…"

And there was a naked Nehime stroking Yusef. Aurelia’s first reaction was to be hurt, a reaction she had no rights to after sending him away last night, but a reaction she couldn’t help.

“Well, you really would just fuck anyone that rubbed up against you, wouldn’t you?” She snarled, spitting bile to hold back the tears. Clearly her own mind was an idiot. This man possessed as much resemblance to the eloquent Caliph as an alley cat had to a lion. “Enjoy him,” she barked at Nehime, before taking her turn to storm out.
 
Igama's eyes went a little wide at the display the two women put on, and his cock - which had already grown hard as the two beauties had stripped down - suddenly ached with need. "Yeah," he agreed, licking his lips. "I think acts will work. You, Had?"

Muyhaddeen nodded, not bothering to try and hide his hunger as he watched them. "I'm up for that. My deal." He raked in the cards, stacking and shuffling them with a casual skill that often surprised those who only saw him as a brutal killer. Cards shot across the table as he dealt. "Jesters and deuces wild," he declared. "Dealer wagers..." he took inventory of his remaining clothes, then shrugged. "Trousers."

It wasn't as if he was wearing anything else, at this point.


Nehime froze as the door opened and she saw Aurelia. Not out of embarrasment, mind. She was a professional, and had been a slave before that, and any feelings of shame about public nudity had long ago died. It was the look of hurt in her captain's eyes, the shock turning to sorrow to fury, as a bottle of liquor hung from one hand.

Yusef froze as well, mood whipsawing wildly. He really hadn't been in the mood, but Nehime was a professional. And it was hard to remain uninterested when a gorgeous naked woman was stroking your cock. But the sight of Aurelia brought everything back to mind. The way he'd wanted to fuck her last night, before the demon arrived. His concern for her, and his fury at the way she'd rebuffed that concern, and the confusing, wildly erotic dream that had resulted. "Aurelia..." he began, unsure what he was going to say.

"Well, you really would fuck anyine who rubbed up against you, wouldn't you?" she spat, eyes narrowed. Nehime flinched at the venom in the words, shrinking back to try to escape notice.

Whatever he'd been about to say died on his tongue. "You stuck-up..." Dream-memories of her white gown slipping from her dusky body as she came to his bed filled his mind. "You must believe you're the living avatar of Afodisia and Edana! I'm your employee, remember? Nothing more! You made that abundantly clear, so why does it matter to you who I fuck?"

She flinched, almost as if she'd been slapped. Too late he noticed the bottle she carried, and the way she was dressed, and realized she'd come witha sort of peace offering. But godsdamnit, he hadn't done anything! Why shiuld he apologize? He wasn't the Caliph, and she wasn'!t the Onyx Queen, and he didn't love her! Didn't worry about her! Hadn't grudgingly begun to really like her!,
"Enjoy him," she snarled, slamming the door.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck "FUCK," he roared, punching the wall. Now he was furious, at her and at himself, and frustrated, and rock-hard at the thought of what might have been. Finally, he looked at Nehime with a dark hunger burning in his eyes. "Do you want to leave?" he asked, voice husky.



"Trousers," Igama agreed, glancing at his cards. They were a mismatched collection of junk, with a single two of swords brightening the hand. Whee, a pair of tens. Still... he glanced at the two splendidly nude women, and shrugged. Hell, it wasn't as if this game had any real losers. Even if it ended with him beating off while the two women put on a show, that wasn't a loss in his books.

And the way Phaedra had watched him all night, he doubted it would end like that.

With a smile, he topped off everyone's drinks. "Ladies?"
 
Aurelia’s final words before she left the room were a curse. Enjoy him, ensuring that she would never be able to. Nehime looked up at Yusef, taken aback by the look of lust in his eyes. Taken aback because she knew it wasn’t lust for her that inspired him now. She wasn’t the one he wanted, she was just the one who was available. Taken aback because his display of rage and regret was the opposite of arousing. Taken aback because of the flash of betrayal in the Captain’s eyes, when she caught them together.

She had no idea that there was something between the Captain and Yusef, though, from the looks of it, they didn’t either. It was one thing to fuck him when he was just a guy the captain once before. It was entirely another to get between them.

“That doesn’t seem like such a great idea now…”She started, finding her boldness had vanished under the fight between them. Dammit, she had fucked everything up, and she hadn’t even meant anything by it. Just a tumble with the members of the free company.

“Shouldn’t…shouldn’t you go talk to her?”


“Let’s see. How about the winner of this hand can cop a feel?” Phedra announced, glancing at the men and then back at Mei.

Mei just organized the cards in her hand and smirked. “Yeah, I’ll wager the same. Win this hand, and you can put a hand on me.” She winked at Muhyadden, noting and appreciating the way he was leering at her. After fumbling so badly with Eitoku earlier, is was nice to know there were plenty of men who found her sexy.

“Two jacks and two queens,” Phedra declared, winking at Igama, “Sounds like a party, yeah? Your turn to show.” He fanned out his hand, a pair of tens doing little to beat Phedra’s hand. Muhyaddeen showed off his three aces, only to be shown up by Mei, and her inside straight.

“Alright, lose the pants, both of you,” Mei commanded, watching them with eager eyes. She scouted closer to Phedra, to take her prize from the bard, cupping her soft breast and teasing the nipple to fullness.

Sighing, Phedra brushed her lips against Mei’s ear, “I thought we were losing on purpose.” She hissed as Mei pinched and pull the hardening nub.

“Now that we are all naked, I want to win. I want both of them inside me.” Mei corrected, noting how both men shifted as their cocks grew even harder. Clearing her throat, she bent over the table to pick up the cards. “Sevens wild. Dealer wagers her mouth to the winner,” She announced as she began shuffling and dealing out the new hand.



Even her room wouldn’t be sanctuary from them, from the sound of Yusef fucking Nehime, she knew. She remembered, from the night they had spent together, how he had made her scream, who their bodies had smacked together and against the wall. No sanctuary from her own angry sobs and her irritation at herself. How stupid she had been, to let a dream color her perception of Yusef and what might have been between them. All she was to him was a warm body to fuck, just another of the hundreds of cheap whores he had. He had no trouble moving past her; why did she struggle with longing?

She couldn’t stay here, listening to them. Couldn’t stay here, stewing in her own thoughts and jealousy and pain. Furiously scrubbing the tears from her eyes, she bolted up and stomped out, looking for a seedy bar to pass the night in.
 
Igama was having a hard time of it. Literally, because he was rock hard and aching and unable to keep his eyes off the feminine charms on full display before him. Figuratively, because he had been dealt garbage. A deuce, a four, a six, a nine, and an ace. All four suits as well. And while he knew he wouldn't mind losing, not with mouths on wager, he hated to lose. But his whole hand was festering dogshit. So he tossed three out, and Phaedra dealt him three more - the movements making reddish flesh jiggle and bounce delightfully.

A ten, a king, and another two. Fuck.

He risked a glance at Muhyaddeen. The swarthy killer was impassive, cards held close to his face. He flicked out one card, face down, and accepted a replacement. Then, still impassive, he laid all five down to reveal four sevens. "Beat that," he declared, triumphantly.

Igama tossed his crap hand down. "High card. Ace of wands." A sigh. "Mei? Phaedra? What have you got?"


Yusef hesitated, wanting to throw Nehime down and fuck his hunger and fury into her right then and there. His eyes flickered from the voluptious black-skinned woman to the doir and back, and his hands twitched a little. Nehime flinched, pressing herself back into the wood, and he saw the look of terror in her eyes.

That clinched it.

With a snarl, he stuffed his rigid cock back into his clothes. "Relax," he said, gruffly. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm no raper." Sure, he'd talked big to Aurelia. But he'd have let her go if she struggled. "Get your clothes. I don't want youin here when I return."

With that he stormed from the cabin, nit caring what she said in reply. Talk to her. Yeah, that was the thing to do. Clear the bad blood, before it poisoned the crew. Because it would. They couldn't be at odds, or the two crews would pick sides. Second-guess orders. Get people killed. They'd have to make this work.

And you like her.

He ignored the traitor voice as he stormed up on deck and stomped towards her cabin. "Aurelia!" he barked, pounding on the door. "Damnit, I..!" He stopped, forced himself to take a breath. "Look, open the door. We need to clear the air."

"That'd be good trick," Senzang remarked, walking over.

Biting back a curse, Yusef wheeled on the older mercenary. "Look, Senzang," he said, strained patience making his words clipped. "I'm trying to do something here, so..."

"I get that, captain," the older man interrupted, puffing on his pipe. He pointed towards the dock with the stem. "But our employer went straight ashore, when she came on deck." He drew on the pipe. "Thought you might want to know, since..."

Yusef barreled past him, sprinting towards the ramp. Senzang puffed on his pipe, smiling contentedly as he watched his headstrong young captain go. "Children," he murmured fondly. Then he bkew a smoke ringand watched itdrift out to sea.

And to think everyone had laughed when he'd chosen "six months" in the pool.
 
“Damn,” Phedra whistled, “Is that where all the wild cards were hiding?” Her full house didn’t stand up against him, and neither did Mei’s two pair. “Well, you won, Had. How shall we fulfill our wager?

The desert mage considered this for a moment, mind spinning with ideas, trying to find that perfect balance of daring enough to progress tonight’s activities in his benefit, without going so far as to turn the two women off by being too lewd. With a crooked finger he beckoned them both to him, “Use those lovely mouths on me.”

Phedra and Mei took positions on either side of him, soft bodies brushing against his. Mei breathed on his ear, teasing it with her tongue until her teeth tugged on his lobe. She moved lower, tongue trailing a hot line of saliva to his throat as she found a vein to nibble on.

Phedra licked at his lips, pulling back a couple times as he tried opening his mouth to meet hers. She sucked on his lip before pushing her body against his and her tongue into his mouth. Exploring and probing and seeking his tongue, a deep, curious kiss that lasted until they both pulled away to breath.

Phedra picked up the cards now, getting ready to deal her hand. “ Negarath Hold ‘em. Nothing’s wild but the dealer. And I wager fingers.” She explained, smirking at Igama as she performed a couple tricks and sleight of hands with the deck before flicking out the hands.


Nehime made her way onto the deck, grateful that Yusef hadm't pushed for anything more. Not that he would be employed by Aurelia much longer if he had, rape specifically mentioned as grounds for breaking the contract the free company signed. Surely he’d pay if he pushed that line, but she wouldn’t have been any less assaulted. But the way he chased after Aurelia made it clear he had something else on his mind.

Senzang was alone on the deck, and Nehime stood next to him, “I might have helped out with your six month bet, without meaning to,” she joked, somewhat bitterly, “Did you know that they are…? Well, maybe not in love, but there is something there. Something more than simple sexual attraction. Don’t I feel like a cunt for getting in the middle of that.”

She glanced at him from the side of her eye. He might have been as old as her father, but he was still attractive enough. Remembering Phedra’s earlier appraisal, she found herself feeling curious, “We are all alone here, right now. Everyone else is either working or on the other ship.”



Aurelia spent a few hours down town, drowning her liver until the past few days were a murky blur. She was functionally drunk as she wandered the streets back to her ship, and before she was half way there, she knew she wasn’t alone. Three men, not much younger than her, not hiding their intentions as they moved towards her.

“Oh, what have we here?” The first of the brigands asked, his voice filled with mock curiosity, “Don’t you know these streets are dangerous at night, girl?” Aurelia rose her eyes to his, and took a quick appraisal of his companions. She might have hoped someone would start something with her, give her an excuse to unleash the rage and pain she had carried around, but this was risky. With three on one, the odds were not in her favor. The odds were never in her favor.

“We could escort you, hun. For a small fee,” Another offered, as the three gathered around her. “Nothing you can’t afford, of course.”

“Ten endubis a piece, to see you home safely.” A third offered, from behind her. The heat of the evening seemed stifling as she was surrounded.

“And If I can’t play?” She murmured, moving closer to the ringleader. Her eyes didn’t waver from his as her hand moved towards his belt.

“A pretty little thing like you? I am sure we can come to some arrangement,” He assured her, cupping her chin. Her fingers curled around his short blade, and she smirked at him.

“I know what arrangement we can reach,” She whispered, brushing her lips against his ear. With a swift motion his blade sunk into his abdomen, and ripped up through his chest in a splash of gore. “Your friends leave me be, and they can keep their pathetic lives.” He didn’t respond, just sputtered before crashing into the puddle of his own blood forming beneath him.

The man behind her slashed, but she ducked under it, retrieving her dagger from her boot. She pivoted as she stood back up, batting away swing with the blade, and opening her foe up for her dagger. Carving his throat, gurgled cries followed him down, until he drowned in his own blood.

Still, facing one man meant she had her back to another. And that, as it turned out, would be her downfall, as the man behind her hacked at her thigh while she finished off his ally. She twisted as she sunk against the wall, crossing her dagger and blade to protect herself from a fatal blow. The ring of steel on steel echoed in the otherwise still night air.

Kicking her in the stomach hard enough to knock the air from her lungs, he broke the deadlock and raised his blade high above his head. However, instead of bring it down in to her head, Aurelia was instead covered in a shower of blood, a familiar scimitar hacking her foe in half before her eyes, leaving only Yusef standing over her.

“The fuck are you doing here?” She snapped at Yusef, irrationally mad at him as she forced herself to stand on her injured leg. “Shouldn’t you be fucking Nehime?”
 
Yusef prowled the dockside bars, his initial aggrivation and frustrartion slowly transmuting into genuine concern. Hours had passed, and there was no real trace of her. Even spreading a few coins around hadn't helped a lot. "I'm looking for a woman, dark haired and dark skinned and gorgeous, clad in leather," had produced any number of results, but none of them were Aurelia. Hells, none of them held a candle to her.

He refused to let himself think about what that meant. Instead, he kept searching. And after his second hour, he found a trail - partly because he'd begun adding deatails. "No, a patron. She'd be armed, and would have been here in the past few hours." One barkeep had recalled a woman matching her description. He'd said she'd been drinking hard and staggered out about a quarter of an hour past.

Yusef left the bar and hesitated. Would she head back to the ship? Or towards another bar? Or had she found someone to fuck, the way she'd assumed he was fucking Nehime? And why did that make him jealous? She was his employer, after all. Nothing...

Then he heard it. The distant ring of steel on steel.


Gods of hell, he was hard! And he'd have wagered that Muhyaddeen was even harder, although he didn't care to check. Must be, the way Mei and Phaedra had gone at him. His hands shook just a little as he picked up his cards, and he was so distracted that he barely registered what he was seeing.

The king of wands and of swords, and three queens. Pentacles, chalices, and wands. A full house. Or an irgy, as this particular hand was known.

Only a lifetime of gambling discipline kept him from gaping in shock. But that shock faded quickly, suspicion nagging at his mind as he realized the odds of getting this hand. Were they cheating? Probabky? Was he likely to call them on it right now?

Hardly.

He laid the cards down with a flourish, watching their expressions. Mei looked startled but not displeased, and Phaedra just looked smug. Neither of them hald anything that could beat it. "Fingers," he said.

"Fingers," Phaedra acknowledged, leaning back and displaying her lush body to better effect.

Igama slid around the table, resting one dark hand on Phaedra's ruddy thigh. His fingers stroked over her hairless sex, finding her slick and slippery as he traced the line where her lips met. She gasped as he parted her, his middle finger exploring her deeper.

"That's not what we had in mind for the forfeit," Mei murmured, licking her lips as Igama's thick finger was swallowed by Phaedra's sex.

"Then maybe," Igama replied as his finger slid in and out, ""you should show me what you did intend..."


"I think," Yusef snapped back, "that I'm saving your fucking life!"

Shit, this was bad. Three corpses, and locals from the looks of them. If they were found in the vicinity, they'd probably hang. Unless Rudain decided to hear the case itself, that is. The whims of a demon prince - particularly one that wanted to keep Aurelia - would be terrifying.

"So you could show a little fucking gratitude, you know?" Automatically he began shifting the corpses, cutting purses and stripping them of ornaments. Let it look like a robbery. Once Aurelia was away from here, and her blood-covered clothes burned ior at the bottom of the harbor, there'd be little enough to... "Shit."
He held up a signet ring. "One of your would-be tricks was a noble, one of the ul-Afrayits out slumming and looking fir a bit of rough. This complicates things." Then he saw her limp, and realuzed for the first time that not all the blood was her attacker's. "Fuck!" he exclaimed, catching her as the wounded leg gave way. "Let me see that!"


"It's patently obvious," Senzang replied, still watching thedock. "To me, at keast. That's why I chose six months in the first place. Too much genuine emotion tied up in it all. It's the sort of thing that makes sex complicated."

"It didn't seem to complicate things for Gwynn and Kaarim," Nehime pointed out.

"Kaarim is many things," Senzang laughed, "but complicated isn't one of them. And I rather suspect that they were both startled to discover genuine affection benesth the mutual lust." A smile. "Not distraught, mind. Merely startled."

They stood in comfortable silence for a minute, Senzang quietlly puffing on his pipe. He was aware of her sidelong glance, and waited to hear what she was thinking. "We are all alone here, right now," she observed.

"That's true," he replied, noncommitally.

"Everyone else is either working or on the other ship."

"Very true," Senzang agreed cheerfully, enjoying the wordplay. "It seems a pity to let such an opportunity go to wast. My studies have been somewhat neglected of late." He glanced sidelong at Nehime, letting his gaze linger on her. "Mysteries that I would lay bare before my gaze, that require my full attention as I devote myself to exploring their depths and heights."

Blue smoke streamed from his nostrils. "If you have no other plans, woukd you be interested in assisting me in my research?"
 
Phedra moaned aloud as Igama worked that thick finger in and out of her. She might have lost this last hand, but it sure as hell didn’t feel that way as her slit spread over his digit. Fuck, was he really using just one? Not that she was complaining, spreading her legs open to take more of him.

Mei watched with interest as his finger sunk into Phedra’s cunt, the contrast of his velvety dark skin and Phedra’s rosy tone, growing redder and redder as her arousal grew. Her hands traced his body now, pawing at his well formed back and sliding down his spine. Her lips brushed his shoulder as one hand came around his hips, seeking his hard cock. A sigh of appreciation drifted along his skin as Mei got a grip on him, stroking him in time with his movement in Phedra.

“What about me?” Muhyaddeen whispered to Mei, stroking her fair skin as he breathed in the scent of her hair.

“Sorry Had, you lost this round,” Mei teased, rubbing her body against his. Still, she shifted slightly, adjusting her position so she could reach him as well, “But, I guess I do have two hands.” She let him direct her other hand, wrapping it around his cock. Both hands moved along cock in unison, Mei appreciating the way the pulsed and throbbed under her finger tips.

Phedra pulled Igama closer to her, fingers tangling in his dreads as she brought her lips to his. Her kiss was hungry, fed by the motion of his finger within her. Fuck she wanted him, wanted Had, hell, she even wanted Mei. Wanted all of them, maybe even all at once, and she knew Igama knew it too. Knew he could feel how dripping wet she was, felt how she twitched and bucked against him. One hand continued to hold him close, and the other joined Mei in gripping him, tracing the veins and feeling his precum dripping out. “So, are we finally putting aside this charade?”


Nehime could had suppressed the shudder Senzang’s word evoked form her, but why bother? It was hot, and she still wanted to fool around tonight. And if Senzang came without the baggage of having feelings for another woman, she could actually enjoy herself with him.

“Assist in your research?” Nehime repeated letting amusement light up her features, “Why, how could I possibly say no to such a noble and worthwhile pursuit?” She hooked her arm in his, leaning her warmth against his own. “Here, on the deck, where anyone might see us conducting such research? Or down below, so we can dedicate ourselves fully to study?”


“Gratitude? Oh yes Yusef, let me just spread myself here and now in gratitude for your rescue,” Aurelia spat, as she managed to get herself back to her feet, hiding her difficulty as he started arranging the bodies. He cursed as he found the signet ring and showed it to her, explaining who it represented. He didn’t need to, but he couldn’t have possibly known that.

“An ul-Afrayit?” she laughed in irritated glee, and spat on his corpse, “Oh that he were still alive, I’d split his chest open again! Cut his heart out and send it to his estate. Slaving pieces of shit-!” That last word was more an exclamation as she stumbled, trying to take a step on her injured leg, but torn muscle gave way under her. Yusef caught her before she hit the ground, and try as she might, there was no pushing him away.

“I’m fine!” she snarled, trying to bat away his concerned hands. She ripped a length from one of the men’s shirts and used it to tie off her wounded leg, stemming the bleeding a bit and letting her stand on it once more. “I certainly won’t have time to die of an infection if they catch us with a dead nobleman. Here, stuff him in here,” She suggested, dumping a nearby barrel out onto the street. “We can carry him out to the harbor with this, and tie him down with stones. Nobles sink as well as anyone, I suspect.”
 
"Research into the mysteries should always begin before the unwinking eyes of the gods," Senzang replied. He cupped Nehime's cheek with one hand, strong fingers tracing the shape of her jaw as his other hand slid slowly down her spine. His lips found hers, and they tasted of the aromatic herbs he smiled as he kissed her. He lingered over the kiss, tongue gently probing at her only to withdraw as her mouth parted to accept him.

"To begin," he murmured, hands working at the sash of her robe, "we must first lay bare the mystery." Her robe parted as the sash came away. He slid it down over her shoulders, letting it fall to the deck as he caressed the length of her arms. Catching her hands, he brought them to the throat of his tunic. "Nothing must remain hidden as we seek enlightenment."


Igama worked a second finger into Phaedra, then caught a horn and pulled her back into a kiss. The two women stroked his aching meat, and he fucked the demon-blooded woman with fingers and tongue in the same rhythm. "Fuck, I want you," he growled, feeling her clench on his fingers.

"She wants you both," Mei purred, using Muhyadden's cock to pull him closer. Crouching, she swallowed his length. Her head and tongue moved in rhythm with her hand on Igama's cock, slurping and suckling greedily.

"What... about you?" Muhyaddeen gasped.

Mei's lips slid from his length, a glittering line of spit connecting her mouth to his head. "Oh, I want you both as well," she purred, pushing gently at his rear. "After I watch you both have her."

Igama's fingers slid from Phaedra's pussy. He pulled her to her feet, hands gripping her hips as he kissed her hungrily again. Then Muhyaddeen was behind her and two strong pairs of hands were lifting her slightly. Igama's thick head slid against her slit and Muhyaddeen's sput-slicked cock pushed against her ass, and then with animal sounds of pleasure both men thrust themselves deep into her.


"You're not fine!" Yusef snapped bac. "You're bleeding like a stuck pig! But still, the stupid, stubborn bitch slapped away his attempt to help, choosing instead to fashion a makeshift bandage from a drad man's shirt.

Despite his irritation, though, he approved of hernext demand. Broadly. Not that he was going to admit it out loud. "Yeah," he grumbled, setting to the work of shifting the corpse. "Because a limping, blood-drenched woman rollong a barrel dien the street will be so less conspicuous." He strained, dragging the body to the barrel. "And fuck me but I always forget just how bidsdamned heavy dead men are."

With some effort and more swearing, he managed to shove the dead ul-Afayit into the barrel. It had no lid, of course. That would be too simple. So he weged the corpse in place as best he could with the bloody cloaks if his companions. "Here's hoping he doesn't spill out." Rolling the barrel a littlle to test the diffuculty of the task, he made a face. "And that we don't lose control of the barrel. You ready?"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom