Felicia Page 17

  “We are going to a party,” sheik Ismail announced. “It is being given by some associates of mine. You will behave properly while we are there.”

  “Yes, master,” Felicia nodded.

  “You will smile at everyone, but you will speak to no one,” he went on.

  “Yes, master.”

  “The party will be in an outdoor garden. There will be a pool. You may swim if you like, but do not try to wander off of the grounds. My associates have strict rules. If you try to do so, you will probably be shot. Do you understand?”

  Felicia gulped. “Yes, master,” she replied.

  “I have decided to give you this boon because you have done so well with your training,” the sheik went on. “And because you look so very decorative.” He looked at bouncy, happy little Sabadta. “Both of you.”

  “Thank you, master,” Felicia said humbly. She had been pretty sure when she had been told that she would accompany her master on an outing that there would be no chance of her escaping. Being told that she might be shot instead of simply retaken and severely punished was something she had not considered. In the meantime, she told herself, it would be a nice change to be outside, and clothed, and free to move around in a slightly larger and airier cage than she was usually kept in.

  “Food and drink will be served,” her master continued. “You may partake of either or both in moderation. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, master.” Felicia knew that Sabadta wasn’t getting any of this, and wondered if she had been told the rules ahead of time. She probably had. And if the girl misbehaved anyway, that was her problem, not Felicia’s. Felicia would be smiling and polite, she would probably go for a swim, she would probably sample some of the food and drink and she would certainly take the opportunity to do a little sunbathing. It would be nice to be among other people and actually dressed for a change. One thing that bothered her about all this, though, was that under her bikini she was wearing delicate gold nipple rings and the labial rings that she was rarely, rarely free of. Casual observers might never know that they were there, but the bikini fit her snugly enough so that she was always reminded that they were there. She supposed that she should be thankful for small mercies. The last time that creepy, cold-handed doctor had had her up on that examining table he and her master had discussed putting a ring through her clitoris, and another through her nose. Maybe they’d just let her overhear them to scare her, but she doubted that. Sooner or later, she was sure, she would be strapped down on that damned table again, and then they would do it to her, no matter how much she might beg or plead or cry or scream. It was inevitable. The only question, as far as she was concerned, was when it would happen and how much it would hurt. Neha had told her not to worry, that they always used an anesthetic and that most of the pain came afterwards, once the drug had worn off. That hadn’t been very comforting.

  The limo turned sharply. Felicia had to put out her hands to brace herself. Sabadta was caught by surprise. She rolled into the sheik’s leg and quickly scrambled away, looking up at him with a bright and nervous smile punctuated by a giggle. The sheik simply smiled at her. Felicia didn’t think that it was entirely fair the way the slender little East African got away with things that would get any other member of the harem whipped. She must be awfully good at something for her master to cut her so much slack. Or maybe she just seemed to be so happy that she was clothed and fed and taken care of that their master kept her on a long leash for variety.

  “Ah,” the sheik said as he looked out of one of the tinted windows. “We have arrived.”

  All Felicia saw was a high stone wall to either side as they passed through a gate. She stayed obediently on the floor until the limo came to a stop. Then she waited until Selim opened the door and gestured for her to get out. It was bright enough outside that she wished they had given her one of her old pairs of sunglasses to go with the outfit, or maybe her big, broad-brimmed white hat. She looked around as her master emerged from the vehicle, followed by Sabadta.

  The stone wall was not only high, it was long and wide as well. Here it enclosed a big grassy area where a lot of cars were already parked. Some were limousines, others were SUVs. There was even one sporty little red convertible over that way. A bit further away, she saw a low, rambling set of buildings. Two wings of it partly enclosed an area between them. She could hear conversations and laughter coming from that direction, but she couldn’t see much because of an intervening hedge.

  “This way,” the sheik said as he strode past her. Felicia obediently fell in behind him, with Sabadta bouncing along just to her right. She knew without looking that Selim was following them, and debated whether or not she should practice her smiling. She hadn’t had anything to smile about for a long time, and she was probably rusty at it. She decided to wait until she had something here to smile about and give it a try then.

  Her master led the way across the grass to a flagstone pathway that ran through an opening in the hedge. Once they had passed through, she could see dozens and dozens of men and women, all well-dressed, all seeming carefree and at ease. She heard some English being spoken along with French, German, Italian and more that she couldn’t identify. Some called out to the sheik as they passed by. He would nod and wave, but did not stop until they reached the edge of the pool area.

  “I will leave you here for now,” he said to Felicia. “You may do as you please until I send for you. Stay close together so that Selim may keep an eye on both of you. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, master,” Felicia said quietly. She didn’t want to speak loudly enough for any of the strangers nearby to hear. If she was allowed to pretend that she was no more or less than one of her master’s playmates for a while she didn’t want to ruin the image early.

  “Very good,” the sheik said. “I have some important business to take care of here. I would be most unhappy if something were to interrupt me.”

  “I understand, master,” Felicia said, still speaking quietly. Now that she was here, she was anxious to get on with her play-acting. She thought that she could probably fool everyone here. If she was very good at it, she might even fool herself for a little while.

  “Run along,” the sheik said with a wave of his hand. He disappeared into the crowd.

  Felicia, finally free… sort of… made her way to the pool. It was big and wide, with bodies in bikinis and trunks bobbing around in the cool, clear water. There were a bit too many bodies there for her not to feel crowded, so she appropriated one of the beach chairs, shed her robe and sandals, and stretched herself out to soak up some sun. She didn’t even bother to look for Sabadta. That little bitch could stay close or wander off as she saw fit.

  A moment later, she remembered that she hadn’t been out in the sun for a while and could easily burn. She reached down and retrieved her beach robe. She already knew that there was a small plastic bottle of tanning oil in the lone pocket. It had been there when she’d first put the robe on. It wasn’t a brand she’d used. It wasn’t even a brand she’d ever heard of, but she was glad to have it. She squeezed some into her palm and began slathering it all over her body. As she did she noticed some of the men there watching her and no doubt wondering what it would feel like if they were applying that slick, slippery oil on her warm, silky skin. In another time and place, she might have actually picked out a cute one and flirted with him subtly until he came over and offered to help. Now, she didn’t dare. But it was nice to have men looking at her again and wondering what she looked like under the scant covering of her bikini.

  She heard a gleeful squeal and looked in its direction just in time to see Sabadta dive into the pool. She sank like a stone, apparently unaware that she’d chosen the deep end to dive into, and clawed her way back to the surface. There she clung to the side of the pool, still happy, still smiling. Felicia envied her, and not for the first time. She didn’t seem to mind that she was a slave, not so long as her needs were taken care of, and her needs were pretty simple. Could she even r
ead and write? Slaves didn’t do that anyway. Well, sex slaves didn’t.

  Felicia had to turn away both from Sabadta and from that line of thinking. She laid back on the beach chair and let her mind go blank as she felt the bright sunshine soaking into her. For now, that was all she wanted or needed. But she couldn’t just leave it at that for long. She might be a slave. Her body might belong to her master, to use and abuse as he saw fit. But her mind, trapped inside her body as it was, was still free to wander wherever it wanted. As she lay there and let the sun toast her gently, she began thinking.

  When she had first been put into slavery, she had seen that life was easier in the harem, and she had tried very hard to be admitted into that group, saying and doing things to accomplish that that she didn’t want to think about now. Once she had gotten into the harem, she discovered that the only improvement in her situation was that she was a bit more comfortable in between the nasty, degrading things she was made to do, or that were done to her. Now it seemed that there might actually be another step up beyond the harem: To accompany her master outside of his palace compound, and mix with ordinary people. It would be nice. She could picture herself accompanying him to nightclubs… did he go to nightclubs? Oh, well, she could at least be his arm candy for events like this one. She didn’t know how she had earned enough of his trust to be brought along this time, but if she behaved herself he might consider bringing her along to more of them. She knew that she would have to pay for the privilege with her body, but he had free use of it anyway, so why not get something for herself out of the deal? She still hated it when he put his hands on her, hated it even more when he fucked her, and could barely stand it when he made her fellate him, but if she could look forward to rewards like this outing, it would not be quite so loathsome, would it?

  She dozed for a while, neither fully awake nor asleep until the feel of her skin warned her that it was time to turn over. She fished around for the bottle of tanning oil and applied it as best she could to her back. An oily, smiling, middle-aged man with a push broom mustache wandered over as she was going through her contortions. She didn’t understand a word that he said to her, but it was clear that he was offering to help her oil herself up. She smiled pleasantly and shook her head. The man shrugged and wandered off. Felicia saw Selim watching from a distance and smiled at him too before stretching herself out face down on the beach chair.

  The afternoon passed slowly but pleasantly. Felicia sunbathed for a while, visited the vast buffet with little Sabadta, with Selim always nearby, and got herself something to eat. So did Sabadta, though she piled her plate much higher than Felicia did hers. And once the pool had emptied out a bit, Felicia treated herself to a quick dip and even swam a few leisurely laps before she climbed out, dried herself out, and went back to her beach chair. By then the sun was so low in the sky that she didn’t think she’d need to use the oil again. But it was still nice to sit quietly and soak up the last of the warm rays. She wondered why she hadn’t seen her master for so long, but he had said that he had business here. Well, the longer that business took him the more time she had to enjoy herself.

  The sun set. It quickly became cool enough for her to put her beach robe back on. The party thinned out some more as servants lit torches and set them up on top of poles. The buffet was still open, so she visited it again to try some of the elaborate little pastries she had passed up on her first visit. Now she was getting a little anxious. It was strange, but being outside and away from the company of her master for so long was making her uneasy. As she nibbled at the pastries and found them delicious, she realized that there was nothing for her to do now but wait. The pool was heated. She could see wisps of vapor rising from it as the night air grew cooler. But going into the nice warm water meant that she would eventually have to come out of it into that chilly night air, and that didn’t seem appealing. Sunbathing ended once night had fallen. And as delicious as the pastries were, she could only eat so many of them.

  Sabadta seemed to have no problems with the situation. She was curled up on the beach chair next to Felicia’s, a smile still on her sleeping face. Meanwhile, more and more of the party guests took their leave. There were only a dozen or so left that Felicia could see, plus a few white-coated servants scurrying about. Two of them were setting up a table at the far end of the pool. Felicia wondered what it was for.

  Finally, she saw her master come out of the building. He looked quite pleased, which meant that his business had probably gone well. Felicia saw him wave in her general direction and realized that he was gesturing to Selim. The big eunuch came over and woke Sabadta. He made her and Felicia stand up and herded them over towards the table that had just been set up. Felicia saw a few more men come out of the building. Even at a distance she could tell that one of them was very, very unhappy about something.

  Her master reached the table before Felicia did, and stood waiting. His eyes were fixed on hers, and she suspected that something was up. Then she saw all the remaining guests gathering around the same table and knew beyond doubt that something was up.

  “Remove your robe,” he said to Felicia as she approached. It was a little too cool out now for that to be comfortable, but she obeyed promptly. Instantly she felt all eyes on her.

  “She is lovely, is she not?” the sheik asked the assembled guests. Felicia saw two or three women in the small crowd, each one holding the arm of an older man. They were clearly mistresses. They looked as curious about the proceedings as the men. Felicia heard the men all agreeing with her master.

  “Onto the table,” the sheik ordered. Felicia felt her heart sink. She was going to be put on display, she was sure. Nonetheless, she climbed up onto the table. Selim assisted her.

  “Settah!” the sheik barked at her. Instantly, Felicia assumed the pose he had called for, on her hands and knees, her arms and legs spread wide to the edges of the table, her head bowed.

  “She is also very well trained,” the sheik went on with a chuckle. “I know some of you have had your eyes on her this afternoon. What man could not? So I will give you all a better look. Selim, strip her.”

  Felicia gripped the edges of the table and gritted her teeth as Selim undid the knots that held her bikini on. First, the one behind her neck. Then the one between her shoulder blades. The bikini top fell onto the table and she heard the men oohing and aahing over her breasts. The chill night air made her nipples swell, showing off the rings strung through them. Selim went to the knot at her left hip and pulled it free. Felicia kept still as he moved around to the other side of the table and undid the last knot, then pulled off her bikini bottom.

  Felicia shivered, and it wasn’t all due to the coolness of the night. She had been displayed naked in front of strangers before. No matter how many more times it would be done to her, she didn’t think she’d ever get used to it.

  “She has rings here, too,” a young woman said from somewhere behind Felicia. “Oh, my, it looks positively barbaric!”

  “Touch them, if you like,” the sheik offered. “In fact, all of you, feel free to inspect my lovely young blonde as closely as you like. She enjoys being touched.”

  Felicia bit back the angry denial that almost got past her tightly-closed lips. She most certainly did not like being touched, not by strangers, not under these degrading circumstances. She felt fingers fiddling delicately with her labial rings, followed by a nervous feminine laugh.

  “Is she any good in bed?” one of the men asked Felicia’s master as he cupped and squeezed her breast.

  “Oh, she is both tight and ravenous,” her master replied with a laugh. “And not only in bed.”

  Felicia tried to think of something else, anything else, rather than the vile, submissive show she was being made to put on. But the hands stroking her, caressing her, twiddling with her rings, and the envious, admiring comments of the men as they inspected her kept her from doing that. She heard more nervous laughter and giggling from the young women. Be careful, you vapid little bitches, sh
e thought. If you’re not careful, and maybe even if you are, you’ll end up in the same situation as I am – in fact, I hope you all do!

  “Ah, my friend, please come and look,” she heard her master say.

  “I do not care to, thank you,” a man replied. Felicia risked a sidelong glance. The man who had spoken was the one who looked so unhappy about something. He had the same dark skin as her master, and spoke English with much the same accent, but he seemed to be some years older.

  “Ah, but I insist!” her master responded. “See the fullness and firmness of these plump young breasts? Here, feel for yourself.”

  Felicia felt her master’s hand move off of her breast and another man’s hand replace it.

  “Yes, she is quite impressive,” the unhappy man said. He didn’t seem at all interested in fondling Felicia. Something else was going on here, but she had no idea what it was.

  “And now, please come back here and enjoy the view,” her master continued as he moved to the foot of the table. “Is she not appealing in this pose?”

  “Yes, she is,” the unhappy man replied. “Please, I have other matters I must attend to.”

  “I must insist,” the sheik said coldly. “Touch the rings. She is a slut. She enjoys it.”

  Felicia felt thick, blunt fingers fumble with her labial rings briefly. Unsure of the part she was required to play here, she moaned faintly.

  “You see, my friend?” she heard her master say.

  “I see. I see very well,” the unhappy man replied. “But truly, I…I must go now.”