“And so you married her! Lord, man, you’re a romantic at heart.”

“Wrong!” Khalid el Bey poured the Englishman a tiny cup of
sweet Turkish coffee. “I had intended to make her the finest and
most expensive whore the world had ever seen.”

Robert Small sucked his breath in sharply. “Did you indeed,
laddie? And pray tell what stopped you?”

“I fell in love with her, my friend. Not with just her face and
luscious body, but with the woman I began to see emerging. She
is without guile, and generous as well. She is also the least greedy
female I have ever known, and when she looks at me with those
marvelous blue eyes of hers I am lost, Robbie! Very soon, the
thought of anyone other than myself touching her enraged me. I
found that I wanted children and a loving wife, like a normal man.”

“God help you, then, my friend, for you have a weakness now,
and your enemies will use it against you. As long as the great
Whoremaster of Algiers showed no vulnerability he was inviolable.”

“Don’t fret, Robbie, I have no enemies. Even my women respect
me.”

“Don’t be a fool, Khalid!” It was said sharply. “All wealthy and
powerful men have enemies. Look closely to yourself and to that
beauty you’ve married.”

For a few minutes the two men sat silently sipping their coffee,
then Robert Small spoke. “I’ve made you richer again, Khalid. The
ships we sent to the New World have returned laden with precious
metals, jewels, and furs. The ones that traveled south returned with
spices, slaves, and gemstones. I have, as usual, saved the cream of
the female slaves for you to see.”

Khalid el Bey was all business now. “Did we lose any ships or
men?”

“No ships, but three men were lost on the Swan, off the Horn.
It was a particularly bad storm, the captain tells me, but he didn’t
lose one slave.”

“Good! And you, Robbie, how was your voyage?”

The captain chuckled and stretched his short frame out on the
pillows, his hands behind his head. “Ah, Khalid, I wish you’d been
with me. How often you’ve warned me of men’s greed, and the
vulnerability that greed brings in. And you were right! I found us a mine manager in the Spanish Americas who is a younger son with
no hope other than to end his days a rum-soaked wreck. His oldest
brother, their father’s heir, married the girl he loved, and then ar-
ranged for him to be sent from Spain. He burns for vengeance, and
so he has agreed to help us obtain six shiploads of gold for a per-
centage and passage back to Europe. It was a cheap price to pay,
Khalid. We filled three ships this trip, and I’ve already sent three
other ships.”

“And how did this young don cover the theft? And how can we
be sure he’ll not betray us?”

“The first theft was covered by causing a mine to cave in. It’ll
take months to clear it out, by which time we’ll have returned for
the second load from the other mine. It will not matter if the Spaniards
learn then that they have been robbed, for we’ll be all long gone by
that time. The young don has a half-Spanish, half-Indian mistress
he intends to marry and take to Paris with him. He can live quite
well on what we pay him.

“The mines he oversees give up the purest gold I’ve ever seen,
Khalid! The other ships in our fleet have carried back the finest furs
imaginable, along with basketsful of turquoise, coral, jade, ame-
thyst, emeralds, and topaz. I have, as usual, saved a choice selection
of furs and gems for you, along with some excellent Indian pearls
and spices from the Southern fleet. Everything else has been disposed
of through our regular channels, and your monies are already with
your banker.”

“You are generous, Robbie, and quite thorough, as always. Per-
haps you will allow me to do a little something for you now. Your
ship was sighted by friends of mine this morning, and I knew you
would be with me by evening. Go to the House of Felicity, and you
will find a surprise waiting for you.”

The Englishman grinned delightedly. “Ah, Khalid, you didn’t
have to go to any trouble.”

The Whoremaster of Algiers grinned back, “She’s quite to your
liking, Robbie. Go along now so I may rejoin my own lady.”

The captain scrambled to his feet. “If my surprise is that good
I’ll not be seeing you for several days, Khalid,” and he was quickly
gone.

Khalid el Bey stretched his long body in a catlike movement and
called, “Skye!” She appeared immediately from behind a wall hang-
ing, and sat down next to him. “You heard,” said her husband.

“Yes, my lord. If this story is true then you are indeed fortunate
to have such a partner.”

“You can trust Robert Small with your life, my Skye. He is the most honest man I know. He has never cheated me. It is simply not
in his nature.”

“What awaits him at the House of Felicity? Have you found him
some petite creature to soothe and comfort him?”

Khalid laughed. “No! Though Robbie is a bit of a man, he likes
big, tall women. The maiden awaiting him stands six feet and has
breasts like summer melons. I’ve been given to understand that
Robbie’s rod is as big as any man’s, so they will both enjoy them-
selves.”

They laughed together, imagining the little man and his Amazon
mistress locked in sweet combat. Then as easily as they had begun
to laugh they stopped, and she was in his arms again. He kissed her
until she ached for him. His hands slid beneath her sheer pale-blue
silk caftan, his long fingers teasing her nipples until she whimpered.

“Look at me, Skye,” he commanded softly, and she struggled to
raise her heavy-lidded eyes to him. “You are my wife, beloved, and
I love you.”

Now, for the first time, she looked deep into his warm amber
eyes and realized mat she felt deeply toward Khalid. With this
startling realization, the heartache that had assailed her continually
ever since she’d awakened to her new life in Algiers seemed to
dissolve, leaving her feeling as light as a feather. She loved! This
was what love was, and she could remember it! Her eyes filled with
happy tears and she said wonderingly, “Oh, Khalid! I love you, too!
I do! I know that now!” And pulling his dark head down to hers,
she kissed him deeply. He, feeling her certain, unwavering love,
found his passion bursting into an unquenchable flame.

Beneath his eager touch the silk of her robe tore away and bis
hands and mouth began their worshipful adoration of her. He loos-
ened her lovely dark hair and spread it over the apricot velvet pillows.
Then his long fingers gently traced her high cheekbones, moving
down the fine line of her jaw to capture her small chin.

‘Tell me again, Skye,” he said softly.

Her sapphire eyes caught his amber-gold ones and held them
unwaveringly. “I love you, my lord Khalid.” she said firmly. “I love
you!” Then she kissed him again, her little tongue teasing his mouth.
He could feel her small round breasts rubbing against his chest and,
unable to refuse the invitation, he lowered his head and nibbled on
the hard, quivering nipples. His tongue pushed into her little navel
and she eagerly thrust her torso toward him. He moved lower yet,
his mouth seeking that most secret core. Tasting her seashell-like
fragrance, his tongue darted like wildfire over the moist dark pink
flesh. She whimpered, half in agony, half in ecstasy, her fingers catching at the dark hair of his head as he relentlessly pushed her
beyond endurance. Amazingly, she did not shatter into a thousand
pieces. She soared higher than she had ever done before. Then with
great tenderness he kissed the soft inside of her thighs, pulled himself
up over her, and gently took her.

Skye was frantic with unfulfilled passion. She had never known
such love as this. Or had she? Her mind whirled in confusion, but
Khalid’s warm body soon overcame that. What difference did it
make if she had loved before? Khalid was her husband. He loved
her, and she loved him. Why should she torture herself with vague,
flickering memories? All that mattered was now.

“Skye! Skye! Come with me, my darling! Now! Now!”

She met his ardor with her own, soaring as he did. Afterward,
as she lay sated, she said quietly, “I want a child, Khalid.”

He smiled in the darkness. This was further proof of her love.
”I shall endeavor, my love, to give you everything you want-
especially children.”

Suddenly she laughed happily and, propping herself up on an
elbow, looked down into his golden eyes. “I love you, and am loved
in return,” she said. “Whatever has been before in my life can matter
little in the light of this love. If it were important, then surely I
should have remembered it all by now. I know who I am. I am
Skye, the beloved wife of Khalid el Bey, the great Whoremaster of
Algiers.”

Chapter 11

Niall Burke lay weakly back upon the scented linen pillows
and, focusing his silvery eyes clearly for the first time in
weeks, gazed out at the distant blue mountains. The landscape
outside his window was a riot of lush vegetation. Pink and
red hibiscus, cloyingly sweet gardenias, spicy roses, and crisp lav-
ender were all growing in a wild mass that spread upward from the
gardens to the flowering vines that clung to the villa wall. It was
all so vibrant.

Now, totally immersed in the sights and smells, the shrieking of
the darting parrots, Niall knew he would live. And fervently he
wished he were dead.

The carved oak door of his room opened then, admitting a young
girl whose big eyes lit up at the sight of him.

“Ah, Senor Niall. At last you are fully awake. I am Constanza
Maria Alcudia Cuidadela. My papa is the governor of this island,
and you are in his house.” She put a tray on the nearby table.

Feeling like a fool, Niall was forced to ask, “What island is this?”

The girl blushed in pretty pink confusion. “Oh, senor, forgive
me! You are on the island of Mallorca.”