by Hart, Stella
Partners.
His mouth moved higher, along with his hands. Using his fingers to part me wide open, he slid his tongue onto my center, right over the throbbing bud that all the tingling pleasure seemed to radiate from. My hips started to buck and roll in time with the movements of his tongue, desperate to find a release for the pressure building inside me.
Small gasps and moans escaped my lips, muffled seconds later as I covered my mouth again. Mason’s tongue quickened in its circuit around my bud, and I felt the stirring of a great release deep inside. So close, yet so far.
I closed my eyes and focused on the warm sensations seeping into every inch of my body. I never knew anything could feel like this. When I touched myself in the past, it wasn’t even one tenth as good as what Mason seemed to be capable of.
One more twist of his tongue and I began to come apart, shaking and clenching every muscle as pleasure saturated my mind, breaking through the darkness like rays of sunlight in the early morning. Warmth spread through my body in pulsing waves. As I trembled and whimpered, Mason pulled away and moved up the bed again, positioning himself between my legs.
I felt him at my entrance, and then he was inside me, carefully driving himself into my slick warmth. I clung to his shoulders and back, biting my lips so I wouldn’t scream as he slowly filled me up.
Mason let out a deep groan as I stretched around him, a sound which told me all I needed to know. That he was mine and I was his. That my body and soul belonged to him. Forever.
We stayed as silent as we could after that, knowing the ramifications if we were caught but never wanting to stop anyway. All I could hear for a long time was our ragged breathing, the rhythmic squeaking of the bed beneath us, the thud of our heartbeats. Mason angled his hips to stimulate me with each movement, and soon my body arched beneath him. I couldn’t help but let out a moan as more pleasure washed over me.
I felt myself clenching around him before opening up more. Then he moved faster. Deep, steady strokes inside me. I was wetter than ever now, spreading wider, and he was going deeper and deeper with each thrust, rocking his hips even faster and harder. He made a low growl in the back of his throat, and then he finally stilled, panting as his face filled with rapture. His expression reflected mine in every way.
“Thank you,” I whispered as he rolled off me and gathered me into his arms. “That was… it was perfect.”
“Yeah. It was,” he replied, breathing deeply. Sweat was beaded at his hairline, and there was a funny look on his face. Like he’d just realized something.
A moment later, he got up to rifle through his pants for some tissues and some matches. After lighting one of my candles, we used the tissues to clean ourselves up.
Mason was right earlier. I hadn’t bled one bit.
“You should probably go back to your section before we fall asleep and get caught,” I said with a tired yawn. After all that bliss, I was finally exhausted, and the sleep I’d craved so much earlier was well on its way.
“I’ll lie with you until you go to sleep, and then I’ll head back,” Mason said, rubbing my back affectionately.
We lay down together. I closed my eyes, feeling safe and secure in Mason’s arms.
“You sure you’re okay with what we just did?” he asked a moment later, his voice soft and gentle. “You don’t feel guilty?”
I hesitated. Once upon a time, I would’ve rather thrown myself out into the Wastelands than commit such a terrible sin. But things were different now. Mason had opened my eyes to so many things, and I was no longer sure if what we’d just done was even a sin.
If it was, then why did it feel so wonderful? Surely even a force as powerful as the Devil couldn’t be that enticing. That perfect.
No, the kind of pleasure I felt tonight must have come straight from the heavens.
I shook my head. “No,” I said, steeling my jaw. “I don’t feel guilty at all.”
14
Jolie
“Jolie. You there?”
I gazed off dreamily into space, barely aware of Lauren’s voice.
“Jolie.”
This time her voice was louder, and she grabbed my shoulder. I jumped. “Sorry, were you calling me?” I asked.
Lauren smiled as she folded a piece of clean clothing. “Yes. You’ve been looking dazed for the last few minutes. I thought you were sleeping with your eyes open.”
Martha Chase was in the laundry room with us, the usual sourpuss expression on her pinched face as she helped with our current tasks. “You’ve been like this for the last two weeks, actually. It’s like you aren’t even here,” she added.
I hurriedly picked up some dirty clothes to scrub in my washing tub. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Lauren smiled again, eyes sparkling with curiosity. She leaned forward, lowering her voice. “What’s going on? Are you all right?”
I hesitated. I couldn’t tell her the truth and admit that I’d been sneaking around everywhere with Mason over the last ten days. Especially not when Martha was around. It was the truth, though. That was the main reason I’d been so distant and vague in recent times.
I just couldn’t stop thinking about being with Mason when I was supposed to be working. Couldn’t stop picturing every single inch of his body and replaying every exhilarating memory in my mind on repeat.
We must’ve had sex twenty times now, and it got better every single time. I’d learned so much, too. There were so many different positions. So many new words to describe everything. So many things both of us could do to heighten the other’s pleasure. Our own as well.
Last night, Mason had taught me how to pulse my muscles on his cock—what a thrilling word… cock—so that I could make him come without him even having to thrust back and forth inside me. It was almost like I was milking him, and the look on his face when I mastered it made me so proud that I felt like I might explode with joy and scream until everyone ran down to find us.
The idea of possibly being caught somehow added to the pleasure, despite the terrifying consequences. It was a forbidden thrill. We knew exactly what we were risking, and every time we had sex knowing someone else was only a few feet away, snoring in another bedroom, the risk only added to our passion and urgency.
Sometimes I would wake up in the morning riddled with guilt and shame after a particularly passionate dream about Mason, but then I would remember to push those feelings away. I was not a sinner. What Mason and I were doing with each other felt so good it simply couldn’t be wrong, no matter what His Word said.
Besides, even if it turned out that everything my father wrote in His Word was true, that meant I was already bound to damnation in eternal fire after doing it the first time. So I may as well keep doing it and enjoy the fruits of sin and temptation while I was still alive.
“Jolie?” Lauren was still pressing me. Martha was looking on with interest, too.
I sighed. “It’s just… um… I’ve been thinking a lot about the Joining ritual tonight.”
Understanding dawned on Lauren’s pretty face. “Oh! You’re nervous.”
I nodded. “Tonight will be the first one I’ve attended in weeks.”
I hadn’t attended a Joining since Mason’s arrival at New Eden three weeks ago. The first week, he’d dragged me away before anything could be done to me. The next week, I’d had my monthly bleeding, rendering me unclean and untouchable. Last week, on the night of the most recent ritual—the one my father had ordered me to participate properly in—the majority of New Eden members hadn’t attended, as a bout of stomach flu had suddenly swept through the commune. Mason and I didn’t get sick, but we both lied and said we did so that we could sneak around with each other instead of attending the Joining.
I couldn’t put it off any longer, though. I had to attend the ritual tonight.
“Don’t worry about it.” Lauren patted me on the back. “I know it hurts, but that’s a good thing.”
“It’s our duty to experience pain,” Martha added with
a sage nod.
“Yes. Of course.” I smiled and returned to scrubbing clothes, making a mental note to stop acting so strangely. Right now, no one was suspicious about Mason and me, but if I kept up this vague dreamy act, people might start to wonder what was wrong with me. Then they’d start to talk.
After finishing the day’s tasks, including the preparation of dinner, I ate quickly and returned to my room to rest my legs before the Joining. There was a knock at my door a short time later.
It was Mason.
“We can’t do anything now,” I whispered, eyes wide as I peered over his shoulder and down the hall. If anyone saw us together, we’d be dead.
Mason held his palms up. “I’m not here for that. I have something to show you. A surprise.”
“Where?”
“My suite.”
I shook my head. “I’m not allowed in the men’s section unless I—”
He smiled and slid an index finger to my lips to silence me. “I already sorted it out. I told a bunch of the guys at dinner that I really need my bathroom floor scrubbed, and I said I was going to come down here and find one of the girls to do it for me. So if anyone sees you there, they’ll think that’s why.”
I nodded slowly. “I’ll have to bring some cleaning things just in case.”
“I know. Meet me there at half past eight.”
Fifteen minutes later, I knocked on Mason’s door, a prim expression on my face and a bucket and sponge in my left hand.
“Good, you’re finally here,” he said loudly for the benefit of two men passing by. “The tiles are filthy, so if you could actually make an effort this time, that would be appreciated. Unless, of course, you’d like another trip to the Penance Rooms.”
“I’ll try, sir.” I bowed my head.
Mason left the door open to ensure no one got suspicious. Then he ushered me through his enormous suite and into the bathroom, where I started wiping things down slowly, just to continue the ruse in case anyone happened to come in and check on us.
“You said something about a surprise?” I said in a low voice.
Mason nodded. “I’m sure your father told you about the form of transport they have above ground.”
“Yes. A long time ago, the men found a functioning car from the old times.”
“That’s right. They’ve been using it to make longer and longer journeys into the Wastelands. Anyway, they invited me today. I didn’t really have much reason to say no, so I went.”
“Did something happen out there?” I asked, brows puckered with concern.
He rubbed the stubble on his square jaw. “Nothing bad. We looked through the ruins of an old city. I found something interesting.”
He nodded over my shoulder, toward the edge of the bathroom. I turned to see a white hand towel draped over something. “Look under it,” he said.
I dropped my sponge and hesitantly removed the towel. Beneath it was a narrow yet relatively tall fish tank complete with water, small ferns, interestingly-shaped pieces of wood, and a bottom layer of tiny pebbles with a smattering of colored shells. A beautiful silvery-green fish with long shimmering fins dipped and bobbed around in the water before disappearing amongst the leaves of one of the gently-swaying ferns.
“What is this?” I asked, looking back up at Mason with wide eyes.
“An angelfish for my angel,” he said, warmth glimmering in his dark eyes as he stared down at me.
“I… for me?”
“That’s right. You said a while ago that you always wanted a pet.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “I haven’t received a gift since I was a child,” I said softly. “This is incredible. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
I looked down at the tank again, touching one finger to the glass and marveling as the little fish swam right up to me, curious about what it was seeing. “How is this even possible?”
“We found the remains of an old department store,” Mason said. “I found that little tank, still in perfectly good condition. So I picked it up for you.”
“What about the fish? Aren’t most of the waters out there poisoned?”
Mason nodded. “I managed to find a clear spot where I could get one of these little guys for you.”
I stood and smiled, heart swelling. “Thank you again,” I whispered, throwing my arms around him. “This is amazing.”
I kept the hug brief in case someone walked in, but I was still smiling when I pulled away.
“Why did you do this for me?” I asked, brows knitting curiously. “I’m not complaining. It’s just so surprising. The men here are usually so thoughtless and unkind.”
“I did it because I wanted to see you smile like that,” Mason said with a grin. “But we do have one problem.”
I wrinkled my forehead. “What’s that?”
He pointed to the tank. “See the little light in that? And the filter on the back.”
“Yes.”
“It needs electricity to run. You can’t actually keep fish in bowls like they used to show on TV.”
I blew out a deep breath, my shoulders slumping. “Oh. I’m not allowed to use electricity.”
“But I am. So if you want, you can keep him here for now and visit him a few times a week. I’ll just say I’ve asked you to clean up in here if anyone sees you coming in,” he said. “But don’t worry, we won’t have to do that for very long. One day soon, you’ll be able to see your little fish buddy whenever you want.”
“Yes, because after we’re married in the spring, we can just say I’m in here to service you in other ways.” I smiled. “As your wife.”
Mason stared down at me for a long moment, a strange expression on his face. He almost looked angry, but I couldn’t imagine why. “Yes,” he finally said. “That’s why it won’t be for long.”
I crouched down to look at the gorgeous fish again. “What should I name him?”
Mason smiled faintly. “Whatever you want.”
“Hm… how about Buddy? Seeing as you said he’s my little fish buddy.”
He nodded. “That sounds good. Buddy.”
I watched the fish swim around his little aquarium as a smile threatened to split my face apart. Why was I so lucky? None of the other men had ever been nice to any of the women here. I’d always believed we didn’t deserve it, but Mason believed otherwise, and I had to admit, it felt good to reap the benefits of it.
“The Joining ritual is soon,” Mason said softly, breaking me out of my reverie.
I looked up at him. “I know.”
“Your father is still recovering from the stomach flu, so he won’t be there, but most of the other Elders will. They’ll be watching us carefully and reporting back to him.”
“I know,” I repeated, standing up again.
“The thing they want us to do in there tonight… I won’t lie, Jolie, it’ll probably hurt you at first.”
I pursed my lips. Though I’d been taught for many years that I was supposed to feel pain during sexual acts, never pleasure, I’d been spoiled over the last several days with Mason. I wasn’t looking forward to the next few hours at all.
“It won’t be uncomfortable for long. I’m gonna make it good for you. Really good. But you have to pretend it hurts the whole time, okay?” Mason continued. “Last thing we need is for everyone to get suspicious of us.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
“One more thing.”
His lips connected with mine with such abrupt fierceness that I didn’t have time to say no or try to push him away for fear of being caught. I moaned into his mouth, a mixture of surprise and pleasure. His kiss quickly softened from downright vicious to affectionate, and one hand slid up and down my spine, making me shiver.
“I can’t wait until I can kiss you like that without worrying about anyone walking in,” he said when he broke away, desire glimmering in his eyes. “And more.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant. That would never happen. Not here. But I nodded an
yway. “That would be nice.”
I said goodbye to Buddy and let Mason lead me to the door. I needed to go and bathe before the Joining ritual began.
Afterwards, I put on a clean dress and met up with Lauren and some of the other girls in the hallway. We headed for the Great Room, our collective mood tense and nervous. Before now, I’d never noticed just how much we all hated these rituals. Not until I discovered how much pleasure could exist for us in the world, if only we didn’t serve such cruel men.
When we arrived in the enormous candlelit room, we found that we were late. The Joining had already begun. Scores of women were spread around the room with either their husbands or their unmarried partner for the evening, depending on their own marital status. Some of them were on their hands and knees on the floor or standing and bending forward with their fingertips touching the walls, eyes scrunched with pain. Others were being attended to with the implements left around the room for the men to use on the women to enhance their own experience—braided whips, wooden paddles, canes, ropes.
Masculine grunts and groans echoed throughout the room along with feminine screams and moans. I was grateful I did not have to service anyone tonight aside from Mason. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than taking one of these horrible old men in my mouth or behind.
A sudden shiver went through me as it occurred to me how rebellious I’d become. A few months ago, I wouldn’t have dared to have such defiant thoughts, and I would have done whatever the men told me to do. It would have hurt, but I didn’t know any better back then. I didn’t know some men could be different.
Like Mason.
I looked over at a woman strapped to a cross, her face crumpled with anguish as her husband lashed at her back with a whip between thrusts from behind. She was suffering. I wished she could experience the exquisite kind of pain Mason had introduced me to in the Penance Rooms instead. The kind that stung but quickly transformed into a sharp-edged pleasure, followed by a rush so wonderful that it felt like I’d risen out of the shelter and landed on the silvery clouds above.
That was the only pain we deserved to feel.