Bertrice Small - Captivated

"You amaze me," he said, and he meant it. "I have never before known women to be so intelligent, and so industrious, Kalida. In Aramas women are owned by their fathers, their families, or their husbands. Their primary function is to give their husbands sons to carry on the family name. They live inside their homes most of their lives, rarely venturing out even to the market or shops, for their servants do that for them. The women of my class spend their lives beautifying themselves and making life pleasant for their men. Of course, among the poor it is a bit different. They must struggle so to survive. Tell me, how did Kava come into being, Kalida?"

She snuggled deep into his arms. "No one is truly certain, but the legend says that a group of women, captured in a war, were being transported across the desert to be sold into bondage. Among them was a beautiful girl, the only child of the murdered, vanquished king. Her name was Suneva. It was she who secretly rallied the women into refusing to accept their ignominious fate. During a terrible sandstorm she led them out of the victor's encampment. When the storm was over, they could no longer even see their enemies' camp, and they had no idea of where they were. The princess, however, was a strong leader. She led her little band of women into the mountains. They wandered for weeks, and during that time, Suneva taught them how to be independent of everyone except themselves, for they were very much like our women are today. She taught them to rely on each other to govern and defend themselves. "

"Then one day they were attacked by bandits who sought to enslave them. Forced, despite their best efforts, into a canyon with but one entry, they believed all was lost. It was then that Suneva struck the face of the rock mountain, and a passage opened for them. The women escaped into the passage, Suneva ordering the rock to close behind them. Thus they once again outwitted the men who would seek to subjugate them. They followed the tunnel to its end, and into the valley of Kava. "

"Under Suneva's direction they built the city, discovered the riches of the earth, and learned to be autonomous of men. But because we understood that males have value else the goddess would not have created them, we brought men into Kava as slaves to do the heavy work, and we needed them to immortalize our race. But we have never allowed them to have sovereignty over us, for men are a troublesome sex, Dagon. Look at your own condition. Had your brother not been greedy for all that was yours, you should yet be your father's heir."

"What happened to Suneva that you deified her?" Dagon asked, stroking Kalida's silky hair.

"Suneva never grew old as the others who had originally escaped with her eventually did. It was quickly realized that she was not like other women. One day she went into the temple to pray. She was never seen again in mortal form. The next day a great marble statue appeared in the exact place where she was last observed. None could explain where it had come from, or how it had been placed within the temple. The women knew then that Suneva had been possessed by the spirit of a goddess because she had been able to lead them so capably, for the princess they had known in their own land was certainly no stronger than they had been. Who this great and generous spirit was they did not know, so it was the Suneva that they had known all those years that they prayed to, and have prayed to over the centuries. She has never failed us, and I hope we have not failed her."

Her story was an amazing one. Dagon wondered how much of it was truth, and what the real truth was. They would never know, he suspected. Reaching down, he tipped her face up to his. "Will you permit me to make love to you, my queen?" he asked softly.

Kalida smiled into his face and nodded, her small hand cupping the back of his head and drawing it down to hers. Their kisses were heady, and like the finest vintage wine. They were quickly intoxicated with each other as their tongues intertwined in a sensuous dance, but suddenly she drew away from him, smiling at his puzzled look.

"Come with me," she said, rising from their bed and holding out her hand to him. She led him to the far side of the bedchamber through a colonnade of marble pillars, out into her private garden. The space was silvery with the light of the full moon. On the far side of the garden a second colonnade gave way to a view of the mountains beyond, its terrace falling steeply down a sheer, smooth rock incline. While Dagon could not identify the shadowy growth of bushes and flowers, he could smell both the sweet musk of roses and the heady, potent fragrance of lilies. "Can you swim?" Kalida asked him.

"Yes," he answered, puzzled, and then he saw the pool with its delicate marble shell fountains at either corner. The water glistened darkly in the moonlight.

Releasing his hand, Kalida moved down the marble steps of the pool, and began to swim away from him. Dagon watched her, fascinated. He had never known a woman who could swim. Her gilt hair spread out behind her like a spider web, half shielding her lithe body from his sight. She dove beneath the surface, and for a moment he was frightened. Then he laughed, seeing her shadow swimming toward him. He moved swiftly down the steps into the water and plunged beneath the surface, swimming to meet her, their lips touching first.

As they broke into the night air again it was Kalida who laughed aloud, and it was a most joyful sound to his ears. "How well you understand me, my beautiful Dagon. How can this be in so short a time?"

"We have been destined to be together since time began," he told her, smiling and drawing her into his arms again. "It is the will of a most generous Suneva, my queen."

Her hands cupped his buttocks, drawing him closer to her. She could feel his love lance stiffening as it made contact with the soft pillow of her mount. She stood on tiptoes and ran a taunting tongue over his lips. "Aye, the goddess is very kind," she purred at him. Then, turning, she threw herself back into the waters, but she was not quite quick enough.

Dagon had anticipated her teasing mood, and his fingers closed swiftly about one of her ankles. For a moment she struggled to free herself, then she relaxed, floating lightly upon her back in her captivity. He bent and, taking her foot in his grasp, licked it with broad strokes of his tongue, pushing it between each of her toes, and finally sucking them individually in turn. Releasing her foot, he took the other and rendered it the same homage before freeing it, too.

For a long moment she floated before him, eyes closed, her long, beautiful hair streaming out behind her like gold and silver threads of spider's silk. Then she opened her emerald eyes, and she could see his great penis thrusting up from the ebony thicket of his groin. The tip of her tongue slid swiftly over her lips as if she were anticipating a delectable meal. Seeing her slight action, he reached out, and, taking her in a gentle grip, first her ankles, then her calves, and finally her slender thighs, he drew her inexorably forward to slowly impale her.

Kalida sighed gustily as he entered her body. With a wicked skill she tightened the muscles of her sheath about him, holding him firmly, releasing him, again and again. Bracing her, his hands beneath her back, Dagon leaned carefully forward. His tongue slipped from between his lips, and he began to encircle the nipple of one breast with a teasingly delicate motion. He made no other move but to encircle the sensitive little nub over and over again, just occasionally flicking at it with the very tip of his tongue. Her eyes closed, and by watching her face, he could see her passions rising moment by moment.

Finally, he raised his head from the first breast, and moved to the second. This time, however, his actions were harsher. He suckled fiercely on the second nipple, his teeth sometimes biting down on the tender flesh, not so hard as to harm it, but hard enough to send a jolt of lightning through her. He could feel himself growing bigger and harder within her, if such a thing was even possible, but the hot, spongy morass of her depth was arousing him now as she had never before aroused him.