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Chapter Nine
Bree left the tent, legs unsteady, every nerve ending awake and aroused.
She was angry with Tahraz but even more with herself. Her body had betrayed her once again. He’d teased and tormented her until she found herself shamelessly thrusting her ass up at him, begging for more of the humiliating treatment that made her ache with desire. Bree wanted nothing more than to hide from everyone until she got her emotions under control. But she had nowhere to go.
“I am so sorry, Dasheena.” Back in the women’s tent, Bree hurried to where the woman lay alone, curled up on one of the thick rugs that covered the floor. “I never meant to cause you any trouble.” She stroked the woman’s back and felt her trembling.
“I know what is expected of me. It was I who failed,” Dasheena replied, her voice little more than a whisper.
“How can you excuse what he did?” Bree couldn’t hide her disapproving tone.
“I displeased my suiltaan. My punishment was deserved. He honored me, placed me in a position of authority – and I let him down. If I accept his trust, his kindness and affection, I must also accept his discipline.”
Bree shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“If the suiltaan did not punish me for disobeying his commands, it would show he does not care about me. His actions, though harsh, demonstrate to the others that he holds me in high regard. Another man might banish me into the desert or have me whipped by one of his guards. Instead, Tahraz himself wielded the leather crop. Later, he will hold me and stroke my hair and tell me I am forgiven – and loved.”
“It’s a strange kind of love.”
“Not so strange.” Dasheena rolled over to face Bree. “In our tribe, men wield the power – but they also bear the burden of caring for their women and children. We know they will lay down their lives willingly for us, brave any danger, bear any suffering to keep us safe and well…because we are loved. All they ask in return is our faithfulness and our obedience, that they may have peace and harmony within their own homes.”
Bree couldn’t argue with the logic. Their primitive life was fraught with danger. The harsh climate, the wild creatures that still roamed the desert – she’d seen men who’d been scarred and crippled by them. But she’d never heard any shrill nagging women or couples arguing like they did back home. The members of this patriarchal society did seem to live in peace.
After her talk with Dasheena, Bree saw life in the desert tribe through different eyes. She watched two of the guards return from duty in the mountain pass, their women and children crowding around to welcome them home. She’d seen the harrowing trails they patrolled, felt the pitiless heat they endured while their families lived placidly in the oasis. Children laughing and playing in the cool grass, women weaving baskets in the shade or chattering as they tended the crops.Maybe knowing they’ll come home to this haven of tranquility is what drives these men to endure such brutal conditions over and over without complaint.
Bree dreaded the hours to come. She didn’t know how she could bear to face Tahraz after her embarrassing behavior while she lay draped across his lap. It was a relief when he sent word that the day’s lesson was canceled.
When evening came, the two guards were invited to Tahraz’s tent. They were joined by all the other men of the tribe. The meeting went on for hours. At first, all she heard was the hum of conversation. As the hours passed and the drink flowed, their tone became more boisterous. She fell asleep to the sound of deep voices joined in a rousing chorus.
“What was all that about last night?” She and Dasheena were fetching water from the well near a grove of date palms, helping Bashar with preparations for the morning meal.
Dasheena glanced around nervously before she answered. “The guards discovered the remains of a camel slaughtered deep in the mountains. There were large tracks nearby, from a lion. They do not wish to alarm the women and children.”
Bree shuddered. She remembered Hassan charging at the lion with only a knife in his hands, then the sight of his limp body in the creature’s powerful jaws. “Are there many lions in the desert?”
“Long ago, tribes of lions roamed this area. But now, with desert taking over the land, they are very rare. The last lion seen near here was in the time of Tahraz’s great-grandfather. He managed to slay the beast but was crippled for life from the terrible wounds it inflicted on him.”
That night, Tahraz sent word that only Queen Bilquis was to attend the evening meal. She did her best not to meet his eyes as she entered the tent.
He never mentioned her punishment, making casual conversation as he ignored ritual once again and insisted they dine together. It wasn’t long before she found herself engaged in a spirited debate about the pros and cons of educating women.
“Who do you think will shape the early years of your heir one day?” Bree argued. “Would you have the young suiltaan raised by someone who can speak only of cooking and weaving?”
“You were happy I learned the art of cooking at my mother’s knee when we camped alone in the lost city,” Tahraz countered playfully.
Bree smiled. “True enough. But think how good a chess player you would be today had she taught you the intricacies of the game while you waited for your meal to bake in the coals.”
“I will think on this matter,” he declared, ending the topic. “Speaking of chess, let us return to our contest. You have twice been the victor and I but once. It is time for me to even the score. What will you wager on tonight’s outcome?”
Perhaps it was the spirited verbal sparring they’d engaged in that made her answer so quickly. Bree found herself tossing out her answer without thinking it through first. “I want to return to a wager not yet collected. If I win tonight, you will allow me to teach the game of chess to the young girls of the tribe – including Ketifa.”
Tahraz’s eyes narrowed. “Very well. I too will return to a wager not yet collected. If I win this contest, tomorrow night you will perform the ritual you promised to demonstrate if I won our first bout many nights ago. I want to see the fertility rite performed in the Great Temple by its high priestess, the Queen of Sheba.”
Bree didn’t see how she could refuse. She’d already put it forth once as a prize. Besides, he’d never seen the actual ceremony, so she could simply don a different robe and sing the song for him. There’d be no need to adorn her naked breasts with floral paintings or have slave girls bringing her to an embarrassingly intense climax to end the ritual as they did in Mahrib.
“Agreed.” She smiled and settled down to play.
It was clear from the start this contest would be no easy victory. Tahraz had obviously been paying close attention to the finer points of the game while she taught the young boys. He came out hard, and Bree found herself being attacked on every front. She was a reasonable chess player but certainly no grand master, and she suddenly realized the student was about to surpass the teacher.
