The Awakening Read online

  Dear Reader:

  Wow! All I can say is get ready for a wild ride as Shakir Rashaan takes you into the BDSM lifestyle. His narrative is so real that it’s obvious he’s a true practitioner and has been for fifteen years in Atlanta’s African-American Fetish community.

  His erotica is off the chain, one of the reasons I selected his story for Zane Presents Z-Rated: Chocolate Flava 3. The talented writer brings it raw.

  In The Awakening, Book One of Chronicles of the Nubian Underworld, Shakir introduces us to Ramesses and his wife, Neferterri, and their submissives. Discover what goes on at The Palace led by Amenhotep, Ramesses’ mentor, stays there, and what goes on is some of the freakiest erotica on the planet. Book One centers around Amenhotep’s welcoming his newest slave.

  The tale highlights the acts in this spicy world as readers venture to the “dark side” with twists to keep you eager to complete the journey.

  The story is written in true style with the dominants referred to in uppercase and the submissives in lowercase.

  Be sure to check out Shakir’s next titles in the series, Legacy and Tempest.

  As always, thanks for supporting myself and the Strebor Books family. We strive to bring you the most cutting-edge, out-of-the-box material on the market. You can find out about our other authors on www.zanestore.com and you can find me on Facebook @AuthorZane and on Twitter @planetzane. Or you can email me at [email protected].

  Blessings,

  Publisher

  Strebor Books

  www.simonandschuster.com

  To my Beloved,

  Through the storms

  Through the fire

  It has only made our bond stronger

  I love you

  “It’s exhilarating to be alive in a time of awakening consciousness; it can also be confusing, disorienting, and painful.”

  —Adrienne Rich

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Okay, first things first, before you read this particular book. This is (somewhat) a work of fiction. That means that some of this stuff was made up, and some of it includes players whose names have been changed to protect the (not so) innocent.

  I wanted to bring things along at a slow burn, so to speak, when I first envisioned the Nubian Underworld series, to kind of give folks a way to slowly take a peek and see if they liked how things developed. It is my sincerest hope that I accomplished what I set out to do, and that you’re willing to delve deeper into the Underworld with me.

  Before you even dig into this first installment, I’m already finished with the next Nubian Underworld installment, Legacy. I’m putting something a little outside-the-box out there, sort of a pipe dream that I would implement if I ever won the lottery. Not just a couple million though, I mean BIG money. I’m really excited to see how that idea might play out. I’m also thinking that a few people, possibly even a couple of submissives, might get a voice that didn’t get one in the first book. You never know, you know?

  I know there might be some folks that will read this book and might think, “That type of stuff doesn’t happen. Black folks don’t do stuff like that.” Guess what? Truth can be stranger than fiction sometimes…and I’m gonna leave it at that for now.

  Some things in the book actually happened, and some stuff was made up. Wait, I think I said that somewhere in this part already. Oh well, it’s up to you as to what’s real and what’s been made up.

  Yeah…like I’m really gonna tell which is which. SMH.

  I’m really starting to dig this whole “literary universe” thing. I think I’ll call mine the “NEBU Universe,” just because I want to have a flair for the dramatic. LOL. Hopefully, if enough of an audience is established, I’ll be able to branch out a bit and do some other stuff. Perhaps even do some vanilla books? Nah, that’s too predictable.

  I want to first thank the Almighty for allowing me the ability to put this novel together.

  Don’t you just love it when people do that?

  Seriously, I do understand why, because it takes a lot of work, time, sacrifice and a little luck to be able to have everything come together as well as you can put it together.

  I’ve probably thanked damn near everyone that could be in the last couple of years, but it bears repeating sometimes because without their love and support, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do.

  To my mom: thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the love and support, not only of my lifestyle choices, but actually taking the leap of faith and realizing that it wasn’t as bad as you thought it was. I am blessed to have you, and everything that I do, and have ever done or tried to do, has been to make you proud. I hope this novel continues to do just that.

  To my sister: I know I could have told you sooner about a lot of things, but better late than never, right? LOL. Thank you for understanding the things that I’ve done and the connections that I have and the reasons for them. I know it’s not exactly traditional, but it’s stood the test of time, and God willing, it will continue to do so. I’m glad that I was able to inspire you to take the plunge with me with this writing thing, and I’m excited as hell to see what you come up with next!

  To my Beloved: there are never enough words to express the love that I have for you. You are without a doubt the best I will ever have, and to take this life’s journey with you, I couldn’t have asked for anyone else. As we’ve always said, “United in battle, until death do we part.”

  To my father: a lot of what I am as a man, I took a part from you and made it my own, with my own swagger on top of that. We may not have seen eye to eye on a lot of things, but you have always allowed me to be my own man, and for that I will be forever grateful.

  To my Nana and Granddaddy: even though you’re no longer here, I take comfort in the fact that you’re sitting pretty, together, watching your eldest grandchild do his thing on his terms.

  To my son and daughter: I know you both were wondering what daddy was up to late at night, and I know I’ve told you both that you couldn’t read what I was coming up with, but know that I wasn’t saying things just to be saying them, and one day you’ll understand why (like, when you turn twenty-one and I won’t CARE what you’re reading. LOL).

  To our extended Leather Family (yes, I’m only using your scene names): Sir Deme and solamente; AMP Sir EZ; my mentor and big brother, Master Obsidian, and his wife, namaste; my Beloved’s mentor, Master Black Zeus; finally, Lady D and Lady Velvet G. Thank you all for your support when I first started cranking up this book writing thing. We don’t call a lot of people in the BDSM community as a whole “Family” often, but we consider you as such. Thank you for letting me pick your collective brains to bring all of these characters to life.

  To our submissive girls, aneesa and ayanna, who influenced a lot of the behavior of the submissives and slaves in this series, thank you both. You know I appreciated the answers to my maddening questions.

  To my SoCal crew: Sir Strange, Orpheus Black and the rest of y’all, we’re hoping to finally get out there and getting some fun and sun soon! To my DMV crew: Mythos3K, kore3K, Lady Z, amara and the rest of y’all up there, thanks for all of your support! MrCL and MsSquirt, destny and the rest of the folks in NYC, and last but not least, my crew here in the A: hypnotiq, Jupiter and Skyy, Trinity; man, it’s so many of y’all down here, just know I’m including you, too

  LOL!

  I know I’m missing a whole gang of folks, so just do me a favor and insert your name in this next statement:

  I’d like to thank __________________________ for the support and love. I hope to continue to put books out that you will want to tell your friends and family about.

  Anyway, let me get back to trying to come up with some twisted stuff to put in print that people think POC (I’m sorry, that means
people of color, or black people in particular, folks) can’t get into… and don’t forget to tell a friend or two, or a hundred; you never know who might get a kick out of reading this. A bruh would like to make a few bestseller lists. LOL.

  Sincerely,

  SPECIAL NOTE TO READERS

  The grammatical errors that you might see within the dialog between the characters are not oversights. This is the type of speech and text that is used in some facets of the BDSM world. As one of my submissive friends put it, “The lowercase letters in a slave’s or submissive’s name are a demonstration of the hierarchical relationship. It is a reminder to the submissive that he or she is the bottom part of the hierarchy, meant to be led, and the Dominant’s name is always capitalized, as He or She is the Top part, meant to lead.” In keeping with the essence of the series and the essence of the BDSM community, preserving the speech was paramount. It is my hope that you, the reader, will understand and appreciate the symbolism.

  INTRODUCTION

  Welcome to the Chronicles of the Nubian Underworld: a view into our world of the alternative, and the circle of friends within this realm that my Beloved and I associate with. We hope you enjoy the journey with us as you come to meet up with some of the friends and associates, as well as some new faces, which will come about through this first of a hopefully long series of “Chronicles” yet to come.

  Now, I think I know what you might be thinking, but here’s the real: this is a lifestyle. Everyone has a little freak in them, but the difference is we have found like-minded people who don’t judge. They just enjoy themselves and the friendships that are made within the lifestyle community, and the freedom of being within that community.

  Oh, I’m sorry, forgive my manners; I forgot to introduce myself. Depending on the community that you happen to meet us in, our names are separate within each world. If at a swingers’ nightclub, you can call me Kane, and my wife’s name is Mercedes. We have a few memberships at a couple of these clubs, but we don’t attend them often, mainly because it’s not really our style when it comes to swingers’ clubs. Not that we don’t enjoy ourselves there when we do go, but we have a different belief system than some of the “New Age” swinging couples that are out there. But that’s another story for another time. So, for the most part, you can refer to us by those names when we’re within the vanilla world.

  If at a dungeon or a BD/SM club or munch, then you may refer to me as Lord Ramesses, and my wife’s name is Lady Neferterri. The girls that I mentioned earlier are nicknamed shamise, jamii, and nuru, and are our submissive girls within Our D/s “House,” which we have given the name of Kemet-Ka, roughly translated from the Egyptian meaning of “the essence of Egypt.” My wife and I consider ourselves that rare breed of “libertines” who enjoy the variously different aspects of the alternative lifestyle, as well as the people within each of them.

  Now, I’m sure it may confuse some of you when you see us switch roles and names throughout, but it is a necessary evil, so to speak. You simply cannot use the same names because they don’t always have the same meanings within each realm. After a while, you get used to it, and almost come to expect it. Such is the way of things.

  Regardless of what you’ve read or seen on HBO, we are ordinary people. We go to work; some of us even own businesses. We pay taxes, and a lot of us are very spiritual people. We are in very stable relationships, even married for long periods of time. We raise families, and our children are very stable. The thing that separates us from “normal” people is we enjoy doing more than just two positions while making love.

  Oh, and one more thing: we do this in the privacy of our homes, so it’s none of your business what we do, unless we make it your business. But enough of me chatting; we’re gonna be late.

  1 RAMESSES

  “Baby, we’re going to be late for the party.” I heard my wife, Neferterri, calling from upstairs. “You know how Amenhotep is about beginning His ceremonies before we get there.”

  I was in the basement of our house, loading up the bags we would need for our night at Master Amenhotep’s estate. Tonight was special indeed as Amenhotep was inviting the community to witness the collaring ceremony of His newest slave, safi. She was the latest of the slaves who reside with Him in Palmetto on the south side of Atlanta.

  “I’m almost done, babe. Have either of the girls gotten here yet?” I asked out loud.

  “shamise is here with Me now, helping Me with My corset. jamii and nuru should be here any minute,” Neferterri replied.

  It was almost ten o’ clock, and usually our submissive girls are on time. Since it was a busy weekend in Atlanta and they were coming from different directions to the house, I decided not to punish them unless they made us extremely late. Amenhotep’s estate wasn’t far from where we resided in Fairburn, but I had to make sure we were set up in our designated area in the dungeon before the ceremony began at midnight. He could care less if anyone else was late, but I already knew Amenhotep would have a fit if He had to start without me.

  I finished up the last of the bags when I heard all three girls coming down the stairs, assuming their kneeling positions at my feet. “we’re here, my Sir. May we take the bags to the car?” nuru asked as her eyes lowered.

  “Yes, you may, girls. shamise, let your Goddess know we will be leaving soon.” I kissed my girls on their foreheads as they each took a bag and headed back upstairs.

  I took notice of each of the girls’ attire, and I had to say, I couldn’t have been a prouder Dominant as I took in their collective beauty.

  shamise wore a strapless black corset, a gift from Neferterri and me last Christmas, and accentuated it with a wrap skirt draped slightly above her knees. I smiled at the way the skirt could be easily opened and available for access to do whatever I wanted. Knowing I had a fetish for heels, she didn’t disappoint, but she took things a step further, wearing knee length, four-inch heeled boots. We named her shamise, which means “first born” in Arabic and Egyptian, because she’s our “Alpha” submissive.

  Her diamond collar was proudly adorned around her neck, displaying diamond handcuff earrings that dangled from her earlobes. To complete her look, she wore her hair up to expose her neck and show off her collar.

  jamii wanted to be a bit more demure in her appearance than her sis, but surprised us in her choice to wear a miniskirt and a black leather halter top instead of hiding her legs with pants. She’s not as much of an exhibitionist as our other two girls, usually choosing to wear a pant suit. She also decided on boots, wearing an ankle-length, four-inch stiletto style. We named her jamii, which means “sexy or sexually enticing” in Swahili, and she tried to live up to the meaning of her name tonight.

  The slick smile on my face conveyed my appreciation of her new found confidence in her body and sexuality. The sharpness of her look was completed by her Chinese bob haircut, which showed off her own collar, presented to her in a private ceremony a little less than a year ago.

  Finally, the “baby girl” of the House, nuru, wore a pleated school girl skirt, a halter top, too, and four-inch “Mary Jane” heels with bobby socks, putting her hair up in pigtails and sucking on a lollypop. Because of her bubbly and happy personality, we gave her the name nuru, which means “brightness, or light” in Swahili.

  Now, I feel I have to explain to those that might not be in the “know,” so, indulge me for a quick moment. Alpha submissives within a Poly Household are usually the first to have been collared by their Dominant. They are responsible, in some cases, to train the submissives that are collared after them, making sure that their submissive sisters know the rules of the House as well. Beta submissives…well, they are as the moniker suggests, the second submissive to be collared within the House.

  Considering my Beloved and I currently have three girls right now, we usually treat them equally, as to not play favorites, but within a House of this size, there are those times when we will defer to shamise over the other girls because she’s been with us the longest
.

  Forgive me for the quick lesson, but I didn’t want to confuse anyone. Let’s get back to the story, shall we?

  For a minute, I forgot we needed to attend a collaring ceremony.

  I watched my Beloved walk down the stairs. The look in her eyes was evidence she wanted me to get a good look at her outfit for the evening.

  “So, do You like, My Pharaoh?” Neferterri asked while doing a model’s twirl in her strapless corset, complete with a ruffled petticoat skirt, which showed off my wife’s “ASSets” quite well.

  I shook my head. I counted myself lucky to have such beautiful women in my life, including my daughters. Our oldest was thirteen, our middle child was eleven, and our youngest was eight. To be surrounded by such beauty, as the pharaohs of the Ancient Kingdom had done so long ago, was a sight to behold.

  “Your Pharaoh likes this outfit very much, baby,” I said, no longer resisting the urge to rub my hands over her hips and kiss my beautiful wife. “You look good enough to eat…damn.”

  Neferterri playfully slapped at my hands, putting up a small fight, finally giving in to the kisses being placed on her neck and shoulders. I started to lift the skirt to get a better grasp of her ass and try to take things to the next level for a quickie, but shamise unintentionally interrupted us while coming to retrieve the last of the toy bags.

  “Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt You.” shamise blushed over seeing her Dominants in an intimate moment. It wasn’t the first time she’d caught us in a compromising position, and under normal circumstances, she would have quietly watched until we were finished. However, she knew if she did this time around, we’d all be in some serious trouble. “Daddy, You said we were going to be late if we didn’t get going now. We don’t want to keep Master Amenhotep waiting.”

  She was right. The last thing I needed was to be reprimanded by my mentor. He was a stickler for starting grand events on time. So, we grudgingly headed upstairs to finish packing the cars to head down to our destination.