by Sandra Elsa
"I understand you met with him."
"Briefly. I hated him for so long, I had to satisfy my curiosity."
"What did you think of him?"
"I'm not entirely decided. If you're asking did we form a close, tight, bond that you can exploit, the answer is no. Hurting him in any way won't get me to cooperate with you. It may succeed in driving me further away."
"Why did you marry my son?"
"I could give you a hundred reasons. Mostly though… he's the first man who ever made me want him. And admitting that didn't come easy in view of who and what he is."
"And you Harrison?"
"You've seen her, Dad. My talent picked me up and walked me across a room to show me the woman I was destined to be with. I went a little crazy trying to make it happen and she still said yes."
"Your talent?"
"The one we never talk about. And now we wish to be left alone to live our lives in peace. But I suppose that's asking too much."
"Do your plans include children?"
"Not immediately."
"But eventually?"
"Yes I suppose eventually we will want to raise children."
"Will you deny me the right to see them?"
"That would probably depend on how much grief we suffer in your efforts to drag us back under your wing. Call off your hounds and maybe we'll keep in touch."
A long pause preceded his concession. "You have one year. If you don't keep in touch, this will start all over again."
"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir."
"And Harrison?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for caring enough to call me with your wife's suspicions. I fear she makes all too much sense and you being out there, with her, may be the safest place for you."
"It's the only place for me. And now…it's my wedding night and I didn't plan to spend it talking to you."
"Good-night."
Harrison flipped the phone closed and leaned across the car to kiss me. "And now we have no further obligations."
He carried me up the stairs and into the bedroom, unzipping my dress as he lay me down. He covered my mouth with his and his hand brushed my breast as he undid the top hook. My nipples hardened, back arched, trapping his hand between us as he pulled the strap off my shoulder. I wanted nothing between us but flesh. As he sat me up to wriggle the dress over my head, I fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. He clasped my hands and raised them above my head. "Not yet. I want you to remember this night with a smile on your face for years to come."
Once the dress lay on the floor he lowered his mouth to kiss me just above the silk of my bra and eased me back to the bed. There was nothing hurried in any of his movements. For someone who told me days ago he wanted to get to know me intimately, he was going to drive me insane with need before the night was over.
His lips seared my flesh as he nudged aside the lace of the bra his tongue working small delicate circles on my chest, I scarcely noticed the hand that slid beneath my back to release my breasts as they strained against their bondage, eagerly seeking the caress of his mouth. The bra followed the dress to the floor and he laid between my legs, rubbing his erection over my mound as he slid down, supporting himself on his elbows to give full attention to my breasts. Every touch raised my desire. I tried again to undo his buttons to feel his chest against me, and again he encircled my wrists with one hand and raised them above my head. I thrust my hips against him as he stretched upward.
He stared down at me, a crooked grin on his face. "Does my wife want something?"
I raised my head and nipped his shoulder before purring, "I want to get to know you intimately." Oh dear god he had me purring and begging.
He laughed as I cast his words back at him. "First, I need to punish you for making me wait so long." He once again lowered his head to my breasts, teeth grazing flesh, tongue circling my nipples until I quivered uncontrollably as a spasm clenched my abdomen and moisture soaked my panties. He held me until the shuddering ceased and my body relaxed, then lowered his mouth to my nipple for a parting kiss and worked his way down my stomach to the elastic of my panties. He freed my hands and I ran my fingers through his hair. His thumb hooked under the elastic. A gentle tug slid them over my hip.
His tongue traced a moist trail on the newly exposed flesh. So close to what I wanted him to touch, and yet so very far away. He kissed my belly button and sat up to remove them the rest of the way following them down my legs with kisses. When they lay beside the dress he kissed my wet mound. Another wave of moisture accompanied uncontrollable quivering. He lapped it up then teased my clit, circling, as his tongue had on my nipples. He brought me to the trembling edge of another uncontrollable wave, then licked his own fingers, leaving me panting as he undid the buttons of his shirt and removed it.
He slid back up my body until my nipples brushed his chest, his indrawn breath letting me know their touch excited him too. Lips found mine, his tongue teased and probed and I returned his kisses, eager to give as well as receive. He tried to pull away but I held him, kissing the line of his jaw and nibbling the lobe of his ear, then his throat. The sharp clean scent of the air after a storm filled my nostrils, overwhelmed my senses. I wanted to taste all of him. A tiny still functioning part of my mind knew the scent wasn't natural and I wondered if this was what he'd smelled the other night. It made me want him more, when I didn't think that was possible.
The gray matter, probing and curious, was quickly muted by the tingling sensation of every nerve in my body. He untangled himself from my grasp and slid back down between my legs, making sure my breasts rubbed from his abdomen to his cheek. His tongue dove deep inside, sending me scooting away from the intense pleasure. He followed as I tried to climb the headboard, licking and biting, a hand under each buttock keeping me pressed tight against his face and in moments I was trembling and begging. In between ecstatic moans I pleaded incomprehensibly, wanting him inside me, so much deeper than his tongue could go.
When my body clenched and moisture soaked the bed, I found myself screaming his name, fingers buried in the golden silk of his hair coaxing him upwards while my hips bucked against him. When his erection pressed against my crotch through his jeans I wrapped my good leg around his hips and clutched him tight against myself.
He kissed me then wedged a hand between us to brush a finger over my clit and my legs loosened as though made of jelly, spreading wide to give him access. He unzipped his own pants and slid out of them, returning before I could miss him, to cover my body with his own, his cock laying long and hard against my stomach, now that the moment I'd been begging for was here, trepidation wormed its way into my mind. He was huge. But then I'd known that. Had the pictures to prove it.
He sensed my hesitation as he lowered himself so the engorged head of his cock nestled in my cunt. Finding its way through the slick swollen folds of flesh, gently pushing into me, pushing against tight walls, until a sudden strong pressure made me gasp. He backed off then thrust forward sharply, a moment of pain, then only the sensation of him filling me, my walls clenching, holding him tight as he withdrew, then filling me over and over until once again I was calling his name, begging him to come with me. I pushed my hips up to meet his, thrusting tight against him, taking his entire length then releasing to buck against him again. The speed of his thrusts increased until with a cry he thrust deeply and stiffened as his cock pulsed warmly, spilling his juices deep inside me, coaxing one last orgasm from my own body.
He collapsed on me, sweating, holding me tight as our breathing returned to normal. I rubbed his back, unable to stop my pelvis from thrusting upward as his cock twitched. Sated, I wanted to lay with him between my legs forever. He sighed with contentment as my fingers whispered over his back, and raised his head with a happy smile. "Now tell me you've seen better."
"There is no such thing as better."
"I wasn't sure if you wanted me or god to fuck you. You screamed both our names."
I kissed him. "You are god. I tak
e back every mean thing I ever said to you."
"I forgive you."
We lay together for some time before he stood up withdrawing his softening cock from my body. He drew me to a sitting position. "I don't know about you, but I need a shower."
"I think I can agree with that."
He wrapped my cast in plastic, then carried me to the shower and started the water. When the temperature was right he stepped in, tugging me behind him. He paused as we washed each other, kneeling in front of me to run his tongue between my legs followed by his fingers.
"I can't do this," I protested.
"Too sore?" He kissed my hip and ran his tongue up my side around to my breast.
"Sore, yes. Too sore, no. I can't balance in here and I'm going to end up soaking this cast."
"Thoughtless. Forgive me." He kissed me then bent to grab the shampoo. "Then maybe we should get out of here."
Chapter 34
Jerry made breakfast the following morning. I'd never heard him come in. The sweet scent of warmed syrup and I was pretty sure, french toast, made my stomach growl. Harrison looked at me, a contented smile graced his beautiful face. "I could eat."
I couldn't remember when I’d ever been so relaxed. "I could eat too. But that means getting up." None of my muscles wanted to move.
He grinned down at me. "Finally! I've convinced you to obey doctor's orders. You stay here off that leg and let me bring you breakfast." He pulled his jeans on and dashed for the door before I could decide to get up.
#
Three days later we got down to the business of packing.
Up on the roof we selected a couple of the smaller plants to pack in the car. I returned to The Golden Seal for the class on herbs where I learned the proper method of drying them and how to make an infusion. There were different methods to best utilize different types of herbs.
After the class, I stayed to talk to Louise, the store's owner, and she sold me seeds for several different herbs along with onions. She showed me how to take a potato with the greenery starting from its eyes and cut them to start multiple plants. She shook her head as she explained growing potatoes and said, "They're not the best crop for the rooftops. Canisters are too compact. The roots need space which makes it impractical to grow them. Still, some do."
"There are lawns. Doesn't anybody plant directly in the earth?"
"Of course. But the house you're living in is rented. And I doubt you'll talk old Carlos into digging up that manicured perfection. I swear, I think he only owns four properties because he enjoys keeping the lawns so much." It didn't even surprise me that she knew where I lived and who my landlord was. I'd read books about living in small towns. Fifty-five very much had that feel to it. Everybody knew everybody's business.
At home, I winnowed down the belongings that my father had recovered for me, to just those that would be important for what we planned to do. Change of clothes for a week. Supposedly we didn't have to worry about pursuit so I grudgingly boxed up the latex, make-up, and wigs, and left them in a corner. None of my old paperwork would be needed. I didn't need eight different pairs of shoes. A pair of sneakers and a pair of hiking boots went into the bag I was taking. My forty-five, still loaded with silver from when I recovered it, my nine mil, three daggers, one for each of us, and my two best silver bonded swords went into the pack. I added a twenty-two, the rifle with the scope and several boxes of ammo to the pile. Then I considered what was left and added my taser.
Harrison came in the room as I dithered and said, "Pack a weapon for me, if you'll teach me to use it."
That was what I’d been thinking when I grabbed the twenty-two but instead I dug for my old nine-mil. It hadn't been used in awhile, but maintenance was one of the things he'd need to learn. From the door of the bedroom Jerry said, "Me too."
I sorted through my box again and came up with a thirty-eight. I dumped out the boxes from my house and sorted things into piles. Harrison sat beside me and picked up a necklace. "This is nice."
I looked at what he held. I'd never before seen the carefully crafted sun and moon with small diamonds adorning the points of the sun.
"Should I be jealous? This looks like it cost a small fortune."
I glanced at the pile he'd pulled it from. I didn't recognize any of the jewelry there. Most of the jewelry I owned was costume. Barely fancy enough to fit in if I needed to attend a party for some reason. This pile contained several exquisite pieces, Some made of crystal, most of them containing some manner of expensive gem. One, a hairbow like a little girl would wear with a sapphire in the center of it, sat prominently atop the pile. As I stared at them, Harrison prodded the pile apart, gaping at the expensive collection.
I started counting them. Thirty three. One for every year of my life, plus one. Several others looked like something a young child would wear. All of them appeared unworn. Tears filled my eyes as I contemplated the treasures my father had bought for me. They were all wrong. I had never been one for jewelry but he had tried. I picked them all up and stuffed them in the bag I planned to take along.
"Maybe I should be jealous then," Harrison prompted for an explanation.
"My father collected my belongings from my apartment. These weren't mine."
"Your father?" Jerry asked, maintaining his stance in the doorway.
"Mage Jallahan," Harrison said.
"You were serious the other day, then?"
Harrison frowned at him. "Why would I lie?"
"I don't know. Because I was being an idiot and you wanted to impress me with her worth?"
"Father put her abilities together with his."
"Very few talents are passed on genetically," Jerry argued.
Harrison pulled out his handheld and searched the net for the picture he'd shown me of Mage Jallahan, then waved Jerry into the room.
He sauntered over to where we sat and stared at the picture, then down at me. "OK definite likeness, but still, how do you know it's not a put-up job? All your father had to do was go out, find someone who looks like her, has similar talent and try to create a bond there, so he has some measure of control over her."
"Think I didn't run through those possibilities?" I said. "He's convinced me and I'm a long way from gullible."
Harrison added, "And you say that like it would be so easy to do. Do you realize how rare a talent it is to be able to turn off another mage’s spell--"
"Which makes it all the more incredible that it would have bred true."
"Not when you consider Frankie's other talents, which she inherited from her mother. We're convinced. That's all you need to know." Harrison picked another necklace out of the pile. This one featured an emerald contained in silver filigree. "He spent a fortune on you. I would have thought he'd stop when it became obvious your mother wasn't going to turn back up."
"So are you packing?" I asked Jerry.
"Not like I have a ton of belongings to pack. I did this when Nan took me out of District Seven. Do I get to know where we're going?"
"First stop is District Two-Three-Seven," Harrison said. "From there you'll be able to make your way wherever you wish, or if you choose, you can join us. But we don't plan fun and games."
"Two-Three-Seven? Where the hell is that?"
Harrison grinned. "Part of what I paid Frankie for, was an education."
"I don't know it all," I said, "but I'm more familiar with the rest of the world than anybody raised in Seven. Two-Three-Seven is about a hundred miles south of here and five hundred east."
Jerry went to his handheld, plugging distances into a mapping program. "There are domes in the ocean?"
I laughed. "I've never been there, so maybe my mileage is off a little but no; Two-Three-Seven is right on the ocean not in it. Not all of it anyway. It does extend into the water." I'd been reading up on it. "Before domes, it was known as Hilton Head Island. Which was then, as it is now, pretty much a resort area."
"All the registered mages out searching for you, and you're going on vacat
ion?"
"First: they're not searching for us anymore," Harrison said. "I should have told you before, but honestly making love to my wife pretty much wiped everything from my head. I called my father that night before we came in the house, told him some of Frankie's theories about the siphons and that mess and actually talked to him. He's not happy, but he's agreed to leave us alone for a year."
"Why the hell would he agree to that?"
"Because he hopes at some point in the future to be able to exploit his grandchildren."
"So he's dropped all his plans?"
"He's been planning for years. He's only allowed us one, I'm sure he'll continue his plans and work at finding us without being so obvious so he can snatch us up the moment the year expires. And second: just because our destination's a vacation area, doesn't mean we're going there on vacation."
"While we travel," I told him, "I'll tell you what I can about survival in the real world. When we get where we're going I’ll know you well enough to decide if I want you to be part of our venture. If not, or if you choose not to participate, you can head in whichever direction you want to go. If you don't want to go back, I doubt Drover will chase you down. Stay away from places where his enemies might seek to catch you and you'll probably be safe from traps like the siphon. The world is much, much, bigger than the Founding Two-Hundred."
"Sounds like a plan. As long as I have some say in my final destination."
With that settled, Harrison went out to the kitchen in search of food. I picked up my phone and decided I would risk calling my father to thank him for the jewelry.
He picked it up on the first ring. "Francesca? Is something wrong?"
"No. Nothing's wrong. I'm packing for a trip, and going through my belongings, sorting what I can squeeze in and what I have to leave behind. Wanted to thank you for the gifts."
There was a long moment of silence before he said, "They're only trinkets. There was nothing else I could do. I wrote you letters and I bought you jewelry, for the first fifteen years, I hoped and prayed that if I ever did find you, you would be a beautiful little girl. After I became sure of that fact, I'm afraid I got extravagant. You weren't here for me to dote on. It was my way of acknowledging that you existed. I noticed you didn't own much jewelry as I packed up your belongings. I hoped you'd appreciate them anyway."
