Captured For The Sultan’s Pleasure

Roksolana looked up and saw a man bowing slightly before her. She thought that the man looked a little familiar, but she couldn’t place his face. That was her major flaw, she hadn’t remembered people’s faces unless they left a huge impression on her. When the man saw her looking at him inquisitively, he blushed.

“I’m Hassan. The second in command of the army. You saved my life before, my lady.” The man explained himself.

Roksolana remembered that he had once approached her before when she was still a maid.

“I remember you now, Hassan. Why were you looking for me though?” Roksolana asked him.

“I just wanted to say thank you for saving me, and for being a good friend to my sister,” Hassan said.

Friend? Sister? Roksolana thought, looking at the man in a confused manner.

“Seyiddah is my sister.” The man clarified.

Seyiddah is his sister? Why was the brother a second in command while the sister was a slave? Roksolana thought. But she didn’t want to be offensive, so she didn’t ask. However, the man probably what she was thinking about and explained to her that they were elites and not slaves. His sister only worked in the kitchen because she loved cooking. Nothing he had said had deterred his sister from doing the job. The man went as far as saying that his sister had promised to stop coming home if he tried to stop her. Roksolana chuckled at that. When the man was done, she wondered why Seyiddah had lied to her about her identity.

“She doesn’t like making people feel beneath her,” Hassan said, answering the question she hadn’t thought that she asked loudly.

They got talking for a while more. Hassan made her laugh at his jokes and his exploits. He also told her about some of Seyiddah’s childhood pranks. Roksolana felt happy and relieved from the stress she had been passing through for a while now. She couldn’t wait to tell Seyiddah some of the things she had heard about her and see her reaction.

Jamal paused in his tracks as his eyes fell on Roksolana. She was standing with a man and laughing at whatever the man was saying. Jamal felt furious with the scene playing in front of him. He had thought that she might be feeling sad about not winning the dancing competition and the harsh way he had talked to the people in the morning, so he had come over against his best judgment. He had thought that he would explain to her how it was wrong for the people of the sultanate to approach a royal concubine unless it was by order and make her see the reasoning for his actions. He had even thought about suggesting that they had dinner together later in the day. But now, he could see that none of that was necessary and he had merely worried over nothing.

“Should I announce your presence?” Jamal heard Aabdeen ask him.

He shook his head slightly. “There’s no need for that. Let’s go.” He commanded.

Together, they turned around and went away, leaving the two love birds alone. Jamal did everything in his power to make sure that whatever emotion he was feeling didn’t reflect in his tone or expression. When they got to his house, Jamal dismissed Aabdeen for the rest of the day. Immediately he was gone, Jamal began to pace around the room. Different thoughts found their way to his mind. Had he been too hard on Roksolana? Was the man she was with her lover? Jamal picked up a vase sitting on a table and threw it across the room. He watched as it hit the wall before it shattered into a hundred pieces. He shouldn’t have left just like that. He should have made sure that man paid for even daring to look at his woman. Maybe he should go back and make the man regret his actions.

“Jamal. Jamal.”

The Sultan heard someone call from outside his house. He thought that the voice sounded like that of Roksolana. If that was her, why wasn’t she coming in? Or was she up to one of her mischievous? He doesn’t want her anywhere around himself for now anyway. He was likely to do something out of order if she showed up in his presence. Jamal grimaced when Roksolana busted into the room. He tried to see if he could run away, but he didn’t have such luck. He turned to face her.

“I’ve been calling for so long. Didn’t you hear me calling?” Roksolana inquired.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“The last time I checked, I didn’t place any restrictions on your movement here,” Jamal retorted.

Roksolana looked at him with wide eyes. This was not his usual self, Roksolana thought. Why does it seem like he was angry? She hadn’t done anything wrong, and he doesn’t have any right to be angry. The man had been the one who annoyed him and yet, he was acting as if she was the most wicked person on earth. Perhaps, she should just leave since he seemed to be acting stubborn towards her. Roksolana turned to the door to leave. The moment she remembered that the safety of the sultanate rested in the Sultan’s well-being, she turned back again. Or maybe she should just give the message to Aabdeen to pass across to the Sultan. She looked around but couldn’t find the other man.

“Where’s Aabdeen?” Roksolana asked.

Jamal looked at Roksolana with a glare. Didn’t she understand that he wasn’t interested in talking to her at all? Was she so draft or had she just chosen to play on his ego? Was she testing his patience right now? He turned away from her and took a deep breath.

“Your life is in danger,” Roksolana shouted at his back.

“By who?” Jamal asked without turning around.

“Lady Miriam and her lover, * Roksolana answered.

That was it. She had tested his patience enough. Jamal thought as he turned back to her. She had just broken his camel’s back. If she had expected him to believe her, she had just taken the wrong decision. She had probably thought of ways to come between him and Lady Miriam and had come up with such lousy talk. Jamal knew for certain that she was doing it to exact revenge against him for choosing Lady Miriam over her. He’s had enough from her though. Why does she keep doing that? She wasn’t ready to give herself to him and yet, she doesn’t even want him involved with other ladies. And to crown it all, she was probably cheating on him with another man despite knowing that it is haram in their religion.

The thought that she could be cheating on him sparked Jamal’s anger to another level. He was going to make sure he find the other man and kill the man himself. As for Roksolana, he had let her get away with too long. He saw her biting her lower lips and felt arousal rising for her. He cursed under his breath. Why was he always getting aroused by every little thing she does? He looked at her again and that was the mistake he made. She was breathing hard and Jamal watched as her chest rose and fell with each breathe, her breasts followed each action and breathe she took. He was not letting her get away from his clutch this night, whether she liked it or not. She was his concubine and he was exercising that right today, at this moment.