A Devil Named DeVere (The Devil DeVere)(80)

Chapter Twenty-six


Diana had left Salime the day before feeling empowered by her plan, but in returning to the brothel, she approached a crisis of confidence. Should she really go through with this? Did she truly have the fortitude for it? The questions filled her with a mixture of trepidation and excitement—for the exotic and the erotic together held such a powerful allure.

While the same wooden-faced footman tended the door, this time, Mrs. Hayes greeted her with cloying sweetness. "My dear," she said, "you do not know how very fortunate you are! I have begged, pleaded, and cajoled my most prized gem, Salime, to share her secrets with her sisters in pleasure, but she has been unmoving in her refusal...until you."

"I am honored by her condescension," Diana replied.

"You must play close heed, for should you master the arts of the East, you could command such a pretty price." The bawd's eyes gleamed.

"You think I wish to profit from it?"

"What woman would not? There would always be a place for you here, my dear. You should consider it."

"I fear you misunderstand. I am here for a sole purpose, a personal one."

"But, my dear, every man's interest eventually wanes. You would do well to remember that."

"I shall," Diana said tightly. "And while I appreciate your generous offer, I have no interest."

"The offer will stand," Mrs. Hayes answered with a smugness that Diana chose to ignore.

"I pray you will excuse me now, madam, for I would hate to keep Salime waiting."

***

Diana entered Salime's apartments to find her without the hookah. "Effendi enjoys many traditions of the East, Khanum," she explained without prelude. "The hookah, as you know, is one of these; the Oriental dance and the hammam are two others."

"Hammam?" Diana regarded her blankly.

"The Turkish bath."

"And why are his hygiene habits relevant?"

Salime made an exasperated noise. "Have you no understanding? The hammam is a ritual, a purification of body and spirit."

"Why is this important?"

"Because you will attend him there. You will cleanse and massage his body and give him pleasure."

"In the bath? Is that not a job for a manservant? I told you I have no wish to be his slave."

"How can you be so ignorant of the ways of the flesh? The massage I would teach you, it is not only to relax the body, but to arouse. If done correctly, you have the power to bring Effendi to the very pinnacle of rapture, a release like no other."

"You have done this before? To him?"

Salime smiled. "I often attend him in the hammam."

Diana wished she hadn't asked. The image of this woman so intimately touching him, pleasuring him, burned into her brain and made her seethe with an irrational jealousy that was hard to shake off.

"You will disrobe," Salime commanded.

Diana stared at her in incomprehension.

"Disrobe," she repeated. "How else can I teach you anything? Or do you wish me to call in a servant of this house to demonstrate? Of course we must come to that soon, but it will not be without cost. Madam will expect payment."

"You wish to demonstrate on me? Is there no other way?" she asked. While Diana was accustomed to being dressed and bathed by a maid, she was loath to expose herself to this worldly woman.

"No, Khanum. How can you understand that which you do not know? You must see and feel it to fully comprehend the power over both the mind and the body that lies in skilled hands."

"I will require assistance," Diana said, choking down her qualms. "I cannot manage my laces and stays."

Salime made an impatient sound and spun Diana around, making swift work of both garments. While Diana shrugged out of her gown and stays, Salime retrieved a glass bottle and a large cloth. "It is almond oil," she answered Diana's questioning look. "Most soothing to the body, but it must be heated in a bucket of warm water. Your shift," she commanded, "remove it." She indicated the divan. "Lie there. On your stomach."

Diana proceeded to do as she was bid, feeling strangely unnerved. Salime, however, moved efficiently and impersonally, positioning her body with her head resting on a pillow and her arms down by her side. "You will close your eyes and breathe deeply," she directed. "You must concentrate only on the feel of my hands, what they do when they touch your body. You will memorize this, Khanum, for I do this for you only once."

Diana felt the first strokes of warmed, oiled hands on her lower legs, ankles, and feet. The feel of a closed fist on her soles sent a ripple all the way to her belly. The kneading of her lower muscles seemed to work inwardly to penetrate her insides and fill her lower body with a wonderful languor. The sensation moved upward, and her body continued to relax and grow heavy, giving itself up fully to the magical ministrations of Salime's expert hands.

"You see, Khanum?" Salime kneaded and molded Diana's back and shoulders. "The massage brings mind and body to a state of unity and peace."

Diana almost moaned her agreement. "I do see. One could so easily put another to sleep in this way."

"Most effectively...if that is the goal."

"And if arousal is the object?" Diana asked over her shoulder.