The whispers started the next morning.
Servants glanced at Maryam longer than usual. A few giggled behind their hands when she walked through the halls. Even the head librarian gave her a knowing look. The Sultan’s private summons were no longer a complete secret.
Maryam tried to focus on her work, but her body still hummed from the night before. Every time she sat down, she felt the delicious ache between her thighs and the faint stickiness of Khalifa’s c*m that she hadn’t fully washed away. Her n*****s stayed sensitive against the silk of her dress.
That evening, a rival sheikh arrived for a state visit. During the grand dinner in the main hall, the tall, handsome Sheikh Ahmed kept staring at Maryam. He leaned over during the meal and spoke softly in Arabic, complimenting her beauty a
