EYES OF TIME. 4,000 WORDS.
KADAN, TURKEY, 1890.
Rashid was bored with women. His harem was filled with hundreds of beautiful women all eager to please his every whim and yet, he fancied none of them. His chief minister, Musa, had secured another group of beauties and he was now faced with the redundant task of picking a choice few to join the list of women he rarely called on anymore. He knew everyone was concerned about him. It was unnatural for a Sultan not to desire as many beautiful women as he had at his disposal. Not to mention the numerous sons he should have had by this time.
Rashid spent his energies trying to build relationships with politically strong countries. His people expected so much from him and he wanted to give them everything he’d promised.
As he waited in the great hall, Rashid smiled to himself. Musa thought all he needed was a willing virgin to put the fire back in his eyes and loins. Rashid barely noticed as twelve women were escorted in and commanded to kneel before him. He stood and gave each girl a cursory glance, quickly dismissing each until his eyes fell on the last one. His coal black eyes connected with a most brilliant shade of green. The fact that she was defiantly staring directly into his eyes immediately told him that she was someone special.
But there was something else, buried deep in those amazing eyes that astounded him. He felt as if someone had just punched him in the stomach. Something in her eyes touched a part of him that had been long buried and feared for dead. In those eyes, he found the answer to his misery, his discontent with everything around him. In the eyes of a slave, he saw the one thing that would set him free.
“Dismiss them all except the last girl,” he said quickly as he made his way to the green eyed beauty.
Colette watched him coming towards her. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. To her, he was the only person in the room. She never even felt the other girls melting away from her. She could feel his heat, the intensity of his burning eyes. His beautiful black shoulder length hair flowed freely about the most beautiful masculine face Colette had ever seen.
There was no reason a man should have lips so full and sensual, she thought. When he stood directly in front of her, Colette noticed that his beautiful eyes were framed by black, thick lashes that caressed his high cheekbones. It was so easy to lose herself in those eyes. She had to forcibly remind herself that this man had just made her his slave.
Rashid stared into her eyes. They were defiant but he could see her fear.
“What is your name?” he asked in soft beautifully accented English.
“Colette,” she whispered.
Rashid knew he’d made a mistake by asking her name. He’d never asked a girl her birth name before. It didn’t matter since they left their past and faced their future with the name he, as their new owner, bestowed on them.
But he liked the way her name felt on his tongue and he had a feeling she would never give it up. He knew this one would fight to hold onto a little piece of who she was. He decided to let her keep it.
He smiled at her and Colette, feeling inspired, tried to appeal to his tender side.
“I beg of you my Lord, please let me go. I was forcibly taken. I do not belong here.”
His smile grew a little wider. “Of course you were taken by force. That is what makes you a slave,” he pointed out.
Her green eyes flared. “You have no right to own another human being. I am not cattle or furs. You and the rest of this God forsaken country are barbarians to treat people like your common property!”
“If I gave you back to the slave traders you will be met with a far worse fate than warming my bed. I cannot change our traditions.”
“You can change,” Colette told him softly. “You just don’t have the courage or desire to do so.”
Her words burned him. They were audacious and not so far from the truth.
“Enough! I will hear no more of this matter. I own you now.” His eyes burned into hers. His anger made him long to thrash her like an animal yet his raw desire for her made him want to ravage her like he was the animal.
Angrily he tore her vest open. Again, the air was painfully ripped from his body. The white vest fell back to reveal the most exquisite breasts he’d ever seen. The oversized nipples were painted in the darkest shade of pink. Despite their generous size, they stood erect and high on her chest.
Rashid felt a tightening in his trousers. He was grateful that they were loose enough to hide his feelings. Her soft flesh begged to be touched but he resisted.
“You’re an animal!” she hissed at him. To add venom behind her words Colette drew back and spat in his face.
Instantly she regretted her foolish action. A collective gasp filled the room. In another instant, two of Rashid’s guards raised their whips over their heads, ready to strike.
Only his loud bark kept the leather from tearing into her flesh. Colette did not understand his command but the guards lowered their whips and retreated. Rashid was panting with anger. Never had anyone had the nerve to treat him like that. His first instinct was to have his guards whip her to within an inch of her pathetic life. But the idea of having that flawless skin marred by scars did not appeal to him.
He thought about just allowing his men to have their way with her. They would make full use of her luscious body. The possessive jealousy he felt surprised him. Despite her stupidity, he still longed to taste her. He ached to devour her into submission until his dominance over her was imprinted on her body and soul.
Feeling his anger and desire raged up inside him, Rashid grew back and slapped her hard across the face. With a tortured cry, Colette fell to the ground. She felt light headed and the taste of blood was strong in her mouth.
“She stays,” he said to a surprised Musa before stalking out of the room.
Colette sighed as her newly assigned personal maid Nada, placed a bag of herbs over her swollen eye.
Nada smiled then gave Colette a pitying look. “Why do you fight him?” she asked kindly in careful English. “It is better you accept your fate. He is a very kind man. You should not displease him.”
Colette scoffed. “I do not wish to please him. I wish to be free.”
“I am sorry but it will not happen,” Nada stated.
Realizing the truth in Nada’s words, Colette tried to make herself at home in the harem. With so many women to choose from surely, she could spend her days in relative peace after Rashid’s initial fascination faded.
The baths would take some getting used to. There was one large room used for bathing by all the concubines. At any time of the day, a crowd of them lazed around the bathhouse completely naked while servants catered to their every whim.
To have someone bathe her was mortifying to Colette but she allowed it because she did not want to call any attention to herself. But she cried silently when they held her down and removed all the hair from her body. The feel of strange hands on her most private place was more than she could stand. She allowed Nada to line her eyes with kohl, apply cosmetics, and style her hair.
When he finally summoned her a week later, Colette waited outside his bed chambers on wobbly legs. She looked the part of the concubine in rich golden muslin which brought out the golden hues in her waist length hair which Nada had piled high atop her head to accentuate her swanlike neck. Her breasts were beautifully framed by the fabric and centered by a large pendant that matched her eyes perfectly.
When she finally entered, Rashid stood with his back to her, looking out large double doors. He was wearing a traditional tunic and trousers. Colette sighed in relief at not finding him naked and ready. She stared at his broad, proud back waiting for him to turn around and acknowledge her.
When he did, it was with the same mixture of anger and desire as before. He motioned for her to move closer. Colette inhaled the heady perfume of his long masculine body. Her delicate nostrils flared primitively. Despite the resistance in her heart, her body craved his. She felt her own betrayal in the moistness between her legs.
She found herself anticipating the splendor of his naked body. Involuntarily her eyes locked on the front of his pants. Rashid laughed softly.
“There will be time for that my little spitfire. Come.” He held out a hand and led her to the array of pillows on the floor. Colette sat down and tried to hide her embarrassment. Rashid relaxed easily on the pillows but deep inside he was a ball of tension. Since their first meeting, Colette had never been far from his thoughts.
Her eyes had taken him back to his childhood. She had the same soul as his beloved grandmother. She too had been a feisty slave. But she’d captured the heart of his grandfather. He’d grown up watching their love grow deeper with time.
Though the ache in his pants was becoming unbearable, Rashid wanted to explore Colette’s heart before he explored her body.
“Tell me about your life before you came here,” he said softly.
Colette was touched by his interest in her.
“I was born in London and raised by my mother. My father never stayed around for long. When he asked me to come visit him here, I was overjoyed. But I learned that he owed a large debt and was willing to sell his only child to save his life.”
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
“I don’t want your sympathy,” Colette told him angrily. “I want you to let me go.”
“Do you know what your life will be like if I let you go?” he asked.
Colette thought about her meager upbringing. With her mother gone she really had nothing to go back to. She had once harbored the impossible dream of traveling the world. She could certainly do a lot worse than a sultan.
“I have nothing to go back to,” she admitted.
Rashid couldn’t hide his smile. He could give her a better life, that made him feel like less of the barbarian she had accused him of being.
“I promise you I will not take you until you are ready,” Rashid told her.
Colette looked at him suspiciously. “Why? Are you not my master? Why should it matter what I want. Did you wait for all of your other women?”
Because I am falling in love with you, Rashid thought, though he would never dare say the words aloud. As usual, he turned to anger when his true feelings threatened to overwhelm him.
“I can take you right now if you prefer,” he said tightly.
Colette lowered her eyes.
“I thank you for your kindness my Lord.”
“I want to get to know you Colette. You keep telling me that you are more than a slave. Allow me to know you,” he said softly.
Colette returned his smile. “What would you like to know first?”
They talked long into the night. Rashid was fascinated with her knowledge of art and history. He even offered his private library for her enjoyment. Colette was surprised to learn he had a wicked sense of humor and that underneath the hard stare, was a keen mind and soft heart. She was equally surprised when she woke up in his bed and in his arms the next morning. She slipped out of his arm and made her way to her room. She needed solitude to recall every line of his face, the sexy tenderness of his voice. She had to wonder at the impossibility of falling in love with a man in only one night.
The following night Rashid summoned her again. They sat and talked as they had before. But tonight she wanted more. She’d grown hungry for him. After a while, she couldn’t hide the desire in her eyes. Rashid looked at her and completely forgot what he’d been talking about. The look in her eyes made his heart jump. Without a word, he knew that she was ready for him.
Rashid gathered Colette in his arms and carried her to his big bed. Slowly he undressed her.
“I will tell you what I will do to you,” he said kindly. “I do not want you to be afraid.”
“I am afraid,” Colette admitted. “But I trust you.”
“Then I want to kiss your breasts as I did your mouth.”
She smiled giving him her full consent.
Rashid lowered his dark head and took a dusky nipple into his mouth.
“Oh my Lord!” Colette cried.
He made love to her breasts until she was whimpering with pleasure. His mouth then traveled down to her stomach where his tongue dipped into her navel before moving downward. He gazed lovingly at the golden thatch between her legs. She’d refused to allow anyone to remove it after that first painful experience. Worriedly she gazed down at him, hoping that he was not displeased with her.
“You are beautiful and I want to kiss you there too,” Rashid told her.
She smiled and opened her legs a little wider. She stared at his dark head in wonderment as he made love to her with his mouth. He splayed her lips wide with his fingers. His tongue dipped deeply into her. He found her most sensitive area and licked it slowly.
Colette closed her eyes and became lost in the sensations flowing through her body. She cooed his name softly. His tongue drew more demanding. His licks became furious. Colette’s hips left the bed and joined his mouth in a frenzied dance. She cried out his name as her entire body erupted in the most pleasurable sensations of her life.
Rashid took her gently in his arms as her body shook uncontrollably. She cried, she screamed, her toes curled and she clung to him desperately. When her body finally stopped convulsing, she laid weakly in his arms and stared up at him.
“I never knew it could be like that,” she said.
Rashid laughed. “Darling we have only just started.”
Colette sat up. “Can I kiss you like that too?” she asked.
“Yes you can my darling.”
This was the moment Rashid had waited for. He wasted little time removing his clothes. He stood before her proudly. Colette was pleased to note that the gossip was true.
Colette slid off the bed and knelt in front of him. Up close and personal, the male penis was even more impressive to her. She reached out and touched him gently. His low moan gave her pleasure and courage.
She ran her hand down the length of him, marveling at his thickness and strength. She rubbed his slippery substance from the large tip all the way back to his dark pubic hair.
“Taste me,” he pleaded.
Colette began kissing him as he had done her. She flicked her tongue over his hot flesh and sucked him with enthusiasm.
“That feels wonderful darling,” he encouraged her. He instructed her on how to hold her mouth open while he moved his hips back and forth, causing his large penis to slide in and out of her warm, wet mouth.
The taste of him drove her crazy. She could feel her wetness slipping down her legs. She ached to feel him deep inside her. Just when she thought that he was about to experience the same pleasure she had earlier he pulled away from her.
“I need to be inside you,” he explained. Colette returned to the bed and sprawled out on her back.
Slowly Rashid eased his penis into her. There was a moment of resistance. He could feel her stretching to accommodate him. Colette bit down hard on her lip to keep from crying out. But soon he was fully embedded in her and the feel of him turned her pain to pleasure.
He allowed her a few moments to become adjusted to him before he began to move, slowly at first until her hips became frantic.
“Love me harder,” she pleaded.
Colette was a fast learner and her ardent desires matched his. She screamed at him to take her harder and faster until with one final deep plunge, he shattered above her, exploding inside her lithe body. Watching him loose control Colette began to shudder. She grabbed onto his penis and held tight as sweet release washed over her.
They fell asleep with Rashid still buried deep inside her. The hardening of his cock awoke them both a few hours later. Colette looked up lovingly at him.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“I am perfect my Lord,” she answered.
“What you are is truly amazing,” he said. Colette looked up as Rashid as his mouth slowly descended towards hers. Her entire body trembled in anticipation of his kiss. It seemed to take an eternity for his lips to connect. When they finally did, Colette moaned softly and sank into him.
He didn’t give her any time to savor the sweetness of his lips. His greedy tongue slipped into her mouth. Her body tingled with a million rapturous sensations. Hungrily she ate at his tongue. She locked her hands behind his head drawing him closer.
Within a month, Colette suspected that she knew more about him than most of the people who had know him for years. It touched her that he would trust her so. Yet she wasn’t naive enough to think that he loved her or that he would change his life for her. But that did not stop her from missing him when he left the palace on business.
Colette had become so accustomed to falling asleep in his arms that she had trouble sleeping the entire month Rashid was away. She waited anxiously on his return for his summons. When it finally came, she almost ran to his rooms. But the moment she saw him she knew that something had changed.
Rashid looked into her questing eyes and tried to pull himself together. He had made a decision during his long nights alone. He could not take Colette unless she loved him just as much as he loved her. Somehow, the wench had gotten under his skin and he could not view the world as he had before. A great sexual experience was just not enough to keep him happy anymore. He had devised a plan to get rid of all the women in his harem by marrying them off to wealthy men. But he could not give Colette to another man. Instead, he would give her what would truly make her happy.
“I am giving you your freedom,” he said a little too harshly but anger was the only thing that would get him through.
“In addition, I will give you a sum of money that will see you comfortably around the world. I want you ready to leave by tomorrow morning. I have already made arrangements for your return trip to London.”
It was what she had once dreamed of but that time seemed a lifetime ago. Love had changed her, had changed them both for he had to love her. Why else would he be willing to do all of this?
“Do you love me my Lord?” she asked him bluntly.
His eyes flew to hers and Rashid knew that everything he felt was written in their depths.
“Yes,” he said simply.
Colette ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck.
“Oh my darling, I love you too!” she cried.
Rashid pushed her away from him. He stared down at her glowing face.
“You love me? You do not think that I am a barbarian anymore?
Colette shook her head. “Over the past month I have found that you are a very kind man. Despite your traditions, you have never been hurtful to others. The men I knew as a free woman treated me a lot worse than you ever did. I love you and I don’t want to leave even if loving you means sharing you with other women.”
Rashid cradled her face between his large hands. “You will never have to share me my darling. From this day forth I will belong only to you. I want to take you as my wife.”
“Yes my Lord, I will marry you,” she cried.
Slowly they began to undress each other.
“Tell me your deepest pleasure, my Lord.”
He stopped and stared down at her. “I’m afraid it is a custom you English would find barbaric,” he said.
“Show me.” Colette blushed. “I want so badly to please you more than all of your other women.”
“You have. For the rest of my life I will need no one but you.”
Colette threw her arms around him and kissed him joyfully.
Rashid carried her to the bed and placed her on her stomach. He placed his hands on her slim hips. He caressed her softly. Colette closed her eyes as soft pleasure washed over her. Suddenly she felt something warm and slippery on her skin. She looked up at Rashid.
“Oil, to make it easier for you,” he explained. “Relax my darling. Just as before there will be some pain but the pleasure will be worth it, I promise.”
Trusting him completely, Colette allowed her body to relax. She felt him open her up, more of the warm liquid and then his fingers in a part of her body that she had never thought of as sexual. At first, her body resisted him but he coaxed her until his fingers could slip easily inside. Colette was surprised that she liked it. In fact, she wanted more. Daringly she raised her hips in the air.
“I’m ready for you my love,” she said.
With gritted teeth, Rashid slowly and carefully guided himself into her. The pain was nothing like the first time. Its intensity took her breath away. Rashid felt her tightening as she let out a soft cry.
“Relax my darling. I don’t know if I have the strength to stop now.”
Colette forced herself to relax. Soon her body accepted him as if she had been made for his pleasure.
Slowly he began to move inside her. Colette loved the feel of his weight pressing down on her. This way of lovemaking was intensely more erotic. As for Rashid, he felt as if he was about to explode. Whether she realized it or not, Colette was growling like a tiger, raw and guttural. She pulled herself up on her hands and knees and buried her head in the pillows.
Rashid pushed as far and as hard as she told him to. When her body began to shudder, he reached around and helped her achieve an explosive climax. The pleasure of feeling her contract around him sent him into a vortex of his own explosion. He screamed her name before slumping heavily on top of her.
A few minutes later, he rolled to the side and gathered her in his arms. She was already loss in the blissfulness of sleep. When he finally managed to drift off, he dreamt of his grandparents. He saw his grandmother’s eyes. They were smiling. Finally, his dreams had come true.
