by Ines Johnson
When she came down from the orgasm, Emet realized he hadn’t had his fill. He pushed her thighs open wider. He buried his face in her. His nose caressed her clitoris. His teeth racked over her perineum. His lips tugged at her labias. His hands snaked under her ass and he tilted her directly into his face. Before long she was quivering. The second orgasm made her shake so hard she nearly toppled over in the chair.
Emet felt a hand at his back. “Em?”
Adom’s voice broke through the haze of Emet’s want.
“Emet,” Adom said again. This time his hand firmly around Emet’s neck.
It took every once of control in him, but slowly Emet pulled himself away from Lady Alyss’ core.
Lady Alyss slumped slack in the chair. Her head caved in. Her chest heaved. Her legs trembled.
Adom bent down to untie the ropes at her feet. He massaged feeling back into each of her calves. Lady Alyss didn’t respond. Her eyes remained closed. Her head bowed. She looked powerless. It should’ve pleased Emet, but it didn’t. He wiped at his mouth, his hand came away juicy and trembling. He clenched his fists once more, but it was no use. He couldn’t stop the flood of desire he’d uncorked.
Emet stared as Adom went behind her chair and undid the ties on her forearms. As he massaged feeling and life back into her hands and arms, Lady Alyss’ head rose. She stared at Emet, who still knelt before her. Her eyes were foggy, but slowly they cleared. The two stared at each other. She didn’t try to regain her composure. Emet didn’t rise from his prostrated position. They each stayed that way until Adom led Alyss away to dress.
It wasn’t until she was dressed and Emet standing that they looked at each other once more. When they did, it was as though their battle armor had been dented, and one more blow from either party would be the death knell.
She turned to the new painting. Her face transformed into wonder. She spoke a few words to Adom, words Emet couldn’t make out. Then she turned to Emet once more. They faced off for a second. And then Lady Alyss turned out of the door and up the stairs. Emet trailed behind and turned into his bedroom. Adom joined him a few moments later. He came into the room, eyes hooded, a small smile on his lips.
Emet watched as Adom approached him, slowly, as though he thought Emet were some wild creature he would attempt to tame. But there would be no taming Emet tonight. Emet had no intention of being roped into submission after what he’d just experienced. He felt wild. He felt unleashed.
When Adom was only an inch away he stopped in his tracks as though he sensed the trap he’d just walked into. Adom raised his hands, slowly, as though not to startle the wildness he saw brewing inside Emet. Adom’s fingers came to the top button of his shirt. One by one he released each button from its catch until his chest was bare. Then he went to his trousers and did the same.
Once naked, Adom moved just as slowly around Emet and crawled on all fours onto the bed. Before he had a change to turn onto his back, Emet was on him, and then inside him.
Chapter Fourteen
The pencil in Alyss’ hand glided over the parchment. The hands she drew were masculine, not feminine. A vine encircled the wrists. Instead of green, the vines were a deep pink. The fingers on the rendition of the hands grasped desperately for the vines. One index finger caressed a vine softly, with reverence.
“That’s lovely, lady Alyss.”
Alyss crumbled the paper, then pressed the destruction to her chest. She looked up into the bright eyes of Sister Mychelle.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Sister Mychelle said. Her face morphed into a frown. “And now you’ve destroyed your drawing.”
Alyss shook her head, putting the paper behind her back and letting it fall to the ground. “No, it's not mine.”
Sister Mychelle bent to pick it up. Alyss wanted to snatch it away from her. She sat at a windowsill just outside the full chamber where she was to stand and debate the Insemination Bill. Insider the chamber, she spied her Mother on the far side speaking with Sister Roslyn of the Chamber of Worship. How could Alyss have been so careless? To do such a thing in broad daylight where she was so exposed.
She’d been drawing all night long. Each time she closed her eyes, she was assaulted with vines and velvet and pink lotus flowers bursting open with their seeds being carried off on a light breeze that shook the flowers to their roots.
Alyss swallowed and blinked her eyes rapidly to clear away the vision. She looked back to Sister Mychelle who stared into her face with clear eyes.
“I know what this is about Alyss.”
“You do?”
Though Alyss’ voice was a whisper, it was steady and strong. Since the moment she left Adom’s studio the prior night she’d felt as though she stood alone holding back a door that struggled to burst open. She stood bracing herself on one side of the door. On the other side of the door, a tidal wave battered and rammed against her to get out.
Faced with Sister Mychelle’s knowing gaze, Alyss let out a sigh…of relief. Her shoulders relaxed, ready to let the door and the surge free.
“You are an artist, Alyss.”
In her mind, Alyss put her back against the door to hold it steady a little longer. In reality, she leaned back against the windowsill. But the sun’s rays crawled up her back and rested at her neck.
Sister Mychelle straightened the paper, running her hand over the crinkles. “You know Alyss, art should never be hidden.” She folded the paper in half. “The worst thing in life is to deny your passion.” She handed the paper back to Alyss. “Good luck today.”
Sister Mychelle walked into the chamber and took her place amongst the other Sisters of the council. Alyss couldn’t move. Her body would not allow her to rise away from the windowsill. Nor would it allow her fingers to grasp the crinkled paper of her artwork. The parchment slipped through her fingers and fell to the ground once more.
A pair of long, brown fingers reached down to retrieve it.
Alyss knew those fingers. They’d touched her in a place she owned but never had explored herself. A place she’d never thought she’d want to go. A place she never thought she’d allow anyone else access.
Alyss had planned to spend her life without mates. Unlike most girl’s her age who dreamed of running off with the perfect pair of First Sons, Alyss dreamed of running away from home to be left alone. Her naughty thoughts all centered on an easel set out in broad daylight by the window, and colored pencils and paints left out on the dining room table. There had never been a man in the visions of her head. Now that she’d had one between her legs, she couldn’t get him out of her mind.
Her mental block stood tall and broad before her. He reached down to pick up the crumpled parchment. His head came in alignment with the place he’d tasted just the night before. His eyes looked thoughtfully at her drawing.
“He’s right,” Emet said, his voice quiet.
“Who?”
“Adom.” Emet stood to his full height. “You are talented.”
It was the last thing she’d expected him to say, and she, Lady Alyss, a social butterfly with a witty comment for all occasions, was left speechless.
Emet’s eyes connected with hers. It looked as though he tried for a blank slate expression, and he had almost accomplished it. His mouth was a closed, straight line. He breathed normally. But there, in his eyes, she saw the same dark look of intensity he’d worn last night as his tongue swirled around her most intimate flesh.
Alyss’ thighs pressed together as she watched his lips prepare to move. She was certain he sensed the tidal wave of dampness that rushed between her thighs.
When he opened his mouth again, she was certain he would mention it. Instead, he said, “Why do you hide it?”
She knew he wasn’t referring to the bundle of moist nerves pulsing between her pressed thighs, nor the puddle of desire weighing her down. She would much rather to talk about those embarrassing realities than her artwork. Her drawings were too personal. They were from a place deeper within her than her int
imate flesh. They were from her very soul.
“Art and creativity, just like men, are frowned upon in my household.”
Emet didn’t take offense at the tiny jab to his gender. Instead, he turned her words over in his head. But she didn’t want to wait for his words. She didn’t want his pity or his concern or even his ire when it came to her art. She felt too exposed, and she wanted to cloak herself.
“Did you do it to gain an advantage today?” she asked. “Did you…do what you did last night to sway me to your way of thinking?”
She’d expected him to play dumb and pretend to not know what she spoke about. Or to play gentlemen and have too much class to engage in a discussion of such an intimate matter. But he did neither. He met her move and raised the stakes.
“I did make you sway, my lady. Didn’t I?”
Alyss quirked an eyebrow. She wasn’t the only one moved by the encounter and they both knew it.
“I wanted…” he paused and looked out the window. “I wanted to make you want something. And then I wanted to be the one to take it away from you.”
“You were trying to teach me a lesson?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“And what? You were the objective? You think very highly of yourself.”
His lips quirked up. It was the first time she’d seen him smile. It made his face very attractive -for a male. But then the look vanished, and he regarded her closely -too closely for Alyss’ liking.
“I think that you already know what it’s like to have something of value kept from you.”
He reached down and took her hands in his. They were warm, his hands. They sent a shudder through her palms, up her arms, and kept going deeper. She wanted him to wrap her up, like one of Adom’s ropes. She wanted Emet’s arms to hold her tight and squeeze his warmth into her until it reached all the way through.
But he didn’t.
His hands never made it past her fingertips. He opened them up and placed the crumpled drawing in her palms. Alyss ran her fingers over the crinkles in the parchment, trying to straighten out the imperfections.
“No one should have their desires silenced,” he whispered.
She looked up into his eyes, unsure if he spoke about the bill, her art, or the intimacy they’d shared.
“This bill will take away a man’s ability to create life of his own free will.”
Alyss glimpsed her Mother again as she moved through the chamber. When her Mother’s eyes found hers, Alyss’ fingers folded the drawing and pushed it into the pockets of her skirt. Then she turned to Emet, back straight, steel in her gold eyes.
“You may have made me tremble last night, but you’ll be disappointed to learn that I’m made of stronger stuff.”
A small smile bloomed on Emet’s lips. Alyss felt herself heat all over.
“No, my lady. I wouldn’t be disappointed at all to see your strength. The monks taught us that only iron can sharpen iron. A worthy adversary can only make their opponent stronger.”
Alyss didn’t know what to make of this man. She couldn’t tell if he was trying to play with her one moment, or aiming to strengthen her backbone the next. It didn’t matter. Once they went into that room it was either her or him that would walk out the victor.
“I gave you one advantage with the documents,” she said. “You took one the other night when you were on your knees.”
Rather than take offense, the reference made him smile.
“Two advantages to you” she continued. “As a man, perhaps now you’re evenly matched with me.”
Emet let out a bark of laughter, delight written clearly on his face. This was the look she was used to getting from males. One where she had their full attention, one where they was putty in her hands. She’d never before been so pleased to gain a man’s veneration.
“Today, the kid gloves are off,” she said. “I promise to bring you to your knees.”
This time the desire that flared in his eyes was crystal clear. “I look forward to it my lady.”
Alyss faltered at the clear invitation. She had never imagined doing something like they did before last night. Now, she wondered if she would ever do it again. She couldn’t imagine allowing another male anywhere near that part of her body. Well, perhaps maybe Adom. But her mind, her body, had no trouble imagining Emet worshipping her on his knees again and again.
“I see I’ve misjudged you,” he said. “I thought you were more concerned with your hair bows than the issues.”
Alyss reached up to check her hair.
Emet let out another laugh. His eyes sparkled as he watched her check the placement of her barrettes. Heads within the chamber turned to catch what caused the sound. Alyss caught her Mother’s golden-brown eyes shoot lasers at her.
“Its a shame we’re adversaries,” Emet said. “In another life, I think we might’ve been…mildly cordial.”
“There you go again thinking too highly of yourself.” But there was no bite to her words, no snark. Emet was the first male she didn’t want to send off on an out-of-season berry mission. She didn’t mind when he stuck around in Adom’s studio. She didn’t mind standing and talking with him now in front of the entire chamber. But after today, that would be impossible.
He bowed as though he saw it too. He stepped aside and allowed her to pass without another comment.
Alyss stepped into the chamber and was immediately accosted by her Mother.
“What was that about?”
“Just buttering up the competition, Mother.” Alyss avoided her Mother’s probing gaze. “He won’t stand a change.”
Emet walked in, accompanied by the Male Voice. When he arrived at the podium next to Alyss, he turned and bowed. All familiarity gone from the brief, professional glance he gave to her. She felt her heart shrink at the loss of his smile.
“The Chamber of Worship has dropped their opposition,” her Mother said in her ear.
“What?” Alyss glanced over to see Lady Milysa sitting in the audience alongside Sister Roslyn. “How? Why?”
“Never mind how.”
Clearly her Mother had pushed some buttons and pulled some strings in order for Sister Roslyn to drop her opposition, but Alyss didn’t press. Facing only one opponent would make it easier for her.
“You only face the Male Voice’s advocate as opposition. We have half the sister’s on our side. Only the Chamber of Art and Culture and the Chamber of Energy remain undecided. All you need to do is present the information coherently and this will be done. You’ll likely be given an apprenticeship within the month.”
If Alyss moved up in the ranks she’d be free of her Mother for good, able to support herself without her Mother or Grand Mother. Perhaps she could even see Adom again from time to time and pose for another painting. Perhaps Emet might sit in a corner. One day, perhaps, maybe he’d talk to her again. Perhaps, maybe, help her hold a pose again.
Alyss turned to face the Sisterhood. She ran her hand over her dress. She’d worn a monotone color today. She hoped it made her look serious, scientific, like her sister Merlyn. Beside her, Emet gripped the podium, looking straight ahead. The only movement came from his booted foot that beat a tap-tap on the ground.
“You may begin your opening statements,” said Sister Dynese.
Alyss cleared her throat and began her prepared speech. “A long time ago, catastrophic decisions were made by man-kind, decisions that hurt all life on this planet. We continue to pay the debt of their misjudgment. I come to you today hoping to make a large deposit, to put us in the black in one aspect of our survival. The world needs more women. Gender selection will guarantee the births of more girls. That is why this bill must pass.”
Emet’s eyes held fast to Alyss as she spoke as though a string of rope existed between them. His eyes roamed her body the same way it had last night. When he opened his mouth, Alyss saw his tongue. Her mind went to last night, she could tell his did too. Would that be his strategy? To out her as a harlot? She gripped the podium as she wai
ted for his words.
“She’s right,” he said.
There was a gasp throughout the hall. The statement shocked Alyss more than a carnal confession ever could.
“The world does need more women,” Emet continued. “We remain at a disadvantage with the sexes being so unequal. It allows us to forget that we need each other; men and women. It allows us to think that one sex is better than the other. We cannot survive without each other. But please understand that you need us as much as we need you.”
Alyss and Emet stared at each other. Was he saying he needed her? Did she want to be needed by a man? Alyss caught her Mother fuming in the audience. She turned away from Emet. “I’m happy my opponent sees things my way.”
“It would benefit all if there was a choice,” Emet said. “If men weren’t bound in this matter.”
Alyss turned to him, her face heating, her heart pounding. She had to remind herself that she didn’t know this male. He could’ve gotten her body heated so that her thoughts would jumble. She had to come to her senses. There was too much at stake for her own livelihood. There were no windows in the chamber, but she felt the sun setting outside. She glanced at her Mother and saw the storm clouds closing in on her. She felt the urge to outrun the storm, a storm that had raged around her her whole life. All she had to do was shut Emet down, and then she might be free.
“The science is sound,” Emet continued before she could launch an attack. “What your family has discovered would please the Goddess. But I think it would displease our Deity if this discovery placed Her sons in bondage to this law. Every man, and every woman, deserves the freedom to express what’s in their soul.”
Emet’s eyes shone bright into Alyss, pushing away the dark clouds with such force. They held her still, not allowing her to turn to her Mother. She felt tethered to him, and tied thusly, that thing that had been begging, itching, and now shoving to be set free inside of her snapped free.