by Megan Derr
Ihsan drew back slowly, sucking at Sabah's lips, nibbling on the bottom one a moment before slowly dragging off it. Sabah lay panting, looking tousled and well-used, absolutely beautiful. Ihsan smiled down at him. "Mm, that's a good start to the even—" He broke off as someone pressed up against him and reached around to tease too-knowing fingers over Ihsan's hard, aching cock. Kitt's mouth trailed over his back, turning into nips at random points. "Kitt," Ihsan managed, the name dragged out on a soft groan.
Withdrawing, Kitt turned him around and pushed him to lie down next to Sabah, who promptly rolled to press against his side, mouthing at the mark earlier left by Kitt. Ihsan shuddered, shivered. Kitt discarded his clothes, then tugged away Sabah's—but left Ihsan's, laughing when Ihsan scowled. He slid to settle on Ihsan's opposite side, mirrored Sabah's kisses and touches.
Ihsan couldn't focus, tangled up in their ministrations and the devastating sight of Demir completely naked, his only adornment the gold hoops still in his nipples and belly. The tattoos… Merciful Divine, the tattoos. "Those are amazing. It must have taken ages." The colorful tangle of flowers and vines, the odd bird and butterfly, went all the way down Demir's legs, ending at his ankles, though the tops of his feet were also tattooed with frogs and fish. The tattoos covered his ass and stopped just short of his cock. Ihsan swallowed as he got a good look at said cock. "Is that a piercing?"
Even Sabah and Kitt had stopped what they were doing to stare openly. Kitt grinned. "How did I miss that before? I'm surprised only that you haven't inked it as well."
"My duties became too time consuming," Demir replied. "There was never opportunity."
"I believe opportunity can definitely be found in the near future," Ihsan said. "For the moment, I think Haluk can find something else to do with that."
Demir started to reply, but the words were cut off as Haluk drew him into a kiss, then pulled away to slowly work his way down Demir's body, dropping wet kisses as he went. He lingered at Demir's nipples, getting one ring in his mouth and tugging gently, eliciting a soft, sweet noise that Ihsan definitely wanted more of.
Haluk continued his downward journey, slowly sinking to his knees, pausing to lavish attention on the piercing in Demir's stomach before finally dropping his mouth over Demir's cock, mindful of the gold hoop gleaming at the end. Demir swore softly, one hand sliding gently into Haluk's hair, eyes bright and hot as he looked at Ihsan.
Ihsan groaned, cock throbbing, but he could not tear his eyes away if his life depended on it. Sabah pulled away, slid down his body, and finally pulled Ihsan's damned pants out of the way. Looking at him with a smirk, chuckling when Ihsan tore away from Demir long enough to glare, Sabah licked along the length of Ihsan's cock, lapped at the head, his hair soft and teasing where it brushed Ihsan's skin.
Finally, finally, Sabah left off the teasing and took Ihsan deep, tongue and throat working with all the devastating skill he'd acquired since their first encounter in the library years ago. Kitt distracted Ihsan briefly with a mind-melting kiss, pulled away slowly, then crawled over behind Sabah, a bottle of oil in his hand.
Ihsan didn't know where to put his attention: Sabah's mouth wrapped around his cock; Kitt as he worked his fingers into Sabah's body, eliciting lovely noises that did things to Ihsan's cock that left him shuddering; or Haluk and Demir.
Pulling off Demir's cock, Haluk dragged Demir down and kissed him hard, causing them both to moan. Haluk drew back, shifted to resume the sucking he'd abandoned—and went back with a soft, startled cry when Demir pushed him to the floor. Spreading his legs wide, Demir settled between them and bent to take Haluk's cock in his mouth. Haluk's head hit the floor with a dull thunk, his ragged-edged moan filling the air. He buried his hands in Demir's hair, which at some point had come loose of its braid.
Ihsan tried to hold on, last a few minutes more, but the sight of Haluk fucking Demir's mouth while Kitt fucked Sabah, and that hot, clever mouth still working his cock… Too much, it was all too much, and Ihsan did not bother trying to hold back or muffle his scream as he finally came.
It was several minutes before he could move, or even think. Somebody hauled him up to sit. "Drink," Sabah ordered and offered up a dish of pale violet wine. Ihsan obeyed, draining the dish until it was gone, body flushing with heat from the burn of it. He licked his lips, then looked at each of his men. "So I think it's safe to say Demir fits well among us."
"He seemed to fit well in—" Kitt broke off with a grunt as Haluk drove an elbow into his gut. "Well, he did."
"I'm aware," Haluk drawled. "It's my throat still feeling it."
Demir huffed a soft laugh. At some point the four of them had made a half-hearted attempt to dress again, donning their slit skirts but not the pants. It was almost more indecent than if they'd just remained naked. "I am truly impressed that you can remain so quiet during court and banquets."
"Don't be impressed with them. It just makes them more insufferable," Ihsan said and caught Kitt's wrist as he playfully punched Ihsan's arm. He kissed Kitt's knuckles then dragged him over so Kitt lay sprawled with his head resting in Ihsan's lap. "Brat."
Kitt smiled.
"That wasn't a compliment," Sabah said. He started to say more, but a yawn got the better of him. "Didn't you say something about taking a nap?"
Ihsan looked at the table where neat stacks of work waited for him. "I definitely did. Everything else can wait a little longer. If I tried to work right now, I would likely sign the country away by mistake."
Sabah set aside the empty dish he still held and stood, extended a hand. "To bed, then?"
Ihsan shrugged. "Here is fine, unless you object. If I go to bed I may never get out of it."
Chuckling, Sabah lifted a hand in acknowledgement and vanished into the storage closet, returning shortly with a pile of blankets. Kitt rolled out of Ihsan's lap, pulled a pillow he favored close, and lazily draped an arm over Ihsan's waist before almost immediately drifting off. Ihsan leaned in to kiss his temple, then stretched out, eyes already growing heavy.
A warm, heavy weight settled beside him, and he opened his eyes to smile at Demir. "I'm glad you accepted." He reached up to brush his fingers across Demir's face, heart giving a lurch when Demir kissed them.
"Rest, my king," Demir said.
"You too," Ihsan replied, but the words were mumbled, and then smothered by a yawn, and then he was curling up against all that delightful warmth and succumbing easily to sleep.
He cracked his eyes open sometime later to be greeted by dark and candlelight. Haluk's soft snores filled the room, Sabah curled up with him at the edge of the sitting area. Ihsan stood and stretched, looked around until he spied Kitt buried under all the blankets he'd stolen though the room was only pleasantly cool. But of Demir…
The soft clack of glass against wood drew his attention, and he turned to see Demir sitting at the table, sipping wine and reading over a bundle of papers. "What is that?" Ihsan asked quietly, padding across the room to sit next to him.
Demir looked up, amusement on his face. "My harem contract."
"What?" Ihsan took the papers when Demir offered them, rolling his eyes as he immediately recognized Sabah's handwriting. "I do not think Kitt's threat to steal you from your bed was as idle as I first believed. I think I should beat them all for conspiring against me." He smiled as he twisted around to glance at the sprawling figures still fast asleep nearby. Turning back, he set the papers down, fingers resting on them, fighting an urge to drum nervously. "I am honored you are with us, that you would want to put up with so many reckless striplings." He looked up, feeling almost shy, and smiled slightly.
Demir smiled back. "And I feared you would not want an old man in your midst. I will be feeble and gray long before the rest of you."
"Oh, I am fairly certain I will beat all of you to feeble," Ihsan said with a grin. "Let us hope there are no more sharp objects in my future. My poor face can only endure so much abuse." He reached up to touch his scars, managing a brief laugh.
<
br /> He froze, startled, when Demir's fingers covered his own, looked up, and could not breathe for the intensity in Demir's eyes. Had Demir always looked at him so? Surely he would have noticed. "You have never been less than beautiful to me, my king. I admit I paid little mind to the boy you were when you ran away, but I was never able to look away from the man who returned."
Ihsan tried to form a reply to that because he was absolutely certain he hadn't earned such faith, but the thoughts fell away as Demir drew him into a kiss, cupping the sides of his head and gently holding him in place. Ihsan reached up and clung to Demir's wrists, gave a low, needy whine. He went easily when Demir tugged, practically falling into Demir's lap as they shifted, spreading across his heavy thighs. Wrapping his arms around Demir's neck, burying his fingers in that long, soft hair, Ihsan kissed him back fervently, exploring every dip and curve of his mouth, tasting wine and salt.
When they finally drew apart, Ihsan could not recall what they'd been talking about. He spanned his fingers across Demir's cheek. "I think you are far too good for me, Harem Master, but I'm selfish enough to want to keep you."
"Then it's a good thing you finally asked if you may," Demir replied.
Ihsan smiled and brushed another soft kiss across his mouth before reluctantly climbing off his lap before he eschewed work entirely to do what his cock wanted. He looked over all the work waiting for him and sighed much like he had earlier, gladly let himself be distracted by the sound of pouring wine. When Demir offered up the dish, Ihsan accepted, heart lurching again.
He had not dared to truly believe that Demir might join them, and even now that he was there, seamlessly falling into the role of concubine, Ihsan still feared he might wake up at any moment. "Thank you."
Demir nodded slightly, a bare smile curving his mouth, but his eyes unmistakably warm. He took a sip of wine then set the dish on the table. Reaching beneath the table, he picked up something that clinked and rattled, then laid it on the floor in front of Ihsan.
The keys to the harem hall.
"I meant to present those to you earlier," Demir said. "I did not anticipate being so quickly distracted."
Ihsan laughed. "Indeed." He picked up the keys and rifled slowly through them—paused as he came to one that was small and new enough to still be shiny. It matched exactly the key he carried at all times, and other copies that were carried by Euren, Kitt, and Captain Fatih. A couple of days after their adventures in the city, Haluk had redone all the locks on the secret entrances, occasionally pulling Kitt to help him. When they were done, Kitt had taken the master key and gone off to see to the making of copies. He'd never said what he did with the fifth one, but Ihsan hadn't needed to ask. "This one doesn't need to be returned."
"I've hardly need of it now," Demir said.
Shrugging, mouth quirking, Ihsan removed the key from the ring and held it out. "Keep it anyway. Hide it, wear it, do whatever you want with it." Unexpected heat curled through him at the idea of Demir wearing the key. He'd said it flippantly, but once the idea sunk in… Demir wearing his key, perhaps hanging from a band around his throat… Let everyone wonder what it meant. It would probably never occur to any of them that he wore a key that granted him a great deal of power, the freedom to vanish whenever he wanted.
Demir's mouth tipped up at one corner as he reached out and took the key, fingers drawing away slowly. Ihsan had a feeling he'd let every last one of his thoughts show on his face. "As you wish, my king."
It shouldn't be so heady, the way Demir said those words. But the others had the same effect, so he didn't know why he thought Demir would be any different. If the rest of Tavamara knew how much power these four men had over the king, there'd be a fresh call to disband the harems.
"You are making it impossible to concentrate on my work," Ihsan said, crawling forward and leaning up, still braced on hands and knees, to press a kiss to Demir's addictive mouth. If Kitt's mouth was the potent wine he couldn't stop drinking, Demir's was the lush bed he couldn't crawl out of. He pushed gently, gave a soft, pleased growl when Demir immediately acquiesced.
The black skirt had slipped to bare one of Demir's legs, and Ihsan was more than happy to run his fingers over the beautiful tattoos, slowly smooth his fingers along the soft skin, enjoying the tension of the muscles beneath as Demir reacted to his touch. Lowering his head, he wrapped his mouth around one of the gold rings in Demir's nipples, tugging it lightly with his teeth. That got him a hitch of breath, fingers dusting over his hair before Demir's hand fell away again. Releasing the right nipple, Ihsan dragged his mouth over to the left and worked on that one until Demir was moving restlessly beneath him.
Ihsan gave the ring one last tongue, gave a final lick to that beautiful skin, then sat up just enough to look down at Demir's face, the dark, lust-saturated eyes, the unguarded expression on his face, the tousled hair, and flushed skin. "You're a fool if you don't thing kings would do anything for you."
Demir's mouth twisted. "They may do anything to have me, but I know of only one who would do anything for me."
No words could form an adequate reply to that, so Ihsan settled for kissing him until his own lips throbbed. Then he trailed his mouth back down all that beautiful skin. Demir smelled faintly of soap, so he must have bathed at some point. "Did you sleep at all, Harem Master?"
"I'm not Harem Master any longer," Demir replied. "And a little, but I am not used to sleeping for long periods of time. I'm sure in my new post I'll resume the habit."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Ihsan said, laughing against Demir's skin. He paused when he reached Demir's stomach, pulling on the ring there, teasing with teeth and tongue. Demir's hips rolled, pushing into the touches.
Slipping further down, Ihsan nudged and rubbed at Demir's trapped cock, finding the piercing in the tip and toying with it, liking the groans that earned him. Sitting up again, he untied Demir's skirt and cast it aside, then wrapped one hand around Demir's cock. He used his other hand to tug gently at the piercing in it, his own cock throbbing at the way Demir moaned. "You could have stopped the trouble before it began with a single gold chain vanishing into your waistband, broken every mind in the palace with the power of imagination."
Demir shuddered. "The tattoos usually drew enough looks, but if you want it done, it shall be so."
Ihsan bent to kiss him, hard and wet and hungry. "I want you happy. The rest doesn't matter. My ramblings and imaginings are only those. Do not indulge me too far. I might become a spoiled brat."
Demir buried fingers in Ihsan's hair and drew him into another devouring kiss, free hand sliding along his skin, pushing between the openings of Ihsan's robe to wrap around his cock and stroke it with confident, knowing movements. Ihsan grunted, whimpered, lost in the kiss, in bringing Demir off and the hand working his cock.
And then it was over, cries muffled by sloppy kisses as they made a fresh mess over each other. Ihsan managed to remain braced over Demir, but only just. "I am never going to get anything done with all four of you around. Three was hard enough."
Laughing, Demir lapped lazily at his lips, tormenting and soothing them all at once. "Then you'd better hope you never find a fifth, my prince."
"Mmm," Ihsan agreed, kissing the corner of his mouth before moving to lazily nibble along his jawline, down his throat. They should clean up, get properly dressed, but it was, for the moment, still vastly more pleasant to remain there enjoying—
A sharp rap at the door made him jerk, look up. "I suppose being left in peace for a night was too much to ask for. Damn." He drew back, grimacing at the sticky mess on his skin before pulling his robe closed. Demir sat up, far less able to hide the semen on his skin, but he seemed unaffected by it as he sat beside Ihsan.
"Come in," Ihsan called out.
A guard in a black sash stepped into the room and dropped to one knee. "Beg pardon, Majesty, but Lord Cenk bid me deliver these papers to you tonight, said you had been waiting for them."
"Yes, thank you. Leave—" Ih
san broke off as Sabah came into view and walked smoothly to the kneeling guard, accepting the papers he held out.
When Sabah reached him, Ihsan took the papers and held out Demir's keys. Looking at the guard he said, "Deliver these keys straight to Lord Cenk. Tell him that the harem hall is officially closed, and the council can decide what to do with the abandoned rooms. Let it be known to all that Lord Demir has joined my harem."
The guard's head shot up, eyes widening as he finally noticed Demir, but he immediately bowed his head and said, "Yes, Your Majesty." Taking the keys, he rose, bowed, and departed.
Sabah chuckled and walked back over to them, settling behind Demir, hands wrapping around to splay across his chest. "I know what will be the favorite gossip tomorrow. But I suppose you're long used to it, hmm, Harem Master?"
"I'm not…" Demir broke off, shook his head, a smile twitching at his mouth and finally winning out. "I'm used to lingering eyes and gossip, yes." He looked at Ihsan and covered one of Sabah's hands with his own. Movement came from the sitting alcove, and they all watched as Haluk and Kitt joined them. Demir softly finished, "This is the first time I've felt like I've some true protection against it."
"I hope you never again have cause to doubt that," Ihsan said and leaned in to kiss him briefly, drawing back only so he could watch, warm and happy, as the others took their turn sealing the promise with a kiss.
Epilogue
Euren laughed and clapped as the juggler finished performing and nodded at Gulden to offer her a dish of wine. Beside Euren, Asli offered a dish of wine, dark pink against bright blue glass. Euren accepted it gratefully and chased it with a soft kiss to Asli's lips, let it linger a bit, enjoying the thrum of wine and want.