Page 66 of Kismet

Chapter 18

Allegra swallowed hard as she realized the sun had dipped below the horizon some time ago. If there was anything to be grateful for, it was the fact that Rana had not come into the tent. She didn’t care why the woman stayed away, just that she did. After a bath she’d put on the clothing provided her. They were more suited to the harem than the harsh life in the desert, but then she knew why Nassar had sent them.

The thought of him touching her was revolting. And she would have to endure his touch. If she wasn’t accommodating, Nassar would see to it that she changed her mind. Charles would return to rescue her, but it would take time to find help. She inhaled a deep breath in an attempt to quiet the churning in her stomach. The first place he would go would be back to the Amazigh camp. Would Shaheen even care that she was Nassar’s prisoner again? She flinched at the memory of his brutal behavior this morning. She squeezed her eyes shut against the pain rising back to the surface. God but she’d been a fool.

She jerked as she heard Nassar issuing commands outside the tent. Steeling herself for the night to come, she deliberately sank to her knees and waited for him to stride into the tent. When he did so, she immediately bowed forward until her forehead touched the luxurious carpet on the tent floor. She waited until his black boots came into view before she looked up at him.

“How may I serve you this evening, Excellency?” She worked hard to keep her voice soft and soothing. A thin smile crossed his face as he towered over her.

“You are an enchanting creature when you want to be, ma chérie.”

He slowly circled her, his hand lightly touching her hair. It sent a rush of revulsion through her, but she managed to suppress the shiver threatening to ripple through her. She’d made a deal with the devil, and now her survival hinged on pleasing him. If he thought she was trying to break their bargain she knew he’d think nothing of having her throat slit or torments far worse. Deliberately, she forced herself to reach for his hand. Beneath her touch she could feel him stiffen, but she didn’t hesitate. He stroked her cheek with his finger.

“Come, I wish to eat. Serve me.”

He gestured toward the food a woman had brought into the tent upon his arrival. Quickly rising to her feet, she forced herself to walk slowly toward the center of the tent where the food tray sat among several pommel rests. As Nassar sank down against one, she reached for a branch of grapes and turned to face him. The expression on his face was one she’d seen on the men at Madame Eugenie’s. She tried to remember what she’d done to make those men happy and couldn’t. The knowledge made her throat close in horror. Oh God, she couldn’t do this. She couldn’t just give in to him without a fight. She’d saved her friends. They were safe.

But you aren’t, Allegra.

The cold, detached voice in the back of her head was one she recognized. It had seen her through three years at the brothel. It was what would keep her alive now. She shut down every emotion inside her and got down on her knees. With the grape stem between her teeth, she crawled toward him. When she reached him, she carefully picked a plump fruit off the stem. With a slow stroke of her tongue, she swirled it around the tip of the grape before sucking it into her mouth.

Hypnotized, Nassar didn’t move as she plucked another grape from the stem. Without pricking the skin of the fruit, she placed one end of it between her teeth then leaned forward to offer him the grape. The man didn’t hesitate and lunged forward to take the fruit from her with his mouth. His scent was heavy and thick with a mix of jasmine and frankincense. It overpowered her in its intensity, and her control slipped as she almost gagged. The grape squirted a small amount of juice when he bit into it, and his tongue darted out to lick her mouth where it landed. It reminded her of the way a serpent flicked its forked tongue out. A hard hand snaked around her neck as he pulled her down on top of him and kissed her wetly.

God, if only Nassar were Shaheen. If only it were last night.

Her heartbeat accelerated at the memory. In that split second, she realized how she might survive the degradation of Nassar’s touch. She would imagine it was Shaheen touching her. Shaheen’s skin her mouth was caressing. The fantasy wouldn’t block out everything about the night to come, but his image would enable her to do what was necessary to satisfy Nassar. It would help her endure this horrible night.

Nassar pulled her to him. A glint of dark lust lighting his eyes, he ran his hand down the front of her bodice before sliding over to stroke one breast. Unprepared for the caress, she pulled in a sharp breath of disgust. She forced herself to smile as his gaze flitted up to her face.

“I like being touched like that.” Her lie was nothing more than a whisper, and she fought to school her features into a beckoning smile. He grinned.

“Excellent, because I intend to touch you a great deal tonight, my beautiful turtledove.”

The cold voice of survival instructed her to slowly remove the top that barely covered her breasts. The obscene hunger crossing his face made her stomach roil, and once again, the stench of his heavily perfumed body assaulted her nostrils as he leaned into her. Closing her eyes, she pictured Shaheen in her head. It was his hand that pushed hers aside so his fingers could stroke first one nipple and then another.

Her eyes flew open, hoping it was all a nightmare and that Shaheen was the one touching her. Instead, it was Nassar who hovered over her. His gaze followed his hands as they moved downward and burrowed inside her sherwals. His fingers stroked her, but the only sensation his touch produced was bile rising in her throat. Dear God, she was a courtesan. A woman skilled in pleasure, yet her body couldn’t summon up the merest hint of desire. She wasn’t even wet between her thighs, and the moment he realized it, she was doomed. Desperate to distract him, she forced herself to caress his cheek.

“Excellency, we’ve not yet finished our meal.”

Relief sailed through her as he pulled his hand out of her sherwals with a grunt. “You’re right, Allegra. In fact, you’ve not had anything to drink. We can remedy that right now because you’re going to milk my prick dry.”

The crudity of his words left her feeling as though she’d been tossed into a cesspool. With the speed of a cobra, he undid his sherwals to release his fat erection. Deep red, almost purple, his staff bobbed with his excitement, and a drop of clear semen dripped onto her breast as he shifted his body so the tip of his erection was touching her lips. Revolted she shuddered and closed her eyes again, knowing he would see the disgust in her eyes. God, what if she refused? The detached voice in her head ordered her to do whatever necessary to survive.

“Open your mouth, Allegra.”

Tears lodged in the back of her throat as she did as he ordered, and she visualized Shaheen in her head. She remembered his groans of pleasure as she’d stroked him with her tongue, teasing him with her mouth. His body had shuddered with delight at her mouth on him, his voice calling out her name with each thrust of his cock into her mouth.

Clinging to the memory of Shaheen’s body against hers, she heard a dark cry above her as Nassar released his seed. In that instant, Shaheen’s face vanished from her head. Caught unprepared for her captor’s quick orgasm, she choked and her teeth sank into his softening member as she struggled to breathe. The sound of his pain echoed loudly in the tent and he jerked away from her. Fury slashed across his swarthy features as he ruthlessly struck her in the face. The vicious blow sent her whole body rolling to one side.

“You vicious little whore,” he snarled as he scrambled to his feet to examine himself.

Stunned from his blow, she moaned in pain as she tried to flex her jaw. Already her face was beginning to swell, and she struggled into a sitting position as Nassar glared at her with deadly intent. She realized then that it was doubtful she’d survive the night.

Shaheen stood in the darkness on the edge of camp staring out into the desert. He’d thought losing James had been painful. He was wrong. Nothing could equate to the pain he felt now. Allegra’s departure had left a hole in him. A hole that no one could ever fill except her.

Behind him, he heard a shout of laughter. He didn’t bother to look over his shoulder. Khalid and Jabbar had ridden into camp with an escort just as the sun was sinking below the horizon. The two men had signed a treaty of alliance and the tribe was celebrating. The light tread of someone behind him made him spin around. Khalid stood before him with an expression of sympathy on his face. With a glare, he waved his friend away.

“Save your pity, Khalid. I don’t need it.” He turned his back on his friend.