Something moved at the window, and his hand tightened on the hilt of the sword as the movement repeated itself, a darker blackness against the night sky. The shadow moved, and he heard the thump of something landing on the floor next to the bed. Still, Eskkar had caught a glimpse of it as it jumped down.
The cat had green-gold eyes that gleamed in the faint light, and Eskkar saw them watching him. For a moment he considered taking a swing at the creature, thinking it might be some demon sent by Ninazu. Then he reconsidered. The animal seemed to think it belonged, as it sat down in the middle of the floor, a dark shadow without color, except for its eyes, which stayed focused on the bed. As Eskkar’s eyes grew more accustomed to the darkness, he saw that the cat looked alert, but not frightened.
Eskkar muttered to himself and put the sword back on the table. The creature had climbed into the room. It could get itself out again. “Stay if you will. Just let me sleep.” Nothing much bigger than a cat could get inside, he felt certain of that. He fell back on the pillow, let his breathing relax, closed his eyes, and soon began to drift off into sleep.
The soft knock at the door had him moving in an instant, on his feet and up from the bed, his hand again finding the sword without any fumbling. He stood by the door. “Who is it?”
“It is Lani, lord. I’ve brought you some wine.”
She kept her voice low, and he could barely hear her through the door.
He didn’t want any wine. He wanted to tell her to go away, but instead he opened the door. Lani and her sister both stood there, Lani’s face flickering behind a small candle that she carried on a tray. Behind them, Eskkar saw Grond watching from the table.
“May we come in, lord?” Lani asked.
He hesitated, not sure that he wanted to see her, but he opened the door wider and stepped back. The tray that Lani carried held a pitcher of wine and a cup, while Tippu carried a bowl filled with water and some cloths. Lani stepped into the room, almost as if she worried he might close the door once again. Tippu followed, though more slowly. He watched them pass by him. The cat had vanished, no doubt leaving the way it entered, and just as silently.
“We thought you might want some wine before bed, or that you might wish to wash your hands and face.” She put her things down on the table, then went to the door and closed it, though Eskkar’s hand was still on it.
Before she shut the door, Eskkar caught another glimpse of Grond standing there, a frown on his face. Eskkar turned to Lani, and for the first time he noticed that she’d changed her dress from the one she’d worn earlier. A much finer garment, and one woven from something softer than the usual linen, and not one that you pulled on over your head. Instead, it looked as if it would open from the front, the two edges crossing over her breasts and tied together at her waist.
Eskkar had drunk more spirits tonight than he usually allowed himself; he didn’t plan to drink anything more. In the old days he’d guzzled as much as he could afford, which had only allowed him to get properly drunk two or three times a month. Trella had changed all that, and he’d sworn never to lose control of himself again.
“No, Lani, I don’t need any wine.” He smiled at her. “And I washed up at the well before I returned. You and your sister can go.”
She peered at him in the fl ickering light, almost as if checking to see if he had really washed. Lani went on as if she hadn’t heard him. “Perhaps you would like one of us to stay with you… to pleasure you tonight? If you prefer Tippu, she is more pleasing to look at, or… or we could both remain, if that is your wish.”
He looked at Lani, then Tippu. In the light from the tiny flame, Lani’s eyes met his own, while Tippu stared at the floor. The thought of both of them in his bed sent a wave of desire through him. Eskkar had always taken a woman after every fight. Even during the fighting for Akkad, he’d taken Trella after every encounter. He remembered Lani’s naked body, and the temptation surged through him. Battle did that to a man, made him want a woman just to prove he’d survived while others had died. Another thought struck him.
“Tippu,” he began, and thought he saw Lani’s lips compress for a brief instant, “Tippu, my bodyguard is outside. He is more than my bodyguard, he is my friend as well. And he has looked at you with longing, and told me of this. Perhaps you could spend tonight with him.”
Tippu looked at her sister without showing any emotion, and waited until Lani nodded approval. “Yes, lord, I will go to your friend,” Tippu said. She began putting down the bowl and cloths she still held.
“And I, lord? What should I do?” Lani asked.
He wanted her to stay, but his days of taking women against their will had passed. If she thought she had to please him to get what she wanted, he would send her away. But he didn’t want to do that, not yet.
“If you like, Lani, you can stay with me tonight. But only if you want to. You already have my protection, and I don’t need you in my bed to remind me of my promise.”
“I will stay, lord.” Lani called after her sister. “Wait, Tippu. Go to our room. I will send Grond to you there. Treat him well, Tippu.” She guided her sister to the door, opened it for her, and followed her out.
Eskkar watched in surprise as Lani crossed the room and spoke to Grond, who still sat at the table. Lani spoke to him for some time, before gesturing toward the room that her sister had just entered. Grond answered Lani, then listened for another moment before nodding his head.
Lani came back to the bedroom, and this time she dropped the bar across the door. She moved within arm’s length, and began untying her dress.
He reached out and took her hands, then pulled her closer to him.
“You don’t have to do this, Lani. I don’t take women against their will, or because they are afraid.”
“I know, Lord Eskkar. I spoke with many of your soldiers today. They told me much about you, about Akkad, and about your wife.”
She pulled her hands free from his grasp and continued untying her dress. When the knot came undone, she opened the dress wide and pushed it back over her shoulders, letting it hang from her arms as if to frame her body. “They told me so much about you that I feel safe in your care. But I also saw in your eyes today that you wanted me.”
Eskkar started to say something, but she put her finger up to his lips, the movement swirling the dress around her. “There is nothing to say, Lord Eskkar. I want to be in your arms and in your bed.” Lani took her hand away, and this time the dress fell to the floor. She stood on her toes and put her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.
He inhaled her hair and noticed she smelled faintly of cinnamon, a delicate perfume that mixed with the warm, musky smell of a woman. She made a small sound as she felt the pressure of his erection, and moved her hips against him.
“I do want you, Lani,” he whispered into her ear. “And you are wrong.
You are much more beautiful than your sister.”
She lifted her head up and he kissed her, a long, lingering kiss that aroused him even further. When the kiss ended, she leaned down to blow out the candle. As the darkness enveloped them, she began unfastening his undergarment. Soon that dropped to the floor, and they lay down on the bed, their arms wrapped around each other.
In the dark, her body felt soft and full, her full breasts brushing against his chest whenever he took his hands from them. She kissed him with abandon, almost possessively, until he grew more and more aroused. At last she moved on top of him and guided him inside her moist body.
Lani gave a long sigh of pleasure when he slid deep within her and for a few moments, she stayed still. He pushed up against her and she began to move, slowly at first, then faster, stopping often to let him kiss her breasts or leaning down to find his mouth with her own, while she squeezed her muscles around his penis.