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"Everything will be all right. Tonight, we shall rest here, and on the morrow, I shall take you home," Aladdin soothed.
Amani cleared his throat. "You may go where you will, but the princess cannot leave."
A sob escaped from Maram, and the tears fell faster. "Please don't leave me, Aladdin. I cannot bear to be alone here again."
"I won't leave without you."
Never had the sensation of someone stroking her hair felt so exquisite.
"My master will return tomorrow night, and if he finds you, he will command me to kill you like Hasan, there," Amani said.
"But I am the master of the lamp," Aladdin said.
"Not any more," Amani said. "Gwandoya is my master now. And unlike you, he keeps the lamp safe on his person at all times, not in some alcove where anyone could see and steal it."
"But who would steal an old lamp?"
Amani sounded disapproving. "Anyone who knows its true worth. To have a powerful sorcerer like me at their command is something many would kill for."
"Gwandoya has already killed many men to get his hands on that lamp, and I was nearly one of them. There is no telling what he will do with such power." Aladdin sounded determined. "We must get it back."
"Nothing will make him surrender something so precious while he lives."
Maram raised her head and wiped her eyes. "Then Gwandoya must die. I won't let him kill Aladdin."
"Princess..." both men began.
She held up a hand to silence them. "I know I am not a fighter. I am a diplomat. But I have other weapons, and I'll be damned if I let him win. Tomorrow Gwandoya will die, and then I will get to go home. Are you with me?"
It took several hours and all Maram's powers of persuasion to get Aladdin and Amani to agree to her plan, but they did. The moon had reached its zenith, turning the jewelled garden into a sparkly paradise, as Amani took the hint and left her alone with Aladdin.
There were no tears when they came together this time, only kisses and increasingly urgent caresses. "Make love to me," Maram begged. She, who had never begged a man for anything in her life.
"When we are safely home and wed," Aladdin promised, stealing her breath with another kiss.
"Now!" she insisted. "Tomorrow anything could happen. Either of us could die, or he might escape with the lamp and leave us here, stranded. Tomorrow is uncertain, but I need to spend tonight in your arms."
She expected him to argue more, but all he said was, "As you wish, Princess."
Hardly daring to believe her luck, Maram led him to her bedchamber, where she eagerly peeled off her clothes. She turned, wanting to feast her eyes on Aladdin's body before she touched him. She had waited a long time for this.
"Why aren't you undressed?" she asked. Stepping forward, she seized the hem of his tunic. "Here, let me help you."
Gently, he pried her hands off his clothes. "No, Princess. I made you a promise and I intend to keep it. I swore I would set you free from your slavery, and I will. Your body is not a plaything for men to use for their own pleasure. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and you deserve more, far more, than I can ever give. I love you, and I will take whatever pleasure you are willing to give me when you are free. Which you will never be, until we are wed."
"But you said..."
He gathered her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. Then he lay beside her, pulling her body against his, wrapping one arm around her breasts while his other hand rested on her belly. "I will hold you in my arms, like I said, and for now, I will be content."
She squirmed. "And if I am not? What about what I want?" She seized his hand from her belly and guided it between her thighs. "I want you, Aladdin. I am wet with anticipation, wanting the pleasure I will only feel when you are inside me."
His free arm tightened around her breasts. "Are you sure?" His voice was hoarse in her ear.
"Of course."
The words had barely left her lips before his fingers speared deep inside her, stroking all the right spots to make her gasp.
"More?"
