Jessa Ch. 04

A man, more Germanic looking that Torah, walked out of what she assumed was a kitchen. She took note of the blond hair and squarish features. "Jessa, this is Erich," Torah introduced her. "Who has apparently stolen all my junk."

Erich laughed. "I figured you'd want to make a good first impression, since I knew you were going to suck at every successive one." He turned his attention to Jessa, crossing the room in long strides. "Jessa, I am so pleased to meet you and so sorry you have to be stuck with this pathetic dude." He wrapped her in a tight, Teutonic hug. Finishing the hug, he held her out at arms' length. "Damn, Torah. I thought you said she was beautiful?" Jessa looked at Torah in confusion. "Beautiful is a human attribute. Perfection is the description for this goddess." Jessa blushed profusely.

Torah slapped Erich's shoulder. "Enough. She's mine. Get your own. Where's the pizza? We haven't had much to eat today."

"Coming right up. Sit, relax. Erich has everything in hand." He trotted back to the kitchen as Torah guided Jessa to a seat on the couch. A moment later, Erich had two pizzas laid out on the coffee table, along with individual plates. Jessa had to watch the men to figure out the proper way to eat the pie-like slices, but once she bit into one, she was hooked. She scraped the stringy cheese up from her chin with a finger and sucked it off, not aware of Torah and Erich staring at her with undisguised lust.

"Oh, damn, Torah. My heart can't take this," Erich complained. Jessa looked at him, then at Torah, confused.

"She has absolutely no idea of the effect she has on men," Torah agreed.

"You mean on us mere mortals. I said she was a goddess," Erich corrected.

"My goddess," Torah pointed out.

Jessa noticed that Erich wasn't wearing a crest. "So you work with Torah?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're on a team," Erich said. "Feel sorry for me?"

Jessa laughed. She thought she saw Torah throw a warning glance at Erich, but she wasn't sure. "You must be a good friend. I'm not sure I'd clean my friend's apartment just so they could make a good impression on someone."

"I'm collecting favors," Erich confided. "Did he tell you he owes me his first born?"

She snickered. "No, he neglected to mention that."

They continued to banter for the next hour, and Jessa suspected that the men were purposely not drinking, so that she wouldn't feel tempted, left out, or denied. She had to admit that she was feeling incredibly comfortable in the company of two men her own age, and in a way she had never felt at Summer's End, even though sexual innuendo was heavily laced into the conversation.

When the pizza was gone and Erich had left, Torah pulled Jessa against his shoulder. "It's going to be next to impossible, but I'm going to keep my hands off you tonight, because I know you've had an exhausting day, physically and emotionally, but I intend to have my way with you in the morning. Would that be okay?"

"I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to make a definitive statement like that and then ask permission," Jessa said.

"I'm trying to get it right. I'm not quite there yet."

"Okay. Good start though. Yes, you may."

"Thank you. Is it morning yet?"

She snorted. "Let's start with showing me the bedroom and saying good night."

"There's something else I want to show you first. Do you have acrophobia?"

"What? Fear of heights? No, I've been rock climbing and stuff."

"Good. Erich was thoughtful enough to pull the curtains, because it can be disorienting, but I wanted a chance to show you the occupied sector from up here. Come on. He led her over to the windows and pulled aside the curtain. She gasped and was glad his arm was around her waist for support, but after the initial shock of being able to look down so far, she was enthralled. Many of the buildings were obviously empty and unused, but others glowed with lights. In the distance she could see a river winding through the city. She pointed.

"The Rhine?"

"Yes, there used to be parks and waterfront, but after all of the flooding, it has cut itself new paths. There's only a few nice places to access it anymore, but maybe if we have time..."

"I'd like that," she whispered.

"Well, since the doc wants us to hang around a couple of days, we can do that and go shopping for you. For now, though, rest and recuperation."

****

Jessa awoke with Torah spooned against her, his arm lying across her ribs. How many times had she awakened like that in just these last few days? And of those times, how many had been to hold her close, and how many to hold her captive? And which would it be today? And which did she want it to be? Yesterday, it had felt for the first time that he saw her as something other than just an oven for his babies. Even, or maybe especially, to the faint tinge of jealousy he had playfully expressed when Erich was with them. And he had hinted at pressures on him from the Council, not just as threats that she would be taken away and given to someone else, as he had said while fucking her, but something far more pervasive.

She had accepted that her fate was no longer hers, probably never was hers. Even now, in Dusseldorf, much closer to her 'home,' she had accepted that she had no home anymore. And no dream to follow. Torah had told her she had a choice between him - the known - and the unknown. If it was true, if he held a certain dread of the council as she had sensed in him yesterday, then her own fear of the council should be ratcheted up even higher. She tried to turn where she lay, to look at him. He shifted, settled and didn't seem to wake. She knew better than to trust that. But still, in supposed sleep, he seemed peaceful, gentle even. Not the angry, deadly Torah she had seen the day before last. The Torah that terrified her. He swore he would never hurt her like that again, but how could she trust that? How could she trust anything in the world again, after all the unknown realities he had revealed yesterday? And all the truths he had only hinted at? She closed her eyes in despair, and when she opened them again, he was looking at her. He raised his hand to smooth her hair back.

"What are you thinking?" he asked softly.

"The Council..." she started.

"Not here." He rose swiftly, and was pulling her toward the bathroom. "Let's shower, then make love all morning."

She protested half-heartedly. "I don't think I could get any cleaner after yesterday at the hospital."

"I was thinking of your sore muscles," he teased. "Want to make sure you're limbered up!"

Again, the minute the shower come on, it was hot, and there was no timer, counting down the hot water usage. Jessa felt horribly guilty at being spoiled to such a degree. But Torah gave her no choice, pulling her into the torrent of water, even holding her under the direct flow until she used self-defense moves her father had taught her (back when he'd spoken to her) to twist out of his grasp and turn him into the victim of the torrent. They were both laughing when they stumbled out of the shower to dry off. Somehow, Jessa ended up on the bathroom floor, on a wad of towels and bath mats, with Torah on top of her. And she was surprised to discover she didn't object at all.

In the bedroom, they could hear Torah's cell phone ringing. "I should get that," he said, making no effort to move, staring into her eyes, theirs nose tips touching. When the ringing died away, followed by the beeping of a voice message, he touched his lips to hers, three times, then said, "I've fallen in love with you, Jessa." She shook her head, rolling it back and forth on the floor, but she didn't say anything. "Talk to me, Jessa," he said very softly against her lips.

"I don't know how to be in love," she whispered back.

"That's okay," he said, then smiled against her lips. "I'll teach you." Then he was entering her, very slowly and gently. At first, he was sliding against her clit, hitting the back of her vaginal wall. She squirmed, but he pressed down, maintaining contact with her clit with each slow stroke in and out, but when she reached the point where she was arching her hips, quivering and trying to increase the contact, he reached down, lifting her knees, cupping her ass cheeks, and changing the angle of her hips to where he was hitting her sweet spot on every gentle thrust.

She was hyperventilating in time to his movements. "Torah," she gasped. Then, "Torah!" Then, "Oh, my god, Torah!"

He continued the exquisite torment until she came again before he began thrusting faster, but still shallow, determined to stay clear of her cervix. When he came, he was shaking with the effort, resisting the temptation to bury himself as deeply as possible inside her. When he collapsed on top of her, his lips resting against the juncture of her neck and shoulder, she reached tentatively to lace her fingers through his hair. His lips gently kissed her neck in approval.

After a few minutes, he rolled onto his back on the floor and sighed. "I'd better check on that call. Are you okay?" He rolled up on his knees, looking down at her. She nodded. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Don't get dressed. I'm not through with you yet." He waggled his eyebrows at her, then gracefully rose to his feet. As he went out to the bedroom, she rose, not nearly as gracefully, given muscles that were still somewhat sore. She found a comb and tried to work it through her hair as she heard Torah swearing softly, then the familiar beeps of his text messaging. Then his phone was ringing again. He answered it without even a 'hello.'

"No! I have three months off. I'll come in after that. Damn it, Drau, I'm not coming in." His voice faded out as he strode into the living room. She heard the bedroom door close. Jessa discovered a washing machine in the bathroom closet and loaded the towels and bathmats into it, then as an afterthought, she tossed her underwear in too and started the cycle. In the bedroom, she found the bag that Torah had brought, and was relieved to find a change of clothes. In the outer room, she could hear Torah still arguing with someone on his phone. Figuring from his tone that whatever he had planned was going to be put on hold, she dressed, then went back in the bathroom to struggle with her hair some more. Between the insecticide, and the dubious shampoo from the previous day, it was a hopeless frizzed out mess, and nothing in the cupboards of Torah's bathroom offered any help.

"You look beautiful," Torah said, standing in the bathroom doorway. Jessa had jumped, not hearing his approach over the noise of the washer. He had pulled on jeans himself, though he was still bare-chested.

"I look like I stuck my finger in a light socket," she complained. "Is everything okay?"

"No," he said with a sigh. "I have to take a meeting."

"Do you want me to wait here?"

"No," he said quickly.

"I'll behave, Torah. I promise."

He stepped over to her, lacing his fingers in her hair and running his thumbs across her cheeks. "It's not that. Well, maybe a little bit that," he conceded with a smile at her. He looked down for a moment, and when he looked back up, his eyes had gone dark and serious. Jessa tensed, thinking angry Torah was back, but his hands were still gentle on her face.

"I have enemies, Jessa," he said very softly. "I can't take you with me, so I've asked Erich to keep an eye on you. Keep you safe. It's only for a couple of hours. Then I promise a shopping trip." He smiled again, though his eyes remained dark.

"Who is Drau?" she asked.

His jaw worked for a moment, then he said, "He's sort of my boss. Come on, you'll get to see one of the council buildings."

They went back out into the bedroom and she put sandals on while he finished dressing. A short drive later, they were parking in another underground garage, then taking an elevator to a third floor. Torah took her down the length of a hall and into a large office with some five desks and a small conference table. Erich was the only person there, and he looked up from his computer with a huge smile when they entered, jumping up and coming around his desk to hug Jessa once again. When Torah decided the hug had gone on too long, he pried them apart. "Down, boy. Can you find Jessa a tablet with a guest logon, so she won't be bored out of her mind?"

"'Course," he agreed.

Torah led Jessa over to the conference table and pulled out a chair for her. "Just so you know, Erich has my permission to administer a spanking if you get out of line, and I'm sure he would love to see your ass..."

"What guy wouldn't," Erich interrupted from across the room.

"So he won't have a very high threshold for misbehavior," Torah concluded.

Jessa blushed and he leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Erich brought her a tablet as Torah was leaving. "You're all logged on. You comfortable with the internet? Able to find games you want, or whatever?"

She nodded. It wasn't games she was interested in. She pulled up a search engine, curious to see what a guest login from the Council might get her access to. She glanced over as Erich returned to his own computer.

"You're on a team but you have to work all by yourself?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

He laughed. "I get stuck on anchor a lot. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the quality of my field work."

"Erich?"

"Umh?" he said, studying his screen.

"Torah said he has enemies. Is he in danger?"

Erich glanced at her and narrowed his eyes. Jessa realized he only seemed more open than Torah. Indeed, when he answered, he was every bit as guarded. "You need to talk to Torah about that, Jessa. All I will say is that Torah is very, very good at what he does. Don't worry."

Jessa smiled at him, then returned to her tablet. She wanted to be careful, to assume that her searches might be observed. She didn't want to get Torah or herself in trouble. She started with pandemic, but found nothing more than she already knew. In fact, Torah had told her more than she could find out on line. She tried a few more searches about the Council and Tenth Circle, but was getting nowhere. She checked her email, there were a couple items from friends wondering where she was and if she was finally getting married. She chose not to answer those yet. She looked at a few news feeds, but they were as unsatisfying as usual. It was common knowledge that the news feeds were either incomplete or downright false. She knew, or believed at any rate, that there was a councilary web, but she'd never had the courage to try to find anything there. There were dark stories about those who managed to get access and what happened to them after. She wasn't sure she believed the tales of mysterious disappearances, but she certainly believed a person could lose any access to the internet. That would mean no more programs or even her terribly unreliable email. Not a sacrifice she was willing to make.

She was getting very discouraged, when Erich spoke. "You want some coffee or anything?" For the first time, Jessa realized she hadn't eaten at all that morning, and she nodded gratefully. "I'll text Torah and we can go down to the cafeteria."

"Cafeteria? Like a lunch room?"

"Yup. Perk of working in the occupied sector. Cafeterias, restaurants, decent stores. In fact, you should make that tightwad take you out to dinner tonight."

"You think Torah is a tightwad? He's always telling me he'll get me anything I want."

Erich scoffed. "Guess that's an indication of how smitten he is with you. Take advantage, girl. Make him get you everything you want before he sobers up."

"Smitten," she said with a shake of her head as she followed Erich down the hall to the elevator. "I'm not sure that's the word."

Erich laughed. "I've known Torah for fifteen years. Trust me, he's smitten."

"Fifteen years," she repeated as they entered the elevator. She looked at Erich. "Has he always been so... angry?"

Erich looked up at the floor lights in the elevator. "It's complicated," he answered after a moment, then he was guiding her off the elevator and into a large, brightly lit room that seemed to her to be full of enough people to populate a small town. She shook her head in wonder.

****

Torah's couple of hours turned into four, but after, as promised, he took her a few blocks to another building, only a few stories tall, but full of different kinds of shops. They ate at a small restaurant, then he took her through practically every shop. When she would pick out a simple dress, he would insist on a more lavish one. She would pick out something like a simple top, he would add several more of the same thing until they could barely carry all the bags. He bought her a laptop that was more tricked out than any computer she'd ever seen. He bought her a new cell phone, similar to his, with internet access and everything. He was more attentive than she had ever seen him save during sex. He didn't once look at his cell phone, but on more than one occasion, she caught him scanning the store aisles and the people around them.

As they drove back to his apartment, he glanced over at her. "I want to fuck you until you can't stand up." His tone was flat. She looked over at him, half afraid she would see the angry Torah again. He was smiling at her though, pleased with the shopping trip. "I guess that will have to wait for a few more days, though. So how about we go home and I eat you out until you scream obscenities, then we make soft gentle love? And Erich tells me I have to take you out to dinner. That will give you a chance to wear that sapphire blue gown."

"I think I'd like that," she said softly.