Flail of the Pharoah by Rosanna Challis Page B

drawing her into his aura, and she drew her feet up beneath her on the luxurious bed.
    ‘Charmian,’ he murmured, ‘so many strange things for you to learn here, and yet you have done so well. I am pleased with you. The Pharaoh of Egypt is pleased with his handmaiden. How does that make you feel?’
    ‘Good, sire,’ she murmured dutifully.
    ‘But I wish to make you feel more than good,’ he continued, his hands caressing her silken hair. ‘I wish to make you feel many different emotions, here in the privacy of the royal bedchamber.’
    His fingers toyed with a strand of her hair, curling it around his forefinger as he studied her expression closely. Charmian knew she was his to do with as he pleased, and she shuddered inwardly whilst trying to remain outwardly calm and compliant.
    Seti smiled, his dark eyes glittering at her, and caressed her cheek with his knuckles. She wondered about his male body beneath the light tunic, wondered about that appendage all men had – except Tut-Tut the eunuch – and with which she was supposed to toy. She was nervous at the thought. What if she did not perform well and the Pharaoh was displeased with her?
    ‘Why are you frowning, little girl?’ he asked, smoothing her brow with his finger. ‘Tell me your thoughts.’
    ‘I… I was thinking about what will happen… later,’ she admitted candidly.
    He laughed. ‘My dear, if you wish it nothing much will happen between us tonight.’
    She stared at him in astonishment. ‘Nothing? But I thought—’
    ‘The queen has no doubt tried to school you in the ways of love, but unless you wish to practise your newfound skills on me there is no necessity for you to do anything.’
    Charmian was utterly confused now. Surely the Pharaoh wished to take her virginity. Why else had he summoned her to his chamber? Was she displeasing to him? The thought brought a shadow to her brow once again.
    ‘Taste some of this delicious rose wine,’ he told her, lifting a gold chalice to her lips. The wine did indeed taste of roses. It was sweetly scented, and Charmian took several sips of it. She thought she had never sipped such a delightful drink before, but it was strongly alcoholic and she soon felt as if she were floating on a cloud.
    Seti drew her to him and kissed her closed lips, this time with more insistence, making her lips tingle deliciously. His hands caressed her almost naked shoulders, still tender from their whipping so that she winced at first, before finding his gentle massage soothing. Was he about to slip the garment off her? This was a game where she did not know the rules, where she did not even know if there were any rules. It was both intriguing and terrifying.
    ‘Lie down,’ he murmured, and she lay back in the scented sheets and stared up at the rich-hued canopy and the painted ceiling beyond, which seemed to be slowly revolving before her eyes. Then the dark face of the Pharaoh obscured her view, his expression somehow paternal, and she felt tears as an image of her own beloved father came into her mind.
    ‘You are sorrowful,’ he observed. ‘I do not wish you to be sad. I shall not plunder your young body, Charmian, as the pirates no doubt plundered your village. You shall give yourself to me willingly, or not at all.’
    For a moment she thought her ears, befuddled by wine, had misheard him. But then he repeated, ‘I shall not force you. You must come to me in your own time.’
    She was amazed; all those hours worrying about what would happen to her, and now this. Charmian had thought she would be taken like an animal, and even wondered whether she would be put over his knee first. Yet Seti was telling her it was all under her control, not his.
    She should have been delighted, but now she felt a twinge of disappointment. Having steeled herself to become the Pharaoh’s plaything she did not know how to proceed. Her mind and body were in equal turmoil as she surveyed her options. Should she take the initiative and