She had her own room which glittered with gold and jewels and any toy that she desired. Catherine also had Arif, who she spent her days with and who would tell her in whispered tones that one day when they grew up his father would die and he would be Sultan with her as his Sultana. As time went past and the pair grew along with their dream together to someday be man and wife.
As Catherine grew it was clear she would be a beauty, with her alabaster skin, kept out of the sun she looked like a china doll. She had her mother’s long brown curls and the big blue eyes with impossibly long eyelashes.
It wasn’t long until the men in the palace started noticing her, as she grew into adolescence she started developing breasts and her hips took on their shape. At thirteen Catherine started her courses. The Sultana had told her about what would happen and she had been dreading it. Irina had told her that from that time onward it would be only a matter of time before the Sultan married her to Arif.
Arif knew when it happened of course. The women had rooms to seclude themselves in away from the rest of the palace when it was their time and Catherine was no different. She greatly enjoyed the time away from everyone. Able to take her beloved books with her she got to indulge in the silence being away from everyone provided.
It was also the only time the Sultan’s wives were released from the harem. Catherine longed to leave her room and visit them but that wasn’t permitted. The women were truly isolated during their time.
When Arif began to act strange around her, Catherine couldn’t guess why and decided to ask him about it. ‘Why are you behaving differently around me now?’ she asked one day as they sat in the garden, hidden from view of anyone else. It was their favourite spot to get some time alone even as children but now being alone with Arif was different.
‘You are nearly a woman,’ he said, ‘Soon you will be my wife and I will be able to bed you.’ She flushed with colour. ‘You are very beautiful,’ he continued, ‘I would like very much to kiss you.’
Catherine nodded. Arif was growing into a most handsome young man as well as being her best friend. Over the last few years he had also caught up to her in height and now was a head taller than her. He leaned over and softly, gently touched his lips to hers. It only lasted a few seconds but when he pulled away from her his cheeks were flushed too and his eyes were wide. She giggled. ‘I liked it too,’ she said and he leaned in for another.
It did not take much longer for the Sultan to notice too. ‘You’re looking lovely today,’ he would say to her whenever he saw her and watch for the blush to spread across her white skin, grinning at the affect he could have on a teenage girl.
He would laugh to himself, she was far too young for him to be interested in but as the years passed his attentions became more focussed and she would catch him sometimes gazing at her, his eyes roaming her body that made her as uncomfortable as she was flattered.
All the while she teased Arif, and by the age of sixteen would use her body to tempt him while refusing to sleep with him.
‘Don’t tease me Catherine,’ he would say, pouting.
‘Your mother told me I must be a virgin on our wedding night. I dare not give myself to you yet,’ she would say.
His father would not commit to their marriage. ‘I always said one day you two would be wed, I will decide the right time Arif, now is not the time.’
‘When will be the right time Father?’ Arif would ask but never receive an answer.
When Arif discovered the hidden corridor that led to her room she was not sure how to feel and when he came to her room one night she laughed when he touched her. ‘Do you not take me seriously?’ he asked.
‘I love you touching me,’ she said, ‘We just need to be so very careful, I love you Arif, I do not want to ruin everything.’
‘And I love you,’ he said.
‘If you were found here we would both be in so much trouble,’ she said. Then he kissed her and it was not like any of the other kisses they had shared. As his lips trailed down her neck, his hands roamed her body, pinching her nipples through her thin nightgown before his lips brushed them.
She sighed. ‘Arif you must stop. We must not go too far’
‘We will not make love but the servant girl I have been spending time with has been teaching me how to give pleasure to a woman, I would like to do the same to you.’
Catherine sat upright. ‘You have been with a servant girl?’ she asked.
‘Only so she could teach me my love, my father called it a lesson I needed to learn if I am to keep my future wives happy.’
‘Wives?’ she asked, tears welling in her eyes.
‘I will need a harem once I am Sultan, you will be my Sultana though, my first and will have the same freedoms my mother has.’ Catherine pouted and Arif ran one finger up her thigh making her gasp.
‘Arif you cannot do this, I do not want you to see this servant girl anymore,’ she said, ‘No other wives but me either.’
‘If it is what makes you happy my love,’ he said grinning, his hands growing bolder, pushing her shift up her thighs.
‘I mean it Arif,’ she said pushing him away. ‘If you continue with this servant girl then you cannot be near me.’
‘Catherine,’ he said with a whine, ‘My father expects me to, it is to gain experience with women as he says by the time I become Sultan I must be a good lover, someone the harem women wish to share a bed with.’
Not since she was eight had Catherine thought of Arif having a harem of his own. At the thought of sharing him her heart ached and she pulled her shift back over her legs. ‘Go away Arif, I am not in the mood for you now. I don’t want to share.’
‘Soon you will be mine and have no choice. When I am Sultan I will have many wives and you will just be one of them.’ He took her hand in his and yanked hard, pulling her towards him and causing her to cry out in pain.
‘I will have you Catherine and any time I want, you will be at my beck and call and you will do whatever I tell you to do.’
Shaking her head in defiance she pulled her hand away. ‘Get out Arif before I call for help and alert someone to your presence. ‘
Knowing his father would discipline him for being in her bedroom Arif left, looking over his shoulder as he closed the door at the angry young woman sitting on the bed.
Chapter 10
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Catherine pushed her feet into the silken slippers on the floor beside. Still angry at her confrontation with Arif she was determined to speak to the Sultan about his behaviour.
‘I can’t marry him if he is to keep a harem,’ she said to herself trying to steel herself for a face to face meeting with a man who could be so sweet and gentle and yet order residents of the palace to be punished.
‘He will understand. Perhaps he will tell Arif there will be no harem and that he should be contented with me,’ she whispered as she walked along the corridor to the Sultan’s rooms.
The guards paid no attention as she went down the hallway. Arif and Catherine had sneaked out after bedtime for several years now going where they wanted within the palace and as they usually got what they wanted it was less painful to ignore them than get into trouble for denying them.
A gentle knock on the Sultan’s door yielded no answer and Catherine took a deep breath before turning the handle on the door and pushing.
On the far side of the room she saw the Sultan, completely oblivious to her entrance and a woman from the harem. She was dressed in a translucent shift, the curves of her body visible through the fabric and the Sultan was slowly lifting the shift from her body, relishing the sight of her, a look of pure lust on his face.
The woman was beautiful, she had long brown hair not entirely dissimilar to Catherine’s but her skin was bronzed as if it had been kissed by the sun from head to toe. Beneath the shift she wore nothing and Catherine could not help but stare at her small but perfect breasts, nipples facing up as if to greet the Sultan.
Briefl
y she wondered if her own body was as beautiful, her eyes not shifting from the perfect body in front of her, the Sultan completely mesmerised by it. ‘Most beautiful Eve, you are most enchanting.’
Eve looked down at her feet and the Sultan touched her breasts, caressing them before bending to take a nipple in his mouth. Catherine moved behind a pillar, terrified of being seen but not wanting to leave.
He moved his mouth, his tongue across her breasts as she threw her head back in surrender to the feeling. His hand moving between her legs, he pried them open before pushing his fingers into her.
‘Oh my Eve you are so wet already, so ready for me.’ Bending her over the bed Catherine could see him stroking Eve, murmuring endearments, before removing his robe.
Catherine clamped her hand across her mouth to stop herself from gasping at the sight of the Sultan, erect and ready for Eve. He ran his hand up and down his cock before turning to Eve and pushing into her.
He thrust in and out and Catherine felt a dull throb between her legs she had not ever felt before finding herself wondering what it felt like to have the Sultan deep inside. Slowly she backed out of the room, opening the door as quietly as she could before slipping back into the corridor.
Rushing back to her room she locked the door and climbed back into bed. The throbbing was not relenting and all she could think about was the sight of the Sultan, naked, erect, and ready.
Guilt washed over her as she thought of Arif but the Sultan was in her head. Her hand reached between her legs and she found herself wet. Remembering the Sultan’s words to Eve she whispered to the empty room, ‘I’m ready for you my Lord, I’m ready.’
Stroking herself she soon found what felt good and closed her eyes, picturing the Sultan and his experienced hands touching her and bringing her to climax. Her eyes flew open and she groaned loudly as her first orgasm hit her, the throb between her legs turning into a tightening of her stomach.
Panting she pulled her shift down and closed her eyes again, drowsy and ready to sleep. Dreaming of the day when she shared the bed of the man she loved.
Chapter 11
In the evenings she would dine with the Sultan, Arif and Irina. Although Catherine thought of her parents often, this was now her family. The Sultan spoiled Catherine as if she was his own daughter. Nothing was ever refused her and she had her choice of clothes from the beautiful fabrics his people made.
She was now more aware of the Sultan paying attention to her, sometimes she could feel his gaze on her, looking up to find he was talking to Irina and she felt sure she was imagining things.
Inevitably the conversation would turn to the betrothal of Catherine and Arif which the Sultan continued to delay.
‘Be patient,’ the Sultan would say, ‘The pair of you are young enough that you can wait a while longer. There is no rush.’
They had enjoyed many conversations in recent years. The Sultan’s love of books was exceeded only by Catherine’s and they had shared much time together going through new additions to the library as the Sultan had new reading material sent from England and other countries.
As comfortable as she had always been in the palace, after seeing the Sultan with Eve there was now something about the Sultan that made her heart beat faster. Arif was fun to be around, the responsibility of the palace was years away for him but the Sultan was always in charge and never let anyone forget it.
While they shared their sense of humour her intellect impressed him the most and they would debate all kinds of things in his chambers, often to the bemusement of Arif who just wanted the girl who would be his to find fun things to do. The Sultan would often joke that when Arif became Sultan it would be Catherine who would rule and while he found that funny it usually resulted in Arif sulking.
All too soon it was her eighteenth birthday. The day itself was lovely. She had been given jewellery and books and had lunch with the Sultan, Irina and Arif as a family. Wistfully she thought of her parents and hoped they were proud of the woman she had become.
The Sultan had been promising a big surprise for her birthday so being summoned in the evening to the Sultan’s private rooms came as no shock. Catherine thought that this would be the evening that her betrothal to Arif would be announced and she was happy as she walked the corridor leading to his room.
The guard smiled as she walked past before lowering his eyes again. Entering the room she immediately realised there was no one there. Puzzled, she looked around. ‘Hello?’ she said softly.
‘Catherine,’ a voice said as the Sultan revealed himself, ‘I am glad you are here.’ He walked towards her until he was standing right in front of her. She shivered a little; the Sultan was a very impressive man. The memory of seeing him naked brought a blush to her cheeks, it always did in his presence.
‘My Lord,’ she said, dropping to her knees as was the custom. He put his hand under her chin, a look in his eye she had not seen before.
‘Beloved, please stand. It is time to discuss your future amongst other things.’
Excited she stood keeping her eyes lowered. ‘Have you any new books for the library My Lord?’ she asked, ‘I do look forward to our discussions.’
Raising her chin in his hand so his eyes looked into hers he smiled at her. ‘I have decided my love that tonight you will share my bed, tomorrow we will be wed and you will join my harem.’
She looked at him blankly and he continued, answering the question that would have been considered impertinent to ask. ‘I know you and Arif are close and thought that you would perhaps wed in the future but I am in need of more children to ensure I have an heir, more boys and I believe that you were sent to me for just this purpose.’
Catherine wanted to shrink back, away from him but knew if she did she would be punished. She wanted to scream, ‘I wasn’t sent, you brought me here for Arif,’ but knew it would be no good. Accepting her fate would be hard, there was no choice in the matter and she would never be able to be with Arif now.
She had dreamed of the Sultan bedding her after that night she had seen him with Eve but now it was going to happen and her head spun at the thought.
All thoughts of how handsome the Sultan was went from her head, a wave of nausea gripped her but she fought it back. As fascinated as she had been at the thought of being bedded by the Sultan the future she had planned for was gone. The dreams she had previously had about him all ran through her mind and she wondered briefly if she was being punished by some unseen being for thinking of her future father in law that way.
A tear ran down her face, she was unable to stop it and the Sultan wiped it from her cheek. ‘I will have you Catherine, any thoughts you have on the matter do not concern me. You will be my wife. Now, will you give yourself to me? Will you surrender your virginity to me?’
She nodded slowly and he kissed her. Not a gentle kiss but intense, spreading her lips and pushing his tongue into her mouth, not really knowing what to do she pushed back and it pleased him as he groaned at the response.
‘Remove your clothes,’ he said. Slowly, hands trembling she did as she was told until she stood naked before him. ‘Beautiful, as I knew you would be,’ he murmured, stroking her breasts with his hands until the little pink nipples stood to attention.
He took one in his mouth just as he had with Eve and played with it with his tongue, grazing it with his teeth. When she gasped, he laughed. ‘My Catherine likes what I’m doing to her,’ he said before doing the same to the other nipple. Sucking on them hard he made her gasp even more, the sensation of pleasure mixed with discomfort.
Since seeing him do this she had fantasised what it would be like to have his tongue, his mouth on her nipples but now she responded to the sensation, pleasing him.
‘You will need to get used to your body being taken a lot,’ he said, ‘I can see myself spending a lot of time inside you.’
Catherine blushed as he kissed his way down her stomach, kneeling before the dark patch of hair between her legs. Parting her legs a little he
pushed his face into the gap and probing with his tongue found her wetness. Finding her clitoris he licked and sucked until she arched her back, unable to resist the feeling coursing through her body. Tormented by the feeling, her body betraying her she gave into it and heard him groan as the shudder went through her body and her knees were weak.
‘Your body wants me,’ he said, ‘so wet and hot and aching for me.’ Picking her up he carried her to the bed where he lay her down and spread her legs where he went back to sucking on her swollen clitoris. Her body still begged for release and it came in waves, like the climaxes she’d enjoyed at her own hand but amplified and she cried out at their intensity.
As he sucked and licked his hands stroked her breasts again, pulling at her nipples and she found her hips moving, thrusting upwards as she climaxed. ‘We will be as one now,’ he said, ‘I’m going to spill my seed into your belly so one day you will give me the child I want.’
She nodded and he grinned, moving up and teasing her with his hardness while she kept thrusting up to meet him, unable to stop. Holding her hip he eased himself into her, she cried out as he pushed deep inside and he paused for a moment.
‘So tight,’ he said, ‘I am going to enjoy you.’ Slowly he started to thrust, leaning over and sucking on her nipples while moving his hips back and forwards. She moaned. ‘Tell me Catherine. Tell me how it feels to have your Sultan inside you.’
‘My Lord,’ she said, feeling the heat in her face rise, ‘It is so hard.’
He chuckled. ‘You have made me this hard my love, you and your body so welcoming.’
Suddenly he pulled out of her and she didn’t know what to do. Admiring his handiwork on the sheets, the virginal spots of blood, he rolled her over onto her stomach and propping her up on her hands and knees entered her from behind.
She gasped as he drove in deep, every thrust a new sensation while he reached for her clitoris, rubbing while moving inside her. She felt the climax rise and let it go as he breathed in her ear. ‘That’s it my love, give me all your juices, we’ll need them as you are so tight.’ Finally he groaned as his own climax came and she felt the hot fluid flow into her.
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