Kalida cried out, startled to realize that until this very moment, she had never really known pleasure between a man and a woman. Her eyes opened, and she saw him smiling, not with any sense of triumph, but with the joy they had just shared.

"I did not know," she said simply, feeling like a virgin taken for the first time.

He wrapped her in his warm embrace. "Then I am forgiven for tempting you to the forbidden, my queen," he murmured against her ear.

She laughed softly. "You are forgiven, Dagon of Aramas," she said. She snuggled deeper into his arms, rubbing her cheek against his smooth, damp chest. "Will you tempt me again?"

"If you wish it, my queen," he returned. "There is so much I can share with you that I suspect you have never shared with any man." Then his voice grew more serious. "Tell me, Kalida, did you never until this night know real pleasure? How can this be, my love? You are so warm and eager for passion."

"Perhaps the goddess did not mean me to know passion until you came into my bed, Dagon," she answered him, equally serious. "Zeras has always warned me not to allow my emotions to overrule my intellect. Zeras says a queen must be clear-headed, focused and free of foolish sentiments. In Kava our queens only rule till they fall in love. I like being a queen, but how could Zeras have kept this magnificence from me? I shall scold him quite harshly for it in the morning!"

"Do not, my love," Dagon cautioned. "You are the queen, but Zeras has raised you, and he is devoted to you. Perhaps he did not tell you of the sweetness of passion because he feared to lose you to another man when you took a mate, Kalida. That is the way with fathers. It is hard for them to give their daughters to another man. Besides, my beautiful queen, I have but offered you a glimpse of passion. You enjoyed it, but there is more to true love than passion. If you vent your anger at Zeras, he could prove difficult."

"It is said that Zeras sired me, but he is a slave. He had not the right to keep this wonderfulness from me. I will punish him, Dagon!" Her look was resolute.

"If you do, Kalida, he will find a way to make certain I die for my daring, or disappear from your life. You may not realize it, but Zeras holds a certain power within your palace, slave though he be. It is that way with upper servants of his class the world over. Tell him not of what you have learned this night, and do not punish him. Behave with him as you always have done. Let us haveour little secret, which we will keep from Zeras. He need not know the delights we share. If it is your will to eventually make me your favorite, he may be irritated, but you are the queen. It is your will that shall prevail, not his. He has already told me you will quickly become bored with me, and discard me. Allow him to continue to believe that, my love, I beg you. "

"When my eyes first beheld you, my queen, I began to fall in love with you. Sharing passion with you has but deepened that love. May the goddess turn your heart to me, Kalida. Even if Zenaida had not brought me here in chains, had I come to you of my own accord, I should have fallen in love with you, my queen. I shall never again desire any woman but you, for you are perfection, and having tasted of your sweetness, all else is ashes in my mouth."

"Why is it that other men have never spoken to me as you do, Dagon?" she asked wonderingly.

"Because they are fools, Kalida. They sought only but to slake their own lusts upon your beautiful body. I want your heart as well as your body, my queen."

"Zeras says a queen can have no heart, Dagon," she replied.

"You are a woman first, Kalida, and all women have hearts," he answered her, kissing the top of her golden head.

She laughed softly once again. "You are a very wicked man, Dagon. I should take my whip to you again for your irreverence, but instead I want you to fill me once more with that glorious manhood of yours!"

Now it was his turn to laugh. "I have unleashed a shameless monster," he teased her. "Do not be in such a great hurry, my queen. Passion shared must be gently cajoled to flame. There is pleasure in anticipation, Kalida. Let us rest for a short time, and then we will make love to one another once again."

"I am in your hands, Dagon of Aramas," she replied. "I have never before trusted a man, except for Zeras, but I will trust you, for you have shown me pleasure such as I have never known."

"You will not regret your decision, my queen," he told her, his heart soaring with excitement at her words. He really was already half in love with this exquisite woman. He desperately wanted her to fall in love with him, to take him as her mate. If he continued to please her, he believed he would attain that goal. "Sleep now, my love," he encouraged her.

chapter 3

"Shall I send him to the mines, or to the fields, my queen?" Zeras asked his mistress the following morning.

"Neither," Kalida said. Then she laughed. "He amuses me, Zeras. Besides, it would be rude to dispose of the lady Zenaida's gift so hastily. I shall keep him by my side for a short time. Now, fetch me a bejeweled gold collar and a length of gold chain. After Vernus has bathed him, put the collar on him. And keep him naked. I want all the women of Kava to see his impressive and sumptuous assets. Let them have their dreams of the time when I shall send him for common pleasures prior to dismissing him." She slid off her bed and stretched lazily. Then, reaching out, she took up the small leather whip. "Buttocks up, Dagon!" she ordered him harshly.

"As my queen commands," Dagon replied, rolling over and rising onto his hands and knees.

Kalida laughed again. "Is he not amusing, Zeras? Watch!" She laid the whip with its half dozen knotted leather fingers across her lover's hard, rounded rump several times. "On your back, slave!"

He immediately obeyed, and Kalida slid the whip beneath his penis, raising it slightly so that it was draped over the whip's handle, a wicked smile upon her beautiful face.

"See, Zeras!" she said excitedly. "The whip begins to arouse my beautiful prince. Ten strokes, and he is ready to be mounted. I swear it! I have never had such an eager lover. I must keep him for a while longer. This Dagon is most entertaining. Now, I will go and bathe, Zeras. Carry out my orders immediately."

She ran off to her bath while Zeras glowered irritated at Dagon. "Well, that cock of yours is more talented than I gave it credit for, oh prince," he said sourly. "Come along to Vernus while I find a suitable dog collar so your mistress may lead you about."

"Tell me absolutely everything!" Vernus said when Dagon arrived at the baths. His gray eyes were dancing with curiosity. "Did she mount you? Did you please her? Are you to remain in the palace? Dear boy, I simply must know!"

"I believe I pleased the queen," Dagon said carefully, remembering Zenaida's warning to trust no one.

The gray eyes rolled with their exasperation. "Suneva help us. A discreet lover! My brother, Durantis, has been here twice this morning attempting to ascertain your status, and all you can say is you believe you pleased Kalida! Surely there is a tiny bit more?"

"She has not dismissed me," Dagon replied. "And she asked Zeras to fetch a collar and chain for me so I may accompany her today. Beyond that, I can tell you nothing, Vernus, because I know nothing."

"This is good," Vernus noted. "This is good! She has never before kept a male slave so close. The lady Zenaida will be well pleased. She wants to see you, but if you are to remain by the queen, I do not know when such a thing will be possible. I shall send word, and leave her to solve the problem. Women are so much better than we men in solving problems like this." He picked up a soap-filled sponge, and began to wash his charge vigorously, all the while humming merrily beneath his breath.

Dagon was bathed. Massaged with a sweet oil that left his body shiny, his muscles well defined. Vernus brushed his dark hair with musk oil, tying it back with a length of gilded leather. He took the collar from Zeras, who joined them, examining it to be certain that it was lined with silk and lamb's wool to prevent chafing. The gold circle was an inch in width, and heavily bejeweled in emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds. Vernus removed Dagon's golden torque, and fastened the collar about his thick neck. It rested perfectly upon his collarbone.

With a barely disguised sneer, Zeras snapped the golden chain to the collar. "Come, slave," he said. "Your mistress awaits you."

"Do not yank upon the chain so!" Vernus scolded Zeras. "If you bruise him, I shall report you to the queen!"

Zeras brought Dagon to the queen's dining chamber, where Kalida was already seated. He handed the chain to the young queen.

Kalida gently tugged upon the chain. "You may kneel by my chair, Dagon," she told him, and when he had obeyed her, she smiled. "Good prince," she approved. "Now, open your mouth, and I will give you something to eat. You are to keep your mouth wide except when you are chewing your food."

About them, the servants moved silently, bringing the food, pouring liquid refreshment for the queen, who ate alone. Now and again she would pop food into his mouth. Bread, meat, fruit, and cheese. He played her game, nuzzling at her hand, licking her fingers mischievously. All the while Zeras remained standing at the opposite end of the table from where the queen was seated. He could see nothing of their byplay, which suited Dagon well, for every now and then he would lean down and nip at Kalida's thigh playfully.

"I think I shall walk through the city this morning," Kalida said when she had finished her meal. She bathed her hands in a basin held by an attractive young blond man, and dried them on the linen towel draped over his sinewy arm. "Have an escort fetched for me," she said to Zeras.

"Shall I also accompany you, my queen?" he asked her.

"No, I think not," Kalida said. "You would only stand behind me, and hiss at me about keeping my dignity. I want to show off my gift to my people. They will be admiring, and want to touch him, and perhaps I shall allow it. If you were with me, Zeras, you would scowl, and remind me that a queen is above the common people. But there are no commoners in Kava. You still hold with the values of your world, despite the fact you have been in Kava for twenty-five years. Now, go and do my bidding." She arose from the table. "Come, my prince," she murmured, pulling gently on his leash.

They left Zeras behind, and went out into the city with four women warriors escorting them. The guard was a sop to the royal presence, and entirely unnecessary. Almost immediately, the women in the streets began to point and call out at the sight of Kalida and Dagon.

"Ahhh, to be Queen of Kava!" said one, giving Dagon's penis a friendly tweak.

"Does your stallion ride well, oh Queen?" called another. "He looks a right lusty mount!" The woman patted his bottom.

"He is," Kalida replied, laughing."Very lusty!"

Dagon said nothing, but he was taken aback by Kalida's behavior of this morning. Gone was the warm, passionate woman he had loved last night. In her place was an imperious creature, but, remembering the Kalida of the previous evening, he held his peace. Tonight would surely reveal the truth of the matter to him. They entered into a square.

"This is the place of common pleasures," she told him. "It is here recalcitrant slaves are brought to be whipped. The Public Punisher administers the discipline so the slave's anger is not directed toward his mistress. Sometimes a slave is spread-eagled upon the block, and given over to any woman's pleasure. When that happens, the square is full to overflowing, particularly if the slave is handsome." She turned, and ran a seductive finger up and down his jaw line. "I shall never allow another woman to mount you, Dagon, my prince. You are mine, and mine alone."

Her tone was tender, and for a brief moment, her eyes soft with her passion. Then suddenly she was the Queen of Kava once more. She led him off back to the palace where he knelt next to her as she completed the administrative tasks scheduled for this day, Zeras once again by her side, advising, murmuring in her ear. Dagon began to feel a gnawing of jealousy toward the older man. When the evening came, and she again sat alone at her meal, Dagon realized how isolated Kalida was, for other than their short excursion into the city streets that day, she had had no contact with anyone but Zeras and her servants. There was, it seemed, no court; no friends. Just Zeras.And now Dagon.