Chapter 10: On EdgeKhadija stood over Issa, her gloved fingers brushing lightly over his restrained body. His wrists and ankles were strapped tightly to the bed, his mouth filled with her worn socks, muffling every sound he tried to make. His wide eyes followed her movements, his chest rising and falling with quickened breaths as he awaited his fate. Jocelyn stood nearby, silent and ready, her black maid’s uniform stark a...

Chapter 1: A Mother's Gaze Khadija Al-Mansoor, widow of the late Abdullah Al-Mansoor, had long grown accustomed to the quiet strength required of her position. As the matriarch of the family, with two married daughters and her youngest son, Issa, still under her roof, she had carefully maintained her household’s dignity in the years following her husband’s passing. In their large villa, nestled in a prestigious part of Do...

As I was going to school one morning, there was a lot of commotion at Abdullah’s house. A big black van had pulled into the driveway and all the women were scurrying around with luggage. It looked like they were going on a trip.  I thought it would be a good day to mow their lawn and do pool maintenance if everyone was gone. That afternoon as I mowed the lawn, Abdullah pulled up in his big, black Mercedes and when he got...

At eighteen, I was an only child of two professional parents who worked a lot.  We lived in an upscale neighborhood.  My family was not rich, but well-to-do.  My father had his own business and was very keen that I work hard and understand the value of money.  To this end, I earned my own money by taking care of the lawn and pool for a couple of houses in our neighborhood including our own. I was pretty tall for my age, s...

HypatiaIt was only after filling Younos up with sweet wine, cheese and dates that Hypatia broached the subject of his clandestine studies of the paranormal. Spirits were a good way to get young Younos to talk in a manner that was less than circumspect.  “Are you training in the old magic, brother?” she asked him, deciding that a direct approach was for the better. He looked shocked at her question, but his guard wasn’t co...

Serpents Priests are allowed to make love. They may be dedicated to their priestly profession, but they are allowed to make love. Especially if they were as handsome as him. He wore golden curls on his head and had a bronzed body that was reminiscent of the Sun God. Lust inundated the very foundations of her mind when she glimpsed him for the first time. And the second time. And the third. And every time hence.  So they m...

It had been nearly four hours since I dropped my wife at the hotel, and the suspense was killing me. I knew that two men were fucking her. After all, that had been the deal. But was she enjoying it? How big were they? Would she still want me afterwards? A million thoughts and concerns flew through my mind as I sat and waited – literally a million.It was the biggest deal of my life that, once completed, would mean that at...

Mediha Her consciousness returned, and she knew that someone had pulled her out of the water. She could still hear the sounds of a scuffle and she opened her eyes and looked in its direction. It was a Hellenic boy dressed in commoner’s dirty linen clothes, and he was soaked  from head to toe. He was wrestling the assassin the best he could, but the assassin was gaining. The boy’s back was arched back, while the assassin w...

  Younos   Suleiman glowered down at the boy. “You’re blackmailing me, you mangy cur!” he screamed. “Don’t think of it as blackmail, esteemed one,” Younos said, trying not to smile while he thought that ‘mangy cur’ was something his sister had called this gentleman a short while ago. “Think of it like a gift to a well-wisher. I promise you two things. One, I will not approach you with a request like this again. Two, the S...

YounosYounos was worried. He had to arrange a sum of a hundred dinars, unless he wanted to smell like the sewer. The Sultana actually had thought he was a boy, although he was in his early twenties. It smarted. Such a ravishing woman, and she thought him a boy. Of course, his first thought when he thought of the Sultana was not ravishing. It was terrifying. Her personality was something else. It was as if she carried an e...

  LubnaErach was looking at a likeness of their very own prince Rustum. The princess Lubna was showing an image of the Persian prince, and he deduced that she had painted it herself. The implication was clear. He didn’t know how he should tell the poor smitten princess that Rustum was a rogue who slept with every woman who crossed his path. The fact that he looked stunningly handsome helped him satisfy his lusty appetite....

Younos The Sultana sat down next to her husband, and cleared her throat. Everyone in the room was paying attention, including her ‘lord and master’. “They are using some manner of battle tactics,” she said. “Even a cursory examination of their sheer power will tell any of us that they could decimate our kingdom if that was their purpose. This means one of three possible alternatives. One. Someone inimical to our kingdom w...